| Time |
Event |
| 2:58a |
Report on past violent repression, MEX
*Inquiry into Mexico's [deadly repression from 1965 to 1990]
obstructed by military
and other agencies, board says.*
This repression included the
Tlotelolco massacre in which
soldiers secretly posted by the president in a nearby large building shot a crowd of protesting
students down below.
There were, of course, cops outside that were sent officially to control the protest — but those
cops were not the ones that opened fire. ISTR hearing that the hidden soldiers shot at them so that
they would shoot "back" at the only possible visible enemy.
|
| 2:58a |
World's outdoor-work heat laws
Medical effects of heat cause
tens
or hundreds of thousands of deaths per year. Often there is no record that attributes a death
to heat. In poor countries, especially, no one is likely to determine that a poor person's death
was due to heat.
|
| 2:58a |
Wildfires reaching Athens, GRC
Spreading fires burnt the northwest suburbs of Athens.
Many
houses were destroyed.
There have always been fires in rural areas that took many days to
control, but we have come to expect that the modern state can protect
cities from such fires. That can no longer be assumed. Global
heating produces higher temperatures, and in some places more aridity,
and those combine to enable fires to overwhelm defense.
Coming sooner or later to a city near you — unless we curb
global heating.
|
| 2:58a |
Democracy in the USA
*Is the US Still a Democracy?
'Yes and No,' Says Bernie
Sanders. "I use the term oligarchy... I think we are moving rapidly in that direction."*
I have said basically the same thing for many years, except that I prefer the word "plutocracy".
The two words have a subtle difference but they are mostly the same.
There is no sharp line between a democracy, a degraded democracy such as the US is now, and a
plutocracy. Rather, it is a spectrum. But if we take his issue seriously we must campaign to
reduce the extent of plutocracy.
US democracy is also threatened currently by authoritarian extremism (led by
the corrupter). That
and plutocracy are different currents but they work together.
Is US democracy doomed? I don't know. What I know is that throwing in the towel is foolish because
it guarantees defeat.
|
| 2:58a |
"From the river to the sea"
The German legal system is deliberating on the
precise
meaning of the slogan, "From the river to the sea, Palestine must be free." Specifically, is it
antisemitic?
My conclusion about the slogan is that it is not antisemitic, and does not specifically advocate
doing any harm to Jews as persons, but it does advocate the abolition of Israel. Said abolition
might in certain circumstances be accompanied by a genocide, though in other circumstances it would not.
I don't advocate the abolition of Israel, and I do not associate with use of that slogan. What I
advocate is a free and democratic state of Palestine in the
region alongside Israel. I have
advocated
that for many years. Of course, this is easier said than done.
|
| 1:15p |
(Satire) God as The Infallible
*Newly Sober God Admits He Has No Recollection Of
Creating Universe.*
|
| 1:15p |
Urgent: 2001 AUMF secretive overreach
US citizens:
call on Congress
to repeal of the Authorization for Use of Military Force.
If you phone, please spread the word!
Main Switchboard: +1-202-224-3121
|
| 1:15p |
|
| 1:15p |
Urgent: Biden's constitutional amendment
US citizens: support Biden's proposal for a
"No
One Is Above the Law" amendment.
If you phone, please spread the word!
White House: +1-202-456-1111 and (TTY/TDD) +1-202-456-6213
|
| 1:15p |
Urgent: Financing Netanyahu's Gaza-war
US citizens:
Stand
with Bernie Sanders: Not another nickel for Netanyahu's war. End U.S. funding and weapons sales
to Israel.
If you phone, please spread the word!
Main Switchboard: +1-202-224-3121
|
| 1:15p |
Weapons for US-law-violator Israel?
The US president can cut off arms shipments to Israel without any help
from Congress. He can do this by enforcing two existing laws, which
forbid arms deliveries to countries that (1) violate the
rules of war
or (2) block delivery of
US humanitarian aid.
|
| 1:15p |
Jewish-settler pogrom, West Bank
Fanatical "settlers"
carried
out another pogrom in the West Bank, but this time the president of Israel called it "a pogrom"
and officials have said they will arrest and try the perpetrators.
This might be a significant change. We can't take that for granted, and it would be only a first
step. But we can hope that it is real, and we can encourage that.
|
| 1:15p |
Large family mostly-killed, Gaza
Israeli
bombing killed 18 people in the same family at once.
Families tend to stick together when they flee in search of safety. So if you make a habit of
bombing places where hundreds of civilians are sheltering, and sometimes killing dozens of them, by
chance sometimes the many civilians you kill will include a dozen or two from one family.
Whether the victims are related is not morally crucial. The war crime consists of bombing a place
where there are many civilians. Related or not, civilians are not a legitimate target.
|
| 1:15p |
Urgent: deceptive practices on the young
US citizens:
call
on Congress to ban thugs' use of deception
to trick minors into false confessions.
I signed the petition but we should go further. Many adults are vulnerable to pressure to make
false confessions, and those are unjust no matter who is the victim. We should adopt this measure
regardless of who the victim is.
If you phone, please spread the word!
Main Switchboard: +1-202-224-3121
|
| 1:15p |
How RFK is seeking political power
After RFK Jr tried to corrupt the corruptor,
he reportedly tried corrupting Kamala Harris the same way — he would endorse her
in
exchange for a cabinet job.
The reports say she made no reply to him.
How pitiful it is to try to sell out and find that what you're selling is not worth anything.
|
| 1:15p |
|
| 1:15p |
Unchained billionaires opt to sow chaos
*Inciting rioters in Britain was a test run for Elon Musk. Just see what he
plans
for America.*
We should not suffer anything like today's antisocial media platforms to live. But what is the
crucial aspect that we must make them change? I suggest that it is that they run recommendation
engines and impose them on every user.
We can't be sure that
changing
this would correct the danger, but unless we have a better idea, we should try it.
|