Tuesday, January 31st, 2023

Time	Event
11:02a	US suffers from secrecy The US government suffers, in general, from too much secrecy, plus a double standard for enforcement of secrecy rules (important officials are treated with leniency). The problem of oversecrecy was recognized decades ago, but it got much worse through overreaction to the Sep 2001 attacks. In general, the US reaction to those attacks has been quite harmful (most notably, attacking Iraq based on lies). Whether to mark something as secret depends on a judgment call by some official. The structure of this tends to push officials towards oversecrecy. If they don't mark something secret, and later on it appears that publishing it may have caused some bad consequences, people will blame them. If they do mark something secret, and later on it appears that concealing it caused some bad consequences, no one will blame them. For their career safety, they mark it secret by default. Systematically, the result is oversecrecy. (Comment on this)
11:02a	Urgent: Ban facial recognition and other biometric technology in places of public accommodation US citizens: call for a ban on the use of facial recognition and other biometric technology in places of public accommodation. (Comment on this)
11:02a	Georgia seeks to define "Cop City" protests as terrorism *Georgia is seeking to define "Cop City" protests as terrorism, experts say.* In fact, these protests are generally peaceful. Breaking windows as a protest is not peaceful, but it is not terrorism either. To stretch the definition of "terrorism" is the everpresent danger from officials that incline towards repression, as US officials often do. Officials in other countries do it too. (Comment on this)
11:02a	Central banks handled inflation wrong Stiglitz: economic developments confirm that central banks have handled inflation wrong, based on a misguided model of what was causing it. The increases in interest rates were unnecessary treatment for the wrong disease. (Comment on this)
11:02a	Tunisian protest Tunisians protested the president's diminution of the power of the voters by boycotting recent parliamentary elections. (Comment on this)
11:02a	Santos's fund-raising fraud Rep. Santos's fund-raising reports mention fund-raising supporters who don't seem to exist, nor do their addresses exist. There seems to be a criminal investigation into this. The Republican Party has gone out of its way to demonstrate that it will tolerate any sort of crimes among its elected officials and supporters. But it may be powerless to stop Santos from bring convicted and imprisoned. (Comment on this)
11:02a	Homeless man attacked by thugs Two Florida thugs grabbed a homeless man (whom they may have recognized), handcuffed him, took him to an isolated place, and beat him unconscious. There is no indication of a plausible motive for this attack. The thugs have been arrested. Hooray! (Comment on this)
11:02a	UK anti-protest bill Hong Kong exiles in the UK called on the Tories not to follow China's example by criminalizing peaceful protest. (Comment on this)
11:02a	Urgent: Challenge abortion bans that violate federal law US citizens: call on the Justice Department to challenge all state abortion bans that violate federal law. Urgent: Keep Ilhan Omar on the House Foreign Affairs Committee US citizens: call on Congress to keep Ilhan Omar on the House Foreign Affairs Committee. (Comment on this)
11:02a	Tory and NHS Years of Tory attacks against the NHS have made it very difficult for doctors to work there. Around 40% are planning to quit within the next 5 years. (Comment on this)
11:02a	Iraq marshlands drying Iraq's ancient marshlands, where the Tigris and Euphrates enter the Persian Gulf, are drying out and dying due to global heating with help from other causes. (Comment on this)
11:02a	Jamón ibérico Global heating threatens the production of jamón ibérico. The oak forests are producing fewer of the acorns that the pigs eat. Eventually that forest may disappear, and its ecosystem. (Comment on this)
11:02a	Protesters sentenced to death *Iranian protesters sentenced to death were tortured, says Amnesty report.* In the 1980s, Iran's new (at that time) Islamic Republic used to treat trials as a pointless inconvenience. That tendency is still present. (Comment on this)
11:02a	Solar and wind cheaper than coal *It is cheaper [in the US] to build solar panels or cluster of wind turbines and connect them to the grid than to keep operating coal plants.* (Comment on this)
11:02a	Julian Assange rally The next rally for Julian Assange will be at the Park Street Station on Feb 11th from 11:30 to 12:30. (Comment on this)
11:17a	Urgent: Keep Ilhan Omar on the House Foreign Affairs Committee US citizens: call on Congress to keep Ilhan Omar on the House Foreign Affairs Committee. (Comment on this)

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