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Sunday, October 2nd, 2022

    Time Event
    11:04a
    Zimbabwean author convicted of inciting violence for peaceful protest

    Zimbabwean author Tsitsi Dangarembga was convicted of "inciting violence" for a peaceful protest calling for political reform.

    11:04a
    Genetically engineered trees

    The development of genetically engineered trees is likely to lead to replacing forests with plantations. Tree plantations won't support a variety of wildlife like a forest.

    11:04a
    Manchin's sabotage of environmental permit requirements

    We licked the first attempt to pass Manchin's sabotage of environmental permit requirements. But Biden seems determined to pass it.

    Shame on you for this, Biden.

    11:04a
    Alabama prisoners going on strike

    Alabama prisoners, condemned to work for a pittance, are going on strike. A strike requires even more courage for prisoners than it does for desperate low-wage employees, because the prisoners may face solitary confinement and other privations.

    11:04a
    "Nonprofit" hospitals cheating poor patients

    In the US, "nonprofit" hospital chains cheat poor patients, demanding they pay even when state law says they don't have to, and sending debt collectors after them.

    I suspect that mergers and competition for mergers are part of what turns formerly altruistic organizations greedy. Competition with for-profit companies may be part of it true.

    I propose that states pass laws to prohibit mergers of organizations that provide medical care, and to prohibit for-profit companies from doing that. They should never have existed; let's get rid of them.

    11:04a
    Donations from fossil fuel companies to universities

    Universities must refuse donations from fossil fuel companies, to avoid being corrupted by them.

    11:04a
    Urgent: Keep Manchin's environmental sabotage deal dead

    US citizens: call on your members of Congress to keep Manchin's environmental sabotage deal dead.

    The Capitol Switchboard number is +1-202-224-3121.

    If you call, please spread the word!

    11:04a
    Urgent: Eliminate sales of fossil fuel leases

    US citizens: call on the Department of the Interior to eliminate sales of fossil fuel leases.

    11:04a
    Rejecting the use of carbon offsets

    An Australian mining magnate estimates that only 15% (at most) of supposed carbon offsets offered for sale correspond to real avoidance of carbon emissions. He is converting his iron mining business to zero emissions for real, rejecting the use of offsets.

    I've been criticizing emissions trading as ineffective, and vulnerable to cheating, since 2007,

    11:04a
    India banned the Popular Front of India

    India has banned the Popular Front of India, whose stated purpose is to defend the rights of minorities. The government said it is involved in Islamist terrorism. The organization says it isn't.

    I know nothing about the facts of the matter, but I am sure that it is unjust for any government to declare arbitrarily that a group is "terrorist." Such condemnation should require a trial.

    11:04a
    Chicago shooting survivors sue Smith & Wesson

    *Chicago Fourth of July parade shooting survivors sue Smith & Wesson*, alleging that it practiced *illegally targeting ads at young men at risk of committing violence.*

    11:04a
    Large amount of water dumped on land by hurricanes

    * Hurricane Ian and Hurricane Fiona dumped great amounts of water across larger stretches of land — global heating is to blame.*

    11:04a
    Wolves back on protected list

    Wolves are back on the US list of protected species.

    11:04a
    Lanternfish for fish farms

    Lanternfish are plentiful, and grow fast. To catch them and use them to feed fish farms is tempting. But they also transport large amounts of carbon to the bottom of the ocean, and it mostly stays there. Catching enough of them to make a difference could speed global heating.

    11:04a
    Low-tax "enterprise zones"

    The UK government created low-tax "enterprise zones" with the aim of increasing the jobs available in those places, but this did not achieve very much.

    I also wonder to what extent businesses moved jobs there from other places. If you give businesses special benefits to move jobs to X, they tend to take the jobs from Y and Z.

    Whatever the specific effect of any special benefits for some businesses, it always contributes to the transfer of wealth to business owners from the rest of society.

    11:04a
    Biden's commitment to tackle climate crisis

    * Biden promised to tackle climate crisis but administration’s rhetoric "changed substantially" after the onset of the Ukraine war and it adopted the [fossil fuel] industry's major demands.*

    11:04a
    A reason businesses use subcontractors

    One reason why businesses move jobs to subcontractors is that it helps them get away with treating workers illegally.

    This is why I advocate laws to strictly limit the amount of any kind of work that can be done by subcontracting.

    11:04a
    Call on Anti-Defamation league to stop defaming

    US citizens: call on the Anti-Defamation League to stop defaming Rashida Tlaib, Human Rights Watch, and perhaps also you.

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