This is a slightly altered version of the page. All the search hits have been highlighted in yellow.

You can move between finds using the 'n'ext and 'p'revious keys (no CTRL). There should be a small counter top left showing your current position. These hotkeys work only if JavaScript is enabled.

This is unrelated to your browser's own "find" function -- you can use that at the same time. To use the real page instead click here.

Note that broad regexps (eg. "foo.*?bar") may not match as much here as they do in the "Search Results". The same is true for terms that include whitespace (you can prevent this by using a regular expression and \s+ instead of spaces).

RSS site feed

Richard Stallman's personal political notes from 2013: September - December

These are my personal opinions and do not speak for the GNU Project, the FSF, or anyone else.

  • 31 December 2013 ( Thug infiltrators threatened nonviolent Occupy Austin protesters )

    Thug infiltrators tried to get Occupy Austin protesters to commit violence, but the protesters firmly refused. So the infiltrators gave them "lockboxes" — basically tools to strap themselves together for a sit-in so that removing them would be more work — then accused them of a felony, "possessing a criminal instrument", even though legally lockboxes don't qualify.

    Next time you think about how Putin threatens nonviolent protesters with years in prison, remember that the US does it too.

    The charges about the lockboxes were eventually dropped .

    It's not clear whether the court ultimately acknowledged that it is absurd to call lockboxes a "criminal instrument".

  • 31 December 2013 ( UK takes another step towards making NHS nonfunctional )

    The UK government has taken another substantial step towards making the National Health Service nonfunctional.

    If the Labour party still stood for the non-rich, this taste of what the rich do in power would give it every chance of winning again.

  • 31 December 2013 ( Refugees fleeing to Mexico due to gang wars in Central America )

    Gang wars in Central America are sending large numbers of refugees fleeing to Mexico.

    Ending the War on Drugs would cut off a lot of the money that fuels the gangs .

  • 31 December 2013 ( Stigmatization of those who are unusual )

    The human tendency to stigmatize those who are unusual gets whipped up in times of hardship .

    Plutocrats find it a useful way to distract people from them.

  • 31 December 2013 ( 44 Iraqi Sunni MPs resign in protest )

    44 Iraqi Sunni MPs resigned in protest of state attacks against Sunni nonviolent protesters and the home of an MP .

    Iraq has been unable to establish a state that can hold the sects together peacefully. I think that can only lead to more war.

  • 31 December 2013 ( Fight against drug patents in India )

    India continues to fight against drug patents that threaten to kill millions .

  • 31 December 2013 ( FAIR's year-end list of US media distortions )

    FAIR's year-end list of 2013 US media distortions .

  • 31 December 2013 ( Lead in eggs of chickens grown in city gardens )

    If you grow chickens in a city garden, watch out for lead in the eggs !

  • 31 December 2013 ( Tech companies that boast "disruption" as their goal )

    Tech companies that boast "disruption" as their goal are on the way to being hated by the 80 or 90% of Americans who will be left with only precarious employment.

  • 31 December 2013 ( Using one criminal as the excuse to punish all poor families )

    President Reagan's "welfare queen" was a real woman whose life was crime after crime against most everyone she came in contact with. Her frauds against the welfare system were illegal already .

    She was sentenced to prison for some of these frauds, and it looks like she deserved it. However, Reagan and Clinton used her as the excuse to punish all poor families in America, and they did not deserve this punishment.

    It is important to reduce the rate of births by teenagers, but instead of doing this the cruel Conservative way, which consists of pushing poor people's children into worse poverty, let's do it the kind Progressive way: offer taxpayer-funded reliable birth control to every teenager.

  • 31 December 2013 ( Benjamin Franklin set example of leaking )

    Benjamin Franklin set an example of leaking , 240 years before Manning and Snowden.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

  • 31 December 2013 ( South Dakota tax haven for the rich )

    South Dakota is a tax haven for any rich person that sets up a trust there.

  • 31 December 2013 ( Thug sentenced to two years in prison for illegal anal searches )

    Officer Vagnini, who committed illegal anal searches against a series of people, was sentenced to only two years in prison . That's not much of a sentence for a serial rapist. Meanwhile, the other thugs that supported his crime wave received very light sentences.

  • 30 December 2013 ( Federal judge rules that violation of 4th amendment is lawful )

    A federal judge ruled that the NSA's collection of phone records is lawful .

    This directly contradicts another judge who ruled it was an Orwellian violation of 4th amendment. Either or both could be overruled on appeal.

    The reference to the September 2001 attacks is mistaken, because we know for a fact that phone surveillance would not have been necessary for preventing the attacks if the US government had been paying attention. The US government had various warnings , including the flight student that wasn't interested in learning to land the plane, but ignored them. Dubya had told the FBI to reduce the resources into counter-terrorism.

    It is also irrelevant as a reason. If the state were allowed to monitor everything and search everything, it could prevent many kinds of crimes, as well as many kinds of dissent and whistleblowing, but that doesn't invalidate the 4th amendment.

  • 30 December 2013 ( Cigarettes in plain paper packs encourage quitting )

    Psychological evidence shows that plain paper packs, not covered by "cool" branding, make cigarettes less attractive and encourage quitting .
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

    That is supported by a study in Australia which compared smokers that got plain packs with smokers using the same cigarette brands in attractive packs.

    There is no direct evidence yet about whether it reduces cigarette consumption. That would take more time. However, it is unlikely to hurt.

  • 30 December 2013 ( The UK censorship filter )

    The UK censorship filter blocks more than porn. It blocks access to sex education sites, even help-lines .

    It also blocks many free software sites, and even amnesty.org .

    These schemes always make mistakes, and this is proof that that continues to happen. But let's not be distracted by the mistakes. Even if they could fix all the mistakes, which they can't, that would not make censorship acceptable. Fixing 90% of the mistakes, which maybe they could do, would not make it acceptable either. Down with censorship and the tyrannical rulers that impose it!

  • 30 December 2013 ( Arrest of Al Jazeera correspondents in Egypt )

    Al Jazeera correspondents in Egypt have been arrested for interviewing members of the Muslim Brotherhood .

    When a government accuses someone of publishing "false news", or says it is illegal to interview someone because he's been declared a terrorist (or even convicted in a fair trial of a terrorist act), that's manifest tyranny.

    The US-backed government of Yemen did something similar to Abdulelah Haidar Shaye , imprisoning him at Obama's request for interviewing people in al Qa'ida.

  • 30 December 2013 ( Resisting privatization of water systems )

    Resisting and reversing the privatization of water systems.

  • 30 December 2013 ( TED )

    TED is based on the assumption that all we need is a clever new idea .

  • 30 December 2013 ( SD cards have processors whose programs can be changed )

    SD cards (and other memories) have processors whose programs can be changed .

    If it is normal to change that software — for instance, if users are sometimes given upgrades — then it is an injustice that these programs are proprietary. However, even if it is not normal to change that software, this is a dangerous vulnerability to viruses, the NSA, etc.

  • 30 December 2013 ( Regulating prostitution to make prostitutes safer )

    New Zealand offers an example of regulating prostitution that really does make prostitutes safer .

    It seems to have worked out well there, based on anecdotes and official reports .

    Meanwhile, the US keeps prostitution illegal and maintains a stigma against prostitutes, with predictable results .

  • 29 December 2013 ( Compensation for poor countries damaged by global heating )

    As the damage of global heating on poor countries becomes increasingly large and irrefutable, the rich polluting countries will have to pay compensation .

  • 29 December 2013 ( Right wing gets Americans to curse gov't rather than recapture it )

    Many Americans have been led to believe that the prime culprit of the financial crisis was the government, rather than the banksters .

    The right wing strategy is, after each thing they do to hurt Americans, to get Americans to curse the government for it, rather than recapture the government and use it for democracy .

    This article makes a common mistake in its rhetoric: it says that "we" have done some foolish thing, in a way that implies we have all participated in it. That's not only unfair, it is also defeatist.

  • 29 December 2013 ( The Dinka-Nuer conflict in South Sudan )

    The background of the Dinka-Nuer conflict in South Sudan.

  • 29 December 2013 ( Obama keeps selling arms to Saudi Arabia )

    Obama keeps selling arms to Saudi Arabia despite its repression of human rights activists .

  • 29 December 2013 ( The US drone program )

    A drone combat analyst explains that the image is so fuzzy that they can't tell whether someone is armed .

  • 29 December 2013 ( Arrest of air passenger for carrying flash cards for learning Arabic )

    A judge ruled that the FBI was allowed to arrest an air passenger for no reason other than carrying flash cards for learning Arabic .

    Is studying Arabic more suspect than already knowing how to speak Arabic? If not, then how about arresting people only for knowing Arabic?

  • 29 December 2013 ( Egyptian thugs storm university )

    Egyptian thugs stormed the country's main university, attacking students and burning a dormitory .

  • 28 December 2013 ( Ukraine's gov't cites the UK as an example of violating human rights )

    Ukraine's government cites the UK as an example of violating human rights.

  • 28 December 2013 ( Chinese schools are designed for producing great test-takers )

    Chinese schools are designed for producing great test-takers , which makes them look good when their students are judged by a standardized test, but lousy in other respects.

    However, US "school reformers" seem bent on pushing US schools in that direction.

  • 28 December 2013 ( Iraq's Sunnis protesting for a year against Shi'ite-dominated Iraqi gov't )

    Iraq's Sunnis have been protesting for a year against the Shi'ite-dominated Iraqi government. The state sent troops to arrest a protest leader, and his guards fought back .

    I have no way of judging the claim that the protesters support al Qa'ida. It might be true. Al Qa'ida calls for wiping out the Shi'ites.

    This unending sectarian war is Dubya 's gift to Iraq. Ironically, Dubya found a way to wind it down: buying the support of the Sunni clans. But the money was cut off as the Bush forces left Iraq and the Shi'ites don't seem ready to employ it.

  • 28 December 2013 ( UK started charging non-citizens for births and antenatal care )

    The UK has started charging non-citizens for births and antenatal care , so women who can't afford this give birth at home without aid.

    The financial "savings" achieved this way will lead to bigger financial costs, as well as injuries and deaths. That's part of the goal: to accustom more people to poverty. Once this is the norm for immigrants, it will be applied to Britons.

  • 28 December 2013 ( Many internet sites are requiring commenters to identify themselves )

    Many internet sites are requiring commenters to identify themselves.

    I am happy to post comments under my name, but I can afford to because I am in a pretty safe position. I don't have to fear that I will be fired if my boss does not like what I say.

  • 28 December 2013 ( Turkish prosecutor says thugs interfered with the investigation )

    Turkish prosecutor in charge of the corruption investigation says the thugs interfered with the investigation . Meanwhile, the ministry has removed him from the case.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

  • 28 December 2013 ( If Snowden were tried in the US )

    If Snowden were tried in the US, all evidence about the good he has done for the country, or intended to do, would be inadmissible.

  • 28 December 2013 ( Poor people in UK can no longer afford heating )

    Poor people in the UK can no longer afford heating, so their walls are getting wet and moldy, which triggers asthma.

  • 28 December 2013 ( Almost 900 people died in US jails in 2011 )

    Almost 900 people died in US jails in 2011 , often because the thugs in charge disregard their medical problems.

  • 28 December 2013 ( To exploit or be exploited )

    Plutocracy leaves most Americans with two choices: to exploit or be exploited.

    Even so, you can still campaign for progressives against the illegitimate plutocratic government.

  • 28 December 2013 ( Tracking of commercial e-book users )

    Some of the things that e-book stores have learned by tracking the suckers that use commercial e-books.

    Don't be a sucker — reject these malicious products. Insist on using only e-books that respect your freedom as much as ordinary printed books.

  • 27 December 2013 ( Persian exile accuses West of supporting Khomeini's return )

    A Persian exile accuses the West of supporting Khomeini's return to Iran and his plan to establish a fundamentalist regime.

    I don't know that this is true. I would like to see proof.

  • 27 December 2013 ( Yasser Arafat )

    The French and Russian teams that examined Yasser Arafat's remains say he was not poisoned with polonium-210. These reports contradict the findings of the Swiss team.

    The French team found polonium-210 and said it was of "natural origin", which does not make sense, as polonium is exceedingly rare and found only in uranium ore.

  • 27 December 2013 ( Ten states ban paid sick days )

    Ten States Have Banned Cities And Counties From Passing Paid Sick Days.

  • 27 December 2013 ( Los Angeles thugs )

    LA thugs ' latest power trip is against pedestrians.

  • 27 December 2013 ( Global Heating )

    Global heating is causing scarcity of water and food.

  • 27 December 2013 ( Nuclear Arsenal )

    Maintaining Nuclear Arsenal To Cost $355 Billion

    (over 10 years, but still it is a ridiculous waste).

  • 27 December 2013 ( Ukrainian journalist maimed )

    A journalist in Ukraine was pulled out of her car and maimed by unknown men after accusing a minister of corruption.

    That minister is probably in charge of the thugs , and people accuse him of sending thugs to carry out this attack.

  • 26 December 2013 ( Pharmaceutical Extortion: Pay Up, or Die )

    Pharmaceutical Extortion: Pay Up, or Die .

    The root of this injustice is patent law, combined with the failure of the US to do what other advanced governments do: directly negotiate the price of pharmaceuticals.

    In addition, all countries must remove the funding of studies of drug effects from the hands of the drug companies, since they corrupt the results .

  • 26 December 2013 ( The fossil fuel agenda )

    The fossil fuel agenda is anti-business (as well as anti-civilization and anti-your-survival).

    I hope that this argument wins some support, but the fact that it even needs to be made demonstrates a fundamental flaw in our current political system: plutocracy, the political power of business.

    It's due to plutocracy that the fossil fuel companies have the power to keep humanity stuck on the path to global heating disaster. Why do Republicans in Congress deny global heating and its effects ? It's due to fossil fuel money .

    That's not the only area in which plutocracy oppresses us. Plutocracy is why governments propose laws like SOPA . Plutocracy is why the US government proposes to let poultry producers inspect their own products . Plutocracy is why the US government doesn't label GMOs . Plutocracy is how the banksters abolished the Glass-Steagall Act and then fraudulently take many Americans' homes and get off scot-free because they are " too big to jail ."

    And they are planning treaties to give them increased power .

    It makes sense to appeal to these illegitimate powers to see when their interests are threatened by something that threatens us too. But we must take care, when doing this, not to grant any legitimacy to their rule. We need to replace plutocracy with democracy .

  • 26 December 2013 ( De Blasio selects Goldman Sachs executive as deputy mayor )

    Troubling Pattern as De Blasio Taps Goldman Sachs Exec .

  • 26 December 2013 ( Eviction of Haitians in shantytown with no help or place to go )

    Haitians in a shantytown are being evicted with no help or place to go .
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

    They moved to that shantytown after their homes were destroyed in the earthquake after which large amounts of "aid" from wealthy countries were offered but put into preparing sweatshops rather than helping homeless Haitians.

  • 26 December 2013 ( Swarthmore Hillel rejects ban on speakers that criticize Israeli policy )

    The Swarthmore Hillel society has rejected the parent organization's ban on speakers that criticize Israeli policy.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

    This in response to Harvard Hillel's cancellation of a speech by a former Israeli parliamentarian who criticizes Israeli policy.

  • 26 December 2013 ( Israel arrests leader of nonviolent protests )

    Israel arrested the leader of nonviolent protests in Kafr Qaddum.

  • 26 December 2013 ( How lead got put into gasoline )

    How lead got put into gasoline: a series of corrupt influences led to nationwide suffering.

  • 26 December 2013 ( Egyptian gov't declares Muslim Brotherhood a "terrorist group" )

    The Egyptian government declared the Muslim Brotherhood a "terrorist group" , an excuse to say every member is a criminal.

    Declaring groups "terrorist" without a trial is a gross violation of human rights. The US must cease this practice to set an example of respect for human rights; if it does not, other countries such as Egypt will surely take inspiration from the US' bad example.

  • 26 December 2013 ( Prisoners in Bagram have no right to Habeas corpus )

    A US court ruled that prisoners in Bagram in Afghanistan have no right to Habeas corpus.

    It is legitimate to capture enemy soldiers and hold them as prisoners of war. (If this were not allowed, prisoners would instead be shot.) Being a prisoner of war is not punishment for a crime, and no trial is needed. Of course, prisoners of war do have rights, and torture violates them.

    However, the 2010 decision, about people kidnapped in other countries where the US was not at war, and then transported to Afghanistan just to hold them in prison, was wrong. Those cases are exactly like Guantanamo.

  • 25 December 2013 ( Urgent: Oppose bill that sabotages diplomacy with Iran )

    US citizens: Call on Senator Sherrod Brown not to support the bill to sabotage diplomacy with Iran.

  • 25 December 2013 ( Obama appears to be planning to sell out his country )

    After pressure, Obama allowed congresscritters to look at the text — without staff to help them understand the implications — but they can't tell us what they saw .

    The only plausible reason to negotiate a treaty like this is that Obama is planning to sell out his country, like Dubya before him.

  • 25 December 2013 ( Stories from Americans hit by cuts in food stamps )

    Americans hit by cuts in food stamps tell their stories .

  • 25 December 2013 ( Snowden has no "insurance packet" )

    Snowden says that he did not set up an "insurance packet" for release if he is killed , since that might have tempted various entities to kill him so as to cause that data to be released.

  • 25 December 2013 ( Computer manufacturers keeping repair manuals secret )

    Many computer manufacturers have adopted a new way of subjugating users: keeping the repair manuals secret .

    Unfortunately, the iFixit manuals are not free. The article says they are, but it means they are gratis. I tried to convince Kyle Wiens to release them under a free license, but failed. I hope he will change his mind.

  • 25 December 2013 ( Turkish thugs torture man mistaken for a protester )

    Hakan Yaman was tortured by Turkish thugs who mistook him for a protester. (Not that it would have been justified to torture a real protester.) They gouged out an eye and threw him in a fire: attempted premeditated murder.

    The government is has been unable to find the thugs who were responsible. Perhaps it has not tried very hard.

    This case is among the most extreme, among the general repression of the protesters.

  • 25 December 2013 ( Palestinians with cancer denied access to medical treatment )

    The Israeli siege includes denying Palestinians with cancer access to medical treatment , like a cat toying with mice.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

  • 25 December 2013 ( Israel and US insist on continuing occupation of 1/4 of West Bank )

    The European Union is trying to pressure Israel and Palestine to make peace, but Israel and the US insist on a continuing occupation of 1/4 of the West Bank , which would give Israel control over Palestinian travel and commerce.

  • 25 December 2013 ( Israeli troops ransack family's house and steal 5 years of savings )

    An everyday war crime in Palestine: Israeli troops ransacked a Palestinian family's house and stole 5 years of savings .
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

  • 25 December 2013 ( US Export-Import Bank to fund project likely to damage environment )

    The US Export-Import Bank is planning to fund a project in Australia that is likely to damage the surrounding environment, but the environmental impact study ducked the question .

  • 24 December 2013 ( Urgent: Systematic anti-trafficking policies in Scotland )

    Everyone: encourage the proposal for systematic anti-trafficking policies in Scotland.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

  • 24 December 2013 ( CIA helping Colombian gov't kill and torture FARC members )

    The CIA is helping the Colombian government kill and torture FARC members .

    The FARC is a rebel group which has also financed itself through drug trafficking and kidnapping. However, the most vicious terrorist group in Colombia is the paramilitaries that are linked with the state .

  • 24 December 2013 ( Teenagers fleeing Central American to the US )

    Teenagers are fleeing Central America to the US because they are threatened with conscription into criminal gangs .

    The War on Drugs seems to be ultimately at fault.

  • 24 December 2013 ( Former BP geologist says Peak Oil reached )

    A former BP geologist says that we have reached Peak Oil, and that the rate of oil extraction will decline from now on .

    Whether this is a bad thing depends on how humanity reacts to it. The high price of oil reduces demand: Americans drive less, nowadays, than they did when oil was cheaper. The high price of oil encourages investment in other energy sources — some renewable (solar, wind, geothermal) and some polluting (coal, fracking, nuclear).

    If only our governments pushed for renewable energy rather than polluting energy.

    We could use a lot less energy for heating and for transport if we pushed harder to achieve that. Amory Lovins showed years ago that a small fraction of what we now use could do the job. And mass transit uses a lot less energy than travel by car.

    The extent of economic inequality in the US is so great that our main need is not increased production of things, but rather a way for everyone to get a share. If the US produced only half as much, we would get along ok if the poor got a bigger share.

  • 24 December 2013 ( Violent Islamists in Egypt bomb municipal thug office )

    Violent Islamists in Egypt carried out a car bombing against a municipal thug office. There have been a series of such attacks .

    It is clear that they are inspired by the violent suppression of the Muslim Brotherhood.

  • 24 December 2013 ( Netanyahu admits he does not want peace with Palestine )

    Extra, extra! Netanyahu admits he doesn't want peace with Palestine !

    He did not say it in so many words, but that's the inescapable implication. For Israel to demand release of an American who spied for Israel — or any other unrelated concession — says, "Peace isn't something we seek, just something we might do for the US in exchange for something we want."

  • 24 December 2013 ( Israel kills children in Gaza in retaliation for shooting )

    Palestinians shot an Israeli who was working on the fence around Gaza, so Israel retaliated with bombs, killing children in Gaza .

    Although the Israeli who was shot was not a soldier, he was doing a job that is not entirely civilian in nature, like the Iranian nuclear scientists that Israel killed a few years ago . The Palestinian children, by contrast, were simply being children.

  • 24 December 2013 ( Millions of American families hungry during the holidays )

    Millions of American families received a Christmas gift from Congress: hunger .

  • 24 December 2013 ( Changes proposed by Obama's NSA review panel far from sufficient )

    Snowden says that Obama's NSA review panel proposed "cosmetic" changes .

    I think they might be slightly more than cosmetic, but they are far from sufficient. In this interview , Snowden explains what he thinks is needed.

    What I think is needed is to redesign digital systems so that they don't amass data about users in general.

  • 24 December 2013 ( Supporters of Israel's occupation pressuring US universities )

    Supporters of Israel's occupation of Palestine are pressuring US universities to boycott the American Studies Association . Meanwhile, members of the association are receiving hate mail.

    This demonstrates the courage required in the US today to oppose that pressure group.

    I am sure the ASA will not yield to this pressure, but what happens to the ASA will influence others. Thus, it is important to urge universities not to cease their support for the ASA.

  • 24 December 2013 ( Pardoning Alan Turing alone is not enough )

    Pardoning Alan Turing and him alone is not enough: 75,000 Britons were convicted of homosexuality , and they all deserve the same apology.

    If the UK wants to deserve a pardon, it needs to go further .

  • 24 December 2013 ( Australia approves destruction of wildlife reserve )

    Australia has approved a coal mine that will destroy a wildlife reserve , replacing it with "offsets" that are just an excuse to proceed.

  • 24 December 2013 ( Obama may be operating under fear of threats from CIA )

    Obama may be operating under fear of threats from the CIA .

    The appointment of Dulles to the Warren Commission is extremely suspect because there is no other plausible reason for it except to enable him to cover things up.

  • 24 December 2013 ( Miami and LA sue big banks for racism )

    Miami and Los Angeles have sued big banks for racism in application of subprime mortgages .

  • 24 December 2013 ( Republican gov'ts in 23 states block extension of Medicaid )

    Republican governments in 23 states have blocked Obama's extension of Medicaid, which will leave around 5 million Americans without health care .

  • 24 December 2013 ( Afghanistan imposing biometric ID cards )

    Afghanistan is imposing biometric ID cards .

    As a temporary measure for the war with the Taliban, they could be excuses. Such circumstances justify measures that normally must be condemned. But they will surely be meant as permanent.

  • 24 December 2013 ( Time to Make the Fed a Public Utility )

    100 Years Is Enough: Time to Make the Fed a Public Utility .

  • 24 December 2013 ( Rosewood in Madagascar nearly wiped out by illegal logging )

    Rosewood in Madagascar has been nearly wiped out by illegal logging, while the government hardly bothers to intervene.

  • 24 December 2013 ( Assad's air force is bombarding civilians with shrapnel bombs )

    Assad's air force is bombarding civilians with shrapnel bombs.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

  • 24 December 2013 ( Campaign for humane treatment of prisoners in Russia )

    The two members of Pussy Riot just freed will launch a campaign for humane treatment of prisoners in Russia.

    This is good, but as an American I wish they would extend their campaign to aid prisoners in the US .

    They also called Putin's amnesty, which led to their release, a "PR move".

  • 24 December 2013 ( Absence in the Bay of Fundy of right whales )

    The absence in the Bay of Fundy of right whales may be due to global heating.

  • 24 December 2013 ( Senator Warren's opposition to the Keystone XL pipeline )

    Senator Warren's opposition to the Keystone XL pipeline shines a light on Clinton's support for it.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

  • 24 December 2013 ( RSA Inc responded to disclosure of its secret contract with NSA )

    RSA Inc responded to the disclosure of its secret contract with the NSA with a cunningly worded announcement that appears to say it wasn't true. However, a careful reading shows it doesn't really say that.

  • 24 December 2013 ( When cooking food in US prisons was privatized )

    When cooking food in US prisons was privatized, Aramark started serving food that is spoiled or unfit for human consumption, prepared in unsanitary conditions .

    The only way such a company can make a profit is by mistreating someone.

  • 24 December 2013 ( Long-Term unemployment is a disaster )

    Unemployment is painful, but long-term unemployment is a disaster.

  • 24 December 2013 ( "Open carry" of guns is asking for trouble )

    "Open carry" of guns is asking for trouble , because just seeing guns causes fear and encourage aggression.

  • 24 December 2013 ( Debt costs the Philippines far more than typhoon Haiyan )

    Debt costs the Philippines far more than typhoon Haiyan . Many of these loans represent the corruption. The "aid" for rebuilding often consists of more loans.

    The Philippines should decide that these loans were predatory and therefore don't have to be repaid. The predatory lenders should be taught a lesson by losing their money.

  • 24 December 2013 ( The record companies' manipulation )

    While rich celebrity musicians spread a weak form of feminism, other musicians have rejected the record companies' manipulation.

  • 24 December 2013 ( Anti-Austerity movement at the European level )

    Calling for an anti-austerity movement at the European level.

  • 24 December 2013 ( French companies fined for paying women less than men )

    French companies are being fined for paying women less than men.

    Hear, hear!

  • 23 December 2013 ( Urgent: Call on Chick-fil-A to stop harassing artist )

    Everyone: call on Chick-fil-A to stop harassing the artist that makes "Eat more Kale" shirts.

  • 23 December 2013 ( Urgent: Eliminate NFL tax exemption )

    Everyone: call for elimination of the National Football League's tax-exemption.

    Here is the background .

  • 23 December 2013 ( New style of apology from politicians who get caught )

    The new style of apology from a politician that gets caught.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

  • 23 December 2013 ( Canned voice recordings used by telemarketers )

    Many telemarketer calls use canned voice recordings , and a human selects which response to give next.

    I don't see telemarketing as particularly bad, just wasteful and annoying. I have never bought anything from a telemarketer, and I don't let the call go on for more than a few seconds, because I don't want to spend my time on them.

    It is useful to train yourself out of applying normal ideas of politeness — for instance, that it is rude to hang up on someone — to a commercially-motivated call from a stranger.

    I think it might be good to legally require telemarketing calls to start by playing a recording that says, "Stay on the line if you wish to talk with a telemarketer."

  • 23 December 2013 ( Mariah Carey entertaining a dictator again )

    Mariah Carey is entertaining a dictator again.

  • 23 December 2013 ( Protest leaders that brought down Mubarak sentenced to prison )

    Leaders of the protests that brought down Mubarak have been sentenced to 3 years in prison .

  • 23 December 2013 ( Customer anonymity )

    The Consumer Finance Protection Board receives anonymized credit card purchase data from a company; that company gets it with names , which might facilitate misuse of the data.

    Of course, the underlying problem is that the banks and the stores get to identify their customers when they pay by credit card. Thus, it is better to use an ATM to withdraw money and pay cash.

  • 23 December 2013 ( FDA action on antibiotics on farms inadequate )

    FDA action on antibiotics on farms is inadequate .

  • 23 December 2013 ( Authorities try to stop student from delivering speech )

    A Florida student was denied his prize for a speech , when authorities discovered his speech was about injustice in the name of religion.

  • 23 December 2013 ( US pharmacists give teenagers false information )

    US pharmacists frequently give teenagers false information telling them that they are not allowed to buy emergency contraception.

  • 23 December 2013 ( Treating drug problems instead of punishing them )

    Obama's health care program could be an opportunity to move towards treating drug problems instead of punishing them.

  • 23 December 2013 ( Obama regime pretends what Snowden told us is still secret )

    The Obama regime pretends that what Snowden told us is still secret , and had the chutzpah to tell a judge that there's no proof the NSA is spying on everyone.

  • 23 December 2013 ( Surveillance cameras with audio recording on buses & trains )

    Surveillance cameras which record audio are being put on buses & trains .

    The TSA is funding this.

    Here are the specs on some bus camera and microphone systems.

    There is no possible excuse for microphones in buses. The arguments in favor are arguments for listening to everyone everywhere.

    It's not just the NSA. These systems must be removed and banned.

  • 23 December 2013 ( States with more guns have higher murder rates )

    A study found that states with more guns have higher murder rates , and the two rates vary together over time.

  • 23 December 2013 ( Obama's review of the NSA insufficient )

    Obama's review of the NSA called for substantial changes .

    However, they involved limiting government access to dossiers, not limiting the accumulation of dossiers, and this can't be sufficient .

  • 23 December 2013 ( Chinese communist party desperately tries reform and censorship )

    The Chinese communist party desperately tries reform and censorship .

  • 23 December 2013 ( Domestic violence in England )

    A study in which researchers interviewed people at home found that the rate of domestic violence in England is substantially more than was known . Many are afraid to tell anyone what is happening to them.

  • 23 December 2013 ( Living conditions of migrant workers in Abu Dhabi )

    Report on the living conditions of migrant workers in Abu Dhabi.

    Some individual stories .

    Allowing an employer to hold a worker's passport is the gateway to abuse.

  • 22 December 2013 ( Urgent Oppose bill to punish gays even worse in Uganda )

    Everyone: call on Uganda's president to veto the bill to punish gays even worse.

    More about this law .
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

  • 22 December 2013 ( Urgent: Forceful action against feeding antibiotics to farm animals )

    US citizens: tell the FDA we need forceful action against feeding antibiotics to farm animals other than to treat infections.

  • 22 December 2013 ( Flaw in Obama's health care law )

    One flaw in Obama's health care law is that, for many people in the lower middle class, it doesn't make health care affordable .

    This is no surprise, however. The law was designed to offer medical coverage to many of the uninsured poor, while catering to medical insurance companies. To reduce costs for others would have required the public option and big savings would have required a single payer plan.

  • 22 December 2013 ( Catholic school students protest dismissal of teacher )

    Catholic school students in Seattle went on strike to protest the dismissal of a teacher because he had entered a same-sex marriage.

  • 22 December 2013 ( Raw data from scientific research )

    Scientific journals must start insisting that authors provide the raw data , so it does not get lost.

  • 22 December 2013 ( Obama commutes crack cocaine sentences )

    8 Down, Thousands To Go After Obama Commutes 'Unfair' Crack Cocaine Sentences .
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

  • 22 December 2013 ( Self-censorship due to NSA surveillance )

    Many writers self-censor for fear of NSA surveillance .

  • 22 December 2013 ( Ensuring that chemical products are not toxic )

    Proper government regulation could ensure that chemical products are not toxic.

  • 22 December 2013 ( US govt aims to radically advance facial recognition software )

    The US government is aiming to radically advance facial recognition software.

    If that is used against journalists and protesters, it will be curtains for democracy.

  • 22 December 2013 ( Renault Zoe forces car owners to "rent" remote-controlled battery )

    The Renault Zoe forces the owner to "rent" a battery which can be turned off remotely.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

    As usual, the EFF advocates a remedy which doesn't go far enough. It's not enough to make it legal for car owners to defeat these vicious schemes. The schemes themselves should be illegal, period.

  • 22 December 2013 ( The loophole used by NSA to search Americans' communications )

    Explaining the loophole the NSA uses to search Americans' communications while "not targeting Americans".

    The article advocates the USA FREEDOM Act, which would limit the government's right to access digital dossiers. This would be a step forward, but nowhere near enough .

  • 22 December 2013 ( Anti-democracy protesters in Thailand boycott election )

    The anti-democracy protesters of Thailand's "Democratic Party" decided to boycott the coming election , which they know they would lose.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

  • 22 December 2013 ( Five Ways to Curb Your Child's Materialism )

    Five Ways to Curb Your Child's Materialism This Holiday Season .

  • 22 December 2013 ( US student activism )

    US student activism against racism and various forms of oppression .

  • 22 December 2013 ( Morsi trial )

    Morsi now faces absurd charges of conspiring with Hamas and Hezbollah .
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

    The Muslim Brotherhood is a Sunni theocratist group. Hezbollah is a Shi'ite group, militant but more concerned with defending Shi'ites' political interests than with religion. The idea that they would work together is as ridiculous as the idea that Saddam Hussein and al Qa'ida would work together — but Dubya found it useful to claim they did.

    As for the charges of escaping from prison, at that time state agents went around arresting (and sometimes killing) people for political reasons. Zero-tolerance for escapes, and immunity for the captors, is hardly justice.

  • 22 December 2013 ( Kansas restricts speech by professors in state universities )

    Kansas says state universities can fire professors for saying anything the university administration says is "contrary to the best interest of the university".

  • 22 December 2013 ( Woman in Texas subjected to medical procedures without consent )

    A woman is suing because thugs in Texas subjected her to medical procedures including X-rays , without her consent. Then the hospital tried to make her pay for $5000 for this.

  • 22 December 2013 ( Oakland installs surveillance system to suppress protests )

    Oakland installed a combined surveillance system, supposedly to fight "crime", but its operators were only interested in suppressing protests .

    The ACLU is making a mistake by using timid words like "troubling" to describe this. This surveillance is un-American tyranny, and any the community should demand shutting it down.

  • 22 December 2013 ( Thugs awarded for thuggish activity in the US )

    Awards for the most thuggish thug activity in the US.

  • 22 December 2013 ( UK's internet censorship scheme blocks sex education sites )

    The UK's internet censorship scheme blocks sex education sites and sites that help rape victims .

    Maybe these are mistakes, but every such censorship scheme makes such mistakes.

  • 22 December 2013 ( Anti-pipeline protesters charged with "terrorist hoax" )

    Anti-pipeline protesters displayed a banner, and some glitter fell off it, so the thugs charged them with a " terrorist hoax ".

    TransCanada, the company that wants to build the Keystone XL planet-roaster pipeline, is working with local thug departments and encouraging them to accuse nonviolent protesters of "terrorism" .

    We need to pass a law making it a crime for officials to make absurd charges against anyone.

  • 22 December 2013 ( Shaker Aamer on book censorship in Guantanamo )

    Shaker Aamer gently ridicules the inexplicable book censorship of the Guantanamo prison guards.

    A recently freed ex-prisoner says the prisoners were subjected to " meticulous, daily torture ".
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

  • 21 December 2013 ( NSA paid RSA Inc. to make the NSA's ineffective key generator the default option )

    A Snowden document says that the NSA paid RSA Inc. to make the NSA's ineffective key generator the default option.

    More information.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

    If the program is not free, its users are defenseless against malice at all sorts of levels.

  • 21 December 2013 ( What US TV said when the US bombed a wedding party in Yemen )

    Imagine what TV would say if someone bombed a wedding party in the US; now contrast that with what US TV said when the US bombed a wedding party in Yemen.

    A Murdoch paper made a joke out of it.

  • 21 December 2013 ( Israel puts African refugees in a sort of prison )

    Uri Avnery: Israel puts African refugees in a sort of prison which it pretends is not a prison.

    It reminds him of how other countries treated Jewish refugees trying to flee from Nazism.

    In the long term, the way to end mass migration for economic motives is to end the wealth-concentrating policies that keep most people poor.

  • 21 December 2013 ( .9 billion to organizations campaigning to continue global heating )

    Organizations campaigning to continue global heating received .9 billion dollars a year in funding over the past 8 years.

    Not all of that money was used to promote global heating ; it is not possible in some cases to separate out what was spent on that and what was spent on other right-wing causes.

  • 21 December 2013 ( Americans whose health insurance plans were canceled will not be fined if they don't get new plans )

    Americans whose health insurance plans were recently canceled will not be fined if they don't get new plans.

    Obama's health care plan is, overall, a step forward, and this flexibility is welcome. But it does cost some people substantial money because it was designed to cater to the insurance companies and the drug companies.

  • 21 December 2013 ( US economy is not "back on track" )

    The US economy is not "back on track" to give most Americans a decent life.

  • 21 December 2013 ( NSA and GCHQ spied on UNICEF and Médecins du Monde )

    The NSA and GCHQ spied on UNICEF and Médecins du Monde, in addition to European officials.

  • 21 December 2013 ( Oil and highways mean destroying the forest after poisoning the people )

    In the Colombian Amazon, oil and highways mean destroying the forest after poisoning the people .

    The Nukak people lived in the forest by themselves, until their forest was cut down for coca plantations.

  • 21 December 2013 ( UK judge quashed Libyan dissident Belhaj's lawsuit )

    A UK judge quashed Libyan dissident Belhaj's lawsuit , saying that the he had a valid case against the UK for handing him to Gaddafi's men, but that this was unimportant compared with sucking up to the US.

  • 21 December 2013 ( A former prosecutor couldn't get NYC thugs to arrest him )

    A former prosecutor found that he couldn't get NYC thugs to arrest him for minor crimes, apparently because he's white . They just ignored his crimes.

    Once he finally got himself arrested, for spray-painting on city hall, the prosecutors demanded outrageous and unusual punishments, even violating standard penal policies, apparently out of pure spite.

  • 21 December 2013 ( Tax meat )

    Tax meat to discourage its global heating contribution.

    Most Americans would live longer if they ate less meat.

  • 21 December 2013 ( Urgent: Do not build a coal port near the Great Barrier Reef )

    Everyone: call on Lend Lease not to build a coal port near the Great Barrier Reef.

  • 21 December 2013 ( Jesus & Mo t-shirts do not have to be censored )

    The London School of Economics has concluded that Jesus & Mo t-shirts do not have to be censored.

    UK law goes too far in prohibiting expressions of opinion. If it is even plausible that pictures of Mohammad are illegal on the grounds that someone might take offense, freedom of speech is too weak.

  • 21 December 2013 ( New York City residents are hurt by Obama's health care program )

    New York City residents are paradoxically hurt by Obama's health care program because they have a much better program available from the city.

  • 21 December 2013 ( Some Republicans asked for investigating Clapper for lying to Congress )

    Some Republicans in the House of Representatives asked for investigating Clapper for lying to Congress.

    I support this call. He deserves to go to jail.

  • 21 December 2013 ( Democratic Senators looking for a way to block diplomacy with Iran )

    Democratic Senators are again looking for a way to block diplomacy with Iran.

  • 21 December 2013 ( Uganda adopted law punishing homosexuality with life imprisonment )

    Uganda has adopted a law punishing homosexuality with life imprisonment.

    Like many other unjust laws and policies, this one is supposedly "to protect children".

  • 21 December 2013 ( Atrocious conditions refugees are subject to )

    Doctors sent by Australia to treat the imprisoned refugees on Christmas Island describe the atrocious conditions the refugees are subject to.

  • 21 December 2013 ( West must not ignore message that its wars stir up hatred )

    The West must not ignore the repeated messages that its wars stir up hatred .

    There are two ways to consider terrorist attacks such as those in New York in 2001 and in London in 2005: as crimes or as war.

    To consider them as crimes means responding by hunting and prosecuting the perpetrators — not by launching wars. If we view the issue in terms of crime, the attack on Rigby was a crime too and prosecuting its perpetrators was legitimate. However, invading Iraq was not legitimate and we have a duty to prosecute those responsible.

    On the other hand, if we consider those terrorist attacks as war and say they justify war in response, the enemy can say the same. Viewed as war, the killing of Rigby was an attack by a guerrilla force on a military target. The US has committed plenty of war crimes, and so have the Taliban and its supporters, but attacking Rigby wasn't one.

    We can't have it both ways.

  • 21 December 2013 ( South Sudan is being torn apart by tribalism )

    South Sudan is being torn apart by tribalism.

  • 21 December 2013 ( Mother writes about joining anti-fracking protest )

    A mother writes about joining an anti-fracking protest because of the threat to her children's lives from future global heating .

    If you are a young person today, there is considerable danger you will be killed by global heating — not soon, of course, but when it reaches the point where millions are starving, and fighting over food, globalized supply chains could break down, which would make a lot of technology and industry stop working world-wide.

    We can't predict what will happen, as there are too many imponderables. Maybe some lucky surprise will avert the disaster, but do you want to bet your life on that? If we are to avoid it, we have to curb the greenhouse gas emission now.

  • 21 December 2013 ( Belgium requires ISPs to find and censor Pirate Bay mirrors )

    Belgium requires ISPs to actively seek out mirrors of the Pirate Bay and censor access to them.

    In other words, it is copyright uber alles.

  • 21 December 2013 ( Iraqis believe gov't responsible for violence attributed to al Qa'ida )

    Iraqis believe that their government, set up by the US, is responsible for a lot of the violence that the government attributes to al Qa'ida .

  • 21 December 2013 ( Internet giants' opposition to surveillance )

    The Internet Giants Oppose Surveillance— But Only When the Government Does It .

  • 21 December 2013 ( FCC doesn't bother making TV stations say who pays for ads )

    The FCC could make TV stations say who pays for the ads but it doesn't bother .

  • 21 December 2013 ( UK gov't kills all followup for Gibson report )

    Although the UK government has effectively killed all followup for the Gibson report, the report is enough to prove plenty of wrongdoing.

  • 21 December 2013 ( 20 years of NAFTA )

    20 years of NAFTA shows the harm that "free trade" treaties do .
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

    The plutocrats are not satisfied; they want even more.

  • 21 December 2013 ( The NDAA )

    This year's NDAA makes progress on two issues: prosecution of rapists in the military, and releasing prisoners from Guantanamo .

    Can anyone find out what has happened with the most un-American part of the NDAA, the provision that allows the military to imprison anyone without trial if the person is accused of being a "terrorist"?

  • 21 December 2013 ( Netanyahu's "security concerns" obsolete and irrelevant )

    Uri Avnery: Netanyahu's "security concerns" about the Jordan valley are obsolete and militarily irrelevant ; their only purpose is to provide an excuse not to make peace.

    If Kerry could satisfy Netanyahu on this issue, Netanyahu would fall back on the next excuse.

  • 21 December 2013 ( Restrictions on prostitution ruled unconstitutional in Canada )

    Canada's Supreme Court has ruled that restrictions on prostitution are unconstitutional .
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

  • 21 December 2013 ( Israeli soldiers demolish Palestinians shacks during blizzard )

    In the midst of a blizzard, Israeli soldiers are demolishing the shacks and tents Palestinians live in.

  • 21 December 2013 ( Donkey carts used in Gaza due to lack of fuel )

    In Gaza, donkey carts are used to pick up rubbish, because there is no fuel for garbage trucks, or even for pumping water.

  • 21 December 2013 ( Israeli soldiers shackle Palestinian children )

    Israeli soldiers shackled Palestinian children aged 6 to 9 who were playing with burning tires and asbestos.

    Burning tires makes fumes, and I suspect breathing them is not good for children. Asbestos is quite toxic. However, that was no reason to shackle the children.

  • 21 December 2013 ( No Australian coast guard vessel sent to monitor whaling fleet )

    The Australian government has disregarded its previous commitment to send a coast guard vessel to monitor the Japanese whaling fleet.

  • 21 December 2013 ( The commercial version of Christmas )

    Christian extremists say that secularists are fighting a "war on Christmas", but the real War on Christmas is the one waged by business .

    Speaking as a secularist, I am not fighting a war on Christmas. I have no conflict with what Christians do for Christmas, as long as they don't try to get the government to promote their religion above my non-religion.

    What I strongly resent is the commercial version of Christmas, which blares out at me in every store .

  • 21 December 2013 ( People who get trafficked into the UK get prosecuted rather than helped )

    People who get trafficked into the UK and then forced into growing marijuana get prosecuted rather than helped.

    This particular problem is ultimately the state's fault, since the right approach to growing marijuana is to legalize it. However, that would not eliminate the issue of trafficking; that needs to be addressed by itself.

  • 21 December 2013 ( Mikhail Khodorkovsky has been pardoned )

    Mikhail Khodorkovsky, plutocrat turned political prisoner, has been pardoned.

  • 21 December 2013 ( Civil courts can handle captured terrorists )

    The Warsame case shows that civil courts can handle captured terrorists.

    The ACLU approves of his prosecution, but criticizes holding Warsame prisoner in a navy ship.

  • 21 December 2013 ( Most Americans say it was a mistake to invade Afghanistan )

    A poll finds most Americans say it was a mistake to invade Afghanistan and want US troops removed faster.

    I am not sure it was a mistake. The results were good in the beginning, and if Bush had not invaded Iraq, perhaps things would have turned out well in Afghanistan.

    However, things are totally screwed now in Afghanistan and the US is not achieving much by keeping the fighting going.

  • 21 December 2013 ( Obama boasts about increasing extraction of fossil fuels )

    Obama boasts about increasing extraction of fossil fuels.

  • 21 December 2013 ( Weak recommendations of Obama's review of NSA massive surveillance )

    The EFF criticizes the weak recommendations of Obama's review of NSA massive surveillance.v

    To make democracy safe, we must put an end to the massive accumulation of data about Americans.

  • 21 December 2013 ( The idea of childhood has been swept away by fear )

    "Zero tolerance" means the idea of childhood has been swept away by fear.

    The first step toward obsessive fear was when parents started thinking that children could never be left alone. I remember how happy I was, when I was 8 or so, during those periods when I was home and I could read without being annoyed by my mother.

    Meanwhile, no one freaked out about the fact that I, and the other students in my school, walked to school and back on the sidewalks of Manhattan.

  • 21 December 2013 ( UK agents were directed to help cover up US kidnappings and torture )

    The Gibson report says that UK agents were directed to help cover up US kidnappings and torture.

  • 21 December 2013 ( Islamists in Syria are practicing their usual cruelness )

    The Islamists that have taken control of parts of Syria are practicing their usual cruelness, flogging and executing adults and teenagers after cursory "trials".

    I don't see any feasible way to dislodge them.

  • 21 December 2013 ( Engineer at the Big Spill was convicted )

    An engineer at the Big Spill was convicted of obstruction of justice for deleting messages in which the spill rate was estimated.

  • 21 December 2013 ( Urgent: Reject the proposed Monsanto GMO seed factory )

    Everyone: urge Argentina to reject the proposed Monsanto GMO seed factory.

  • 21 December 2013 ( Urgent: Increase Social Security and rebuke Republican hostage-taking )

    US citizens: call for increasing Social Security and rebuke Republican hostage-taking .

  • 21 December 2013 ( Urgent: Cancel the review of the Keystone XL pipeline by ERM )

    US citizens: call on Kerry to cancel the review of the Keystone XL pipeline by ERM , which has been found in even more conflict of interest.

  • 21 December 2013 ( High speed trains in Europe are expensive )

    High speed trains in Europe are so expensive that, for long distances, they push most travelers to flying.

    I general prefer to travel by train if it is feasible, partly because I don't have to identify myself, and also partly because, with my luggage, "low-cost" airlines are not cheap.

  • 21 December 2013 ( The C+= language project )

    The C+= language project, a funny parody of the form of speech of some feminists, is getting kicked off various web platforms in an act of political censorship.

    Later I was told that BitBucket had deleted it too.

    Equal rights and equal pay, regardless of gender, are causes I support. I've condemned patriarchy and proposed a way to make Spanish gender-neutral.

    I also support satire, even satire of causes I support.

    I will not support censorship.

  • 21 December 2013 ( Trashing human rights in Australia )

    Trashing human rights is everyday practice in Australia.

  • 21 December 2013 ( Urgent: Call on bankers to give bonuses to people they made homeless )

    Everyone: call on banksters to give their holiday bonuses to the people they made homeless.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

  • 21 December 2013 ( The world may be hitting Peak Food )

    The world may be hitting Peak Food.

    The human race needs to hit Peak Population soon, or we're asking for trouble.

  • 21 December 2013 ( Why Taser Is Paying Millions in Secret 'Suspect Injury Or Death' Settlements )

    Why Taser Is Paying Millions in Secret 'Suspect Injury Or Death' Settlements. When Does "Less Lethal" Actually Mean "Deadly"?

    Being tased is surely less dangerous than being hit with a bullet. If we think of tasing as a substitute for shooting, tasing probably results in less harm. But if tasers encourage people to shoot, on the basis that they are safe, tasers could result in more harm.

  • 21 December 2013 ( Law to criminalize suggesting that public employees go on strike )

    Alberta is considering a law to criminalize suggesting that public employees go on strike.

  • 21 December 2013 ( South Korea bans all publications from North Korea )

    South Korea bans all publications from North Korea , and even access to a site that analyzes North Korea's internet presence. (See last paragraph.)

  • 21 December 2013 ( Bill that is supposed to regulate lobbying in the UK )

    A bill that is supposed to regulate lobbying in the UK will tie up citizens' campaigns in red tape.

    I suspect the problem is due to not distinguishing business funding from other funding.

  • 21 December 2013 ( Edward Felten analyzes strained language that Obama's NSA report uses )

    Edward Felten analyzes the strained language that Obama's NSA report uses to give the impression that the NSA has not put back doors into software people use. If the statements are literally true, they are full of loopholes.

    They might also be false. If the NSA officials will lie to Congress, why wouldn't they lie to us?

  • 21 December 2013 ( The FBI also snoops on Americans unjustly )

    It's not just the NSA: the FBI also snoops on Americans unjustly.

  • 20 December 2013 ( Urgent: Call on Obama to grant Snowden immunity )

    US citizens: call on Obama to grant Snowden immunity.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

  • 20 December 2013 ( Volcker Rule Made Meaningless by Abundant Exemptions )

    Volcker Rule Made Meaningless by Abundant Exemptions .
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

  • 20 December 2013 ( The political dominance of business in Asia )

    Three different disasters in Asia come from the same cause: the political dominance of business .

    To change this, we should abolish the institutions such as the WTO that cement their power.

  • 20 December 2013 ( UK gov't won't allow investigation of Alexander Litvinenko's death )

    The coroner in charge of investigating the death of Alexander Litvinenko says that the government won't allow him to investigate properly whether Russian agents murdered Litvinenko.

    If someone were accused of the murder, that person would deserve a fair trial, being considered innocent until proven guilty. However, for these political purposes, we can presume the Russian state is guilty.

  • 20 December 2013 ( Prostitutes in China sentenced to labor camps, used for profit )

    In China, prostitutes are sentenced to labor camps that use them for profit .

  • 20 December 2013 ( US official says US officials lie all the time )

    A US official in Vietnam told journalists not to believe anything US officials say , because they lie all the time.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

  • 20 December 2013 ( Catholic hospitals' claim that they serve the poor )

    Catholic hospitals in the US try to excuse their contempt for women's rights by claiming that they serve the poor. Not very true nowadays .

  • 20 December 2013 ( Maoist dissidents killing perpetrators of pogrom against Dalits )

    The Indian state has not punished the perpetrators of a pogrom against Dalits, so the Maoist dissidents are killing them .

    Buddhism in India, by Gail Omvedt, argues that Dalits are the descendants of India's Buddhists, from the time when the nobles suppressed Buddhism.

  • 20 December 2013 ( Aborted inquiry into UK rendition of Libyan dissidents )

    An aborted inquiry into UK rendition of Libyan dissidents to Gaddafi's hands says there is a case to be investigated.

  • 20 December 2013 ( Glitter as Terrorism )

    Glitter as Terrorism .

  • 20 December 2013 ( Italy to shut or block access to sites without trial )

    Italy will shut or block access to sites without trial if they are accused of facilitating sharing.

  • 20 December 2013 ( The "unemployment rate" )

    Republicans' method for reducing the unemployment rate is to cut unemployment benefits. In North Carolina, this made 77,000 people give up looking for work, so they are not longer counted in the " unemployment rate ".

    It is a mistake to judge the success or failure of government policies by the official unemployment rate. The real measure of unemployment is number of people who are of working age but not working or in school, and not independently wealthy.

  • 20 December 2013 ( Israeli troops shoot Palestinian in the back )

    Israeli troops shot a Palestinian in the back , but said he was shooting at them.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

  • 20 December 2013 ( Cows in the US fed litter from chicken cages )

    Cows in the US are fed litter from chicken cages, and that includes beef .

    This creates a danger of spreading mad cow disease.

  • 20 December 2013 ( The Environmental Defenders Office in Australia )

    One of the missions of the Environmental Defenders Office in Australia is to make governments implement legal requirements to protect endangered species .

    Officials, perhaps in bed with mining or logging interests, seem to wish to let these species be wiped out.

  • 20 December 2013 ( China to require journalists to take ideology exam )

    China will require journalists to take an ideology exam .
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

  • 20 December 2013 ( UK gov't gives up pursuing large companies for dodged taxes )

    The UK government has given up on pursuing large companies for around 60 billion dollars in dodged taxes.

  • 20 December 2013 ( $600,000 fine for distributing movie through torrent site )

    A Swedish man was fined $600,000 for distributing a movie through a torrent site.

    The copyright industry wants to imprison people for this. It is part of the War on Sharing, which we must put an end to.

  • 20 December 2013 ( Most Americans want gov't to reduce economic inequality )

    Most Americans want the government to reduce economic inequality.

    Though the plutocrats have failed to convince most Americans, they still have other strategies to prevent Americans from exercising control over the state.

  • 20 December 2013 ( Spain's right-wing gov't plans to ban abortions )

    Spain's right-wing government will vary its attacks on the non-rich to attack women instead, by banning abortion with very limited exceptions .

  • 20 December 2013 ( Senator Warren's push to increase Social Security )

    Senator Warren's push to increase Social Security seems to have made it politically impossible to cut Social Security.

    This was very important, but we also need to increase government revenue by increasing taxes on the rich and on businesses. Also, while we are in a recession, we need deficit spending.

  • 19 December 2013 ( TAFTA threatens to give businesses increased power )

    TAFTA, the proposed business deregulation treaty for the US and Europe, threatens to give many businesses increased power . For instance, it could blow away the just-established Volcker Rule , ban labeling of GMOs , make medicines more expensive, and stop countries from protecting data from spying by other countries.

    TAFTA stands for "Turn All Freedom To Ashes".

  • 19 December 2013 ( Morsi faces another prosecution )

    Morsi faces another prosecution on improbable charges of a terrorist conspiracy including Iran.

  • 19 December 2013 ( Facebook studies text that its useds type in and then don't submit )

    Facebook carefully studies all the text that its useds type in and then don't submit.

  • 19 December 2013 ( NSA's goal is to eliminate privacy, world wide )

    Glenn Greenwald told the EU that the NSA's goal is to eliminate privacy, world wide.

  • 19 December 2013 ( Amnesty for some political prisoners )

    Putin hopes that amnesty for some political prisoners will wipe away the shame of having imprisoned them (and others) in the first place.

  • 19 December 2013 ( On the Front Lines of Class War )

    On the Front Lines of Class War: Why the Fight for a Livable Wage is Everyone's Fight.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

  • 19 December 2013 ( US Budget Deal )

    US Budget Deal: the Good, Bad And Stupid.

  • 19 December 2013 ( UK gov't has allowed vital industries to shrug off rule of law )

    The UK government, through deregulation and privatization, has allowed vital industries including food and banking to shrug off rule of law.

  • 19 December 2013 ( The latest censorship proposal )

    The latest censorship proposal: ban saying that someone is fat.

    Once you accept in principle the idea of forbidding some sort of insult, there is no natural stopping point; any statement that might hurt someone's feelings is likely to be banned.

    I do not feel offended when people call me "fat", if they do not mean it as an insult, since it is undeniably true. If someone does mean it as an insult, that indicates a mental confusion on that person's part. Being fat is not an ethical failing.

    It is amazing that Ms Lawrence is so sensitive to insults to her appearance — as if Einstein felt crushed if anyone said he was stupid. This bespeaks an inner insecurity that disregards objective reality. That insecurity is her real problem, not the insults.

  • 19 December 2013 ( The Rightwing Attack on Our Solar Future )

    Let the Sun Shine In: The Rightwing Attack on Our Solar Future.

    It's perfectly logical: someone who wants to sell as much fossil fuel as possible, and cares nothing about the rest of the world, would try to discourage, even prohibit installation of solar generators.

  • 19 December 2013 ( Trapwire files for "suspicious events" )

    Trapwire files for "suspicious events" show both idiocy and unofficial racial profiling.

  • 19 December 2013 ( The Big Spill made dolphins sick )

    The Big Spill made dolphins sick, some fatally.

  • 19 December 2013 ( UK gov't will smother the inquiry into rendition )

    The UK government will smother the inquiry into rendition by handing it to a picked committee of Parliament instead of a judge.

  • 19 December 2013 ( Frackers need not inform the people who live above the wells )

    The UK government apparently fears people's opposition to fracking, so it says frackers need not inform the people who live above the wells.

    This way, if they get sick, it won't occur to them to suspect fracking is the cause.

  • 19 December 2013 ( Turkish thugs fired and rebuked )

    Turkish thugs that dared to arrest well-connected people for corruption charges have been fired and rebuked by President Erdogan.

  • 19 December 2013 ( How can pressure be put on Putin, and other Russian anti-gay bigots )

    How can pressure be put on Putin, and other Russian anti-gay bigots?

  • 19 December 2013 ( 2012 Olympics did nothing to spur exercise in England )

    Ultimately, the 2012 Olympics did nothing to spur exercise in England. Their legacy to England consists of repressive laws and benefits for the rich.

  • 19 December 2013 ( ACLU praises Edward Snowden )

    The ACLU praises Edward Snowden as an American patriot , and refutes the state's attacks on him.

  • 19 December 2013 ( Australian gov't will help businesses get away with illegal pollution )

    The Australian government will cease funding the offices that advise people on protecting themselves from polluting industries . This is to help businesses get away with illegal pollution.

  • 19 December 2013 ( Australia's Human Rights Commissioner proposes to abolish one kind of censorship )

    Australia's Human Rights Commissioner proposes to abolish one kind of censorship, which penalizes some "offensive" views.

    This right-wing politician appears to have little real love for human rights. Nonetheless, Australia should abolish this censorship if it has an opportunity.

  • 19 December 2013 ( UK gov't has rejected EU funds for food banks )

    The UK government has rejected EU funds for food banks.

    After working so hard to make Britons so poor they cannot afford food, why would the government let the EU help them escape? That would spoil everything!

  • 19 December 2013 ( Urgent: Diplomacy with Iran )

    US citizens: phone your senators at 202-224-3121 and say, no new sanctions against Iran — give diplomacy a chance.

  • 19 December 2013 ( The US-Ecuador investment treaty )

    The arrogant international "tribunal" set up by a US-Ecuador investment treaty has already twisted the law and the treaty to make excuses to declare Chevron the winner against Ecuadorians .

    I wonder why Ecuador has not withdrawn from this treaty. Even if the treaty should not properly apply to this case at all, other cases will arise in the future. The treaty can do no good, only harm.

  • 19 December 2013 ( Australia to imprison refugees on accusation, without trial )

    Australia plans to imprison refugees on accusation , without trial, by requiring them to sign a "code of conduct" in which they promise not to commit crimes.

    This means that if they are accused of crimes, rather than trying them like anyone else, functionaries can decide they have "violated the code of conduct," cancel their visas, and imprison them right away.

    Meanwhile, the government has changed another "code of conduct", for ministers, to allow them to own stock in businesses .

    Since these ministers were chosen to serve the interest of business anyway, if they have another personal reason to do that it might change nothing.

  • 19 December 2013 ( The Nelson Mandela Barbie doll )

    Greg Palast: the Nelson Mandela Barbie doll .

  • 19 December 2013 ( Palm scanners in schools )

    Schools in Puyallup, WA, are installing palm scanners for students to identify themselves with.

    I think palm scanners are much less bad than fingerprint scanners, because people don't leave palm-prints on everything they touch. Perhaps the palm scanners are ok, if the state can't get any personal data from them.

  • 19 December 2013 ( US gov't to deploy laser scanning system to detect chemicals on people )

    The US government plans to deploy a laser scanning system that can detect even tiny quantities of chemicals in people's clothing and people's bodies.

  • 19 December 2013 ( Publisher being tried under censorship laws in Turkey )

    The publisher of a Turkish edition of a raunchy book by Apollinaire is being tried under censorship laws .

  • 19 December 2013 ( Alleged food fraud gang in France arrested )

    An alleged food fraud gang in France has been arrested. They took the meat of horses that had been used in medical experiments and labeled it as beef.

  • 19 December 2013 ( Boycott of Israeli academic institutions )

    The members of the American Studies Association have approved the boycott of Israeli academic institutions.

    Palestinians call for this boycott because Israeli universities have direct connections with the occupation of Palestine.

  • 19 December 2013 ( Campaign to secure cheap anti-hepatitis pills )

    A global campaign aims to secure cheap anti-hepatitis pills.

    The obstacle is the WTO, which requires countries such as India to allow patents on drugs .

    This murderous policy is one of many reasons that the WTO must be abolished.

  • 19 December 2013 ( Amazon's warehouse workers in Germany on strike )

    Amazon's warehouse workers in Germany have gone on strike .

    Bravo!

  • 19 December 2013 ( Voicing the People's Anger, Yemen Parliament Calls for Drone Ban )

    Voicing the People's Anger, Yemen Parliament Calls for Drone Ban .

  • 19 December 2013 ( Zoning limits pushing poor people out of US cities )

    Zoning limits are pushing poor people out of US cities to far-away places from which commuting is hard and expensive.

    I've opposed housing density limits since I saw this happening in Cambridge Massachusetts.

  • 19 December 2013 ( Buses not funded enough, because rich people don't take buses )

    Around the world, buses are not funded enough , because rich people don't take buses.

  • 18 December 2013 ( Guards make noise to keep Ramzi bin al-Shibh from sleeping )

    Ramzi bin al-Shibh, on trial in Guantanamo, keeps trying to tell the judge that guards make noise to keep him from sleeping.

    This is a military kangaroo court rather than a proper trial. Is that supposed to make sleep deprivation of the defendant ok?

  • 18 December 2013 ( Obama's record on global heating )

    Obama's record on global heating : with few exceptions, he supports it.

  • 18 December 2013 ( The European Commission objects to UK plans to subsidize nuclear power )

    The European Commission objects to UK plans to subsidize nuclear power plants.

  • 18 December 2013 ( America's Greediest )

    America's Greediest: The 2013 Top Ten.

    Many economists say that the inequality that results from this greed costs even the rich , because it reduces the total economy.

    Not that it matters ethically. Hurting the poor couldn't be justified by enriching the rich.

  • 18 December 2013 ( 211 Journalists in World's Jails )

    211 Journalists in World's Jails in 2013. The worst country is Turkey.

  • 18 December 2013 ( 2013 was filled with extreme weather events )

    2013 was filled with extreme weather events.

  • 18 December 2013 ( Billionaire Polluters found a large new oil field )

    Billionaire Polluters has found a large new oil field in the Gulf of Mexico.

    Shall we celebrate?

  • 18 December 2013 ( Libyan dissident imprisoned without trial in the UK )

    Libyan dissident Ziad Hashem was imprisoned without trial in the UK, apparently based on information that Libyan torturers extracted from Abd-el-Hakim Belhaj after the UK and US delivered him to them.

    If extraditing Abd-el-Hakim Belhaj secretly without the usual hearings was "approved by ministers", it demonstrates that that is insufficient as a safeguard.

  • 18 December 2013 ( Los Angeles Airport shooter has been accused of "terrorism" )

    The Los Angeles Airport shooter has been accused of "terrorism".

    This attack does seem to be premeditated murder, but I think it is stretching the term "terrorism" to apply it here. Stretching strong words such as "terrorism" is a form of inflation that devalues them.

  • 18 December 2013 ( Former headteacher convicted of sexual assault on 5 students, all before 1970 )

    A British former headteacher (school principal, in US terms) has been convicted of sexual assault on 5 students, all before 1970.

    The victims must have resented this for decades, which pretty clearly implies they were unwilling at the time. Thus, I think those acts do deserve to be crimes.

  • 18 December 2013 ( Forms of repression used in Saudi Arabia )

    Human Rights Watch reports various forms of repression used in Saudi Arabia.

  • 18 December 2013 ( Wildfire destroyed houses in Big Sur )

    It's December, normally the cooler and wetter season, but a wildfire destroyed houses in Big Sur .

    It isn't proven yet, but one must suspect that this reflects the effects of global heating , which is expected to alter the base conditions towards the hotter and drier.

  • 18 December 2013 ( Vocational school gave radio transmitter tags to students and staff )

    A vocational school in the UK gave radio transmitter tags to its students and staff for several years without telling them.

    I think it is misleading to call these "RFIDs" because what they do is very different. Their signals show exactly where the wearer is located.

  • 18 December 2013 ( Bill to ban harassment by people who claim supernatural power )

    The Indian state of Maharashtra has passed a bill to ban harassment by people who claim supernatural power .

    However, the bill is weak.

    This is in response to the murder of a rationalist campaigner.

  • 18 December 2013 ( Bank Of America played tricks )

    Bank of America played tricks to avoid modifying American homeowners' mortgages , so it could foreclose them instead.

  • 18 December 2013 ( US senate should release its report into Bush regime torture practices )

    The US Senate should release its report into Bush regime torture practices.

  • 18 December 2013 ( Lawsuit against NSA bulk collection )

    A lawsuit against NSA bulk collection of phone records has more or less won at the trial court level . The judge issued a preliminary injunction ordering the NSA to stop collecting this metadata.

    However, it's not really in effect because it will be appealed. I expect this case to go to the Supreme Court before anything really happens.

  • 18 December 2013 ( Protester that kissed a thug's helmet has been charged )

    An Italian protester that kissed a thug 's helmet has been charged with "sexual violence" and insulting the thug.

    The first charge is blatant distortion of the facts, but the second shows blatant disrespect for freedom of speech. Freedom of speech includes the freedom to insult anyone, especially including officials. A state that denies this right is clearly in the wrong.

  • 18 December 2013 ( Urgent: Forbid employers to look at job candidates' credit reports )

    US citizens: support Senator Warren's bill to forbid employers to look at job candidates' credit reports .

  • 18 December 2013 ( Urgent: Don't go on vacation without extending unemployment benefits )

    US citizens: Tell Congress, don't go on vacation without extending unemployment benefits.

  • 18 December 2013 ( FDA will move to ban anti-bacterial soaps )

    The FDA will move to ban anti-bacterial soaps unless they demonstrate health benefits .

    The bactericides can cause harm, and there is a possibility that the killing of bacteria may lead indirectly to the spread of asthma because people's immune systems don't get trained as they should be.

  • 18 December 2013 ( 60 Minutes Is Now in the Spin Business )

    60 Minutes Is Now in the Spin Business.

  • 18 December 2013 ( Urgent: Do not allow advertising in public schools )

    Everyone: call on Philadelphia not to allow advertising in its public schools .
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

  • 18 December 2013 ( US border thugs interrogated two New York Times reporters )

    US border thugs interrogated two New York Times reporters about their journalistic activities as they were returning to the US. Now the Committee for Public Safety (oops, Department of Homeland Security) says it has no record of this.

  • 18 December 2013 ( Indian diplomat in the US faces criminal charges )

    An Indian diplomat in the US faces criminal charges for paying a domestic servant less than the minimum wage and lying about it in her visa application.

    The servant is also Indian. Indians should cheer that the US is doing something to protect poor Indians from exploitation by the Indian elite. Reportedly it is a long time since an Indian diplomat was arrested. It has probably been an even longer time since Indian servants' wages were protected in this way.

    The strip search seems excessive, however, for the nature of the accusation.

  • 18 December 2013 ( Senator Warren's bill )

    Senator Warren's bill would stop employers from discriminating (in effect) against poor people.

    This bill would be a change for the better, but we also need to make more jobs, which calls for increased government spending. I'm sure Senator Warren is in favor of that too.

  • 18 December 2013 ( Spineless in Bali: Fooled Again by the WTO )

    Spineless in Bali: Fooled Again by the WTO.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

  • 18 December 2013 ( 50 sailors on US navy ship have got cancer )

    50 sailors on a US navy ship that brought aid to the Fukushima area have got cancer, and are suing TEPCO .

    The ship carries around 3000 sailors. For 50 of those healthy adults, mostly in their 20s, to get cancer in under 3 years is amazing.

    The ship is named after President Reagan, and his name should not be mentioned without reminding people how he harmed the US. He gave arms to terrorists in Lebanon to ransom hostages, to get funds to illegally fund terrorists in Nicaragua. He also launched the campaign to impoverish most Americans, which continues to this day. His supporters called him the Great Communicator, but Great Swindler would fit better.

  • 18 December 2013 ( Neonicotinoid pesticides cause brain damage to mouse fetuses )

    Neonicotinoid pesticides cause brain damage to mouse fetuses, so they may harm human fetuses too.

  • 18 December 2013 ( AT&T's latest method in the War on Sharing )

    AT&T's latest method in the War on Sharing is a new user-profiling scheme to identify sharers , whom they call "pirates."

    Please don't call them "pirates" — that is propaganda for the enemy.

    Falkvinge: Our Free Society Stands Or Falls With Our Defense Of Sharing Knowledge And Culture .

  • 18 December 2013 ( NSA whitewash on 60 Minutes )

    The Sad Decline of '60 Minutes' Continues With This Week's NSA Whitewash .

  • 18 December 2013 ( Seven ripoffs )

    Seven Ripoffs That Capitalists Would Like to Keep out of the Media .

  • 18 December 2013 ( JROTC )

    JROTC uses lots of money to convince American teenagers to join the army. It's instead of teaching them American history.

  • 17 December 2013 ( Admiration of Nelson Mandela's life )

    Nelson Mandela's funeral has finished , after serving to illustrate the political issues of today's South Africa and how the US helped the apartheid state to capture him.

    I admire Mandela's fight for freedom, and his personal courage, as much as before, and I reject the idea that he'd have to be perfect to deserve our admiration.

    However, I am disappointed with the fuss that people make about his death. Why fetishize a corpse that used to be the body of a great person? A dead body is not a person anymore. It's not Mandela's corpse that deserves our admiration, but rather his life.

  • 17 December 2013 ( Urgent: Call on Washington Post to acknowledge it is owned by owner of Amazon )

    Everyone: call on the Washington Post to acknowledge it is owned by the owner of Amazon, which has a big contract with the CIA .

  • 17 December 2013 ( Single mother who depend on food stamps have been forgotten )

    The American single mothers who depend on food stamps have been forgotten by the mainstream media.

  • 17 December 2013 ( Suing for the right to plant vegetables in your front yard )

    Suing for the right to plant vegetables in your front yard.

  • 17 December 2013 ( Snowden asking for asylum in Brazil )

    Snowden writes to the people of Brazil asking for asylum there.

  • 17 December 2013 ( Refuting NSA falsehoods )

    Refuting the NSA falsehoods that CBS presented on 60 Minutes.

  • 17 December 2013 ( UK's system of Internet censorship )

    The UK's system of Internet censorship has been inaugurated.

    People who use the Internet via public access points, schools, and so on will have no way to turn the censorship off.

  • 17 December 2013 ( Imprisoned for having microscopic amounts of marijuana )

    People passing through Dubai airport are imprisoned for having microscopic amounts of marijuana in their pockets or even on the soles of their shoes .

    I wonder how they detect these microscopic bits of marijuana. Are they using the inspection laser system that the US has been developing?

    Some years ago it was reported that most US bank notes had traces of cocaine. I wonder if they will start imprisoning people who have US money on them.

    Don't be a fool — reject all flight transfers in Dubai. Don't even think of flying on Emirates.

  • 17 December 2013 ( Fracking appears to leak endocrine disruptors )

    Fracking appears in many cases to leak endocrine disruptors into water supply.

  • 17 December 2013 ( 'Radical' [CO2] Emissions Reductions )

    Scientists Explore Paths to 'Radical' [CO2] Emissions Reductions.

    More information.

    I do not think we need to consider the digital ration cards for carbon emissions, because a tax on carbon emissions could achieve the same reductions without the oppressive surveillance.

  • 17 December 2013 ( Mother Teresa gave sick people no painkillers and little medical care )

    Mother Teresa gave sick poor people no painkillers and little medical care, because she believed that their suffering was "beautiful". This cruel sadist raised hundreds of millions of dollars, but didn't spend it to help them.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

    The media campaign to promote her has fooled many Americans into thinking that she was a great example of charity and goodness.

  • 17 December 2013 ( Chile's new President )

    Chile's new President Bachelet promises reforms to spread the wealth and make education more accessible.

  • 17 December 2013 ( European couple in Egypt was jailed for a month )

    A European couple in Egypt was jailed for a month, accused of a crime they couldn't possibly have committed , apparently only to pretend to the Chinese embassy that a complaint had been dealt with.

    If this is how the Egyptian state treats foreigners, I shudder at what it must do to Egyptians.

  • 17 December 2013 ( Advertising of prescription drugs in the US )

    Advertising of prescription drugs in the US is leading to greater and often improper use of the drugs.

  • 17 December 2013 ( Boston Thug Department's automatic license plate recognizers )

    The Boston Thug Department's automatic license plate recognizers collected millions of records about lawful vehicles, but they repeatedly ignored one that was stolen.

    Which reminds us not to judge surveillance technology by the official purpose but rather by its side effects.

  • 17 December 2013 ( Some experts call on Japan to hand over handling of Fukushima )

    Some nuclear power experts call on Japan to hand over the handling of the Fukushima nuclear plants to an international team.

    The cleanup also needs to have plenty of funds. TEPCO is hiring the cheapest workers it can get.

    It appears that substantial amounts of radioactive cesium are continuing to leak out of the damaged reactors.

  • 17 December 2013 ( Salt on roads in New York State )

    Salt on roads in New York State is coming from oil and gas wells, and it tends to be more toxic than ordinary salt.

  • 16 December 2013 ( Amazon cut off access for Christmas )

    Amazon "sold" someone Disney Christmas videos, but not physical copies; subsequently Amazon, at Disney's command, cut off access for Christmas.

    This demonstrates why we should not trust remote hosting disservices. Insist on having your own copy which is yours.

  • 16 December 2013 ( USAID rejects all support to abortion in poor countries )

    USAID rejects all support to abortion in poor countries, and fear of this leads many women's health clinics in poor countries to refuse to do abortions at all.

  • 16 December 2013 ( 32 Privacy Destroying Technologies )

    32 Privacy Destroying Technologies That Are Systematically Transforming America [and the world] Into A Giant Prison.

  • 16 December 2013 ( A Genentech scam )

    A Genentech scam against Medicare: selling a very expensive drug Lucentis where cheap Avastin would work just as well.

    The article extends too much sympathy to pharma companies. They have corrupted the medical system in many ways, rip off Americans so much, and lobby for deadly patents in countries with lots of poor people, so they don't deserve sympathy.

  • 16 December 2013 ( Fighting in Syria as proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran )

    Viewing the fighting in Syria as a proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran.

    I don't think Saudi Arabia is likely to use its influence to hold back Islamist extremists, since it has spent years funding and supplying them. There have been reports about this all along, and the US government must have know about this. The US ignored the Saudi connection as al-Qa'ida, boosted by Saudi money, took over the Syrian resistance to Iran's friend. What kind of strategy was that?

  • 16 December 2013 ( "Affluenza" )

    "Affluenza" is a new excuse for letting wealthy people escape punishment for crimes such as vehicular homicide.

    I doubt whether a 20-year prison sentence is the best way to teach a 16-year-old not to drive while drugged and drunk. However, I agree with the article that, whatever society's best response is, the culprits should not be allowed to pay their way to more favorable treatment.

  • 16 December 2013 ( The ANC abandoned its plans for socialism )

    The ANC, on abolishing apartheid, abandoned its plans for socialism to share the wealth with the impoverished . Did Mandela have a choice?

    I don't advocate a Communism that would abolish private property and business. However, the decision to have private business still leaves a wide range of possible societies. Cruel societies such as today's US and Mexico are one option, but today's Scandinavia is also an option. Some socialist elements can make society much better for the non-rich while most work continues to be done by private businesses.

  • 16 December 2013 ( Global heating will melt all ice in the Arctic Ocean every summer )

    A US Navy study predicts that before 2019 global heating will melt all the ice in the Arctic Ocean every summer.

    This will cause global heating to accelerate, since the water surface will absorb more light, which currently the ice reflects out to space.

  • 16 December 2013 ( Three Ways the Super-Rich Suck Wealth Out of the Rest of Us )

    Three Ways the Super-Rich Suck Wealth Out of the Rest of Us.

  • 16 December 2013 ( When Obama threatened to attack Syria )

    Seymour Hersh: When Obama threatened to attack Syria, the US government did not know whether Sarin was used by Assad's men or by al-Nusra the Islamist fanatics . And it still does not know.

    The destruction of chemical weapons is a good outcome, and I continue to support it. Cherry-picking intelligence to support a military attack is the sort of thing Dubya did.

  • 16 December 2013 ( Dredging Australia's new coal port )

    Dredging Australia's new coal port is likely to wipe out several protected, endangered species and poison part of the Great Barrier Reef.

    Burning the coal will kill the whole thing.

  • 16 December 2013 ( Ukraine is split )

    Ukraine is split between a European-leaning western part that was and a Russian-leaning eastern part.

    The split mainly derives from the partition of Poland in the late 1700s, when the Russian empire took the eastern part and the Austrian empire took the western part. However, the eastern part was under Mongol rule for centuries before Poland took it.

  • 16 December 2013 ( Palm oil producers continue destroying Sumatran rainforest )

    Palm oil producers continue destroying Sumatran rainforest. Few orangutans remain.

  • 16 December 2013 ( Giving legislators a raise )

    Giving legislators a raise, in the European parliament, resulted in their being less committed to their work.

    I don't think this one study can justify concluding that higher pay necessarily causes less dedication.

  • 15 December 2013 ( US budget deal is cruel to the poor )

    The US budget deal is cruel to the poor, and panders to the rich and business .

    It is a compromise between mainstream right-wing and extreme right-wing .

  • 15 December 2013 ( The practice of making computers to last a short time )

    The practice of making computers to last a short time and be replaced tremendously increases the quantity of toxic e-waste.

    This also increases the demand for certain minerals to the point that armies fight over mines in Africa.

    Banning the shipment of e-waste to poor countries is proving ineffective. Requiring a 3-year warranty for every computer sold might do a better job. Many of the purchasers would demand warranty service, so the manufacturers would have to make their products cheaper to repair. In addition, a lot of the waste would end up in the hands of authorized service agents. Regulating its disposal by them would be easier.

  • 15 December 2013 ( The next threat from Facebook )

    The next threat from Facebook: using AI to figure out more about you.

    If you refuse to be one of Facebook's useds and tell the AI about yourself, it will do what it can with the data it gets from Facebook surveillance — plus what other people tell it about you.

  • 15 December 2013 ( Islamist fanatics in Syria )

    The Islamist fanatics in Syria greatly outnumber the secular rebels and are better equipped . Thus, if Assad's regime is replaced, the replacement will be worse.

  • 15 December 2013 ( Trade treaties used to block anti-smoking measures )

    Tobacco companies pay corrupt governments to use trade treaties to block anti-smoking measures.

    These murderous treaties must be destroyed!

  • 15 December 2013 ( What the state could find out with location data )

    What the state could find out with location data from tracking you and other people you know.

  • 15 December 2013 ( PBS Budget Debate )

    PBS Budget Debate: Wall Street, the Right and the Further Right.

  • 15 December 2013 ( Karzai's conditions to allow some US troops to remain in Afghanistan )

    Karzai's conditions to allow some US troops to remain in Afghanistan: end air attacks (including drones) and facilitate peace.

  • 15 December 2013 ( Freedom of political speech widely threatened across Europe )

    Freedom of political speech is widely threatened across Europe.

    For instance, Spain is now considering a law to make it a crime to "insult Spain".

    This is not to mention the censorship of specific views in many countries.

  • 15 December 2013 ( US drone attack killed 15 people on the way to a wedding in Yemen )

    A US drone attack killed 15 people on the way to a wedding in Yemen.

    This is a consequence of using drones as death squads, in places that are not battlefields. A wedding party would not travel through a battlefield; people would recognize the danger and stay under cover.

  • 15 December 2013 ( Australia's gun regulations could be a model for the US )

    Australia's gun regulations could be a model for the US.

  • 15 December 2013 ( The population of barn owls in UK is crashing )

    The population of barn owls in the UK is crashing because of various human activities.

    Use of rat poison is one of them. Another is global heating , which paradoxically makes Britain colder in the winter.

  • 15 December 2013 ( Gov't of Colombia makes sure right-wing gangs can get away with rape )

    The government of Colombia makes sure right-wing gangs can get away with rape so as to keep foreign companies happy.

    The oppressive treaty with the US is another plan to keep foreign companies happy.

  • 15 December 2013 ( Indonesian soldiers massacred Papuan independence protesters )

    In 1998, Indonesian soldiers massacred Papuan independence protesters, then tortured, mutilated and killed many of those taken prisoner.

  • 15 December 2013 ( Urgent: Oppose attempts to weaken the Endangered Species Act )

    US citizens: urge your senators to oppose attempts to weaken the Endangered Species Act .
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

  • 15 December 2013 ( Latest Israeli excuses to reject peace with Palestine )

    Uri Avnery on the latest Israeli excuses to reject peace with Palestine.

  • 15 December 2013 ( Urgent: Cut subsidies to agribusiness, not food stamps )

    US citizens: call your congresscritter to cut subsidies to agribusiness, not food stamps. Also send mail through this page.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

    The Capitol Switchboard numbers are 202-224-3121, 888-818-6641 and 888-355-3588.

  • 15 December 2013 ( Urgent: Call on India to abolish the law against homosexuality )

    Everyone: call on India to abolish the law against homosexuality.

  • 15 December 2013 ( "Terminator" seeds )

    Brazil may allow use of "terminator" seeds (biological restrictions management or BRM).

  • 15 December 2013 ( Fracking Hell )

    Fracking Hell: What It's Really Like to Live Next to a Shale Gas Well.

  • 15 December 2013 ( Mass graves of Albanian Kosovars )

    Mass graves of Albanian Kosovars give the lie to claims that the Serbs did not commit atrocities there.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

  • 15 December 2013 ( Global heating and human trafficking )

    Global heating leads to extreme weather disasters, and those lead the victims to be trafficked.

  • 15 December 2013 ( Too Many Secrets )

    Too Many Secrets: Fixing the Government's Broken System for Classifying Information.

  • 15 December 2013 ( Amnesty for Snowden )

    Some NSA officials said they would consider amnesty for Snowden if he stops revealing secrets .

    This seems to be pure PR. They know that Snowden is no longer revealing any US secrets. He no longer has any! Before going to Russia, he divested himself of all copies so the data would not fall into Russian hands. Journalists have the data now.

    Thus, what the NSA officials really proposes is to make Snowden a hostage to make the journalists stop publishing.

  • 15 December 2013 ( ISPs in Venezuela ordered to censor access to sites that publish black market exchange rate )

    ISPs in Venezuela have been ordered to censor access to sites that publish the black market exchange rate between dollars and bolivars.

    This is stupid as well as wrong. However, when judging the policy, keep in mind that many countries have similar (and equally wrong) policies, including quite a few in Europe.

    Price controls tend to cause shortages, so they are generally an unwise policy. But they are not unjust like censorship.

  • 15 December 2013 ( Schools put students' personal data at risk )

    Schools put students' personal data at risk by entrusting them to companies.

    No matter what these companies might put in their contracts, centralizing data from schools in one company inherently makes them more vulnerable. In addition, these technologies increase the amount of data collection about a student.

    The student's data should be kept on a physical memory that is the student's property, on loan to the school. Teachers should be allowed to look at the data when there is a valid reason, and the physical memory should be wiped after the term, leaving nothing but the grades.

  • 15 December 2013 ( US schools routinely terrify and traumatize kids )

    US schools routinely terrify and traumatize kids in the name of protecting them from terror and trauma.

    If we banned large magazines and guns that repeat at a high rate, much of the problem will go away.

    I fear that these lockdowns will teach many children to think in the direction of shooting a lot of people, in school or elsewhere. When that's what you know (or think you know), you will think of that.

  • 15 December 2013 ( Poor People Deserve Digital Privacy, Too )

    Poor People Deserve Digital Privacy, Too.

  • 15 December 2013 ( Workers vulnerable to being replaced by machine )

    Companies have pushed workers to act like machines, which makes them very vulnerable to being replaced by a machine.

    I think there is some truth in this article. At the same time, the approach it recommends won't put millions of long-term-employed back to work. If society does not need these people to work, it must offer them good lives anyway.

    It is incoherent to say "If you don't work, you don't eat" and "There is no work for you" at the same time.

  • 15 December 2013 ( A "small" nuclear war between India and Pakistan )

    A "small" nuclear war between India and Pakistan would produce a small nuclear winter. The loss of food production could endanger 2 billion people.

  • 15 December 2013 ( The UK's cruel cuts )

    The UK's cruel cuts force many poor Britons to live on 3 dollars a day for food.

    It is no surprise that these policies have not helped people find work. That was never a real goal, just an excuse to hurt people.

    The reason these people are unemployed is that there are no jobs for them, and that is due to the spending cuts.

  • 15 December 2013 ( Illegal gold mining is driving deforestation in Peru )

    Illegal gold mining is driving deforestation in Peru.

    I think such phenomena demonstrate the importance of sharply cutting the birth rate. People will find ways to get money through extraction, especially if they have little other opportunity.

  • 15 December 2013 ( Greenpeace will continue protests against Arctic oil drilling )

    Greenpeace declares it will continue protests against Arctic oil drilling , even in Russia.

  • 15 December 2013 ( Urgent: Reinstate workers who were fired for complaining about illegal low wages )

    In companies where Domino's Pizza operates: tell the company to reinstate the workers who were fired for complaining about illegal low wages. Note, this campaign was successful.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

  • 15 December 2013 ( Urgent: Withdraw US troops from Afghanistan )

    US citizens: sign this petition to withdraw US troops from Afghanistan.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

  • 15 December 2013 ( Urgent: Call on Obama not to gag John Podesta )

    US citizens: call on Obama not to gag his new advisor John Podesta regarding the Keystone XL Earth-roaster pipeline , especially given that corrupt interests are operating unimpeded.

  • 15 December 2013 ( How ALEC presented itself to companies )

    Documents show that ALEC presented itself to companies as making their profits its primary goal.

  • 14 December 2013 ( Renewable energy in South Africa )

    Renewable energy is growing rapidly in South Africa, but coal interests want to tie the country permanently to coal exports.

  • 14 December 2013 ( Australian gov't abolishing environmental protection )

    The Australian government is abolishing environmental protection by handing approval power solely to individual states .

  • 14 December 2013 ( Tyrant of North Korea executed his uncle )

    The tyrant of North Korea executed his uncle, calling him "despicable human scum". Well of course — he was an official in North Korea, so how could he not be despicable human scum?

  • 14 December 2013 ( Controversial Anti-Protest Law Challenged in Ugandan Court )

    Controversial Anti-Protest Law Challenged in Ugandan Court.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

  • 14 December 2013 ( 500 prominent writers published manifesto for restoring privacy )

    500 prominent writers have published a manifesto for restoring privacy by curbing digital surveillance.

    I agree with their manifesto, because it doesn't insist narrowly that the solution consists of limiting state access to massive dossiers while continuing to accumulate them.

    It took me a while to find a place to refer to it, because the reference I saw was to a page I could not even view, on change.org. When I tried to view that page, all I got was a brief message saying the site requires Javascript and cookies even to see a page.

    In addition, they ask people to endorse the statement on change.org. I won't do that, or refer others to that, because of the requirement for nonfree Javascript software.

    So I am stating my agreement here.

  • 14 December 2013 ( Urgent: Give asylum to Edward Snowden )

    Everyone: Urge German PM Merkel to give asylum to Edward Snowden in exchange for his testimony.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

  • 14 December 2013 ( Japanese continue protesting against the new state secrets law )

    Japanese continue protesting against the new state secrets law , which over 80% condemn.

  • 14 December 2013 ( Indiscriminate use of some antibiotics in farm animals )

    The FDA is looking at stopping the indiscriminate use of some antibiotics in farm animals.

  • 14 December 2013 ( Victoria will legalize sexting by teenagers )

    Victoria (a state in Australia) will legalize sexting by teenagers but only in narrow age bands . This is a step forward but not enough. No one should be punished for sexting, and the recipient of the sext shouldn't be punished either.

    The law will also ban sending nude photos of someone else without that person's consent. That part seems ok to me.

  • 13 December 2013 ( Israel abandoned the plan to force Negev Bedouin off their lands )

    Israel has abandoned the plan to force Negev Bedouin off their lands and into artificial villages where they have no livelihood.

    However, the victory won't necessarily last.

  • 13 December 2013 ( Urgent: Oppose "fast track" for TPP )

    US citizens: phone your congresscritter to oppose "fast track" for the TPP . Also send mail through this page.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

    The Capitol Switchboard numbers are 202-224-3121, 888-818-6641 and 888-355-3588.

  • 13 December 2013 ( US gov't decided to keep hunger strikes in Guantanamo secret )

    The US government has decided to keep hunger strikes in Guantanamo secret to avoid the odium they shed.

  • 13 December 2013 ( Plastic in the Pacific Ocean )

    A researcher studying plastic in the Pacific Ocean found that plastic has a larger presence than living organisms.

    It turns out to be difficult to count the plastic in the ocean, and difficult to filter it out without catching the plankton.

  • 13 December 2013 ( Unarmed man charged with shooting people )

    An unarmed man who did nothing worse than walk into the street has been charged with shooting people — who in fact were shot by the thugs.

    To hold the criminal responsible for the consequences of the crime is valid when the crime is comparably grave. For instance, Dubya and B'liar should be held responsible for all the killings in Iraq caused by their invasion, including the killings carried out by the Sunni and Shi'ite militias as well as by the Bush forces .

    However, putting a hand in a pocket is hardly grave enough to justify blaming anyone for other people's shootings. In addition, it gives the shooters immunity, which encourages them to shoot again.

  • 13 December 2013 ( The Theater of Security Agency shows no sense of shame )

    The Theater of Security Agency shows no sense of shame after confiscating a two-inch-long toy pistol that was to be put on a puppet.

    The idea that there is a principle that requires harsh, strict and pointless application of rules is a collective folly known as "zero tolerance". "Zero tolerance" is the basis for the school-to-prison pipeline. We must condemn the general idea, every time it comes up, and not only its crazy excesses.

  • 13 December 2013 ( Former prime minister of Thailand has been charged with murder )

    The former prime minister of Thailand has been charged with murder for ordering snipers to shoot protesters.

  • 13 December 2013 ( Coca Cola Company trying to teach US waiters )

    Coca Cola Company is trying to teach US waiters to discourage people from drinking tap water.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

    I usually have only tap water in restaurants, except in Chinese restaurants where large pots of tea are usually provided.

    See also the boycott of Coca Cola Company.

  • 13 December 2013 ( Israel, Palestine and Jordan desalination project )

    Israel, Palestine and Jordan made an agreement on a joint desalination project and will divide up the water.

  • 13 December 2013 ( Heroic whistleblowers )

    Heroic whistleblowers call on spy agency employees to become whistleblowers.

  • 13 December 2013 ( New Zealand border thugs )

    New Zealand border thugs took all of Samual Blackman's computers and disk drives.

    They kept him incommunicado, and demanded he give them his passwords.

    Blackman suspected this was because he went to a meeting in London about massive surveillance. The thugs said it is for some kind of censorship. We should not assume they told the truth, but if they did, that is no better. Censorship is evil too.

  • 13 December 2013 ( Protesters that interfere with business )

    Today's law in Australia (and the US) would have made it a crime to send funds to "terrorists" such as Nelson Mandela, and maybe even to teach anti-apartheid activists how to use a photocopier. But that's not enough for right-wing politicians, who want to imprison protesters that interfere with business.

    I guess those right-wing politicians support Putin's plans to imprison Greenpeace protesters.

    It is a fundamental injustice to allow functionaries to label a group as "terrorist" without putting the group on trial and convicting it of that crime.

  • 13 December 2013 ( The Volcker rule )

    The Volcker rule is so complex, and has many exceptions ; it might not do its job very well.

  • 13 December 2013 ( Imprisoned for having a pro-Morsi symbol )

    An Egyptian teenager has been imprisoned for having a pro-Morsi symbol on a ruler and notebooks in school. Many others have been punished for displaying the banned symbol.

    Even though I disagree very strongly with what the symbol stands for, I am against this censorship.

  • 12 December 2013 ( Urgent: Reject the Scrooge budget deal )

    US citizens: Tell Congress to reject the Scrooge budget deal.

  • 12 December 2013 ( Urgent: Support diplomacy with Iran )

    Citizens of Massachusetts: call on the Massachusetts senators to support diplomacy with Iran.

  • 12 December 2013 ( Australian gov't denies short-term visa for medical treatment )

    The Australian government's malice against foreigners has reached the point of denying a short-term visa for medical treatment .

  • 12 December 2013 ( Australia imprisons boat people in Papua New Guinea )

    Australia imprisons boat people in Papua New Guinea , where homosexuality is illegal, and the prisoners have been told that any homosexual acts will be reported to the local thugs .

  • 12 December 2013 ( AT&T offers discount in exchange for snooping on users )

    AT&T offers a discount on broadband in exchange for snooping on users' browsing .

    Another way to put it is, even a shadow of privacy costs extra.

    I think this demonstrates the fallacy trying to address the problem of surveillance by saying users "own" the personal data that companies want. Companies have so much clout that they can get people to "sell" nearly anything — especially with mass unemployment and falling wages making people desperate.

  • 12 December 2013 ( Cookie used by Google to track users also used by the NSA )

    Google uses a third-party cookie to track users from one site to another. The NSA looks at the same cookie to do the same job.

    It's wrong for the NSA to track people in general, and wrong for Google to do it. We need to change browsers so they do not cooperate with this. GNU IceCat blocks most third-party material in web pages.

    As for the cooperation that the NSA gets from portable phone apps, you should accept nothing less from proprietary software.

  • 12 December 2013 ( Thug threatens to kill dogs when lawyer demands warrant )

    When lawyer Eric Crinnian told thugs they couldn't search his home without a warrant, a thug threatened to exercise the warrant at night, breaking down his door and kill his dogs , gratuitously.

    That shows thugs ' attitude towards our rights. If these threats by thugs are not illegal, we need to make them illegal.

    Furthermore, the thugs should be required to carry audio recorders at all times when on duty. If when accused they don't present recordings to show the accusation is false, courts should take the citizen's word over the thug 's word.

  • 12 December 2013 ( Students protest against anti-protest violence by UK thugs )

    Students held protests around the UK against anti-protest violence by the thugs .

  • 12 December 2013 ( Earths awesome rate of CO2 emission )

    Earth's awesome rate of CO2 emission, and what it means .

  • 12 December 2013 ( Pollution from coal kills 250,000 in China per year )

    Pollution from coal burnt in China kills 250,000 people each year .

  • 12 December 2013 ( Fraudulent food an organized crime practice in the UK )

    Fraudulent food is a widespread organized crime practice in the UK.

    I attribute it to the deregulation that makes it easy to change the supply chain frequently.

  • 12 December 2013 ( Shareholders sue Aetna )

    Aetna shareholders have sued the company for misleading them about its political spending .

  • 12 December 2013 ( Apple censoring all bitcoin apps for iThings )

    Apple appears to be censoring all bitcoin apps for iThings.

    It should be illegal to make or distribute computers which are platforms for censorship.

  • 12 December 2013 ( UK thugs systematically cancel domain names )

    The UK thugs systematically cancel domain names without trial by quietly intimidating domain name registrars .

    They do this in the name of the bogus concept of "intellectual property", propaganda that conveys a misunderstanding of the various unrelated laws it is applied to.

  • 12 December 2013 ( Israeli thugs attacked protesters )

    Israeli thugs attacked protesters against the plan to kick the Bedouin of the Negev out of their homes and force them into villages where they have no livelihood. The thugs attacked even children with violence.

  • 12 December 2013 ( China considering a ban on smoking anywhere in public )

    China is considering a ban on smoking anywhere in public.

    I am strongly in favor of discouraging smoking, but I don't see a justification for going so far.

  • 12 December 2013 ( Focusing on whether a few women have an equal chance to be executives )

    Focusing on whether a few women have an equal chance to be executives and board members is a distraction from how most women (and men) are treated by society.

  • 12 December 2013 ( Doctor that helped the US find Osama bin Laden )

    The Pakistani doctor that helped the US find Osama bin Laden faces repeated bogus accusations , and his defense lawyer has been driven into exile by death threats.

    To use a vaccination program as a front for a manhunt was extremely harmful because it fed suspicion of vaccination programs. This has impeded the eradication of polio.

    However, that doesn't make these bogus charges valid.

  • 12 December 2013 ( Islamist fanatics seized supplies )

    Islamist fanatics in Syria seized supplies that the US had provided to non-Islamist rebels.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

  • 12 December 2013 ( Is it lawful for the USPS to record the outside of all envelopes? )

    Is it lawful for the USPS to record the outside of all envelopes?

  • 12 December 2013 ( Global heating will affect bats' ability to echo-locate )

    Global heating of even a few degrees will affect bats' ability to echo-locate.

    In the long term, many thousands of years, bats could evolve to cope with this. But the heating we are causing today is too fast for evolution to adapt to.

  • 12 December 2013 ( Ice loss on West Antarctica )

    Ice loss on West Antarctica is causing Antarctica, the continent, to shift.

  • 12 December 2013 ( An alpine glacier warming and melting rapidly )

    An alpine glacier that was stable for thousands of years is warming up and melting rapidly.

  • 12 December 2013 ( Repeatedly watching TV coverage of a bombing )

    Repeatedly watching TV coverage of a bombing can cause more stress than witnessing the bombing.

    I know someone in California who was so traumatized by watching coverage of the Sep 2001 attacks as to become afraid to go outside.

    That morning I made an intentional decision not to watch the coverage. It would have been both boring and anxiety-producing; all in all, I preferred to work on an article talking about the danger of sacrificing our freedom for "security".

  • 12 December 2013 ( Saudi Arabia has expelled a million foreign workers )

    Saudi Arabia has expelled a million foreign workers , treating them horribly.

    To tighten rules for allowing foreign workers, and expel some, is not in itself wrong. To kill them, or even to physically abuse them, is not excused by the decision to expel them. Denying them the chance to sell their property is also wrong.

  • 12 December 2013 ( Thugs attacked protesters in Ukraine )

    Thugs attacked protesters in Ukraine.

    The proposed deal with the EU might have traps in it. However, being dominated by Russia is very bad, and rejecting that does not require submission to the EU's temptation.

  • 12 December 2013 ( Uruguay has legalized regulated sale of marijuana )

    Uruguay has legalized regulated sale of marijuana , but the people may not support it.

    Marijuana is not addictive like tobacco and alcohol; ceasing use of marijuana does not cause withdrawal symptoms.

  • 12 December 2013 ( Homosexuality is once again a crime in India )

    Homosexuality is once again a crime in India.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

  • 11 December 2013 ( Biometric data collection )

    In the UK, children have the right to opt out of biometric data collection.

  • 11 December 2013 ( British man being prosecuted for sex with teenager )

    A British man is being prosecuted for having sex with a teenager who said she was having voluntary sex with him and asked please don't prosecute him.

    His defense, as reported here, would be vile if anyone were likely to believe it. Since no one could take it seriously, I can't condemn him for saying it, but I don't see what the point is.

    Overall, this is another example of "protecting" "children" in a way that does nothing but harm to everyone involved. They will probably say that he "raped" her.

  • 11 December 2013 ( Brazil's President Kubitschek was murdered )

    Brazil's President Kubitschek was murdered by the military dictatorship which pretended he had been killed in a car crash.

  • 11 December 2013 ( UK thugs persistently infiltrated and snooped on anti-apartheid campaigners )

    UK thugs persistently infiltrated and snooped on anti-apartheid campaigners.

  • 11 December 2013 ( Geithner is now a bankster )

    Former treasury secretary Geithner is now a bankster.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

    Previously he was the "banksters' man in Washington."

  • 11 December 2013 ( Australian gov't trying to intimidate public broadcasting organization )

    The Australian government is trying to intimidate the Australian public broadcasting organization ABC so it won't publish news such as that Australia was spying on Indonesia .

    The accusation of "cannibalizing local media" might be true, but if so, the solution is not what the right-wing government would want to do.

  • 11 December 2013 ( FBI has launched prosecutions of prison guards in LA )

    The FBI has launched prosecutions of prison guards in LA.

    I am glad to see the statement that they will prosecute even though these abuses have become institutional. If only they adopted the same policy towards banksters .

  • 11 December 2013 ( Urgent: Universal health care bill )

    US citizens: urge Senator Rockefeller to co-sponsor Senator Sanders' universal health care bill.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

  • 11 December 2013 ( Urgent: Renew credits for renewable energy )

    US citizens: call on your senators to renew credits for renewable energy.

    You might as well call on them at the same time to cut subsidies for fossil fuels and nuclear energy.

  • 11 December 2013 ( Obama pardons )

    Obama pardons turkeys but hardly ever pardons human beings.

  • 11 December 2013 ( "Corporate social responsibility" )

    "Corporate social responsibility" practices can psychologically influence executives to adopt antisocial policies feeling that they already did their good deed for the year .

    One study is not enough to prove this is true, but if it is, it suggests that we need to tax companies more to pay for social needs rather than inviting companies to make donations.

  • 11 December 2013 ( Chinese agents kidnapped human rights activist )

    Chinese agents kidnapped human rights activist Wang Bingzhang from Vietnam, and imprisoned him for life after a secret trial. He has been in solitary confinement for a decade.

    This is what the US calls "rendition".

  • 11 December 2013 ( "Away from the center" according to Washington Post )

    The Washington Post warns that Senator Warren might pull the Democratic Party " away from the center " by championing progressive policies.

    This is despite the fact that Americans generally agree with them .

    This "center" is only a "center" in the sense of being located in between the two mainstream right-wing parties. It's used to suppress what most Americans want.

  • 11 December 2013 ( Urgent: Call on Suffolk University to reject funding from Koch brothers )

    In the US: call on Suffolk University to reject politicized funding from the Koch brothers.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

  • 11 December 2013 ( Urgent: Oppose any new sanctions on Iran )

    US citizens: phone your congresscritter and say you oppose any new sanctions on Iran now — give diplomacy a chance!

    Then report your call .

    The Capitol Switchboard numbers are 202-224-3121, 888-818-6641 and 888-355-3588.

  • 11 December 2013 ( Euro crisis used as excuse to wipe out workers' rights )

    European governments have used the euro crisis as an excuse to wipe out workers' rights and adopt US-style precarity.

    It adds up to a campaign that attacks workers' rights in one country at a time .

  • 11 December 2013 ( Australia likely to need twice as many firefighters by 2030 )

    Australia is likely to need twice as many firefighters by 2030 due to effects of global heating .

  • 11 December 2013 ( US "zero tolerance" )

    US "zero tolerance" reaches new heights of insanity: a child is threatened with expulsion from school for miming the shooting of an imaginary arrow with an imaginary bow .

  • 11 December 2013 ( NSA snoops on users of online games )

    The NSA snoops on chats between users of online games.

  • 11 December 2013 ( How schools teach gender stereotypes )

    How schools teach gender stereotypes .

  • 11 December 2013 ( How unemployment benefits create jobs )

    How unemployment benefits create jobs.

  • 11 December 2013 ( The Volcker rule )

    Finally the US will adopt the Volcker rule to restrict banks' speculation.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

    I am worried that the complexity of the rule will make it hard to enforce. We will see.

    As for the possibility that this will reduce banks' speculation, I hope so. Too large a fraction of the US GNP goes to banks.

  • 11 December 2013 ( Who will put the bell on the cat? )

    Who will put the bell on the cat? You!

  • 11 December 2013 ( Canada wants to claim seabed at north pole )

    Canada wants to claim the seabed at the north pole for the fossil fuels there .

    Oil and natural gas from the north pole have no value because they will never be used. To extract even 30% of the known reserves will lead to global heating disaster. Before civilization gets to the point of extracting the expensive fossil fuels from the north pole, it will collapse.

    However, Canada and companies can pretend these fuel reserves have value, thus adding to the carbon bubble.

  • 11 December 2013 ( Movement Rises to Kick 'Corporate Reform' Out of Public Schools )

    Movement Rises to Kick 'Corporate Reform' Out of Public Schools.

  • 09 December 2013 ( AIG gets bail-out while Detroit and Chicago workers get pension cuts )

    Why does bankrupt AIG get a bail-out while bankrupt Detroit and Chicago workers get pension cuts ?

  • 09 December 2013 ( Thai gov't calls new elections )

    The Thai government called new elections to cater to protesters' demands .
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

  • 09 December 2013 ( Edward Snowden wins Guardian's person of the year election )

    Edward Snowden won the Guardian's person of the year election .

    When I talk about surveillance in my speeches, I call for "three cheers for Edward Snowden." You might think this is superfluous because everyone knows that he deserves our admiration. Not so! US politicians (especially those that support massive surveillance) continue trying to demonize Snowden. We have to defeat them, and the way to do it is by showing our views.

  • 09 December 2013 ( The Over-Policing of America and Criminalizing Everyday Life )

    The Over-Policing of America and Criminalizing Everyday Life .

  • 09 December 2013 ( Urgent: Transparency about gov't surveillance from Verizon and AT&T )

    In the US: call on Verizon and AT&T to support transparency about government surveillance.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

  • 09 December 2013 ( Urgent: Support diplomacy with Iran )

    US citizens: Tell Congress to support diplomacy with Iran, not to sabotage it.

  • 09 December 2013 ( Senator Warren proposes ways to increase Social Security )

    Senator Warren rejected the idea of formulating the issue of Social Security in terms of how much to cut, and proposed ways to fund increasing it .

    Cutting social security is a right-wing idea that most Americans reject. Please don't grant it a sort of legitimacy by calling it the "center". It is only "central" between the two right-wing major parties.

  • 09 December 2013 ( The boycott of Israeli academic institutions )

    The American Studies Association voted to join the boycott of Israeli academic institutions.

    This follows a debate at a meeting in which over 80% of the speakers (randomly chosen from those who asked to speak) supported the boycott .

    The full membership is now voting on the resolution .

  • 09 December 2013 ( Israel's obsolete "security concerns" )

    Uri Avnery: Kerry is making the mistake of taking Israel's obsolete "security concerns" seriously.

  • 09 December 2013 ( The K Street Perversion of Cost-Benefit Analysis )

    The K Street Perversion of Cost-Benefit Analysis .

  • 09 December 2013 ( Amnesty International to sue UK about phone call snooping )

    Amnesty International will sue the UK about probable phone call snooping .

    The UK government has created excuses to ignore such cases by hearing the evidence secretly .

  • 09 December 2013 ( $8 trillion spent by US Pentagon to guard oil )

    Solar Would Be Cheaper: US Pentagon Has Spent $8 Trillion to Guard Gulf Oil .

    Without the large government subsidies for fossil fuel , solar would be cheaper anyway.

  • 09 December 2013 ( Life is more fun in a society with more equality )

    Life is more fun in a society with more equality .

  • 09 December 2013 ( Japan Reacts to Fukushima Crisis By Banning Journalism )

    Japan Reacts to Fukushima Crisis By Banning Journalism.

  • 09 December 2013 ( Merger between American Airlines and US Airways )

    The US has given up resisting a merger between American Airlines and US Airways , which will mean even less competition.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

  • 09 December 2013 ( European Parliament wants to talk with Snowden by video )

    The European Parliament wants to talk with Snowden by video.

    I am surprised that Snowden is willing to do this. A couple of months ago, he refused to speak remotely with the German Parliament; he insisted on getting a safe-conduct to go there.

  • 09 December 2013 ( Urgent: Take a clear stand against fast track for the TPP )

    US citizens: Phone Nancy Pelosi's office to pressure her to take a clear stand against "fast track" for the TPP.

  • 09 December 2013 ( Radioactive material leaking from Fukushima meltdown will kill people )

    The radioactive material leaking from the Fukushima meltdowns will kill people , including an estimated 800 eventual deaths (not soon) from eating contaminated fish.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

    This is 800 out of the millions who are likely to eat some of that fish.

    800 deaths is a large number to result from a single accident. It is important to try to stop more radioactive material from leaking into the ocean from Fukushima, since that as it continues leaking, it could kill more hundreds.

    On the other hand, the danger to any individual from these leaks is minuscule; there is no point taking any trouble to make sure you never eat even a little of that fish.

  • 09 December 2013 ( Urgent: Ban menthol cigarettes )

    US citizens: call on the FDA to ban menthol cigarettes . Menthol in cigarettes encourages people to start smoking.

  • 09 December 2013 ( Humanity is unprepared for possible abrupt climate impacts )

    Humanity is unprepared for possible abrupt climate impacts.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

  • 08 December 2013 ( Urgent: Oppose getting palm oil from deforestation )

    In the US: call on the Consumer Goods Forum to require its members to stop getting palm oil from deforestation.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

  • 08 December 2013 ( Urgent: Demand a hearing about Keystone XL pipeline )

    US citizens: Phone Senator Warner's office to demand a hearing about the Keystone XL pipeline.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

  • 08 December 2013 ( American Library Association denounces NSA surveillance )

    The American Library Association has denounced NSA surveillance .

    I think libraries should adopt a system that makes it difficult for the library to find out who has borrowed a book unless the book becomes overdue.

  • 08 December 2013 ( Mandela quotes )

    12 Mandela Quotes That Won't Be In the Corporate Media Obituaries .

    I think it is very important for outside observers to monitor elections in most countries, and perhaps the US needs them too.

  • 08 December 2013 ( Violent porn should not be censored )

    We're supposed to be concerned about anonymous web sites because some of them distribute violent porn .

    I don't want to watch violent porn, or violent non-porn, but neither should be censored.

    However, if a business sells videos of real rapes or other real crimes and pays or rewards those who commit the crimes, the business participates in those crimes. That is valid grounds for prosecution.

    I am surprised that the credit card payments can't be used to trace the business that runs the site.

  • 08 December 2013 ( Nelson Mandela's life falsified by mainstream media )

    Mainstream media commemorations of Nelson Mandela's life often falsify him, pretending that he stood for nonviolent resistance .

    Mandela was right: nonviolence is not the only ethical way to resist oppression. Those oppressed with violence are entitled to fight back with violence. Of course, the founding fathers of the United States said the same thing about resistance to British oppression.

    Here Mandela explains the ANC's motives for adopting first sabotage, then guerrilla warfare.

    Chief among them was that the state's crackdown on dissent had closed off the possibility of nonviolent resistance.

  • 08 December 2013 ( Shanghai raises threshold for alerts of bad air quality )

    Shanghai's solution to frequent bad air quality is to >raise the threshold for alerts .

  • 08 December 2013 ( Large leak at uranium mine in Australia )

    A large leak at a uranium mine in Australia has been contained — for now.

  • 08 December 2013 ( Error behind claim that male and female brains are wired differently )

    The error behind claims that male brains and female brains are wired very differently.

  • 08 December 2013 ( Urgent: Extend unemployment insurance )

    US citizens: phone your congresscritter and say, "Don't play Scrooge — extend unemployment insurance." Also sign this petition .
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

    The Capitol Switchboard numbers are 202-224-3121, 888-818-6641 and 888-355-3588.

  • 08 December 2013 ( Urgent: Support cuts to military )

    US citizens: state your support for cuts to the military and the people's budget.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

  • 08 December 2013 ( Urgent: Let Congress decide on whether to keep troops in Afghanistan )

    US citizens: insist that Congress have the chance to approve or reject any agreement to keep troops in Afghanistan.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

  • 08 December 2013 ( The Great Corporate Tax Shift )

    The Great Corporate Tax Shift .
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

  • 08 December 2013 ( Dangerous proposal against net neutrality in EU Parliament )

    La Quadrature du Net: Net Neutrality: EU Parliament Must Amend Kroes' Dangerous Proposal .

  • 08 December 2013 ( UK trying to quietly bury most accusations of killing prisoners )

    A UK soldier has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for killing a prisoner in Afghanistan .

    However, the UK government is trying to quietly bury most accusations of killing prisoners.

  • 08 December 2013 ( Chicken sold in the EU with 30% added water )

    Some chicken sold in the EU has 30% added water .

  • 08 December 2013 ( Barbie dolls )

    Barbie dolls have changed: now all their outfits are hyper-sexy .

  • 08 December 2013 ( Newly passed bill discourages use of patents of questionable validity )

    The House of Representatives passed a bill discouraging the use of patents whose validity is questionable , and some other abusive practices.

    This bill would be a step forward, but it fails to address today's biggest patent aggressors, such as Apple.

    The real solution to the problem of patents in the software field is to take software out of the scope of patents .

  • 08 December 2013 ( Right-wing political "think tanks" )

    How right-wing political "think-tanks" operate, perhaps mislead the IRS, and are tied to ALEC.

  • 08 December 2013 ( Abdulelah Haider Shaye receives Human Rights Defenders award )

    Journalist Abdulelah Haidar Shaye , imprisoned in Yemen on request from Obama himself, was given the Alkarama Human Rights Defenders award.

  • 08 December 2013 ( Mainstream media downplays danger of global heating )

    The mainstream media that supported Dubya 's conquest of Iraq, treating weak evidence as sufficient, now downplays the danger of global heating, treating powerful evidence as dubious .

    I suspect that both show oil money at work.

  • 07 December 2013 ( John F Kennedy Jr. killed by a bomb in his plane? )

    This site alleges that John F Kennedy Jr. was killed by a bomb in his plane, which was followed by a US government coverup effort, and alleges this was done by Israeli secret agents because he was about to publish secrets of their involvement in the assassination of Israeli Premier Rabin.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

    This extraordinary claim requires extraordinary proof, and this article isn't enough. So I am not convinced this claim is true. But I think it is not immediately dismissable. To verify the truth of the facts cited would be a lot of work. I don't have time to do that.

    Thus I have decided to point readers at his report without saying I believe any of it.

  • 07 December 2013 ( Some pro-Morsi protesters were released with suspended sentences )

    Some pro-Morsi protesters were released with suspended sentences, meaning that if they protest again they will automatically be imprisoned.

    The UK uses a similar nasty trick, giving accused protesters bail with conditions banning them from coming anywhere near a protest.

  • 07 December 2013 ( Apple tracking )

    Apple will invite fanboys to let it track them around the Apple Store.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

  • 07 December 2013 ( Geoengineering could lead to war )

    Geoengineering could lead to war between countries that have different needs for how to engineer the Earth's climate.

    Any geoengineering method that aims to affect temperature directly will not do anything to stop ocean acidification due to dissolved CO2. This threatens to destroy all coral reefs, along with all the other species that depend on coral reefs. The result could easily be the loss of most of the sea food that a billion humans depend on.

    In experiments, CO2 affected the behavior of some species of fish too — they ceased to hide from predators. That could wipe them out.

  • 07 December 2013 ( Refuse to surrender to the privatization of the university )

    Suspended student protest leaders in Sussex University say they refuse to surrender to the privatization of the university.

  • 07 December 2013 ( Thugs in London punched student protesters )

    Thugs in London punched student protesters and pushed them to the ground.

    One student leader said he thinks this was a planned tactic intended to preemptively intimidate other students who might potentially join protests. Instead it inspired a "cops off campus" protest.

  • 07 December 2013 ( Facebook is a tax dodger )

    Facebook is a tax dodger.

    Of course, it's not the only one, but that is no excuse.

  • 07 December 2013 ( A Move Towards Generalized Internet Surveillance in France? )

    A Move Towards Generalized Internet Surveillance in France?

    Many states are launching preemptive attacks to abolish privacy rights before people get motivated to defend them.

  • 07 December 2013 ( Wikileaks activist warned not to go home )

    Wikileaks activist Sarah Harrison has been warned not to go home to the UK because its laws can label any sort of protest as "terrorism".

  • 07 December 2013 ( ALEC says it is in favor of "local control" )

    ALEC says it is in favor of "local control", but many of its proposed state laws are designed to prohibit local regulation of business , even prohibit local municipal broadband.

  • 07 December 2013 ( Urgent: Support bills to reduce harsh minimum sentences )

    US citizens: call on your senators to support bills to reduce harsh minimum sentences for nonviolent drug crimes , including for those already in prison.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

  • 07 December 2013 ( Urgent: Present success stories of Obama's health care law )

    US citizens: call on CBS to present the success stories of Obama's health care law.

  • 07 December 2013 ( Social movements criticize the WTO agreement )

    Social movements criticize the WTO agreement.

  • 07 December 2013 ( Cuts in health care are subjecting old people in UK to pain and danger )

    Conservatives' cuts in health care are subjecting old people in the UK to pain and danger by delaying needed operations.

  • 07 December 2013 ( Pakistani anti-drone protesters blocked US supplies to Afghanistan )

    Pakistani anti-drone protesters have blocked US supplies to Afghanistan for 10 days. They say they will continue until the US stops the drone attacks.

    As weapons of war, drones are not very different from bombers with human crews. Drones raise a special issue when they are used away from battlefields, in countries where the US says it is not fighting — Pakistan, for instance. In these cases, they more resemble death squads or terror campaigns than a war.

  • 07 December 2013 ( Senator Warren call for big banks to disclose contributions to "think tanks" )

    Senator Warren called for the big banks to disclose their contributions to "think tanks" (which in many cases are really right-wing pressure groups ).

    Suffolk University denounced a right-wing think tank that it hosts for a politically-minded campaign to undermine regional greenhouse gas reduction initiative.

  • 07 December 2013 ( Network of right-wing "think tanks" )

    A network of right-wing "think tanks" campaign for right-wing laws in many US states.

  • 07 December 2013 ( Urgent: Cut the military budget )

    US citizens: phone your senators and urge them to cut the military budget. Also sign this petition.

    The Capitol Switchboard numbers are 202-224-3121, 888-818-6641 and 888-355-3588.

  • 07 December 2013 ( Urgent: Call on Senator Warren to endorse deal with Iran )

    Citizens of Massachusetts: call on Senator Warren to endorse the deal with Iran.

  • 07 December 2013 ( Another apology that deserves an apology )

    Another apology that deserves an apology: Martin Bashir's apology for what he said about Sarah Palin.

    Bashir said that if anyone deserved the punishments that slaves received, it would be Ms Palin. The use of "deserved" indicates a counterfactual: Bashir explicitly avoided saying that she, or anyone, deserves those punishments. He was criticized wrongly for a palinode that was entirely justified.

  • 07 December 2013 ( Urgent: Oppose bill to increase NSA massive surveillance )

    US citizens: call on your senators to oppose Senator Feinstein's bill to increase NSA massive surveillance.

  • 07 December 2013 ( Urgent: Call on mining company not to sue Costa Rica in World Bank )

    Everyone: call on a mining company not to sue Costa Rica in the World Bank.

  • 07 December 2013 ( Urgent: Stop funding ALEC )

    US citizens: call on all companies to stop funding ALEC.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

  • 06 December 2013 ( US gov't lies in court about use of no-fly list to block witness )

    Rahinah Ibrahim's daughter, who is a US citizen, was supposed to go to the US and testify as a witness in Ms Ibrahim's lawsuit. The US government blocked her return by putting her on the no-fly list, then lied about it in court .

    This article says that the list Rahinah is suing to be removed from is the no-fly list.

    The government's lawyers are claiming that the government can exclude "secret" information from the case even if it has been published. We've seen this contempt for reality in the Obama regime's attitude towards secrets revealed by Wikileaks and Snowden.

    Over and over we see that US government agents are willing to lie to achieve their missions. Some lie to Congress, while others lie in court. These lawyers should be disbarred, just as Clapper should be jailed for contempt of Congress.

  • 06 December 2013 ( Thanksgiving at Toys-R-Us )

    Toys-R-Us tried to replace the idea of Thanksgiving with the idea of "I want more".

  • 06 December 2013 ( World Cup provides excuse to evict 19,000 poor families )

    The World Cup has provided an excuse to evict 19,000 poor families in Rio de Janeiro and move them up to 25 miles away.

  • 06 December 2013 ( Bloggers arrested in Iran )

    Five bloggers have been arrested in Iran for publishing criticism of the theocratic tyranny.

  • 06 December 2013 ( Brazil will attack protesters' legal rights )

    Brazil will attack protesters' legal rights on behalf of the World Cup.

  • 06 December 2013 ( Urgent: Call on Google, Facebook and Yelp not to fund ALEC )

    Everyone: Sign this petition calling on Google, Facebook and Yelp not to fund ALEC.

  • 06 December 2013 ( Isa Muaza won a new court heating )

    Isa Muaza, who has been on hunger strike more than 100 days, won a new court hearing about whether he can stay in the UK .

  • 06 December 2013 ( Solitary confinement for advocating proper medical care )

    Prisoner Carol Lester was put in solitary confinement for advocating proper medical care for other prisoners.

    The privatized prison can't make a profit without squeezing someone, so it has a reason to isolate those who complain about the squeezing. But non-privatized prisons use solitary confinement eagerly too.

  • 05 December 2013 ( GMO corn and cancer )

    After the journal Food and Chemical Toxicology published a paper reporting that GMO corn caused cancer in rats, it hired a new editor who used to work for Monsanto, and he retracted the paper.

    The article links to change.org, which is unfortunate since you can't sign an article there except by running a nonfree program. The same with links to Vimeo.

  • 05 December 2013 ( Egyptian military repression )

    The Egyptian military government has shown clearly that repression isn't just for Islamists.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

    The proposed new constitution allows various sorts of repression.

  • 05 December 2013 ( Sussex University sparked strong student resistance )

    Sussex University sparked strong student resistance by suspending 5 students , including some who participated in an occupation protest, and at least one who didn't participate.

    Note the standard bullshit statement from the university administration saying that it has to do this to protect "students, staff and visitors" from disruption or (in their imagination only) worse.

    This is part of a broader pattern of students' campaigning for decent treatment of workers, and increased repression by the state which advocates bad treatment of workers.

  • 05 December 2013 ( Biggest threat to Israel's security )

    The former head of Israel's secret service said that the biggest threat to Israel's security is its refusal to make peace with Palestine.

  • 05 December 2013 ( Marijuana Legalization Plan )

    Uruguayan President Asks for World to Support His Marijuana Legalization Plan.

    States should withdraw from that 1961 UN treaty.

  • 05 December 2013 ( Methods that will enable blocking anything in the future )

    The methods now being developed to obstruct access to "child" pornography will enable blocking anything in the future , such as perhaps the revelations of the next Snowden.

  • 05 December 2013 ( Urgent: Call on Obama to support reform of the ECPA )

    US citizens: sign this petition calling on Obama to support reform of the ECPA to require the government to get a warrant to examine people's email.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

    This is a fairly small change: under current law, the warrant is needed for recent emails (those that arrived in the last 6 months), but not needed for emails that have remained for longer.

  • 05 December 2013 ( Urgent: Stop the wave of TV station mergers )

    US citizens: call on the FCC to block the wave of TV station mergers.

  • 05 December 2013 ( Urgent: Publish names of Third Way's financial sponsors )

    Everyone with a relation to the US: tell Third Way to publish the names of its financial sponsors, so we know the origin of its "advice" to Democrats not to be real Democrats like Elizabeth Warren.

  • 05 December 2013 ( Urgent: Tell companies not to join ALEC again )

    Everyone: tell companies that quit ALEC not to join it again , not even under a different name .

  • 05 December 2013 ( Scandals revealed by ALEC leak )

    Scandals revealed by the ALEC leak :

  • 05 December 2013 ( NSA collects 5 billion cell phone locations per day )

    The NSA collects 5 billion cell phone locations per day , from hundreds of millions of phones.

    The NSA uses this to determine when people meet each other physically. Thus, if you are going to a meeting, take the batteries out of your phone well before you get to it, as a courtesy to those you will meet with.

    Here are some significant conclusions .

    We did not know that the NSA was tracking phones world-wide, but we have known all along that they were being tracked by phone companies, and the governments that control them, and often by Apple and Google too. That's already unacceptable.

    I have never "connected to our modern communication system" because I refused to be tracked. I have refused for 15 years now. This does not require me to "live in a cave". In my travels, if I need to make a call in a train or on the street, I ask whoever is there to call for me.

  • 05 December 2013 ( Why We Need A State - FIX )

    A horrible typo was fixed in Why We Need a State . It incorrectly said "the many non-poor" when it should have said "the many non-rich".

  • 05 December 2013 ( Ads tuned based on people's emotional state )

    The next "advance" in exploiting people through their computers: ads tuned based on people's emotional state .

    These ads are typically shown by software and services that are malicious in other ways — for example, a game server that monitors you might also show ads based on figuring out when you are vulnerable, or a car might monitor your emotional state using proprietary software you can't change.

  • 05 December 2013 ( Attempts to justify cultural practices with evolutionary stories )

    Be skeptical of attempts to invent evolutionary stories to justify cultural practices such as sexism.

    It is very difficult to tell whether a widespread human behavior pattern is genetically determined or not.

  • 05 December 2013 ( How the UK can win independence from the banksters )

    The UK could win independence from the banksters simply by exiting the EU .

    Then it would be able to tax businesses including Amazon that extract money from the UK.

  • 05 December 2013 ( Gas companies sue cities that have imposed bans on fracking )

    Gas companies are suing cities that have imposed bans on fracking.

    We need a national ban on fracking. Most known fossil fuel reserves need to be left in the ground, and the first to be left are those whose extraction might poison water supplies.

    Riot thugs attacked anti-fracking protesters in Romania so that Chevron could start fracking , and kept journalists away so they could hide their dirty work.

  • 05 December 2013 ( Devastation of large animals in the Sahara )

    Large animals in the Sahara has been devastated — many are extinct or remain in only a small part of their former range.

  • 05 December 2013 ( Commercial advertising in Philadelphia schools )

    Philadelphia should reject commercial advertising in schools .
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

  • 05 December 2013 ( EU monitors wanted to report election rigging in Honduras )

    A whistleblower in the EU team of election monitors in Honduras says most of the team wanted to report the election was rigged, but the team leaders insisted on approving it .

  • 05 December 2013 ( Detroit allowed to declare bankruptcy )

    Detroit has been allowed to declare bankruptcy . This is likely to mean drastic pension cuts for present and former city workers.

  • 05 December 2013 ( Former Stanford student sues to get taken off "terrorist watch list" )

    Rahinah Ibrahim, formerly a student at Stanford, is suing to get taken off a US "terrorist watch list" , or at least find out if she is really on it.

    I can't tell whether the list in question is the "no-fly" list or some other list. Does anyone know?

  • 05 December 2013 ( Surveillance in subways and City Colleges of Chicago )

    Chicago's subways make it very expensive not to be spied on, and the City Colleges of Chicago demand biometric ID from the staff .

    I would be willing to use a biometric system to get my pay, if it tested some part of my body other than my finger tips.

  • 05 December 2013 ( Traceability requirements for meat in Europe )

    The French government says that the EU, supported by the UK, are blocking stricter traceability requirements for meat.

  • 05 December 2013 ( Ethical questions for custodians of the natural world )

    Ethical questions for custodians of the natural world.

    I don't think that animals in general have a right to life — not even whales. I don't think, for instance, that we have a duty to stop orcas (one type of whale) from killing other whales as we would protect humans from being killed. I don't think we have a duty to stop chimps from killing other chimps.

    But it is important to prevent the loss of species and ecosystems, because that is an irrecoverable loss.

  • 04 December 2013 ( Urgent: Oppose the TPP )

    Everyone: sign this petition opposing the TPP .

  • 04 December 2013 ( Urgent: End the sequester )

    US citizens: phone your congresscritter to end the sequester which is killing more jobs every year.

    The Capitol Switchboard numbers are 202-224-3121, 888-818-6641 and 888-355-3588.

  • 04 December 2013 ( Urgent: Require public companies to disclose political spending )

    US citizens: Once again, tell the SEC to move forward with requiring public companies to disclose political spending.

    The SEC said it would do this, then quietly dropped it.

  • 04 December 2013 ( Noam Chomsky: America Hates Its Poor )

    Noam Chomsky: America Hates Its Poor .

    He explains how the "tea party" idea that "We want the government off our backs" is used to distract working-class Americans from organizing for Liberal (social-democratic) that they favor when asked.

  • 04 December 2013 ( Law to impose nasty copyright punishments in Canada )

    Canada's legislature is quietly pushing a law to impose nasty copyright punishments.

    Please don't follow this article by using the term " intellectual property " to formulate your thoughts or your words.

  • 04 December 2013 ( NSA gives staff "talking points" that praise the NSA )

    The NSA gave its staff "talking points" to tell their families, praising the NSA and its massive surveillance. This article refutes them.

  • 04 December 2013 ( FCC chairman advocates selling privileges to certain web sites )

    The new chairman of the FCC in his first speech endorsed network neutrality as a principle, then advocated selling privileges to certain web sites , although that directly conflicts with network neutrality.

  • 04 December 2013 ( Australian gov't stops giving visas to asylum seekers )

    The government of Australia wants to give refugees arriving by boat temporary visas instead of permanent visas, but since the opposition blocked the law to make this change, the government has decided arbitrarily not to give visas to asylum seekers at all .

    In effect, it is holding recognized refugees hostage to ram through that law.

  • 04 December 2013 ( Japanese politician equates protesters' shouts to terrorism )

    An important Japanese politician, defending the proposed anti-whistleblower law , said protesters' shouts were in essence much like terrorism.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

  • 04 December 2013 ( Scientists expect greater sea level rise than IPCC predicts )

    A survey of climate scientists suggests most expect sea level rise to be more than the IPCC predicted .

    How much sea level rises will depend on unknown aspects of global heating but also on how much greenhouse gas we emit.

  • 04 December 2013 ( Obama regime is "most hostile" to journalists in US history )

    Former CNN correspondent Bob Franken says that the Obama regime is the "most hostile" to journalists in US history.

  • 04 December 2013 ( Prohibition of "child pornography" )

    Prohibition of "child pornography" led to charges against journalists that published a video of two students having sex in a classroom alongside an article

    I wish I knew who made the video, who distributed it, and whether the students in it approved of doing so. Depending on those facts, someone might have done something wrong here, but probably not the news site.

  • 04 December 2013 ( 2C of global heating )

    A study projects that 2C of global heating in the short term would lead to considerably more later.

    Thus, it is not an adequate target for curbing short-term heating — and yet it is almost unattainable.

  • 04 December 2013 ( Full-Time video surveillance of a home for a long period of time )

    The EFF argues in court that full-time video surveillance of a home for a long period of time should require a warrant.

  • 04 December 2013 ( Israel's plan to imprison asylum seekers )

    Amnesty International criticizes Israel's plan to imprison asylum seekers.

  • 04 December 2013 ( Catholic hospitals in the US endanger women's' lives )

    Catholic hospitals in the US endanger women's' lives rather than abort pregnancies.

    Even more absurdly (I won't say "worse", since it isn't actually worse), they do this if the fetus is doomed anyway.

    Hospitals should be required to provide all services including abortion, and if the Catholic Church doesn't like that, it should sell the hospitals.

  • 04 December 2013 ( Leader of protesters in Thailand )

    The leader of protesters in Thailand demanded that six TV channels cease broadcasting government statements and broadcast only his side.

    This suggests that these "protesters" think they have a lot of power behind them. This is not a popular protest movement even if it looks like one.

  • 04 December 2013 ( Tortured by US agents while held in a secret prison )

    The European Court of Human Rights is considering the case of two prisoners in Guantanamo who accuse they were tortured in Poland by US agents while held in a secret prison.

    The US does not allow these prisoners to testify. It should try them or release them. Maybe they are guilty of crimes, but so is the US in torturing them.

  • 04 December 2013 ( French team says Arafat was not poisoned )

    A French team says Arafat was not poisoned , disagreeing with the Swiss team that found radioactive Polonium that implied he was murdered.

    This disagreement begs for further investigation to discover the reason for it.

  • 04 December 2013 ( Netanyahu pretends Israel is going to attack Iran )

    Netanyahu pretends Israel is going to attack Iran, so as to keep his supporters in the US Congress activated to sabotage the US-Iran nuclear treaty.

  • 04 December 2013 ( Israeli troops attacked foreign journalists )

    Israeli troops attacked foreign journalists , shooting at their heads with rubber-coated steel bullets, and shooting them in the back.

    This is not the first time Israeli soldiers have shot to kill and then denied it.

  • 04 December 2013 ( Families have trouble getting fuel for cooking, and water )

    In Gaza, families have trouble getting fuel for cooking, and water.

  • 04 December 2013 ( Israeli forces used bulldozers to destroy wells in Palestine )

    Israeli forces used bulldozers to destroy wells in Palestine. They also bulldozed tents that Palestinians lived in.

    This is part of a long-term campaign of ethnic cleansing to evict Palestinians from a large slice of Palestine near the border with Jordan.

  • 04 December 2013 ( Alec lost 40 corporate sponsors after the killing of Trayvon Martin )

    Alec lost 40 corporate sponsors after the killing of Trayvon Martin, but it is furiously planning how to get them back into a new organization with a different name.

    One sponsor it has not lost yet is Google. Please sign the petition calling on Google to stop supporting Alec.

  • 04 December 2013 ( Australia arrested former official who was going to be a witness at the Hague )

    Australia arrested a former official who was going to be a witness at the Hague , and raided his lawyer's office for legal documents.

    The case concerns Australian spying during negotiations with East Timor for a treaty over fossil fuels. The witness was going to prove that Australia bugged the Timorese negotiating team. Apparently the current Australian government is so subservient to fossil fuel interests that it will trash traditional civil liberties for them.

    The court should regard the witness's claims as proven conclusively by his arrest. That will serve the cause of justice in this case. Repairing the damage to civil liberties in Australia will take rather more.

  • 04 December 2013 ( Mark Duggan was surrendering when a thug shot him )

    A witness says Mark Duggan was surrendering, with his hands up and a phone in his hand, when a thug shot him.

  • 04 December 2013 ( Google funds many right-wing campaigns in the US )

    Google funds many right-wing campaigns in the US , including ALEC and tea party nut Senator Cruz, and "tax reform" that would tax the rich less.

  • 03 December 2013 ( Failure of the Warsaw climate negotiations )

    Intense business lobbying — for false solutions or just against real ones — helped make the Warsaw climate negotiations a failure.

    It's too bad the report uses the nebulous term " intellectual property ". I suppose the companies reported on used that term, because the confusion it spreads serves their purposes; those who oppose them would do well to pull that veil aside.

  • 03 December 2013 ( Cuts in food stamps put families in trouble )

    With cuts in food stamps, many families are in trouble if children are dismissed from school before lunch .

  • 03 December 2013 ( What 4C of global heating will mean for Australia )

    A book spells out what 4C of global heating will mean for Australia — what it is going to experience if it does not join in cutting emissions.

  • 03 December 2013 ( Mood sweater )

    A new sweater changes color depending on the wearer's feelings.

    Imagine wearing this sweater while playing poker.

    Now imagine hacking one to show whatever color you tell it color to show, and wearing it while playing poker.

  • 03 December 2013 ( Denmark offers child care to all young children )

    Denmark offers child care to all young children, and it isn't overprotective .

    American children used to organize their own play, too. They didn't need help from adults.

  • 03 December 2013 ( Caste Hindus attack Dalits with impunity )

    Repeatedly , caste Hindus that attack Dalits in Bihar, India, are given impunity.

  • 03 December 2013 ( Measuring success by material things )

    A study reports people who measure success by material things fall into a " loneliness loop " and then have trouble coping with reverses.

  • 03 December 2013 ( Urgent: Tax benefit for renewable energy projects )

    US citizens: support the bill to allow renewable energy projects a sort of tax benefit available to fossil fuel projects.

    For more info .

    We should withdraw this form of public assistance for fossil fuel projects, because they must be discouraged.

  • 03 December 2013 ( Aging US nuclear plants kept open by reducing safety standards )

    As US nuclear plants age, and various parts rust or become brittle, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission keeps the plants open by reducing safety standards over and over .

  • 03 December 2013 ( US pressure for Japan to continue using nuclear plants )

    Nikkei Shimbun reported that US pressure for Japan to continue using nuclear power plants came from Obama himself .

    I don't think we need to worry about occasionally eating seafood caught near Fukushima. The level of radioactive material in it is small compared with the radiation we are normally exposed to.

  • 03 December 2013 ( US gov't persistently treats journalists as terrorists )

    The US government has a persistent habit of treating journalists as terrorists , and refused to promise not to prosecute journalist for publishing interviews with terrorists.

  • 03 December 2013 ( Legislative proposals being considered by ALEC )

    ALEC is considering proposals to attack the rights of workers, patients, customers and students , vis-a-vis employers and businesses.

  • 03 December 2013 ( Small pieces of plastic harming sea life )

    Small pieces of plastic in the ocean are harming worms that are food for many other species .

    Pieces 5mm in size shouldn't be called "microplastics". Perhaps some pieces are small enough to deserve that name.

    Once the worms have a low level of toxins, the animals that eat the worms will accumulate higher levels, and the animals that eat those will get even higher levels. The same thing happens with mercury, which is why tuna have so much mercury that they are dangerous for humans to eat.

  • 03 December 2013 ( Australia's digital spying agency )

    Australia's digital spying agency offered to share raw, complete data about Australians with the US . This practice may have been directly illegal.

    The agency discussed including medical and legal information too; whether it went ahead and did so is not stated.

  • 03 December 2013 ( Bashar al-Assad is tied directly to war crimes )

    UN investigators say Bashar al-Assad is tied directly to war crimes.

    I hope there is an investigation of what led to the armed uprising which supplanted the initial nonviolent protest movement. Was it funded by Saudi Arabia?

  • 03 December 2013 ( How massive surveillance affects us all )

    How massive surveillance affects us all.

  • 03 December 2013 ( The Corporate Bully )

    The Corporate Bully Whose Front Groups, Willful Distortions and Hate-Mongering Has Poisoned U.S. Politics.

  • 03 December 2013 ( Most Americans today consider other people untrustworthy )

    Most Americans today consider other people untrustworthy. This has major effects.

    Americans' purchases of gifts for their kids are part of over-consumption that endangers the world they will live in.

  • 03 December 2013 ( 10-year moratorium on fracking )

    Massachusetts is considering a 10-year moratorium on fracking.

    A permanent ban would be safer.

  • 03 December 2013 ( Writer barred from US because she had been hospitalized for depression )

    A Canadian writer was barred from the US because she had been hospitalized for depression . She wonders how the US found out about this — whether the Canadian government illegally gave her records to the US.

    It is absurd for the US to bar people for depression. It is not communicable.

  • 02 December 2013 ( Removing DRM boosts sales of copies of music )

    Research confirms that removing DRM boosts sales of copies of music , except for the biggest sellers, which are not affected at all.

    Please don't call sharing "piracy"; it is propaganda for our enemies. A US judge, presiding over a trial for copyright infringement, recognized that "piracy" and "theft" are smear-words .

  • 02 December 2013 ( Programs that recognize facial expression )

    A new threat to your privacy: programs to recognize facial expression .

    If the program that recognizes expressions does not record the video, that doesn't make it ok. Indeed, another program might run at the same time to do that.

  • 02 December 2013 ( Leading scientists call for protection of forests and climate )

    41 Leading Scientists Call on EPA to Protect Our Forests And Climate .
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

  • 02 December 2013 ( Population of migrating monarch butterflies plummets )

    The population of migrating monarch butterflies has plummeted from 60 million last year (already a record low) to a few million .

    This is because US agriculture has dropped conservation as a priority and switched to new pesticides.

  • 02 December 2013 ( US to sell more advanced weapons to Saudi Arabia )

    The US plans to sell more advanced weapons to Saudi Arabia while Saudi Arabia arms Islamist fanatics in Syria .

    Saudi Arabia also organized the repression in Bahrain .

  • 02 December 2013 ( Christian extremism correlates with global heating denialism )

    Christian extremism correlates with global heating denialism .

  • 02 December 2013 ( Certain pesticides affect multiple generations of progeny of rats )

    Exposing rats to certain pesticides can cause damage to their descendants 3 generations later .
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

  • 02 December 2013 ( Glossary for NSA massive surveillance )

    A glossary for NSA massive surveillance.

  • 02 December 2013 ( Canada approves producing GMO salmon eggs in quantity )

    Canada approved producing GMO salmon eggs in quantity .

    I don't think it is likely these salmon would hurt people that eat them. Their danger is to wild salmon .

    Maybe these are safe for the environment if raised in Panama. But fish eggs and young fish can drift a long way in the ocean. They would be much safer if they were engineered to be sterile. When there's a small chance of a big and irreparable harm, we need multiple lines of defense, each of which ought to be sufficient by itself.

  • 02 December 2013 ( Israel's position on the US-Iran deal )

    Uri Avnery, regarding Israel's position on the US-Iran deal: " The fools would have been amusing, if they had not been our fools. "

  • 01 December 2013 ( Urgent: Call on Walmart to pay a decent wage )

    Everyone: call on Walmart to pay a decent wage.

  • 01 December 2013 ( Urgent: Block proposed giant oil terminal in Washington state )

    Everyone: call on the governor of Washington to block a proposed giant oil terminal.

    Shipping the oil, by train and ship, would endanger the Columbia River and cities including Spokane and Vancouver. Burning the oil would endanger everyone in the world.

  • 01 December 2013 ( Autonomous killer robots )

    Current US robotics research turns out to be just what's needed for autonomous killer robots .

  • 01 December 2013 ( China's "drug rehabilitation" forced labor camps )

    China's "re-education" forced labor camps have been changed into "drug rehabilitation" forced labor camps .
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

    Most US prisoners had the option of a trial, though most get pressured into a plea bargain so they didn't have a trial. And the US puts a larger percentage of its population in prison than China does.

  • 01 December 2013 ( 100,000 pro-EU protesters mobilize in Ukraine )

    Repression of pro-EU protesters in Ukraine mobilized 100,000 of them .

    The background for the protests in Ukraine.

  • 01 December 2013 ( Accusation of election fraud in Honduras )

    Xiomara Castro accused election fraud in Honduras , which seems plausible given that 30% of the registered voters were invalid and that the difference between her percentage and the establishment candidate's percentage was less than 30%.

    What did the exit polls say?

  • 01 December 2013 ( France punishing clients of prostitutes )

    France has copied Sweden's harmful policy of punishing the clients of prostitutes .

    I am not surprised that this law repression prostitution, but that is no help to those who choose (or might have chosen) to become prostitutes. It could discourage human trafficking that forces people to become prostitutes, but there are other ways to do that: (1) interviewing possibly trafficked immigrants in private in their own languages as they enter the country, (2) giving them advice on how to get help if they find they have been enslaved, and (3) visiting them once or twice a year for a private conversation to ask and check whether they have been enslaved.

    It appears that these methods have not been tried.

    Helping those who wish to leave prostitution is a good thing, but doesn't excuse the rest.

  • 01 December 2013 ( Anti-gov't rallies fighting with gov't supporters in Thailand )

    In Thailand, anti-government mass rallies have started fighting with mass groups of government supporters.

    The anti-government crowds have seized various government buildings, one after another.

  • 01 December 2013 ( Concealing published information from US readers )

    Pretending a Name Is Still Secret — in the Name of the Cult of Secrecy .

  • 01 December 2013 ( Giant conglomerate buys 40,000 houses across the US )

    A giant conglomerate, Blackstone, has bought 40,000 houses across the US, using money obtained from a wacky new financial instrument .

    The housing subsidiary, "Invitation Homes", bullies renters for "late fees" when it makes a mistake collecting their rents. Many companies do this nowadays. It should be a felony to ask for any sort of extra fee from someone who has a contract for service.

    If the new financial instrument goes belly-up, the company could fail. That could knock 40,000 US families out of their rented homes all at once.

  • 01 December 2013 ( The US gov't has been robbed )

    Government in the US hasn't gone broke by spending too much. Rather, it has been robbed — by business .

  • 01 December 2013 ( Citizens charged with "unlawful assembly" in Papua New Guinea )

    Visiting activists from West Papua were not arrested at the independence rally in Papua New Guinea, but three citizens of Papua New Guinea were charged with " unlawful assembly ".

    Charging anyone with "unlawful assembly" is a crime by the state. Of course, it is possible for protesters to do things which are properly prohibited. But assembling, as such, must not be prohibited.

  • 01 December 2013 ( Latin American countries working to end War on Drugs )

    Several Latin American countries are working to make the UN accept ending the War on Drugs .

  • 01 December 2013 ( Company sues for trademark infringement in search engine )

    The cosmetics company Lush, which refuses to sell through Amazon, has sued Amazon for trademark infringement because searching for "lush" there finds other products .

    I sympathize with Lush's motivation, but I think it is wrong on this case. "Lush" is an English word and everyone has the right to use it as such. If Amazon's search facility searches for any English word, it would be wrong to ban this one as an exception. However, I see no harm in requiring Amazon to present a clear statement that these products are not made by Lush, and that Lush does not sell through Amazon.

    In directory.fsf.org, if you search for names of nonfree programs, we don't show them (they don't qualify to be listed); instead we show their free counterparts. It would be unfortunate if we were banned from doing this.

    I think Lush is more entitled to prevail in regard to Amazon's adwords articles.

    The use of the vague term "intellectual property" where "trademark" would have been clearer added avoidable confusion to the article. See http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/not-ipr.html for why that term spreads confusion.

    See stallman.org/amazon.html for many other reasons to refuse to buy from Amazon. See stallman.org/ebooks.pdf for why the Kindle and Kindle ebooks are an attack on your freedom.

  • 01 December 2013 ( UK attempts to deport hunger striker )

    The UK attempted to suddenly deport Ifa Muaza before he could fast to death , but Nigeria did not allow the plane to land, so it brought him back to the UK.

    "You proved your toughness at the expense of your humanity" — well said.

  • 01 December 2013 ( Another form of antibiotic-resistant bacteria found in poultry )

    Another form of antibiotic-resistant bacteria has been found on poultry.

    Even though this strain is not very dangerous to humans, the next one might be. Have we got our eyes shut towards dangerous business practices?

  • 01 December 2013 ( Venezuelan president given powers to legislate by decree )

    The Venezuelan congress voted President Maduro powers to legislate by decree on economic matters .

    This is in accord with the constitution, but that doesn't mean it is a good idea. Price controls tend to cause shortages, and Venezuela already has shortages. I feel no sympathy for store owners that gouge, but preventing future gouging requires changing the system that generates the gouging.

    The corruption accusations against Asambleadora Aranguren are not inherently implausible, but this still seems fishy. The alleged corruption took place before she ran for election as a supporter of Chavez. However, the accusations were made in September 2013, after she had switched parties, and when her vote became inconvenient.

    It is proper to take action against corrupt legislators, but it should be done in an unbiased way, not selectively based on their politics.

  • 01 December 2013 ( British Red Cross launches food drive for hungry Britons )

    The British Red Cross is launching a food drive for hungry Britons, for the first time since World War II .

    1/4 of the population has had trouble getting enough food this year, due to the poverty that the government has inflicted.

  • 01 December 2013 ( Behavior pattern in Canadian women helps men dominate them )

    A behavior pattern found in Canadian women helps men dominate them.

    The article errs when claiming the experiment described is proof that this behavior pattern is "hard-wired". The experiment does not tell us whether it is neurological or cultural.

  • 01 December 2013 ( UK gov't offers to abolish taxes meant for energy efficiency )

    The UK government asked UK energy companies to keep prices stable for a while (through the next election) in exchange for the abolition of taxes meant to pay for energy efficiency .

    In other words, the ruling parties want to give the public a short-term pleasure (cheap energy for the moment) in order to avoid investing in the country's future.

  • 01 December 2013 ( US hospitals' new trick to charge medicare patients more )

    US hospitals have a new trick to charge medicare patients a lot more: put them on "observation" when they ought to be admitted as inpatients.

  • 01 December 2013 ( Judges say Berlusconi paid witnesses to lie in court )

    Judges say Berlusconi paid witnesses to lie in court .

  • 01 December 2013 ( US bomb kills civilians in Afghanistan )

    A US bomb killed civilians in Afghanistan, and Karzai demands greater efforts to avoid such casualties.

    Accidentally hitting civilians is an inevitable part of war: bombs do miss, even despite the best attempts to hit the target. Thus, this event is not a war crime.

    I wish, however, that the US made the best possible efforts to avoid killing civilians and that it owned up to civilian casualties when they occur. It does not .

  • 01 December 2013 ( Criminal charges against UK protester who called MP a "coward" )

    A protester in the UK faced criminal charges for calling the MP behind the anti-squatting law a "coward".

    The fact that such charges could even be brought demonstrates that the UK does not respect freedom of speech.

    I don't know whether that MP is a coward, but it is clear that he is cruel and chooses to make the poor suffer. Which, in my book, is much worse than being a coward.

  • 01 December 2013 ( Dominican Republic receives gay US ambassador )

    The US sent the Dominican Republic an ambassador who is gay and in a same-sex marriage .

    Around 20 years ago the US sent a black ambassador to South Africa, which was surely intended as rebuke to racism. I don't know whether this choice was meant as a rebuke to bigotry; it might be he was promoted due to merit and given the next available country.

    In either case, now that religious bigots are demanding that the US accede to their bigotry, it must not do so. Bigotry is not the sort of "local custom" that deserves respect.

  • 01 December 2013 ( Nonfree software in cars )

    The battery for the Zoe electric car has to be rented, and when the rental contract runs out, the battery can be disabled by remote control .

    Cars are full of nonfree software, and it is common for nonfree software to be malware .

  • 01 December 2013 ( Public Citizen to sue Kleargear for ruining customers' credit ratings )

    Public Citizen will sue on behalf of the customers whose credit rating was ruined when Kleargear "fined" them for publishing a criticism .

  • 01 December 2013 ( LA plans to ban giving food to homeless people from a truck )

    Los Angeles finds homeless people unsightly and plans to ban giving them food from a truck .

    If it bothers you that there are homeless people in your neighborhood, remember that their lives are much more unpleasant and dangerous than yours. The reason they look unsightly is that they don't have much money and they have no place to keep clothing while not wearing it. If they defecate in the street, they surely feel rather uncomfortable doing so, but they have no practical choice.

    The excuses that these anti-compassionate people give are full of holes so obvious you have to shut your eyes to fail to see them. If the neighborhood homeowners are annoyed that the homeless people don't have a proper place to defecate, they should set up a toilet. If they are annoyed that the homeless people sleep in the bushes, they should set up a camping space.

  • 01 December 2013 ( Contracts to German universities aimed at US weapons development )

    US research contracts to German universities seem to be aimed at weapons development.

  • 01 December 2013 ( Pollution in the Ganges )

    The Ganges is so polluted now that nobody can drink from it .

  • 01 December 2013 ( NSA obtains embarrassing information to discredit or blackmail people )

    The NSA obtained embarrassing information against "radicalizers" so as to discredit or blackmail them .

    If these techniques are applied to foreign enemies of the American nation, I could not criticize it. But they can just as well be applied to Americans, and to democratic political activists of other countries, at which point the practice resembles J. Edgar Hoover's blackmail (which focused on US politicians).

  • 01 December 2013 ( 40% decrease in moose population in New Hampshire in 5 years )

    Global heating has caused a 40% decrease in the moose population in New Hampshire in just 5 years.

    They are not endangered yet, but with 30 more years of increased heat, maybe they will be.

  • 01 December 2013 ( Proposed African "cybersecurity" treaty )

    A proposed African "cybersecurity" treaty could turn into censorship .

  • 01 December 2013 ( Amazon warehouse conditions could make illness more likely )

    A stress expert, looking at an undercover report about an Amazon warehouse, says these conditions make physical and mental illness more likely .

  • 30 November 2013 ( Persistent, repeated harassment by thugs )

    Alex Saleh installed a video camera in his store to protect his customers and staff from persistent, repeated harassment by thugs.

    One of Saleh's employees was arrested 62 times for "trespassing" in Saleh's store.

  • 30 November 2013 ( Caught on video tasing a handcuffed prisoner )

    A thug in Pennsylvania was caught on video tasing a handcuffed prisoner and laughing about it.

  • 30 November 2013 ( Protesters oppose Japan's new secrecy bill )

    Protesters oppose Japan's new secrecy bill.

  • 30 November 2013 ( Urgent: Tell Walmart to give workers a raise )

    Everyone: tell Walmart to give workers a raise.

  • 30 November 2013 ( Chinese business power has prevailed over the UK government )

    Chinese business power has prevailed over the UK government , which will shun the Dalai Lama.

    Politicians that approach international relations prioritizing exports over all else are despicable.

  • 30 November 2013 ( Ukraine's thugs attacked protesters )

    Ukraine's thugs attacked protesters who object to the president's decision to align with Russia rather than the EU .
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

    The government of Ukraine appears to be repressive, but rejecting the "trade" treaty may be wise. I have no information about what it says, but quite likely it contains unjust requirements, since that's normal for "trade" treaties.

  • 30 November 2013 ( Independence activist threatened with arrest )

    An independence activist from West Papua has been threatened with arrest in neighboring Papua New Guinea for planning a peaceful protest for independence.

  • 30 November 2013 ( Soldiers sent to fight wars, then return to become thugs )

    Soldiers sent to fight wars, then return to become thugs , may contribute to violence at home.

  • 30 November 2013 ( High School Student Tasered in School by Cop Is in a Coma )

    High School Student Tasered in School by Cop Is in a Coma, Mother Says.

  • 30 November 2013 ( Microsoft's competitive staff ranking )

    After the Gates Foundation pushed Microsoft's competitive staff ranking system on US public schools, Microsoft has abandoned it , concluding it was harmful to rank the staff.

    I don't think the US politicians who imposed this system will regret it. They don't want public schools to achieve anything; they just want to spend less on them and destroy teachers' unions.

  • 30 November 2013 ( Boeing machinists voted down a contract with give-backs )

    Boeing machinists voted down a contract with give-backs.

  • 30 November 2013 ( Technological "progress" )

    Technological "progress" now means more cunning tracking of people's purchases so as to offer different prices to different people.

  • 30 November 2013 ( In Afghanistan, the killers of journalists enjoy impunity )

    In Afghanistan, the killers of journalists enjoy impunity.

  • 30 November 2013 ( EU should not allow personal data to be sent to US companies )

    The EU should not allow personal data to be sent to US companies unless they follow a data protection regime as in the EU.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

  • 30 November 2013 ( Canadian opposition politicians outraged by spying )

    Canadian opposition politicians are outraged that Canada's spy agency, legally barred from spying in Canada, did such spying by outsourcing it to the NSA.

  • 30 November 2013 ( Several Egyptian activists have been arrested )

    Several prominent Egyptian secular freedom activists have been arrested.

    US law requires cutting off aid to the Egyptian military , as was pointed out in August. Will Obama continue to deny that there has been a military coup?

  • 30 November 2013 ( Women attacked with acid )

    Two British women who went to Zanzibar to teach English as volunteers were attacked with acid , apparently by a stranger.

    Since it seems the attacker did not know them personally and did not rob them, only an ideological motive remains. I suspect it was motivated by hostility to foreigners, or to women not dressed as strict Muslims.

  • 30 November 2013 ( Britons protested law criminalizing squatting )

    Britons protested at a right-wing MP's office against the law criminalizing squatting , while the UK's empty buildings could house the country's homeless.

    I'm delighted that this time the thugs did not intervene, as they so often do, on the side of the wealthy and against the downtrodden.

    This cruelty contributes to the fast-rising housing prices.

  • 30 November 2013 ( Strict rules against electioneering by tax-exempt organizations )

    Obama has proposed strict rules against electioneering by tax-exempt organizations. This is good because it will hinder the rich and corporations from contributing lots of money secretly to campaigns.

  • 30 November 2013 ( Portugal descended to even greater austerity measures )

    Portugal has descended to even greater austerity measures.

    The euro imposes a vicious circle: its rules require budget cuts to reduce the deficit, but these shrink the economy so tax receipts fall, and the deficit continues despite them.

    Portugal's austerity is killing people.

  • 30 November 2013 ( ACLU sued to demand information about CIA's torture practices )

    The ACLU has sued to demand publication of information about the CIA's torture practices.

  • 30 November 2013 ( Muslims try to impose their religion on everyone else )

    Once again, Muslims try to impose their religion on everyone else — this time in Nigeria.

  • 30 November 2013 ( Fertilizer runoff does great harm to coral )

    An experiment shows that fertilizer runoff does great harm to coral, and that the coral can recover quickly if the fertilizer runoff stops.

  • 30 November 2013 ( Planning to "survive" by causing more global heating )

    A port in Canada says it plans to "survive" by taking advantage of global heating to bring oil in by train for export , thus causing more global heating . How narrow-minded. This attitude, "We are going to 'survive' (i.e., maintain our business) by killing people elsewhere", is why the world does nothing to escape disaster.

    The trains will from time to time explode and kill people.

    This is the sort of behavior that should lead the rest of the world to forcibly stop it.

  • 30 November 2013 ( Execution by stoning as a penalty for adultery )

    Karzai says Afghanistan will not use execution by stoning as a penalty for adultery.

    What will Afghanistan do to people who have sex outside marriage? Something else almost as nasty?

  • 30 November 2013 ( Businesses spying on activists )

    Businesses spying on activists can buy the support of the FBI and CIA for their War on Democracy, which in many cases is part of their War on the Ecosphere.

  • 30 November 2013 ( Urgent: Oppose "trade" treaties that give businesses more power )

    US citizens: oppose "trade" treaties that give businesses more power.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

  • 30 November 2013 ( A panel controlled by the lumber industry )

    A panel to propose ways to protect the Australian endangered Leadbeater's possum is controlled by the lumber industry, and refuses to consider any serious plan to protect their habitat.

  • 30 November 2013 ( Attempt to sue Apple failed )

    An attempt to sue Apple for designing the iThings so that apps could easily snoop on the user failed because the requirements for winning are so strict that it would be almost impossible to meet them.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

    What this shows is that the US lacks proper privacy law.

  • 30 November 2013 ( Arrested for posting a parody video )

    People in Dubai have been arrested for posting a parody video and for posting a video of a man battering another on a bus.

    This policy is one reason why I absolutely refuse to go to Dubai.

    In the US, you might get arrested for making a video of an attack, if the attacker is a thug . And even in that case, you can probably prevail in court.

  • 30 November 2013 ( US military manipulates news coverage of wars )

    The US military manipulates news coverage of wars , and turns movies into war propaganda, with devastating effects on politics.

  • 30 November 2013 ( Increased drought and fire in the western US )

    Research suggests that deforestation in Amazonia will contribute cause increased drought and fire in the western US.

    Global heating is making the western US dry out anyway, but since it also threatens to dry out Amazonia, this will mean even more aridity there.

  • 30 November 2013 ( FBI Antisec group )

    Jeremy Hammond believes that the FBI was running the Antisec group to crack security of systems around the world for the FBI's sake.

  • 30 November 2013 ( Use of the DMCA for censorship )

    WordPress joined two bloggers to sue over use of the DMCA for censorship.

  • 29 November 2013 ( Urgent: Endorse deal with Iran )

    US citizens: call on Hillary Clinton to endorse the deal with Iran.

  • 28 November 2013 ( Possible prosecution of Julian Assange )

    Regarding the possible prosecution of Julian Assange, the Obama regime is trying to have it both ways : on the one hand, spreading rumors that Assange is "unlikely" to be prosecuted; on the other, keeping the prosecution option open.

    The nastiest part is when people condemn Assange for prudently refusing to bet the rest of his life on the truth these rumors.

  • 28 November 2013 ( UK Internet censorship will cover some political views )

    UK Internet censorship will cover some political views.

    I don't like those views much either, but freedom of speech means the freedom to say things that you and I and the UK government don't like.

    I wonder how long it will take before the UK blocks access to stallman.org.

  • 28 November 2013 ( Alexis Tsipras will run for president of European Commission )

    Alexis Tsipras, head of the anti-austerity Greek opposition, will run for president of the European Commission to galvanize opposition to austerity across Europe.

  • 28 November 2013 ( "Bedroom tax" is an excuse to squeeze the poor )

    The UK's clever "bedroom tax" is supposed to make people move to smaller apartments, but no smaller apartments are available, so it really amounts to an excuse to squeeze the poor.

    Someone has to suffer to enable banksters to take home more pay.

  • 28 November 2013 ( Journalist Kostas Vaxevanis acquitted )

    Greek journalist Kostas Vaxevanis, prosecuted for publishing a list of suspected tax evaders, has been acquitted.

  • 28 November 2013 ( Requirement for ID to connect to the Internet )

    A broad coalition opposes the requirement to demand ID from everyone that connects to the Internet in Ecuador.

    The wording of the law would require you to record the ID and make a video even if you let someone use your network at home. I campaigned against this measure when I was in Ecuador in October.

    But this is the first I heard that Peru had adopted this nasty law. I will have to think twice before going there again.

  • 28 November 2013 ( The absurdity of considering human rights for companies )

    The Supreme Court plans to consider a case in which a company's owners claim that paying for health care that covers birth control violates their religious freedom .

    I fear that this Supreme Court will rule for that company. It has granted companies absurd "human" rights on other questions.

  • 28 November 2013 ( Belgium on track to approve voluntary euthanasia with no age limit )

    Belgium is on track to approve voluntary euthanasia with no age limit .
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

    I am in favor of this. The safeguards must be quite careful so that children are not pressured into a decision they are not sure they want.

    If we can allow minors the choice of dying, it is ridiculous to deny them the far less drastic choice of having sex. That too should be permitted, with suitable safeguards; for instance, that the minor would declare in advance an intention to start having sex.

  • 28 November 2013 ( Berlusconi ousted from Italian senate )

    Berlusconi has been ousted from the Italian senate because of his criminal convictions.

  • 28 November 2013 ( EU demands that US stop spying massively )

    The EU demands that the US stop spying massively if it wants US companies to hold data on business in Europe .
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

    This not strong enough, however.

  • 28 November 2013 ( Problems of privately financed public parks )

    On the problems of building public parks based on tax-deductible donations from the rich .
    [Reference updated on 2022-07-11 because the old link was broken.]

    If we taxed them enough, we would not have this problem.

  • 28 November 2013 ( Pope Francis calls for action on income inequality )

    Pope Francis condemned trickle-down economics and the greed of the plutocrats, and called for action on income inequality .

    As a supporter of this cause for many years, I welcome this additional support.

  • 28 November 2013 ( 79 Egyptian secular dissidents arrested )

    79 Egyptian secular dissidents have been arrested under the new ban on protests .

    Ever since the massacres of Morsi supporters protesting on the street, it has increasingly appeared that the military was taking Egypt towards another military dictatorship.

  • 28 November 2013 ( Polar bear populations in Canada falling )

    Polar bear populations in Canada are falling due to the effects of global heating , but the minister in charge is a global heating denier.

  • 28 November 2013 ( The Real Fix for ObamaCare's Flaws )

    The Real Fix for ObamaCare's Flaws: Medicare for All .

  • 28 November 2013 ( Urgent: A farm bill that protects wildlife )

    US citizens: call your congresscritter to pass a farm bill that protects wildlife .
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

    Capitol Switchboard numbers are 202-224-3121, 888-818-6641, and 888-355-3588.

  • 28 November 2013 ( Urgent: Rebuke Kmart for ordering workers to work during Thanksgiving )

    In the US (or any country where Kmart operates): rebuke Kmart for ordering workers to work during Thanksgiving.

  • 28 November 2013 ( Urgent: Oppose approval of genetically modified apples )

    US citizens: call on the USDA not to approve genetically modified apples.

  • 28 November 2013 ( Investigations into massacre repeatedly blocked by UK gov't )

    The UK government has repeatedly blocked investigations into a massacre of Malay civilians by British soldiers.

  • 28 November 2013 ( Small businesses forced into bankruptcy by RBS bank )

    It appears the RBS bank forced small businesses into bankruptcy to buy up their assets .

    This is a natural result of the culture of competing to be less ethical than the other banks .

    Larger banks are doing the same thing to states, most notably Greece but many others too.

  • 28 November 2013 ( Companies had special access to Warsaw global heating negotiations )

    The Polish government gave 11 companies special access to the ineffective Warsaw global heating negotiations, including some that lobby furiously to keep burning fossil fuels.

    The "ETS" is the emissions trading system, which was meant to pressure industry to reduce emissions, but has fallen flat on its face .

  • 28 November 2013 ( How the NSA Slipped its Leash )

    PR Watch: Return to Nixonland: How the NSA Slipped its Leash .

  • 28 November 2013 ( Investigation into assassination of Alexander Litvinenko silenced )

    The UK government has finally silenced the investigation into the assassination of Alexander Litvinenko.

  • 28 November 2013 ( Dictator of Angola regularly kills dissidents )

    The dictator of Angola regularly has dissidents shot, or feeds them to crocodiles , but since he controls lots of oil, he buys international support.

  • 28 November 2013 ( Journalists attacked in Bangkok )

    Anti-Shinawatra protesters in Bangkok have attacked journalists they consider unsympathetic to their cause .

    These protesters do not represent the majority, but seem to be an influential minority .
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

  • 28 November 2013 ( Using Interpol's system to catch dissidents and refugees )

    Interpol's system is used by repressive regimes to catch dissidents and refugees .

  • 28 November 2013 ( Selling the destruction of parts of nature )

    Putting a financial value on parts of nature invites companies to pay that much to destroy them .

  • 28 November 2013 ( Drone Weapons )

    The US, in pushing development drone weapons, is failing to consider what will result when its enemies have drones too.

  • 28 November 2013 ( Help Real Children )

    Rather than censorship, the way to end abuse of real children is with social workers that help real children.

    Since poverty often brings out the worst in people, ending austerity would help a lot too.

  • 28 November 2013 ( Rainforest in Sumatra )

    A road planned to go through a rainforest in Sumatra, for coal export, could wipe out many endangered species .

  • 27 November 2013 ( Urgent: Tell Google to stop supporting ALEC )

    Everyone: tell Google to stop supporting ALEC.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

    ALEC is a right-wing scheme by which businesses twist state legislators to pass the bills those businesses want.

  • 27 November 2013 ( Urgent: Rebuke US Airways )

    Everyone: rebuke US Airways for kicking a blind man and service dog off a flight.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

    If you've flown a while, you know that flight crew can act like little tyrants when they take it into their heads to push passengers around, and that when they say he was "disruptive", that is an exaggerated way to say "He talked back to us."

  • 27 November 2013 ( Ukraine's deal with the EU )

    IMF harshness helped spike Ukraine's deal with the EU.

  • 27 November 2013 ( Corporate front groups )

    How a Shadowy Network of Corporate Front Groups Distorts the Marketplace of Ideas .

  • 27 November 2013 ( An iPad on Every Desk: A Trojan Horse )

    An iPad on Every Desk: A Trojan Horse, Teachers Say .

    They don't realize this is true in the computing sense too.

  • 27 November 2013 ( Corporate espionage undermines democracy )

    Ralph Nader: Corporate espionage undermines democracy .
    [Reference updated on 2022-07-11 because the old link was broken.]

  • 27 November 2013 ( Pressure in Wall Street to deceive customers )

    A former Wall Street mathematician describes how his job was to invent complex financial instruments so as to dupe customers, and all managers participated in the pressure to be more deceptive than the competition .

  • 27 November 2013 ( Proposed cuts to US food assistance )

    Proposed cuts to US food assistance will cancel out all voluntary food donations to the poor.

  • 27 November 2013 ( Anti-protest laws threaten democracy )

    From Quebec to Spain, anti-protest laws are threatening true democracy .

    The more government becomes a mechanism for control by the plutocrats, the less it can tolerate protest or democracy.

  • 27 November 2013 ( French couple's manifesto for legalization of choice to die )

    A French couple, age 86, committed suicide together, leaving behind a manifesto for legalization of the choice to die .

  • 27 November 2013 ( Assad to negotiate with his Syrian enemies )

    Assad and his Syrian enemies will have negotiations .

    It will not be easy to find anything they can agree on. Meanwhile, the goal of the original protesters, a secular democracy, has been completely ruined by Assad and Saudi proxies.

  • 27 November 2013 ( Lavender crop in France wiped out )

    Global heating has encouraged an insect pest to wipe out the lavender crop in France.

  • 27 November 2013 ( Pointless consumption )

    The wealthier the country, the less its people care how they treat the natural world — perhaps because of the industry of pointless consumption .

  • 27 November 2013 ( Common Excuses for NSA Mass Surveillance )

    Busting Eight Common Excuses for NSA Mass Surveillance.

    When you decide to help fight against massive surveillance, remember that we need to go beyond limiting the state's access to the data companies collect. We need to reduce the accumulation of data about everyone.

  • 27 November 2013 ( Biofuels made from food crops )

    Biofuels made from food crops are a "crime against humanity".

  • 27 November 2013 ( Thug proved to have lied )

    A thug who is proved to have lied , claiming he heard Andrew Mitchell call another thug a "pleb", will face prosecution.

    Thugs often lie to put someone in the wrong; they think they are privileged to do so. I am glad that they get prosecuted when they do this to a powerful politician. I wish they got prosecuted when they do this to other people.

  • 27 November 2013 ( Corporate lobbying sabotaged negotiations to curb global heating )

    The world media don't mention the massive corporate lobbying effort that has sabotaged negotiations that were supposed to curb global heating.

  • 27 November 2013 ( US banks threaten to charge for savings accounts )

    US banks threaten to charge for savings accounts because interest rates are so low.

    Why are they so low? To promote "economic growth" of the sort that benefits companies but not workers. The effective way to promote true economic growth is with deficit spending, but Republicans have blocked this since 2010, so the Federal Reserve uses "quantitative easing" as a substitute that doesn't quite work.

  • 27 November 2013 ( Global heating refugee denied asylum )

    Ioane Teitiota, from Kiribati, was denied asylum in New Zealand as a global heating refugee.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

    He asked for asylum because his home is certain to become uninhabitable due to rising sea level. The court denies the danger. It is clear that he is probably safe in Kiribati this year and next year. It is equally clear that they will be inundated.

    Reportedly growth of coral is enlarging some of the islands at present. However, in a few decades the coral will be killed by ocean acidification, and the islands won't be able to grow after that.

    Will people be accepted as climate refugees when inundation gets closer?

    What about the millions who live at low elevations in Bangladesh?

  • 27 November 2013 ( Urgent: Reject the TPP )

    Everyone: call on world leaders to reject the TPP.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

  • 27 November 2013 ( Prisoners in Guantanamo )

    Prisoners in Guantanamo can get out, if they have strong enough al Qa'ida ties, by turning informer. On the other hand, if you were captured for being in the wrong place at the wrong time, you may never get out.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

    I have no objection to infiltrating al Qa'ida. Unlike the dissident movements that the thugs usually infiltrate, al Qa'ida supports neither human rights nor democracy. What does bother me is that this might be part of the motive for the oppressive practice of imprisoning people indefinitely without a trial.

  • 27 November 2013 ( NSA employs over 1000 crackers )

    The NSA employs over 1000 crackers and has infected over 50,000 computer networks with malware to be activated later.

    (Please don't use "hackers" to mean "people who break security".)

    On Hacking

  • 27 November 2013 ( Poverty in the US )

    Poverty in the US is not only painful, it is deadly.

  • 26 November 2013 ( Driver faces charges of driving car with secret compartment )

    A driver in Ohio faces charges of driving a car which has a secret compartment in it . They simply assume his intent was to smuggle drugs.

  • 26 November 2013 ( UK gov't wiped out offshore windfarm project )

    The UK government wiped out a large offshore windfarm project by talking about canceling previously promised subsidies.

    I don't think this is a stumble, and I don't think the UK government's ambitions run in the green direction at all. It has given plenty of signs that it is subservient to the fossil fuel companies. I think it did this to keep fossil fuel use high.

  • 26 November 2013 ( Each year more species are under threat )

    Despite success of efforts to protect some endangered species, each year more species are under threat.

  • 26 November 2013 ( UK visa law )

    UK visa law leads directly to slavery for immigrant domestic workers .

    Why pass a law that is so obviously unjust? Who would ask for such a law? Evidently the people wealthy enough to employ live-in servants. In other words, plutocrats legalized domestic slavery in the UK.

  • 26 November 2013 ( Deaths from AIDS )

    Deaths from AIDS have gone down, except in teenagers.

    I have a hunch that prudish attitudes contribute to this.

  • 26 November 2013 ( Very urgent: Support Walmart workers protests' on Nov 29 )

    Everyone: support Walmart workers' protests on Nov 29 , and pledge to boycott Walmart on Nov 29 .
    [References updated on 2018-03-12 because the old links were broken.]

  • 25 November 2013 ( Urgent: Support the Affordable Care Act )

    US citizens: sign this petition in support of the Affordable Care Act.

  • 25 November 2013 ( Urgent: Say no to trusting Transcanada to avoid oil spills )

    US citizens: say no to trusting Transcanada to avoid oil spills on the Keystone XL pipeline notwithstanding its horrible maintenance record.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

  • 25 November 2013 ( Urgent: Support diplomacy with Iran )

    US citizens: support diplomacy with Iran.

  • 25 November 2013 ( NAFTA and US Farmers — 20 Years Later )

    NAFTA and US Farmers — 20 Years Later .

  • 25 November 2013 ( New passport )

    I just got a new passport. It came with a brochure whose front page says, "With Your U.S. Passport, the World Is Yours."

    What a claim!

  • 25 November 2013 ( Nonviolent protesters face charges carrying a year in prison )

    Nonviolent protesters against the JP Morgan Chase bank face charges in the US carrying a year in prison .

    Their protest criticized the company for bankrolling massive environmental damage that is going to kill thousands, maybe millions of people. Of the forecast of a hundred million human casualties from global heating by 2030 , to be followed by larger numbers afterward, surely JP Morgan Chase will be responsible for at least 1%.

    We see increased repression of environmental protesters, in the US as in Russia. I predict it will increase steadily, because the fossil fuel companies will demand ever more repression to keep a lid on the people who see the current system is going to kill them.

  • 25 November 2013 ( High and stable carbon price needed to avert disaster )

    A high and stable carbon price is needed to avert disaster.

    I will go further and assert that this must be implemented via a carbon tax. A cap-and-trade system is easy to game.

  • 25 November 2013 ( Myths about retail jobs )

    Correcting myths about retail jobs .

    Now imagine what these people will do if they are replaced by automated sales machines. Beg on the street? That is why I refuse to use those machines, and call on other customers to refuse too.

    Technology is not the main cause of increased poverty in the US. Mostly it is due to policies that favor the rich .

    Nonetheless, eliminating millions of jobs through technology will add to the problem. The US does not need more efficiency, it needs to support everyone better.

  • 25 November 2013 ( Antibiotic-resistant bladder infections )

    Antibiotic-resistant bladder infections are linked to bacteria found in chicken treated with antibiotics .

    We must end the regular use of antibiotics in farm animals, and if the result is to make meat more expensive, we'll probably eat a more healthful diet.

  • 25 November 2013 ( How Economic Growth Has Become Anti-Life )

    Vandada Shiva: How Economic Growth Has Become Anti-Life .

  • 25 November 2013 ( Nothing achieved at Warsaw climate summit )

    The Warsaw climate summit achieved little except to decide to decide on something later . If indeed they do so.

  • 25 November 2013 ( Afghan gov't plans to bring back stoning and flogging )

    The Afghan government plans to bring back stoning (a form of execution) and flogging as punishments for adultery .

    I supported the intervention in Afghanistan to end the Taliban's oppression of women, but it has been creeping back for years, and accelerating recently .

  • 25 November 2013 ( Revenge porn )

    A crusader writes about her experience fighting and defeating a revenge porn site .

    Revenge porn achieves its intended effect because of a neurotic taboo against nudity. Why fire someone for making a nude photo that gets posted by someone else? Why fire someone for making a nude photo and intentionally posting it? Why fire someone for stripping in a bar, or in Central Park? It is all gratuitous cruelty, and that cruelty makes Moore's cruelty possible. In effect, his activities are part of the harm done by the taboo.

    We could make it illegal to fire people such as Jill the teacher. That would be better than nothing. However, the real solution is not at the legal level. Rather, we need to get over the nudity taboo, so that nobody thinks of firing such people.

    Facebook could do something good for society ( for a change ) if it required each of its users to post a nude selfie. After a few months of that, revenge porn would no longer succeed in bothering anyone. Victims would say, "Oh, you're going to post another nude photo of me? Please tell me the URL so I can link to it." The Hunter Moores of the world would have to search for some other way to harass people.

    The wrong of the taboo does not excuse revenge porn — or any company that argues, "What we're doing is lawful, and you can't criticize us for anything that's lawful and profitable." Yes we can! That the nastiness is lawful is no excuse, ethically. In general, someone who exploits a flaw in a system to hurt people is responsible for his actions, and the system is also responsible if it could be better.

  • 25 November 2013 ( United Airlines wants confidentiality agreement after nearly killing passenger's dog )

    United Airlines, after nearly killing a woman's dog, offered to pay the vet bill, but only if she signs a confidentiality agreement .

    I flew on United a few days ago. Before the usual safety announcement there was an ad showing staff (or perhaps actors) talking about how good service was their priority. I didn't pay it much attention, but it occurred to me for a moment to think, "Don't tell us — show us!"

    I think there should be a law invalidating any confidentiality commitment made to a business by a client.

  • 25 November 2013 ( New Pun )

    New Pun - sushi.

  • 25 November 2013 ( Why We Need A State )

    Why We Need A State

  • 25 November 2013 ( Urgent: Support a basic income for all citizens )

    US citizens: support a basic income for all citizens.

  • 25 November 2013 ( Antibiotic-resistant bacteria in turkey meat )

    Feeding antibiotics to turkeys has led to antibiotic-resistant bacteria in turkey meat .

  • 25 November 2013 ( Unfinished spy feature in LG Smart TV to be removed )

    LG said its Smart TV was sending back filenames found on USB drives as part of an unfinished feature to search for other things "you might also like".

    We are fortunate it was not finished, or they would have presented it as a reason not to remove the feature.

  • 25 November 2013 ( Egypt's military-controlled gov't bans protests )

    Egypt's military-controlled government has banned protests (without special permission).

  • 25 November 2013 ( Poverty makes it hard to do things perceived to be easy )

    A poor person in the US explains how poverty makes it hard and expensive to do things middle class people think ought to be easy and cheap.

  • 25 November 2013 ( Urgent efforts needed to protect Great Barrier Reef )

    Urgent efforts are needed to protect the Great Barrier Reef.

    Part of the urgent effort Australia must make is to extract less coal.

  • 25 November 2013 ( The carbon bubble )

    Companies with valuations based on the carbon bubble must warn investors .

  • 24 November 2013 ( Anti-drone activists acquitted of charges )

    Anti-drone activists who protested at Hancock Air Force Base were acquitted of charges after demonstrating they were actually helping the US to follow the constitution.

  • 24 November 2013 ( Interim agreement limiting Iran's uranium enrichment )

    The US and Iran have made an interim agreement limiting Iran's uranium enrichment.

    The deal calls for diluting Iran's 20%-enriched uranium, which would put any possible nuclear weapon further away.

    Netanyahu hates this deal, for understandable reasons: it will deny him the chance to get the US and Iran into war, and he will no longer be able to cite Iran to distract attention from the occupation of Palestine.

  • 24 November 2013 ( Repression that theocratic Christians want to impose on homosexuals )

    Uganda illustrates the repression that theocratic Christians want to impose on homosexuals everywhere , including in the US.

  • 24 November 2013 ( Iron age hill fort of Oswestry will be covered by new housing )

    Thanks to the UK's deregulation of planning, the iron age hill fort of Oswestry will be covered by new housing .

  • 24 November 2013 ( UK took charity funds and spent it on Olympic Park )

    The UK took money from funds for normally local charities and spent it on the Olympic Park . At the time, the government promised to make up the loss, but it seems to be breaking that promise.

    The Olympic Games leave behind debt, surveillance and repression; if there is a proposal to hold them in your city, organize now to push them away.

  • 24 November 2013 ( South African thugs who massacred striking miners )

    There is evidence that the South African thugs who massacred striking miners had met with the mine management and made a plan to break the strike. This was designed to promote an ANC-associated union and block the acceptance of an independent and more vigorous union.

    I don't think the ANC has done anything good since Nelson Mandela ceased to be president.

  • 24 November 2013 ( Azerbaijan corrupts UK MPs )

    An "independent" organization run by a relative of a minister of Azerbaijan corrupts UK MPs with expensive vacations and parties.

  • 24 November 2013 ( Floating windfarms )

    Floating windfarms are cheaper and can be located further away from the shore .

  • 24 November 2013 ( Politico's "Playbook" )

    The sponsors of Politico's "Playbook" seem to get favorable "news" coverage there that agrees with their ads.

  • 24 November 2013 ( Sued for posting official German safety standards )

    Carl Malamud is being sued for posting official German safety standards , which the state is charging substantial amounts to see.

  • 24 November 2013 ( Censorship at London School of Economics )

    Two students at the London School of Economics sold atheist and secularist books while wearing Jesus and Mo shirts, and met with censorship from the university and the student union .

    I think the article generalizes too far about leftist students; I am sure many of them are not inclined to support such censorship.

  • 24 November 2013 ( Registered voters in Kansas blocked from voting )

    Many registered voters in Kansas have been blocked from voting in state elections .

  • 24 November 2013 ( 40% of workers for US businesses get no sick days )

    40% of workers for US businesses get no sick days and can be fired if they miss a day of work for getting sick .

    Bills are being considered in 10 states to ban cities from taking steps to protect workers from this.

    The US government is a government of occupation on behalf of the plutocrats.

  • 24 November 2013 ( China uses pandas as bargaining chips )

    China lends pandas to countries as bargaining chips for dirty trade deals .

  • 24 November 2013 ( Obama has shut out almost all press photographers )

    Obama has shut out press photographers almost 100%.

  • 24 November 2013 ( Syrian refugees subject to iris scanning biometric ID )

    Aid for Syrian refugees is serving as a test platform for iris scanning biometric ID , which is almost compulsory for them.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

  • 24 November 2013 ( Internet freedom in India under attack )

    Internet freedom in India is under attack from all directions .

  • 24 November 2013 ( Urgent: Oppose GMO salmon )

    US citizens: tell the FDA not to approve GMO salmon.

    These fish could cause harm to wild salmon .

  • 24 November 2013 ( NSA strategy to collect even more data about everyone )

    With all the massive surveillance it does, the NSA was not satisfied. In 2012 it established a strategy to collect even more data about everyone.

  • 24 November 2013 ( Newly freed slaves get invited to more subtle form of submission )

    Three women released from 30 years of slavery in a house in London were shown an iPad , inviting them to enter into a more subtle form of submission.

  • 24 November 2013 ( Greenpeace protester says prison won't make him regret protest )

    Greenpeace protester Anthony Perrett says that if Russia imprisons him he will not regret his protest .

    The activists freed on bail must be glad, but if they talk by Skype , another regime is surveilling them.

  • 24 November 2013 ( Residents of Lafourche vote to fund libraries instead of new jail )

    The residents of Lafourche Parish voted to fund libraries rather than a new jail .

    The ebooks they are talking about are, apparently, commercial. It is a shame that these libraries promote commercial ebooks. They should reject those on ethical grounds .

    Lafourche county's existing jail would be perfectly adequate if they stop fighting the War on Drugs .

  • 24 November 2013 ( Hawaii legislator boasts of crushing the belongings of homeless people )

    Hawaii legislator Tom Brower boasts of crushing the belongings of unsightly homeless people .

    People who are hungry in the midst of plenty of food are morally entitled to steal food. And if Brower doesn't like their use of shopping baskets to carry around their few possessions, he should provide them with some other way to store those.

  • 24 November 2013 ( Toxic lakes of waste water from tar sands oil extraction )

    Oil companies plan to create enormous toxic lakes full of waste water from tar sands oil extraction.

    There is no way of knowing how far the toxins will spread. At low temperatures they may degrade especially slowly. (Toxic metals last forever, unless they happen to be radioactive.)

    If the cost of proper disposal of these toxins were included in the cost of that oil, it would be so expensive that nobody would buy it today.

  • 24 November 2013 ( US Chamber of Commerce Attempting to Undermine Anti-Bribery Law )

    U.S. Chamber of Commerce Attempting to Undermine Anti-Bribery Law, Public Citizen Report Shows .

  • 24 November 2013 ( Commercial use of face recognition )

    Senator Franken asks for a federal investigation of commercial use of face recognition.

    I think this is a positive step, but what we really need to investigate, and limit, is the use of face recognition by the government, and its ability to collect images to recognize.

  • 24 November 2013 ( House committee rejects greater accountability for drone attacks )

    A House committee rejected a small step towards greater accountability for civilian casualties of drone attacks.

  • 23 November 2013 ( UK students from poor families will suffer from new budget cuts )

    Half a million UK students from poor families will suffer from a new budget cut.

    This and more austerity in the UK stem from subservience to businesses that want to extract money from the country and pay little tax.

    Corporations claim US taxes are too high. Here's how that is a lie.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

  • 23 November 2013 ( Boycott of the Olympic Games in Russia )

    Nadia Tolokonnikova endorses the boycott of the Olympic Games in Russia.

  • 23 November 2013 ( Urgent: Protect some species of bats that face the danger of extinction )

    US citizens: call on the Fish and Wildlife Service to protect some species of bats that face the danger of extinction from white-nose fungus .
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

  • 23 November 2013 ( Urgent: Accurate and non-prudish sex education )

    Citizens of Massachusetts: call for accurate and non-prudish sex education.

  • 23 November 2013 ( Corporate Espionage and the Secret War Against Citizen Activism )

    Corporate Espionage and the Secret War Against Citizen Activism.

    Companies implicated include Walmart, Monsanto, Bank of America, Dow Chemical, Kraft, Coca-Cola, Chevron, Burger King, McDonald

  • 23 November 2013 ( Congressman votes for harsh punishments for drug users other than himself )

    A Republican Congressman will be sentenced to probation for buying cocaine, which he called a "disease" in his own case, but he voted to impose drug tests on Americans that get food stamps and for punishing them harshly .

  • 23 November 2013 ( Thousands Protest in Japan against New State Secrets Bill )

    Thousands Protest in Japan against New State Secrets Bill , which would punish whistleblowers severely.

    There a world-wide wave of increasing government surveillance and secrecy power, as various governments preemptively attack human rights and democracy before the movement builds up to defend them.

  • 23 November 2013 ( FBI acts as buffer between Internet company staff and NSA )

    The FBI acts as a buffer to keep Internet company staff unaware that they are working for the NSA .

  • 23 November 2013 ( EU proposes to ban sale of unregistered seed varieties )

    The EU proposes to ban sale of unregistered seed varieties . Registration is so expensive that many varieties (especially for home gardeners) will disappear, along with the small seed companies that sell them.

  • 23 November 2013 ( Asylum seeker fasting to death in UK prison )

    Isa Muazu is fasting to death in prison in the UK rather than return to Nigeria.

    I don't know whether Muazu has a valid claim for asylum — in particular, this article does not show whether he has a real reason to fear being attacked by Boko Haram. However, a system that is rigged so that people with a valid claim can't prove it is prima facie unjust.

  • 23 November 2013 ( Supreme Court allows law designed to make abortion unavailable )

    The Supreme Court allowed a Texas law to take effect , which imposes restrictions on abortion designed for no reason except to make it unavailable.

    This is not a final decision about the law's constitutionality; that remains to be considered. But it seems to imply the court is considering declaring it constitutional.

    In effect, the right-wing US Supreme Court has found a way to negate the Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion, by allowing states to ban it indirectly.

  • 23 November 2013 ( Automated virus synthesizer )

    If you think 3D-printed guns are dangerous, consider an automated virus synthesizer .

  • 23 November 2013 ( Healthcare.gov contractor making lots of money from doing bad job )

    The contractor responsible for the failing Healthcare.gov site is making lots of money from doing a bad job.

    I suspect this is because the system was delivered to the US as nonfree software so that no other company could even try to fix it.

  • 23 November 2013 ( Tony Blair let NSA spy on millions of UK citizens )

    Tony Blair let the American NSA Spy on Millions of Britons and Store their Private Data .

    Here's more detail of what the UK allows the NSA to do to UK citizens .

  • 23 November 2013 ( Problems with breeder reactors )

    CNN broadcast a misleading and one-sided pitch for breeder reactors. Here are the problems that it did not mention.

  • 23 November 2013 ( People killed for no apparent reason in Central African Republic )

    A militia or militias have taken over the Central African Republic and kill helpless people for no obvious reason .

  • 23 November 2013 ( Google might be able to smash Chinese internet censorship )

    Google might be able to smash Chinese internet censorship, if it dares try .

  • 23 November 2013 ( PM Cameron calls investment in renewable energy "green crap" )

    Prime Minister Cameron privately called investment in renewable energy " green crap ".

  • 23 November 2013 ( Russia threatens economic warfare against Ukraine )

    Russia threatened economic warfare against Ukraine to make Ukraine break off plans for a closer trade relationship with the EU.

    Russia is not alone in this. The US uses threats of economic warfare to bully countries into imposing anti-sharing laws that repress their citizens .

  • 23 November 2013 ( Walmart workers to protest through "black Friday" )

    Walmart workers plan protests now through "black Friday" , Nov 29.

  • 23 November 2013 ( Ironic history of decades of war in Afghanistan )

    The ironic history of decades of war in Afghanistan.

    How the inhabitants see the US today .

    The latter article refers to the former for the claim that the Mujahadeen were ideologically united with the Communists by hatred for the US, but I can't see any sign of that in the former article.

  • 23 November 2013 ( Urgent: Change YouTube policies )

    Everyone: call on Google to change YouTube policies to prevent people from sabotaging a channel via false complaints of copyright infringement.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

  • 23 November 2013 ( Urgent: Regulation of fracking on public land )

    US citizens: call on your senators to oppose Senator Hatch's bill that would ban regulation of fracking on public lands.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

  • 23 November 2013 ( UN resolution affirming privacy rights )

    The US, UK and Australia failed in the attempt to undermine and sabotage a UN resolution affirming privacy rights .

  • 23 November 2013 ( Detectives try to protect quarterback from charges of rape )

    When a woman accused a Florida State University quarterback of rape, detectives tried to protect him and pressure her to drop the charges .

  • 22 November 2013 ( Urgent: Support Green Party's budget approach )

    US citizens: support the Green Party's budget approach.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

  • 22 November 2013 ( Decriminalizing file-sharing )

    European Parliament Members Explore Decriminalizing File-Sharing .

  • 22 November 2013 ( Spain to impose heavy fines on protesters )

    Spain's right-wing austerity government plans to impose heavy fines on protesters, without trial .

    You can send your images of Spanish thugs to me; I will find a way to publish them.

  • 22 November 2013 ( The Insanity of Our Food Policy )

    Joseph Stiglitz: The Insanity of Our Food Policy .
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

  • 22 November 2013 ( US Senate abolishes filibusters for presidential nominees )

    The US Senate has abolished filibusters for presidential nominees .

    This will put an end to one form of systematic Republican obstructionism: blocking all Democratic appointments, not bothering to judge them individually.

  • 22 November 2013 ( Corporate sponsorship of UN client negotiations )

    The UN client negotiations now have corporate sponsors , in effect corrupting the negotiations directly in addition to the older indirect corruption through governments.

  • 22 November 2013 ( Irish women ask UN to denounce restrictive abortion law )

    Irish women asked the UN to denounce Ireland's restrictive abortion law .

    Nicaragua's is even worse .

  • 22 November 2013 ( UK thugs use blackmail and bribery to recruit informers )

    UK thugs use blackmail and bribery to recruit informers in activist groups.

  • 22 November 2013 ( Kuwait: 5 Years for Tweet 'Insulting' Prophet )

    Kuwait: 5 Years for Tweet 'Insulting' Prophet .

  • 21 November 2013 ( India's greatest hero of freedom and justice )

    India's greatest hero of freedom and justice, Dr. Ambedkar , tends to be ignored by upper-caste Hindus.

  • 21 November 2013 ( Norwegian ministers say NSA lied to them )

    Norwegian ministers say the NSA falsely told them it wasn't doing massive surveillance of activities of Norwegians .

  • 21 November 2013 ( Sweden to give thugs unlimited power to tap phone and email )

    Sweden plans to give thugs and various agencies unlimited and unchecked power to tap any and all phone calls and emails.

  • 21 November 2013 ( Fossil fuel divestment campaigns at US colleges and universities )

    Campaigns to divest from fossil fuels are moving at 400 US colleges and universities .

  • 21 November 2013 ( Canada's Refusal to Protect Polar Bears Scrutinized )

    Canada's Refusal to Protect Polar Bears Scrutinized.

    It is a rational policy in a way. If you are determined to run our whole planet off the climate cliff, and destroy most of the existing species before human civilization ceases to be capable of causing more heating, why spend any money on a doomed attempt to protect one of them?

  • 21 November 2013 ( Men can reject the social pressure to be "masculine" )

    Men can reject the social pressure to be "masculine", meaning tough with themselves and cruel to women.

  • 21 November 2013 ( Greenpeace and other organizations warn governments to expect rebellion )

    Greenpeace and other organizations warn governments to expect rebellion around the world if they do not curb global heating.

    They and other organizations held a walkout protest at the climate talks because of the visible lack of ambition to avoid disaster.

    It is still possible to avoid 2C of global heating , but it will require denying the plutocrats the increased riches they want.

    But we have to start right away — which Australia, Canada and the US will not allow.

  • 21 November 2013 ( GCHQ is in trouble )

    GCHQ is in trouble for helping the NSA spy on Britons.

  • 21 November 2013 ( Urgent: Free Yorm Bopha )

    Everyone: call on Cambodia to free housing activist Yorm Bopha.

  • 21 November 2013 ( Urgent: Pledge to boycott GAP, Old Navy and Banana Republic )

    Everyone: Pledge to boycott GAP, Old Navy and Banana Republic until they sign the agreement to enforce fair labor standards in Bangladesh.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

  • 21 November 2013 ( Urgent: Support the Women's Health Protection Act )

    US citizens: call your congresscritter to support the Women's Health Protection Act. Also sign this petition .

    The Capitol Switchboard numbers are 202-224-3121, 888-818-6641 and 888-355-3588.

  • 21 November 2013 ( Urgent: Support Elizabeth Warren's pledge to expand Social Security )

    US citizens: support Elizabeth Warren's pledge to expand Social Security.

  • 21 November 2013 ( 132 poor countries walk out of global heating conference in Warsaw )

    132 poor countries have walked out of the global heating conference in Warsaw because the richer countries refused to discuss compensation.

    The poor countries want compensation for the tremendous cost of weather disasters caused by rich countries' CO2 emissions, such as 5 billion dollars to rebuild in the Philippines after just one superstorm.

    A billion Africans face dangers such as hunger and flooding , and likely resulting war.

    With rich countries cutting their CO2 commitments, it looks like the talks are failing entirely and we are on a track towards almost 4C of heating .

    It has been clear for several years that the rich countries' governments, in thrall to fossil fuel companies, are determined to continue making this problem worse. Negotiating with them is useless, and serves as cover for making things worse, much like the useless "peace process" between Israel and Palestine.

    Overt rupture might be good since it would show the world that we are heading for disaster.

  • 21 November 2013 ( Why massive surveillance developed in the US )

    Massive surveillance developed in the US because a pliant court operated in secret .

  • 21 November 2013 ( Students don't want to pay to study neoclassical economics )

    Students don't want to pay to study neoclassical economics , especially now that it has catastrophically failed.

    Neoclassical economics is a pseudoscience cult that gives academic respectability to Reagan's bogus trickle-down economics. How did university departments end up hiring mostly cultists? Influence of the rich, that trickle-down was meant to serve, must have played some role. I think it would be interesting to investigate how this occurred.

  • 21 November 2013 ( Skype allowed to send data from Europe to the US )

    Making a monkey out of European data protection law, Luxembourg ruled that Skype is allowed to send data to the US and the NSA .
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

  • 21 November 2013 ( Anti-Net neutrality proposal in the hands of EU Parliament )

    Will the EU Parliament Enable Discrimination Online or Uncompromising Net Neutrality ?

  • 21 November 2013 ( Obama says one thing, does the opposite )

    Obama says he's for legalizing unlocking of cell phones, but he's pushing for the TPP to insist on banning it.

  • 21 November 2013 ( Senators join lawsuit against massive surveillance )

    Senators joined a lawsuit, claiming there is no evidence that massive metadata surveillance is "useful" .

    We should not base our argument on the claim that this can never do even the tiniest "good". It's hard to keep batting exactly zero forever even if you're totally inept, so maybe someday this surveillance will turn out to be helpful for something positive. If that happens, that won't be enough to justify it.

  • 21 November 2013 ( The forces pushing for bankruptcy in Detroit )

    A report accuses the forces pushing for bankruptcy in Detroit have greatly exaggerated the city's debt .

    I suspect some persons or businesses hope to make a lot of money from this bankruptcy. Who are they?

  • 21 November 2013 ( Putting an end to trafficking and forced labor )

    Trafficking and forced labor follow patterns which could be followed to put an end to the practice.

    I suspect that the reason the UK does not trace these patterns and put an end to the practice is a lack of will. For instance, the major supermarket chains pressure farm to cut prices, and the supermarkets will be happy if farms do that by means of forced, trafficked workers — as long as the supermarkets are not punished for it.

    If supermarkets were fined 100 times the retain value of any products they sell that are found to have been made with forced labor, they would put an end to the practice for sure.

  • 21 November 2013 ( Right-wing think tanks receive $80 million from mysterious sources )

    A network of 64 right-wing think tanks received over $80 million in money of mysterious origin .

    More information .

  • 21 November 2013 ( Foreign exchange trading needs to be taxed for stability )

    Most foreign exchange trading is speculation; for stability, we need to tax these trades .

  • 20 November 2013 ( 90 companies are responsible for most of global heating )

    90 companies are responsible for most of global heating.

  • 20 November 2013 ( Costs that fossil fuel and global heating will impose )

    Many businesses are recognizing the costs that fossil fuel and global heating will impose on them.

    Investors are also pressuring fossil fuel companies to report on how their profits would be affected if we cut emissions drastically by 2050. I think the fossil fuel companies have already investigated this and that their behavior — making governments cancel or sabotage policies meant to reduce emissions — is their response.

  • 20 November 2013 ( International Violence Against Women Act )

    The US should pass the International Violence Against Women Act.

  • 20 November 2013 ( Poor people in UK suffering from increasing indebtedness )

    Poor people in the UK are suffering from increasing indebtedness, which is also true in the US.

  • 20 November 2013 ( The next excuse for snooping on everything )

    The next excuse for snooping on everything on the Internet will be "child" pornography .

    The term "child abuse images" is deceptive: I think in practice it includes teenagers labeled as "children", and stretches the word "abuse" too. However, some of these images will show real abuse of real children.

    The government should focus on protecting the children themselves, not on censoring (and surveilling) all communication.

  • 20 November 2013 ( Urgent: Remove Koch brother from WGBH board )

    In the US: call on WGBH to remove the Koch brother from its board.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

  • 20 November 2013 ( Urgent: End austerity and close tax loopholes in the US )

    US citizens: phone Congress on Dec 12 to end austerity and close tax loopholes.

    The Capitol Switchboard numbers are 202-224-3121, 888-818-6641 and 888-355-3588.

  • 20 November 2013 ( Urgent: Call on JP Morgan to pay its penalty )

    US citizens: call on JP Morgan to pay its penalty and not shift it onto taxpayers.

  • 20 November 2013 ( Urgent: Oppose "fast-track authority" for the TPP )

    US citizens: sign this petition against "fast-track authority" for the TPP .

    I've recommended several actions against the TPP ; please do them all. This is so bad that it's worth a few minutes of your time.

  • 20 November 2013 ( Urgent: Remove lead from aviation fuel )

    US citizens: call on the EPA to remove lead from aviation fuel.

  • 20 November 2013 ( Efforts to protect journalism in Iceland rendered ineffective )

    Iceland's initiative to protect journalism may be rendered ineffective by massive surveillance that scares off sources .

  • 20 November 2013 ( NSA provided information to other agencies )

    The NSA defied the FISA court by providing information to other agencies .

  • 20 November 2013 ( Kenyan anti-terror thugs )

    The Kenyan anti-terror thugs are accused of killing and disappearing people .

  • 20 November 2013 ( Estimated cost of rebuilding the Philippines )

    New estimate for rebuilding the Philippines: 5 billion dollars .

  • 20 November 2013 ( Socialism in the US )

    In the US, "Socialism" is no longer tarred with the association of Communism .

    Nowadays, it's the US government that's spying on everyone, even worse than the Soviet government did.

  • 19 November 2013 ( Rich fossil-burning countries ought to pay for costs of weather disasters )

    Rich fossil-burning countries ought to pay for the costs of the weather disasters they impose on poor countries.

  • 19 November 2013 ( Summary of why TPP is harmful )

    A clear summary of why the TPP is harmful and unjust.

    Most Americans will lose economically, as well as losing freedom, since these exploitation treaties transfer wealth from workers to business owners.

  • 19 November 2013 ( The two central ideals of Gettysburg Address under threat )

    The two central ideals of the Gettysburg Address are under threat today.

  • 19 November 2013 ( Some LG "smart" TVs send surveillance data to the manufacturer )

    Some LG "smart" TVs send surveillance data to the manufacturer.

    A friend commented:

    Note the article makes a mistake: that the destination page returns a 404 error means nothing. First of all, it's extremely easy to fake an error code (I know that in PHP it's just one line of code!). Second, even if it's indeed missing, all the data is still going to the server logs anyway, and it wouldn't be hard to retrieve it from there (in fact, using this would make the load on the server much smaller as no script ever gets executed).

  • 19 November 2013 ( Labeling tar sands oil as highly polluting would "stigmatize" Canada )

    Canada's "natural resources" minister charged that labeling tar sands oil as highly polluting would "stigmatize" Canada.

    Ready, aim, stigmatize!

    Something that stigmatizes Canada even worse is its policy of encouraging other countries to help fry our planet.

  • 19 November 2013 ( Oil spill inevitable if Russia drills in Arctic waters )

    Oil spill expert Simon Boxall says a devastating oil spill is inevitable if Russia drills in Arctic waters.

  • 19 November 2013 ( Urgent: End filibusters on judicial nominees )

    US citizens: call on your senators to end filibusters on judicial nominees.

  • 19 November 2013 ( Urgent: Defend Obama's health care reform )

    US citizens: Call on Congress to defend Obama's health care reform.

    What we really need is a national health service, but the right-wing demand to undo what Obama did would make things worse.

  • 19 November 2013 ( Urgent: Oppose bills that pander to fossil fuels )

    US citizens: phone your Congresscritter to oppose bills that pander to fossil fuels. Also send email through this page.

    The Capitol Switchboard numbers are 202-224-3121, 888-818-6641 and 888-355-3588.

  • 19 November 2013 ( Urgent: Releasing prisoners from Guantanamo or trying them in civil court )

    US citizens: call on your senators to support Senator Levin's bill to facilitate releasing prisoners from Guantanamo or trying them in civil court.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

  • 19 November 2013 ( Walmart is soliciting food donations for its employees )

    A Walmart is soliciting food donations for its employees, because they can't afford a Thanksgiving meal on low Walmart wages.

  • 19 November 2013 ( Haitians protested demanding the resignation of the president )

    Thousands of Haitians protested demanding the resignation of the president, who was more or less imposed by the US.

  • 19 November 2013 ( EPA reducing amount of corn-based ethanol to use in US cars )

    The EPA is reducing the amount of corn-based ethanol to use in US cars , but it should reduce this to zero.

  • 19 November 2013 ( The Gates Foundation talks about giving everyone in the world a toilet )

    The Gates Foundation talks about giving everyone in the world a toilet to use, but its solutions are ridiculously expensive.

  • 19 November 2013 ( Sentenced to prison for tweeting about trial of dissidents )

    Waleed Al-Shehhi was sentenced to prison in the UAE for tweeting about the trial of Islamist dissidents.

  • 19 November 2013 ( Proposing state laws to turn off cooperation with NSA massive surveillance )

    Proposing state laws to turn off cooperation with NSA massive surveillance.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

    If this effort is serious, it should start by deactivating the "fusion centers" by which state and local thug departments share information with the FBI about "terrorist suspects" such as Occupy protests.

  • 19 November 2013 ( Drones, tanks, and grenade launchers )

    Drones, tanks, and grenade launchers: Coming soon to a [thug] department near you.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

  • 19 November 2013 ( Thugs outraged that city plans to put GPS in their cars )

    Boston thugs are outraged that the city plans to put GPS trackers in their official cars.

    These cars belong to the city, and their used for official work, so personal privacy is not involved here. Anyway, thugs while on duty are not entitled to the same privacy rights as an ordinary citizen.

  • 19 November 2013 ( Supreme Court rejected challenge to legality of massive NSA surveillance )

    The Supreme Court rejected EPIC's challenge to the legality of massive NSA surveillance of American's phone calls.

  • 19 November 2013 ( Abusing copyright powers must be punished )

    Abusing copyright powers must be punished at least as hard as infringing copyright.

  • 19 November 2013 ( US blogger imprisoned for disobeying prior censorship order )

    A US blogger has been imprisoned for disobeying an unconstitutional prior censorship order .

  • 19 November 2013 ( Interview with organizers of anti-Assad militia in Syria )

    Interview with the organizers of an anti-Assad militia in Syria.

  • 19 November 2013 ( Change in the sea )

    How humans are changing the sea — disastrously .

  • 19 November 2013 ( Pope Francis )

    When Pope Francis looks good, it is in contrast to the Church's record of bad, bad, bad .

  • 19 November 2013 ( UK universities working with thugs to repress student protest )

    UK universities are working with thugs to repress student protest at the root .

    I think Michael Chessum made a mistake accepting release on the condition that he not engage in protest in or near his university (let alone others). That neutralizes him semi-permanently.

    I would urge him to tell the court that he rejects the conditions and will go to jail and be a political prisoner rather than legitimize this repression.

  • 19 November 2013 ( UN climate chief says most coal reserves must be left in ground )

    The UN climate chief told the World Coal Association that most coal reserves must be left in the ground .

    Bravo! But unless our governments stand behind this, coal will kill us.

  • 19 November 2013 ( The NSA's Global Threat to Free Speech )

    The NSA's Global Threat to Free Speech .

  • 19 November 2013 ( International agencies demand more austerity in Greece )

    International agencies are demanding even more austerity in Greece, despite the objection that this might cause a revolution .

  • 19 November 2013 ( US gov't owes Shaker Aamer apology and compensation )

    Shaker Aamer was interviewed on 60 Minutes, and demanded to be freed .

    Aamer and the others like him conclusively refute the claim that "If you're not doing anything wrong, you have nothing to fear from the US government." The US government owes them an apology and compensation, but most of all it must make sure not to repeat the offense with anyone else.

    David Hicks deserves an apology for the torture and unfair trial that the US gave him.

  • 19 November 2013 ( Urgent: Pressure Russia to free the Greenpeace 30 )

    Everyone: Call on Shell to pressure Russia (actually Gazprom) to free the Greenpeace 30.

  • 19 November 2013 ( "Healthy aging" is an oxymoron )

    "Healthy aging" is an oxymoron. Aging is nothing other than the tendency for bodies to become less healthy .

  • 19 November 2013 ( Economic growth without growth in CO2 emissions )

    Economic growth does not require growth in CO2 emissions . US per-capita economic production has doubled since 1970 but per-capita CO2 emissions have gone down (though not enough).

    The politicians who say this is impossible may be under the influence of the fossil fuel companies.

  • 19 November 2013 ( David Hicks deserves an apology )

    David Hicks deserves an apology for the torture and unfair trial that the US gave him.

  • 19 November 2013 ( Dead hand of dictator Pinochet blocks legal reforms in Chile )

    The dead hand of dictator Pinochet, in the form of screwy election rules , continues to block important legal reforms in Chile.

    Since Pinochet's rule was not legitimate in the first place, one could argue for following the previous constitution.

  • 19 November 2013 ( Companies selling sophisticated surveillance equipment )

    Companies are selling sophisticated surveillance equipment, even able to tap fiber cables .

  • 19 November 2013 ( One thug's un-reconciled testimony against a man shot dead )

    No one can reconcile one thug's testimony , that Mark Duggan had a gun in his hand when he was shot dead, with other thugs ' report that they found that gun 20 feet away, wrapped in a sock, on the other side of a wall.

    It seems that Duggan could not while dying have thrown the gun over the wall, but above all, he could not have put a sock over it at that time.

    I suggest that Duggan had no gun, that the one thug is mistaken in saying he saw one, and that another thug placed the gun to be found.

  • 19 November 2013 ( Funds to help poor countries survive global heating almost exhausted )

    The funds provided to help poor countries survive global heating are almost exhausted and little more is being given.

  • 19 November 2013 ( Mainstream media's "experts" in the field of climate science )

    Mainstream media can't find real climate scientists to deny global heating, so they present "experts" with no scientific experience in that field .

  • 19 November 2013 ( Death toll from Typhoon Haiyan )

    The death toll from Typhoon Haiyan is at least 3,900 , and the repair will cost half a billion dollars (or more).

  • 18 November 2013 ( Urgent: Stand behind Yeb Saño )

    US citizens: stand behind Yeb Saño , Philippines negotiator at the climate summit.

  • 18 November 2013 ( Urgent: Allow states to require labels on GMOs )

    US citizens: call on Senator Warren to withdraw support from the FDA's plan that would ban states from requiring labels on GMOs.

  • 18 November 2013 ( Large number of Taliban reportedly killed by Afghan army )

    The Afghan army has reportedly killed a lot of Taliban , but (as usual) that has little effect on how the war is going.

  • 18 November 2013 ( UK tracks diplomats through 350 hotels )

    The UK tracks diplomats through 350 important hotels around the world, so as to spy on them.

  • 18 November 2013 ( Abuse of migrant workers in Qatar )

    A Nepali worker in Qatar describes the abusive treatment by employers .

    Amnesty International says these abuses amount to forced labor .

  • 18 November 2013 ( The trees uprooted by Typhoon Haiyan )

    The trees uprooted by Typhoon Haiyan may never be replaced if more big storms keep coming through. If so, they will give global heating a permanent boost .

  • 18 November 2013 ( UK gov't wants power to cancel citizenship )

    The UK government wants the power to cancel citizenship , leaving people stateless and exiled.

  • 18 November 2013 ( Gov't of Ireland proposes high fees for freedom of information requests )

    The government of Ireland proposes to make freedom of information requests so expensive that hardly anyone would dare make them .

  • 18 November 2013 ( Regulate automobile insurance the way California does )

    All states should regulate automobile insurance the way California does.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

    In addition, they should ban insurance companies from collecting from drivers any information about the car's location over time, or that would enable deducing the car's location.

  • 18 November 2013 ( Christians teach lies about sex in US public schools )

    Christians teach lies about sex in US public schools.

  • 18 November 2013 ( Geithner will receive his reward )

    Geithner will now receive his reward for years of loyal service to Wall Street as Secretary of the Treasury.

  • 18 November 2013 ( How Our Public Schools Became a "Communist Threat" )

    How Our Public Schools Became a "Communist Threat".

    Why Taxpayers Shouldn't Fund Private Schools.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

    Note how these two forms of plutocratic pressure line up ironically.

  • 18 November 2013 ( Anti-Drone Movement Speaks )

    Anti-Drone Movement Speaks: 'End the Secrecy, No to Kill List'.

  • 18 November 2013 ( Thugs spying on protesters offer excuse that they are "anarchists" )

    In North Carolina, the thugs spying on protesters offer the excuse that they are "anarchists".

    Remember when it was "terrorists"?

  • 18 November 2013 ( Obama jails another whistleblower )

    Obama has jailed another whistleblower.

    This one was found by massively searching journalists' phone records.

  • 18 November 2013 ( Jeremy Hammond and the Need to "Promote Respect for the Rule of Law" )

    Jeremy Hammond and the Need to "Promote Respect for the Rule of Law".

    I wish they did not equate "hacking" with "breaking security".

    On Hacking

  • 18 November 2013 ( Long prison sentences for throwing pies at an official )

    Spanish protesters are threatened with long prison sentences for throwing pies at an official.

    This reflects the general attitude of the right-wing party that rules Spain, which seeks to abolish democratic rights in practice even though not in theory.

  • 18 November 2013 ( Body scanner in new Xbox )

    The new Xbox has a body scanner that can make a very sharp image of your body under your clothing .

    When you enter someone's home, ask if there is an Xbox present and, if so, insist on seeing it unplugged.

  • 18 November 2013 ( Nader calls on Washington Post to maintain editorial independence from owner )

    Ralph Nader calls on the Washington Post to set up a structure to maintain editorial independence from its owner, also the owner of Amazon.

    Amazon mistreats nearly everyone involved with books , including its customers.

  • 18 November 2013 ( Company makes customers promise never to publicly criticize it )

    A nefarious company, Kleargear, makes customers promise never to publicly criticize the company , and "fines" them if they do. The "fine" is probably not legally enforceable, but poor people lack the resources to fight back.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

    One solution: someone else who has never done business with Kleargear can post the condemnation.

    If the TPP passes, foreign companies would be able to sue the US government if it enforces the first amendment against such behavior.

  • 18 November 2013 ( Regulations don't destroy jobs )

    Businesses have a history of forecasting that regulations will destroy lots of jobs …but, in the end, that never seems to happen.

    What does destroy jobs? Austerity. Prioritizing efficiency over jobs.

  • 18 November 2013 ( Election in the Maldives )

    The Maldives held a democratic election. The right-wing Islamist won .
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

    We will see how human right are treated subsequently.

  • 18 November 2013 ( Greek group claims responsibility for killing Golden Dawn supporters )

    A Greek group, never before heard of, claimed responsibility for killing Golden Dawn supporters as retaliation for a Golden Dawn's supporter's murder of a left-wing rapper.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

  • 18 November 2013 ( Priority of the Australian gov't and fossil fuel industry )

    The highest priority policy goal of the Australian government is the fossil fuel industry's priority, which is to ensure humanity uses the maximum amount of fossil fuel in the shortest possible time .

  • 18 November 2013 ( Prisoners with cancer in Arizona denied medical care )

    Prisoners with cancer in Arizona are denied medical care and told to pray instead .

    That's religion for you.

  • 18 November 2013 ( Will the FBI be investigated? )

    Jeremy Hammond says that the FBI directed him (via its tool, Sabu) to crack web sites in Brazil, Iran and Turkey, and the FBI then took advantage of this.

    Will the FBI be investigated?

  • 18 November 2013 ( Urgent: Expand Social Security )

    US citizens: tell Congress to expand Social Security.

  • 18 November 2013 ( Urgent: Expand Medicare to all Americans )

    US citizens: Tell Congress to respect the progress in the Affordable Care Act, and vote on expanding Medicare to all Americans.

  • 18 November 2013 ( Urgent: Oppose Feinstein's fake fix for gov't surveillance )

    US citizens: phone your senators to oppose Feinstein's fake fix for government surveillance .

    The Capitol Switchboard numbers are 202-224-3121, 888-818-6641 and 888-355-3588.

  • 18 November 2013 ( Woman in Texas "colonias" cant get health care )

    The women in Texas "colonias" near the Mexican border can't travel far enough to get an abortion, or a cancer test, or any other health care . Even when they can afford the treatment, they are afraid of being deported while traveling for care, even if they are legal US residents.

  • 18 November 2013 ( TPP a way for the US to reassert its role as world bully )

    Richard Falkvinge says the TPP is the United States' way to reassert its role as a world bully .

  • 18 November 2013 ( Republicans blame Obama for insurance companies' actions )

    Republicans are blaming Obama for the medical plans that insurance companies choose to cancel, and the ones they created just recently knowing they couldn't continue.

    Setting aside those, which are the insurance companies' fault, Obama's health care claim (that people can keep their old insurance plans) is true.

  • 18 November 2013 ( China's detention system )

    China: Abolition of Labour Camps Must Lead to Wider Detention Reform .

  • 18 November 2013 ( MPAA's theater security )

    Alongside the TSA security theater, we suffer from the MPAA's theater security .

  • 18 November 2013 ( The USA FREEDOM Act does not go far enough )

    The EFF supports the USA FREEDOM Act as a first step, saying it does not go far enough .

    The EFF says that additional measures are needed to limit the government's access to data in private hands, and I agree about those points. However, that too fails to go far enough, because it does not limit the government's own direct collection of data about people (for instance, with license plate recognizers, surveillance cameras, and microphones in places such as buses and lampposts) or business collection of data about people. Once data is collected, it will be misused. We therefore must strictly limit the systematic collection of data about people .

  • 18 November 2013 ( UK's Iraq war inquiry )

    Both the US and the UK governments are trying to spike the UK's Iraq war inquiry .

  • 17 November 2013 ( Urgent: Call on the Supreme Court to apply ethical standards to itself )

    US citizens: call on the Supreme Court to apply to itself the ethical standards for all other federal judges.

  • 17 November 2013 ( Urgent: Petition against the Trans Pacific Partnership )

    Everyone: sign this petition against the Trans Pacific Partnership.

  • 17 November 2013 ( Urgent: Block the attempt to ban abortions after 20 weeks )

    US citizens: call on the Senate to block the attempt to ban abortions after 20 weeks.

    Such late abortions are only done when something goes gravely wrong.

  • 17 November 2013 ( Urgent: Support Philippines Climate Commissioner Yeb Saño )

    Everyone: stand in support of Philippines Climate Commissioner Yeb Saño , demanding strong action to curb global heating .

  • 17 November 2013 ( Cameron calls for inquiry into Sri Lanka's human rights abuses )

    Cameron, embarrassed about having attended the Commonwealth summit in Sri Lanka, now calls for an international inquiry into Sri Lanka's human rights abuses.

  • 17 November 2013 ( UK lawyers plan to go on strike )

    UK lawyers plan to go on strike against plans to cut payments to defense lawyers .

  • 17 November 2013 ( Anonymous activists accessing US gov't computers )

    Anonymous activists have been accessing US government computers , putting the shoe on the other foot. Strangely, the US government doesn't like being treated the way it treats us.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

    It would in general be wrong to take money from individuals' bank accounts; I hope these crackers are honest enough not to do that.

  • 17 November 2013 ( UK journalist in Sri Lanka blocked from observing Tamil areas )

    A UK journalist in Sri Lanka reports that the government sent crowds to block him from traveling to the north to observe the conditions in the Tamil areas.

  • 17 November 2013 ( The Assassination of Yasser Arafat )

    Uri Avnery says it must be Ariel Sharon who ordered the assassination of Yasser Arafat.

  • 17 November 2013 ( Jeremy Hammond receives 10-year prison sentence )

    Jeremy Hammond received a 10-year prison sentence, which he calls a political act .

    He said that the suggestions for which sites to target came from the FBI tool, Sabu.

    I do wish he would not use the word "hacking" to refer to security breaking. That confuses the public about the activities of hackers like me, which don't involve security breaking.

  • 17 November 2013 ( Unarmed protesters shot and killed by Libyan militia )

    A Libyan militia shot and killed unarmed protesters calling on the militia to disband.

  • 17 November 2013 ( Eternal Austerity Makes Complete Sense — If You're Rich )

    Eternal Austerity Makes Complete Sense — If You're Rich .

  • 17 November 2013 ( CIA collecting financial records of nearly all Americans )

    The CIA is collecting the financial records of nearly all Americans.

  • 17 November 2013 ( Right-wing extremist parties gaining strength in parts of Europe )

    Right-wing extremist parties are gaining strength in many parts of Europe.

    These parties are willing to fight hard against the immigrants that they blame for the spread of poverty, while parties on the left are generally timid about confronting the plutocrats that are really to blame. People who are willing to fight, and don't have a firm grip on who the enemy is, may choose the right wing parties just to see a real fight against someone .

  • 17 November 2013 ( Commonwealth Foundation's charity events in Sri Lanka )

    Sri Lanka's government tried to take control of the Commonwealth Foundation's charity events.

  • 17 November 2013 ( UK rapporteur accuses UK political leaders of verging on tyranny )

    The UN rapporteur on freedom of expression accused UK political leaders of verging on tyranny by calling the Guardian's journalism a crime.

  • 16 November 2013 ( Urgent: Call for reform of the ECPA )

    US citizens: call for reform of the ECPA.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

  • 15 November 2013 ( Urgent: Petition against TPP )

    US citizens: Sign this petition against the TPP .

  • 15 November 2013 ( Urgent: Tell Nestle to stop drying up part of Pakistan )

    Everyone: tell Nestle to stop drying up part of Pakistan for bottled water.

  • 15 November 2013 ( Urgent: Tell ex-senator to stop representing Monsanto )

    US citizens: tell ex-senator Blanche Lincoln to stop representing Monsanto.

  • 15 November 2013 ( Japan abandons plans to cut greenhouse gas emissions )

    Japan has effectively abandoned its plans to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

  • 15 November 2013 ( People who look for food to survive after a disaster )

    The presumption that people looking for food to survive after a disaster are "looters" regularly provides an excuse to repress them.

  • 15 November 2013 ( Thugs seek informers in dissident groups on UK college campuses )

    The search for informers in dissident groups on UK college campuses is part of a broader pattern of repression.

  • 15 November 2013 ( US judge rebukes gov't for not prosecuting banksters )

    A US judge rebuked the US government for not prosecuting any banksters for their frauds .

  • 15 November 2013 ( Acceleration of deforestation in Brazil )

    Deforestation in Brazil sped up greatly in the past year , partly due to a change in forestry law that people campaigned to stop.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

  • 15 November 2013 ( Op-eds for austerity written by right-wing students )

    The plutocrats of Fix the Debt wrote op-eds for austerity and got right-wing students to submit the text as their own writing .

  • 15 November 2013 ( Clear-cutting threatens rare possum in Australia )

    A rare possum in Australia is threatened by clearcutting.

  • 14 November 2013 ( Chapter from TPP leaked )

    A chapter of the TPP has been leaked , covering a wide range of topic including copyrights, patents, ISP censorship, and international tribunals that don't care about human rights.

    Not surprisingly, the US government takes the harshest position towards people (including Americans). However, there is no possible good to be achieved by such a treaty; all it can do is harm.

    This would attack our freedom in many unrelated ways, but the most basic attack, which paves the way for the others, lies in lumping together so many unrelated laws and issues and calling them " intellectual property " as if they had some coherent relationship. That term spreads confusion, and if we repeat it when criticizing the details of the chapter, we're undermining our own side.

    The TPP's an attack on public health .
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

    13 US cities held protests against the TPP .

  • 14 November 2013 ( FBI wants to shut down FOIA requests )

    A technique helps people get more information from FOIA requests to the FBI, so the FBI wants to shut down all FOIA requests for 7 years .

    The FBI says that these requests threaten national security. I think the FBI threatens national security and doesn't want us to find out about it.

  • 14 November 2013 ( Campaign for more gun control blocked )

    The campaign for more gun control in the US has been blocked .

    There are good reasons to condemn the US government — for catering to the rich and failing to help the poor, for instance — and right-wingers are surprisingly good at twisting this anger to their own uses. Owning a gun won't protect you when you can't afford medical care, when you can't get a job, when a bank commits fraud to take your house, when the government forces you to have a baby, or when the government signs a free exploitation treaty that gives foreign corporations privileges over you. The way to protect yourself from that is to vote for progressives.

  • 14 November 2013 ( UK Conservative Party deletes old speeches from web site )

    The UK Conservative Party deleted lots of old speeches from its web site, and set up a robots.txt file to tell the Internet Archive to stop distributing its copies.

    A friend at the archive told me they removed the robots.txt file subsequently, apparently in response to public criticism.

    UK conservatives advocate permanent austerity, permanent suffering for most of the country.

  • 14 November 2013 ( UK opposes investigation into flaws put into our computer systems )

    The UK opposes a European investigation into the flaws deliberately put into our computer systems .

  • 14 November 2013 ( Sabotaging negotiations aimed at preventing global heating )

    Australia seems to be planning to sabotage negotiations aimed at preventing global heating .

    Alas, so is the US (in a subtler way ).

  • 14 November 2013 ( A god's sadism )

    Devout Muslims want their brain-damaged father, who has more or less ceased to be conscious, kept alive with heroic measures so he can suffer .

    They say that suffering brings him "closer to god". I guess that god is a sadist — which would fit the amount of suffering in the world.

  • 14 November 2013 ( Corporate America's New Scam )

    Corporate America's New Scam: Industry P.R. Firm Poses as Think Tank!
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

  • 14 November 2013 ( US is bullying UK to conceal Dubya's discussions with B'liar )

    The US is bullying the UK to conceal Dubya's discussions with B'liar , which would indicate how much B'liar shared responsibility for the invasion and occupation of Iraq.

  • 14 November 2013 ( Watch the World's Forests Disappear on Google Earth )

    Watch the World's Forests Disappear on Google Earth.

    If you are thinking of trying to use Google Earth yourself, be sure to disable Javascript first, or install LibreJS. If a site doesn't work with LibreJS enabled, you should not use it.

  • 14 November 2013 ( Urgent: Support the Drone Strike Transparency bill )

    US citizens: support the Drone Strike Transparency bill.

  • 14 November 2013 ( EFF and other opponents of TPP challenge NSA )

    The EFF and other opponents of the TPP challenged the NSA to affirm it is not spying on their work.

  • 14 November 2013 ( How the NSA has converted the Internet )

    How the NSA has converted the Internet into a device for injecting malware.

  • 14 November 2013 ( New street lights have audio recording, video cameras, and cell phone tracking )

    New street lights have audio recording, video cameras, and cell phone tracking. Because they connect to the Internet, they are unacceptable surveillance.

    Worse, the proliferation of sensors threatens a regime of 100% enforcement of lots of petty rules, that would leave people feeling they are ruled by robots.

  • 14 November 2013 ( Trademark Law )

    Trademark Law Does Not Require Companies To Tirelessly Censor the Internet.

  • 14 November 2013 ( Chris Christie condemns methods, then uses the same ones )

    US citizens: Chris Christie condemned the previous governor's methods for balancing the budget, then used the same ones.

    He has not done a good job economically in New Jersey.

    One point in that article is questionable. Is it good for a state to have a "business-friendly" tax policy? Often it is bad.

  • 14 November 2013 ( Urgent: Block fracking on public lands )

    US citizens: call on Obama to block fracking on public lands.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

  • 14 November 2013 ( Court rules Google Books is fair use )

    A court ruled that Google Books is fair use.

    Google tried first to get special permission by making a settlement with a few large publishers. Many authors, including me, objected to this deal, and the court rejected the settlement. Thus, Google was forced to argue that this is fair use, which means we are all free to do this.

  • 14 November 2013 ( UK thug filmed trying to recruit activist )

    A UK thug was filmed trying to recruit an activist in at Cambridge to report on students for dissident behavior.

    This shows the real reason they want to spy on everyone. The "terrorists" they want to catch are the dissidents, often labeled as "terrorists" by the enemies of democracy.

  • 14 November 2013 ( US gov't keeps track of who purchases books about lying and polygraphs )

    The US government keeps track of who purchases books about lying and polygraphs.

  • 14 November 2013 ( US wants the TPP to require ISPs to monitor and punish customers )

    The US wants the TPP to require ISPs to monitor and punish their customers, and narrow down fair use .

    Even one of these would be a disaster, so we must defeat the TPP .

    More nasty stuff: requiring patents on medical treatments, raising prices of medicines (this will kill people!),
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

    Watch out! That article is steeped in enemy propaganda terms such as "intellectual property" and "protection". Using these terms helps the enemy.

    The article also assumes that the unjust requirements of the WTO will be maintained. Thus, it disregards one big injustice in the TPP : making future copyright reform impossible.

  • 14 November 2013 ( Urgent: Defend regulation of fracking on gov't land )

    US citizens: tell your congresscritter to oppose the bill to end regulation of fracking on government land.

  • 14 November 2013 ( UK gov't condemns escape of prisoner after helping to torture him )

    The UK government condemns Mohammed Ahmed Mohamed's escape, but the UK kidnapped him after helping to torture him, and then denied him justice . Why shouldn't he escape?

    He might have despicable Islamist views that don't respect other people's human rights. But that is no excuse for torturing him, kidnapping him, or suppressing his lawsuit for torture.

    When a government is accused of crimes, and the same government obstructs justice, that is grounds to declare it guilty as charged .

  • 14 November 2013 ( Canada against reduction of greenhouse gas emissions )

    Canada encourages other countries not to reduce greenhouse gas emissions .

    This shows that Canada's government has the explicit goal of frying our planet. Canada already has a clear policy of trying to increase its own fossil fuel exports, but this goes even further.

    Countries greatly threatened by global heating , such as Bangladesh and Spain, should regard Canada's conduct as an act of war. It can kill millions of people.

  • 14 November 2013 ( Crime gangs worried about interference from Pope )

    Crime gangs are worried that Pope Francis will interfere with their corruption of the Vatican Bank .

  • 14 November 2013 ( Life without parole in the US for nonviolent offenses )

    More Than 3,200 Serving Life Without Parole [in the US] for Nonviolent Offenses, Finds ACLU .

  • 14 November 2013 ( Qatar blocks football player from leaving country )

    A football player who sued his team in Qatar for not paying his salary has been blocked from leaving Qatar by denying him an exit visa .
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

    It is a fundamental injustice to require people to get an exit visa to leave a country. The Soviet Union did this. But what else would you expect from a country that works foreigners to death ?

    I think you'd have to be a fool to go to Qatar.

  • 14 November 2013 ( New method of freeing Americans from debt )

    Occupy has found a new method of freeing Americans from debt.

    Since bankruptcy is available to clear most kinds of debt, but not student loans, I wonder if it might be a good idea to apply this specifically at student loans.

  • 14 November 2013 ( Guantánamo 12 Years On )

    Guantánamo 12 Years On: How the Media [Are] Missing the Point .

  • 14 November 2013 ( Protections for cod in the North Sea )

    Protections for cod in the North Sea are starting to raise the population , so we need to keep them in place until the numbers get high enough.

    Protecting fish stocks generally entails overcoming the short-term-ism of the fishermen.

  • 14 November 2013 ( Violence between Israelis and Palestinians )

    Violence between Israelis and Palestinians is increasing .
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

    As usual, most of the victims are Palestinians. The article doesn't say, but I suspect that the Palestinian perpetrators are punished but the Israelis are not.

  • 14 November 2013 ( Palestinians attacking Israeli soldiers with knives )

    Palestinians are attacking Israeli soldiers with knives , apparently retaliating for increased violence by Israelis against civilians.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

  • 14 November 2013 ( Morsi refuses to cooperate with trial proceedings )

    Morsi called the head of the military government a "traitor" and refuses to cooperate with the trial proceedings .

    Relatives of the people whose murder Morsi's accused of inciting placed the charges before the coup. I won't say that Morsi can't be guilty of this; I don't know the facts. If he is guilty, that justifies some sort of prosecution, but doesn't justify a military coup.

  • 14 November 2013 ( 23 petty crimes that have landed people in prison for life )

    23 Petty Crimes That Have Landed People in Prison for Life Without Parole .

  • 14 November 2013 ( Campaign to ban autonomous killer robots )

    Support the campaign to ban autonomous killer robots.

  • 13 November 2013 ( Costa Rica's public banks )

    Costa Rica's public banks have shielded that country from the worst damage , even through US economic warfare that subjugated the economy in every other aspect.

    By the way, the world urgently needs some countries to default on their debt, so as to teach predatory lenders a lesson. At present they have every reason to suppose they can profit heavily by leading a country into international debt.

  • 13 November 2013 ( De facto segregation has returned to US schools )

    De facto segregation has returned to US schools. Where in the 1950s it was segregation between schools in the same school district, now it is segregation between school districts.

    This seems to be a consequence of de facto segregation in housing.

    When combined with the practice of funding education mostly from local property taxes, the result is that the schools where poor children go are badly funded.

    Real-Life Hunger Is No Game.

  • 13 November 2013 ( ALEC's latest nasty proposal )

    ALEC's latest nasty proposal: an agency to streamline privatization of any government services , including any and all roads.

    This would naturally lead to a new form of massive surveillance of drivers.

  • 13 November 2013 ( Child care costs more than college )

    In most US states, child care costs more than college.

    This may have contributed to the big increase in discouraged workers, as parents find that the costs of going to work leave them with no gain from working.

    If it were feasible for these people to work, that would not create jobs for them. Rather, they would appear in the unemployment rate, and thus make the harm done by anti-employment anti-poor policies harder to disguise.

    Growing up in poverty can permanently stunt a person, so the US policies that augment child poverty are causing irreparable damage.

  • 13 November 2013 ( US school "reform" )

    US school "reform" turns weak evidence into "proof" that their methods work.

  • 13 November 2013 ( Palestinian journalist was secretly arrested )

    Palestinian journalist Mohammed Abu Khdeir was secretly arrested when returning from Egypt. In Israel it is forbidden to report the arrest.

  • 13 November 2013 ( Israel plans to demolish 2000 housing units )

    To force 15,000 Palestinians out of the territory Israel has annexed to Jerusalem, Israel plans to demolish 2000 housing units. Some of them are slated to become parks.

  • 13 November 2013 ( Israeli army ordered Palestinians to uproot their olive trees )

    The Israeli army ordered Palestinians to uproot their olive trees because an Israeli colony is being built nearby on their land.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

    The government says the colony is illegal, but it nonetheless receives government support. The state is trying to have it both ways.

    The attacks against Palestinian agriculture proceed constantly, with the tacit support of the Israeli army and state. They get so little attention that Palestinians despair of reporting them.

  • 13 November 2013 ( Armed Israeli colonists attacked Palestinian farms )

    Armed Israeli colonists attacked a Palestinian villages farms, and Nadel Shafiq Taher Shatiya photographed them. When soldiers came, they took his cameras and gave them to the colonists, who later returned them broken .

    The army generally does not dare confront the violent colonists.

  • 13 November 2013 ( Israeli troops shot and killed Ahmad Tazaz'ah )

    An unofficial investigation found that Israeli troops shot and killed Ahmad Tazaz'ah while he was doing nothing in particular , in violation of their rules of engagement.

  • 13 November 2013 ( People afraid to phone for help, fearing NSA surveillance )

    22 organizations report that people are now afraid to phone them for help, fearing NSA surveillance.

    These organizations are now suing the government.

  • 13 November 2013 ( The New York Times endorsed Trans Pacific Partnership )

    The New York Times endorsed the Trans Pacific Partnership sight unseen. How's that for bowing to the plutocrats?

  • 13 November 2013 ( Inside Chinese Labor Camp )

    Inside The Chinese Labor Camp That Made Halloween Decorations Sold At Kmart.

    Kmart says it has different suppliers now, so if any of the present suppliers are using political prisoners as workers, Kmart can remain ignorant. That's how flexibility of the supply chain makes room for sweatshops, factory fires and slave labor.

    It should be Kmart's legal responsibility to know these things, to ensure that it isn't using prison labor.

  • 13 November 2013 ( Employees of G4S accused of forging papers )

    Employees of G4S, one of the main privatizers of government services in the UK, have been accused of forging papers to thwart someone's case for asylum.

    In South Africa, G4S operates a prison and has been accused of giving prisoners electric shocks and forced injections.

  • 13 November 2013 ( Reporter Francesca Borri )

    Reporter Francesca Borri: In Aleppo I only survive by looking Syrian.

  • 13 November 2013 ( Iraqi women had more rights under Saddam )

    Iraqi women had far more rights under Saddam Hussein than they do now .

  • 13 November 2013 ( Afghanistan is growing a record opium crop )

    Afghanistan is growing a record opium crop.

  • 13 November 2013 ( Urgent: Call on US border patrol to limit use of deadly force )

    US citizens: call on the US border patrol to limit its use of deadly force — use it only when necessary.

    This doesn't mean they can't defend themselves. It means they shouldn't shoot someone in the head — and 8 more times, once he is flat on the ground — for throwing rocks.

  • 13 November 2013 ( Urgent: Call on Obama to meet with striking Walmart workers )

    Everyone: call on Obama to meet with Walmart workers that are on strike.

  • 13 November 2013 ( Urgent: Protest in Paris against TAFTA, Nov 24 )

    In Paris: protest Nov 24 against the proposed free exploitation treaty, TAFTA.

  • 13 November 2013 ( UK gov't wants more surveillance power )

    The UK government wants even more surveillance power , showing contempt for freedom.

  • 13 November 2013 ( Democrats condemn Clinton as a servant of Wall Street )

    Many Democrats, revitalized in demanding progressive policies, condemn Clinton as a servant of Wall Street.

  • 13 November 2013 ( Elizabeth Warren rebukes federal regulators and Congress )

    Elizabeth Warren rebuked federal regulators and Congress for allowing banks to remain "too big to fail".

  • 13 November 2013 ( Self-censorship of American writers due to NSA surveillance )

    American writers say they self-censor because of NSA surveillance.

  • 13 November 2013 ( NY Times duped by NSA excuses )

    The New York Times tries unremittingly to believe NSA excuses .

  • 13 November 2013 ( UK spies use man-in-the-middle network switch to insert malware )

    UK spies used a man-in-the-middle network switch to create fake LinkedIn profile pages so as to insert malware into the computers of employees of Belgacom, a Belgian mobile phone company.

    This is how the GCHQ spies described their "vision" in 2011: "Any mobile device, anywhere, anytime!" Mobile phones made today all have a universal back door: if you carry one, you're a sucker.

  • 13 November 2013 ( Areas near Fukushima uninhabitable for many years )

    Some areas near Fukushima will be considered uninhabitable for many years .

  • 13 November 2013 ( Israeli soldiers occupy Palestinian homes )

    Israeli soldiers occupy Palestinian homes as " training ".

  • 13 November 2013 ( Global campaign to give women access to contraceptives )

    The global campaign to give women access to contraceptives proceeds despite opposition from prudish religion.

  • 13 November 2013 ( Cosmic ray theory bites the dust )

    The global heating denialists' cosmic ray theory bites the dust .

    I'm sure they will find another straw to grasp at — there are so many candidates, and the pay is so good.

  • 13 November 2013 ( Rising theft of food from stores in the UK )

    Theft of food from stores in the UK is rising due to increased poverty . It is noteworthy that a substantial fraction is stolen by staff. Perhaps these stores should pay their staff better.

    I don't think there is anything wrong in stealing food if you're in a place where there is sufficient nutritious food but you can't afford it. However, that argument doesn't apply to stealing luxurious food.

  • 13 November 2013 ( New Leak Reveals Spy Agencies Tapped Int'l Oil Group )

    Oil Espionage : New Leak Reveals Spy Agencies Tapped Int'l Oil Group.

    How does this relate to stopping terrorism, which is the supposed excuse for NSA general surveillance? Well, Saudi Arabia is a member of OPEC, and most of the Sep 2001 hijackers came from Saudi Arabia. Is that the excuse?

  • 12 November 2013 ( Poor people prevented from getting medical care in the US )

    How GOP Governors Are Preventing Millions Of Low-Income Diabetic Americans From Getting Medical Care .

    The Republicans in Georgia, by refusing to extend Medicaid to poor people, are also cutting off funding for hospitals that do treat the poor .

  • 12 November 2013 ( US stops claiming that massive phone tracking is "indispensable" )

    As the US argues in court for tracking everyone's phone calls, it seems to have quietly retracted the claim that this is "indispensable" for finding terrorists.

    This is significant because that claim was the reason the FISA court approved this tracking.

  • 12 November 2013 ( Texans fear old oil pipeline will leak again )

    Texans fear an old oil pipeline will leak again and pollute their reservoir.

  • 12 November 2013 ( Americans without jobs )

    5 million Americans have given up on finding a job since the crisis 6 years ago.

    Those who still have jobs are worse off: the median wage has declined 4% .

  • 12 November 2013 ( Death of cyclists due to collisions with cars )

    US thugs , courts and jurors accept the death of cyclists due to collisions with cars as normal .

    Punishing the few drivers that hit a cyclist while following usual driving practices will not change the usual driving practices. It will strike jurors as unfair to punish someone for doing what "everybody does".

    To change these practices requires adopting clear rules that will make cyclists safer, then punishing violations of these rules whether or not a cyclist was hit.

  • 12 November 2013 ( World's ten worst toxic sites )

    The world's ten worst toxic sites .

    None of them is in a wealthy country. Wealthy countries have for some decades offloaded their pollution onto poor countries.

  • 12 November 2013 ( How the Koch Brothers Organized the Federal Shutdown )

    How the Koch Brothers Organized the Federal Shutdown .

  • 12 November 2013 ( Heat waves could kill 2000 people a year in Eastern US by 2060 )

    Heat waves could kill 2000 people a year in the Eastern US by 2060.

    If global heating leads to a collapse of today's technological systems and air conditioning ceases to be available, that might go up to 20,000 a year, or more.

  • 12 November 2013 ( US funds unneeded weapons but cuts programs to help the poor )

    The US plutocracy funds weapons even if they fail in tests , but calls successful programs to help the poor "failures" in order to cut them.

  • 12 November 2013 ( Software that tries to diagnose person's state of health from voice )

    Software is being developed to try to diagnose a person's state of health from voice .

    Will there also be software to change your voice to hide these problems?

  • 12 November 2013 ( Denying Palestinian prisoners proper medical treatment )

    Palestinians accuse Israel of denying Palestinian prisoners proper medical treatment for diseases such as cancer .

  • 12 November 2013 ( Tax subsidies for fossil fuel )

    The Democrats' list of tax loopholes to be closed inexplicably omits the tax subsidies for fossil fuel.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

  • 12 November 2013 ( Climate-Friendly farming )

    We must promote climate-friendly farming before it's too late.

  • 12 November 2013 ( Al Qa'ida recruiting suicide bombers in Turkey )

    Al Qa'ida is recruiting suicide bombers in Turkey , and parents are afraid their sons will be recruited and die.

    People say the government turns a blind eye to it.

    One of the "new atheists" wrote that moderate religion contributes to the crimes of extreme religion by protecting it from criticism. This seems to be a good example of it. Any form of Islam makes a person vulnerable to infection by the jihadi mind-virus.

  • 12 November 2013 ( The pleasure of alcohol without some of the damage )

    A designer drug could give the pleasure of alcohol without some of the damage.

    This new drug might be less addictive than alcohol, but that's not automatic. Addiction results from the body's physiological adaptation to the effects of the drug. Whichever receptors respond to the new drug as they do to alcohol, they would tend to adapt and produce addiction. Meanwhile, whichever body systems are not affected by the new drug would not develop addiction; that might reduce the total addictive effect, but how much that occurs would have to be seen.

  • 12 November 2013 ( Philippine gov't planning how it will cope when global heating gets worse )

    The Philippine government is planning how it will cope when global heating gets even worse.

    But since that will become impossible in a few decades, it is also pushing for strong action to curb global heating.

  • 12 November 2013 ( Negotiations with Iran seem to have failed )

    The negotiations with Iran seem to have failed over a rather small disagreement, which gives hope that further discussions could bridge the gap.

  • 12 November 2013 ( Can we stop using disposable plastic cutlery )

    Can we stop using disposable plastic cutlery by bringing our own?

    It will be hard for travelers to do this unless they can bring their cutlery onto an airplane. Given that there is no real danger in this, the TSA ought to permit it.

  • 12 November 2013 ( Genetically engineered yeast )

    Genetically engineered yeast have been designed to produce medicines, flavorings and other useful things.

    Although "in principle" the substances that are made ought to be safe, that can have exceptions — and each case is a different issue.

  • 12 November 2013 ( Sweden is closing prisons )

    Sweden is closing prisons because of increased emphasis on rehabilitation and a relaxation in the War on Drugs .

    If the US tries to do this, the owners of private prisons will sue.

  • 12 November 2013 ( Sri Lanka urged UK not to regulate press )

    Newspapers in Sri Lanka urged the UK not to proceed with a royal charter to regulate the press , lest states like Sri Lanka cite it as a precedent.

  • 12 November 2013 ( Urgent: Independent courts for accusations of rape in the US military )

    US citizens: call on your senators to vote for independent courts for accusations of rape and sexual harassment in the US military.

  • 12 November 2013 ( Price controls in Venezuela )

    President Maduro has sent state agents to enforce low prices in some stores in Venezuela.

    In general, price controls cause shortages and are not a good idea. However, if applied only to certain stores which were given permission to buy dollars at the low "official" exchange rate, they can be seen as a condition of getting that permission, and they should not cause shortages.

    Venezuela has had shortages of certain products. No one I met there could tell me why, but it did not seem to be due to price controls.

  • 12 November 2013 ( US to ceremonially destroy stockpile of seized ivory )

    The US will ceremonially destroy its stockpile of seized ivory, as part of a campaign to end legal sales of ivory .

  • 12 November 2013 ( Sri Lanka arrests Australian senator and New Zealand MP )

    An Australian senator and a New Zealand MP went to Sri Lanka on a fact-finding mission to judge whether their countries should attend the Commonwealth Summit. Sri Lanka made the answer quite clear by arresting them .

    This ham-fisted attempt at repression would be funny, if it were not for the seriousness of the repression when it is aimed at Sri Lankan dissidents and journalists .

  • 12 November 2013 ( Poor South Africans organize for housing rights )

    The poorest South Africans organize for housing rights , against the corruption of the state, and despite repression that goes as far as murder.

  • 11 November 2013 ( Urgent: Respect for the rights of prisoners who report prison abuses )

    US citizens: sign this petition to respect the rights of prisoners who report on prison abuses.

  • 11 November 2013 ( Seven Things Veterans Need More Than a Holiday )

    Seven Things Veterans Need More Than a Holiday .

    The US attracts youths into the army by telling them they will "serve their country". As we know, that's only occasionally what US soldiers are used for. If we spread the word about what they are really likely to do, it might do some good.

  • 11 November 2013 ( Bloomberg News censors stories about China )

    Bloomberg News censors stories about China .

  • 11 November 2013 ( Mixing liquids to make explosive TATP in a plane impossible )

    The liquid bomb terrorists were originally accused of planning to mix liquids to make the explosive TATP in a plane, but that would be impossible .

    However, later it came out that their plan was somewhat different , and not impossible, merely very difficult.

  • 11 November 2013 ( Ban on practice of discarding "by-catch" not enough )

    Banning the practice of discarding "by-catch" (fish that the fishermen did not aim to catch) is not enough to enable overfished stocks to recover .

    The only way to protect fish stocks is to defeat the political power of the fishermen, who are generally short-term-ist.

  • 11 November 2013 ( Australia's record-setting high temperatures )

    Australia keeps setting high temperature records , but the government, totally subservient to coal interests, says it will reduce plans for CO2 emissions cuts .

    These long-term targets sound impressive until they are canceled without having been achieved. The way to get real results is with a carbon tax.

  • 11 November 2013 ( UK gov't invites gas company employee to write energy policy )

    The business-ridden UK government invited a gas company employee to write its energy policy .

    Note how the ministry claims that conflicts of interest are a minor matter compared with the "knowledge" that business employees have. I'm sure they know plenty about what policies will serve their employers, but knowledge can't compensate for bad goals.

  • 11 November 2013 ( Typhoon Haiyan kills over 10,000 people )

    Typhoon Haiyan killed over 10,000 people , perhaps much more.

    Many of the dead were drowned because the storm drove a 6-meter wall of water onto the land.

    The rise in sea level, for which global heating is directly responsible, surely increased the height of the storm surge and therefore increased the death toll. Global heating also played a role in making the storm so strong, which also increased it.

    One study forecast that global heating would kill a hundred million people by 2030 .

  • 11 November 2013 ( Right-wing myths taught in UK economics classes )

    Economics classes in the UK continue teaching right-wing myths that the 2008 crash demonstrated were false.

    Of course, this was not the first sign that they were false .

    I think that an investigation of why these falsehoods are taught would come across the influence of plutocrats' money.

  • 11 November 2013 ( France blocks first-stage nuclear deal with Iran )

    It seems Israel has convinced France to block a first-stage nuclear deal with Iran .

  • 11 November 2013 ( Urgent: Tell Warren Buffet to stop threatening rail workers )

    Everyone: tell Warren Buffett to stop threatening rail workers that want to unionize.

  • 11 November 2013 ( Urgent: Raise minimum wage to $10 )

    US citizens: phone your congresscritter to support raising the minimum wage to $10. Also sign this petition .

    The Capitol Switchboard numbers are 202-224-3121, 888-818-6641 and 888-355-3588.

  • 11 November 2013 ( Urgent: Allow free election in Honduras )

    US citizens: call on your senators to call for the US to allow a free election in Honduras.

  • 11 November 2013 ( Reasons to stop the Trans Pacific Partnership )

    Friends of the Earth lists many reasons to stop the Trans Pacific Partnership . This is in addition to the probable injustice against people who share.

  • 11 November 2013 ( Is Earth Fucked? )

    Geophysicist Brad Werner says "Earth is Fucked" if we continue under plutocracy . We can save the biosphere from global heating disaster, but to do so, we must break out of plutocracy's rules.

  • 11 November 2013 ( Reinstatement of Texas law to make abortion unfeasible )

    A right-wing US appeals court temporarily reinstated the Texas law to make abortion unfeasible. Some women have been unable to get an abortion as a result. The abortion clinics have appealed directly to the Supreme Court to try to reverse this.

  • 11 November 2013 ( Ladar Levison threatened with prosecution for closing Lavabit )

    Ladar Levison has been threatened with prosecution for closing Lavabit rather than deceiving all its customers.

  • 11 November 2013 ( Working Americans going hungry )

    Why Does Congress Think It's OK for Working Americans to Go Hungry?

  • 11 November 2013 ( Malala Yousafzai's memoir banned )

    Organizations of private schools in Pakistan have banned Malala Yousafzai's memoir from school libraries . The book is not in accord with their religious views, and dissent is not supposed to be allowed.

    This sort of disrespect for basic human rights is typical of Islamic countries.

  • 11 November 2013 ( Judgment against Chile in Inter-American court )

    Leopoldo García Lucero, tortured by Pinochet's men after the US-supported coup in Chile, received a judgment against Chile in the Inter-American court.

    Nothing can heal the wounds he received, but he is glad to have gained a precedent in the fight against torture and tyranny.

  • 11 November 2013 ( Right-wing Democrats )

    Hillary Clinton's official actions have served the plutocrats , not the people.

    I'm fed up with right-wing Democrats like Clinton, Clinton and Obama. It takes lunatic Republicans to make them look good, but that's not good enough to get my vote.

  • 11 November 2013 ( Natural capital )

    Will valuing " natural capital " lead businesses to preserve it?

    If corporations were inclined to manage their resources for long-term capital value, they might do this to natural systems based on their natural capital. However, corporations today typically don't look beyond the stock price 6 months from now. they are more likely to loot natural systems than manage them.

  • 11 November 2013 ( BIOS-level virus that spreads via firmware of USB sticks )

    A BIOS-level virus that spreads by infecting the firmware of USB sticks .

  • 11 November 2013 ( Coca Cola says it will stop buying sugar from grabbed land )

    Coca Cola Company said it would stop buying sugar grown on land that has been taken away from people .

    I am not sure whether this applies to the companies that bottle Coca Cola in countries other than the US.

  • 10 November 2013 ( Caribbean islands demand compensation for the slave trade )

    Caribbean islands demand compensation for the slave trade from the European countries that ran it .

    The book Inequality by Design , by Fischer et al, explains how discrimination against a minority group has a pernicious effect that continues to affect their descendants. The descendants of the slaves are still suffering today from the crime committed against them.

    The country that most deserves such compensation is Haiti. Haiti was made to pay a lot of money for its independence, which is why Haiti is so poor and indebted. Haitians deserve to get all that money back.

  • 10 November 2013 ( Convincing people to support action to curb global heating )

    Suggested arguments for convincing people to support action to curb global heating.

  • 10 November 2013 ( Local thugs joining in massive surveillance )

    Local thugs in the US are joining in massive surveillance.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

  • 10 November 2013 ( Power Plants and Other Vital Systems Are Totally Exposed on the Internet )

    Power Plants and Other Vital Systems Are Totally Exposed on the Internet.

  • 10 November 2013 ( Polio spreading to Middle East from Pakistan )

    Polio is spreading to the Middle East from Pakistan, where religious lunatics kill vaccination teams.

  • 10 November 2013 ( People get fired for using legalized pot )

    Even in states which have legalized pot, people get fired for using it.

    One disadvantage of the US is that companies can fire employees for almost anything, with a few special exceptions.

  • 10 November 2013 ( U.S. Manufacturing Only Has Jobs for the Skilled Few )

    U.S. Manufacturing Only Has Jobs for the Skilled Few.

    Self-driving cars cut put 2 or 3 million Americans out of work, if we allow them to. Why not ban them?

  • 10 November 2013 ( UK gov't cruel treatment to children of illegal immigrants )

    The UK government is dishing out cruel treatment to children of illegal immigrants, as a scheme to discourage immigration.

  • 10 November 2013 ( Urgent: Don't let JP Morgan get a tax deduction for its penalty )

    US citizens: phone Attorney General Holder and say, don't let JP Morgan get a tax deduction for its penalty.

  • 10 November 2013 ( Urgent: What has become of political prisoner Nadya Tolokonnikova )

    Everyone: demand that Russia say what has become of political prisoner Nadya Tolokonnikova.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

  • 10 November 2013 ( Urgent: Mike Bishop's case against the Keystone XL )

    US citizens: tell Obama to drop his opposition to Mike Bishop's case against the Keystone XL planet roaster pipeline .

  • 10 November 2013 ( Voters prove vulnerable to manipulation )

    American voters prove vulnerable to manipulation when companies launder money to pay for political advertisements.

    Voters approved many other progressive ballot initiatives.

    Americans need to learn that expensive political ads represent their enemy.

  • 10 November 2013 ( Urgent: Strong limits on CO2 emissions from new power plants )

    US citizens: tell the EPA you want strong limits on CO2 emissions from new power plants.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

  • 10 November 2013 ( A chance to comment on the dangers of TAFTA )

    The US government gave civil society organizations a chance to comment on the dangers of TAFTA, if they can afford to fly to Brussels on one week's notice.

    TAFTA stands for "Turn All Freedom To Ashes", and if you are not in favor of that goal, they don't want to hear from you.

  • 10 November 2013 ( Urgent: Commit not to buy sugar from land-grabbers )

    Everyone: call on PepsiCo to follow Coca Cola Company and commit not to buy sugar from land-grabbers.

  • 10 November 2013 ( Biomass as an energy source )

    Biomass as an energy source is renewable in principle, but if that means burning wood, it could also mean deforestation.

  • 10 November 2013 ( IPCC chairman on planet )

    IPCC chairman: Are we prepared to "pass on a lousy, spoiled and defiled planet"?

  • 10 November 2013 ( Urgent: Stop Subsidizing Multi-million Dollar Corporate Bonuses Act )

    US citizens: support the Stop Subsidizing Multimillion Dollar Corporate Bonuses Act.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

  • 10 November 2013 ( Urgent: Oppose coal export terminal in Washington State )

    US citizens: oppose a proposed coal export terminal in Washington State.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

  • 10 November 2013 ( Urgent: Employment Non-Discrimination Act )

    US citizens: phone your congresscritter to pass the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, which the Senate just passed. Also send a message through this page .
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

    The Capitol Switchboard numbers are 202-224-3121, 888-818-6641 and 888-355-3588.

  • 10 November 2013 ( Unjust trade trade treaty between US and Europe thwarted )

    The scandal about NSA spying in Europe has temporarily thwarted plans for a new, unjust trade treaty between the US and Europe, TTIP .

    This proposed treaty is also called TAFTA, or "Turn All Freedom to Ashes", and it is likely to be similar to the TPP . Any "trade" treaty that the US government proposes nowadays is likely to be an instrument to give business more power and undermine democracy.

  • 10 November 2013 ( Coal industry forum in Poland )

    While Poland hosts negotiations to consider perhaps saving the Earth's biosphere, it also contemptuously holds a coal industry forum .

  • 10 November 2013 ( David Eckert's forced colonoscopy )

    More on David Eckert's forced colonoscopy.

    I think it is abuse of language and common sense to stretch the word "rape" to include a forced medical procedure. Rape is not the only sort of wrong; if we want to criticize something, we don't need to scrape up an excuse to call it "rape".

  • 10 November 2013 ( Walmart workers protest )

    Walmart workers held the largest protest ever .

    I nearly always avoid Walmart.

  • 10 November 2013 ( Colon searches in Deming )

    Eckert wasn't the only person in Deming whose colon was searched for drugs based on no evidence.

  • 10 November 2013 ( Possibility of nuclear agreement with Iran )

    Might Netanyahu launch an attack on Iran to sabotage the possibility of a nuclear agreement?
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

  • 10 November 2013 ( Food industry wants to ban states from requiring GMO labeling )

    The food industry wants the US government to ban states from requiring labeling of GMOs .
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

  • 10 November 2013 ( Tony B'liar's advice on "good governance" )

    Tony B'liar 's advice on "good governance" has not led Kazakhstan to respect human rights any better. It has got worse since he started .

    The argument that Kazakhstan is "an important country" is a red herring.

  • 10 November 2013 ( Sheik declared "terrorist" without trial )

    Sheik Yassin Kadi was declared a "terrorist" by the US and then by the UN, without a trial, based on accusations kept secret from him .

    This is the natural result of the laws that ban organizations by declaring them "terrorist", without a trial. Such laws are inherently unjust and all of them must be repealed.

  • 10 November 2013 ( Countries learning to reject unjust trade treaties )

    Several governments are learning to reject unjust trade treaties.

    Too bad the US is not one of them .

  • 10 November 2013 ( Pollution from jewelry and other chemical processing )

    Argentina, Indonesia and Nigeria among World's Top 10 Most Polluted Places Due to Jewelry And Other Chemical Processing .

  • 09 November 2013 ( Urgent: No shipping of toxic fracking waste on rivers )

    US citizens: tell the Coast Guard not to allow toxic fracking waste to be shipped on rivers . A barge accident could pollute water supplies.

  • 09 November 2013 ( Urgent: Oppose bill that weakens the EPA )

    US citizens: call on your congresscritter and senators to oppose a bill to deny the EPA the power to regulate carbon pollution from power plants.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

  • 09 November 2013 ( Urgent: Honest judgment of Keystone XL by the EPA )

    US citizens: call on the EPA to judge the Keystone XL planet-roaster pipeline honestly and not join the State Department's greenwash.

  • 09 November 2013 ( Urgent: Enforcement of law to protect marine mammals )

    US citizens: call for enforcement of the law to protect marine mammals from fishing.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

  • 09 November 2013 ( IPCC report links climate change to anticipated global food scarcity )

    Leaked IPCC Report Links Climate Change to (coming) Global Food Scarcity . The problem is already affecting food production in the US.

  • 09 November 2013 ( Judges demands ICRC reports on conditions at Guantanamo prison )

    Judge Demands US Gov't Hand Over Secret Docs Detailing Gitmo Torture .

    I understand the ICRC's reason for not publishing its reports on how states treat prisoners. I'm not convinced that the ICRC's reputation for confidentiality will be significantly impugned if a state publishes the report that the IRCR made about that state.

  • 09 November 2013 ( UK to quash torture case with new court procedure )

    The UK intends to quash a torture case using a new secret court procedure , in which the state can present evidence to the judge while concealing it from the torture victims and their lawyers.

    The government's witnesses, testifying in secret, could lie like a Clapper, confident that no one will have the chance to investigate to find facts to put up against their testimony.

  • 09 November 2013 ( MPs squander opportunity to question UK surveillance organizations )

    MPs ordered the heads of UK surveillance organizations to testify in Parliament, and squandered the opportunity by giving them easy questions .

    The spymasters told us nothing, just repeated their usual bogus arguments in favor of spying on everyone.

  • 09 November 2013 ( Saudi Arabia funds new group of Islamist Sunni rebels in Syria )

    Saudi Arabia is funding a new group of Islamist Sunni rebels in Syria, this time excluding al Qa'ida.

    This exclusion of al Qa'ida removes one reason why the US would oppose it, but they would seek to oppress Shi'ite, Christian and secular Syrians with a tyranny comparable to that of Saudi Arabia.

  • 09 November 2013 ( Proposed coal mine in Borneo )

    A proposed giant coal mine in Borneo could cause deforestation locally, wiping out orangutans (and many other species) , but the revenge on the rest of the world will take the form of global heating and ocean acidification .
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

  • 09 November 2013 ( War on Drugs )

    We need to end the War on Drugs , and not just for marijuana.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

  • 09 November 2013 ( Horoscopes )

    What horoscopes would look like if astrology were really valid .

  • 09 November 2013 ( Mayor de Blasio must deal with effects of global heating on NYC )

    Bill de Blasio, New York's first day-mayor ( * ) in several decades, will have to deal with protecting New York City from the effects of global heating , as well as the problem of housing used by rich people for vacations. As global heating accelerates, some areas will have to be abandoned.

    * Giuliani and Bloomberg were night-mayors .

  • 09 November 2013 ( How NSA instructs its speakers to defend massive surveillance )

    The NSA instructed its speakers to defend massive surveillance with a vague reference to the September 2001 attacks . In effect, an allusion to the idea that we're supposed to believe their spying on all of us protected us from something more dangerous than a nondemocratic government.

  • 09 November 2013 ( Other NSA staff inspired by Snowden )

    The Government Accountability Project says that other NSA staff are revealing information , inspired by Snowden.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

  • 09 November 2013 ( Hidden mental scars from solitary confinement )

    Solitary confinement produces hidden mental scars , and in New York State prisoners are put in solitary confinement for ridiculous arbitrary reasons.

  • 09 November 2013 ( Five reasons to ban depleted uranium from weapons and armor )

    Five reasons to ban depleted uranium from weapons and armor.

    If the US were ever invaded, we could not dare use tanks with depleted uranium armor, or fire the DU shells — it would be less damaging to surrender.

  • 09 November 2013 ( Deforestation in Sumatra )

    What's the right strategy to end deforestation in Sumatra?

  • 09 November 2013 ( Strongest hurricane ever recorded over land )

    The Philippines was just struck by the strongest hurricane ever recorded over land .

    Global heating causes increasingly strong storms and rising sea level, which combine to cause ever more damage.

  • 09 November 2013 ( UK marine convicted of murdering a prisoner )

    A UK marine was convicted of murdering a prisoner in Afghanistan.

  • 09 November 2013 ( Global heating denying celebrities )

    Global heating denying celebrities stem from the corporate-funded astroturf "wise use" movement in the 80s.

    With their bogus scientific claims rejected, they move to the free market fundamentalist think tanks of the cult of the invisible hand. ("Whatever the market does is right, by definition, even if it makes everyone suffer.") Those circles don't care if the science is wrong as long as it supports their faith.

  • 09 November 2013 ( Egypt's military announced schedule for elections )

    Egypt's military government announced a schedule for elections next year.

    I hope this is sincere, but I would not count on it.

  • 09 November 2013 ( Netanyahu is making wild threats )

    Netanyahu is making wild threats over the possible nuclear deal with Iran .

  • 09 November 2013 ( Game of tag is not allowed )

    A school in Canada has prohibited children from touching each other. The game of tag is not allowed.

  • 09 November 2013 ( Google is using spyware in apps )

    Google is using spyware in apps to track phone users into physical stores.

  • 09 November 2013 ( Unequally divided wealth and income in US )

    A list of facts that show how unequally divided wealth and income are in the US.

  • 09 November 2013 ( Urgent: Stop Tax Haven Abuse Act )

    US citizens: support the Stop Tax Haven Abuse Act.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

    Here's what the bill does.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

    More info about a previous version of the bill.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

  • 09 November 2013 ( "Unreasonable Force" In Chicago )

    "Unreasonable Force" In Chicago Evidently Does Not Mean A Probably Drunk Cop Killing An Unarmed Guy Lying On the Ground By Shooting Him 16 Times.

  • 07 November 2013 ( Two proposed mines in Australia )

    Two proposed mines in Australia would emit almost 4 billion tons of CO2 or equivalent.

    This happens as investors are questioning fossil fuel companies about high valuations based on the carbon bubble.

  • 07 November 2013 ( The opposite of a carbon tax )

    Governments' large subsidies to fossil fuel companies are in effect the opposite of a carbon tax.

    Right wing governments are trying to skew funding even more in favor of fossil fuels.

    These subsidies are a form of corruption: the fossil fuel companies have "invested" in looting the treasury.

  • 07 November 2013 ( Greece public broadcasting system )

    Greece closed its public broadcasting system and fired all the employees, while starting a new public broadcasting system with different personnel.

    The fired employees occupied the building for five months, publishing over the Internet, but the state has now sent thugs to force them out.

    This move was equivalent to firing everyone and hiring other people. Why do that? Perhaps to pay them all less. Or to choose people who have less character, ethics or scruples.

  • 07 November 2013 ( The lies that defeated GMO labeling )

    The lies that appear to have defeated GMO labeling in Washington.

  • 07 November 2013 ( FARC has reached peace agreement with state )

    The FARC, Colombia's second-worst terrorist group, has reached a peace agreement in principle with the state.

    The end of the guerrilla war between the FARC and the state would be a step forward, but I have to wonder what effect this will have on the fight against the Colombia's principal terrorist group, the right-wing paramilitaries, which was closely associated with the previous president Alvaro Horrible .

    Also, I am concerned that boosting President Santos might hurt the chances for electing a president that will tear up the unjust free exploitation treaty with the US.

  • 07 November 2013 ( Shell lied about damage caused by oil spills in Nigeria )

    Amnesty International says Shell lied about damage caused by oil spills in Nigeria.

  • 07 November 2013 ( Urgent: Call on Senator Durbin not to sell us out )

    US citizens: phone Senator Durbin's office and call on him not to cut Social Security, Medicaid or Medicare. No Grand Sellout!

  • 07 November 2013 ( Urgent: Oppose sale of US national parks )

    US citizens: tell Congress not to sell our national parks.

  • 07 November 2013 ( Urgent: Oppose plan to allow more oil drilling in the Chukchi Sea )

    US citizens: oppose a plan to allow even more oil drilling in the Chukchi Sea.

  • 07 November 2013 ( NYC jail keeps mentally ill prisoners in solitary confinement )

    New York City's jail keeps mentally ill prisoners in solitary confinement , sometimes for years on end.

    That's likely to make them sicker.

  • 07 November 2013 ( Thugs probe man's intestines because he clenched his buttocks )

    Thugs got "doctors" to search David Eckhart's intestines 6 times just because he was seen clenching his buttocks.

    The colonoscopy procedure has a certain degree of danger. That danger is worth while for people who have an a priori risk of colon cancer, but that cannot excuse applying it to anyone else.

  • 07 November 2013 ( Urgent: Oppose the TPP and the "fast track" for it )

    US citizens: send a message to your congresscritter and senators to oppose the TPP and especially oppose "fast track" for it.

    Here's the true nature of the TPP .

  • 07 November 2013 ( Urgent: Stop thugs from confiscating people's property at will )

    US citizens: call for an end to the federal loophole that undermines state laws intended to stop thugs from confiscating people's property at will.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

  • 07 November 2013 ( British journalist Sarah Harrison goes into exile )

    British journalist Sarah Harrison has gone into exile fearing she will be accused of "terrorism" if she returns home.

  • 07 November 2013 ( French court orders Google to delete pages from search results )

    A French court ordered Google to delete certain foreign web pages from search results.

    This seems like dangerous censorship to me.

  • 07 November 2013 ( Safety of genetically modified foods )

    A scientific-sounding article brushes quietly over reasons to reject genetically modified foods . It looks thoughtful but its reasoning is invalid.

    It is clear that today's widely used GMOs are safe for most people to eat. If they caused harm to a substantial fraction of people, it would have shown up in medical statistics by now.

    This does not imply that they don't cause allergies in some people. (I linked to a different report of such allergies .) Labeling GMOs is just what's needed to enable people with those allergies to avoid the problem — even if most of us can safely ignore it.

    Meanwhile, today's GMOs cause big environmental problems. "Roundup-ready" plants have led to an increase in pesticide use , while Bt-toxin plants kill other insects besides the pests they are meant to kill .

    If we wish to reject these crops to protect the environment, we should have that option. Why should agribusiness be allowed to conceal use of these crops from the public?

    The veil comes down when the article makes a patently absurd claim that the probable defeat in Washington should affect our goals. That defeat shows the effect of agribusiness' millions, but has nothing to do with the question of what is good policy.

    The lies that defeated GMO labeling

  • 07 November 2013 ( High level of polonium 210 found in Yasser Arafat's corpse )

    A high level of polonium 210 was found in Yasser Arafat's corpse, suggesting he was killed with that poison.

    Israel has a nuclear reactor (and nuclear weapons), and could easily make polonium 210. Arabs would find it difficult to obtain.

  • 07 November 2013 ( UK secrecy blocks report about decision to invade Iraq )

    UK secrecy about communications between B'liar and Dubya is blocking the report about why they decided to invade Iraq.

  • 07 November 2013 ( Palm oil companies disregarding ethical commitments )

    Large palm oil companies are disregarding the ethical commitments they made , and destroying forests in Africa and Asia.

  • 07 November 2013 ( US called on to investigate 18 killings in Afghanistan )

    Human Rights Watch calls on the US to investigate 18 killings in Afghanistan in which US troops seem to have killed prisoners .

  • 07 November 2013 ( NY State issues order to block protests against drone base )

    New York State has issued a "protective order" to block protests against a drone base .

  • 07 November 2013 ( Global heating )

    Global heating will make dry regions drier , and this will undermine the life of the soil.

    Geoengineering schemes designed to reflect sunlight away from the Earth would reduce global rainfall .

    They would also fail to save the oceans from acidification which is likely to wipe out coral reefs and all the species that depend on them.

  • 07 November 2013 ( Big Pharma )

    Why Big Pharma Won't Stop Breaking the Law .

  • 07 November 2013 ( Allergies and lack of biodiversity )

    A lack of biodiversity in the nearby environment correlates with different bacteria on your skin, and a greater incidence of allergies .

  • 07 November 2013 ( Queensland extends unjust model of banning organizations by fiat )

    Queensland (a state in Australia) has extended the unjust model of banning organizations by fiat, previously applied to supposed terrorists, to supposed motorcycle gangs .

  • 06 November 2013 ( Ireland bankrupted itself )

    Ireland bankrupted itself by agreeing to pay for the losses of private banks . This led to austerity which only made things worse.

  • 06 November 2013 ( Initiative to require labeling of GMOs )

    The Washington initiative to require labeling of GMOs has probably been defeated.

    Companies put many millions into ads against labeling.

  • 06 November 2013 ( Million Mask March )

    Protesters gather around the world for Million Mask March.

  • 06 November 2013 ( Subversion of judicial process )

    A Google security expert accuses GCHQ of "subversion of judicial process".

    The state has subverted its own judicial process for the sake of snooping of various kinds.

  • 06 November 2013 ( 4 Foods That Could Disappear )

    4 Foods That Could Disappear If New Food Safety Rules Pass.

  • 06 November 2013 ( "Foreign aid" )

    Lots of "foreign aid" is neither foreign nor aid.

    I think cancellation of a poor country's debt is real aid, and urgently needed too. However, encouraging external investment is business in a country is not real aid, since investment tends to be predatory and subjugating (it leads to pressure to sign treaties with "investor-state" provisions that damage human rights).

  • 06 November 2013 ( Traders say they will prove oil companies have fixed prices )

    Oil commodity traders say they will prove that big oil companies including Billionaire Polluters and Shell have fixed prices for a decade.

    So, will our plutocratist governments jail the people responsible, or just fine the companies a small fraction of what they made from this?

  • 06 November 2013 ( Progressive Democrat elected Mayor of New York )

    Progressive Democrat Bill de Blasio has been elected mayor of New York. This is a victory, though we will have to wait and see how much of one.

  • 06 November 2013 ( China pressuring Hollywood movie companies )

    China is pressuring Hollywood movie companies to join its PR force.

    Yet another reason we shouldn't go out of our way to help Hollywood — such by as tolerating nasty copyright restrictions and the War on Sharing, or by competing with other countries to offer movie production the biggest tax cut.

  • 06 November 2013 ( Urgent: Restore Dominican Republic citizenship for people of Haitian descent )

    Everyone: call on the Dominican Republic to restore citizenship for people of Haitian descent.

  • 06 November 2013 ( US listening post in Berlin )

    The US shut down its listening post in Berlin, so now it has to listen to the German government via the UK embassy .

    Although US spying on foreign officials makes those officials angry, I consider that practice more acceptable, and less scandalous, than US spying on you, me and everyone.

  • 06 November 2013 ( Kenya's congress passes "code of conduct" law )

    After reporters exposed theft by soldiers, Kenya's congress passed a law to fine or shut news media if they violate a "code of conduct" which will be decided later .

    Even if the code is not unjust at first, it could be changed easily later.

  • 06 November 2013 ( Snowden, Assange, Manning, Vanunu and Kamm )

    Snowden, Assange, Manning, Vanunu — The True Heroes Of Our Time .

    Anat Kamm should be listed in the title, too.

  • 06 November 2013 ( Israel to demolish homes of 15,000 Arabs )

    Israel has announced plans to demolish the homes of 15,000 Arabs in the areas Israel calls part of Jerusalem.

  • 06 November 2013 ( Gaza's electric plant shut down due to fuel shortage )

    Gaza's electric plant is shut down because there is no fuel .

  • 06 November 2013 ( Israeli troops attack Palestinians trying to farm their land )

    Some Palestinians tried to go to their farm land, but Israeli troops attacked them because Israeli colonists have built greenhouses on that land.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

    Sometimes the colonists even attack Israeli soldiers , and get away with it.

  • 06 November 2013 ( Israel applies separate laws for Israeli and Palestinian children )

    Israel applies one law to Israeli children and another law to Palestinian children .

  • 06 November 2013 ( Norwegian journalists in Sochi repeatedly arrested )

    Norwegian journalists in Sochi were repeatedly arrested and threatened with imprisonment , for no obvious reason.

  • 06 November 2013 ( American Psychological Association soft on torture )

    The American Psychological Association is soft on torture .

  • 06 November 2013 ( More CO2 cuts needed to avoid disaster )

    The UN reports that the CO2 -reduction targets of the countries in the world won't be enough to avoid global heating disaster. Much more cuts are needed by 2020 .

    An OECD study found that a carbon tax is the most efficient way to achieve cuts of whatever level.

  • 06 November 2013 ( Surrender of the M23 rebels in the DR Congo )

    More about the surrender of the M23 rebels in the DR Congo.

  • 06 November 2013 ( Loan companies advertising to children )

    If advertising tobacco to children wasn't bad enough, now loan companies are doing it .

  • 06 November 2013 ( UK snoops on undersea cables from base in Cyprus )

    The UK snoops on many undersea cables from its base in Cyprus.

  • 06 November 2013 ( Argentina's new biometric ID system )

    Argentina's New Biometric ID System Ignores Right to Privacy .

    This system (SIBIOS) is why I decided not to go to Argentina again . (Sorry, that article is in Spanish.)

  • 06 November 2013 ( Six Journalists Given Life Sentences in Turkey )

    Six Journalists Given Life Sentences in Turkey .

  • 06 November 2013 ( End of rebellion in Congo )

    The rebellion in the Congo (DRC) seems to have ended .
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

    The fighting in that region tends to be due to rivalry between mineral-trafficking gangs that supply the demands of users in wealthier countries. Some of these gangs are known as "governments" while others are called "rebels". The fighting flares up when the gangs disagree about what share each gang will get. People are better off when the gang structure is stable and nobody is getting shot.

  • 05 November 2013 ( Former FBI agent refutes bogus argument for massive surveillance )

    Mike German, former FBI agent, refutes the bogus arguments for massive surveillance.

    Even if general surveillance did protect us from terrorists, it makes us vulnerable to a much bigger danger: the rogue state.

  • 05 November 2013 ( Greek Protesters Rally Against IMF And EU Inspection )

    Greek Protesters Rally Against IMF And EU Inspection .

  • 05 November 2013 ( China's plan to reduce smog will increase CO2 emission )

    China's plan to reduce smog by replacing coal will result in doubling the CO2 emission the coal was producing .

  • 05 November 2013 ( Almond production drops due to death of honeybees )

    The death of honeybees has caused a drop in almond production in California , and a shortage.

  • 05 November 2013 ( UK massive surveillance violates European human rights law )

    UK massive surveillance appears to violate European human rights law .

  • 05 November 2013 ( Snowden's open letter to Germany )

    Edward Snowden's open letter to Germany .

    On Snowden's prospects of being given asylum in Germany .

    Amnesty International says that prosecuting Snowden would make him a political prisoner .

  • 05 November 2013 ( Kerry wants to proceed with plans to render democracy powerless )

    Kerry asks Europe not to let the dispute about NSA surveillance interfere with joint plans for a trade treaty to render democracy powerless .

  • 05 November 2013 ( Dawkins on Voluntary-Public-Spirit )

    Richard Dawkins raised a public issue that affects all of us, using his bottle of honey as an example; people criticized him as if he only cared about that bottle .

  • 05 November 2013 ( Undercover UK thugs to be tried in secret court )

    The human rights lawsuit against undercover UK thugs , by the lovers they tricked, has been buried in a secret court that is designed to be unfair in favor of the state.

  • 05 November 2013 ( Reducing poverty )

    Planning to cut US poverty in half over the next ten years.

    The question is whether we can reduce poverty faster than the plutocrats can crank out more.

  • 05 November 2013 ( Obama's sellouts to the meat industry )

    Obama's sellouts to the meat industry.

  • 05 November 2013 ( Ethiopian journalist imprisoned for 18 years )

    Ethiopian journalist Eskinder Nega has been imprisoned for 18 years for calling for democracy , along with many other supporters of human rights.

  • 05 November 2013 ( The Employment Non-Discrimination Act is not strong enough )

    The Employment Non-Discrimination Act is not strong enough ; it has a religious loophole.

    It's not just gay staff that face the threat of discrimination when a secular hospital merges with a religious one; the patients do, too. We should require religious hospitals to provide all sorts of care that patients are entitled to, including abortions; if the church doesn't like it, it can sell the hospital to a foundation.

  • 05 November 2013 ( Marshall Islands' inhabitants trying to live sustainably )

    The Marshall Islands' inhabitants are trying to live sustainably , and hoping that the rest of the world will follow their example rather than inundating them.

  • 05 November 2013 ( New Zealand passed US-style law )

    New Zealand has passed a US-style law requiring telecommunications companies to implement interception facilities .

    I don't think such facilities are bad in themselves; however, the state must not be able to use them unmonitored.

  • 05 November 2013 ( Democracy activists calling for tourist boycott )

    Democracy activists in the Maldives are calling for a tourist boycott to pressure the state to allow a free election; meanwhile, the state has made it a crime to advocate that boycott.

    This reminds me of the Israeli law that threatens to bankrupt anyone that advocates the boycott of products made in Israel's colonies in Palestinian territory .

  • 05 November 2013 ( Obama's drone attacks )

    Judging Obama's drone attacks against international law finds that many of them are crimes.

  • 05 November 2013 ( Offering men paternity leave to match women's maternity leave )

    Offering men paternity leave to match women's maternity leave could indirectly reduce employment discrimination against women.

  • 05 November 2013 ( Former congressman denied a voting ID )

    A former congressman was denied a voting ID under the state's tough new voter suppression law .

  • 05 November 2013 ( Brazil accused of hypocrisy for minor forms of surveillance )

    Brazil is being accused of hypocrisy for minor forms of surveillance such as following foreign diplomats' cars.

    I don't see anything wrong with the practices described here, which are aimed at specific people that there is a specific reason to be suspicious of. It isn't wrong for the US to do this sort of surveillance, either. What makes US surveillance an injustice is that it is massive and general, aimed at all Americans.

  • 05 November 2013 ( Global heating is making polar bears starve )

    Global heating is making polar bears starve, so in part of Canada a few of them try to eat humans .

    We can't blame the polar bears. They don't understand global heating ; we do.

  • 05 November 2013 ( Iranian "reformist" newspaper closed )

    An Iranian "reformist" newspaper has been closed, reminding us that even if Iran makes a deal about uranium enrichment, it will still be a theocratic tyranny.

  • 05 November 2013 ( ALEC's "transparency" initiative )

    ALEC's "transparency" initiative omits important information , compared with what as been obtained in the past through open-records requests.

  • 05 November 2013 ( Cowardly leftish politics )

    Cowardly leftish politics: instead of adopting a livable minimum wage, "reward" the businesses for paying enough.

    If we keep on giving employers tax cuts instead of requirements, soon they won't have any tax to dodge, and we'll all be taxed to pay for their "incentives".

  • 04 November 2013 ( Urgent: Hold China to account )

    Everyone: call for holding China to account as it seeks to join the UN Human Rights Council.

  • 04 November 2013 ( Urgent: Support negotiation with Iran )

    US citizens: show support for negotiation with Iran.

  • 04 November 2013 ( Greenpeace activist reports on prison conditions in Russia )

    One of the Greenpeace 30 reports on prison conditions in Russia .

    Note how the Australian government refuses to help him. That's because it works for the fossil fuel companies.

  • 04 November 2013 ( Morsi on trial )

    Morsi, on trial, condemned the military coup .

    He may very well be guilty of some crime, but the military's crimes are so much bigger that they make this trial absurd. The Muslim Brotherhood advocates disrespect for human rights (for instance, the right to change from being a Muslim to being anything else), but shooting protesters dead on the street is also violating human rights.

  • 04 November 2013 ( Doctors told by US gov't to participate in torture of prisoners )

    An organization of doctors says the US government told doctors and psychologists to participate in torture of prisoners.

  • 04 November 2013 ( Nobel Prize in Economics given for unfounded hypotheses )

    The Nobel Prize in Economics was given for unfounded economic hypotheses that economists like to believe because they support right-wing conclusions.

  • 04 November 2013 ( Safe nuclear power: easier said than done )

    James Hansen calls for development of " safe nuclear power ".

    I respect him, but that is easier said than done. Some of the dangers would be addressed by using Thorium , but not all.

  • 04 November 2013 ( Abdolfattah Soltani starts hunger strike )

    Imprisoned Iranian human rights defender Abdolfattah Soltani has started a hunger strike.

  • 04 November 2013 ( Seeing anything sexual is dangerous but violence is no problem )

    Religious conservatism leads its believers to think that seeing anything sexual is dangerous for children, but seeing violence is no problem.

  • 04 November 2013 ( Executive order kept secret from Congress )

    The NSA collects Americans' contact lists on the pretext that this is all "foreign intelligence", citing the authority of an executive order that has been kept secret from Congress .

  • 04 November 2013 ( Stranglehold over all areas of law )

    The European Union plans to give foreign companies a stranglehold over all areas of law , through an "investor-state" treaty with the US.

    To establish such a treaty in a democracy is treason.

  • 04 November 2013 ( Rich abandoning America )

    America's rich are abandoning America , after extracting what they could get.

  • 04 November 2013 ( 23 meters of sea level rise by 2100 )

    A new study forecasts 23 meters of sea level rise by 2100 . Large parts of Boston would be under water, as well as Shanghai, Mumbai, Miami and more.

    And that's just considering the normal sea level, not high tides and hurricanes.

  • 04 November 2013 ( Drug prohibition blocking brain research )

    Drug prohibition is blocking brain research in the UK; promising treatments cannot be studied. The situation is similar in the US.

    In the US, drug prohibition also attacks the use of existing medicine.

  • 04 November 2013 ( The Great Austerity Shell Game )

    The Great Austerity Shell Game, which is the only way out until you tax the rich enough.

  • 4 November 2013 ( The UK Government's Decision )

    The UK government's decision to interrogate David Miranda and threaten him with imprisonment was based on a document that equated publication with terrorism.

    There you have it. Measures that strip people of their rights in the name of "fighting terrorism" will be used to attack freedom and democracy. These measures are far bigger threat than terrorism.

  • 4 November 2013 ( North Dakota Oil Spill )

    North Dakota Oil Spill Spotlights Obama Delay on Rules (about detecting leaks).

  • 4 November 2013 ( Why Prosecutors )

    Why prosecutors to prosecute heroes like Swartz and Kiriakou, rather than banksters.

    By the way, this also shows us why proposals to "reduce crime" by putting cameras on the street are missing the boat. If they want to make a real dent in crime, they should put the cameras in bank executives' offices.

  • 4 November 2013 ( Monopolies )

    Resistance to plant variety monopolies and other restrictions of crops is spreading in Latin America.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

    This generally admirable article falls for enemy propaganda when it treats the term "intellectual property" as if it were a principle. It is nothing but a way of lumping together various unrelated laws, one of which is the law of plant variety monopolies. These laws don't have anything meaningful in common, but the propaganda term leads people to think that they do, or should. Therefore, I never use it, and when I see it used, I explain how it is misleading.

    See for more explanation,

  • 4 November 2013 ( Economic Growth )

    The paradigm of economic growth, as typically understood today, is anti-life.

    It is not inevitable for economic growth to be anti-life; but if people formulate their thoughts in terms of economic growth and never mind how, it could come out that way.

  • 4 November 2013 ( Tesco )

    Going to shop in Tesco's? Wear an Anonymous mask.

  • 4 November 2013 ( Industry )

    The fossil fuel industry's pet government in Australia has approved a giant coal mine, never mind that running it will cause a local water shortage.

  • 4 November 2013 ( Workers )

    As many as two million workers are on strike in Indonesia.

  • 03 November 2013 ( UK to deport witness before she can testify )

    The UK plans to deport a witness to sexual intimidation of immigration prisoners before she can testify about it.

  • 03 November 2013 ( The arrest and interrogation of David Miranda )

    UK thugs say they arrested and interrogated David Miranda as a suspected "terrorist" because he stood for a "political or ideological cause".

    UK Claim That 'Journalism Equals Terrorism' Sparks Outrage .

    The law they used is ripe for such misuse because it gives the state far too much power to begin with. The idea of limiting its use to "real terrorists" is a pipedream. The powers must be reduced.

  • 03 November 2013 ( Use of dangerously loud sound as a weapon )

    Blasting people with loud sounds (even if it's music) is dangerous . It can even cause permanent injury.

  • 03 November 2013 ( New coverage of Obama's health care law )

    Canceling Americans' health care plans rarely received news coverage until it got connected with Obama's health care law.

  • 03 November 2013 ( Defending freedom of the press is "anti-government activism" )

    The government of Sri Lanka says that defending freedom of the press is "anti-government activism."

    Since they said so themselves, there's no room for doubt.

  • 03 November 2013 ( Massive collection of phone call data of people in France and Spain )

    Looking closely at NSA statements, it's not clear that the massive collection of phone call data of people in France and Spain is entirely made with the help of the governments of France and Spain . The NSA may do some of the collection directly.

    This detail doesn't alter the wrongness of the activity, or even who's culpable. It only affects what fraction of the practice the French and Spanish governments are culpable for.

  • 03 November 2013 ( Life in prison for throwing stones at Israeli occupation soldiers )

    A Palestinian teenager faces the threat of life in prison for throwing stones at Israeli occupation soldiers.

    Whether the teenager really threw stones, we have no way of knowing, since the torture and brainwashing applied to Palestinian children in Israeli prisons can easily lead to false confessions.

  • 03 November 2013 ( Urgent: Reject proposals to sabotage negotiations with Iran )

    US citizens: call on your senators to reject proposals to sabotage negotiations with Iran .

  • 03 November 2013 ( Israeli colonies in Palestinian land )

    The built-up housing of the Israeli colonies in Palestinian land are just a small fraction. Lots of farm land has been taken too.

  • 03 November 2013 ( Jewish activists met with repression and arbitrary arrest )

    Jewish activists who went to Hebron to oppose segregation met with repression and arbitrary arrest by the thugs.

    The purpose of laws is to prevent the state from acting arbitrarily. In Israel, they don't achieve that.

  • 03 November 2013 ( A nonviolent secular Palestinian movement )

    Mustafah Barghouti, MD, leads a nonviolent secular Palestinian movement that goes up against Fatah and Hamas.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

  • 03 November 2013 ( The Jewish National Fund )

    The Jewish National Fund does not only help implement expulsion of Palestinian villages, it also participates in choosing the plans to do so.

  • 03 November 2013 ( Statement by the activists facing prosecution in France )

    A statement by the activists facing prosecution in France for advocating a boycott of Israeli products.

    The page contains the text in French, followed by the English translation.

  • 03 November 2013 ( Netanyahu's party is campaigning on racism )

    Netanyahu's party is campaigning based on racism against Israeli Arabs.

  • 03 November 2013 ( Israeli colonists attacked Palestinians )

    Israeli colonists attacked Palestinians who were harvesting their olive crop , including beating one of them with a metal pole.

    Since the time and place of harvesting were predictable, the Israeli thugs and soldiers were able to be elsewhere during the attack.

    Other Palestinians can only get to the fields with the help of Israeli peace volunteers , whose presence compels the thugs to restrain their cruelty just a little.

    The Israeli thugs have found the culprits for around 3% of the reported attacks against Palestinians' olive trees.

  • 03 November 2013 ( Putin's unpredictable and slow repression )

    Putin's unpredictable and slow repression has crushed opposition.

  • 03 November 2013 ( The enforcement of abortion restrictions )

    The enforcement of abortion restrictions (which are unjust in themselves, of course) leads to further oppression of women.

  • 03 November 2013 ( Urgent: Call on AAMCO to stop supporting Rush Limbaugh )

    In the US: call on AAMCO to stop supporting Rush Limbaugh.

  • 03 November 2013 ( Revlon threatens to sue Breast Cancer Fund )

    Revlon threatened to sue the Breast Cancer Fund for running a petition criticizing carcinogens in Revlon products.

    I don't know whether there is a significant problem with those products, but this response is a wrong in itself.

  • 03 November 2013 ( Engagement rings )

    The exploitative "tradition" of engagement rings was created by a marketing campaign during the 20th century.

    Like many exploitative "traditions", this one takes advantage of some people's vulnerability to competitive consumption.

    I've always felt an intuitive revulsion for such practices, the things that you're supposed to do "for" people you know whether they do any good or not. At some point in my teens I opted out from birthday presents and birthday cards. Not only did I resent the pointless effort of giving them, I didn't want to impose on anyone the pointless effort of giving them to me.

  • 03 November 2013 ( Hint in Chinese reporter's confession )

    Chinese reporter Chen Yongzhou included a hint in his confession to show it was false .

  • 03 November 2013 ( Bassem Youssef, Egyptian Jon Stewart, faces censorship )

    Egyptian satirist Bassem Youssef faces censorship by the TV channel as well as prosecution by the military government.

  • 03 November 2013 ( Israel in 90 years )

    Uri Avnery speaks about what kind of Israel will exist in 90 years .

  • 02 November 2013 ( When Did "To Serve & Protect" Become "To Seize & Profit?" )

    When Did "To Serve & Protect" Become "To Seize & Profit?"

  • 02 November 2013 ( Use of supposedly pest-resistant GMO cotton )

    Use of supposedly pest-resistant GMO cotton has led small Indian farmers to use more pesticide , and has not increased their production. They used it because the Indian government effectively pushed them to use it.

  • 02 November 2013 ( House of Representatives voted to exempt derivatives from bank regulations )

    The House of Representatives voted to exempt derivatives from bank regulations , using a text written for them by Citibank.

    Too bad Obama doesn't want to confront the banksters strongly. He is more on their side than ours.

  • 02 November 2013 ( Many women in Saudi Arabia endorse extreme sexism )

    Many women in Saudi Arabia endorse the extreme sexism of their own society.

    It is clear that these women occupy rather privileged positions. Most Saudis are not rich, and the women who are not rich are not treated like queens. Nonetheless, it is interesting to see how patriarchy convinces women to support patriarchy.

  • 02 November 2013 ( NIST will audit its encryption-related standards )

    NIST says it will audit all its encryption-related standards to see if the NSA has sabotaged them .

  • 02 November 2013 ( Urgent: Stop unfair dismissal of pregnant workers )

    US citizens: call for action to stop unfair dismissal of pregnant workers.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

  • 02 November 2013 ( Urgent: Criminal Antitrust Anti-Retaliation Act )

    US citizens: support the Criminal Antitrust Anti-Retaliation Act.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

  • 02 November 2013 ( Urgent: Gender identity nondiscrimination bill )

    US citizens: call on Senate Republicans to stop the filibuster against the gender identity nondiscrimination bill.

  • 02 November 2013 ( Urgent: Maintain and increase social security benefits )

    US citizens: sign this open letter to maintain and increase social security benefits.

  • 02 November 2013 ( Use of symbol punished by Egypt's military gov't )

    Egypt's military government is punishing use of a symbol used by Morsi supporters , and investigating TV comedian Bassem Youssef.

  • 02 November 2013 ( Disappeared journalists and dissidents in Sri Lanka )

    Relatives of disappeared journalists and dissidents in Sri Lanka asked the UK to put pressure on Rajapaksa's government , which they suspect was responsible.

  • 02 November 2013 ( Mass surveillance in European countries )

    Several European countries have developed mass surveillance in cooperation with the UK's surveillance agency GCHQ, which also helped them shrug off legal limitations .

  • 02 November 2013 ( Increase of income-segregation in the US )

    Income-segregation in the US has increased greatly in the past few decades.

  • 02 November 2013 ( Neoclassical economics )

    Economics students call for education in models other than neoclassical .

    Neoclassical economics is based on a long list of assumptions that are often not true in real life.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

    See also .

  • 02 November 2013 ( Grandchildren of Mamana Bibi testify about drone attack )

    The grandchildren of Mamana Bibi testified to the US Congress about the drone attack that killed her.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

  • 02 November 2013 ( Chinese water boilers with WiFi devices )

    Reportedly Chinese water boilers have been found with WiFi devices designed to do some harm .

  • 02 November 2013 ( The harm imposed on Americans by ALEC-supported laws )

    A survey of the harm that ALEC-supported laws have imposed on ordinary Americans .

  • 02 November 2013 ( Congress should arrange to give Edward Snowden amnesty )

    Congress should arrange to give Edward Snowden amnesty .

    He deserves the highest possible honors from the US and every country.

  • 02 November 2013 ( UK gov't to pay public defenders to betray their clients )

    The UK government plans to pay public defenders to betray their clients, rewarding these lawyers for every guilty plea .

  • 02 November 2013 ( Gifts from summit meeting in Russia try to invade computers )

    Attendees at a summit meeting in Russia received official gifts that try to invade their computers .

    Can anyone verify whether GNU/Linux systems are safe from them?

  • 02 November 2013 ( Australian media on global heating )

    In Australian media, almost 1/3 of the articles that mention global heating cast doubt on its causation by human activity.

  • 02 November 2013 ( Uruguay removing troops from UN force in Haiti )

    Uruguay is removing its troops from the UN force that keeps Haiti down.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

  • 02 November 2013 ( Hamburg's plan to cope with effects of global heating )

    Hamburg has a plan to cope with the effects of global heating by helping people walk and bicycle around the city .

  • 02 November 2013 ( The protest that stopped NY Thug Commissioner from speaking at Brown )

    An article by one who joined the protest that stopped New York Thug Commissioner Kelly from speaking at Brown University.

    The event celebrated repression , surveillance and attacks on democracy .

    It deserved a protest. The information in the article suggests that some part of the university has sold itself to the forces of repression. I think a long-term campaign to change that is called for.

    Despite that, I don't think that they should have prevented the speech from occurring, because that turns into censorship.

  • 02 November 2013 ( Hillary Clinton's speeches at Goldman Sachs )

    Hillary Clinton was probably paid $400,000 for speeches at Goldman Sachs.

    We can hardly expect her to do anything about the banksters ' political power. I am almost certain I will vote Green again.

  • 02 November 2013 ( US court imposes secrecy on report about a product's safety )

    A US court has imposed secrecy on a report that some product might be dangerous. The public can't tell what product it was .

  • 02 November 2013 ( US-Iran talks )

    Can Congress, Hawks and the Israel Lobby Wreck the US-Iran Talks?

  • 02 November 2013 ( US gov't tries to stop sale of shirts with parodies of gov't logos )

    The US government is trying to stop someone from selling shirts with parodies of logos of certain US government departments .

  • 02 November 2013 ( "Suspicious Activity Report" systems )

    ACLU: The US government spreads around any strange rumor that citizens call in as "suspicious" for whatever reason.

  • 02 November 2013 ( Complications in Obama's health care program )

    The complication of the servers in Obama's health care program reflects the wasteful complexity of the law , which results from Congress and Obama's unwillingness to set up a national health service.

    The web site does not protect people's personal data from third parties .

    Of course, it doesn't protect them from the state either. Although the US does not have the benefits of a national health service, its digital health records are quite easily available to the state.

  • 01 November 2013 ( Panhandlers in San Francisco getting under $25 per day )

    A survey of panhandlers in San Francisco found that most of them get under $25 per day . Less than half take drugs or alcohol.

    The US should be ashamed of doing so little for the poor that they need to do this.

  • 31 October 2013 ( Urgent: Oppose oil trains )

    US citizens: tell the US Department of Transportation not to allow dangerous oil trains.

  • 31 October 2013 ( Egypt's equivalent of Jon Stewart threatened with prosecution )

    Egypt's equivalent of Jon Stewart is threatened with prosecution for " insulting the military ."

    For insulting someone or something to be a crime is always an injustice.

  • 31 October 2013 ( Coastal hunting of porpoises and small whales )

    Coastal hunting of porpoises and small whales in Japan kills thousands of them and could endanger some species . Some species may already have been hunted so far down they can't recover.

    They may take revenge on people who eat the meat.

  • 31 October 2013 ( Cables connecting Google and Yahoo data centers tapped by NSA )

    Another Snowden document says that the NSA has tapped cables connecting various Google and Yahoo data centers .

  • 31 October 2013 ( Syria's chemical weapons production facilities destroyed )

    Syria's chemical weapons production and packaging facilities have been destroyed.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-12 because the old link was broken.]

    Destroying the weapons that already exist will take longer.

  • 31 October 2013 ( UK to require companies to disclose who owns them )

    The UK will cut off one avenue for tax dodging, by requiring all companies to inform the public who really owns them .

    This is important progress, but there are many other avenues for tax dodging.

  • 31 October 2013 ( Thailand's new Internet bill )

    Thailand's new Internet bill would allow the state to shut sites without a trial .

    Sad to say, something like this is already happening in the US .

  • 31 October 2013 ( Saudi Arabia arrests columnist )

    Saudi Arabia has arrested a columnist who speaks in favor of women's right to drive.

  • 31 October 2013 ( Maternal death rate rising in the US )

    In the US, the maternal death rate is rising .

    One possible contributing factor is the various attempts to discourage women from taking the safer course: an abortion.

  • 31 October 2013 ( Thugs shut exhibit about protests in Bahrain )

    Thugs brutally shut an exhibit in Bahrain showing how protests were crushed.

    The US continues supporting the Bahraini regime, and has done so all through the suppression.

  • 31 October 2013 ( Spain's cooperation with the NSA )

    Documents show how Spain gives the NSA lots of information about people in Spain .

    This does not excuse the NSA, it only inculpates the Spanish state.

  • 31 October 2013 ( Italy's proposal to shut down web sites )

    Italy proposes to shut web sites if they don't delete material on demand within 3 days' time .

  • 31 October 2013 ( The USA FREEDOM Act )

    The ACLU says that The USA FREEDOM Act would take substantial steps to limit the use of general surveillance .

    It is not clear is that this would limit surveillance enough to prevent whistleblowers from being caught, and that means it is not enough .

  • 31 October 2013 ( NPR accepting money from natural gas companies )

    US National Public Radio is accepting lots of money from natural gas companies . (Nowadays this means fracking.)

    In my experience, NPR typically runs advertisements in return for this money. (NPR calls the advertisements "enhanced underwriting" so as not to admit that they are advertisements.)

  • 31 October 2013 ( Texas voter-suppression law )

    A Texas voter-suppression law tends to interfere with women voters .

  • 31 October 2013 ( Drought destroying agriculture in parts of Texas )

    Persistent drought, partly caused by our CO2 emissions, is destroying agriculture in parts of Texas .

  • 31 October 2013 ( Urgent: Investigate arrests for "shopping while black" )

    Everyone: call on the New York Thug Department to investigate arrests for "shopping while black".

  • 31 October 2013 ( Divestment from fossil fuel companies )

    Divestment from fossil fuel companies is spreading .

  • 31 October 2013 ( Australian students from poor families falling into poverty )

    In Australia, students from poor families are falling into a life of poverty because of low skills . I would expect it is the same in the US.

    This may be partly due to insufficient spending on their education, but the fact that there are no longer decent jobs for most people could also to blame.

  • 31 October 2013 ( Presidential election in Honduras )

    Honduras is about to have a presidential election, but the coup-installed government will rig it , more or less.

  • 31 October 2013 ( Deforestation due to gold mining in the Amazon )

    Clandestine gold mining in the Amazon is causing accelerating deforestation .

  • 31 October 2013 ( Glenn Greenwald on honesty in journalism )

    Glenn Greenwald discusses honesty in journalism and the factors that degrade it .

  • 31 October 2013 ( Mob kills man in witch hunt against pedophiles )

    The witch hunt against pedophiles led a mob to kill a man .

    This is an unusual extreme, but the same spirit that whipped up this mob can be found in other measures taken against adults that have sex (or even head in the direction of sex) with teenagers.

    Another accused man was found dead at home when he was supposed to go to court.

    Either anxiety killed him, or he committed suicide, or this was an unlikely coincidence.

    In all such cases, the official accusations carefully suppress the distinction between rape and willing sex, even love. First they define willing sex as "rape", and then they try to bury all knowledge of whether it was willing sex or not. We're invited to judge all these men as rapists, which some of them are and some are not.

  • 31 October 2013 ( NSA snooping )

    The most important point about bugging the phones of politicians in Germany, Spain and elsewhere is that the NSA was keeping Obama and Feinstein in the dark along with all of us .

    To stop snooping on a few allied leaders is not sufficient remedy. The US should stop snooping on Americans, too (except those for whom there is a specific, constitutional court order).

    Feinstein, aren't US citizens' rights as important as Merkel's?

  • 31 October 2013 ( Polio in Syria )

    Polio has broken out in Syria .

  • 31 October 2013 ( 10-year prison sentence in Kuwait for tweeting insults )

    Hamad al-Naqi will be sentenced to 10 years in prison in Kuwait for tweeting insults .

    Making insult a crime is an injustice, whether it's in Kuwait , France , Ecuador or Britain .

  • 30 October 2013 ( Congress plans to cut almost a million US veterans from food stamps )

    Congress plans to cut almost a million US veterans from food stamps, and other people too.

  • 30 October 2013 ( Texas's law to make abortion effectively impossible )

    Only part of Texas's law to make abortion effectively impossible has been rejected in its first appeal.

  • 30 October 2013 ( People getting blood cancer )

    People Who Live Downwind Of Alberta's Oil And Tar Sands Operations Are Getting Blood Cancer . The connection is not mysterious, given the measured levels of pollutants in the air there.

  • 30 October 2013 ( Massive collection of information on phone calls in Spain and France )

    The NSA says that its massive collection of information on phone calls in Spain and France comes from intelligence agencies in those countries.

    It's not clear whether France reports to the NSA about phone calls in France while Spain reports about phone calls in Spain, or whether France reports on those in Spain and Spain reports on those in France.

    If someone wanted to present the situation as "US bad, Europe good", this would put a spike in it. But I think the issue is that states are massively surveilling their citizens, often with the help of other states, and this news only indicts more governments as participants.

  • 30 October 2013 ( Perpetual War )

    Perpetual War: How Does the Global War on Terror Ever End?

  • 30 October 2013 ( German gov't tapping Skype calls )

    The German government is tapping Skype calls, and is raiding Pirate Party politicians to try to find the leaker.

  • 30 October 2013 ( Urgent: No slavery in building facilities for world cup )

    Everyone: tell FIFA to insist on no slavery in building facilities for the world cup in Qatar .

  • 30 October 2013 ( Urgent: Derivatives in FDIC-insured bank sub-units )

    US citizens: tell Congress not to allow banksters to hold derivatives in FDIC-insured bank sub-units .
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-11 because the old link was broken.]

  • 30 October 2013 ( Urgent: Life-Saving foreign aid )

    US citizens: tell Congress not to cut life-saving foreign aid.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-11 because the old link was broken.]

  • 30 October 2013 ( New Pun )

    What dish combines cocoa and eggplant?

  • 29 October 2013 ( Fallacy )

    Australia's PM argues against the danger of global heating using a fallacy so dumb that anyone can see through it.

    It's not that he's stupid, but rather than he is confident that support for his statements will drown out all attempts to point out the flaw in them, thanks to the influence which the fossil fuel companies exercise over the mainstream media along with him.

  • 29 October 2013 ( Election )

    A free and fair election requires freedom before voting day, as well as during the voting.

  • 29 October 2013 ( British Children )

    Over a million British children live in houses that are too cold for their health.

    The Tories are working hard to increase the number, and Labour is aiming to maintain it.

  • 29 October 2013 ( Senator )

    Even Senator Feinstein, supposed to "oversee" the NSA, says she has been kept in the dark.

    In general, Feinstein supports massive general surveillance, so an investigation won't do much good if controller by her and her like.

  • 29 October 2013 ( North Korea's Crimes )

    Investigating and exposing North Korea's crimes against humanity in the hope of convincing China to demand some improvement.

  • 29 October 2013 ( Australia )

    Australian thugs search the lunchboxes of asylum seekers' children on the way to and from school, and they don't say why.

  • 29 October 2013 ( Urgent: Stop rubber-stamping of oil and gas pipelines )

    US citizens: call on the FERC to stop rubber-stamping oil and gas pipelines and other dangerous fossil fuel infrastructure.

  • 29 October 2013 ( Urgent: Oppose oil drilling in the Chukchi Sea )

    US citizens: tell the US government not to approve oil drilling in the Chukchi Sea .
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-11 because the old link was broken.]

    Since a spill there could be impossible to clean up, and its effects would make shore and marine life sick, we'd have to call the region the Upchukchi Sea.

  • 29 October 2013 ( Mexican popular militias try to suppress gangster murders )

    Mexican popular militias try to suppress gangster murders where the state is no use.

  • 29 October 2013 ( Murder of Honduran dissident photographer )

    Honduran dissident photographer Manuel de Jesús Murillo Varela was murdered, having been threatened for years and not given the protection that he needed .

  • 29 October 2013 ( Flowers torn out of flower boxes in DC metro )

    A citizen planted flowers in unused flower boxes in the DC Metro. Someone tore them out . Perhaps the Metro tore out the flowers because they were unauthorized and unapproved.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-11 because the old link was broken.]

  • 29 October 2013 ( Growing Calls to Jail the Banksters )

    With JPMorgan Under Spotlight, Growing Calls to Jail the Banksters .

  • 29 October 2013 ( Syrian peace negotiations, Oslo style )

    Obama seems to want planned Syrian peace negotiations to start an Oslo-style process of endless negotiations that arrive nowhere .

    This reflects the fundamental problem of the Syrian rebels: they are divided, and the strongest factions are as vicious as Assad's regime.

  • 29 October 2013 ( Taliban commits wedding massacre )

    The Taliban committed a Bush-style wedding massacre , and the villagers took revenge on a suspected Taliban sympathizer.

    If enough Afghans feel this way, the Taliban will lose; but there's a long way to go before that happens.

  • 28 October 2013 ( Entrenchment of plutocracy )

    A pessimistic view: plutocracy is entrenching itself to the point that it will cause a revolution .

    I fear that that revolution would be the opportunity to eliminate all the people whose work is no longer needed by the elite.

  • 28 October 2013 ( What was spying on Merkel for? )

    If Obama Didn't Know About Merkel Spying, What Was It For ?

  • 28 October 2013 ( Russian prison conditions )

    The Greenpeace 30 illustrate the horrible conditions faced by Russian prisoners in general.

    Don't forget that the US keeps thousands of prisoners in conditions which are similar except that solitary confinement is added .

  • 28 October 2013 ( Spying by "rent to own" computers )

    "Rent to own" computers spied on their users .

    With proprietary software, spying is only to be expected.

  • 28 October 2013 ( Obama's chance to show due attention to danger of global heating )

    Obama has one more chance to show due attention to the growing danger of global heating : by blocking Keystone XL .

  • 28 October 2013 ( Alan Greenspan Owes America an Apology )

    Dean Baker: Alan Greenspan Owes America an Apology .

  • 28 October 2013 ( Wasteful consumption must be reduced )

    There is no way to produce "sustainably" as much as humanity is producing now. We need to reduce wasteful consumption .

    The article shows how the EROI (energy return on investment) for fossil energy is declining, because we have already extracted most of the easy-to-extract fossil fuel. However, it errs when asserting that renewable energy's EROI is part of the decline.

    The EROI for renewable energy is increasing with advancing technology; meanwhile, we have a long way to go before it must decline because all the easy-to-collect renewable energy flow is already being utilized. Even when that happens, we will be able to continue steadily drawing the same amount of renewable energy each year at the same efficiency, as long as the Sun keeps pumping it out as now. In other words, the idea of sustainability does make sense when applied to renewable resources.

    I don't think this invalidates the article's overall point however, that we must reduce overall resource use greatly rather than just make some activities "sustainable".

  • 28 October 2013 ( Opposition to Islamist fundamentalism from Muslim perspective )

    Articulating opposition to Islamist fundamentalism from a Muslim perspective.

  • 28 October 2013 ( Urgent: Call for an end to gouging prisoners on phone calls )

    US citizens: call for an end to gouging prisoners on phone calls.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-11 because the old link was broken.]

  • 28 October 2013 ( Spread of Cholera from Haiti to Mexico )

    Cholera has spread from Haiti to Mexico . It was introduced into Haiti by the UN "peacekeeping" forces that are actually there to keep control for the US .

  • 28 October 2013 ( Urgent: Oppose ban on the smell of marijuana )

    Everyone: call on Denver not to ban the smell of marijuana.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-11 because the old link was broken.]

  • 28 October 2013 ( Massive NSA spying on France )

    Massive NSA spying on France , and not just "terrorists".

  • 28 October 2013 ( Google using anti-competitive measures against forked versions of Android )

    Google is using anti-competitive measures to prevent the manufacture of devices that are sold with any forked version of Android.

    (The crucial point is on page 3.) This is even more important than the steady replacement of free apps with nonfree.

    The important aspect is that includes any free version of Android, such as Replicant . This is not quite the same as the way Microsoft abuses its power in the PC market, but it has comparable effects.

    Of course, if you want freedom, you shouldn't use any of the Google APIs, and Google Play (offering so many nonfree apps) is something to run away from.

    The article talks about "open source" rather than "free/libre software", seeking as usual to avoid ethical opposition to nonfree software . Please don't imitate that practice! The way to encourage other people to think in terms of freedom is to raise the freedom issue visibly whenever it is relevant.

  • 28 October 2013 ( UK allows some companies to impose Internet filters )

    The UK allows some companies to impose filtering to block whatever sites they wish by calling them "pirate" .

    Even if a site really does do unauthorized redistribution, that is no justification for Internet filters.

  • 28 October 2013 ( Urgent: Oppose impossible burdens on small farms )

    US citizens: call on the FDA not to impose impossible burdens on fairly small farms.

  • 28 October 2013 ( Spending money on things we don't need )

    The working American's lifestyle tends to lead people to spend money on things they don't need .

    I'm happy to say that I don't buy anything to keep up with the Joneses, to fulfill a childhood vision of what my adulthood would be like, or to broadcast my status to the world. I do get some things to cheer myself up — mostly chocolate — and that cheers me up when I eat it.

  • 28 October 2013 ( Fox News sock-puppets )

    Faux News is said to use sock-puppets against blog postings that criticize it .

  • 28 October 2013 ( US-based VPN companies )

    US-based VPN companies discuss whether you can trust them not to serve as tracking arms for the NSA .

  • 28 October 2013 ( Thousands Demand End to Government Spying )

    Thousands Demand End to Government Spying .

  • 28 October 2013 ( Organized crime involved in recruiting workers for Fukushima cleanup )

    Organized crime is involved in recruiting workers for the Fukushima cleanup .
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-11 because the old link was broken.]

    Since they skim the workers' pay, they reduce their effective wage. These dangerous and delicate operations need the best workers they can find.

  • 28 October 2013 ( Urgent: Defend Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid )

    US citizens: sign this additional petition to defend Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid against cuts.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-11 because the old link was broken.]

  • 28 October 2013 ( Home invasion by US thugs )

    US thugs invade people's homes at night without identifying themselves , and if the people prepare to fight the intruders, the thugs often kill them.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-11 because the old link was broken.]

  • 28 October 2013 ( When Hollywood tries to extend copyright again )

    In 5 years, we will have a battle when Hollywood tries to extend copyright again .

    We should shorten copyright instead.

  • 28 October 2013 ( Why AT&T shouldn't be allowed to end telephone regulation )

    Why AT&T shouldn't be allowed to end telephone regulation.

  • 28 October 2013 ( Food companies to use less saturated fat, but not less sugar )

    Companies say they will make some food products with less saturated fat, but the real danger may be from the sugar in them .

  • 28 October 2013 ( Witch-hunt for "pedophiles" )

    The witch-hunt for "pedophiles" has inspired overeager vigilantes to try to catch some — and if they don't find real ones, they make false accusations .

    If an adult and a real 15-year-old agree to meet in a cafe, and if they later have sex, that doesn't mean anyone did anything wrong. That 15-year-old is clearly not being coerced or pressured. People should let them alone.

    Remember the British school girl who ran away to France with her teacher, and later said, when he was on trial for "abducting" her, that she had asked him to run away with her so they could have some last time together?

    That prosecution represented an attempt to impose a prejudice on reality. These vigilantes are motivated by the same prejudice.

  • 28 October 2013 ( Assassination by shock to implanted heart defibrillator )

    Dick Cheney Feared Assassination by Shock to Implanted Heart Defibrillator .

    Cheney's worries were entirely justified .

    More information .

  • 28 October 2013 ( Rape used as tool of cruelty in Syria )

    Rape is regularly used as a tool of cruelty in Syria.

    Of all the loathsome acts described in this article, the second worst is that of the man who rejected his wife because she was raped. The worst of all is that of her father. Their attitude also inspires the rapes.

  • 28 October 2013 ( Cutting taxes to win business away from other jurisdictions )

    Film production in LA is disappearing as other places lure it away by offering tax breaks .

    Cutting taxes to win business away from other jurisdictions is a form of "beggar thy neighbor": businesses play states and countries against each other to the detriment of all of them. Plutocrats' pet politicians might call this outcome success, but those that are loyal to their country should instead propose a treaty to ban competing via tax breaks.

    France refuses to play this fool's game .
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-11 because the old link was broken.]

  • 28 October 2013 ( Chinese journalist's confession )

    A Chinese journalist confessed to making up stories about corruption , saying he was bribed to write them.

    Next will he confess to making up false confessions?

  • 27 October 2013 ( Companies are now exercising "investor-state" provisions )

    Many companies are now exercising "investor-state" provisions that give them more rights in other countries than the citizens of those countries.

    We can call them the "unequal treaties", and all of them should be abolished.

  • 27 October 2013 ( Forever war is forever profit — for some )

    Forever war is forever profit — for some.

  • 27 October 2013 ( Right wing is winning the battle in Washington )

    The right wing is winning the battle in Washington on a basic question: what is the economic problem that the US faces.

    This relates to the political influence of plutocrats' money.

    The voting principle for Americans should be, "Punish every expensive right-wing campaign." You can't go far wrong by marching towards the sound of the TV attack ads.

    Of course, that heuristic is not guaranteed to be right all the time, but is usually right. The nasty things the ads accuse are probably misleading half truths. But even if once in a while the accusation is spot on, it is a side issue. The fact that the rich are paying to attack a candidate is an overwhelming point in her favor. Anything bad about her is secondary.

    Thus, if you don't have time to study an issue or a race in depth, vote for the progressive side that the plutocrats attack.

  • 27 October 2013 ( Thugs shot 13-year-old who was reportedly carrying pellet gun )

    California thugs shot a 13-year-old who was reportedly carrying a pellet gun that looks like an AK-47 .

    We can't take their word that this is what happened; the facts must be independently verified.

    If the facts are as stated, I can't blame the thugs this time. If you carry a realistic replica of a deadly weapon, people will treat it as real. To give a child such a replica is terribly foolish; to have one is foolish too. If this starts to happen often enough to be more than a rare fluke, it would make sense to ban them. But I doubt that will happen.

  • 27 October 2013 ( 'Targeted' Killings and US Drones' Civilian Victims )

    Time for the Truth about 'Targeted' Killings and US Drones' Civilian Victims.

  • 27 October 2013 ( Reinstating Edward Snowden's passport )

    Why reinstating Edward Snowden's passport is an important issue.

  • 27 October 2013 ( Bills under consideration to curb general surveillance )

    About bills under consideration in the US Congress to curb general surveillance .

    What the EFF recommends would be a step in the right direction, but in order to really stop general surveillance we need to prevent the creation of a massive dossier about each person.

  • 27 October 2013 ( Censorship is a bad way to address social problems )

    Censorship is a bad way to try to address social problems , even really bad ones.

  • 27 October 2013 ( Human rights for a fetus but not for the woman it is in )

    A Wisconsin court went to great lengths to respect human rights for a fetus, but not much for the woman it is in .

    To take drugs that could cause abnormalities in the fetus is a grave act if the fetus develops into a damaged human being. It's legitimate for the state to take steps to prevent this, but imprisoning the mother-to-be doesn't seem very constructive, and neither was imposing conditions that caused her to lose her job.

    The absence of universal medical care in the US seems to play a role in the problem. This woman can't afford to see a doctor.

    However, there is a point I don't understand. When she was invited to take her drug under medical supervision, she declined. That sounds like gratuitous noncooperation, and doesn't make sense. But maybe she had a reason — for instance, would she have had to pay for it , which she could not afford?

  • 27 October 2013 ( Stores want to track customers by mobile phones' MAC addresses )

    Stores want to track customers by their mobile phones' WiFi MAC addresses. The EFF says that a proposed opt-out system is an inadequate safeguard.

    As far as I'm concerned, just having a phone company track me (or you) is too much.

  • 27 October 2013 ( Japan law to ban informing public about gov't secrets )

    Japan is on the verge of passing a law to ban informing the public about government secrets.

  • 27 October 2013 ( Re-importation of drugs exported from the US )

    Maine has found a way around US drug gouging by allowing re-importation of drugs exported from the US for sale in Canada and some other countries.

  • 27 October 2013 ( Misguided goal of cutting the US deficit )

    US officials' focus on the misguided goal of cutting the US deficit reflects the money they get from rich founders.

  • 27 October 2013 ( Companies above countries )

    Reportedly the planned US-Europe free exploitation treaty, TAFTA, is going to include an "investor-state" provision that would elevate foreign companies above each of the countries involved .

    TAFTA stands for "turn all freedom to ashes".

  • 27 October 2013 ( Urgent: Cuts in Social Security and medical care )

    US citizens: sign this petition too against cuts in Social Security and medical care.

  • 27 October 2013 ( Cities no longer offer places for children to play outdoors )

    Due to changes in urban architecture, cities no longer offer places for children to play outdoors .

    There may be other factors, including exaggerated fear of declining street crime.

  • 27 October 2013 ( Urgent: Save Americas Pollinator's Act )

    US citizens: call on Congress to pass the Save America's Pollinators Act.

  • 27 October 2013 ( Urgent: Strict limits on CO2 pollution from power plants )

    US citizens: call on the EPA to put strict limits on CO2 pollution from power plants.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-11 because the old link was broken.]

  • 27 October 2013 ( 450,000 Iraqi civilians killed as result of Bush invasion )

    A new scientific study estimates that 450,000 Iraqi civilians were killed as a result of the Bush invasion, through 2011.

  • 27 October 2013 ( Situation in Israel compared with apartheid in South Africa )

    Uri Avnery compares and contrasts the situation in Israel with apartheid in South Africa.

  • 27 October 2013 ( Bushbama's extension of NSA surveillance )

    Bushbama's extension of NSA surveillance recapitulates Nixon .

    Here's my idea on how to address this problem .

  • 27 October 2013 ( Flaws of neoclassical economics )

    Letters about the flaws of neoclassical economics , which is economics as designed to justify the policies that rich people want.

  • 27 October 2013 ( Limiting executives' pay )

    An initiative petition in Switzerland proposes limiting an executive's pay to 12 times the least paid staff of the company .
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-11 because the old link was broken.]

    I agree with this in principle, but I fear it will lead to more subcontracting of the lowest-paid workers. Thus, it needs a companion measure to prevent a change in that direction. Since contracting out work is an avenue for so many abuses, including some that endanger workers' lives or encourage fraud , we need to limit it in any case.

  • 27 October 2013 ( Private companies helping thugs spy on protesters )

    Meet the Private Companies Helping Cops Spy on Protesters .

  • 27 October 2013 ( Murdoch's newspapers condemn the US for fining fraudulent banks )

    Murdoch's newspapers turn the facts upside down, condemning the US for fining fraudulent banks a small fraction of what they gained .

    I've moved out most of the money I had in (what had merged into) a big bank. Have you?

  • 27 October 2013 ( Iraq's divisions )

    Iraqis think their country should be united , but nobody sees how that could happen.

    Iraq's divisions have been sucked into the Sunni-Shi'ite conflict, which is itself largely the result of Bush's invasion of Iraqi.

    Robert Fisk says the US is taking the Sunni side , but the recent Saudi outburst seems to indicate that the rulers are not satisfied and want the US to do so even more strongly.

  • 27 October 2013 ( Deaths due to hotter summers )

    Hotter summers are killing people in Sweden, as well as China and the US .

    Imagine how bad it will be when the average global temperature is 4C hotter, or even 6C hotter.

    Canada is on track to exceed its 2020 CO2 emission target by almost 20% .

  • 27 October 2013 ( Crony Capitalism Disguised As Economic Development )

    Report: Governors Engaging In Crony Capitalism Disguised As Economic Development .

  • 27 October 2013 ( Another tsunami hits Fukushima area )

    Another earthquake caused a tsunami that hit the Fukushima area .
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-11 because the old link was broken.]

    Fortunately it was small and did not affect the nuclear plants. But what about the next one? The cleanup will take decades. If a big tsunami comes in the coming year, it will wash away the used fuel that remains on the site. It could even cause a fission reaction if it pushes the used fuel rods, stored in a pool, together and causes criticality.

    Have they built a tsunami defense dam to protect against this?

  • 27 October 2013 ( Head of NSA says US should shut down journalism )

    The head of the NSA said that the US should shut down journalism about massive surveillance .

    Every NSA staffer, including him, has sworn to prevent the government from doing that.

  • 27 October 2013 ( GCHQ's fear of public and legal backlash )

    GCHQ feared public and legal backlash if the extent of its spying on the public became known.

  • 27 October 2013 ( New Spanish pun )

    New Spanish pun about Christopher Columbus .

  • 26 October 2013 ( Egypt's gov't proposes to legalize killing of protesters )

    Egypt's military-dominated government proposes to legalize the killing of protesters , which is already its practice .

  • 26 October 2013 ( Failure of Monsanto's GMO corn in South Africa )

    Monsanto's GMO corn failed in South Africa, as pests developed resistance, so now it is trying to push the same corn in the rest of Africa .

  • 26 October 2013 ( Thug faces criminal charges for trying frame the man he shot )

    A thug who shot a schizophrenic man in Dallas, then tried to frame him , faces criminal charges.

    It's standard practice for thugs to frame people; a fraction are caught, but even most of those are not prosecuted. Perhaps Chief Brown deserves the title of "policeman" instead of " thug ".

  • 26 October 2013 ( Chinese torturers on trial )

    Chinese torturers are on trial after they tortured a suspect to death .

  • 26 October 2013 ( Global heating )

    ExxonMobile knows what effects global heating will have, and considers them an opportunity to extract more hard-to-get oil , which will cause even more heating.

    You'd think they lived on another planet and didn't have to share ours.

    Australia was warned years ago that global heating would lead to increased bush fires.

  • 26 October 2013 ( Urgent: Prosecute JP Morgan )

    US citizens: call on the US to prosecute JP Morgan instead of negotiating with it.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-11 because the old link was broken.]

  • 26 October 2013 ( Urgent: Rebuke CNN for nuclear power propaganda )

    In the US: rebuke CNN for its one-sided documentary to promote nuclear power.

  • 26 October 2013 ( The US soldiers and officers in charge of nuclear weapons )

    US soldiers and officers in charge of nuclear weapons repeatedly show a shocking lack of discipline .

  • 26 October 2013 ( Israeli soldiers shoot Palestinian cameraman )

    Israeli soldiers shot a Palestinian cameraman in the head with a rubber-coated bullet, and he's now in the hospital.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-11 because the old link was broken.]

  • 26 October 2013 ( Increased construction of colonies in Palestine )

    Israel has greatly increased the construction of colonies in Palestine.

    Israel moved chemical plants into Tulkarem in Palestine so they could spew unregulated pollution .
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-11 because the old link was broken.]

  • 26 October 2013 ( Former soldier asks for reduced sentence for Chelsea Manning )

    Former soldier Peter Van Buren's letter asking for a reduced sentence for Chelsea Manning (FKA Bradley Manning).

  • 26 October 2013 ( Israeli legislature considering bills against Palestinians )

    The Israeli legislature is considering many bills to attack the human rights of Palestinians, and in some cases Israeli Arabs too , as well as a bill to rule out any territorial concessions in Jerusalem (which I suspect would include the nearby Arab towns that have been annexed to Jerusalem) and thus assure there is no peace agreement.

  • 26 October 2013 ( Urgent: Reduce arms sales )

    US citizens: call on Obama to reduce, not expand, arms sales.

  • 26 October 2013 ( Urgent: Social Security pledge )

    US citizens: take the Social Security pledge .

  • 26 October 2013 ( Urgent: Ban brokers and investment advisors from forcing arbitration )

    US citizens: tell your Congresscritter to support banning brokers and investment advisors from requiring their customers to agree to mandatory arbitration.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-11 because the old link was broken.]

  • 26 October 2013 ( Boycott of products from Israeli settlements )

    French advocates of boycotting Israel have been prosecuted and acquitted for this, over and over.

    A Liberal Zionist calls for anti-occupation Jews to support boycotts, divestment and sanctions too.

  • 26 October 2013 ( The carbon budget )

    The world's global heating negotiations won't dare confront the crucial point that there's a limited budget of carbon that we can afford to emit .

    When Figueres says that allotting part of the carbon budget to each country "would presume that there is no advance in technology [to reduce emissions]", that is an error. It is just the opposite: if the US is allowed to release X more tons of CO2 , and through advanced technology it cuts the CO2 release of a certain activity in half, it could therefore do twice as much of that activity.

  • 26 October 2013 ( Australian gov't tries to detract attention from cause of fires )

    The thoroughly fossil Australian government is burning a straw man to distract attention from a painfully hot fact: pumping greenhouse gases into the air makes for ever worse forest fires.

    On a given day, causing "bushfire weather" does not imply causing a fire. However, over any length of time, causing more bushfire weather implies causing more fires.

  • 26 October 2013 ( Australian leader's endorsement of brutal colonization )

    Australian leader Abbott endorsed Indonesia's brutal colonization of West Papua .

  • 26 October 2013 ( Pakistani agencies' cooperation with CIA on drone attacks )

    Leaked documents show that Pakistani agencies cooperated with the CIA on drone attacks while the government of Pakistan denied this.

  • 26 October 2013 ( Enemies created by US drone attacks )

    Nabeel Khoury, formerly of the US State Department, says that each drone attack gives the US 40 t0 60 new enemies .

  • 25 October 2013 ( Company bludgeoned Scottish workers into accepting big givebacks )

    A company bludgeoned Scottish workers into accepting big givebacks by threatening to shut the plant instead.

    In such a situation, a government on the workers' side would have nationalized the plant for the depreciated value of the equipment, then resold it to the workers.

  • 25 October 2013 ( Movie companies trying to escape taxation )

    Movie companies are trying to play countries against each other to escape taxation .

    For countries to compete in this way leads to loss for everyone. The whole idea is self-defeating and foolish — unless their real goal is to enrich the rich more, in which case it is a roaring success.

  • 25 October 2013 ( "Congressional oversight of the NSA is a joke" )

    Rep. Grayson says, "Congressional oversight of the NSA is a joke".

  • 25 October 2013 ( Two Roma accepted a baby from a woman now face charges of child abduction )

    Two Roma who accepted a baby from a woman who couldn't support another child now face charges of "child abduction".

    That woman ought to have had an abortion rather than bring a child into the world that she could not support. However, to call these events "abduction" is a lie. When a law asserts a lie, that doesn't make the lie true, it only makes the law a liar.

  • 25 October 2013 ( Saudi women to protest by driving )

    Saudi women plan to protest by driving for the right to drive.

  • 25 October 2013 ( Profit from "campaign contributions" )

    How members of the US Congress and their families profit from their "campaign contributions".

  • 25 October 2013 ( Urgent: Cut Pentagon not Social Security or Medicare )

    US citizens: tell Congress, cut the Pentagon, not Social Security or Medicare.

  • 25 October 2013 ( Urgent: Do not let Senator Cruz impose his will on FCC )

    US citizens: call on the senate not to let Senator Cruz impose his will on the FCC.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-11 because the old link was broken.]

  • 25 October 2013 ( Urgent: Join protest against Intercontinental Hotels )

    Everyone: join a protest on Nov 5 against Intercontinental Hotels for its collaboration in the occupation of Tibet.

  • 25 October 2013 ( Urgent: Remove US troops from Afghanistan by end of 2014 )

    US citizens: call on Obama to remove all US troops from Afghanistan by the end of 2014.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-11 because the old link was broken.]

  • 25 October 2013 ( Urgent: Tell US not to let JP Morgan deduct penalty from taxes )

    US citizens: tell the US not to let JP Morgan deduct any of its penalty (for fraud) from its taxes .

  • 25 October 2013 ( Urgent: Rebuke McDonald's )

    Everyone: Rebuke McDonald's for buying a luxury jet while paying workers so little they need public assistance .
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-11 because the old link was broken.]

    If McDonald says competitive pressures don't let it give workers a raise, it should support an increased minimum wage so that its competitors will have to do likewise.

  • 25 October 2013 ( Refuting UK gov't pro-GMO misinformation )

    Refuting the UK government's pro-GMO misinformation.

  • 25 October 2013 ( UK gov't sold its post office )

    The UK government sold its post office for 40% of what it was told it could get .

    Bad for the treasury, but great for the purchasers, whoever they were.

    Their campaign to destroy the National Health Service by underfunding it is going great guns, as staff at many hospitals say the cuts threaten patients' safety.

  • 24 October 2013 ( $40 Million Allocated for Drone Victims Never Reaches Them )

    $40 Million Allocated for Drone Victims Never Reaches Them.

  • 24 October 2013 ( India wants to legalize copying textbooks )

    India wants to legalize copying textbooks.

  • 24 October 2013 ( Koch brother leading fight against Cape Wind )

    The third Koch brother, a fossil-fuel billionaire, is leading the fight against Cape Wind .

    If he can prevent offshore wind power from taking off, his companies will be more profitable, and as they raise the temperature, his family will buy a way out of it.

  • 24 October 2013 ( How Much of JP Morgan's $13 Billion Fine Will Taxpayers Pay )

    How Much of JP Morgan's $13 Billion Fine Will Taxpayers Pay?

  • 24 October 2013 ( Charge reduced to "hooliganism" for Greenpeace activists )

    The absurd charge of "piracy" with 15 years imprisonment against the Greenpeace activists and their embedded journalists has been reduced to the absurd charge of "hooliganism" , for which the penalty is 7 years.

    At least it's a step forward.

    Don't forget the US protesters who face 30 years in prison for their purely symbolic "damage" to a US nuclear base.

  • 24 October 2013 ( Community and Student Groups Debunk Charter School Mythology )

    'Big Dollars, Little Sense': Community and Student Groups Debunk Charter School Mythology .

  • 24 October 2013 ( Senator Warren wants banksters prosecuted )

    Senator Warren agrees: prosecute the banksters who committed fraud .

  • 24 October 2013 ( Authors corrupted into approving political censorship in China )

    The lure of royalties from Chinese publication has corrupted many authors into approving political censorship of their books.

  • 24 October 2013 ( Global heating threatens beer )

    Global heating threatens beer, apples, and maple syrup . The end of American football would be a good thing, but not good enough to justify global catastrophe.

  • 24 October 2013 ( US textbook publishers stand up to demands from Texas Christians )

    US textbook publishers stood up to demands from Texas Christians to undermine evolution in biology textbooks.

  • 24 October 2013 ( Air pollution linked to cancer )

    The International Agency for Research on Cancer says that air pollution is definitely linked to cancer .

    Presently business-funded pundits will start grasping at straws to cast doubt on this conclusion.

  • 24 October 2013 ( Urgent: Oppose cuts in food stamps )

    US citizens: oppose cuts in food stamps.

  • 24 October 2013 ( Urgent: Stricter regulations on large banks )

    US citizens: support Rep. Grayson's push for stricter regulations on large banks.

  • 24 October 2013 ( Corporations claiming "religious liberty" )

    Corporations Claiming "Religious Liberty" Try to Infringe on Their Employees' Religious Liberty .

  • 24 October 2013 ( Prisoner asks UN to investigate US practice of solitary confinement )

    Prisoner Russell Shoatz, held in solitary confinement for 22 years, has asked the UN to investigate the practice , which is very widespread in the US.

  • 24 October 2013 ( NSA's spying on Germany's officials )

    NSA spying on Germany's highest officials has cost the US yet more international support .

    Germans should be concerned about snooping by their own government, as well as by the US government. German snooping on them could be directly dangerous for them, whereas US snooping can only harm them on special occasions.

  • 24 October 2013 ( Genital mutilation )

    One brand of Sunni Islam says that women who don't have genital mutilation are "impure" .

  • 24 October 2013 ( Election support received by Obama from digital and communication industries )

    In the 2012 election, Obama received tremendous support from companies in digital and communication industries , perhaps explaining his continuation and intensification of Bush's surveillance.

  • 24 October 2013 ( Over-extraction of water from aquifer in Gaza )

    The siege of Gaza, which forces people to extract too much water from the local aquifer , will make it permanently salinated and useless in a few years.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-11 because the old link was broken.]

  • 23 October 2013 ( UK thugs who lied about politician being repeatedly disciplined )

    Three UK thugs who lied about politician Andrew Mitchell (saying he called them "plebs") are getting repeatedly disciplined.

    They should be punished, but what about when thugs lie about someone who isn't a Tory politician?

  • 23 October 2013 ( Countrywide convicted of fraud )

    Countrywide, a major US mortgage company, has been convicted of fraud.

    Hooray! But there are many other banks that committed fraud, and Obama let most of them off the hook.

  • 23 October 2013 ( Politicians like privatization of services )

    Politicians like privatization of services because it enables them to duck responsibility for subsequent bad service.

  • 23 October 2013 ( Facebook graph search is harbinger of many dangers )

    Facebook graph search is the harbinger of many dangers if lots of people can analyze "big data" about other people.

  • 23 October 2013 ( Thugs attack nonviolent Native American anti-fracking protesters )

    The Canadian government sent thugs to attack nonviolent Native American anti-fracking protesters ; the mainstream media are spinning it in favor of fracking.

  • 23 October 2013 ( TSA checking passengers' background before they get to airport )

    The Theater of Security Agency is checking airline passengers' background extensively before they get to the airport .

    More detail.

    If there is a serious reason to suspect someone might be of planning terrorism aimed at airplanes, it is more just to search him carefully than to arbitrarily stop him from flying. But such searches presume there is a real reason for concern. The TSA privately admits there isn't any, that the airport security operation is mere security theater , but they are prepared to spread distrust through society to carry it out.

  • 23 October 2013 ( The Guys In Charge Of Our Nuclear Arsenal )

    A Problem With Discipline: The Guys In Charge Of Our Nuclear Arsenal Are Napping, Gambling and Otherwise Screwing Up.

  • 23 October 2013 ( Compensation to victims of Rana Plaza factory fire )

    Big clothing companies still have not agreed to pay compensation to the victims of last December's Rana Plaza factory fire in Bangladesh .

    We should not leave this up to those companies. We should make the company that imports the goods and/or commissions their production responsible for (1) keeping track of subcontractor in its supply chain, and (2) applying Western standards of working conditions to all of them.

    The issue applies also to palm oil production.

  • 23 October 2013 ( Global heating is increasing danger of wildfires in Australia )

    25 years of evidence show that global heating is increasing the danger of wildfires in Australia , but Australia's PM brashly denies the facts.

    He could not have won the election if he were stupid, so the explanation must be something worse.

    Meanwhile, Faux News promotes denial through false balance, which validates denialists even more than if it presented only them.

  • 23 October 2013 ( Urgent: Repeal deadly blasphemy law )

    Everyone: call on Pakistan to repeal its deadly blasphemy law.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-11 because the old link was broken.]

  • 23 October 2013 ( The prospects for Americans who work )

    The prospects for Americans who work for a living (or need to) are getting ever worse; but methods to reverse these developments are known.

  • 23 October 2013 ( Urgent: Support lawsuit against massive surveillance in Canada )

    Canadian citizens: support the lawsuit against massive surveillance.

  • 23 October 2013 ( Urgent: Tell Senator Durbin not to cut Social Security or medical care )

    US citizens: tell Senator Durbin not to cut Social Security or medical care.

  • 23 October 2013 ( Islamic extremists in Egypt )

    Islamic extremists in Egypt attacked a wedding celebration and killed people .

    The Bush forces did that in Iraq , with far more casualties, but not intentionally as this time.

    It appears that the violent massacre of the Muslim Brotherhood protesters has lead to a spreading violent Islamist uprising. The Islamists were not the initial aggressors; the military attacked them first. However, the Islamists' choice of targets shows that it doesn't take much to get Islamists to kill innocent people that they have dehumanized.

    I think this will lead most Egyptians to hate the Islamists even more. I won't blame them for that, but they will be playing into the military's hands if they don't aim for democracy.

  • 23 October 2013 ( Lies told to the Supreme Court about NSA surveillance )

    The US executive branch has lied to the Supreme Court about NSA surveillance , as well as to Congress and the public.

  • 23 October 2013 ( Loopholes in EU privacy legislation )

    Major Loopholes in Privacy Regulation — EU Parliament Must Stand For Citizens .

    Data Protection Vote — One Step Forward, Two Big Steps Backwards .

  • 23 October 2013 ( Early stages of global heating in Australia )

    While Australian politicians talk about the cost of avoiding global heating, Australia is experiencing the high cost of the early stages of global heating .

  • 23 October 2013 ( Pesticides used in GMOs in Argentina causing surge in diseases )

    The pesticides used on GMOs in Argentina seem to be causing a surge in cancer, birth defects, and other diseases .
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-11 because the old link was broken.]

  • 23 October 2013 ( Some US cities reversing past privatizations )

    Some US cities are reversing past privatizations of important services such as water supply.

  • 23 October 2013 ( ObamaCare's startup IT problems caused by private contractors )

    ObamaCare's startup IT problems were caused by rip-offs by private contractors .

  • 23 October 2013 ( Apple makes it easy for NSA to collect users' address books )

    How Apple makes it easy for the NSA to collect users' address books.

  • 23 October 2013 ( Sale of personal data by Experian )

    Experian sold personal data on 500,000 people to a company that made them available for "identity theft".

  • 22 October 2013 ( Pacific Ocean full of human junk )

    Ivan MacFadyen sailed across the Pacific and found it a desert filled with human junk , where he used to find fish.

  • 22 October 2013 ( Fructose in food )

    Endorsement of fructose in food is based on mistaken science .

  • 22 October 2013 ( EU to stop exempting US companies from EU data protection laws )

    An EU Parliament committee voted to stop exempting US data processing companies from EU data protection laws.

    This is one step in a long process, but it is a good one.

  • 22 October 2013 ( The trail of horse meat in discount "beef" burgers in the UK )

    The trail of horse meat in discount "beef" burgers in the UK is quite complex .

    The same complex business arrangements lead to contaminated food in the UK, and factory fires in Bangladesh . For public safety, we must not allow supply chains to be so complex. We must require registration of these details such that business can't shift around so easily. It might also be wise not to allow chopped meat to be shipped internationally.

    I wonder if the reason such complex supply chains are frequent is because they provide opportunities to hide abuses. Otherwise, each level would tend to increase costs.

  • 22 October 2013 ( US universities impose surveillance on students and staff )

    US universities impose broad and intolerable surveillance on students and staff.

  • 22 October 2013 ( The US military )

    The US military is so powerful that no rival can defeat it, but when used, instead of a victory it achieves devastation .

  • 22 October 2013 ( Hydroelectric power in China )

    China is extending hydroelectric power by leaps and bounds .

  • 22 October 2013 ( US drone attacks in Yemen and Pakistan are war crimes )

    Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch say that US drone attacks in Yemen and Pakistan are war crimes .

    They also warn that others are getting drones and will use them against Americans.

  • 22 October 2013 ( JP Morgan settlement )

    What Fine? Why JP Morgan Is Laughing All the Way to the Bank .

    Bankers should go to jail for those crimes.

  • 22 October 2013 ( Australian wildfires causing hazardous air pollution )

    The Australian wildfires are causing hazardous air pollution in a large area.

  • 22 October 2013 ( Food companies that paid to defeat initiative for GMO labeling )

    A list of food companies that paid secretly to defeat Washington state's initiative for GMO labeling.

  • 22 October 2013 ( Journals refusing to publish research sponsored by tobacco companies )

    Some scientific journals now refuse to publish research sponsored by tobacco companies, which have in the past tried to spread false doubt based on distorted science.

  • 22 October 2013 ( Starting a class war )

    Let's Get This Class War Started .

  • 22 October 2013 ( War profiteering )

    'Shock Doctrine' Americana: Endless War as the Ultimate Business Model .

  • 22 October 2013 ( Loss of crop diversity during the 20th century )

    The Food and Agriculture Organization says that 75% of crop diversity was lost during the 20th century.

    The use of GMOs is now destroying even more.

  • 22 October 2013 ( TSA: Theater-of-Security Agency )

    The TSA (Theater-of-Security Agency) tested passengers' drinks for explosive — drinks they had purchased inside the terminal.

    Of course, the imaginary would-be terrorist could easily avoid this obstacle: he only had to wait until getting on the plane before mixing the hypothetical dangerous substance with water received from the flight attendant. Good thing he doesn't exist.

    Another clever TSA trick: ordering all the travelers in the security check area to freeze instantly , and menacing them if they don't.

    Reports from more victims: http://www.infowars.com/confirmed-the-tsa-is-ordering-travelers-to-freeze-on-command/

    The reason is, there's no telling what they might have to do to stop the imaginary would-be terrorist, so they must drill us into unthinking instant obedience as a precaution.

    Now that we know that would-be terrorist does not exist, let's make the Theater-of-Security Agency not exist.

  • 22 October 2013 ( Case Study in Perils of Pesticide-Heavy GMO-Crop Boom )

    Argentina: Case Study in Perils of Pesticide-Heavy GMO-Crop Boom .

    Although "Roundup-ready" corn supposedly permits the use of a small amount of herbicide, the amount needed has been increasing as weeds develop resistance , and previous techniques employed a clever combination of methods to avoid pesticides.

  • 22 October 2013 ( Centralized storage of medical and car travel records )

    Considering ethical issues raised by AI programs applied to people's medical records, or to driving cars.

    The ethical issues mentioned in this article are not the biggest ones that these technologies raise.

    For medical records (including prescriptions), the biggest issue is not whether IBM's program should be allowed to chew on them, but a logically prior issue: whether everyone's medical records should be put in a centralized data base where the state can trivially look at them, even in less sophisticated ways.

    For driverless cars, assuming are as safe as human drivers, who to blame for the occasional accident will be a side issue. The biggest issues will be whether they construct for each person a travel dossier that GCHQ or the NSA can study years later , and whether they condemn today's millions of paid drivers to the underclass of the permanently unemployed.

    In the times of increasing unemployment, and redistribution of wealth to the rich, efficiency is a misguided goal.

  • 22 October 2013 ( Torture of political prisoners in Ethiopia )

    Report on the torture of political prisoners in Ethiopia.

    The US also forces prisoners to hold painful " stress positions ".

  • 22 October 2013 ( US congress wants additional sanctions against Iran )

    Just as negotiations with Iran offer some hope of success, the US congress wants to impose additional sanctions .

    I think it is clear what's going on. The powerful Zionist lobby, backed by the money of lunatic right-wing Christians who think they can cause the second coming of Jesus if they rebuild the temple in Jerusalem, wants Iran to remain an enemy of the US , would like to prevent any deal.

  • 21 October 2013 ( NSA massive surveillance of French phone calls )

    NSA massive surveillance of French phone calls has created a diplomatic incident.

    Massive surveillance of citizens is just as bad when the French government does it as when the US government does it.

    It's awfully ironic that Hollande threatened the US with blocking a treaty that threatens democracy and that no country should ever sign.

  • 21 October 2013 ( UK's new nuclear reactors are a stupid deal )

    Nuclear energy's string of broken promises shows that the the UK's new nuclear reactors are a stupid deal . Now they have promised many sorts of subsidies, while pretending they are not subsidies.

    I wonder who convinced them to do this, and how much it cost.

  • 21 October 2013 ( The Pebble Mine in Alaska is not dead )

    The Pebble Mine in Alaska is not dead.

  • 21 October 2013 ( Public Force Feeding To Protest Gitmo )

    "Constant agony": Anti-Torture Activist Undergoes Public Force Feeding To Protest Gitmo.

  • 21 October 2013 ( Uranium Ore Temps Tanzania )

    Uranium Ore Tempts Tanzania to Dig Dangerously.

  • 21 October 2013 ( The Yes Men Pose As Oil Executives )

    The Yes Men Pose As Oil Executives.

  • 21 October 2013 ( Right-wing states denied medical coverage to 5 million poor )

    Right-wing states have denied medical coverage to 5 million poor Americans.

  • 21 October 2013 ( Washington State )

    Washington State has sued the Grocery Manufacturers Association for disguising payments to campaign against the state's GMO labeling initiative.

  • 21 October 2013 ( Fukushima Cleanup Workers )

    Fukushima cleanup workers are badly paid and their morale is suffering. That tends to provoke mistakes, which are occasionally very dangerous. For instance, any mistake in handling the very hot and dangerous "spent fuel" in Fukushima #4 could lead to spewing far more radioactive material.

  • 21 October 2013 ( Ralph Nader )

    Ralph Nader explains how the Democratic Party has faded to the point where it has no positive program to offer.

    A few Democrats, such as the two new senators from Massachusetts, do have good positive programs.

    Most, including Obama, endorse the harmful goal of budget cuts, which serves only the rich.

  • 21 October 2013 ( Report )

    A report from a journalist who spent a day with a thug patrol in London, watching how people are searched.

    It appears that some sort of grounds are required to search someone, that searches are not totally arbitrary. That is a step in the right direction; I don't think New York thugs need any grounds to search someone on the street.

    I expect the thug department picked a model officer for the journalists to follow, and that he was on his best behavior. Thus, the usual facts are probably worse than the picture this article presents.

  • 21 October 2013 ( JP Morgan )

    JP Morgan may have to pay 13 billion dollars as a penalty for various crimes connected with the housing and fiscal crisis.

    I wonder how this compares with what it gained from the crisis.

  • 21 October 2013 ( Software )

    Ransomware programs encrypt all the data on a computer, then demand a payment to get the decryption key.

    When the article says this "only affects PCs", I think that means it only affects Windows and that a PC running the GNU/Linux system is safe.

    However, the crucial technical question is about your mail-reading program through which the program is introduced. If you ask to see more than a one-line summary of the message, will that run programs in the message? We've known for years in the free software community that that must not happen.

    With my mail reader, Rmail in Emacs, I'd have to go out of my way to copy the program into a file to get it to run. I would hardly do that for a program sent to me by a bank.

  • 21 October 2013 ( US Spying )

    Fresh Leak on US Spying: NSA Accessed Mexican President's Email.

  • 21 October 2013 ( Treaties )

    "Investor-state" treaties, which allow companies to sue governments in kangaroo courts, are theoretically unjust. Now the practical harm is showing up around the world.

  • 21 October 2013 ( GMO Agriculture )

    GMO agriculture inherently lowers the diversity of crops, and makes agriculture more vulnerable to biological and climatic disasters.

  • 21 October 2013 ( Irish )

    An Irish environmental group will sue the UK for planning to build a nuclear power plant just 150 miles away from Ireland.

    Ireland will be vulnerable to fallout emitted if the plant has a disastrous accident, if the wind is from the east. Of course, the UK will be vulnerable if the wind is from the west.

    The promise to pay twice the going price for electricity represents a giant subsidy. No one wants to build a nuclear power plant without a giant subsidy.

  • 21 October 2013 ( Japanese Young Women )

    Half of young Japanese women (and a large fraction of young men) have no romantic relationship. The result is a big decrease in births.

    I am sad for the people who have despaired of finding love. I understand how women reject marriage if the price is losing their careers. The characteristics of normal Japanese marriage strike me as very unpleasant, and well worth avoiding; but a couple could decide together to have a different sort of marriage.

    As for the decrease in births, given that the human population is increasing, I think that is a good thing.

  • 21 October 2013 ( Smooth Criminal )

    Smooth Criminal: Chevron Sues Rainforest Communities It Contaminated.

  • 21 October 2013 ( Muslim Brotherhood )

    Many Egyptians admire the head of the army for his violent suppression of the Muslim Brotherhood. He may run for president and win honestly.

  • 21 October 2013 ( Explaining How )

    Explaining how mediums and Ouija boards fool people, and how unconscious decision-making fools people too, in a sense.

  • 21 October 2013 ( Australia )

    As the Australian right-wing government goes all-out to fry the world, Australia is already burning. The Labor Party seems to have made the carbon tax a fundamental position.

  • 21 October 2013 ( Village )

    A partially communist village provides a spot of hope in the state-imposed despair of Andalucía in Spain.

  • 21 October 2013 ( Earthjustice )

    Earthjustice reports several court victories to protect whales, coral reefs, and the environment in the US.

  • 21 October 2013 ( Mexico )

    Mexico has prohibited genetically modified corn. And other victories against hidden GMOs in the US.

  • 21 October 2013 ( 3D-Printed Guns )

    3D-printed guns, good for just one shot, might really be dangerous.

    It would be silly to make a fuss about the possibility of bringing such guns into airplanes or trains. There are other deadly weapons that current airport security won't stop, such as a strong thread with which someone might be strangled. With either weapon, a killer might manage to kill someone before being overcome by other passengers, but this danger is too small to be worth much protective effort. It's only barely worth worrying about bringing real guns onto an airplane, since the shooter couldn't crash the plane; if he just wants to kill some people, a shopping mall or city street is a softer target.

    However, assassinating an official with a printed gun might be a significant danger, and might call for new security measures on government offices.

  • 21 October 2013 ( Women March )

    Ecuadorian Women March in Defense of the Amazon.

  • 21 October 2013 ( Corruption )

    Corruption in Peru Aids Cutting of Rain Forest.

  • 21 October 2013 ( Ilija Trojanow )

    The US has still given no explanation of why it barred German anti-surveillance activist Ilija Trojanow from visiting the US for a conference.

    He has personal experience with being spied on in East Germany, where his family was suspected of supporting freedom and human rights. Now the US is following in East Germany's footsteps.

  • 21 October 2013 ( Urgent: Call On Congress )

    US citizens: call on Congress to abolish the debt ceiling.

    The Capitol Switchboard numbers are 202-224-3121, 888-818-6641 and 888-355-3588.

  • 21 October 2013 ( Urgent: US Citizens )

    US citizens: call for ending the required minimum quota for imprisoning illegal immigrants.

  • 21 October 2013 ( Urgent: Restore Snowden's passport )

    US citizens: Call on Secretary of State Kerry to restore Snowden's passport.

  • 21 October 2013 ( Russians' irrational hate for Greenpeace protesters )

    Russians seem to hate the Greenpeace protesters irrationally .

    These Russians have been fooled, like the non-rich Americans that think they will be better off if we burn oil from the Arctic Ocean. In the latter case, they have been fooled by media manipulation .

    In the Russian case, it is Putin's media manipulation.

  • 21 October 2013 ( Preservation of inefficient systems )

    Inefficient systems are often preserved because someone benefits from them , and sometimes the benefits are not obvious.

  • 21 October 2013 ( Care for old people )

    What's needed for compassionate care for old people.

  • 21 October 2013 ( UK dissidents to sue the state )

    UK dissidents will sue the state for keeping records on them as "extremists" .

  • 21 October 2013 ( Thousands of Britons sued for tax payments they can't afford )

    Thousands of poor Britons are being sued for new tax payments they can't afford.

    The court notices urged them not to attend the hearing so that they would lose by default. This reminds me of the way Republicans spread lies about the time and place of voting so as to sabotage poor voters.

  • 21 October 2013 ( Australia's gov't seeks to cut research grants for clean energy )

    Australia's government is looking for budget cuts, and first in line are research grants for clean energy .

    This will knock down the economy, as well as making it harder to avoid burning fossil fuels, thus killing two birds with one stone.

  • 21 October 2013 ( 16,000 species of trees in Amazonia )

    Statistically analyzing surveys from different parts of Amazonia suggests that there are 16,000 different species of trees in the whole forest.

    1/3 of these species are estimated to have under 1000 members. Practically speaking, there is no chance of identifying them.

    Think of that when people talk about preserving species outside their ecosystems, or perhaps preserving tissue or DNA. If the Amazon forest dries out and burns up, it will never come back.

  • 21 October 2013 ( Apple's iMessage security claims )

    Apple's iMessage Security Claims 'Basically Just Lies', Say Researchers .

    Here are technical details .

  • 21 October 2013 ( The crushing tyranny of Iran )

    In the crushing tyranny of Iran, even walking a dog is dangerous .

  • 21 October 2013 ( The climate change that caused the Sahara to become desert )

    Research into the historical climate of today's Sahara desert shows that it dried up in just 100 or 200 years .

    This rapid change, about 5000 years ago, was caused by a much slower change in the Earth's orbital parameters. The crucial point is that a slow increase in heat coming in can make a rapid change in climate.

    We're now causing a much faster change in heat coming in (or, more precisely, a faster reduction in how much heat can escape into space each night). Maybe regions will become deserts in 10 years.

  • 20 October 2013 ( Requiring parental consent for teenagers seeking abortions )

    Nebraska's requirement for parental consent forces teenagers to have children because they are "not mature enough" for an abortion.

  • 20 October 2013 ( TSA document admits its security activities are mostly security theater )

    A secret TSA document admits what its critics have said: its airport security activities are mostly security theater . They would be ineffective against the supposed threat, which fortunately does not exist anyway.

    This implies that the TSA recognizes that the supposed reason for the no-fly list is invalid. Meanwhile, Senator Feinstein called for putting people on the no-fly list based on a secret tip from relatives .

    That the TSA concealed this from the court is even more outrageous than the way it treats us.

    Let's roll down the curtains on the TSA !

  • 20 October 2013 ( Moroccan editor has been imprisoned )

    A Moroccan editor has been imprisoned for posting a link to a news article that linked to a "terrorist" video on YouTube.

    The fact that the video is on YouTube, a US company, adds additional absurdity to the accusation. However, posting links should never be a crime.

    I've been told that Morocco liberalized its laws around 2000 to respect human rights more, but Dubya pressured Morocco to retract part of the change. In general, "anti-terrorist" laws are more dangerous than terrorists.

  • 20 October 2013 ( Bullying often results from being bullied )

    Bullying often results from being bullied.

  • 20 October 2013 ( UK Labour Party promising to be harsher on poor than Tories )

    The UK Labour Party is promising to be harsher towards the poor than the Tories .

    The unions should kill off the Labour party and make a new one.

  • 20 October 2013 ( UK gov't trying to ruin National Health Service )

    The UK government is trying to ruin the National Health Service by cutting funds . Sometimes there is a 7-hour wait for an ambulance.

  • 20 October 2013 ( Urgent: Cuts in Medicare and Social Security )

    US citizens: urge Obama not to negotiate with Republicans about cuts in Medicare and Social Security.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-11 because the old link was broken.]

  • 20 October 2013 ( Campaign to free Canadians in Egypt )

    How the campaign to free Canadians Tarek Loubani and John Greyson from nonsensical imprisonment in Egypt worked , and what it tells us about Egypt.

    They got out after two months. Many innocent people imprisoned by the US in Guantanamo are still there.

  • 20 October 2013 ( Population of monarch butterflies has crashed )

    The population of monarch butterflies has crashed.

  • 20 October 2013 ( Snowden learned that reporting problems to management was useless )

    Snowden learned the hard way that reporting problems to management was useless, when he reported a security hole in the CIA's software to his boss and got slapped down as a troublemaker.

  • 20 October 2013 ( The Drone Paradox )

    The Drone Paradox: use of drones seems to be more tolerated than would be use of manned bombers or cruise missiles , even in the same situation.

  • 20 October 2013 ( What to do about high level of economic inequality )

    A CNN TV program asked rich CEOs what to do about the high level of economic inequality in the US. Naturally they suggested not doing anything about it.

  • 20 October 2013 ( Don't believe the New York Times )

    Don't believe the New York Times when it says that defaulting on loans generally harms a country.

  • 20 October 2013 ( TSA Loudspeakers Threaten Travelers With Arrest )

    TSA Loudspeakers Threaten Travelers With Arrest For Joking About Security.

    Perhaps this is meant to refer to threats as jokes, not jokes in general. If so, they should say so.

  • 20 October 2013 ( Another Canadian oil train has exploded )

    Another Canadian oil train has exploded.

    Fortunately, this time the inhabitants of the town were not killed, but I fear their houses were destroyed.

  • 20 October 2013 ( Libya on the verge of breaking up )

    Libya is on the verge of breaking up.

    There is nothing sacred about the frontiers of Libya, which was created artificially after World War I, fusing together various provinces of the Ottoman empire. However, renewed war would be very bad. I hope that they reach some sort of settlement without a lot of bloodshed.

  • 20 October 2013 ( Is it better to farm rhinos for their horns )

    Is it better to farm rhinos for their horns, or keep a ban on trading their horns?

    I've read that it is possible to inject something into the horn that makes it unsalable while not hurting the rhino. Isn't that the ideal solution?

  • 20 October 2013 ( Using Facebook graph search )

    Using Facebook graph search makes it a lot easier to find details of someone's life in order to attack him.

  • 20 October 2013 ( Tens of Thousands March for 'Free Public Education' )

    Chile: Led by Students, Tens of Thousands March for 'Free Public Education'.

  • 20 October 2013 ( Turn Back the Clock on FISA Courts )

    Turn Back the Clock on FISA Courts.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-11 because the old link was broken.]

  • 20 October 2013 ( NSA surveillance was used to find agent of al Qa'ida )

    NSA surveillance was used to find Hassan Ghul, an agent of al Qa'ida, and send a drone to kill him.

    I would not criticize the US government for spying on the foreign communications of specific people for specific reasons in order to catch people such as Hassan Ghul, or thwart their plans. However, spying on all of us is a different issue. It has nothing to do with finding someone in Pakistan.

    Meanwhile, drone attacks are bad for other reasons.

  • 20 October 2013 ( Remaining US family farms )

    The remaining US family farms are waiting to be sold to agribusiness if nothing is done.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-11 because the old link was broken.]

  • 20 October 2013 ( Wall Street Journal blocked reporters )

    The Wall Street Journal blocked reporters from reporting on the scandal of journalistic spying by Murdoch's other newspapers.

  • 20 October 2013 ( Feinstein-NSA claims about massive surveillance and Sep 11 hijackers )

    Puncturing Feinstein-NSA claims about massive surveillance and one of the Sep 11 hijackers.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-11 because the old link was broken.]

    The US government ignored warnings about that hijacker, which would have provided grounds to tap his phone.

  • 20 October 2013 ( US gov't shutdown has done damage to scientific research )

    The Republicans' US government shutdown has done tremendous damage to scientific research , in many cases causing a lasting setback.

    The Republicans probably consider this a victory, because they consider science a threat to their fantasy world.

    It would be useful to prepare a reserve fund to preserve strains of lab mice, for when the Republicans try it again.

  • 20 October 2013 ( Republican Party pretends to represent black Americans )

    The Republican Party pretends to represent black Americans, in addition to pretending to represent white Americans.

  • 20 October 2013 ( Snowden got rid of all secret files before he went to Moscow )

    Snowden explains how he made sure Russia could not get any US secrets from him: he got rid of all his secret files before he went to Moscow.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-11 because the old link was broken.]

    He also explains why reporting the injustices of the NSA's massive surveillance to the people responsible for doing it would have been completely futile.

    I admire Snowden tremendously. He recognized what needed to be done, and he planned it with the greatest care. Thank you, Snowden!

    Only one thing went wrong: he got stuck in Russia. He must hate receiving shelter from Putin.

  • 19 October 2013 ( isoHunt shutdown )

    isoHunt, a search engine for torrents, was compelled by an MPAA lawsuit to shut down .

    Since isoHunt was a profit-making activity, it was is on the border of what I think should be legalized. Perhaps its shutdown is not wrong. But any victory for the MPAA is a defeat for Internet users.

  • 19 October 2013 ( Pretending there is a pause in global heating )

    There is no pause in global heating , but if you ignore 98% of what's going on , you can pretend there is one.

  • 19 October 2013 ( UK ministries illegally keep millions of old files secret )

    UK ministries are illegally keeping millions of old files secret.

  • 19 October 2013 ( Movement against privatization of trains in the UK )

    A movement has emerged against privatization of trains in the UK .

  • 19 October 2013 ( High school students in Paris protest deportation of student )

    High school students in Paris went on strike after one of them was deported.

    In general, I don't think any country is obliged to accept as an immigrant anyone that wants to move there. However, it appears that Leonarda Dibrani is an example of a special case: people who have been in the country since such a young age that they don't know any other home.

  • 19 October 2013 ( "Ownership" of personal data )

    Albert-László Barabási: Scientists must spearhead ethical use of big data .

    The idea that you should "own" your personal data sounds nice, if you wish to think of human rights as deriving from property. I think that is perverted: human rights are more important and fundamental than property. In any case, it is clearly insufficient to protect us from dangerous surveillance. What you own, you're entitled to sell, and businesses are adept at getting most people to "voluntarily" give up enough data to make a tremendous dossier .

    We need to ensure that systems do not ask people to surrender such data .

  • 19 October 2013 ( Reagan's bogus idea of "trickle down" )

    How Ronald Reagan's bogus idea of "trickle down", which George I called "voodoo economics", threw the US into decline and debt .

    As a means to achieve its stated, supposed aims, Reaganomics was a failure. But he probably wasn't sincere about it anyway. Considered as a scheme to enrich the rich and screw the rest of us, it was a great success.

  • 19 October 2013 ( The Tea Party's true colors )

    The Strange Stalinization of the American Right .

    Stalinist political authoritarianism has little to do with the political questions that distinguish right-wing and left-wing.

    It does not surprise me that the Tea Party has revealed that its true colors are the confederate colors of a slave system. But that does not mean they are racist. They are equal opportunity rip-off artists, eager to impoverish most Americans of whatever race.

  • 19 October 2013 ( Whistleblower Captain Swenson receives medal of honor )

    Captain Swenson received the medal of honor for saving wounded soldiers , after having been subject to many lies as a whistleblower.

  • 19 October 2013 ( Attempts made by Hungarian gov't to shut down art exhibit )

    The Hungarian government has tried repeatedly to shut an art exhibit in Austria that compares a racist right-wing Hungarian party to Nazis .

    I don't generally compare the parties and officials I criticize to Nazis, because they usually don't deserve it. The article suggests that that party does deserve it.

  • 19 October 2013 ( Former coal executive turned activist )

    Ian Dunlop, former coal executive, asks shareholders of a mining company to make him their representative in the annual meeting so as to accuse the company of sabotaging environmental protection .

  • 19 October 2013 ( Urgent: Urge leaders to pressure Russia to free Greenpeace protesters )

    Everyone: urge the leaders of Brazil, India, South Africa and the EU to pressure Russia to free the Greenpeace protesters facing absurd criminal charges.

  • 19 October 2013 ( Urgent: Investigate judge who denied a 16-year-old an abortion )

    US citizens: call for an investigation of a judge who denied a 16-year-old an abortion from his personal bias.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-11 because the old link was broken.]

    It is crazy to demand that minors get permission for an abortion, but not get permission to have a baby. The abortion is safer in every sense.

  • 19 October 2013 ( Public school students from poor families )

    In 17 states , most students in public school are from poor families.

    I wonder what fraction of school-age children in those states are from poor families. That fraction has increased quite a bit thanks to plutocratist policies.

  • 19 October 2013 ( Progressive Insurance misleads people about in-car tracking )

    Progressive Insurance misleads people about what it can do with the data it gets from its in-car tracking device , and the data might cost drivers dearly.

    Some of the arguments in the article seem mistaken to me. Even though "telematics devices" commonly include GPS, it doesn't follow that everything which is called a "telematics device" has a GPS. The fact that the patent cites the possibility of a GPS also doesn't imply this device has one. Perhaps the company is telling the truth when it says there is no GPS in the device.

    But it's a fact that cell phones are tracked all the time by triangulation even without GPS. Sending reports in real time by a cell phone connection makes this device an injustice; that practice ought to be illegal. The data should be saved in the device, which the driver would hand in from time to time.

    I refuse to carry a tracking device on my person, and I would not allow one in my car either.

    In addition, the device should not record any data except the data that are supposed to be used. If it is meant to check for certain risky driving practices, it should only record those. For instance, if the issue is accelerating very rapidly or braking hard, it should record instances of those, but should not record acceleration or breaking when they are not excessive — or the speed.

    With these changes, the device would be acceptable.

  • 19 October 2013 ( Australian legislator's change in position on coal mining )

    An Australian legislator plans to sue the author of ad that pointed out how he changed to support coal mining and trash the Great Barrier Reef, and suggested that "they got to him" to change his mind.

    This change of position must have an explanation, and he has not presented a plausible one.

  • 19 October 2013 ( Australian scientists consider relocating wildlife to new areas )

    Australian scientists are considering trying to relocate wildlife to new areas as global heating makes their existing habitat uninhabitable.

    Organisms do try to shift their range, but they run into trouble because many of them can't shift fast enough to keep up with heating at the rate it is occurring.

  • 19 October 2013 ( UN joins Malala Yousefzai )

    The UN joins Malala Yousefzai in concluding that US drone attacks are unjust and fuel hatred .

  • 19 October 2013 ( Hundreds of homes in Australia destroyed by wildfires )

    Wildfires have destroyed hundreds of homes in Australia, and it's still early spring.

    "Normally" the fire season would not even have started yet, but thanks to global heating , this is likely to become the new normal, until it gets even worse.

  • 19 October 2013 ( Protesting in Baltimore city center )

    Baltimore tried to ban protests in the city center. The ACLU made it change policy .

  • 19 October 2013 ( Blogger arrested or posting cartoons )

    Blogger Arrested for Posting Cartoons of Algeria's President .

  • 19 October 2013 ( Obama claims Supreme Court has no jurisdiction over NSA case )

    Obama, enemy of the fourth amendment as usual, asked the Supreme Court not to consider a case about NSA surveillance, claiming it has no jurisdiction .

  • 18 October 2013 ( Urgent: Tell European Parliament you want strong data protection )

    EU citizens: tell the European Parliament you want strong data protection.

  • 18 October 2013 ( Potential for improvements in energy efficiency in cars and homes )

    Amory Lovins describes the tremendous potential for improvements in energy efficiency in cars and homes.

  • 18 October 2013 ( Gov't of Gujarat trying to harass Dalits )

    The government of Gujarat, which is Hindu nationalist, is trying to harass the Dalits that converted to Buddhism.

    The law claims to protect "religious freedom", but its real aim is to try to stop Dalits from officially ceasing to be considered Hindus.

  • 18 October 2013 ( How Bush regime forced ouster of Jose Bustani )

    How the Bush regime forced the ouster of Jose Bustani a head of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, then lied about it.

  • 18 October 2013 ( Privacy Fears Grow as Cities Increase Surveillance )

    Privacy Fears Grow as Cities Increase Surveillance.

    Collecting a dossier of everywhere every car has been is too much surveillance; it should be illegal to make or operate such equipment.

  • 18 October 2013 ( Is the NSA blackmailing officials? )

    Is the NSA blackmailing officials?

  • 18 October 2013 ( UK gov't will invite Chinese companies into planned UK nuclear power reactors )

    The UK government will invite Chinese companies into planned UK nuclear power rectors.

    Do they want these plants to have accidents?

    I'm not the only one who sees danger in this .

  • 18 October 2013 ( More fossil fuel than was previously believed )

    Fossil fuel companies want us to celebrate because there is even more fossil fuel than was previously believed.

    The only problem with them is that burning them would cause global heating catastrophe.

    The UK government wants to promote oil extraction in the Arctic.

    This is what Naomi Klein called "extraction-ism": they regard nature and other people as resources to be used up. It's a murderous plan.

  • 18 October 2013 ( Human agriculture needs genetic diversity provided by small farms )

    Human agriculture needs the genetic diversity provided by small farms, but unjust laws have wiped out 75% of the crop diversity that we once had.

    If plant variety monopolies reduce crop diversity, they are doing the opposite of their purpose, and that is sufficient grounds to repeal them. Of course, the treaties that require these monopolies must be torn up, for many other reasons.

  • 18 October 2013 ( Vehicle exhaust and factory fumes )

    A study estimates that vehicle exhaust and factory fumes cause 230,000 cases of lung cancer annually.

  • 18 October 2013 ( First survey of slavery )

    The first survey of slavery says that 29 million people are enslaved. Half of them are in India.

  • 18 October 2013 ( UK thugs lied )

    The UK thugs who accused a politician of calling them "plebs" seem to have lied in multiple ways.

    There are plenty of true reasons to condemn Tory politicians, but that doesn't justify lying about them.

  • 18 October 2013 ( "Stand your ground" laws )

    How "stand your ground" laws give everyone a license to kill.

  • 18 October 2013 ( Suspended from school for bringing drawing of a nonrealistic bomb )

    A student was suspended from school in South Carolina for bringing to school a drawing of a nonrealistic bomb , imitating a video game.

    "Zero tolerance" is a damaging practice, and it deserves condemnation in general. What it means in practice is, "We have to be idiotic because we made an idiotic rule and now we have to follow it."

    Note how the school officials duck the question of whether their actions are legitimate by claiming to protect the privacy of the victim. That's a standard symptom of abuse of power.

    The students now have a great chance to take those officials down a peg with an "I am Spartacus" response. Imagine if 50 of the best students hand the principal similar bomb drawings and say, "I'd like to take a few days off from school, so now you have to suspend me!" They would find a way to change this idiotic rule.

  • 18 October 2013 ( Urgent: Explain budget figures as a fraction of the total )

    Everyone: call on the New York Times to explain budget figures as a fraction of the total.

  • 17 October 2013 ( Urgent: Stop buying sugar from land grabbers )

    Everyone: call on Coca Cola and PepsiCo to stop buying sugar from land grabbers.

  • 17 October 2013 ( US towns tried outsourcing town government to company )

    Some US towns created by wealthy people to cut their taxes tried outsourcing the entire town government to a company . Of course, they got shafted.

    Privatizing government services is generally harmful, since the company has to mistreat someone in order to make a profit. The main exception is when the privatization results in giving the public a competitive market with a considerable number of providers.

    Although these towns have stopped outsourcing their whole governments, they continue to abandon the rest of their county, and the rest of their country, with the typical callousness of the rich, who wish poor Americans would crawl away to the cemetery and drop dead, after extracting from them whatever useful labor can be got from them.

    Those rich people deserve to be slapped down. When non-plutocrats retake control of the Georgia legislature they should put those towns back into the counties they have tried to abandon.

  • 17 October 2013 ( False balance in media )

    False balance — giving crackpots equal prominence with real experts — gives the crackpots even more influence than presenting them alone.

    This is what makes the theocrats' scheme of "teaching the controversy" about evolution so harmful. The fossil fuel companies' paid global heating deniers use it too.

  • 17 October 2013 ( Poverty isn't due to welfare )

    Poverty isn't due to welfare, any more than sickness is due to hospitals.

  • 17 October 2013 ( Snapchat photos )

    Snapchat photos can only be seen for a short period of time by their intended recipients, but if the state gets them first, it can see them as long as it wants.

    Note that this system depends on nonfree software. The feature that makes them disappear is a form of DRM.

  • 17 October 2013 ( Global Heating devastating moose population )

    Global heating seems to be devastating the moose population.

  • 17 October 2013 ( Global Heating endangers foliage of New England )

    Global heating endangers the colorful fall foliage of New England.

    Already leaves are turning color two weeks later than they did 30 years ago, but future effects may be more than a mere change in schedule.

  • 17 October 2013 ( Requiring information about pesticide use )

    Kauai has passed the law requiring information about pesticide use.

  • 17 October 2013 ( Hidden gov't use of telephone metadata surveillance )

    The EFF is suing to uncover hidden government use of telephone metadata surveillance which was concealed when people were put on trial.

  • 17 October 2013 ( Obama eliminated limits on arms exports )

    Obama has given weapons manufacturers a big gift by eliminating limits on arms exports.

  • 17 October 2013 ( Corruption of UK gov't government extended to Chinese banks )

    The corruption of the UK government by banks is being extended to Chinese banks.

    The UK needs to recover its sovereignty from these banks, which would include abolishing the City of London which serves as their political instrument.

  • 17 October 2013 ( Reasons not to trust claims national security is threatened by leaks )

    10 reasons not to trust claims national security is threatened by leaks.

    Besides, we can't trust anything they say. We know they are ready to lie whenever it suits them.

  • 17 October 2013 ( Republicans appear to have caved )

    Republicans appear to have caved in and allowed the US government to resume operations.

    The ability of Democrats to face them down is potentially good. Now all we need is to elect Democrats that stand for most people's interests and freedom, unlike Obama.

  • 17 October 2013 ( Urgent: Demand $15 an hour for fast food workers )

    In the US: demand that US fast food chains pay their workers $15 an hour.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-11 because the old link was broken.]

  • 17 October 2013 ( Urgent: Oppose CISPA )

    US citizens: tell your senators to oppose CISPA.

    Yes, that monster has come back to life . Politicians such as Senator Feinstein, that want total surveillance, are pushing it again.

  • 17 October 2013 ( US harassing friends of Ibragim Todashev )

    The US is harassing the friends of Ibragim Todashev , who was shot dead by an FBI agent while several agents were interrogating him in his home.

    The false accusation that he tried to attack them (he'd have to have been crazy to try, under the circumstances, unless he had super powers) is standard practice for thugs .

    We have no way of knowing whether Todashev really confessed to involvement in murder. It might be true, or it might be another lie. If it's true, he deserved a trial, not summary execution.

    The US had no obligation to extend his girlfriend's visa; deporting her straightaway for overstaying would have been legitimate. However, to extend the visa, then cancel it because she gave an interview to a magazine, is dangerous injustice. Never mind whether it is fair to her: it attacks journalism, and that threatens all Americans,

    Perhaps Todashev revealed, when interrogated, some sort of knowledge that the US government did not want us to find out, and killing him was a way to suppress it. Perhaps an FBI agent felt insulted, lost his head, and shot Todashev in the heat of anger. Perhaps the agents wanted to pin a murder on him and did not want him around to deny it. We have no way of knowing, but it's clear that that agent must be prosecuted.

    The FBI has a "time-tested" procedure for investigating shootings by its agents , which always concludes they were justified.

  • 17 October 2013 ( Plutocratist extremists try to justify attack on retirement funds )

    The plutocratist extremists of "Fix the Debt" are now trying to use the government shutdown (engineered by plutocratist extremists) to justify their attack on Americans' retirement funds .

    Plutocratist extremists in Congress are attacking them too.

  • 17 October 2013 ( Israel cancels plan for military training exercise )

    Under public pressure, Israel canceled a plan to force Palestinians to leave their homes for a military training exercise.

  • 17 October 2013 ( BMW and Daimler block EU requirement to limit CO2 emissions )

    BMW and Daimler used the complicit German government to block an EU requirement to limit the CO2 emissions of cars.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-11 because the old link was broken.]

  • 17 October 2013 ( US fast food workers' dependence on public assistance )

    Half the fast food workers in the US depend on public assistance.

    Many other low-paid workers are in the same boat. We need a higher minimum wage, and it must include all workers.

    But more change is needed: businesses should not be taxed more for employing more workers.

  • 17 October 2013 ( UK spy agencies misled Parliament )

    The UK spy agencies misled Parliament when they wanted a law to allow broad surveillance, concealing the fact that they were already doing it .

  • 17 October 2013 ( State departments in Illinois try to teach kids to love coal )

    A couple of state departments in Illinois are getting into hot water for trying to teach kids to love coal .

  • 17 October 2013 ( Obama's meeting with Malala )

    Dear President Obama, What Have You Fixed by Meeting Malala?

  • 17 October 2013 ( What Obama can't stand about Snowden )

    What Obama can't stand about Snowden is Snowden's patriotism . It's the same patriotism that compelled other whistleblowers to act.

  • 16 October 2013 ( Colombian farmers trying to recover land face threats )

    Colombian farmers trying to recover land that was extorted from them by the paramilitaries face threats, even murder.

    The paramilitaries are right-wing thugs that were linked to cronies of former president Alvaro Horrible. They were the worst terrorists in Colombia, and maybe still are.

  • 16 October 2013 ( Russian opposition politician will be barred from elections )

    Russian opposition politician Navalny will be barred from elections for many years.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-11 because the old link was broken.]

  • 16 October 2013 ( Real wages in UK continue falling )

    Real wages in the UK continue falling due to austerity policies.

  • 16 October 2013 ( UK gov't pushing for investigation of the Guardian )

    The UK government is pushing for an investigation of the Guardian for publishing Snowden's disclosures.

    The principal threat to the freedom and well-being of Britons is the UK government, with its austerity and its total surveillance.

  • 16 October 2013 ( Related wild plants and forgotten crops )

    Related wild plants and forgotten crops offer a way to achieve the results that some hoped to get from genetic engineering.

  • 16 October 2013 ( Iran proposed plausible framework )

    Iran has proposed a plausible framework for an agreement on uranium enrichment.

  • 16 October 2013 ( Ireland will prohibit one form of tax avoidance scheme )

    Ireland will prohibit one form of tax avoidance scheme.

    If you come across an analysis of how much effect this will or won't have, I'd be glad to see it.

  • 16 October 2013 ( Tamil refugee in Australia tried to commit suicide )

    A Tamil refugee in Australia, imprisoned on suspicion without a hearing, tried to commit suicide.

    If I understand the article right, he despaired because the new government canceled plans to give hearings in such these cases.

  • 16 October 2013 ( Sandy Hook school being demolished )

    The Sandy Hook elementary school is being demolished under tight security.

    This seems like a silly waste of money to me. It can't help the people who were shot; nothing can help the dead. As for their families, it doesn't really help them either; it only encourages them not to recover.

    The constructive thing would be to repair the building and put it back to use, or turn it into a memorial to campaign for better gun control.

  • 16 October 2013 ( Google+ users protesting Google's plan )

    Google+ users are protesting Google's plan to use their names and faces in advertisements by putting Eric Schmidt's photo in their profiles.

    I post this because I find it a good hack; but if you use Google+, I suggest that rather than joining this hack, you stop using it. Communications services that require users to give their real names are a threat to privacy. I urge you to join me in rejecting Google+ until they change that policy.

  • 16 October 2013 ( Urgent: Tell Yelp's CEO to stop supporting ALEC )

    Everyone: tell Yelp's CEO to stop supporting ALEC.

    ALEC is a right-wing scheme by which businesses twist state legislators to pass the bills those businesses want.

  • 16 October 2013 ( Urgent: Protect atmosphere from planned coal terminal )

    US citizens: campaign to protect Washington State and the Earth's atmosphere from a planned giant coal export terminal.

  • 16 October 2013 ( Urgent: Abolish weapons of mass destruction world wide )

    Everyone: sign this campaign to abolish weapons of mass destruction world wide.

  • 16 October 2013 ( Danger of unregulated US chemical plants )

    Unregulated US chemical plants keep exploding, sometimes killing bystanders. There are 500 plants in which one accident could threaten 100,000 people .

    This dwarfs the danger of terrorism. So why does the US spend so much on the Committee for Public Safety (better known as the Department of Homeland Security), and hardly anything on inspecting and regulating chemical plants? I suspect a few reasons:

    1. It is more political useful to make people hyper-afraid of certain minority groups than hyper-afraid of factories.
    2. Spending on "security" is profitable for companies while regulating their plants is inconvenient for them.

  • 15 October 2013 ( Soot pollution correlates with low birth weight )

    The level of soot pollution correlates with low birth weight.

  • 15 October 2013 ( Japan pressured tyrant Suharto to ban book )

    Japan pressured Indonesian tyrant Suharto to ban an Indonesian book about the Indonesian "comfort women".
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-11 because the old link was broken.]

    I read about 1/3 of the book, as part of practicing Indonesian. Many of these women were so ashamed of how they had been treated that after the war they didn't try to contact their families, which simply regard them as lost.

    How absurd it is to be ashamed because someone else did wrong to you! But that's the twisted idea that patriarchal society teaches to women.

  • 15 October 2013 ( NSA collection )

    The NSA has collected millions of email address books, buddy lists, etc.

  • 15 October 2013 ( Poor morale of workers at Fukushima )

    Mistakes at Fukushima may be the result of poor morale of workers.

    TEPCO could fix the problem by paying them more and giving them good benefits. Hiring through contractors is generally going to lead to bad morale.

  • 15 October 2013 ( Parents stopped insisting children contribute to household chores )

    Americans parents have stopped insisting that their children contribute to household chores.

  • 15 October 2013 ( Sonar system responsible for causing whales to strand themselves )

    A sonar system used to map the ocean floor seems responsible for causing 100 whales to strand themselves on Madagascar.

    Some sonar systems produce extremely loud sound that can deafen whales or drive them frantic to escape. The sound does not penetrate the air, so I suspect that stranding themselves is a way to escape the sound. However, when whales strand themselves, it is usually fatal.

  • 15 October 2013 ( The threat to democracy )

    The threat to democracy is not subversion but superversion by the plutocrat class that has seceded from all countries.

  • 15 October 2013 ( UN committee sold out to biofuel interests )

    The UN Committee on World Food Security has sold out to biofuel interests.

    Specifically, the kind of biofuels that substitute for growing food, and use so much fertilizer that they don't reduce fossil fuels.

    Other biofuels that don't compete with crops might be a good thing, but they aren't ready for production yet.

  • 15 October 2013 ( China conscripts students to work under inhumane conditions )

    China conscripts students to work under inhumane conditions in factories making Apple products, PlayStation's, and other computer products.

  • 15 October 2013 ( A freak early blizzard )

    A freak early blizzard killed tens of thousands of cattle in South Dakota.

    I wonder if global heating had something to do with it.

  • 15 October 2013 ( Qatar arrested two German journalists )

    Qatar arrested two German journalists who took video of the working conditions of migrant workers.

    At least they were released later. Obama is not so forgiving to whistleblowers, and compare this also with the ag-gag laws of some US states.

  • 15 October 2013 ( Taxi driver says Duggan had no gun )

    The London riots were set off when thugs shot and killed Mark Duggan, whom they had found in a taxi. They say he was holding a gun and looked threatening. The taxi driver says Duggan had no gun, and was running away.

    The driver also said that a thug threatened to shoot him if he kept looking at Duggan. It looks sounds like the thugs are testilying again.

    The rioters were imprisoned for their rather small physical looting. The big looters, the companies that pay no taxes, have been left alone. Will the thugs be prosecuted at all?

  • 15 October 2013 ( The ouster of José Bustani in 2002 by Dubya )

    José Bustani, former head of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, says Dubya engineered his ouster because he wanted to investigate Iraq to see if it had chemical weapons.

    Clearly Bush did not want any facts getting in the way of his fictions. This will add to the case to convict Dubya of the crime of aggressive war, following the Nuremberg example.

  • 15 October 2013 ( 40,000 anti-nuclear protesters march in Tokyo )

    40,000 anti-nuclear protesters marched in Tokyo demanding the end of nuclear power in Japan.

  • 15 October 2013 ( GE gives the US the shaft )

    General Electric repeatedly gives the US the shaft, but the US government still panders to it .

  • 15 October 2013 ( Republican extortionism )

    Republicans have changed the reasons for their extortionism; now it's budget cuts .

    The US needs to increase government spending in order to get out of recession. For the past decade, spending has focused on war, which produces nothing that people really need, and isn't even good at creating jobs . Spending on clean energy would do wonders.

    However, Obama has been weak on this front, and even adopted budget cuts as a goal , which is why we have the destructive sequester.

  • 15 October 2013 ( Egypt and Israel combining to starve Gaza )

    Egypt and Israel are combining to starve Gaza . Food, water, and electricity are scarce, and construction has nearly stopped.

  • 15 October 2013 ( Former president of China faces prosecution in Spain )

    Hu Jintao, former president of China, faces prosecution in Spain for genocide in Tibet.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-11 because the old link was broken.]

    The actions of the Chinese government in Tibet qualify as tyranny and oppression. To call them "genocide" seems like a stretch, since they are not aimed at exterminating the Tibetan people or anything close to that. They are somewhat comparable to the Israeli occupation of Palestine.

  • 15 October 2013 ( Malala Yousafzai tells Obama drone attacks are fueling terrorism )

    Obama met Malala Yousafzai , and she told him that drone attacks are fueling terrorism.

  • 15 October 2013 ( Working in a Bangladeshi sweatshop with 9-year-old mentor )

    What it's like working in a Bangladeshi sweatshop with a 9-year-old mentor .

    If we organize to force wages and safety conditions up, the parents will make enough money without sending children to work. And if we distribute gratis contraception, that too will help a lot.

  • 15 October 2013 ( TSA has it in for passengers with attached medical devices )

    The TSA has it in for passengers with medical devices attached to their bodies .

  • 15 October 2013 ( Chilling effect of Obama's War on Journalism )

    Journalists note the chilling effect of Obama's War on Journalism.

    The Committee to Protect Journalists reports on the danger to press freedom around the world — and now, thanks to Obama, in the US as well .

  • 15 October 2013 ( Undercover thugs )

    In New York City, undercover thugs infiltrate just about every dissident activity — even Occupy Sandy, which helped people who had been rendered homeless by Hurricane Sandy.

    An undercover thug in California bullied vulnerable students with "special needs" into buying pot , then got them expelled and even jailed.

    This is part of the school-to-prison pipeline . A school should not allow undercover thugs to prey on students.

  • 15 October 2013 ( No real security gained from massive general surveillance )

    The NSA head has effectively admitted that the US gains no real security against terrorist attacks from massive general surveillance.

    Posing the question in terms of whether massive surveillance has ever prevented any violence in the US is a gratuitous concession to the NSA.

    The suppression of leaks is extremely dangerous, in the same way a nuclear power plant is dangerous: there's a small but substantial chance it will cause a massive catastrophe (fallout, for the nuclear plant; tyranny, for the War on Journalism). The September 2001 attacks were a pinprick compared with this.

    Even if massive surveillance prevented one attack on that scale each decade, that would not justify massive surveillance. 300 additional deaths per year, set against the population of the US, is a tiny risk. In the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave, we can pay that price to maintain our freedom.

  • 15 October 2013 ( Effects of the shutdown on health and science )

    The CDC was unable to track an outbreak of antibiotic-resistant salmonella because part of its operations were shut down.

    Irreplaceable transgenic mice will die if they are not fed , dealing a setback to medical research.

    Most of the US military is less essential to our safety than the CDC and those mice. In fact, most of it isn't necessary at all .

  • 15 October 2013 ( Japanese gov't not investigating complaint of "comfort women" )

    The Japanese government pledged to investigate the complaints of WWII "comfort women" (foreign women forced into prostitution for the Japanese army), then decided not to do it.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-11 because the old link was broken.]

    When the Indonesian government complained, a Japanese official said this was "tantamount to saying that Japan was not trustworthy". Indeed.

  • 15 October 2013 ( Companies working on Fukushima disregarding medical tests for workers )

    Companies working on the Fukushima nuclear reactors are disregarding requirements for medical tests for the workers.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-11 because the old link was broken.]

  • 15 October 2013 ( Sentenced to prison for making a harsh accusation )

    An opposition politician in Ecuador has been sentenced to prison for making a harsh accusation against President Correa.

    For the most part I admire Correa; this is the one exception. Respecting freedom of speech means, above all, respecting the right to say things we dislike. Freedom of speech includes the right to condemn any person, any activity, and any belief — even Correa, even me, even you.

  • 15 October 2013 ( How to prepare for global heating )

    How to prepare for future global heating in the future in the UK.

    It will be different in other places. In many parts of the US, you should prepare for drought, extreme heat and lots of fires.

  • 14 October 2013 ( The Gates Foundation's newest gift to American students )

    The Gates Foundation's newest gift to American students: collecting lots of their personal data to help market nonfree software to them.

    They also envisage recommending e-books , some of them surely covered by DRM and/or unjust contracts.

    The InBloom software is described as "open source". I suppose this refers to some software used to access the site, and I also suppose this software is free but not copylefted so as to encourage using it in nonfree programs to foist onto schools and students.

    A free, non-copylefted program is not an injustice in itself, but it is a weak point, making society prone to injustices.

    Teachers don't need fancy software to "customize lessons in real time". They just need to listen to their students. But such adaptation is only possible if the class is small enough, and that would cost money. You'd have to start taxing the rich again.

  • 14 October 2013 ( US returning to 19th century )

    The US is returning to 19th century in politics, human rights, and work.

  • 14 October 2013 ( Lawyers say GCHQ is spying on their emails with clients )

    The lawyers for Libyan dissidents, who are suing the UK for handing them over to Gaddafi, say that GCHQ is spying on their privileged emails with their clients.

  • 14 October 2013 ( Who should decide whether spy agencies' dirty work should be published )

    Who should decide whether spy agencies' dirty work should be published? The state which runs them, or newspapers?

  • 14 October 2013 ( Urgent: Replace anyone that votes to cut Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid )

    US citizens: tell Congress you will work to replace anyone that votes to cut Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid.

  • 14 October 2013 ( UK and Scotland compete to pander to oil companies )

    The UK and would-be-independent Scotland are competing to pander to oil companies extracting what's left of oil in the North Sea.

    I speculate that each of them wants the oil companies to help buy votes in the coming referendum about independence for Scotland. I think the question of Scottish independence from the UK is a side issue; what matters in Scotland, and everywhere else, is independence from corporate power. If I were a citizen of Scotland I'd probably vote for whichever side the oil companies don't support.

  • 14 October 2013 ( "Game of Drones" campaign to end US drone attacks )

    Kalaya'an Medoza of Amnesty International writes about US drone attacks and the "Game of Drones" campaign to end them.

  • 14 October 2013 ( Regulation of UK press may be used to censor reports )

    Regulation of the UK press, proposed to deal with reporters' snooping in people's answering machines, may be used to censor reports about government snooping instead.

  • 14 October 2013 ( US whistleblowers praise Snowden's heroism )

    US whistleblowers who brought Edward Snowden an award for integrity praise his heroism .

  • 14 October 2013 ( Illegal tree cutting creating catastrophe in Aceh )

    Illegal tree cutting is creating a catastrophe in Aceh .

    It is mostly for producing palm oil, which does harm world-wide.

  • 14 October 2013 ( "Normal" weather in 2050 )

    By 2050, "normal" weather will be outside today's normal range .

  • 14 October 2013 ( Oppressive Canadian copyright law will wipe out VPNs in Canada )

    Oppressive Canadian copyright law will wipe out VPNs in Canada.

    Hollywood and the music factories would like to eliminate VPNs as part of their goal to monitor all communications.

  • 14 October 2013 ( Microsoft proposes having gov't protect our privacy by imposing DRM )

    Microsoft proposes having the government protect our privacy by imposing DRM to control companies' use of it.

    There are just two gaping flaws in this plan. First, the DRM is a gratuitous part of the scheme. If we have regulations on what companies can do with the data, the threat to punish them for violations would be why they obey the regulations. The DRM really changes nothing.

    More fundamentally, this would do nothing to protect us from abuse by the government or its agents, which are the most dangerous abuser of personal data because their abuse threatens democracy itself .

  • 14 October 2013 ( US house builders keep mineral fracking rights for ground underneath houses )

    US house builders keep the mineral/fracking rights for the ground underneath the houses, and try to lull buyers into failing to notice .

  • 14 October 2013 ( Urgent: Drop charges against Honduran activists )

    US citizens: call on the US government to tell Honduras to drop the absurd charges against Honduran activists.

    The US government supported the coup that put this right-wing government in power in Honduras, so it is a proper place to put pressure on about this.

  • 14 October 2013 ( UK austerity )

    UK austerity will make the next generations of middle class people and the poorest suffer lives that are worse than their parents' .

    Not everyone will suffer — the 1% are doing quite well.

  • 14 October 2013 ( Elections in Azerbaijan rigged )

    The elections in Azerbaijan were rigged to the point of being a joke. Thugs attacked the protesters .
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-11 because the old link was broken.]

  • 14 October 2013 ( US forces arrest Talib as Afghan intelligence agents try to recruit him )

    US forces in Afghanistan arrested a Talib while he was talking with Afghan intelligence agents who were trying to recruit him .

    So are they incompetent, or trying to keep their enemy around to justify fighting?

  • 14 October 2013 ( Campaigning to require companies to disclose pesticides used )

    Citizens of Kauai are campaigning to require companies to tell the public what pesticides they use .
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-11 because the old link was broken.]

  • 14 October 2013 ( Congress and the President taking it out on seniors )

    Congress and the President: Just Because You Were Bullied, Don't Take It Out on Our Seniors .

  • 14 October 2013 ( Nuclear power plants )

    Atomic Energy Unnecessary, Uneconomic, Uninsurable, Unevacuable and Unsafe .

    I'm currently reading Normal Accidents, by Charles Perrow. You might think that accidents involving several independent things going wrong in combination would be so unlikely as to be negligible. That's if you expect nuclear power plants to be maintained at a very high standard. The book explains that it is usual for various valves and devices and meters to be broken. To have just one thing wrong is normal; for several to combine is not rare.

  • 14 October 2013 ( The US government )

    A right-wing strategy to crush people's spirit: say government can't do anything good, paralyze government so it really can't, then convince people to give up on trying .

    The US government has done great things: for example, Social Security, Medicaid, Medicare, the Endangered Species Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Voting Rights Act, and many more.

    What's broken is not the government itself, but rather our political system, and the fault is that people give credence to what the right wing says. That's because they've found ways to buy officials and the media with plutocrats' money.

  • 14 October 2013 ( UK Labour Party pledges to be harsh towards the unemployed )

    The UK Labour Party pledges to be almost as harsh towards the unemployed as the Tory Party is .

    Punishing all those non-workers is a convenient way to distract people from the reason so many people in the UK don't work: not enough jobs. Boost the economy, tax the offshorers, and spend the money on useful activities; soon there will be plenty of jobs. Most of the unemployed eagerly go back to work, because they'd really like to get more income than benefits provide, and only the disabled will remain unemployed.

  • 14 October 2013 ( Tasering, prosecuting, and punishing kids )

    What can justify tasering an 8-year-old ?

    Or prosecuting a 10-year-old for sexual abuse?

    Or punishing a 15-year-old for life , for streaking?

  • 14 October 2013 ( "Guns Save Lives Day" celebrates anniversary of Newton )

    Here's chutzpah: "Guns Save Lives Day" celebrates the anniversary of the Newtown shootings.

    They're wrong, though: the facts show that more guns means more deaths.

  • 13 October 2013 ( Stop saying that Columbus "discovered" the Americas )

    Let's stop saying that Columbus "discovered" the Americas — they were inhabited, not "empty", and their inhabitants knew about them.

    Much of the Americas was, in fact, nearly empty a short while after the Europeans came, but that was because smallpox killed 90% of the inhabitants.

  • 13 October 2013 ( Greyson and Tarek released from Egyptian prison )

    John Greyson and Tarek Loubani have been released from the Egyptian prison where they were imprisoned for being in the wrong place at the wrong time and subject to beatings.

    They were freed, eventually, because they are Canadians — thousands of Egyptians are suffering in similar conditions for similar non-reasons, and with little hope of escape.

    Once freed from prison, they were blocked from returning to Canada by the Egyptian no-fly list. These lists represent punishment without trial; the US uses its no-fly list as an excuse to bully and intimidate. For justice's sake, the US must abolish the no-fly list.

  • 13 October 2013 ( Urgent: Resist Rep. Ribble )

    US citizens: Rep. Ribble wants to convert retired Americans' lives to Rubble. Sign this petition calling on Congress to resist.

    We could also send Ribble a Ribble'd suggestion for what he can go and do with himself.

  • 13 October 2013 ( Dalits will meet to convert to Buddhism )

    Ten thousands Dalits will meet to convert to Buddhism.

    In India, this requires filling out a form for the state, which records each person's religious identity.

    My contact says that many of them will practice Dr. Ambedkar's rationalist Navayana form of Buddhism.

    Indian Dalits face violent oppression. Upper caste Hindus who murdered 26 Dalits inhabitants of the same village were recently acquitted in court , and the survivors fear they will now be attacked with impunity.

  • 13 October 2013 ( US using grand juries to destroy dissident movements )

    The US is using grand juries to destroy dissident movements, questioning dissidents suspected of nothing but dissent, demanding information about other dissidents suspected of nothing but dissent, and them with threatening potential life imprisonment.

  • 13 October 2013 ( Urgent: Make POSCO Steel respect human rights in India )

    Everyone: call on Warren Buffett to make POSCO Steel respect human rights in India.

  • 13 October 2013 ( Babies display ideas of right and wrong )

    Even 3-month-old babies display ideas of right and wrong.

  • 13 October 2013 ( Researchers accuse WHO of politicizing research )

    Researchers accuse WHO of politicizing research to deny the effects of US depleted uranium in Iraq.

    There is plenty of evidence of the birth defects that the WHO report denies, and reasons to associate them with DU.

  • 13 October 2013 ( Austerity's effects seen in wealthier and poorer countries )

    Austerity's effects can be seen in both wealthier and poorer countries, in the form of squeezed wages and unhealthy conditions for everyone.

  • 13 October 2013 ( Apparent Afghan soldiers shot at US soldiers )

    Four the fourth time in a month, apparent Afghan soldiers shot at US soldiers in Afghanistan.

  • 13 October 2013 ( Eating popcorn in a movie theater )

    Eating popcorn in a movie theater makes advertising ineffective.

    If their explanation is correct, eating anything would do the job, even carrot sticks or celery. And perhaps just thinking and sub-vocalizing something else, such as "No" or "I don't need this", would also do the job, as long as you don't forget to do it. These methods might be effective against advertising in other situations such as watching TV. It would be interesting to test these conjectures.

  • 13 October 2013 ( "The nation has been modified…" )

    "The nation has been modified…"

  • 13 October 2013 ( Being homeless in New York City )

    Mary writes about being homeless in New York City.

    She lost her job, then her apartment. Without an apartment, she can't possibly get either a job or an apartment. Our right-wing government, that doesn't dare tax the rich, won't do anything for her. Republicans say her homelessness is proof she deserves it, and Democrats don't face the issue.

  • 13 October 2013 ( Sri Lanka's ruler protecting crony )

    Sri Lanka's ruler is protecting a crony who appears to have shot and killed a British Red Cross worker.

    The tyrant has had dissidents and journalists killed, so he must use his cronies to do this; protecting them from accusations must be normal practice.

  • 13 October 2013 ( Banks redlining indirectly )

    When banks generate loan offers for individual applicants, that opens the door for them to do redlining indirectly and avoid punishment.

  • 13 October 2013 ( New NIST hash code standard suspected of NSA corruption )

    A new NIST hash code standard now being developed is suspected of NSA corruption.

  • 13 October 2013 ( New systems for tracking users from one device to another )

    Google and Microsoft are developing new systems for tracking users from one device to another .

  • 13 October 2013 ( Facebook cancels search opt-out )

    Facebook canceled the search opt-out for users that had it enabled.

    Unfriend Facebook today!

  • 13 October 2013 ( Guantanamo hunger strike broken with harassment and torture )

    The US broke the Guantanamo hunger strike with harassment and torture .

  • 13 October 2013 ( India's Supreme Court rules against mandatory national identity card )

    India's Supreme Court ruled that the national identity card cannot be mandatory for government services .

    This is because the Indian constitution provides a right of privacy .

  • 13 October 2013 ( Urgent: Free the protesters arrested by Border Patrol )

    US citizens: demand that the Border Patrol free the protesters it arrested.

  • 13 October 2013 ( Urgent: Tell congressional Republicans to stop playing games )

    US citizens: tell congressional Republicans to stop playing games and putting our country at stake.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-11 because the old link was broken.]

  • 13 October 2013 ( Preparations for armed repression in the US )

    The Committee for Public Safety (officially, Department of Homeland Security) is preparing for armed repression in the US — perhaps the next time there is a financial crisis. The US has not taken the necessary steps to prevent a repeat of what happened in 2008.

  • 13 October 2013 ( Urgent: Tell newspapers to stop publishing letters that deny known facts )

    In the US: tell major newspapers to follow the LA Times and stop publishing letters that deny known facts such as global heating .
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-11 because the old link was broken.]

  • 13 October 2013 ( 10 cigarettes a day is very dangerous )

    A study of smokers' health records found that even 10 cigarettes a day is very dangerous. On the average, smoking costs 10 years of life.

  • 13 October 2013 ( Red Cross will resume food distribution in the UK )

    The Red Cross will resume food distribution in the UK. Evidently right-wing austerity policies are very effective.

  • 13 October 2013 ( Insurance companies pay drivers to report car's location )

    Insurance companies pay drivers to report the car's location all the time.

    This is typical of the sleazy ways that surveillance technology is foisted upon those not determined to reject it.

  • 13 October 2013 ( Urgent: "No fast track for the TPP." )

    US citizens: tell Congress, "No fast track for the TPP."
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-11 because the old link was broken.]

    "Fast track" would amount to putting Congress in a trance.

    Seriously, here's why "fast track" is dangerous.

  • 13 October 2013 ( Israeli colonists in Palestine continue violence )

    Israeli colonists in Palestine continue their violence, this time setting fire to cars.

  • 13 October 2013 ( Honduran Rights Defenders to be Jailed )

    Rio Blanco Dam: Honduran Rights Defenders to be Jailed while Transnational Investors are Above the Law.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-11 because the old link was broken.]

  • 13 October 2013 ( Officials scared to talk to press )

    Obama's War on Journalism is making officials scared to talk to the press.

  • 13 October 2013 ( "Experts" asked about attack on Syria had financial stake )

    The main US media "experts" asked about whether the US should attack Syria had a financial stake in it , which the media usually did not disclose.

  • 12 October 2013 ( "Gay Testing" proposed by Kuwait )

    The "gay testing" proposed by Kuwait is meant only for migrant workers , but it's proposed for several neighboring countries too.

    Either way, it is medically impossible.

  • 12 October 2013 ( Urgent: Free Albert Woodfox from prison )

    Everyone: call on Louisiana to free Albert Woodfox from prison unless/until he is convicted in a proper trial.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-11 because the old link was broken.]

  • 12 October 2013 ( Use of free software in school is banned in South Africa )

    South Africa's Department of Basic Education seems to have been bought out by Microsoft: use of free software in school is banned.

  • 12 October 2013 ( Russian state pays Internet trolls )

    The Russian state pays Internet trolls to pounce on dissent and criticism.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-11 because the old link was broken.]

    China does the same.

  • 12 October 2013 ( Fracking hurts US climate change credibility )

    Fracking hurts US climate change credibility

  • 12 October 2013 ( NASA says Chinese not banned from coming conference )

    NASA says that Chinese nationals are treated no differently from other foreigners , and are not banned from the coming conference, but they were told by mistake that they were banned.

    Now they know they are not arbitrarily banned, but it is too late now for them to get security checks before the conference.

  • 12 October 2013 ( France's ban on fracking )

    France's ban on fracking is now fully legislated.

  • 12 October 2013 ( Randian plutocrats )

    Who's responsible for the government shutdown? Who was responsible for the financial crisis? Randian plutocrats, says Slavoj Žižek .

  • 12 October 2013 ( Right-Wing media cover scientists that deny anthropogenic global heating )

    How right-wing media disproportionately cover the few scientists that deny anthropogenic global heating , and supplement them with nonscientists and by misrepresenting real scientists, to present a false impression of balance.

    They are doing something similar with the US government shutdown.

    The reason is clear: the same right-wing machine is at work, first creating bogus arguments that sound reasonable in a sound bite, second giving the spokesmen lots of air time.

  • 12 October 2013 ( Skype being investigated in Luxembourg )

    Skype is being investigated in Luxembourg for snooping for the NSA.

  • 12 October 2013 ( Oakland thugs tricked city council )

    The Oakland thugs , already guilty of repeated violence, tricked the city council into approving funds for an exercise for SWAT teams from around the US and the world.

    The US government encourages the creation of SWAT teams by offering funds for them. Thus, the US has far too many of them. But once the team exists, it needs practice, so cities give them practice by sending them on a routine basis to apply shock and awe to people asleep in their homes. If they don't shoot you dead, they can give you a fatal heart attack.

    The rate of non-police violence in the US has gone way down since 20 years ago. The US does need some SWAT teams, but I think 40 of them would suffice if each could travel by helicopter: one each in the biggest 30 urban areas, one in Hawaii, one in Alaska, and 8 more to scatter around the less populated parts of the country.

  • 12 October 2013 ( Web site operators responsible for defamation in anonymous comments )

    The European Court of Human Rights ruled that web site operators are responsible for defamation in anonymous comments , and maybe all comments.

    If this is not reversed, it will stop most sites from allowing comments.

  • 11 October 2013 ( "Free countries" suppressing protests )

    "Free countries" around the world are suppressing protests. This article presents 9 examples including the US.

  • 11 October 2013 ( European austerity boosting support for right-wing extremists )

    European austerity, and the unwillingness of the left to defy it, is boosting support for right-wing extremists across Europe.

  • 11 October 2013 ( Chomsky summarizes US dishonesty in dealing with Iran )

    Chomsky summarizes US dishonesty in dealing with Iran , with Syria's chemical weapons, and massive NSA snooping.

  • 11 October 2013 ( UK's "sexual risk to the public" )

    The UK government wants to restrict the rights of supposed potential "sexual risk to the public" even without charging them with a crime .

  • 11 October 2013 ( US and Canada censoring and corrupting science )

    The governments of the US and Canada are censoring and corrupting science for the sake of the fossil fuel industry .

  • 11 October 2013 ( Thugs' use of license plate cameras at political rallies )

    The Virginia State Thugs made a data base about millions of cars using license plate cameras, and specifically recorded everyone that went to political rallies .

  • 11 October 2013 ( India requires voter-verified paper ballots from voting machines )

    India's Supreme Court ruled that electronic voting machines must generate voter-verified paper ballots .

  • 11 October 2013 ( EU data protection rules )

    3,000 US companies have promised to handle EU citizens' data following EU data protection rules, but 30% of them are not following these rules … and neither is the NSA .

  • 11 October 2013 ( Kidnap of Libyan premier )

    Libyan premier Ali Zeidan was kidnapped by men among his own guards , who said they had "arrested" him.

  • 11 October 2013 ( Aluminum in baby formula in the UK )

    Baby formula in the UK has a substantial concentration of aluminum ; a group of scientists says this is dangerous.

    I wonder if US baby formula has a similar amount of aluminum.

  • 11 October 2013 ( Iranian thugs arrest partygoers )

    Iranian thugs arrested at least 17 partygoers and accused them of being "homosexuals and satanists" .

  • 11 October 2013 ( Special gyms for members of Congress )

    Special gyms for members of Congress are considered "essential" during the shutdown , but experimental cancer treatments are not .

  • 11 October 2013 ( The plan to let chicken farms do their own inspection )

    When the company being audited pays for the audit, and selects the auditor, that's a conflict of interest. Redesigning the system works wonders for catching violations .

    This conflict of interest is comparable to the one involved in having would-be drug manufacturers pay for experiments to test the drug .

    This also shows why the current US plan to let chicken farms do their own inspection is really stupid.

  • 11 October 2013 ( The trial of BP for the Big Spill )

    The trial of BP ( Billionaire Polluters ) for the Big Spill shows points where federal regulations need to be tightened , and have not been.

  • 11 October 2013 ( AT&T wants to abolish regulations that protect subscribers )

    AT&T wants to convert all residential phone lines to VOIP, and take the opportunity to abolish the regulations that protect subscribers from abuses .

    Using a technical advance as an opportunity to deal people a legal setback is an instance of Stallman's Law .

    Most Americans have very few choices of ISPs. We should take the regulations for phone companies and apply them directly to ISPs. If we make ISPs common carriers, they won't be allowed to discriminate in any way.

  • 10 October 2013 ( Death of 363 boat people near Lampedusa was no accident )

    The death of 363 boat people near Lampedusa was no accident, but the result of intentional policies, including past prosecution of fishermen for rescuing drowning migrants.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-11 because the old link was broken.]

    I don't think any country has an obligation to admit any and all people that wish to move there. But every country has an obligation to overcome the plutocratic system that is responsible for driving so many people to flee their homes.

  • 10 October 2013 ( How the NSA deploys malware )

    How the NSA deploys malware. Its much like the way other attackers do it.

    The article treats Flash Player as legitimate, but in fact it too is malware, with a surveillance feature and digital handcuffs. This should be no surprise, since commonly used proprietary software is often malware. The fact that the program is proprietary means it is controlled by one "owner" and not by the users — which is reason aplenty to refuse to run it.

  • 10 October 2013 ( Republicans and Democrats threaten "grand bargain" )

    Republicans and Democrats again threaten a "grand bargain": trading retired Americans' pensions and medical care to the plutocrats in exchange for campaign support and other favors.

  • 10 October 2013 ( Blacklisted workers will receive compensation )

    The UK construction workers who were illegally blacklisted (with state help) will receive compensation.

  • 10 October 2013 ( Libya's prime minister was kidnapped )

    Libya's prime minister was kidnapped by armed men, who released him a short while later .

    This reflects the general weakness of the Libyan state.

  • 10 October 2013 ( Resistance to US demands )

    Resistance to US demands is intensifying across Latin America.

  • 10 October 2013 ( Urgent: Uphold the International Criminal Court )

    Everyone: call on African governments to uphold the International Criminal Court.

  • 10 October 2013 ( Yelling insults at children and teenagers )

    Yelling insults at children and teenagers can do lasting harm, much like striking them.

  • 10 October 2013 ( Notifying reporters when data subpoenaed from third parties )

    A California law requires notifying reporters when their records or data are subpoenaed from third parties .

    This should apply to everyone. Storage that a company provides to you or holds about you should be treated, in regard to searches, like your property, just as an apartment you rent is treated as your property.

    But that alone is not enough to protect whistleblowers. We need the right, and the practical opportunity, to communicate, without being systematically tracked unless there is a prior court order to justify it.

  • 10 October 2013 ( Austerity in Europe )

    Red Cross: austerity in Europe is creating protracted poverty, unemployment, and despair.

    Stiglitz: the US and European financial system is still badly broken and fails to serve the needs of most people.

    I'm a Keynesian all the time — and you can be, too. It just takes recognizing that the anti-Keynesians are the plutocrats.

  • 10 October 2013 ( Nuclear power plants in Vietnam )

    Obama will punish Vietnam for its arrest of dissidents with a deal to build nuclear power plants there.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-11 because the old link was broken.]

    It is a clever scheme, but has a big flaw: the Vietnamese who will suffer from future accidents and wastes won't be the elite that order the arrests.

  • 10 October 2013 ( US left chemical bombs in Panama )

    The US left some chemical bombs in Panama , and Panama wants the US to get rid of them.

  • 10 October 2013 ( Gentrification )

    "Revitalizing" cities through gentrification does not help the poor inhabitants — rather, it pushes them out to someplace further away.

    I like it when cities are pretty and safe, and have lot of places to buy little luxuries such as cupcakes, but that must not erase the issue of poverty from our minds. We need a society where everyone can enjoy those treats. We need to tax the rich more, and use the money to lift people out of poverty.

  • 10 October 2013 ( Solar power systems in Bangladesh )

    Bangladesh has installed a million solar power systems , and is installing hundreds of thousands of new ones per year.

    "One solar energy system every four minutes" in the US sounds impressive, but it amounts to only some 130,000 a year — far below what we could achieve if policies were set up to encourage it instead of obstructing it.

    California electric utilities are trying to obstruct local solar electric generation .

    The excuse that the utilities give is incoherent. Suppose someone did get energy from the grid to charge a battery, and sold it back later. If the prices are unvarying, he'd lose money on the deal, because the utility would sell it at a higher price and buy it back at a lower price. Therefore, the systems would be designed to avoid this.

    If, however, the price of electricity varies from moment to moment according to usage and availability (which is a recommended practice), people would have an incentive to charge their batteries when electricity is cheap and sell the electricity back to the grid when electricity is expensive. And this is exactly what society needs to reduce the problem of peak demand.

  • 10 October 2013 ( Arrest of members of Congress supporting immigration reform )

    Members of Congress were arrested along with other protesters supporting immigration reform.

    I support most of these immigration reforms in principle, but part of the plan is something I oppose: an increased surveillance requirement placed on employers.

  • 10 October 2013 ( Haitian cholera victims and relatives sue the UN )

    Haitian cholera victims and relatives have sued the United Nations , which was responsible for introducing cholera to Haiti.

    They are suing in the US. I fear that the US court will find an excuse to dismiss the case.

  • 10 October 2013 ( Student in Wales punished after shaving head for charity )

    A school in Wales punished a student who shaved his head to raise money for charity, until 250 other students went on strike to defend him .

    Bravo for all these students.

    The school head claims that this punishment was a matter of maintaining "high standards". He said nothing to explain how a shaven head is less "high" than an unshaven one. Is he measuring "height of standards" based on the height of the student's hair? Perhaps that school would be better off if its head were shorn.

  • 10 October 2013 ( Woman shot dead in car chase in Washington DC )

    Miriam Carey, who was shot dead in a car chase in Washington DC , believed President Obama was electronically monitoring her home.

    If she had a cell phone in the home, or a "smart meter", that particular belief was true! She may well have been insane anyway.

  • 10 October 2013 ( Interview with religious lunatic on US Supreme Court )

    An interview with a religious lunatic who is, alas for us, on the US Supreme Court.

  • 10 October 2013 ( Prions that can be taken up in plants )

    Some kinds of prions (infectious proteins that cause brain degradation) can be taken up in plants, and then infect animals that eat those plants .

  • 10 October 2013 ( Kuwait says it has medical test to detect gays )

    Kuwait says it has a medical test to detect gays , and will use this to prevent gays from entering the country.

  • 10 October 2013 ( NFL's knowledge of brain damage impacts concealed for 15 years )

    The US National Football League has concealed for 15 years the knowledge that the head impacts football players undergo cause brain damage.

    If even an 18-year-old high school player shows signs of this brain damage, high schools should not have football teams.

    If you are worried about the small danger that your child might be shot in a school, but you're not worried your child might play football and suffer brain damage, maybe you played too much football yourself.

  • 10 October 2013 ( Obama cuts military aid to Egypt )

    Obama has cut military aid to Egypt , recognizing that the military has set up a repressive regime.

  • 10 October 2013 ( Putin's men claim Greenpeace protesters guilty of piracy )

    Putin's men claim that the Greenpeace protesters are guilty of piracy because they had recreational drugs on the Greenpeace ship.

    Aside from apparently being a falsehood, this claim is also absurd. Possession of recreational drugs is not be piracy. And since the Greenpeace protesters had no intention of talking their ship into Russia, it would be none of Russia's business.

    Putin defies logic openly, as a form of intimidation: "See, when I feel like putting you in prison, I won't hesitate to do so based on claims that are obviously false."

  • 10 October 2013 ( Fabric factories in Bangladesh have fatal fires too )

    Although many western clothing retailers have signed up to require inspection of clothing factories in Bangladesh, the fabric factories have fatal fires too .

  • 10 October 2013 ( Urgent: Oppose giving more power political power to businesses )

    US citizens: tell the Supreme Court you are incensed about giving more political power to businesses.

  • 10 October 2013 ( Urgent: Extend clean water rules to smaller waterways )

    US citizens: call on the EPA to extend clean water rules to smaller waterways.

  • 10 October 2013 ( Responsibility for killings in Greece )

    Greek fascists' did the killing, but those really responsible are plutocratist officials .

  • 10 October 2013 ( Violation of Geneva conventions )

    Keeping Abu Anas al-Liby prisoner on a ship violates Geneva conventions ; it is not as bad as other recent US treatment of prisoners, but still not right.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-11 because the old link was broken.]

    If Abu Anas is not a prisoner of war, then he can only be a criminal suspect under arrest. Was he informed of his Miranda rights before questioning?

  • 10 October 2013 ( Interest in state health coverages exchanges exceed expectations )

    The interest in the state health coverages exchanges set up by Obama's health care bill exceeded expectations, and the servers in many states could not cope .

  • 10 October 2013 ( CDC can't track down outbreak of salmonella )

    The CDC can't track down an outbreak of salmonella because its employees have been furloughed .

  • 10 October 2013 ( Nelson Kanuk sues Alaska )

    Nelson Kanuk is suing Alaska for failing to cope with global heating .

  • 10 October 2013 ( Harvard Business School restrictive subscriptions )

    Harvard Business School outrageously says its restrictive subscriptions for university licenses don't allow classroom use.

    Librarians, you must organize to fight back against nasty terms with a boycott.

  • 09 October 2013 ( Profiting from the Poor )

    Profiting from the Poor: Outsourcing Social Services Puts Most Vulnerable at Risk.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-11 because the old link was broken.]

  • 09 October 2013 ( Nestlé pumps water out of ground where water is scarce )

    Nestlé pumps water out of the ground in places where water is scarce, forcing inhabitants to buy their water back.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-11 because the old link was broken.]

    In Pakistan, it is not safe to drink water straight from the faucet But you can boil it or filter it, and that's much cheaper than buying it bottled.

  • 09 October 2013 ( 'Economic Growth' in Africa )

    World Bank Admits: 'Economic Growth' in Africa = Resource Extraction, Inequality, Poverty.

  • 09 October 2013 ( Swim with dolphins then eat them )

    Taiji, Japan, invites tourists to swim with dolphins then eat them.

  • 09 October 2013 ( Faux News tries to condemn Obama for shutdown )

    Faux News tries to condemn Obama for the shutdown while claiming we'd be better off with much less government.

    I am not an anarchist, and it's not merely because I have a pro-state gland. It's because there are many important things we need governments to do. For instance, to provide food and shelter to the poor. To fund scientific research and tests of new drugs. To provide education and health care to all. To build roads and passenger trains. To take care of national parks. To inspect many sorts of businesses to make sure they don't injure their employees, their customers, or bystanders. To impose a decent minimum wage and help workers form unions.

    Of course, the state needs to pay for this, and that requires taxing the rich, as we used to do.

  • 09 October 2013 ( Urgent: Oppose giving prizes to dangerous biotech )

    Everyone: demand that the World Food Prize Organization stop giving its prizes to dangerous biotech.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-11 because the old link was broken.]

  • 08 October 2013 ( Carbon tax to pay cost of disasters caused by global heating )

    Proposing a carbon tax to raise money to pay for the cost of weather disasters caused by global heating.

  • 08 October 2013 ( Would-Be migrants drowned in a boat trying to reach Italy )

    Hundreds of would-be migrants drowned in a boat trying to reach Italy. What are the implications of this?

  • 08 October 2013 ( Bulk Collection of Americans Data )

    Bills Offer Clear Choice: End Bulk Collection of Americans Data or Endorse It.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-11 because the old link was broken.]

  • 08 October 2013 ( Moscow protester sentenced to indefinite imprisonment )

    A nonviolent Moscow protester was convicted of "calling for mass riots" and sentenced to indefinite imprisonment in a mental hospital.

  • 08 October 2013 ( Russia bans books and imprisons people for having copies )

    Russia bans books by labeling them "extremist", and even imprisons people for having copies.

    The UK also imprisons people for having copies of books , but in the UK there is no list of which books are banned, so one can't tell.

  • 08 October 2013 ( Plans to protect from effects of global heating )

    20% of the world's cities now have plans for monumental and expensive adaptations to protect themselves from the effects of global heating.

    This won't protect our food supply from global heating . We ought to be cutting down CO2 emissions so that we never reach that disastrous point.

  • 08 October 2013 ( Malala Yousafzai reminds Obama )

    Malala Yousafzai reminds Obama that he needs to negotiate with the Taliban.

  • 08 October 2013 ( Urgent: Withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan )

    US citizens: call on the US government to withdraw all troops from Afghanistan soon.

  • 08 October 2013 ( Urgent: Mining in public lands is not more important than visitors )

    US citizens: tell the government to stop treating mining in public lands as more important than visitors.

  • 08 October 2013 ( Washington's Warring Brothers )

    Washington's Warring Brothers: the Republican and Democratic Parties .

  • 08 October 2013 ( Karzai's condition for letting foreign troops stay longer )

    Karzai demands respect for Afghan sovereignty over military action as a condition for letting foreign troops stay any longer.

  • 08 October 2013 ( Eight stages of genocide )

    The eight stages of genocide .

  • 08 October 2013 ( Divestment campaign putting pressure on fossil fuel companies )

    A divestment campaign is putting pressure on fossil fuel companies.

  • 08 October 2013 ( UK boy and girl scouts no longer have to take religious oath )

    UK boy and girl scouts will no longer have to take a religious oath .

    The Boy Scouts of America still requires that.

  • 08 October 2013 ( Catholic Church supports shutdown of US gov't )

    The Catholic Church supports the shutdown of the US government in order to attack birth control .

  • 08 October 2013 ( Lunatics in Texas want Garden of Eden story taught as science )

    Lunatic Texas right-wingers plan to make textbooks teach that the Garden of Eden story is science .

  • 08 October 2013 ( Turkey considers law to allow preemptive arrests of suspected protesters )

    Turkey is considering a law to allow preemptive arrests of suspected protesters, without a trial .
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-11 because the old link was broken.]

    That would be an overt rejection of human rights. It reflects the fact that the Islamist party feels it can get away with absolutely anything.

  • 08 October 2013 ( UK thugs accused of editing video footage )

    UK thugs are accused of editing their video footage of the Hillsborough disaster , presumably as part of their campaign to put the blame on the victims .

  • 08 October 2013 ( Brazil accuses Canada of spying on Mining and Energy Ministry )

    Brazil has accused Canada of spying on Brazil's Mining and Energy Ministry.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-11 because the old link was broken.]

    That ministry probably does not engage in "terrorism" in the usual sense, but it does something worse: pouring CO2 into the air. However, Canada's government is not trying to stop that, rather to compete to fry our planet even faster. This would be industrial espionage, pure and simple.

  • 08 October 2013 ( "Advances" in profiling users )

    "Advances" in profiling users enable surveillance companies to determine that several computers belong to the same person .

  • 08 October 2013 ( Netanyahu shows no intention of making peace with Palestine )

    Netanyahu's latest speech claims that Israel's colonies in Palestine are not an issue . This shows that he has no intention of making peace with Palestine, and that Israel's participation in peace talks is only a pretense to continue the slow ethnic cleansing and land theft.

    I think Netanyahu calculates that he will lose nothing from displaying the truth, because his political control over the US government is too strong for it to resist in any way.

  • 08 October 2013 ( Manta rays in the Maldives )

    For several years, manta rays in the Maldives have hardly ever tried to reproduce .

  • 08 October 2013 ( Violent Islamist rebellion spreading in Egypt )

    Violent Islamist rebellion is spreading in Egypt.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-11 because the old link was broken.]

    This is a natural response to banning the Islamist political party. When the Army says that all protesters will be treated as foreign agents (i.e., put on trial), they are likely to rebel.

    Most Egyptians had come to oppose Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood. The army could have rebooted democracy by allowing the Muslim Brotherhood to compete in new elections (and win seats in parliament but without controlling the government). Instead it chose to exclude them from democracy, setting up what is effectively military rule.

  • 08 October 2013 ( The IPCC report )

    The central point of the IPCC report is the carbon budget: how much more carbon we can burn without provoking disaster.

  • 07 October 2013 ( Some Greenpeace protesters kept isolated 23 hours a day )

    Some Greenpeace protesters are being kept isolated 23 hours a day.

    Prisoners in California went on hunger strike over such treatment.

  • 07 October 2013 ( Thugs in US equipped like occupying army )

    The thugs in the US are increasingly equipped like an occupying army.

  • 07 October 2013 ( Joe Nacchio as CEO of Qwest resisted gov't pressure to spy on customers )

    Joe Nacchio as CEO of Qwest resisted government pressure to spy on customers . So the government denied Qwest other contracts, which may have created the pretext to prosecute him. And he was forbidden to mention this in his trial.

  • 07 October 2013 ( Going tip-less )

    Going tip-less enabled the Linkery to provide better service for a lower price and pay its staff well.

    I am entirely in favor of eliminating tips and paying the staff a decent wage.

    More explanation , including how the system of tipping is racist and sexist.

    The story has 6 parts; I think the last two are most important.

  • 07 October 2013 ( Policies to redistribute income and wealth )

    Government policies to redistribute income and wealth are extremely effective, as demonstrated by the US.

  • 07 October 2013 ( Nobel Peace Prize committee does not dare displease the US )

    Since the start of this century, the Nobel Peace Prize committee does not dare to displease the US.

  • 07 October 2013 ( World Bank promoting privatization of water supply )

    The World Bank is promoting privatization of water supply.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-11 because the old link was broken.]

  • 07 October 2013 ( Neural stimulation research )

    Neural stimulation research is approaching the point where it may be used on soldiers and prisoners, perhaps even brainwashing soldiers not to tell the public about government crimes.

  • 07 October 2013 ( Sudanese dictatorship confiscating newspapers in bulk )

    The Sudanese dictatorship is confiscating newspapers in bulk, thus driving the papers out of business.

  • 07 October 2013 ( History of conflict between Haiti and Dominican Republic )

    The history of conflict between Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

  • 07 October 2013 ( Richmond's eminent domain plan )

    This article argues that the details of Richmond's eminent domain plan are a profit scheme for an "advisor" company.

    If this is true, it ought to be corrected, but it does not invalidate the basic idea.

  • 07 October 2013 ( Former minister kept in dark about GCHQ massive surveillance )

    Former minister Chris Huhne, who was in the UK's National Security Council, says he was kept in the dark about GCHQ massive surveillance.

  • 07 October 2013 ( Afghanistan's voter registration system )

    Afghanistan's voter registration system is a shambles, ideal for fraud.

  • 07 October 2013 ( Companies cutting workers to part time )

    Companies are cutting workers to part time, to exploit a loophole in Obama's health care law.

    This is because the law does not go far enough. The state should provide health care for everyone, employed or not, and get the money (which will be much less than it costs now) by taxes that have nothing to do with employment.

    Social Security should also be handled this way. Taxing businesses based on employment in the US gives them an incentive to employ fewer people in the US.

  • 07 October 2013 ( The banksters' men )

    Once Obama won the 2008 election, he ditched his progressive economic advisors and appointed a new team of the banksters' men. They then made sure Obama did nothing to protect us from the banksters .

  • 07 October 2013 ( Urgent: Stop pressure on Europe to deny dirtiness of tar sands oil )

    US citizens: call on the US Trade Representative to stop pressuring Europe to deny the dirtiness of tar sands oil.

  • 07 October 2013 ( Urgent: Oppose Keystone XL )

    US citizens: call on Congress to resist Republican demands to approve Keystone XL in exchange for release of hostages.

  • 07 October 2013 ( Urgent: Call on WGBH to show Citizen Koch )

    In the Boston area: call on WGBH to show Citizen Koch.

  • 07 October 2013 ( Urgent: Support a motion to end the shutdown )

    US citizens: call on Republican congresscritters to support a motion to end the shutdown.

  • 07 October 2013 ( Democratic and Republican parties oppose independent documentary )

    The Democratic Party joined the Republican Party in opposing a plan to make an independent documentary about Hillary Clinton.

  • 07 October 2013 ( Urgent: Put pressure on Democrats that voted to shut down gov't )

    US citizens: put pressure on the renegade Democrats that voted with the Republicans to shut down the government.

  • 07 October 2013 ( UK's zero-tolerance policy on racist statements )

    The UK's zero-tolerance policy on racist statements has collided with soccer fans that insist on chanting "Yid army" as an expression of pro-semitism.

    I call it "zero-tolerance" because it resembles, in its gratuitous harshness, the "zero-tolerance" policies of US schools that form the entry valve of the school-to-prison pipeline .

  • 07 October 2013 ( Campaigning for single-payer universal health care in the US )

    Campaigning for single-payer universal health care in the US.

  • 07 October 2013 ( Russia installing NSA-like Internet surveillance facilities )

    Russia is installing NSA-like Internet surveillance facilities . Sochi, where the Olympic games will be held, is getting the new facilities first.

    The Olympic games have a pattern of imposing surveillance that does not go away afterward.

  • 07 October 2013 ( US inequality: function of political power )

    US Inequality Is Simply a Function of Political Power .
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-11 because the old link was broken.]

    Thus, no policy is likely to benefit the non-rich, while the rich keep taking ever more away from us.

  • 07 October 2013 ( Jokes labeled as "hate incidents" in UK )

    In the UK, any joke that refers to a group of people can be labeled as a " hate incident ".

    That's where it leads when people are prosecuted for expressing opinions. Even odious opinions must not be censored.

  • 07 October 2013 ( Jailing people for sharing in Japan )

    Jailing people for sharing has not boosted music sales in Japan.

    Even if it had done so, that would not justify it. Sharing is good, and sharing is our right; if the copyright industry tries to deny this right, we must crush it so it can no longer threaten us. However, the fact that this did not achieve its supposed goal might be useful in convincing politicians that care more about the copyright industry's money than about people.

    On the other hand, they might instead try executing anyone that shares.

  • 07 October 2013 ( Power-tripping prosecutor goes after foreign student in Florida )

    A foreign student in Florida faces prosecution for running onto a soccer field to embrace the victorious player he admires . He could be kicked out of school and deported.

    The player begged the prosecutor to drop the charges, but the prosecutor does not care. He has an opportunity to ruin someone's life, legally, and he's not going to let it go to waste.

    However, this power-tripping prosecutor ( remember Aaron Swartz? ) is only the trigger for a much larger standing injustice: that many systems are designed to further and permanently punish anyone who has ever been convicted of any crime.

  • 07 October 2013 ( Sudanese gov't buying up newspapers )

    The tyrannical government of Sudan is buying up all the newspapers so as to control them.

  • 07 October 2013 ( Unauthorized sharing not destroying copyright industry )

    Sad to say, unauthorized sharing is not destroying the copyright industry .

    These companies lobby for nasty laws, while paying a pittance to the artists (aside from a few stars). I hope we do away with them. Meanwhile, I've proposed new systems for supporting artists better than the current system does.

  • 07 October 2013 ( Freedom to criticize officials in South America )

    The freedom to criticize officials is threatened in some countries in South America .

  • 07 October 2013 ( The US intervention in Afghanistan )

    Obama has decided to end the US intervention in Afghanistan, aside from thousands of troops that will remain. The supposed benefits for Afghanistan turn out to be mostly fictitious , but the dead will stay dead.

  • 07 October 2013 ( Urgent: Protest against massive surveillance )

    In the US: protest against massive surveillance in Washington DC on Oct 26.

  • 07 October 2013 ( Naming the Dead project )

    The Naming the Dead project aims to identify and describe all the people killed by drone attacks in Pakistan.

  • 07 October 2013 ( Republicans use bullying tactics )

    Republicans use bullying tactics because this has worked for them over and over.

  • 07 October 2013 ( Edward Snowden thanks the European Parliament )

    Edward Snowden thanks the European Parliament for addressing the issue of massive surveillance, saying "The work of a generation is beginning here."

  • 07 October 2013 ( NSA's bogus claims get coverage in mainstream media )

    The NSA's bogus claims that massive surveillance thwarts lots terror plots get coverage in the mainstream media. Refutations get ignored.

    Even if massive surveillance did thwart some terrorist plots, they would be those of the small, minor terrorists. The biggest terrorist is the US government, and to put a stop to its terrorism we need whistleblowers and protests — which means, no massive surveillance.

  • 07 October 2013 ( Urgent: Pass the farm bill )

    US citizens: Tell Congress to pass the farm bill.

  • 07 October 2013 ( Surreptitious DNA Collection )

    Celebrities, the Police, and Surreptitious DNA Collection.

  • 05 October 2013 ( Antibiotic over-prescription )

    The Scary Truth About Antibiotic Over-prescription .

  • 05 October 2013 ( Global heating denial in mainstream media )

    The funded global heating denial campaign is rampaging through the mainstream media .

    Let's Be Honest — the Global Warming Debate Isn't About Science .

  • 05 October 2013 ( US media pay little attention to Americans living in poverty )

    US media pay little attention to the 50 million Americans that live in poverty.

    This is what suits the plutocrats who more or less control the mainstream media.

  • 05 October 2013 ( Head ayatollah and President Ruhani reach out to the US )

    The head ayatollah said President Ruhani went too far in reaching out to the US.

    He's right that the US can't be trusted, and right that US policy towards Iran is largely controlled by the lobby that backs the Israeli government . What he has done in Iran is even worse , but his point is true nonetheless. The onus is on the US government, to show it can be trusted and can defy the lobby.

  • 05 October 2013 ( Anti-fracking protesters drive away frackers )

    Anti-fracking protesters drove away frackers from one site after a persistent campaign .

  • 05 October 2013 ( UK's extradition treaty with the US )

    The UK's safeguard-less, automatic extradition treaty with the US is still causing injustice .

    More about what's wrong with it .

  • 05 October 2013 ( US now #1 in oil and gas extraction )

    The US is now #1 in oil and gas extraction . Is each country to compete in pushing the ecosphere off the climate cliff?

    (Why does the article call it "production"? We're not making these fossil fuels.)

  • 05 October 2013 ( NASA's exclusion of Chinese scientists )

    An absurd US law forbids Chinese people from entering any NASA building, and many US scientists are boycotting a NASA conference about exoplanets because of its exclusion of Chinese scientists.

  • 05 October 2013 ( Urgent: Call on Kerry to dismiss ERM )

    US citizens: Call on Kerry to dismiss ERM, the company responsible for the attempted whitewash of the Keystone XL pipeline's dangers.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-11 because the old link was broken.]

  • 05 October 2013 ( Urgent: Oppose plan for fracked gas storage facility in NY )

    US citizens: oppose the plan for a large fracked gas storage facility near Seneca Lake in New York State.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-11 because the old link was broken.]

  • 05 October 2013 ( Sharing of copies has not harmed publishing businesses )

    A study finds that widespread sharing of copies has not harmed publishing businesses and in some cases benefits them .

    Getting our sold-out governments to pay attention to this rather than obey the copyright industry will take a big fight.

  • 05 October 2013 ( Environmental damage in the US due to fracking )

    Fracking is already causing tremendous environmental damage in the US.

  • 05 October 2013 ( NSA's attacks on the internet )

    The NSA's attacks on the internet must be made public — that is the only way to make it secure.

  • 05 October 2013 ( Climate's 'point of no return' )

    We Are Terrifyingly Close to the Climate's 'Point of No Return' .

  • 05 October 2013 ( US mainstream media on gov't shutdown )

    How US mainstream media would report on the government shutdown if it were happening in some other country .

  • 05 October 2013 ( Japanese gov't drawing up state secrecy bill )

    The Japanese government is drawing up a state secrecy bill. It published a draft — entirely blacked out .

  • 05 October 2013 ( Dissidents in the US face imprisonment )

    Dissidents in the US face imprisonment for 30 years for a symbolic act of protest .

  • 05 October 2013 ( Revised constitution in Dominican Republic )

    A revised constitution in the Dominican Republic threatens to leave many inhabitants of Haitian descent stateless .

  • 05 October 2013 ( Bogus scientific paper tests effectiveness of peer review )

    A bogus scientific paper served as an experimental apparatus to test the effectiveness of peer review. It did not show up very well .

    The article uses the term "open access". I think that term tends to lead to bad results, and we should campaign instead for free/libre scientific publishing .

  • 05 October 2013 ( NSA's attacks on Tor )

    Snowden's papers say that the NSA can't generally break the Tor network , but it has attacked the Tor browser bundle .

  • 05 October 2013 ( US blocks military aid to Rwanda )

    The US has blocked military aid to Rwanda because of its support for a rebel group in the Congo which uses child soldiers .

    Rwanda's president has done a good job in many ways, but he persistently intervenes in the Congo causing bloody instability there.

    In addition, he interferes with dissent .

  • 05 October 2013 ( Soldiers shoot at protesters in Cairo )

    Thousands protested in Cairo support of the Muslim Brotherhood, and soldiers shot at them .
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-11 because the old link was broken.]

    I totally disagree with the Muslim Brotherhood's political ideas, but I defend their right to protest peacefully for them.

  • 05 October 2013 ( NSA making us less safe )

    The NSA is Making Us All Less Safe .

  • 05 October 2013 ( Where al-Shabaab came from )

    Remember where al-Shabaab came from: Bush decided to wipe out the new Islamist government that had established a modicum of control over Somalia.

    At the time, it was described as an Ethiopian intervention, but I reported the evidence that it was backed by the US . The US continues militarizing Africa and this could cause cause more such blowback.

  • 05 October 2013 ( Xi Jinping stricter and nastier tyrant than previous one )

    Xi Jinping, the new head of the Chinese Communist Party, has turned out to be a stricter and nastier tyrant than the previous one.

  • 05 October 2013 ( Imam in Kenya was shot )

    An imam in Kenya with indirect links to al-Shabaab was shot , and Muslims say the thugs shot him.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-11 because the old link was broken.]

  • 05 October 2013 ( Two significant victories recently over Obama )

    Progressive Americans have gained two significant victories recently over Obama: Summers and Syria.

  • 05 October 2013 ( Non-orthodox Jewish women in Israel face oppression )

    Non-orthodox Jewish women in Israel face oppression from orthodox sexists that try to impose segregation on public buses.

  • 05 October 2013 ( Farming flies on waste products )

    Farming flies on waste products, to make food for farming fish.

  • 05 October 2013 ( Turkish gov't gross and deadly human rights violations )

    Amnesty International concludes the Turkish govt committed gross and even deadly human rights violations against protesters.

  • 05 October 2013 ( Surveillance state )

    A surveillance state is one in which the surveillance establishment can look at anything it wants to . Do we want to live in a surveillance state?

  • 05 October 2013 ( Wineries planning to move production to cooler areas )

    French wineries are already planning to move production to cooler areas to flee global heating.

  • 05 October 2013 ( US prosecuting 13 members of Anonymous )

    The US is prosecuting 13 members of Anonymous for participating in Internet protests, which the government calls "attacks".
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-11 because the old link was broken.]

  • 05 October 2013 ( Urgent: Support the Employment Non-Discrimination Act )

    US citizens: phone your congresscritter and senators to support the Employment Non-Discrimination Act.

    The Capitol Switchboard numbers are 202-224-3121, 888-818-6641 and 888-355-3588.

  • 05 October 2013 ( Urgent: Blame for the government shutdown )

    Everyone: tell US mass media to stop pretending that both major parties' are equally to blame for the government shutdown.

  • 05 October 2013 ( Urgent: Reject stationing F-35 fighter plane in VT )

    Everyone: urge the Burlington VT city council to reject stationing the expensive and non-functional F-35 fighter plane there .

  • 05 October 2013 ( FBI got journalist phone call records )

    Journalist Raymond Bonner knows the FBI got his phone call records from when he was in Indonesia from some US company, trying to track down a minor detail he got from some US official.

  • 03 October 2013 ( Piracy in Somalia mostly suppressed )

    Piracy in Somalia has been mostly suppressed , through the use of the method I suggested: armed guards on ships .

  • 03 October 2013 ( Urgent: Hold vigil at sundown on Oct 5 for the Arctic 30 )

    Everyone: hold a vigil at sundown on Oct 5 in support of the Arctic 30, nonviolent protesters charged with "piracy".

  • 03 October 2013 ( Urgent: Drop false charges against protesting CUNY students )

    US citizens: call for dropping the false charges against protesting CUNY students and investigating the thugs who falsely accused them.

  • 03 October 2013 ( Urgent: Oppose use of sugar from land grabs )

    Everyone: call on Coca-Cola, PepsiCo and Associated British Foods to make sure their sugar doesn't come from land grabs.

  • 03 October 2013 ( Private "virtual schools" in the US )

    Private "virtual schools" in the US do a bad job of education, but claim lots of money from US cities for students who are not even attending.

    I suspect that they are also teaching the kids to use nonfree malware such as Windows or MacOS. This is wrong — no school should teach nonfree software .

  • 03 October 2013 ( Urgent: Call on Google to stop listing sales of ivory )

    Everyone: call on Google to stop listing sales of ivory.

  • 03 October 2013 ( Court papers show demands FBI made to Lavabit )

    Court papers show that the FBI demanded to attach its own computer to collect data from Lavabit.

  • 03 October 2013 ( Closure of Silk Road site )

    The closure of the Silk Road site will mainly benefit narco-trafficker gangs .

  • 03 October 2013 ( Quoting statements criticizing the king a crime in Thailand )

    In Thailand, even quoting and rebuking a statement that criticizes the king is a crime .

  • 03 October 2013 ( Angola imprisons teenage dissident )

    Angola has imprisoned a teenage dissident for trying to make t-shirts that criticize the regime .

  • 03 October 2013 ( UK surveillance faces court challenge )

    UK surveillance faces a court challenge at the European level .

  • 03 October 2013 ( The Hyde Amendment )

    The Hyde Amendment, which banned Medicaid from covering abortions, was the initial wedge of the right-wing campaign to abolish abortion rights (and contraception, and then other sex-related rights).

    Democrats in the Senate are in the position of defending the status quo against a persistent enemy. That is always a weak position because the enemy can always suggest, "Meet us half way today (and tomorrow we'll demand more)." It is stronger to make a counter-demand. They have already got too much.

    Senate Democrats should stop passing bills to resume government spending and do nothing else. Rather, they should put repeal of the Hyde amendment into these bills — and offer to compromise on just extending the spending limit.

  • 03 October 2013 ( Dissident Iranian filmmaker's passport confiscated )

    A dissident Iranian filmmaker's passport was confiscated , so he cannot go to Europe to collect an award.

    He faces a future sentence of imprisonment already.

    I would guess that this part of the state is controlled by the ayatollahs and not by the president.

  • 03 October 2013 ( Effect of vehicle exhaust fumes on some flowers )

    Vehicle exhaust fumes react with chemicals in some flowers, so that honeybees can't smell them .

  • 03 October 2013 ( Heat waves )

    Heat waves can kill, and they are occurring in places that rarely had them before .

    People in poor countries will be unable to much to cope with the problem. This is why 100 million deaths due to global heating are predicted by 2030.

  • 03 October 2013 ( Global heating and logging threaten wild koalas )

    Global heating on one side, and logging on the other, threaten the survival of wild koalas .

    Koalas are worth a lot of money to Australia, but the rich will figure out how to preserve them in captivity for the tourists while wiping them out everywhere else.

  • 03 October 2013 ( Iliya Troyanov barred from entering the US )

    The US barred entry to German citizen Iliya Troyanov, apparently because he launched a petition condemning NSA surveillance .

  • 03 October 2013 ( For-profit prisons )

    For-profit prisons gouge in myriad ways , from prisoners' phone calls to medical care.

  • 03 October 2013 ( NSA stores everyone's metadata for up to a year )

    The NSA stores everyone's metadata for up to a year.

  • 03 October 2013 ( Failure of the War on Drugs )

    The War on Drugs has failed, if judged by its ostensible goals .

    However, it seems to have done a good job of enabling politicians to say "Look how tough I am!"

  • 03 October 2013 ( Greenpeace protesters and journalist charged with piracy )

    Greenpeace protesters and a journalist have been charged with piracy even though Putin recognized that these charges are absurd.

  • 03 October 2013 ( Ocean more acidic than ever in the past 300 million years )

    Our CO2 emissions have made the ocean more acidic than ever in the past 300 million years (or more).
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-11 because the old link was broken.]

    The article does not make it clear whether the ocean was more acidic 300 million years ago, or it's merely that our data go back only 300 million years.

  • 03 October 2013 ( New Puns in Spanish )

    New Puns in Spanish .

  • 03 October 2013 ( Wastewater from fracking )

    Wastewater from fracking sometimes contains a lot of radium, and it can make fish dangerous to eat.

  • 03 October 2013 ( Dzhokhar Tsarnaev being held in total isolation )

    Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's lawyers say he is being held in total isolation except for lawyers' visits.

    This is clearly cruel and unusual punishment, except that quibble that it isn't a punishment.

  • 03 October 2013 ( Canadian activists blocking Keystone XL )

    Canadian activists are doing a great job of blocking the Keystone XL pipeline and out-PR'ing its would-be constructor.

  • 03 October 2013 ( Vietnamese dissident convicted after unfair trial )

    Vietnamese dissident Le Quoc Quan was convicted of tax evasion after an unfair trial.

  • 03 October 2013 ( Assad's troops report rebels massacred Alawite civilians )

    Some of Assad's troops report that rebels massacred Alawite civilians after capturing their home villages.

  • 03 October 2013 ( Republican attempts to cut Americans' retirement aid )

    Republican attempts to cut Americans' retirement aid are spread by NGOs that falsely claim there is a shortage of funds for it.

  • 03 October 2013 ( Hundreds or thousands of Chinese rushed into Tienanmen Square )

    Hundreds or thousands of Chinese rushed into Tienanmen Square with petitions for the government, and were arrested.

  • 03 October 2013 ( 80,000 Ethiopians protested )

    80,000 Ethiopians protested publicly against the "anti-terrorism" law which has (naturally) been used to imprison journalists and dissidents.

  • 03 October 2013 ( Penalizing the farmers of poor countries )

    WTO negotiations are heading towards penalizing the farmers of poor countries.

  • 03 October 2013 ( Linking Greek fascists to violence and threats )

    The Greek government says it has proof linking Greek fascists to violence and threats . The testimony of people who tried to leave the party and were then threatened would constitute real proof.

    Greeks have every reason to hate some foreigners — foreign banksters and eurocrats. Rather than hating a poor immigrant who would like nothing better than to take a job, they should hate the rich plutocrat who takes away thousands of jobs.

  • 03 October 2013 ( Obama's health care law )

    Obama's health care law is expected to extend medical coverage to 25 million Americans, but leave 31 million still without it.

    This is part of why we need a national health system. The other part is that single-payer would save a large fraction of the cost — as much as half.

  • 03 October 2013 ( Accept gifts and lose public health care )

    Some of the people injured by the Boston bombers were given gifts that they can't accept because they would lose their public health care.

  • 03 October 2013 ( NGOs corrupted by working with companies )

    Many large environmentalist NGOs have been partly corrupted by working with companies.

  • 03 October 2013 ( Businesses against workers )

    The Egyptian government continues to support businesses against workers.

  • 03 October 2013 ( Homelessness a crime )

    Hungary's government has allowed localities to make homelessness a crime.

    Many US cities do something more or less like this.

  • 03 October 2013 ( New Song Parody )

    New song - Poppycock

  • 02 October 2013 ( Wild rhinos could be extinct within a decade )

    With the accelerating rate of poaching, wild rhinos could be extinct within a decade.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-11 because the old link was broken.]

  • 02 October 2013 ( 22,000 Indians face eviction for new steel plant )

    22,000 Indians face eviction for a new steel plant , and a forest would be cut down for it.

  • 02 October 2013 ( Destroying mosquitoes and preventing diseases )

    Destroying mosquitoes and preventing diseases by means of tilapia.

  • 02 October 2013 ( Inundation of home caused by global heating )

    A Kiribati man seeks asylum in New Zealand from the inevitable slow inundation of his home, caused by global heating.

    Sooner or later, it will be impossible for anyone to live in Kiribati. This will be the fault of the rest of the world. What will we do?

  • 02 October 2013 ( Fraudulent arguments of global heating denialists )

    More fraudulent arguments of global heating denialists.

    Curiously, economists whose theories have much weaker scientific support don't face similar opposition.

    Perhaps those who fund global heating denialism in the mainstream media are happy with those economic theories.

  • 02 October 2013 ( Nuclear power reactors shut down by jellyfish )

    Nuclear power reactors in Sweden were shut down by jellyfish in the coolant pipes.

    Various human activities contribute to causing jellyfish blooms. Overfishing can do it.

  • 02 October 2013 ( Shutdown of the US government )

    Republicans have forced the shutdown of the US government , if they don't get their demands to keep some 20 million poor working Americans from getting heath care.

  • 02 October 2013 ( Mexico suffers from violence and threats against journalists )

    Mexico suffers from widespread and continuing violence and threats against journalists. The government gives the matter low priority.

  • 02 October 2013 ( FBI activities that should be canceled )

    ACLU: several FBI activities that should be canceled entirely.

  • 02 October 2013 ( Boston Thug Department investigated nonviolent anti-war groups )

    The Boston Thug Department investigated nonviolent anti-war groups for no valid reason , and still has not come clean about the practice.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-11 because the old link was broken.]

  • 02 October 2013 ( Urgent: Stop trying to hold the US hostage )

    US citizens: phone and email your congresscritter, if he's Republican, saying to stop trying to hold the US hostage.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-11 because the old link was broken.]

  • 02 October 2013 ( NSA cell phone location data in bulk )

    The NSA is cagey when asked whether it collects Americans' cell phone location data in bulk . Apparently it does this and wants to pretend it does not.

  • 02 October 2013 ( Urgent: Working conditions in tomato farms )

    Everyone: demand that Wendy's sign up to decent working conditions in tomato farms.

  • 02 October 2013 ( Netanyahu deal with Iran )

    Netanyahu asked Obama to reject any deal with Iran.

    No surprise there. Will Obama have the strength to disobey?

  • 02 October 2013 ( The Law Belongs To Everyone )

    EFF to standards organizations: The Law Belongs To Everyone.

  • 01 October 2013 ( NSA keeps every person's metadata for at least a year )

    The NSA keeps every person's metadata for at least a year, and uses it to profile the person's " pattern of life ".

  • 01 October 2013 ( Arrest of Chinese teenager for micro-blog postings )

    A Chinese teenager faced prosecution for his micro-blog postings , but was freed in response to public protest .

    If he has learned to check the facts before posting, that's not a bad lesson. But under a government that doesn't value truth, annoying facts may be labeled as " malicious propaganda ".

    The article leaves me wondering whether the man who was found dead really committed suicide, and whether there will be an investigation to determine this.

  • 01 October 2013 ( More casualties of the War on Drugs )

    More casualties of the War on Drugs: they thought they were buying MDMA but it wasn't

  • 01 October 2013 ( Protesters in Sudan demand resignation of tyrannical ruler )

    Protesters in Sudan demand the resignation of the tyrannical ruler.

  • 01 October 2013 ( Carbon budget )

    The world's governments must agree on a " carbon budget ", dividing up the amount of additional greenhouse gas emissions that the world can stand.

  • 01 October 2013 ( Audio recording pretending to be Chavez )

    An audio recording pretends to be Chavez saying he is still alive.

    I can readily believe this is part of a US-lead destabilization campaign, since it would not be the first .

  • 01 October 2013 ( UN team to identify and destroy Assad's chemical weapons )

    A UN team will soon go to Syria to identify and then destroy Assad's chemical weapons .

  • 01 October 2013 ( Colombian farmers' strike provoked by treaty with US )

    The Colombian farmers' strike was provoked by the treaty with the US that required them to use only GMO seeds .
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-11 because the old link was broken.]

  • 01 October 2013 ( Thugs attack students protesting against hiring of Gen. Petraeus )

    CUNY students protested against hiring General Petraeus as a professor , so New York City thugs attacked them and made false charges against them.

  • 01 October 2013 ( NSA describes political opposition to US drone attacks as enemy action )

    NSA documents describe political opposition to US drone attacks as a kind of enemy action .

    The idea that people deserve "due process of law" before they are assassinated is described as enemy propaganda. The list of "adversary propaganda themes" also includes several points I've made: that terrorism is a small danger compared with others (including that of a rogue state such as the US), that drone attacks stimulate hostility to the US, and that drones kill lots of noncombatants. According to the NSA, reality is the enemy.

  • 01 October 2013 ( Pseudo-random number generators )

    RSA warns users to stop using certain pseudo-random number generators in its products, concerned that the NSA may have deliberately made the standard weak.

  • 01 October 2013 ( Urgent: Put loan funds into cleanup of Fukushima disaster )

    US citizens: call on Obama to redirect the loan funds for new nuclear power plants into the cleanup of the Fukushima disaster.

  • 01 October 2013 ( Urgent: Change senators' stand regarding FDA rules on GMO labeling )

    US citizens: call on Senators Warren and Udall to change their stand regarding FDA rules on GMO labeling.

  • 01 October 2013 ( Underground distribution of abortion pills in the US )

    The repression of abortion rights in the US has created demand for underground distributors of abortion pills .

    I do endorse these activities. If women can't get safe and legal abortion, at least they should be able to get this kind of help.

  • 01 October 2013 ( "Civil commitment" )

    In the US, non-rich people accused of any sort of sexual crime get advice to make a plea bargain for "civil commitment", which in practice means indefinite imprisonment .

  • 01 October 2013 ( US Joint Strike Fighter behind schedule with big cost overruns )

    The US Joint Strike Fighter is tremendously behind schedule with big cost overruns , partly due to being ill-conceived at several levels. And it is not what the American people really need.

  • 01 October 2013 ( Thousands imprisoned without charges in Egypt )

    Thousands of Egyptians — protesters, journalists and bystanders — have been imprisoned without charges for months , and some foreigners too.

  • 01 October 2013 ( Arrest of Brazilian reporter at Yale )

    Yale had a Brazilian reporter arrested . She sought to speak to a Brazilian judge, who was in a seminar there, and who did not want to talk with her.

    He doesn't have an obligation to talk with her, and Yale has no obligation to let her into a private event. But she did not try to go into the event; she only entered a building which the public was apparently welcome to enter. That was no reason to arrest her.

  • 01 October 2013 ( Saudi Arabian women imprisoned for trying to bring food to the needy )

    Two Saudi Arabian women will be imprisoned for trying to bring food to a woman who (they had been told) was locked up with her children and had run out of food.

    Giving food to the needy is banned in some parts of the US, too. https://www.commondreams.org/further/2013/08/26-1 gives a recent example from South Carolina. Members of Food Not Bombs faced felony charges in San Francisco in the 90s for distributing food, and one was in danger of imprisonment under the "three strikes" law.

    These US laws are not meant to protect patriarchal power, but rather business profits. Homeless people are unsightly, but feeding them would cost something, so businesses try to sweep them away, so they will starve where people can't see them or boost the profits of privatized prisons.

  • 01 October 2013 ( Organ donation in the US )

    The US should stop leaving it up to people to volunteer for organ donation in the event of their death. Over 6000 Americans die every year for lack of an organ to transplant.

    I criticize Rall's decision to protest the inequities of the US organ transplant system by refusing to donate. Such refusal exacerbates the lack of organs which causes those inequities. I signed up as an organ donor when I first got a driver's license.

    I disagree with one of his statements. That someone believes in a religion does not imply the person is an idiot. What these people lack is not intelligence, but rather the moral courage to face the painful likely truths. Some of them go to extreme lengths of cleverness to construct arguments that bury the fallacy where it is hard to see.

    However, I agree with his conclusion, and with the point that we should stop being superstitious about corpses. This means, in particular, that we should stop making a fuss over the corpses of the deceased. This fuss is strongly encouraged by the mainstream media, and that could lap over into the issue of organ donation.

  • 01 October 2013 ( Tunisia's Islamist gov't to resign )

    Tunisia's Islamist government will resign so new elections can be held.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-11 because the old link was broken.]

  • 01 October 2013 ( Indian girls sold, tricked, kidnapped into prostitution )

    Pre-teen Indian girls are sold, tricked or kidnapped into prostitution, then kept in small cages until they are broken.

    I post this link because the issue is important — but don't get the "interactive e-book" that it advertises! That is nonfree software combined with DRM. It requires using an iThing! This attacks the freedom of whoever reads it.

    Using an iThing is not as bad as being kidnapped and raped, but since it's easy to avoid , you'd be a fool not to avoid it.

  • 01 October 2013 ( Businesses owned by Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs )

    Bank holding companies such as Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs are not allowed to own ordinary businesses , so why doesn't the US make them sell those?

  • 01 October 2013 ( Solar and wind power )

    Solar and wind power vary, sometimes unpredictably, and this requires cycling fossil-fuel generators on and off more often. Modeling shows the costs of doing this are just a few percent of the savings in fuel costs.

  • 01 October 2013 ( US uses no-fly list to bully people )

    The US uses the no-fly list to bully people into giving information, offering to take them off the list if they report on some enemies.

    This demonstrates that it has nothing to do with suspecting that those people would attack an airplane. The no-fly list is not being used to flights, merely as a handy way to harass people.

  • 01 October 2013 ( Drug mix called "krokodil" )

    The drug mix called "krokodil" reportedly damages the user's body and brain, but feels like heroin and is cheaper , so desperate users turn to it.

    From what I've read, people can use heroin for decades, fairly safely, if they can get it in a pure and reliable form: the danger comes from impurities. If registered heroin addicts could get their supply from doctors, they would be safe and nobody would use krokodil.

  • 01 October 2013 ( FBI flying drones for surveillance since 2006 )

    The FBI has been flying drones for surveillance since 2006.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-11 because the old link was broken.]

    It is true that they are not qualitatively different from looking at people from aircraft. They are a big quantitative increase in the amount of surveillance that is feasible.

  • 01 October 2013 ( Insurance companies starting to lobby for carbon tax )

    US insurance companies have no doubt about the danger of global heating, and are starting to lobby for a carbon tax.

  • 01 October 2013 ( "Independent" panel to investigate NSA is a swindle )

    The "independent" panel that will supposedly investigate the NSA's civil liberties violations is a swindle: it is effectively controlled by the same office that the NSA reports to.

  • 01 October 2013 ( US corporate welfare )

    Certain kinds of US corporate welfare amounts to $6000 per family.

    I don't think this includes all the forms of corporate welfare.

  • 01 October 2013 ( Senator Cruz mini-filibuster )

    As Senator Cruz carried out his mini-filibuster against Obama's imperfect health care plan, 200 or so Americans died from lack of health coverage . If Obama's health care plan were in effect, it would have saved many of them. But single-player health care, a national health system, would save them all and save money too.

  • 01 October 2013 ( Containment technology at Fukushima has failed )

    Another improvised piece of containment technology at Fukushima has failed.

  • 30 September 2013 ( Proposed bill to limit NSA massive collection of phone and email records )

    Senator Wyden and others have proposed a bill to limit NSA massive collection of phone and email records .

    However, Senator Feinstein is pushing to continue the massive surveillance .

  • 30 September 2013 ( NSA tracks Americans' social networks )

    The NSA tracks Americans' social networks , and Facebook is just one of its sources.

    Thus, if you talk about your friends in Facebook, you're ratting on them. If you say that you saw John and Arthur, you tell the NSA that John knows Arthur. If John and Arthur are dissidents, or journalists, your information will help the government suppress dissent or journalism.

    Don't do it!

  • 30 September 2013 ( NRA Tried To Stifle Study Showing Gun Retailers Support Background Checks )

    NRA Tried To Stifle Study Showing Gun Retailers Support Background Checks .

  • 30 September 2013 ( Using the DMCA to shut down web sites )

    Any little twerp can use the DMCA to shut down a web site he does not like with an invalid takedown demand .

  • 30 September 2013 ( Humanity's weak response to global heating )

    If scientists had said that an asteroid had a 90% chance of hitting the Earth in a few decades, we'd be going all-out to deflect it. Contrast that with humanity's weak response to global heating.

    Part of the difference is that no big companies would profit by keeping the asteroid on its collision course.

  • 30 September 2013 ( Painting houses in shantytown to improve view from hotel )

    The Haitian government is painting the houses in a shantytown to improve the view from an expensive new hotel.

  • 30 September 2013 ( Flowers can't be pollinated )

    Global heating changes some plants such that their flowers can't be pollinated.

  • 30 September 2013 ( Republican extortion campaign )

    US Republicans are considering making abolition of network neutrality one of the goals of their extortion campaign.

  • 30 September 2013 ( Google will be fined in France )

    Google will be fined in France for not telling users how it uses their personal data.

  • 30 September 2013 ( Global heating will increase number of severe thunderstorms in US )

    A study concludes global heating will increase the number of severe thunderstorms in the US.

  • 30 September 2013 ( Record heat in China )

    Record heat in China is enabling deadly hornets to spread.

  • 30 September 2013 ( In Fragmented Forests, Rapid Mammal Extinctions )

    In Fragmented Forests, Rapid Mammal Extinctions.

    So if we don't maintain large tropical forests, we will wipe out many species.

  • 30 September 2013 ( Climate Change Report Makes Deniers Overheat )

    The New IPPC Climate Change Report Makes Deniers Overheat.

  • 30 September 2013 ( Useless "safety" measures )

    Schools in the US and elsewhere are tying themselves in knots for useless "safety" measures.

    These foolish measures only waste time and scare children. Having a thug in the school tends to ruin children's lives.

  • 30 September 2013 ( Mainstream media lumping whistleblowers with murderers )

    Mainstream media found an excuse to lump heroic whistleblowers together with mass murderers.

  • 30 September 2013 ( China's CO2 emissions )

    China's move from burning coal to burning natural gas won't reduce CO2 emissions, because the gas will be obtained from coal.

  • 30 September 2013 ( Urgent: Accord with Iran )

    US citizens: tell Congress not to spoil the possibility for accord with Iran.

  • 30 September 2013 ( Urgent: Support Global Frackdown )

    Everywhere: support the Global Frackdown on Oct 19.

  • 30 September 2013 ( Urgent: Tell Barilla you will boycott its products )

    Everyone: tell Barilla you will boycott its products until the owner takes back what he said about gay people .

  • 30 September 2013 ( Urgent: Internet freedom )

    Everyone: call on Verizon to clean up its act in regard to Internet freedom, and help send it soap to do this with.

  • 30 September 2013 ( Effect of climate disaster on Australia )

    Detailing the effect of climate disaster on Australia: the Kakadu wetlands will cease to exist, being inundated, and so will many species.

    Since Australia has already experienced temperatures of 50C, it can expect to experience temperatures of 56C by the end of the century. That is 132F. It's almost as high as the highest air temperature ever measured on Earth (in Death Valley: 57 degrees).

  • 29 September 2013 ( Urgent: Stop pressure on other countries to import tar sands oil )

    US citizens: call on the US Trade Representative to stop pressuring other countries to import tar sands oil.

  • 29 September 2013 ( Urgent: Tell Facebook, Google and Yelp to quit ALEC )

    Everyone: tell Facebook, Google and Yelp to quit ALEC.

    ALEC is a right-wing scheme by which businesses twist state legislators to pass the bills those businesses want.

  • 29 September 2013 ( Farmers see the effects of global heating )

    Farmers around the world see the effects of global heating , in weather, in water supplies, and in pests .

  • 29 September 2013 ( Global heating will hit poor countries hardest )

    Global heating will hit poor countries hardest , with floods here and droughts there.

  • 29 September 2013 ( The H-bomb accidentally dropped over North Carolina )

    The h-bomb accidentally dropped over North Carolina got ready to fire, and only one unreliable switch stopped it from detonating.

  • 29 September 2013 ( Migrant workers in Qatar worked to death )

    Migrant workers in Qatar are worked to death — 400 die every year , and it could rise to 600 a year due to construction for the soccer world cup.

    The International Labor Organisation says that the Qatar government allows this to happen, because it does not properly inspect the working conditions of migrant workers .

    The deadly heat of today's Qatar will be found in many more parts of the world if we don't limit our CO2 emissions.

  • 29 September 2013 ( California prisoners united against inhumane treatment )

    Todd Ashker, California hunger strike organizer, says the prisoners will resume their hunger strike if they don't get humane treatment .

    He managed to unite prisoners of different races, overcoming the foolish racism that divides them and makes them easy to manipulate.

    The guards say that solitary confinement is a punishment for belonging to a gang, but they label someone a gang member on the flimsiest pretexts, and the only way to get out of solitary is to accuse others (truly or not).

  • 29 September 2013 ( Human-caused global heating )

    The IPCC report concludes that human-caused global heating is virtually a certainty.

    Here are the main points .

    Melting sea ice means that traditional travel routes in the Arctic are now unsafe .

    How human greenhouse gas emissions relate to the heating.

    Why the deniers' arguments are bogus .

    It comes down to, how big does a danger have to be before you try to save yourself?

  • 29 September 2013 ( Leaders of Greek fascist party arrested )

    The leaders of the Greek fascist party have been arrested and charged with "founding a criminal organization".
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-11 because the old link was broken.]

    These charges may be true, if they planned to provoke the violence that their followers have carried out. However, political views in and of themselves, even fascist views, can't justify labeling a political party a "criminal organization". If they could, the Republican Party would qualify, since its purpose is to help businesses rip off most Americans.

  • 29 September 2013 ( 30 years to global heating disaster )

    30 years to global heating disaster, says the IPCC.

    Mocking the need to cut back on fossil fuels, governments continue to push to extract more.

    Here's an example of the stupid short-term thinking.

    If every government says "We don't want to be in the lead", none will go anywhere.

  • 29 September 2013 ( Rouhani making effort for reconciliation with US )

    Rouhani is making every possible effort for a reconciliation with the US.

    Uri Avnery: for Netanyahu, Rouhani is the most horrible possible president of Iran, because he doesn't do or say anything hostile.

  • 29 September 2013 ( Non-Cash payments )

    An additional reason to reject non-cash payment: it encourages spending without realizing how much you're spending.

    This is in addition to avoiding being tracked.

  • 28 September 2013 ( Urgent: Defend Social Security )

    US citizens: support the congresscritters that joined a protest to defend Social Security.

  • 28 September 2013 ( Urgent: US campaign contribution limits )

    On October 8: join a protest in the US against the attempt to further undermine US campaign contribution limits.

  • 28 September 2013 ( Private prisons )

    When government activities are privatized, the company has to squeeze somewhere to make its big bucks. Here's how private prisons do it.

  • 28 September 2013 ( Urgent: Oppose plans to impose tyranny on Internet )

    US citizens: oppose the TPP plans to impose tyranny on the Internet.

    Why would anyone sign such a thing?

  • 28 September 2013 ( Deceptive plan for "voluntary" labeling of GMO foods )

    Two Democratic Senators have asked the FDA to finalize a deceptive plan for "voluntary" labeling of GMO foods — one that would block state requirements for mandatory labeling.

  • 28 September 2013 ( Copyright industry propaganda campaign )

    The copyright industry is designing a massive propaganda campaign for US schools.

  • 28 September 2013 ( Turkish protesters suffering from tear gas )

    Thousands of Turkish protesters are still suffering from the tear gas.

    11 were maimed by tear gas canisters shot at their faces by thugs that sought to cause bodily harm.

    The tyrannical Turkish government is not content with this. It plans to make it a crime for doctors to treat wounded protesters.

  • 28 September 2013 ( Texas's voter ID law )

    Texas's voter ID law is disenfranchising people because of bureaucratic hoops they can't jump through.

    Rich people can solve such problems; it's the poor who get blocked.

  • 28 September 2013 ( Urgent: Stop recording absurd suspicions reported by people )

    In the US: call on the US government to stop to recording absurd suspicions reported by people made paranoid by "If you see something, say something."
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-11 because the old link was broken.]

    That campaign should be stopped, because its main effect is to provoke an inordinate fear of terrorists — inordinate given the real risk of being harmed by terrorists compared with other real dangers.

  • 28 September 2013 ( US women's access to birth control )

    Obama's health care law has improved US women's access to birth control, but schools often mislead teenagers about it.

  • 28 September 2013 ( Urgent: NBC news job is to correct lies not repeat them )

    In the US: tell NBC news that its job is to correct politicians' lies, not just repeat them.

  • 28 September 2013 ( Urgent: Give Yelp a bad review for supporting ALEC )

    Everyone: give Yelp a bad review for supporting ALEC, the business-driven machine for right-wing state laws in the US.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-11 because the old link was broken.]

  • 28 September 2013 ( Right-wing gov't of Australia beholden to coal companies )

    The new right-wing government of Australia is so beholden to coal companies that it is rushing illegally to shut down a successful initiative that has boosted investment in clean energy.

    Australia's targets for greenhouse gas reduction are hopelessly inadequate.

    Any target set for 7 years in the future, not accompanied by a specific implementation plan, is an excuse for doing nothing.

  • 27 September 2013 ( Urgent: Oppose Monsanto Protection Act )

    US citizens: email your congresscritter to oppose the Monsanto Protection Act.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-11 because the old link was broken.]

    The Senate just rejected it, so we have a great chance of winning, but it isn't automatic.

  • 27 September 2013 ( Sudan shuts off Internet and kills protesters )

    Sudan's cruel government responded to protests by shutting off the Internet and then killing protesters .

  • 27 September 2013 ( Malaysian artist's works seized )

    A Malaysian artist's works were seized because they criticized various politicians.

  • 27 September 2013 ( States in the US running out of drugs for executions )

    Many states in the US are running out of drugs for executions .

  • 27 September 2013 ( UK gov't study on how to make the public feel good about wars )

    The UK government did a study on how to make the public feel good about wars .

  • 27 September 2013 ( Breaking the link between palm oil and deforestation )

    Breaking the link between palm oil and deforestation.

  • 27 September 2013 ( Hassan Rouhani )

    If We Fear an Iranian Bomb, We Should Back Hassan Rouhani .

  • 27 September 2013 ( Tunisian rapper sentenced to prison for song )

    Ahmed Ben Ahmed, Tunisian rapper, has been sentenced to prison for a song that criticized thugs .

  • 27 September 2013 ( Somalis in Kenya fear reprisals )

    Somalis in Kenya fear reprisals for the terrorist attack.

    There must be some way for Somalis in Kenya to organize against al-Shabaab, thus both demonstrating their opposition to terrorism and helping to defeat al-Shabaab.

  • 27 September 2013 ( Japan rushing harsh secrecy bill )

    Japan's government is rushing a harsh secrecy bill that would punish reporters and their sources .

  • 27 September 2013 ( Urgent: Spousal benefits for same-sex couples )

    US citizens: call on the US to require all states to recognize spousal benefits for same-sex couples involving National Guard members.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-11 because the old link was broken.]

  • 27 September 2013 ( Urgent: Mining in Oak Flat )

    US citizens: oppose a hasty plan to allow mining in Oak Flat without public hearings.

  • 27 September 2013 ( US spied on phone calls of highest Greek officials )

    The US spied on the phone calls of the highest Greek officials in 2004-2005.

  • 27 September 2013 ( The post office a savings bank too )

    The US could solve several financial problems at once by having the post office become a savings bank too.

  • 27 September 2013 ( NSA spied on phone calls of Martin Luther King Jr )

    The NSA spied in the 60s on phone calls of Martin Luther King Jr , as well as other political activists and journalists.

  • 27 September 2013 ( Pilots asleep at wheel )

    The EU proposes relaxing rules designed to make sure pilots don't fall asleep at the wheel , but the existing rules don't always prevent it.

  • 27 September 2013 ( Facebook censored an ACLU post about censorship )

    Facebook censored an ACLU post about censorship.

    This is a further reason why Facebook is the wrong place for your posting.

  • 27 September 2013 ( Prescription records )

    The DEA Thinks You Have No Constitutionally Protected Privacy Interest in Your Confidential Prescription Records.

  • 27 September 2013 ( Can We Prevent a Full-Blown Police State )

    We Live Under a Total Surveillance State in America — Can We Prevent It from Evolving into a Full-Blown Police State?

  • 27 September 2013 ( Surveillance devices can track all phone calls in area )

    Surveillance devices can track all the phone calls in an area , even thousands. Some just get the identifying numbers while others record conversations.

  • 27 September 2013 ( "If you see something, say something" )

    "If you see something, say something" turns out to mean, in practice, "Help build a database about anything vaguely suspect about everyone."

  • 27 September 2013 ( Playboy making legal threats to shut down parody )

    Playboy is making legal threats to shut down a parody campaign that criticizes it.

  • 26 September 2013 ( Urgent: Oppose all cuts in food stamps )

    US citizens: sign this petition to oppose all cuts in food stamps.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-11 because the old link was broken.]

  • 26 September 2013 ( Schizophrenia )

    The imaginary voices that schizophrenics hear are different in different cultures — and one study found it is possible to influence the voices so that they become gentler .

  • 26 September 2013 ( Time Warner signing up superintendents to rat on residents )

    Time Warner is signing up building superintendents to rat on building residents as the price of a cable hookup, instead of money.

    I have a suspicion that cable boxes nowadays snoop on their users. Nowadays, they talk over the Internet. Any computer that is inside your home and not yours is a possible snooping point.

  • 26 September 2013 ( Australian politician proposes to ban boycott campaigns )

    An Australian politician from the party that controls the state proposes to ban boycott campaigns .

    It shows the true colors of the right wing: "All power to the rich".

  • 26 September 2013 ( UK's Green Party MP faces criminal charges for nonviolent protest )

    The UK's Green Party MP faces criminal charges for a nonviolent protest .

    Perhaps she will be accused of "piracy".

  • 26 September 2013 ( Facebook designed to get users addicted to vanity )

    Facebook is designed to get users addicted to vanity .

  • 26 September 2013 ( Mines in South American to pay medical compensation to miners )

    Mines in South Africa will have to pay compensation to miners who got lung disease from their work .

    This will not only pay for their medical treatment, but compel the mines to take precautions for the health of other miners in the future.

  • 26 September 2013 ( Putin says Greenpeace activists aren't pirates after all )

    Putin says that the Greenpeace activists are not pirates after all .

    However, he has not told the prosecutors not to charge them with piracy .

  • 26 September 2013 ( French Puns )

    New puns in French.

  • 25 September 2013 ( Urgent: Call on Attorney General Holder to fight voter suppression laws )

    US citizens: call on Attorney General Holder to fight hard against voter suppression laws.

  • 25 September 2013 ( Urgent: Oppose strip mining for shale oil in wilderness area )

    Everyone: call on Utah not to permit strip mining for shale oil in a wilderness area.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-11 because the old link was broken.]

  • 25 September 2013 ( Urgent: Support Obama's refusal to bow to threats over debt ceiling )

    US citizens: Tell Obama you support his refusal to bow to Republican threats over the debt ceiling.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-11 because the old link was broken.]

  • 25 September 2013 ( Double-blind study shows magnets don't reduce pain of arthritis )

    A double-blind study found that wearing magnets fails to reduce the pain of arthritis .

    The fact that so many people believe the magnets help them testifies to people's tendency to be misled by cures. I suppose ancient Egyptians were quite convinced that their magic amulets reduced the pain of arthritis.

  • 25 September 2013 ( NSA officials who misled court not investigated )

    Two FISA court judges separately asked the Department of Justice to investigate NSA officials for misleading the court. But there was no investigation .

    I suppose they used their influence to avoid one.

  • 25 September 2013 ( Subcontracting food service to Sodexo cheats students and soldiers )

    Subcontracting food service to Sodexo cheats students, soldiers, whoever has to eat it — and the public too .

  • 25 September 2013 ( Advertising )

    Some shoppers waiting in checkout lines are so absorbed with smartphones that they become resistant to manipulation aimed at provoking impulse buying.

    The article insults our intelligence by pretending that we are all suckers both for marketing and for portable phones. I don't know about you, but I resist them both pretty well. Nonetheless, I linked to the article because it has an interesting point about advertising.

    Let's pass laws to ban retail stores (and hotels) from using computers from using sensors to recognize anything about their customers except that they are shoplifting, and from interfering in any way with communication to their computers. There is no reason these companies should be allowed to do whatever they wish to people.

  • 25 September 2013 ( Chemical and nuclear weapons in Israel and Egypt )

    In negotiations about chemical weapons in Syria and possible future Iranian nuclear weapons, the US must recognize chemical weapons in Israel and Egypt, and real Israeli nuclear weapons .

  • 25 September 2013 ( Israeli destroys Bedouin camp )

    The Israeli army destroyed a Bedouin camp ; previously it had destroyed the village that they lived in before 1967.

  • 25 September 2013 ( UK border thugs interrogate Yemeni human rights activist )

    UK border thugs interrogated a Yemeni human rights activist who was coming to give a speech at a conference. This is apparently because he helps to represent victims of drone attacks.

    The supposed reason for the interrogation was suspicion of terrorism, but what they actually asked him about were the plans of the British human rights organization Reprieve that he works for. This is prima facie evidence that the UK government dishonestly abuses this power.

  • 25 September 2013 ( Rouhani's speech a move towards future negotiation )

    Although Rouhani refused to talk with Obama at the UN, his speech was a move towards future negotiation , which will begin between foreign ministers .

  • 25 September 2013 ( Putin threatens to imprison Greenpeace activists for 15 years )

    Putin threatens to declare Greenpeace activists guilty of "piracy" and imprison them for 15 years.

    The excuse for this charge, that Russian troops chose to imagine that the Greenpeace protesters carried a bomb, is ridiculous, but it is also irrelevant. Under Putin, show trials issue whatever verdict Putin tells them to.

    I expect Putin will try to use the threat to negotiate for some sort of concession from Greenpeace which would corrupt its spirit for the long term. That would be a much bigger victory for him than putting some activists in prison. I hope Greenpeace has the firmness to refuse any long-term concession.

    The Greenpeace protesters were nonviolent, but when a tyrant puts nonviolent protesters in prison, violent action against the tyrant ceases to be wrong.

  • 25 September 2013 ( Fazıl Say retried for "blasphemy" )

    Fazıl Say was retried and again sentenced to prison for "blasphemy" .

    Evil religious tyrants!

  • 25 September 2013 ( Egypt has banned the Muslim Brotherhood )

    Egypt has banned the Muslim Brotherhood.

  • 25 September 2013 ( Drug addicts in prison )

    The US puts drug addicts in prison and offers them nothing to do except take drugs , for which they get sentenced to more time in prison.

    Over 700,000 people were arrested in the US last year for possession of marijuana.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-11 because the old link was broken.]

  • 25 September 2013 ( US nuclear plants close )

    Economic conditions have made US nuclear plants close , and more may follow.

  • 25 September 2013 ( Cruel right-wing Americans )

    Cruel right-wing Americans say people who get food stamps should get a job. Alas, many of them already have a job and they can't live on the low pay.

    So how about raising the minimum wage?

  • 25 September 2013 ( Lawyer blocked from accompanying drone victims )

    Victims of drone attacks in Pakistan are coming to testify in Congress, but their lawyer seems to have been intentionally blocked from accompanying them . The victims are reluctant to come without their lawyer.

  • 25 September 2013 ( Nuclear negotiations with Iran )

    Obama asked Kerry to lead nuclear negotiations with Iran.

    This opens the possibility of a negotiated end to Syria's civil war. I am glad Obama has recognized the US wrong in overthrowing Iran's democratic government in 1953. I hope this will lead to apologizing.

  • 24 September 2013 ( Playwright pursued by authorities )

    Playwright pursued by Lebanese authorities for his play on censorship.

  • 24 September 2013 ( Urgent: Avoid killing an estimated thousand whales )

    US citizens: call on the "Defense" Department to change Navy plans to avoid killing an estimated thousand whales by deafening them.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-11 because the old link was broken.]

  • 24 September 2013 ( Thugs beat up and arrested journalists )

    Angolan thugs beat up and arrested journalists who covered the release of protesters who had been arrested.

  • 24 September 2013 ( Funding surveillance on the local level )

    Department of Homeland Security funding surveillance on the local level.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-11 because the old link was broken.]

  • 24 September 2013 ( Urgent: Free human rights lawyer Anas Barghouti )

    Everyone: call on Israel to free human rights lawyer Anas Barghouti.

  • 24 September 2013 ( Convicted of giving information to journalists )

    Whistleblower Donald Sachtleben has been convicted of giving information to journalists . He was identified through the seizure of the phone records for 20 staff of the Associated Press.

    He was also convicted of possessing "child" pornography, which is defined to include images of anyone under 18. You shouldn't assume that having those images is in any way wrong — but even if in his case it were wrong, it would not justify prosecuting him for giving information to the public.

  • 24 September 2013 ( Treatment of Palestinians in Israeli prisons )

    Leena Jawabreh writes about the treatment she and other Palestinian prisoners encounter in Israeli prisons.

  • 24 September 2013 ( Taliban killed 85 Christians leaving church )

    Pakistani Taliban killed 85 Christians leaving church , saying this it was a reprisal against US drone attacks.

    The drone attacks ought to be stopped, because they kill many innocent civilians. However, what these fanatics do is no better.

  • 24 September 2013 ( Urgent: Oppose the Monsanto Protection Act )

    US citizens: phone your senators to oppose the Monsanto Protection Act.

    The Capitol Switchboard numbers are 202-224-3121, 888-818-6641 and 888-355-3588.

  • 23 September 2013 ( Merkel Victory a Blow to Europe )

    Merkel Victory a Blow to Europe Reeling Under Austerity's Thumb .

  • 23 September 2013 ( Planned coal mines in Queensland, Australia )

    Planned coal mines in Queensland, Australia, would suck up so much water that they would devastate local agriculture .

    Burning the coal would devastate agriculture world-wide, but that would take more time.

  • 23 September 2013 ( Netanyahu's response after Palestinian shoots Israeli soldier )

    A Palestinian shot an Israeli soldier, so as punishment, Netanyahu sent colonists back into a disputed house in Hebron (where Israelis have pushed Palestinians out of important parts of the city ).

  • 23 September 2013 ( Nadezhda Tolokonnikova reports on prison conditions )

    Nadezhda Tolokonnikova of Pussy Riot says that that women in her prison are forced to work 17 hours a day and get only 4 hours of sleep .

  • 23 September 2013 ( Micro-refuges for cold-adapted plant species )

    Micro-refuges may enable some cold-adapted plant species to avoid extinction due to global heating .

    Whether they can hang on depends on how much global heating occurs. If the Earth heats up by 8C on the average, in the Arctic it will be more.

  • 23 September 2013 ( UN agency urges decriminalization of sex work )

    A UN agency urges decriminalization of sex work so as to end transmission of diseases .
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-11 because the old link was broken.]

    In principle, I see nothing wrong with requiring use of condoms or requiring that sex workers get regular tests for diseases they might spread. It is normal to have safety standards on various kinds of work, including food preparation, for the sake of public health.

    How could this do any harm? Only if there are people who desperately need to do sex work; but that implies the state is failing to take care of people who are poor and ill.

  • 23 September 2013 ( Israeli soldiers throw EU diplomat to the ground as she tries to deliver aid )

    An EU diplomat tried to deliver tents to Palestinians whose homes had been demolished by Israeli soldiers. More soldiers attacked them, and took away the tents and the truck they were brought in.

    Incredibly, the Israeli government condemns the diplomat for punching a soldier in the face after they had thrown her to the ground .

    And they did the same thing again to a group of other diplomats, and to the Red Cross.

    These arrogant bastards think they are entitled to do anything they like to anyone, then condemn even the slightest resistance.

    Here's what Gush Shalom has to say about it .

  • 23 September 2013 ( Americans recognize that their lives are getting worse )

    Americans are recognizing that their lives are getting worse and that government policies are responsible .

  • 23 September 2013 ( Data on the effects of unjust trade treaties )

    Obama's chosen "trade advisors" continue to tell him that unjust trade treaties will boost US exports, though the facts say otherwise .

    They say this because they represent the businesses that want these treaties, as Obama well knows.

    How the treaties affect US exports is a side issue — what's important is that these treaties give companies more power to hurt people .

  • 23 September 2013 ( Users sue LinkedIn )

    Users are suing LinkedIn for surreptitiously collecting their email address lists for spamming .

    LinkedIn can figure out the name to associate with your email address by finding it in other people's address lists , where they may have associated it with your name.

    Note that if they get this data from Gmail, then your correspondents have already told Google to associate that address with your name, and that's bad too.

  • 23 September 2013 ( Cutting fossil fuel combustion would save millions of lives )

    Cutting fossil fuel combustion would save millions of lives , over the course of the century, from reduction in air pollution — over and above avoiding global heating disaster.

  • 23 September 2013 ( Urgent: Prosecute the Halliburton employee that destroyed evidence )

    US citizens: call for prosecution of the Halliburton employee that destroyed evidence about the Big Spill.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-11 because the old link was broken.]

    This is not enough but it is better than not prosecuting him.

  • 23 September 2013 ( The billionaire bailout society )

    The billionaire bailout society, and how to get rid of it .

    I think that a tax on gross income of the big banks might also help.

  • 23 September 2013 ( US Green Party praises Manning and Snowden )

    The US Green Party praises the whistleblowers Manning and Snowden .
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-11 because the old link was broken.]

  • 23 September 2013 ( Chicago Mayor apologizes for police unit that tortured suspects )

    The mayor of Chicago apologized for a police unit that tortured many suspects to frame them .

  • 23 September 2013 ( Journalist Michael Hastings killed in car explosion )

    Journalist Michael Hastings said he was afraid to drive his car , but he did anyway, and promptly got killed in what looked like a car accident.

  • 23 September 2013 ( Declassified US document says h-bomb nearly exploded accidentally )

    A declassified US document says that an h-bomb that fell from a disintegrating B-52 bomber was one switch away from exploding , and that switch could have triggered accidentally too.

    For those who won't run the nonfree Javascript in this page, I have posted two screenshots: page 1 , page 2 .

  • 23 September 2013 ( The tax on people with welfare support and have an "extra" bedroom )

    The right-wing tax on anyone who gets welfare support and has an "extra" bedroom is theoretically supposed to make housing more efficient, but in some cases it forces people to move far away from their families and leave their houses empty .

    Working people that vote for a plutocratic party such as the Conservatives are asking for suffering, but they still don't deserve it.

  • 23 September 2013 ( Arguments against total surveillance )

    A list of arguments we can use to overcome the idiotic position of those who want total surveillance.

  • 23 September 2013 ( UK gov't imposes fee to stop women from defending their rights )

    The UK government has imposed a prohibitive fee to stop women illegally denied their jobs after maternity leave from defending their rights.

  • 23 September 2013 ( Health workers in Syria in danger )

    Health workers in Syria are in danger from Assad's army .

  • 23 September 2013 ( "Pink pork" often carries hepatitis E virus )

    "Pink pork" often carries the hepatitis E virus, which can be fatal to humans.

  • 23 September 2013 ( Senate's bill to shield journalists )

    The Senate's bill to shield journalists has become a little closer to adequate .

    But it is still far short of what is required.

  • 23 September 2013 ( Latest iThings less environmentally friendly )

    The latest iThings are a step back in terms of environmental friendliness and recyclability.

  • 23 September 2013 ( UK tried to take over Belgian computers )

    The UK tried to take over the computers of Belgium's national telecommunications infrastructure .

    Belgium is supposed to be an ally of the UK. The Belgian government is now very angry .

  • 23 September 2013 ( House Republicans vote )

    House Republicans voted to cut food stamps drastically , and to eliminate funds for health care .

  • 23 September 2013 ( Workers in London defeat plan to use fingerprint-checking timeclocks )

    Cleaning workers in the London subways went on strike to block fingerprint-checking timeclocks , and defeated the plan.

  • 23 September 2013 ( Children working on farms in North Carolina unprotected )

    Children working on farms in North Carolina have to work for 10 hours a day, without protection from pesticides .

  • 23 September 2013 ( Kidnap of poor children and teenagers in Delhi )

    Gangs kidnap poor children and teenagers in Delhi, and sell them into slavery in nearby rural areas.

    The thugs ' lack of interest suggests to me that they are getting bribed.

  • 23 September 2013 ( US "military cooperation" programs in Latin America )

    The US uses "military cooperation" programs to get around human rights laws and encourage military coups and militarist regimes in Latin America. Colombia and Honduras are the clearest examples.

  • 22 September 2013 ( Getting too late to save Earth from over 2C heating )

    The IPCC will warn governments that it's getting too late to save Earth from over 2C of heating.

    The other explanations advanced by denialists have been refuted.

    To have a good chance of avoiding catastrophe, we need to fight hard to defeat the denialists.

  • 22 September 2013 ( Anti-Sharing industry trying to censor links to sharing sites )

    The anti-sharing industry is trying to push search engines into "voluntary agreements" to censor links to sharing sites.

  • 22 September 2013 ( How Spain forgets Franco's atrocities )

    How Spain forgets Franco's atrocities.

  • 22 September 2013 ( The Shabaab took over mall and shot many shoppers )

    The Shabaab, Somalian Islamists, took over a shopping mall in Nairobi and shot many of the shoppers , after letting Muslims go.

  • 22 September 2013 ( The "spent fuel" pool at Fukushima 4 is a time bomb )

    The "spent fuel" pool at Fukushima 4 is a time bomb , and how to defuse it is not clear.

    Covering fuel rods with a flammable material strikes me as criminally negligent.

  • 22 September 2013 ( Urgent: Drilling in Arctic waters )

    US citizens: call on Obama not to allow drilling in Arctic waters.

  • 22 September 2013 ( US violates a labor treaty )

    The US violates a labor treaty by denying farm workers the rights that most workers are entitled to.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-11 because the old link was broken.]

  • 22 September 2013 ( Article claims videos of victims in chemical attack falsified )

    This article claims that videos of victims the chemical attack in Ghouta, Syria, were falsified.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-11 because the old link was broken.]

    I have not seen the videos — that would be a lot of work. So I have not judged these claims — I only pass them on.

  • 22 September 2013 ( US mainstream media on Syria )

    The US mainstream media talked a lot about the chemical weapons treaty as a reason to attack Syria, and very little about the UN charter as a reason not to do it without UN approval.

    I don't judge issues of right and wrong, generally speaking, based on laws. Making a law against sharing copies of works doesn't make sharing wrong. Having a treaty against going to war doesn't necessarily make war wrong. But since war tends to kill lots of people, it generally is wrong, and only very strong reasons can make it right, in this comparison points out a weakness in the arguments in favor.

  • 22 September 2013 ( Spain considering to criminalize commercially making links to torrents. )

    In another cowardly surrender to the US, Spain is considering amendments to criminalize commercially making links to torrents.

  • 22 September 2013 ( "Naming the Dead" )

    "Naming the Dead" aims to identify the people killed by US drone attacks in Pakistan.

  • 22 September 2013 ( UK gov't will destroy centuries-old forests )

    The UK government will destroy centuries-old forests for the sake of business interests , and uses legal bullying to get its way.

  • 22 September 2013 ( Nearly half of US jobs could be eliminated by computerization )

    Nearly half of US jobs could be eliminated by computerization in the next two decades.

    Textile manufacturing is returning to the US, but it makes little difference; it is so automated that it provides few jobs.

    The improved efficiency of automation would be good if we all shared in the benefits. But the plutocrats won't allow that. There will be no new jobs for most of these Americans; they will be driven into poverty, and death when they get sick.

    Plutocratic politicians will try to prevent the tens of millions of unemployed from voting, while provoking the other Americans to sneer at them.

  • 22 September 2013 ( Facebook to use AI )

    Facebook hopes to use AI to learn even more about its useds.

    I think the word "users" is misleading in this case: Facebook uses them more than they use Facebook.

  • 22 September 2013 ( Computing security )

    In our computing security, the sky is not falling — it s fallen.

  • 22 September 2013 ( The poorest Americans )

    The Poorest Americans are Children and the Poorest Children are Black, Hispanic and Under Six .

  • 22 September 2013 ( Urgent: Move your state from military industry to civilian )

    US citizens: call on your state legislature to move your state from military industry to civilian.

  • 22 September 2013 ( Urgent: Tell Chuck Todd about journalism )

    Everyone: tell TV "journalist" Chuck Todd that journalism does not mean treating Republican lies as the equal of facts .
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-11 because the old link was broken.]

  • 22 September 2013 ( US states bound by contract to keep private prisons full )

    As the rate of non- bankster crime falls, US states are bound by contract to keep the private prisons full.

    Here's more detail .

    Since the banks and the banksters are not prosecuted , this policy is ineffective against the most harmful crimes.

    I think privately run prisons should be banned entirely. Prison guards must be accountable to the state.

  • 22 September 2013 ( JP Morgan caught cheating, forced to pay back customers )

    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau caught JP Morgan cheating customers and made it pay them back $300 million, plus a fine .

    The fine was not large enough; it should have equaled the restitution.

  • 22 September 2013 ( Opposition newspapers in Venezuela may shut down )

    Opposition newspapers in Venezuela say they are going to be shut down by a shortage of newsprint , which has to be imported, because they are not allowed to buy dollars to buy it with.

    It would wrong to shut down opposition this way, but it may not be political, because even the government is running into the paper shortage . Venezuela has stopped issuing passports because it has no paper to make them with.

    I went to Venezuela in June and observed peculiar shortages. For instance, there was no butter, though cream cheese was available. There was no short pasta, but there was spaghetti. I can't understand what could make it possible to import or make spaghetti but impossible to import or make penne, but that's how it was.

    Why can't all forms of paper be made in Venezuela? It has plenty of trees and land for tree farms.

  • 21 September 2013 ( Urgent: Oppose increased surveillance on Cambridge streets )

    Citizens of Cambridge, Mass: come to the hearing Sep 26 to oppose increased surveillance on Cambridge streets.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-11 because the old link was broken.]

  • 21 September 2013 ( Urgent: Demand release of Greenpeace activists )

    In the US: tell the Russian ambassador you demand release of the Greenpeace activists and their ship, and an end to drilling in Arctic waters.

  • 21 September 2013 ( The world's private armies )

    Putting Leash on World's Private Armies No Easy Task .

  • 21 September 2013 ( Former Taliban minister says Mullah Omar wants to negotiate peace )

    A former minister in the Taliban's government says that Mullah Omar wants to negotiate peace , but is unable to say so because the threat of assassination by drone has forced him into hiding and isolation, and a few extremists issue statements in Omar's name.

    It might be partly true, but there is a part I find implausible. Omar surely sees the statements that are issued in his name, and if he found them to be lies, he would do something to change the situation.

  • 21 September 2013 ( Greece after four years of squeezing by banksters )

    After four years of squeezing by the banksters , Greece is on the brink of a military coup, a civil war, or a revolution .

    This is what Naomi Klein describes as "shock capitalism" at work.

  • 21 September 2013 ( High-capacity magazine used in mass shooting )

    A mass shooting in Chicago used a high-capacity magazine .

    Making these magazines hard to get would have hindered it.

  • 21 September 2013 ( EPA proposes limits for CO2 emissions from new power plants )

    The EPA has proposed limits for CO2 pollution for new fossil-fuel power plants .

    New coal-burning plants will have to use carbon capture. It will be difficult to do that at the scale required to make a difference.

    I wonder whether the rules count greenhouse gas emissions from extraction or the fuel. This is important because fracked gas involves substantial carbon emissions , and leaks methane .

    The argument that this won't do any good while India and China increase their emissions is fallacious. The US (like every country) needs to set an example to convince other countries to do more.

    As for putting coal miners out of work, that's simply necessary in order to use less coal. The mining companies, by using mountaintop removal, put far more miners out of work.

  • 21 September 2013 ( Arctic Ocean on track to have no ice in summer )

    The Arctic Ocean is still on track to have no ice in the summer , in a few decades.

    The decrease in sea ice is harmful not only to species such as polar bears and seals, but especially because it increases the amount of sunlight that is absorbed and thus advances heating even further.

  • 21 September 2013 ( 14 UK thugs face charges )

    14 UK thugs face charges of " serious perversion of the course of justice ".

  • 21 September 2013 ( US Republicans block vote on US science laureate )

    US Republicans demonstrated their hostility to science by blocking a vote on a US science laureate .

  • 21 September 2013 ( French thugs chase youths merely for running )

    Two French thugs face prosecution for chasing two youths who then got electrocuted .

    The charges are that the thugs failed to aid the youths who were hiding in an electric substation. Maybe the thugs were innocent of this. What strikes me as culpable is that they chased those youths merely because they ran away when they saw a thug van coming. People in groups that are the object of prejudice have good reason to fear thugs regardless of whether they have done anything wrong.

  • 21 September 2013 ( Downsizing the US military )

    Downsizing the US military and boosting spending on people's real needs .

  • 21 September 2013 ( Report about health dangers of depleted uranium suppressed )

    The WHO commissioned a report about the health dangers of dirty depleted uranium in 2001, but has never published it. The report's main author alleged that the WHO suppressed the report due to political pressure.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-11 because the old link was broken.]

  • 21 September 2013 ( Privilege to derivatives in US bankruptcy law )

    The privilege given to derivatives in US bankruptcy law can force companies into bankruptcy when they might have avoided it.

    There is a possibility this could cause another crash.

  • 21 September 2013 ( Law to verify working conditions had limited effect )

    The California law requiring companies to verify working conditions in their subcontractors has had only limited effect.

    It turns out that sweatshops and slavery are not occasional "excesses", but rather the basis of the globalized system of outsourced production.

  • 21 September 2013 ( Extradition of Spanish fascist torturers )

    Argentina has asked for extradition of Spanish fascist torturers.

    Spanish friends have told me that it is hard to draw attention to the crimes of Franco's dictatorship (even if it is not a matter of prosecuting them) because some of his lieutenants still have political or military power.

  • 21 September 2013 ( Plan to track everyone that enters clubs )

    There is a plan to exclude problem customers from clubs in Sydney by tracking everyone that enters.

    The goal might be ok, if people are put on the exclusion list by court order. The proposed means are intolerable, and unnecessary. The system could be set up so it doesn't record seeing anyone who is not on the list.

    Especially laughable is the idea that the system is ok because only the state will see the personal data that the system collects.

  • 21 September 2013 ( Gov't of Australia abolished Climate Commission )

    The right-wing government in Australia has abolished the Climate Commission, to deny the public honest information about the danger of its plans to increase coal exports.

  • 20 September 2013 ( Urgent: Support Greenpeace activists captured by Russian troops )

    Everyone: send a message of support for the Greenpeace activists that have been captured by Russian troops.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-11 because the old link was broken.]

  • 20 September 2013 ( Pressure and pain of poverty as factors in drug addiction )

    Rarely cited experiments from the 70s found that rats given plenty of space and things to do did not get addicted to morphine as rats in small cages do.

    Experiments on rats don't prove anything about humans, but there are results about humans that suggest similar conclusions.

    80 to 90% of those who use crack and methamphetamines do not get addicted, according to Prof Carl Hart who studies them . They regularly choose to go without the drug after the morning in exchange for money to be received weeks later. Every meth user in the study chose to do without the drug to get $20 later.

    This suggests that the pressure and pain of being poor in modern society, made worse by the impoverishment of plutocratic rule, are a big factor in the heavy use of narcotics.

  • 20 September 2013 ( ACLU obtains files about US "fusion centers" )

    The ACLU has obtained files showing that US "fusion centers" keep records on people for the flimsiest of reasons , such as being middle-eastern, or taking photos on the street.

  • 20 September 2013 ( Russia treats Greenpeace protesters as terrorist suspects )

    Russian soldiers have boarded a Greenpeace ship protesting oil drilling in the Arctic Ocean.

    This drilling risks an oil spill that would poison the coast and take decades or centuries to dissipate.

    Naturally, the Russians said the Greenpeace protesters were terrorist suspects .

    The US also treats protesters as terrorist suspects .

  • 20 September 2013 ( Islamists fighting non-Islamist enemies of Assad )

    Islamists in Syria are now occasionally fighting and defeating the non-Islamist enemies of Assad .

  • 20 September 2013 ( Republicans threaten again to shut down the US gov't )

    Republicans threaten again to shut down the US government if they can't kill Obama's health care plan.

  • 19 September 2013 ( Urgent: Reopen investigations into environmental damage from fracking )

    US citizens: Call on EPA administrator Gina McCarthy and Obama to reopen the investigations into environmental damage from fracking.

  • 19 September 2013 ( Campaign to deny global heating spreading lies )

    The funded campaign to deny global heating is spreading lies preemptively, to undermine the coming IPCC report.

    It is erroneous to call these denialists "skeptics", because they cling stubbornly to their pre-chosen conclusion in the teeth of the facts. Many of them do this because they are paid to.

  • 19 September 2013 ( Sex education in Russia )

    Russia's official in charge of protecting children wants to ban sex education and expose them to AIDS.

  • 19 September 2013 ( Defending the legality of sex-selective abortion )

    Defending the legality of sex-selective abortion.

  • 19 September 2013 ( Newspaper challenges censorship of Eritrea )

    An underground newspaper dares challenge the censorship of Eritrea , where all private newspapers are banned.

  • 19 September 2013 ( Penalizing poor Britons )

    After three months of penalizing poor Britons (mostly disabled) who live in apartments bigger than the state considers they "really need", half of those families are in debt.

    They can't move to smaller apartments anyway, because those are not available.

  • 19 September 2013 ( Arctic sea ice never as little as it is now )

    Studies measuring Arctic sea ice for in the past few thousands of years find it was never, during that period, as little as it is now.

  • 19 September 2013 ( Destruction of sharks by humans damages coral reefs )

    The relentless destruction of sharks by humans damages coral reefs too, indirectly.

  • 19 September 2013 ( Wasted food in the UK )

    As much as 40% of the fruit and vegetables in the UK is wasted because it is "ugly".

    They could be required to give it to the poor.

  • 19 September 2013 ( UK thug faces prosecution if he testifies about thug wrongdoing )

    UK undercover thug Peter Francis wants to testify about thug wrongdoing, but faces the threat of prosecution if he does.

  • 19 September 2013 ( Libya divided )

    Libya remains divided into fractious local enclaves.

  • 19 September 2013 ( Xenophobia in Egypt )

    Egypt is convulsed with xenophobia , and the military regime seems to promote it.

  • 19 September 2013 ( US phone companies' failure to oppose PAT RIOT Act )

    US phone companies are citing general policies of secrecy rather than confronting their failure to oppose PAT RIOT Act collection of phone call records .

  • 19 September 2013 ( Sneering at people who get welfare payments )

    People find all sorts of excuses to sneer at people who get welfare payments, often they are based on questionable suppositions .

    Right-wing media encourage people to blame real or imaginary "welfare cheats" to distract people from the big cheaters: rich people that pay to change laws so they can leave the rest with an ever-shrinking fraction of society's wealth.

  • 19 September 2013 ( 10% fewer births recorded in Greece than 4 years ago )

    10% fewer births are being recorded in Greece now than 4 years ago.

    To some extent, this is because poor women can't afford the fee for registering a birth. How self-defeating it is for a country to charge for that! To some extent, the lack of prenatal care causes miscarriages. To some extent, people are deciding not to have children.

    It is generally good when people have fewer children, but inducing that decision by imposing general poverty is horrible.

  • 19 September 2013 ( Greenhouse gas feedback )

    Some "slow" forms of greenhouse gas feedback , disregarded in IPCC models, could have a substantial impact during this century. The IPCC's worst case (continuing to increase fossil fuel usage as now) could lead to 8C of heating instead of 6C, by 2100.

  • 19 September 2013 ( Obama sides with vulture capitalists )

    Obama has taken the side of the vulture capitalists against Argentina and all indebted countries .

  • 19 September 2013 ( Sequester mainly hurting non-rich Americans )

    The sequester is mainly hurting non-rich Americans , and will continue to do so until it is eliminated.

    The sequester was a bipartisan initiative. So much for the supposed virtue of bipartisanship .

  • 19 September 2013 ( Sea bass threatened by overfishing )

    Overfishing is reducing the numbers of sea bass; protection is urgent .

  • 19 September 2013 ( Freedom of the Press Foundation challenges US gov't )

    The Freedom of the Press Foundation challenges the US government to promise it won't digitally search, subpoena or arrest journalists such as Glenn Greenwald and Laura Poitras if they return to the US.

  • 19 September 2013 ( Greek fascists murder Greek rapper )

    Greek fascists murdered a well-known Greek rapper .

  • 19 September 2013 ( Guns don't make people safe from violence )

    Countries with more guns have more gun deaths .

    This demonstrates that guns don't make people safe from violence.

  • 19 September 2013 ( Region of Palestine closed off by Israeli army )

    The Israeli army closed off a region of Palestine, blocking all travel, for several days and ordered 100 families to leave their homes .
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-11 because the old link was broken.]

  • 19 September 2013 ( Executives whose companies caused the financial crisis )

    Executives whose companies caused the financial crisis are doing very well .

  • 19 September 2013 ( Limited diets based on diet fads can cause disease )

    Limited diets based on diet fads can cause real disease. Some parents impose these on their children .

  • 19 September 2013 ( Milgram experiment may not have been reliable )

    Milgram's famous experiment, claimed to show most people would obey orders to punish another person horribly, may not have been reliable .

    The proper response to doubts about the validity of those results is to try to reproduce them, and to do other related experiments. It is a shame that the APA has declared them unethical. Maybe this can be done in some other country.

  • 19 September 2013 ( FBI back doors in proprietary software )

    The FBI makes a practice of asking companies to put back doors in proprietary software .

  • 19 September 2013 ( Guantanamo PR )

    In Guantanamo, visiting journalists are brought on tours of show-cells , the guards say that force-feeding is voluntary, prisoners are called "detainees", and even sketches of them are forbidding.

    I see more Orwell than Kafka in this. It is the most horrible evil, disguised with all the ability of the modern PR industry.

  • 19 September 2013 ( US uses "border protection" as excuse to search people's laptops )

    Released government documents show that the US uses "border protection" as an excuse to search people's laptops when it wants to investigate them for other reasons but has no legal grounds.

  • 18 September 2013 ( Journalist who attacked corruption was assassinated )

    A Colombian radio journalist who attacked corruption was assassinated.

  • 18 September 2013 ( Reporters Without Borders criticized gag order placed on Barrett Brown )

    Reporters Without Borders has criticized the gag order placed on Barrett Brown.

    The main charges against Brown are for his journalistic activity : posting a link to a web site where data obtained from Stratfor had been published.

  • 18 September 2013 ( "Holy water" contaminated )

    "Holy water" in many sites in Austria is contaminated with bacteria and excrement.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-11 because the old link was broken.]

    In other words, it's not wholly water.

  • 18 September 2013 ( Arctic ice minimum )

    This year's Arctic ice minimum is not as low as in 2012 ; it is back to the 2009 level. Nonetheless, the last 7 years have all shown less ice than ever before them, reflecting the long-term trend that the ice is gradually disappearing due to global heating .

  • 18 September 2013 ( Flotilla threatened by the Indonesian military )

    The Papuan hosts of the Freedom Flotilla have been threatened by the Indonesian military.

  • 18 September 2013 ( Israeli soldiers shot a sleeping Palestinian )

    Palestinians in Jenin say Israeli soldiers shot a sleeping Palestinian in cold blood.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-11 because the old link was broken.]

  • 18 September 2013 ( Urgent: Ask Obama to appoint Janet Yellen )

    US citizens: ask Obama to appoint Janet Yellen as head of the Federal Reserve.

    Senator Warren supports her.

  • 18 September 2013 ( US phone companies )

    No US phone company has tried to resist orders for massive collection of phone call records .

  • 18 September 2013 ( Palestinian village economically wiped out by road barriers )

    The Palestinian village of Beitin has been economically wiped out by barriers that make it accessible only by a roundabout route.

    It's an indirect consequence of Israeli colonies established in the vicinity.

  • 18 September 2013 ( What would Goldman say? )

    Larry Summers' refrain, as an official, was "What would Goldman say?" By proposing to appoint him, Obama shows he was listening to Goldman Sachs .

  • 18 September 2013 ( Israeli supreme court gives some Palestinians their land back )

    The Israeli supreme court gave some Palestinians their confiscated land back, after the colony built on it was officially eliminated. But some colonists still occupy the site .

  • 18 September 2013 ( Colorado floods may spread pollution from wells )

    The Colorado floods may spread pollution from oil wells and fracking wells .

  • 18 September 2013 ( Buying a gun and getting a "concealed carry" permit in Texas )

    Aaron Alexis had no difficulty buying a gun and getting a "concealed carry" permit in Texas.

  • 17 September 2013 ( FBI has become an unconstitutional surveillance machine )

    The ACLU says that the FBI has become an unconstitutional surveillance machine after stretching its powers on many dimensions.

    Here are the specifics.

  • 17 September 2013 ( UN inspectors affirm chemical weapons used in Syria )

    The UN inspectors affirm that chemical weapons were used in Syria . An expert from Human Rights Watch says they could only have been used by Assad's men.

  • 17 September 2013 ( Gemma O'Doherty, journalist, fired )

    Gemma O'Doherty, a leading Irish investigative journalist, was fired, apparently because her reporting made some important people uncomfortable.

  • 17 September 2013 ( Censorship filter on isoHunt blocks authorized redistribution )

    A censorship filter imposed by court order on isoHunt.com blocks lots of authorized redistribution too.

  • 17 September 2013 ( Obama waived legal requirements in order to arm Syrian rebels )

    Obama has waived legal requirements in order to arm Syrian rebels.

    To be fair, if a country's government supports terrorism, that is no rational reason not to arm rebels against that government. What matters in that case is whether said rebels are connected with terrorism — but these are!

  • 17 September 2013 ( Put trauma center "out of business" )

    The head of the doctors that treated the victims of the navy yard shooting please with Americans to put her trauma center "out of business" — with gun control.

  • 17 September 2013 ( Uphill Battle to Rein in the Power of Coal )

    In Australia, an Uphill Battle to Rein in the Power of Coal.

  • 17 September 2013 ( NSA spies on credit card payments outside US )

    The NSA spies on credit card payments outside the US.

    This is in violation of an agreement made between the US and the EU .

  • 17 September 2013 ( Australia's policy will be brought to UN Human Rights Council )

    Australia's policy of towing boats of refugees back to their point of origin will be brought to the UN Human Rights Council. For refugees that are in fact fleeing persecution, it means delivering them back to the persecutors.

  • 17 September 2013 ( Systematic execution and torture of prisoners )

    An investigation reports that North Korea is guilty of systematic execution and torture of prisoners.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-11 because the old link was broken.]

    I am all in favor of taking action against this, but let's not limit it to North Korea. The US systematically executes and tortures prisoners too.

  • 17 September 2013 ( DEA rehired perjurer )

    The DEA has rehired a highly paid informant who confessed to perjury in previous operations.

  • 17 September 2013 ( TSA allowed to lie in response to FOIA requests )

    A US judge ruled that the TSA is allowed to lie in response to FOIA requests.

  • 17 September 2013 ( US gov't stretched meaning of "imminent threat" )

    A killer pleads self-defense, arguing that the US government has stretched the meaning of "imminent threat" for everyone.

  • 17 September 2013 ( Occupy protests impact continues )

    The Occupy protests were crushed, but their impact continues.

    I applaud Bill Blasio for saying that he as mayor would not have shut down Occupy Wall Street, but the right to protest must not depend on sympathy from the officials of the day. The Plutocratic Party used the protest camps to damage the right to protest in the US. Now we must demand laws to restore it.

  • 17 September 2013 ( Protests in Romania against proposed gold mine )

    After two weeks, protests in Romania against a proposed gold mine are getting even stronger.

  • 17 September 2013 ( Urgent: Oppose bills that would cut food stamps )

    US citizens: Phone your congresscritter to oppose bills such as HR 3102 that would cut food stamps.

    The Capitol Switchboard numbers are 202-224-3121, 888-818-6641 and 888-355-3588.

  • 17 September 2013 ( Urgent: Oppose renewal of Monsanto Protection Act )

    US citizens: phone your congresscritter to oppose renewal of the Monsanto Protection Act. Also sign this petition .

    The Capitol Switchboard numbers are 202-224-3121, 888-818-6641 and 888-355-3588.

  • 17 September 2013 ( Urgent: Expand Social Security )

    US citizens: phone your senators and congresscritter saying to expand Social Security , not cut it.

    The Capitol Switchboard numbers are 202-224-3121, 888-818-6641 and 888-355-3588.

  • 17 September 2013 ( Urgent: Call on Obama to negotiate with Rouhani )

    US citizens: call on Obama to negotiate with Rouhani.

  • 17 September 2013 ( Urgent: Remove David Koch from board of directors at WGBH )

    In the US: call on WGBH to remove David Koch from its board of directors.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-11 because the old link was broken.]

  • 17 September 2013 ( Deaths in the US due to antibiotics resistance )

    Resistance to antibiotics kills 37,000 Americans per year .

    That's almost as many as automobile accidents. The loss of years of life due to antibiotics is going to be less, since many victims are old, while the victims of car accidents tend to be young. Still, it is a lot of people. Both of them dwarf the effects of terrorism.

    So when are we going to ban the foolish practices that generate antibiotic resistance? For instance, regularly giving antibiotics to farm animals.

  • 17 September 2013 ( Any law to reduce global heating can be challenged in the WTO )

    A WTO judge who ruled against the US Clean Air Act said that almost any law to reduce global heating can be challenged in the WTO .

  • 17 September 2013 ( Global heating denial )

    Greenpeace reports on the organized and heavily funded denial of global heating .
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-11 because the old link was broken.]

  • 17 September 2013 ( Taliban systematically killing Afghan policewomen )

    The Taliban are systematically killing Afghan policewomen . The government doesn't seem to be trying hard to protect them.

  • 17 September 2013 ( The Pebble Mine plan )

    We have won a major victory over the Pebble Mine plan, but it isn't dead yet .

  • 17 September 2013 ( Campaign against Larry Summers succeeds )

    The campaign against Larry Summers succeeded .

  • 16 September 2013 ( The 5 stages of global heating denial )

    The 5 stages of global heating denial , starting with "it's not happening" and ending with "it's too late to stop it."

    The focus of the denial is not on global heating itself, but rather against taking action to stop it. That's probably because the activity gets funding and media platforms thanks to the fossil fuel companies, and their goal is to keep on selling fossil fuels as fast as possible regardless of the consequences.

  • 16 September 2013 ( Scientists protest against ban on talking publicly about work )

    Government scientists are protesting across Canada against the ban on talking publicly about their work.

  • 16 September 2013 ( Superstition, ritual killing and mutilation )

    In Gabon, people are regularly killed or mutilated to get body parts to use in rituals.

    In Ghana, people are accused of witchcraft based on other people's dreams, and driven out of their homes.

  • 16 September 2013 ( Germany to allow registration of baby's sex as indeterminate )

    Germany will allow registration of a baby's sex as indeterminate .

  • 16 September 2013 ( Urgent: Stand up for credit unions )

    US citizens: stand up for credit unions — the banksters want to wipe them out.

  • 16 September 2013 ( Urgent: More public hearings about plan to end protection for wolves )

    US citizens: call on the Fish and Wildlife Service to hold more public hearings about the plan to end protection for wolves.

  • 16 September 2013 ( Urgent: Living wage for McDonald's workers )

    Everyone: call on McDonald's to pay workers a living wage.

  • 16 September 2013 ( NSA masquerades as Google in man-in-middle attack )

    The NSA is using fake HTTPS security certificates to masquerade as Google servers in a man-in-the-middle attack.

  • 16 September 2013 ( Texas restricts drone use by citizens but not for state )

    Texas has restricted use of photography drones by citizens, but left it wide open for the state .
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-11 because the old link was broken.]

  • 16 September 2013 ( Texas sets up phony "conservation plan" )

    Texas set up a phony "conservation plan" for the dunes sagebrush lizard, which consists of letting oil companies lie about ongoing threats.

  • 16 September 2013 ( Egyptian Islamists carry out repression against Christians )

    Egyptian Islamists took control of a remote town and carried out repression against Christians .

  • 16 September 2013 ( Teenager faces charges of "terrorism" for posting fantasy video )

    A teenager who posted a fantasy video of shooting his classmates faces charges of "terrorism" .
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-11 because the old link was broken.]

  • 16 September 2013 ( Fukushima radioisotopes leaking into ocean )

    Fukushima radioisotopes leaking into the ocean: how significant ?

    Cesium-137 from the Fukushima meltdowns can make fish in the region near Fukushima dangerous to eat, but when it disperses into the larger ocean, it is diluted to insignificance . The total amount is trivial beside the amounts released by nuclear weapons tests and previous accidents.

    Strontium-90 is potentially worse. It accumulated in bones , including fish bones. It could make small fish such as sardines, commonly eaten with the bones, dangerous to eat.

    I have found no information on the level of strontium-90 in the ocean off Fukushima or in fish there.

  • 15 September 2013 ( Use of torture in US prisons )

    Torture: The Use of Solitary Confinement in U.S. Prisons.

    Force-feeding hunger strikers is torture too.

  • 15 September 2013 ( AT&T threatens to cut off ISP services to people accused sharing )

    AT&T threatens to cut off ISP services to people if they are accused of forbidden sharing .

    It is a shame that this article repeats the propaganda term "pirate" for people who share copies.

  • 15 September 2013 ( Invasion of privacy from E-Z Pass toll payment RFIDs )

    E-Z Pass toll payment RFIDs get read at lots of places other than toll booths , for a scheme to measure traffic flow.

    Ironically, the readers in this scheme are (according to the reports) designed not to save any personal data — an example for all digital systems (assuming the reports are telling the truth). The invasion of privacy from E-Z Pass comes when it is used to pay tolls. The information about people's movements that this records is available not only to the government but to anyone that wants to sue.

  • 15 September 2013 ( Don't use SaaSS to do your computing tasks )

    Although Amy Webb intended not to post any photos of her daughter, she made the mistake of using SaaSS to edit photos , and they eventually leaked out.

    The lesson is, don't use SaaSS to do your computing tasks (such as photo editing).

  • 15 September 2013 ( Reporter held hostage by Islamist bandits in Syria )

    Reporter Domenico Quirico describes being the hostage of Islamist bandits in Syria.

  • 15 September 2013 ( Obama makes Bush's legacy of war his own )

    Obama has accepted Bush's legacy of war and made it his own.

  • 15 September 2013 ( Richmond, CA, approves plan to use eminent domain )

    Richmond, California, has approved its plan to use eminent domain to seize homes with "underwater" mortgages.

    The Federal Housing Finance Agency is on the wrong side. Obama is in charge of that, and he could reverse the policy. Perhaps a citizens' campaign could make him do so.

  • 15 September 2013 ( The rich in the US have taken bigger share than ever before )

    The rich in the US have taken a bigger share than ever before .

  • 15 September 2013 ( Urgent: Stop the sale of neonicotinoid pesticides )

    In the US: call on the CEOs of Home Depot and Lowe's stores to stop selling neonicotinoid pesticides, and plants that have been treated with them.

  • 15 September 2013 ( Revolving door between gov't propaganda agencies and corporate media )

    There is a revolving door for staff between US government propaganda agencies and corporate media that repeat the propaganda.

  • 15 September 2013 ( Record-breaking flood in Boulder )

    The record-breaking flood in Boulder is in line with what is expected from global heating . The prediction is that the average level of rain will decrease, but that it will also occur in bigger bursts (which would further decrease the effective availability of water for agriculture).

  • 15 September 2013 ( Warmer winter nights in Norway and Sweden )

    Winter nights in Norway and Sweden are warmer by 2C than they were 60 years ago .

  • 15 September 2013 ( Global heating will upset balance of algae in ocean )

    Global heating will upset the balance of algae in the ocean, promoting cyanobacteria .

  • 15 September 2013 ( Censorship in Pakistan )

    Pakistan's censorship now extends to a ban on phone chat for men and women to meet .

  • 15 September 2013 ( European Commission's draft Internet regulations )

    The European Commission has modified its draft Internet regulations to weaken network neutrality .
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-11 because the old link was broken.]

  • 15 September 2013 ( Urgent: Keep creationism out of science textbooks )

    Everyone: pressure Texas not to put creationism into science textbooks.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-11 because the old link was broken.]

  • 15 September 2013 ( Urgent: Override veto of bill requiring higher wages from large companies )

    Everyone: call on the Washington, DC, city council to override the mayor's veto of the bill requiring large companies to pay higher wages.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-11 because the old link was broken.]

  • 14 September 2013 ( The US: World's Policeman Or Schoolyard Bully )

    Bill Maher: The US: World's Policeman Or Schoolyard Bully?

  • 14 September 2013 ( Walking on US flag )

    A school revoked an art history assignment because students re-staged a performance that included walking on a US flag.

    I side with the courts that have insisted on respecting the freedom to do this. The freedom to condemn the US is part of the American ideals that I love.

  • 14 September 2013 ( US and Russia agree on deal to take control of Syria's chemical weapons )

    The US and Russia have agreed on a deal to take control of Syria's chemical weapons stocks.

    A lot of things could still go wrong.

  • 14 September 2013 ( US nuclear weapons vulnerable to collisions or fire )

    US nuclear weapons are vulnerable to being set off by collisions or fire, which means they could explode in the base where they are kept.

  • 14 September 2013 ( U.S. Should Back Chemical Weapons Ban in All Nations )

    Chomsky: Instead of "Illegal" Threat to Syria, U.S. Should Back Chemical Weapons Ban in All Nations.

  • 14 September 2013 ( Urgent: Do no block Interior department from regulating fracking )

    US citizens: call on your congresscritter not to block the Interior department from regulating fracking.

  • 14 September 2013 ( Urgent: Network neutrality )

    US citizens: call for network neutrality to preserve what is good about the Internet.

  • 14 September 2013 ( Rental assistance cut by sequester )

    The sequester has cut the rental assistance that enables some poor US families to have a place to live.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-11 because the old link was broken.]

  • 14 September 2013 ( Insulting the Thai king in private conversations )

    In Thailand, anyone could get you jailed by claiming that you insulted the king in a private conversation .

    Even when applied to public statements, this law is fundamentally unjust.

  • 14 September 2013 ( Study predicts decline in US workers' incomes due to TPP )

    A study predicts how much US workers' incomes would decline due to the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

    The treaty's proponents claim it will make tiny increase in the US GDP, but the loss for workers as their wages are transferred to the rich would more than wipe that out.

    The article uses an iThing as a standard of contribution to the GDP. This demonstrates how the GDP is a misleading measure of benefit: it does not count the oppression of the iThings.

    The US-Korea "free trade" treaty has worked out badly for the US.

    Considered in non-nationalist terms, however, a bigger wrong is that it benefits the rich in both countries while cutting the incomes of everyone else. And the even worse wrong is the way it attacks democracy.

  • 14 September 2013 ( Greek fascist mob violently attacks Communists )

    A mob of Greek fascists attacked Communists who were handing out papers , and left them gravely injured.

    The fascists seem to be trying to terrorizing various "enemies" in order to look strong. The thugs generally support them by letting them get away with it .

  • 14 September 2013 ( FISA court grudgingly credits Snowden )

    A FISA court ruling has moved the ACLU closer to winning release of various documents about surveillance , and grudgingly credited Snowden with launching necessary debate about the issue.

  • 14 September 2013 ( People affected by global heating in Asia )

    A survey found people are affected in many parts of Asia by the effects of global heating .

  • 14 September 2013 ( Solidarity in Poland )

    The anti-worker right-wing Polish ruling party has to love Solidarity, which helped bring down the Soviet empire, but finds it embarrassing that Solidarity is a real union and defends workers' rights today .

  • 14 September 2013 ( Drug safety )

    To make drugs safer, teach kids how to use them safely .

    It would also help to legalize and regulate their sale, so that they are not unpredictable in strength, mixed with poison, etc.

  • 14 September 2013 ( Methods of oppression used by the US resemble those of a dictator )

    Juan Garces, who organized pressure on Chilean dictator Pinochet from outside Chile, says that the US today uses methods of oppression that resemble those of Pinochet .

  • 14 September 2013 ( Urgent: Preserve the Lifeline program )

    US citizens: call on Congress to preserve the Lifeline program that allows millions of poor Americans to have telephone service.

  • 14 September 2013 ( UN warns poor countries about competing to export to less-poor countries )

    The UN warns poor countries to stop focusing on competing to export to the less-poor countries .

  • 14 September 2013 ( The funded denial of global heating )

    Greenpeace reports on the organization, history and methods of the funded denial of global heating .
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-11 because the old link was broken.]

  • 14 September 2013 ( Turkish authorities shut down cartoon exhibition )

    International cartoon exhibition shut down by Turkish authorities.

  • 14 September 2013 ( The demise of unions in the US )

    The Demise of Unions [in the US] and Why We Need to Revive Them .

  • 12 September 2013 ( Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam attacking Internet freedom )

    Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam are attacking Internet freedom.

    Nguyen Bac Truyen told FIDH about how Vietnamese thugs attack bloggers.

  • 12 September 2013 ( NSA excuse to keep more data about more people )

    How the NSA uses a weakness in its surveillance schemes as an excuse to keep more data about more people.

  • 12 September 2013 ( Obama's insider panel )

    Obama's insider panel which will supposedly consider changes in NSA surveillance held its first meeting.

    It did not even broach the subject of limiting surveillance.

  • 12 September 2013 ( FCC's failure to declare ISPs "common carriers" )

    The FCC's failure to declare ISPs "common carriers" may undermine its weak network neutrality policy.

    IANAL, but I suspect that this failure is also what makes possible the deal that major ISPs made with the copyright industry to punish their customers on mere accusation.

  • 12 September 2013 ( Using fingerprints as passwords )

    Using fingerprints as passwords could have a devastating legal byproduct in the US: people could be required to use their fingers to unlock their data.

    This is because the fifth amendment, which forbids requiring people to incriminate themselves, does not apply to biometrics.

  • 12 September 2013 ( Slavery in Mauritania )

    In Mauritania, the blacks were traditionally slaves of the Arabs. Theoretically this has stopped, but in practice it continues.

  • 12 September 2013 ( Mayor vetoed bill to make large companies pay higher minimum wage )

    Washington DC's mayor vetoed the bill to make large companies pay a higher minimum wage.

    DC workers will suffer twice from this decision: they won't get a raise, and some will lose their jobs. Walmart brings a decrease in jobs because it replaces other stores that employ more people. Furthermore, most of its employees are temps and get no benefits.

  • 12 September 2013 ( Dangerous secrecy bill vetoed )

    South Africa's president vetoed a dangerous secrecy bill.

  • 12 September 2013 ( UK thugs interfere with journalism )

    UK thugs interfere with journalism by accusing unarmed journalists of "intimidating" men with rifles.

    The journalist in question was trying to report on the badger cull. I have no opinion about the badger cull. I don't know whether the cull will help prevent bovine tuberculosis (its stated purpose), but it clearly won't drive badgers or any other species extinct.

    I have no special feeling about badgers, but I smell a rat when thugs make false accusations against journalists.

  • 12 September 2013 ( Analyzing Putin's article )

    Analyzing Putin's article: insults to Obama, presented as support.

    Some "open source" supporters used to offer me similar "support".

    Most of Putin's points, as described in this article, are valid. Ironically, its points against him are valid too; Putin is a bigger enemy of democracy than Obama. But that doesn't make his points wrong.

    If only the US and Obama were a good example to contrast such tyrants with.

  • 12 September 2013 ( Hillsborough disaster )

    Officials responsible for the Hillsborough disaster may be prosecuted for manslaughter.

    I think it is even more important to prosecute the thugs that covered up their wrongs by falsely accusing the spectators. That was a separate act, and a worse one in my opinion. Whoever were responsible for the conditions that resulted in the death of spectators surely did not intend to kill; their misdeed was one of negligence. By contrast, those who carried out the cover-up acted with full knowledge and intent.

  • 12 September 2013 ( Non-Prosecution of the killers of Baba Mousa )

    The non-prosecution of the killers of Baba Mousa, and those who helped cover them up, shows that the army can't be trusted to investigate war criminals.

  • 12 September 2013 ( Charges against Barrett Brown )

    The principal charges against Barrett Brown are meant to attack the whole Internet.

    The article quotes someone using the word "hacking" to mean "breaking security". Please don't use the word that way — it is unfair to us hackers. Hacking is playful cleverness. When you're talking about breaking security, whether you think it is right or wrong in the given instance, please call it "cracking".

    On Hacking

  • 12 September 2013 ( Urgent: Reverse plans to let chicken factories inspect their own chickens )

    US citizens: phone the White House and demand Obama reverse the USDA's plans to let chicken factories inspect their own chickens.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-11 because the old link was broken.]

    To trust these companies is as silly as trusting teenage delinquents with an attitude.

    The White House comments line is 202-456-1111.

  • 12 September 2013 ( Oxfam warns about EU austerity )

    Oxfam warns that EU austerity will " entrench poverty for a generation ".

    But it won't end with this generation, because by the 2025 global heating will cause much bigger losses.

  • 12 September 2013 ( NSA disobeyed FISA court's requirements )

    The NSA disobeyed the FISA court's requirements for 3 years .

    It took 3 years for the court to find out, because the NSA kept it secret.

  • 12 September 2013 ( FBI asked for back door in Microsoft local encryption program )

    A former Microsoft employee says the FBI asked him to put a back door in a Microsoft local encryption program, and he refused .

    We cannot verify whether his successor was more compliant. We can't trust proprietary software because we can't tell whether it is malicious. Some proprietary programs are malicious, and some are not, but we usually can't tell which is which. (The exception is when we find out some program is malicious.)

  • 12 September 2013 ( Poor people in the UK who can't afford food )

    UK conservatives say that if you're poor and can't afford food, it's your own fault. Look at some examples .

  • 12 September 2013 ( EU approves weak biofuels bill )

    The EU approved a very weak biofuels bill.

  • 12 September 2013 ( UK thugs alter witness statements )

    UK thugs altered the statements of witnesses to the Hillsborough disaster . This was to cover up their own responsibility.

  • 12 September 2013 ( Bush fires in Australia )

    It's still winter in Australia, but bush fires have already started because winter has been unusually warm .

  • 11 September 2013 ( Urgent: Oppose amendments to weaken Shaheen-Portman bill )

    US citizens: call on your senators to reject any amendments to weaken the Shaheen-Portman energy efficiency and antipollution bill.

  • 11 September 2013 ( Urgent: Stop US gov't from interfering in state-legal marijuana use )

    US citizens: call on your senators to support legislation to stop the US government from interfering in state-legal marijuana use.

  • 11 September 2013 ( Urgent: Oppose warrantless surveillance in Massachusetts )

    Citizens of Massachusetts: oppose warrantless surveillance at the state level.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-11 because the old link was broken.]

  • 11 September 2013 ( Egypt and Israel working together to besiege Gaza )

    Egypt and Israel are now working together to besiege Gaza , leading to many shortages.

    Hamas, which won the last Palestinian election that could be held, has imposed some oppressive policies in Gaza , but starving people and blocking them from traveling for education or medical care is not going to weaken Hamas.

  • 11 September 2013 ( Indonesian forestry minister wants Harrison Ford deported )

    The Indonesian forestry minister wants Harrison Ford deported for raising embarrassing questions in an interview.

    Enforcing forestry laws in Indonesia is surely quite complicated. So many rich companies that object, so many bribes one might have to return.

  • 11 September 2013 ( Falsehoods and manipulation in Susan Rice's speech )

    Exposing falsehoods and manipulation in Susan Rice's speech trying to build support for bombing Syria.

    Dennis Kucinich exposes other manipulative war propaganda .
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-11 because the old link was broken.]

  • 11 September 2013 ( Israel closes inquiry into death of protester killed by soldier )

    Although cameras showed that protester Bassem Abu Rahmeh was hit by a tear gas canister , Israel decided there is "no evidence" for any action against his killer.

    Things like this don't happen by accident. Soldiers are trained to aim their tear gas weapons at the ground, not at people; when the canisters hit people, that's not a minor error but gross misconduct. Deadly misconduct, in this case. The army investigators know that and choose repeatedly to disregard it.

  • 11 September 2013 ( Former US marine was tortured into making false confession )

    A former US marine, imprisoned as a spy in Iran, says in a letter that he was tortured into making a false confession .

    The horrible thing, for an American, is that the US often does that to prisoners .

  • 11 September 2013 ( NRA removes state senators )

    The NRA removed gun-control state senators through a referendum in Colorado.

  • 11 September 2013 ( American reporter killed shortly after Sept 11 coup in Chile )

    American reporter Charles Horman was killed by Pinochet's men shortly after the US-backed September 11 coup in Chile. Horman he had witnessed the involvement of US ships and men in the coup .

    Since only US officers knew this, they must have played a role in his execution too.

    After coup, the right-wing UK government infiltrated anti-Pinochet solidarity groups and tried to manipulate the media in favor of Pinochet .

  • 11 September 2013 ( Thousands attend anti-war vigils in 165 cities )

    Thousands Attend Anti-War Vigils in 165 Cities, Urge Congress to Oppose Syria Strikes .

  • 11 September 2013 ( US-imposed "peace talks" between Israel and Palestine )

    The US-imposed "peace talks" between Israel and Palestine are a sham , as predicted ; a smokescreen for Israel to steal more land in Palestine.

    Israel's defense minister ridiculed the talks .

  • 11 September 2013 ( Anti-Fascist protesters arrested )

    UK thugs arrested hundreds of peaceful anti-fascist protesters on tiny pretexts , demonstrating their intention to make peaceful protest impossible.

  • 11 September 2013 ( Plan to disguise spy drones as birds of prey )

    A plan to disguise spy drones as birds of prey.

    This should be forbidden by treaty, as it will lead soldiers to shoot down real birds of prey, which may be endangered.

  • 11 September 2013 ( Implications of the Johns Hopkins censorship scandal )

    On the implications of the Johns Hopkins censorship scandal, in which the university ordered Matthew Green to delete his blog post from the university server or face legal action.

  • 11 September 2013 ( Kerry and US have embraced Putin's proposal )

    Kerry and the US have embraced Putin's proposal of putting Assad's chemical weapons under international control.

    Kerry mentioned the idea, not as a suggestion, but as a hoop that surely Assad would not jump through. Putin then proposed it for real. (I wanted to say he made it a "serious proposal", but the pun seems distracting.)

    Obama's insistence on attacking created the situation where this proposal could be supported by the Security Council. But I see no sign that Obama aimed for this result. It was a fluke.

    If Congress had not resisted Obama's demand for war, he would have attacked already and this diplomatic solution would not have been considered.

    Obama deserves a little praise for being willing to switch from war to diplomacy when diplomacy shows a good chance of success. But he and his supporters are trying to badmouth the plan even while accepting it.

  • 11 September 2013 ( Some environmental groups "partnering" with companies )

    Naomi Klein explains how some environmental groups responded to Reagan's attack by "partnering" with companies , and ended up becoming their tools.

  • 11 September 2013 ( Obama's rogue state tramples over laws )

    George Monbiot: Obama's rogue state tramples over every law it demands others uphold.

  • 11 September 2013 ( Crime to offend anyone on the Internet )

    Grenada has passed a law making it a crime to offend anyone on the Internet.

  • 11 September 2013 ( If you have children, protect their digital privacy )

    If you have children, protect their digital privacy: don't post any photos of them on Internet sites.

  • 10 September 2013 ( Urgent: Oppose "virginity tests" for Indonesian students )

    Everyone: Call on Indonesia not to demand that high school students pass "virginity tests" or be excluded from school.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-11 because the old link was broken.]

  • 10 September 2013 ( Urgent: Protest against Keystone XL on Sep 21 )

    In the US: participate in a protest on Sep 21 against the Keystone XL planet-roaster pipeline.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-11 because the old link was broken.]

  • 10 September 2013 ( Rape by men in Asian countries )

    In a survey, nearly 25% of men in some Asian countries, including China and Indonesia, said they have committed rape . This includes rape of a spouse.

    Nearly 25% of Indian men also say they have committed rape.

    Many girls of Asian origin in the UK are raped, and keep it secret because their relatives would punish them if they knew . Sometimes relatives force them into an unwanted marriage to get them out of the family.

    The condemnation of females who have sex, even involuntarily, reflects the patriarchal idea of females as valuable property of the family, rather then as persons who matter for their own sake.

  • 10 September 2013 ( Evidenced that Assad's army fired rockets with chemical weapons )

    Human Rights Watch reports evidence that Assad's army fired rockets with chemical weapons.

  • 10 September 2013 ( Naomi Klein's speech )

    I'm linking to Naomi Klein's speech again to urge you to read it. It is brilliant.

    Klein identifies the "extractivist" regime that oppresses us, and shows how all the traditional battles that progressives fight tie together with the fight against global heating .

  • 10 September 2013 ( Commercial baby foods full of sugar )

    Commercial baby foods are full of sugar and low on other nutrients .

  • 10 September 2013 ( Cigarette butts toxic to wildlife )

    Cigarette butts left on the beach are toxic to wildlife .

  • 10 September 2013 ( NSA and GCHQ surveillance programs named after civil war battles )

    The NSA and GCHQ, apparently in parallel, have named surveillance programs after battles in the civil war .

    Specifically, they are named after the first battle in the American civil war, and the first battle in the English civil war.

    Code names for secret activities are usually chosen to be meaningless. For them to be chosen for a meaning, in the spy agencies of two countries, is definitely significant.

    Others interpreted this as declaring war on the people. In other ways, such as in the prosecution of Chelsea (née Bradley) Manning, that's what the Obama regime seems to have done. However, the meaning I see in these names is that one part of the country is fighting another.

    A strange attitude, given these agencies are supposed to be defending the country against foreign threats.

  • 10 September 2013 ( Johns Hopkins orders teacher to delete blog post )

    Johns Hopkins ordered a teacher to delete a blog post speculating about what the NSA might be able to do in the area of decryption.

  • 10 September 2013 ( Protests in Mexico City to oppose tax plans )

    Tens of thousands protested in Mexico City to oppose the president's tax plans.

    I support parts of this plan, including making gasoline more expensive. Taxing the middle class more is not necessarily bad, but they should focus on taxing the rich more.

    However, allowing foreign investment in oil is very bad.

  • 10 September 2013 ( Romanians protesting against planned gold mine )

    Thousands of Romanians have been protesting for a week against a planned gold mine that could poison them.

    They convinced the prime minister to cancel the plan .

    Note how the mining company threatens to use trade treaties to attack Romania. These treaties are tools of plutocrats and must be abolished.

  • 10 September 2013 ( Cambodian gov't accused of rigging election )

    The opposition in Cambodia accuses the government of rigging the latest election .

  • 10 September 2013 ( Arrests in China for statements on the Internet )

    China has arrested hundreds of people recently for statements on the Internet.

  • 10 September 2013 ( Reversal of ban on warrantless searches on Americans )

    Feds Had Court Reverse Ban On Warrantless Searches On Americans Because "We Wanted To Be Able To Do It" .

  • 10 September 2013 ( Protest in Berlin against massive surveillance )

    20,000 protested in Berlin against massive surveillance.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-11 because the old link was broken.]

  • 09 September 2013 ( Putin proposes to insist Assad hand over all chemical weapons to "international control" )

    Putin proposes to insist that Assad hand over all chemical weapons to "international control".

    This would deal with the problem, if it works. And if it doesn't work, all the other responses that are available now would still be available. So why is Kerry trying to talk it down? The reason, whatever it is, can't be good.

    If Obama does accept this, his war-talk will have had a good result by getting Putin to agree to this.

  • 09 September 2013 ( China plans increase in coal-fired electric generation )

    China plans a tremendous increase in coal-fired electric generation, but a lack of available water might stop it.

    That's good, because this coal-burning would cause global disaster.

  • 09 September 2013 ( NSA is spying on the Brazilian state oil company )

    Snowden files show that the NSA is spying on the Brazilian state oil company, Petrobras.

    This is scandalous because it is clearly meant for commercial advantage, not for defending the US against attack.

  • 09 September 2013 ( Many products contain plastic micro-beads )

    Many products such as facial cleansers contain plastic microbeads. After use, they end up in waterways and harm various forms of life.

    I don't think they degrade in any short time.

  • 09 September 2013 ( Urgent: Remind your progressive senators that attacking Syria is not progressive )

    Citizens of Massachusetts, Oregon, Washington, Colorado, Ohio, Wisconsin, Rhode Island, Hawaii, Minnesota and Wisconsin: remind your progressive senators that attacking Syria is not progressive.

  • 09 September 2013 ( Americans die due to unpleasantness of TSA airport security )

    About 500 Americans die per year due to the unpleasantness of TSA airport security.

  • 09 September 2013 ( Urgent: Convert to safer processes that won't explode )

    US citizens: call on Obama to have the EPA pressure chemical plants to convert to safer processes that won't explode.

  • 09 September 2013 ( German intelligence reports on the chemical attacks in Syria )

    German intelligence reports say the chemical attacks in Syria were made by Assad's army but without his approval .

    We must not put much confidence in these reports, nor in the vague reports from the Obama regime , nor in the reports cited by Thomas Drake & friends saying that rebels are responsible. We are not really in a position to know.

  • 09 September 2013 ( Many Tor nodes still using 1000-bit keys )

    Many Tor nodes are still using 1000-bit keys that the NSA can very likely crack .

  • 09 September 2013 ( John Gilmore describes NSA's meddling )

    John Gilmore, a GNU developer, describes the NSA meddling he observed in the IPSEC standardization process and the cell phone encryption spec design.

  • 09 September 2013 ( Loss of Arctic sea ice )

    2013 might not set a new record in loss of Arctic sea ice, because the process is not steady; but it is continuing .

  • 09 September 2013 ( NSA can tap data in smart phones )

    The NSA can tap data in smart phones , including iPhones, Android, and BlackBerry.

    While there is not much detail here, the fact that BlackBerry was temporarily not accessible suggests that this is not done using the universal back door that nearly all portable phones have. It may involve exploiting various bugs.

  • 09 September 2013 ( Civilian casualties in Afghanistan )

    Once again, the Afghan government and locals say a bomb killed mostly civilians, while NATO says it killed only enemy fighters .

    Civilian casualties are inevitable in a war. You can try to avoid them but it is impossible to succeed completely. Deciding to fight a war implies accepting these casualties. Sometimes that is justified, but the reason needs to be very strong.

    The Taliban kill a lot more civilians than NATO does , but the Afghan people don't resent it as much. Either they support the Taliban at some level, or they are not strongly motivated to fight them. As long as that is the case, defeating the Taliban militarily is almost impossible.

  • 09 September 2013 ( UK approves preemptively arresting suspected protesters )

    The UK officially approves of preemptively arresting suspected protesters.

    The arrests were made on dishonest pretexts .

  • 09 September 2013 ( Urgent: Stop the government from snooping on us )

    Phone your elected representatives via 1-STOP-323-NSA and say you want them to stop the government from snooping on us.

  • 09 September 2013 ( 160 lobbyists hired to kill regulation of tobacco marketing )

    Phillip Morris has hired 160 people to lobby to delay and thus kill regulation of tobacco marketing.

  • 09 September 2013 ( Morsi to face charges on crime of "insulting the judiciary" )

    Morsi will face charges on the crime of " insulting the judiciary ".

    To make it a crime to insult someone — no matter who! — is in itself injustice.

    However, jailing journalists is even worse.

    A prize-winning Egyptian journalist has been arrested for "publishing false information" .

    The jailing of Abu-Deraa shows there is every reason to distrust what the Egyptian government says about its attacks in the Sinai, just as we distrust what the US says about drone attacks in Pakistan. There may be some real Islamist terrorists there, but that doesn't mean the government's story is true. We can't be sure that the shells allegedly found on railroad tracks really existed. If they did, they might have been planted by the army to be "found".

    Meanwhile, this article also shows that Egypt is now joining Israel to besiege Gaza.

  • 09 September 2013 ( US gov't deficit now back to normal levels )

    The US government deficit is now back to normal levels , which is bad since what we need now is deficit spending to get people back to work.

  • 09 September 2013 ( Nothing shown to tie chemical weapons in Syria to Assad's men )

    Rep. Grayson says the US government has shown him nothing that ties chemical attacks in Syria to Assad's men.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-11 because the old link was broken.]

    Kerry and McCain are citing an "expert" who is a paid lobbyist for the anti-Assad forces , and connected with a right-wing think tank that generally wants military escalation.

    What Obama and Kerry say now is "just trust me", but former US intelligence professionals say they are misleading us. Here's why .

    I will trust Thomas Drake, a heroic whistleblower , over Obama or Kerry on anything at any time.

  • 09 September 2013 ( It's easier to buy an assault weapon than to vote in the US )

    In the US, it's easier to buy an assault weapon than to vote .

  • 09 September 2013 ( Journalist arrested for writing about plagiarism in Swiss university )

    Prize-winning Swiss journalist Ludovic Rocchi has been arrested for writing about plagiarism in a Swiss university .

    Independent of the facts of this case, for "defamation" to be a crime is injustice in itself.

  • 09 September 2013 ( Lord's Resistance Army killing elephants for ivory )

    The Lord's Resistance Army is killing elephants for ivory .

    It used to kidnap children and conscript them .

  • 09 September 2013 ( Attacks on speech and journalism in Tunisia )

    Public Radio Journalists in Tunisia Go on Strike to Protest Political Interference .

    Tunisian rappers were sentenced to prison for a song that criticized the thugs . Before arresting them, the thugs beat them up. Whatever the criticism was, the thugs probably deserve it.

  • 09 September 2013 ( Flaws in the Electronic Communications Privacy Act )

    Snowden's disclosures underscore the importance of correcting some flaws in the Electronic Communications Privacy Act , even though it is not enough to make email respect our privacy.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-11 because the old link was broken.]

  • 09 September 2013 ( The impaired judgment of poor people )

    Poor people lack more than money — they lack bandwidth to confront all the stressful problems of their lives, and that leads systematically to bad thinking .

  • 09 September 2013 ( US fails to show valid arguments for attacking Syria )

    The US has failed to show valid arguments to conclude that attacking Syria is "necessary" to avoid a worse evil.

  • 09 September 2013 ( "Big data" surveillance records )

    If "big data" surveillance records become available to everyone, many people will misuse them much as the US government does now.

  • 09 September 2013 ( "Rescue" of trafficked children in the UK )

    When trafficked children in the UK are "rescued", they often run away with their slavemasters within a couple of days .

    It seems to be because they don't think they are safe once "rescued". Some of them experience being jailed — not likely to make them feel the state will protect them.

  • 09 September 2013 ( Proposed bill to forbid NSA back doors in encryption systems )

    Rush Holt has proposed a bill to forbid the NSA to introduce back doors into encryption systems .

    It is a good first step, but it must apply to all parts of the government and their contractors. If it applies only to the NSA, the activity will be shifted elsewhere.

  • 09 September 2013 ( Credibility of the NSA and US gov't )

    Glenn Greenwald: One big problem the NSA and US government generally have had since our reporting began is that their defenses offered in response to each individual story are quickly proven to be false by the next story , which just further undermines their credibility around the world.

  • 08 September 2013 ( Egyptian labor lawyer arrested and released )

    An Egyptian labor lawyer was arrested and released.

    Other liberals suspect this was a trial balloon to gauge public support for imprisoning activists.

  • 08 September 2013 ( Charged with murder, after he shot his wife at her request )

    A man in Kentucky is likely to be charged with murder, after he shot his wife at her request . She couldn't bear the pain of terminal cancer any longer.

    I wish she could have asked for a gentler sort of death, but since the state forbade her that, I think he was right to grant her request.

  • 08 September 2013 ( Syrian rebels that were attacked with poison gas )

    This article talks about Syrian rebels that were attacked with poison gas.

    Here's a suggestion: the US should give the Syrian rebels plenty of gas masks and systems to detect poison gas.

    If Assad's men are using poison gas, this will thwart them somewhat. If they aren't using poison gas, this will do nothing.

  • 08 September 2013 ( US destabilized Syria and Iraq )

    The US destabilized Syria and Iraq starting in the 1940s, which led to the dictatorships of Saddam Hussein and Hafez al-Assad.

    The article links to a number of things (videos?) and encourages you to enable JavaScript and load Flash Player in order to view them. I hope you know better than to do either of those things!

    Is there any way to see the videos without doing that?

  • 08 September 2013 ( 27 states are doing face recognition )

    27 states are doing face recognition using the data base of drivers licenses and similar state IDs.

    Thus, the march of laws requiring state IDs for more and more activities — boarding a flight, opening a bank account, buying sleeping pills and pain killers — is, in effect, pressure to subject people to face recognition.

  • 08 September 2013 ( Urgent: Inspect the Texas chemical factories )

    US citizens: call on OHSA to inspect the Texas chemical factories that refused fire inspections.

  • 08 September 2013 ( The Wealthy "Make Mistakes", the Poor Go to Jail )

    The Wealthy "Make Mistakes", the Poor Go to Jail.

  • 08 September 2013 ( Gov't of Azerbaijan threatens and jails journalists and dissidents )

    The government of Azerbaijan threatens and jails journalists and dissidents , like many others. What's unusual is that it gave apartments to 150 journalists to buy their favorable reporting.

  • 08 September 2013 ( Fiji's constitution )

    Fiji's government is planning a constitution that doesn't uphold human rights.

  • 08 September 2013 ( NSA Has Compromised the Entirety of Internet )

    Experts Warn NSA Has Compromised the Entirety of Internet.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-11 because the old link was broken.]

    In my view, corporate data-collection on users, and data retention by ISPs and phone companies, and deep packet inspection encouraged by the copyright industry, took big steps to compromise the Internet.

  • 08 September 2013 ( Urgent: Investigation of US Internet surveillance )

    Everyone: call on major Internet companies to demand a full public investigation of US Internet surveillance.

  • 08 September 2013 ( Urgent: Tell Gerber not to allow GMO apples in baby food )

    Everyone: tell Gerber not to allow GMO apples in baby food.

  • 08 September 2013 ( Naomi Klein proposes new agenda for the left )

    Naomi Klein proposes a new agenda for the left , based on stopping global heating , and fighting all the other abuses that interfere with doing so.

    The UN's climate study says we have little time left to avert a mass extinction of species and the danger of destroying civilization.

    By ignoring what global heating is going to do, our society is living a lie. This lie has various psychological manifestations.

  • 08 September 2013 ( Zero-Hour contracts )

    1/5 of the workers in British companies are on zero-hour contracts.

    Are there similar employment schemes in the US?

  • 08 September 2013 ( Tens of thousands protested in Tunisia )

    Tens of thousands protested in Tunisia, demanding that the Ennahda (Islamist) party step down.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-11 because the old link was broken.]

  • 08 September 2013 ( Tokyo elected to bear burden of 2020 Olympics )

    Tokyo was elected to bear the burden and harm of the 2020 Olympics. Madrid and Istanbul have escaped, for now.

    The Olympic games leave behind nasty surveillance, unjust laws, and huge debts. Large companies get the profits while keeping local small businesses and street vendors out.

  • 08 September 2013 ( UK solution to lack of jobs is to punish people )

    The right-wing UK solution to a lack of jobs is to punish people that don't work enough hours.

    Perhaps some of them have zero-hours contracts which don't give them enough hours and forbid them to work for anyone else.

  • 08 September 2013 ( Fruit juices and drinks can be bad for your health )

    Fruit juices and fruit drinks appear healthful but the fructose can be bad for your health.

  • 07 September 2013 ( US army threatens soldier for reporting a security hole )

    A US soldier reported a security hole to the army, and the response was to tell him not to talk about it, since the army does not intend to fix it.

    This same attitude appears whenever someone reveals US government dirty deeds. Rather than concluding, "We should have thought twice before doing something like this," the state concludes, "Anyone who talks about this is our enemy and should be punished."

  • 07 September 2013 ( 86% of US internauts make effort to cover up Internet use )

    86% of US internauts do something to cover up their Internet use from snoopers.

  • 07 September 2013 ( Cost of attacking Syria )

    Attacking Syria is likely to cost a billion dollars , and could cost far more.

    If we could expect it to result in an important change for the better, it might be worth that cost — but we can't expect that.

    Intervention in Syria against a tyrant could be justified if

    1. The Syrian people wanted it (in fact, many do and many don't).
    2. We could be confident that the new government would establish freedom and human rights (not likely with al-Nusra).

  • 07 September 2013 ( Kenya to withdraw from International Criminal Court )

    Citing the US as an example, Kenya's parliament voted to withdraw from the International Criminal Court .

  • 07 September 2013 ( The US has broken the Internet's social contract )

    The US has broken the Internet's social contract . Internet and software engineers: if you have helped corrupt the Internet, tell Bruce Schneier about it.

    More information about the NSA's corruption of encryption software world-wide.

  • 07 September 2013 ( Production of iThings using a sweatshop again )

    Production of iThings is using a sweatshop again .

  • 07 September 2013 ( Some Internet censors in the UK block VPNs )

    Some Internet censors in the UK block VPNs because "they are a way to evade censorship".

  • 07 September 2013 ( Horror of cluster bombs )

    The New York Times reported on the horror of cluster bombs, "maiming and destroying indiscriminately" , when dropped by Assad's men.

    It doesn't talk about how bad they are when used by the US.

  • 07 September 2013 ( Alternatives to military action in Syria )

    Six alternatives to military action in Syria.

    These are in addition to the alternative I've asked everyone to support, which is for Obama and Rouhani to negotiate.

  • 07 September 2013 ( Kerry is pretending he did not support the invasion of Iraq )

    Kerry is pretending he did not support the invasion of Iraq.

  • 07 September 2013 ( US government aims to policies resembling the British ones )

    With "free trade" treaties, the US government aims to policies resembling the British ones that provoked the American Revolution.

    The difference is that this time the whole world is colonized by the rich.

  • 07 September 2013 ( The Startling Size of US Military Operations in Africa )

    The Startling Size of US Military Operations in Africa.

  • 07 September 2013 ( Obama's claims about the use of chemical weapons )

    Obama's claims about the use of chemical weapons in Syria need to be probed to check their validity, just like Bush's claims that Saddam Hussein had such weapons. Here are many specific points of doubt that members of Congress should demand answers for.

  • 07 September 2013 ( Analysis of the possible results of attacking Syria )

    An analysis of the possible results of attacking Syria , showing how it could go very wrong.

  • 07 September 2013 ( Number of Americans not in work force increased )

    The US "unemployment rate" fell, but the number of Americans not in the work force increased by half a million.

    The Federal Reserve has tried to boost the economy by buying bonds, but it is not clear this does any good for the economy of most people.

    The right way to stimulate the economy is with deficit spending; but with Republicans and Obama accepting the harmful goal of deficit reduction, nothing can be done about unemployment.

  • 07 September 2013 ( Israel charges taxes but gives nothing )

    Israel charges the inhabitants of Shu'fat refugee camp taxes but gives them nothing, not even sanitation.

  • 07 September 2013 ( Victims of undercover thug infiltrators )

    Victims of undercover thug infiltrators in the UK are boycotting an internal inquiry run by the thug department , and demand a public inquiry.

  • 07 September 2013 ( Floor tiles that track where people are walking )

    Floor tiles that generate electricity also track where people are walking.

    I think these are acceptable in heavily trafficked areas, but they should be designed so they cannot distinguish one person's step from another's.

  • 07 September 2013 ( South Korea banned fish imports from a large section of the Japanese coast )

    South Korea banned fish imports from a large section of the Japanese coast due to fears over radioactive contamination.

    The fears may be exaggerated, but Japan is paying for its failure to provide good information about the extent of contamination, which might be due to a desire to cover it up.

  • 07 September 2013 ( Urgent: Insist on Full Abortion Coverage )

    US citizens: call on the US to insist on full abortion coverage in the health care for congressional staff.

  • 07 September 2013 ( Urgent: Call for Peace Negotiations in Syria )

    Everyone: call on presidents Obama and Rouhani to negotiate peace in Syria.

  • 07 September 2013 ( Urgent: Support Eritrea's Prisoners )

    Everyone: call on Eritrea to identify all the prisoners in its secret prisons, and charge them with real crimes or release them.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-11 because the old link was broken.]

  • 07 September 2013 ( University presidents' rates of pay )

    University presidents are demanding skyrocketing rates of pay , like business CEOs.

  • 07 September 2013 ( Collecting the voices of anti-fundamentalists Muslims )

    Collecting the voices of anti-fundamentalists Muslims.

  • 07 September 2013 ( Reform of massive government snooping )

    Some things Obama should do if he were serious about reform of massive government snooping.

  • 07 September 2013 ( Genetically engineered rice )

    Genetically engineered rice, touted as a supposed solution to Vitamin A shortage in parts of the world, has not been tested enough to be sure it really helps, or even is safe.

  • 07 September 2013 ( Urgent: Support reform of the US mining law )

    US citizens: support reform of the US mining law , to reduce pollution and make mining companies pay.

  • 07 September 2013 ( Majuro declaration )

    In the Majuro declaration, Australia and New Zealand agreed to the need to end greenhouse gas emissions.

    There is no way to eliminate them completely; we breathe out CO2 . (The biosphere can absorb a certain rate of emissions.) However, the goal of eliminating the emissions is correct as a first approximation.

  • 07 September 2013 ( US continues to protect right-wing murderers )

    The US continues to protect right-wing murderers , including the man accused of murdering singer Victor Jara in Chile as part of the US-organized coup.

    The US does not mention this when it criticizes countries that protect Edward Snowden.

  • 07 September 2013 ( Abortion based on the sex of fetus )

    Some countries have banned selective abortion based on the sex of the fetus . They mean well, but this is as bad as any other attack on abortion rights.

    When women decide on abortion based on the sex of the fetus, that usually reflects bigotry against women, which we should oppose. However, the worldwide conservative assault against abortion rights (and, beyond that, contraception, homosexual rights, and more) must be opposed too. To support any plan to restrict abortions supports that assault and puts all sorts of sexual freedoms in danger. If intended as a way to oppose bigotry, it may backfire, since the religious groups that oppose abortion tend to be very sexist.

    We should denounce and oppose sexist bigotry in other ways, not this way.

  • 07 September 2013 ( FinFisher repression software )

    There is no way to prevent the FinFisher repression software from falling into the hands of repressive states such as Bahrain.

    The article says that FinFly can attack "any" computer, but in fact that depends on what system is running. Perhaps it attacks mobile phones through the universal back door that they all have.

  • 07 September 2013 ( Republicans excuse to cut food stamps )

    Republicans still pretend that the poor in the US are "unwilling to work" as an excuse to cut the food stamps that they depend on.

    Of course, they are responsible for the policies that result in not enough jobs and low pay. They kick Americans coming and going.

  • 07 September 2013 ( Nigeria plans to follow US )

    Nigeria plans to follow the US example with unlimited snooping on portable phones.

  • 07 September 2013 ( Taliban murdered Indian woman who wrote about her escape )

    Taliban murdered an Indian woman who wrote about her escape from Afghanistan in the 90s. She returned to Afghanistan later.

    The Taliban's oppression of women is the reason that I supported the conquest of Afghanistan in 2001. If I could snap my fingers and kill all the Taliban, I would do it immediately — but there is no way to do that, and with no better leader than Karzai to oppose them, it is impossible to defeat them in Afghanistan. Defeating them would require many Afghans to be determined to fight them, not just to dislike them.

    An army of Afghan women, who would prefer death to surrendering to the Taliban, might have been able to defeat them.

  • 07 September 2013 ( Forget Red Lines )

    Forget Red Lines: Obama Should Eat His Words on Syria.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-11 because the old link was broken.]

  • 07 September 2013 ( US public libraries under pressure to install filters )

    US public libraries are under government pressure to install filters, and these filters often block quite a lot . You can push back against this.

  • 06 September 2013 ( NSA perversion of commercial encryption software )

    The NSA has worked with companies to introduce weaknesses into commercial encryption software .

    If the US government stood for the American people, and this coup had been achieved against enemy governments, I'd congratulate the NSA in principle (and I'd be glad if we did not find out about it). But the US government works for the plutocrats, and the victims of this are us.

    This article covers the same issue but has some different information.

  • 06 September 2013 ( UN inspectors to test for use of chemical weapons more thoroughly )

    The UN inspectors will do a more thorough job of testing for use of chemical weapons.

  • 06 September 2013 ( Snowden receives Whistleblower Prize )

    Accepting Whistleblower Prize, Snowden Declares This Belongs to the Public' .
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-11 because the old link was broken.]

  • 06 September 2013 ( Strict measures introduced to cut air pollution in Beijing )

    China has introduced extremely strict measures to cut air pollution in Beijing.

  • 06 September 2013 ( Rats exposed to Roundup-ready corn die younger )

    Prof Séralini's study found that rats exposed for two years to Roundup, or to Roundup-ready corn, die younger.

    The studies used as the basis for approving GMOs last too short a time to test for this effect.

  • 06 September 2013 ( Pat Robertson accused of massive fraud )

    Pat Robertson is accused of a massive fraud: raising millions for a nonexistent medical aid campaign for Zaire.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-11 because the old link was broken.]

  • 06 September 2013 ( Attempt to make airlines pay for CO2 emissions mostly defeated )

    With help from from the US, the organization that regulates airlines has mostly defeated the European attempt to make them pay for CO2 emissions.

    This is in exchange for a small step towards a weak tax that may never even go into effect.

    This shows that Obama is on the side of the companies that want to fry our planet.

  • 06 September 2013 ( Deaths in the US due to air pollution )

    Air pollution kills 200,000 people a year in the US , and they lose around 10 years of their lives.

  • 06 September 2013 ( Urgent: Drop private prison companies )

    In the US: call on investors to drop private prison companies.

  • 06 September 2013 ( Urgent: Oppose SOPA )

    US citizens: oppose Obama's plan to bring back SOPA.

  • 06 September 2013 ( Right-wing Republican billionaire wants Obama to attack Syria )

    A right-wing Republican billionaire wants Obama to attack Syria, apparently because he's a supporter of Israeli expansionism .

  • 06 September 2013 ( The Domestic Workers Treaty )

    All countries should ratify the Domestic Workers Treaty, which gives domestic workers the same rights that other workers get .

  • 06 September 2013 ( Surveillance of the Internet in European countries )

    Are other European countries surveilling the Internet like the US and UK?

  • 06 September 2013 ( Aggressive campaign to spread stories that support China's gov't )

    The president of China called for an aggressive campaign to have people spread stories that support the government.

  • 06 September 2013 ( Great Lakes shrinking )

    Global heating is making the Great Lakes shrink .

  • 06 September 2013 ( Travis McCrea's apology letter to the US border guards agency )

    Travis McCrea of the Canadian Pirate Party apologizes to the US border guards agency for misunderstanding them, over and over, while they held him prisoner for two hours.

  • 06 September 2013 ( Would Bombing Syria Deter the Use of Chemical Weapons? )

    Would Bombing Syria Deter the Use of Chemical Weapons?

  • 05 September 2013 ( Urgent: Pressure Iceland to stop killing whales )

    US citizens: call on US officials to pressure Iceland to stop killing whales.

  • 05 September 2013 ( Assange filed a complaint )

    Assange has filed a complaint against illegal US espionage and perhaps theft carried out in Europe.

  • 05 September 2013 ( The NSA spied on al-Jazeera )

    The NSA spied on al-Jazeera.

  • 05 September 2013 ( Should We Fall Again for "Trust Me" )

    Kerry, Should We Fall Again for "Trust Me"?

  • 05 September 2013 ( Many leaks of radioactive water at Fukushima )

    There seem to be many leaks of radioactive water at Fukushima , and only straws to grasp at to stop it from leaking into the ocean.

  • 05 September 2013 ( Iowa banned tele-medicine )

    Iowa has interfered with attacked abortion rights by banning use of tele-medicine — only in regard to abortions.

  • 05 September 2013 ( Urgent: Limit "for-profit colleges" from driving students into debt )

    US citizens: Support government measures to limit "for-profit colleges" from driving students into debt.

  • 05 September 2013 ( Obama regime puts gag order on journalist Barret Brown )

    The Obama regime is trying to forbid journalist Barrett Brown (and his lawyers) from talking to the media .

    Brown's charges mainly have to do with posting a link to a web page where data obtained from Stratfor had been posted by others.

    He also posted a page of violent threats against a US agent who was hounding him. Brown he seems to be guilty on this one point, so I cannot claim he has done nothing wrong. However, the other charges raise a more important issue — Obama, as usual, is attacking freedom of the press.

    Even if they gag Barrett Brown, others including me will continue informing Americans about the injustice of this case, and that Obama is the enemy of journalism and democracy in the US.

    Later: the gag order was issued .

    We can make the US government regret this by talking about the case even more.

  • 05 September 2013 ( US stopping EU from taxing airlines for CO2 emissions )

    The US is using a manipulable international organization to stop the EU from taxing airlines for their CO2 emissions.

  • 05 September 2013 ( US appeals court decides in favor of vulture funds )

    A US appeals court decided in favor of vulture funds that are betting they can destroy plans to restructure the debt of bankrupt countries .

  • 05 September 2013 ( Egyptian military gov't labels dissidents "Islamists" to arrest them )

    The Egyptian military government arrests any sort of dissidents , even leftist, and people who get in their way, on the pretext that they are "Islamists".

  • 05 September 2013 ( The tanks holding contaminated water at Fukushima )

    The tanks holding contaminated water at Fukushima were built in a hurry , with quality control set aside.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-11 because the old link was broken.]

    Maybe the haste was necessary at the time — but, if so, they should have built more solid replacement tanks once the water was initially contained.

    Even higher radiation levels have been found near the tanks.

    It is impossible to keep the cost of nuclear power down, given all the risks .

    It is an exaggeration to describe a nuclear reactor as a "slow motion detonation", like describing your metabolism as a "slow motion fire". But that doesn't invalidate the conclusions.

  • 05 September 2013 ( US videotapes of the torture of Mohammed al-Qahtani )

    The Center for Constitutional Rights is suing for release of US videotapes of the torture of Mohammed al-Qahtani.

  • 05 September 2013 ( EU considers plan to put speed limiters on all cars )

    The EU is considering a plan to put speed limiters on all cars .

    Making the system warn the driver could be a good thing; making it a hard limit would be nasty, as speed limits on some roads are too low.

    I worry also about whether this system would do surveillance. Having a camera recognize speed limit signs would not inherently imply surveillance, but if the system keeps a history of the signs it sees or the speed of the car at each time, that would effectively add up to surveillance. As for the vaguely described satellite-based system, that might involve surveillance depending on details.

  • 05 September 2013 ( Israel cheating Palestinian Authority )

    Israel is cheating the Palestinian Authority of 300 million dollars a year .

  • 05 September 2013 ( Don't believe the whitewash of Larry Summers )

    Don't believe the whitewash of Larry Summers — here's a series of times when he supported harmful or unjust economic policies .

  • 04 September 2013 ( "Child porn" laws interfere with journalism )

    Richard Falkvinge: "child porn" laws aren't as bad as you think — they're much much worse . They cause a litany of injustices, including interference with journalism of the most socially important kind.

  • 04 September 2013 ( The complexity of the parallel Syrian conflicts )

    The complexity of the parallel Syrian conflicts , and why US intervention could not thread the maze.

  • 04 September 2013 ( Israel refuses to explain why troops killed Palestinian journalists )

    In December 2012, Israeli troops killed Palestinian journalists (noncombatants) with a missile. Israel still refuses to explain why .

  • 04 September 2013 ( Palestinian family moves into cave after soldiers demolish house )

    A Palestinian family in a suburb annexed to East Jerusalem has moved to a cave which used to be their stable, after soldiers demolished their house.

  • 04 September 2013 ( Israelis protest against plan to destroy Bedouin villages )

    Israelis protested against the government's plan to destroy Bedouin villages in the Negev.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-11 because the old link was broken.]

  • 04 September 2013 ( Rubber-coated metal bullets used against protesters )

    Israeli human rights groups call for an end to shooting rubber-coated metal bullets at protests . These bullets, while promoted as nonlethal, have killed many people and a sharpshooter can maximize that chance.

  • 04 September 2013 ( Peace between Israel and Palestine )

    Uri Avnery discusses what is needed for peace between Israel and Palestine , including most controversially that Israel must apologize for the catastrophe that Zionism caused for Palestinians.

  • 04 September 2013 ( The West Bank )

    Jeff Cohen: My Surprisingly Inspiring Trip to the West Bank .

  • 04 September 2013 ( Sri Lanka stepping up repression of Tamils and dissidents )

    In 2009, Sri Lanka's forces killed perhaps 70,000 Tamil civilians; then they massacred captured rebels. The government is stepping up the repression of Tamils and dissidents.

    The article mentions the assassination of Lasantha Wickrematunge, whose posthumous last editorial accused the state of killing him.

  • 04 September 2013 ( Global heating predicted to change rainfall in Brazil )

    Global heating is predicted to change rainfall in Brazil and damage agriculture .

  • 04 September 2013 ( Obama trying to win Republican support )

    Obama is proposing a larger intervention in Syria to win Republican support.

    I would support intervention to topple Assad if his likely replacement were not Islamists.

  • 04 September 2013 ( Urgent: Oppose attacking Syria )

    US citizens: phone your congresscritter to oppose attacking Syria .
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-11 because the old link was broken.]

    Also use this page to write to your congresscritter about it.

    The Capitol Switchboard numbers are 202-224-3121, 888-818-6641 and 888-355-3588.

  • 04 September 2013 ( People should have a chance to value work itself )

    People should have a chance to value work itself, not only as a way to get money .

  • 03 September 2013 ( Effects of the chronic stress in the lives of poor people )

    The chronic stress in the lives of poor people makes them vulnerable to predatory lending with enormous interest rates .

  • 03 September 2013 ( Slowdown in atmospheric heating since 2000 )

    The slowdown in atmospheric heating since 2000 fits a model based on a climatic oscillation in the Pacific Ocean with a period of a few decades.

    This oscillation drives the extra heat down into the ocean so that it doesn't all remain in the air. This half of the cycle won't last forever.

  • 03 September 2013 ( Negotiations with Iran might help make peace in Syria )

    Serious negotiations with Iran might help make peace in Syria.

  • 03 September 2013 ( Afghan gov't forces taking heavy casualties )

    Afghan government forces are taking heavy casualties as the Taliban attack.

    To defeat the Taliban would require a determination to win, which I don't think that Karzai's corrupt government can ever inspire.

  • 03 September 2013 ( Assad using schools to shield forces )

    Assad is moving forces into schools to shield them from a possible US attack .

    I think this violates the Geneva conventions.

  • 03 September 2013 ( Conflicting reports about chemical weapons used in Syria )

    Some reports attribute chemical weapons to Assad's men and others to the Sa'udi-supported al-Nusra Islamist group. Neither can be proved .

  • 02 September 2013 ( Urgent: Call on Congress to oppose bombing Syria )

    US citizens: call on Congress to oppose bombing Syria.

  • 02 September 2013 ( Facebook users can no longer decline use of their names in ads )

    Facebook will no longer allow users to decline to let their names be used in advertisements . More than ever, Facebook is really Suckerberg.

    In addition, Facebook secretly collects users' phone numbers. The article says it is not clear why. Perhaps it's a favor for the NSA.

  • 02 September 2013 ( Egypt jamming al-Jazeera transmissions )

    Egypt is jamming al-Jazeera transmissions .

    This is in addition to impeding al-Jazeera from broadcasting .

  • 02 September 2013 ( Obama's new poodle )

    Explaining to Francois Hollande what it means to be Obama's new poodle.

  • 02 September 2013 ( Crop pests spreading away from equator )

    A study of 600 crop pests finds they have been spreading away from the equator at almost 2 miles a year , on the average.

    The spread is not uniform. Some pests, in some regions, have spread hundreds of miles northward.

  • 02 September 2013 ( AT&T maintains complete database of cell phone calls )

    AT&T maintains a complete database of cell phone call records going back to 1987 for the US government to examine at will.

  • 02 September 2013 ( Protests against gov't corruption in the Philippines )

    Hundreds of thousands protested government corruption in the Philippines.

    The US government is fundamentally corrupt too, selling laws to the businesses that bid the most.

  • 02 September 2013 ( German newspaper faces prosecution for mentioning a web site )

    In Germany, a newspaper faces prosecution for mentioning the name of a web site that facilitates unauthorized copying.

  • 02 September 2013 ( Greek fascist party puts Jewish communist on trial )

    The Greek fascist party has put a Jewish communist on trial for a violent-sounding statement , but the fascists are not tried even when they commit violence.

  • 02 September 2013 ( Leader of Burmese protest sentenced to two years in prison )

    The leader of a Burmese protest against imposition of a mine has been sentenced to two years in prison . The charges amount to "protesting", under other names.

    In Burma, the mine is Chinese-owned, but similar protests are occurring in South Africa and Peru (and elsewhere) against mines owned by Western companies.

  • 02 September 2013 ( Indonesian regime forced indigenous leaders to sign away land )

    The Indonesian regime forced indigenous leaders in West Papua to sign away land to a large agribusiness , threatening to label them as "separatists" and punish them otherwise.

    I don't know whether they are separatists, but they have every right to be. The inhabitants of West Papua have no cultural or historical relationship with Indonesia, which took over the region by force. Subsequently it sent large numbers of Javanese to colonize the area.

  • 02 September 2013 ( GCHQ snoops on nearly all of Europe's Internet traffic )

    GCHQ snoops on nearly all of Europe's Internet traffic.

  • 02 September 2013 ( Guards kicking and beating prisoners in an Angolan prison )

    A video made inside an Angolan prison shows guards kicking and beating prisoners who were sitting on the ground , perhaps as a nonviolent protest.

    Prisoners in California are protesting against long-term solitary confinement which is effectively equivalent to torture.

  • 02 September 2013 ( Neelie Kroes Pushing Telcos' Agenda to End Net Neutrality )

    Neelie Kroes Pushing Telcos' Agenda to End Net Neutrality.

  • 02 September 2013 ( Rich in US increased wealth while most Americans lost )

    Even before 2009, the rich in the US increased their wealth while most Americans lost. (Since 2009, this process has gone even further.)

  • 02 September 2013 ( High radiation levels have been found near a water tank at Fukushima )

    High radiation levels have been found near a water tank at Fukushima, and it is not clear where the radiation came from.

    The company failed to notice this high level of radiation before because the measurements maxed out the meter that was used.

  • 02 September 2013 ( Budget cuts and spread of fire near Yosemite )

    Budget cuts prevented measures that might have retarded the spread of the fire near Yosemite.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-11 because the old link was broken.]

  • 02 September 2013 ( Obama refuses to treat Congress's vote on Syria as binding )

    Obama's men say that he refuses to treat Congress's vote on whether to attack Syria as binding.

    If Congressional opposition is strong enough, he may give way to it.

    The essential point:

    It's hard to imagine a more potent sign of a weak, declining empire than having one's national "credibility" depend upon periodically bombing other countries.

  • 02 September 2013 ( Urgent: Schools and teachers should not promote brands )

    In the US: insist that schools and teachers should not promote (let alone require) specific brands of products to their students.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-11 because the old link was broken.]

  • 02 September 2013 ( Urgent: Women who were forced into prostitution by Japanese Army )

    US citizens: call on the Japanese government to apologize to the women who were forced into prostitution by the Japanese Army , and give them compensation for this crime.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-11 because the old link was broken.]

    You'll note that I call for prostitution and associated activities to be legal, when they are done voluntarily. This is basically because there are no grounds to ban them, but the change would also help protect prostitutes from various wrongs, including the wrong of being forced into prostitution.

  • 02 September 2013 ( State distracts people with rooting for sports teams )

    As Roman emperors managed the people with bread and circuses, the modern state distracts people with rooting for sports teams.

  • 02 September 2013 ( Uri Avnery comments on Obama and Syria )

    Uri Avnery comments on Obama and Syria.

    Avnery's arguments that Assad's men would not have used poison gas at this time seem valid. However, it seems rather unlikely that the rebels have poison gas rockets, and somewhat unlikely they would have been so unscrupulous as to kill lots of civilians on their own side. This leaves me unable to attribute the attack to either side.

    I also can't envision what a good outcome in Syria would consist of. Assad is an oppressor and the Islamists would be oppressors; Syria should not be ruled by either of them, but I don't see how any other government could arise. The unending war between them is horrible, but fighting to help one oppressor beat another is horrible too.

    Perhaps in time the two camps will divide Syria and the fighting will taper off.

  • 02 September 2013 ( Eliminating one species can have disastrous results on ecosystem )

    The example of sea otters demonstrates how eliminating one species can have disastrous results on an entire ecosystem.

    Humans change ecosystems in many ways. When Europeans first visited what is now Sydney, the forest was sparse — because the aborigines kept burning it. Large trees lived through the fires, but bushes burnt up. The Europeans did not allow fires, and this led to dense forests.

  • 02 September 2013 ( People of endangered islands are converting to renewable energy )

    The people of endangered islands in the Pacific Ocean are converting to renewable energy , hoping the rest of the world will follow this example before their homes are underwater.

  • 02 September 2013 ( How Mexican state is tied to drug cartels )

    Journalist Anabel Hernandez braves threats to document how the Mexican state is tied to the drug cartels.

    If they legalize the drug trade, this will become only as bad as the domination of the US by businesses.

  • 01 September 2013 ( US shift towards low-pay dead-end jobs )

    The US shift towards low-pay dead-end jobs is triggered by technological "advances" that we might be better off without , combines with government policies that serve the rich .

  • 01 September 2013 ( Ukrainian thugs plant old gun and grenade in Femen's headquarters )

    Ukrainian thugs planted an old gun and grenade in the headquarters of Femen.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-11 because the old link was broken.]

  • 01 September 2013 ( "Anti-terror" measures threaten survival of a free nation )

    Terrorists can kill people, but to threaten the survival of a free nation as the US or UK requires "anti-terror" measures .

  • 01 September 2013 ( The persistent surveillance of Martin Luther King Jr. )

    J Edgar Hoover's persistent surveillance of Martin Luther King Jr.

  • 01 September 2013 ( United Arab Emirates sentences dissidents to long prison terms )

    Dissidents and human rights lawyers in the United Arab Emirates have been sentenced to long prison terms.

  • 01 September 2013 ( Use of toxic weapons by the US )

    As Obama talks about punishing Assad for using toxic weapons, we should not forget that the US has done this too, repeatedly .

    Assad cannot excuse use of chemical weapons by saying "The US did it too." Both Assad and the US are wrong. If we put Assad on a list to be "sent a message", the US government should be at the top of the list.

  • 01 September 2013 ( 1000 Iraqis killed by terrorist attacks in July )

    1000 Iraqis were killed by terrorist attacks in July.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-11 because the old link was broken.]

  • 01 September 2013 ( US and UK directly aided Saddam Hussein's weapons programs )

    The US and UK directly aided Saddam Hussein's biological and chemical weapons programs .

  • 01 September 2013 ( Finnish Supreme Court rules in favor of censorship )

    The Finnish supreme court ruled in favor of censoring a site that published a list of the sites that are censored in Finland .
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-11 because the old link was broken.]

  • 01 September 2013 ( Measures to reduce tobacco addiction can be blocked using TPP )

    Tobacco companies will be able to use the Trans-Pacific Partnership to block measures to reduce tobacco addiction .

    Americans, let's defeat this treaty now, so that we don't have to protest like Colombians.

    https://stallman.org/trance-pacific-partnership.html

  • 01 September 2013 ( The claim that North Dakota has benefited from fracking )

    The claim that North Dakota has benefited from fracking is mostly hot exhaust gas .

  • 01 September 2013 ( Massive protests against US-Colombia trade treaty continue )

    The Colombian people have been devastated by the unjust trade treaty with the US, and massive protests continue despite government repression.

    "Free trade" treaties systematically weaken democracy ; they are generally good for some businesses, and bad for everyone else.

  • 01 September 2013 ( Urgent: Raise taxes on business and protect social security )

    US citizens: sign this petition to raise taxes on business and protect social security.
    [Reference updated on 2018-03-11 because the old link was broken.]

  • 01 September 2013 ( Ignorance of the National Institute on Drug Abuse )

    The National Institute on Drug Abuse displays total ignorance about marijuana .

    What drugs are they taking?

  • 01 September 2013 ( Obama's push for war in Syria )

    Ralph Nader: Obama, You Cannot Start a War by Yourself .

    Obama said he will consult Congress before attacking Syria, but did not say he will abide by Congress's decision.

    Assad Is a War Criminal, But an Attack Will Do Nothing for the People of Syria .

  • 01 September 2013 ( Saudi Arabia uses unjust law to attack human rights groups )

    In Saudi Arabia, operating an "unregistered organization" is a crime. This evidently unjust law is used to attack human rights groups .

  • 01 September 2013 ( Pakistani TV network faces prosecution )

    A Pakistani TV network faces prosecution for broadcasting pictures of a rebel attack .

  • 01 September 2013 ( Google deletes anti-oil videos from YouTube )

    Google deleted two anti-oil videos from YouTube.

    I would guess that both removals were based on strained, invalid copyright claims.

  • 01 September 2013 ( Tunisian journalist faces five years in jail )

    A Tunisian journalist faces five years in jail for filming when someone threw eggs at a minister .

  • 01 September 2013 ( Proposed law in Bangladesh might threaten human rights defenders )

    A proposed law in Bangladesh might threaten human rights defenders.


    << Next (2014 January - April) | << Next (2014 January - April) | 2013 September - December | Previous (2013 May - August) >>

    Each note starts with a date and a brief topic in parentheses. That text is also a link to that note.
    For instance, if the note starts with "20 July 2003 (Iraq)" then you can link to it with "https://stallman.org/notes/may-aug-03.html#20 July 2003 (Iraq)".

    Return to Richard Stallman's home page .

    Please send comments on these web pages to rms@gnu.org .

    Copyright (C) 2013 Richard Stallman

    Verbatim copying and distribution of this entire article is permitted in any medium, provided this notice is preserved.