| Time |
Event |
| 2:54a |
Years of dispute
The UK will hand the Chagos Islands to Mauritius.
This will allow the exiled Chagosians (many of whom
live in Mauritius) to
return to the Chagos Islands.
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| 2:54a |
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| 2:54a |
Workers’ rights laws
One of the problems that tend to result from the policy that help for
the non-rich can be funded only from "economic growth" is that it
gives plutocrats an all-purpose argument against any measures that
impede their exploitation of workers:
"That will mean less growth!"
We should reject the trickle-down economy, by saying we believe in transfer
some of the rich people's ever-increasing riches to the rest of society.
They have been
increasing their share for decades;
It is high time to re-balance that.
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| 2:54a |
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| 2:54a |
Libertarian Candidate
A number of "Libertarian" local government candidates have been
elected in Australia. They have campaigned on opposition to two very
different ideas: "smart cities" and
15-minute neighborhoods.
The idea that governments want to block people from traveling more
than 15 minutes away from home is absurd. There is no possible
rational motive for such a goal, and no one who wants it. In Britain
the idea of "15-minute neighborhoods" is that the services and
businesses people usually need should be available within 15 minutes
travel from every home.
That is a convenience, not a restriction, and I am in favor of it. Some countries have implemented
that policy and people like it.
That goal has nothing to do with "smart cities", but those really can
be dangerous. They tend to involve systems that (if we don't compel
states to design them for privacy) will track people's movements,
communications, and activities. That is what China uses for its
pervasive repression scheme, "social credit".
I don't think any western country would use snoop cities to stop
people from traveling to places 20 minutes away from home. Why would
they want that? But many western countries might use these snoop-city
systems to punish dissidents — such as those who protest against fossil fuel plans
that would eventually
destroy civilization and kill most people.
Alas, such tracking systems are not just hypothetical. They are
called "mobile phones" and "payment cards". That is why I refuse to
have a mobile phone, and don't use payment cards except for
emergencies. You can join me in resisting them.
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| 2:54a |
LNG study
*New Study Confirms LNG is Worse
for Climate Than Coal.*
Coal is worse an another way: it produces a lot of local toxic
pollution, as well as radioactive fallout (uranium).
So it is important to stop burning coal — but bot by replacing it with other
fossil fuels.
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| 2:54a |
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| 2:54a |
(satire) Micro-Missionaries
(satire) *Vatican Dispatches Micro-Missionaries On First-Ever Trip To
Convert
Native Bacteria.*
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| 2:54a |
Resilience
Denouncing the concept of "resilience" as a public performance that people
in misery owe to
everyone else as inspiration.
This reminds me of what it felt like in my worst years of rejection,
in the 1980s. I would go for months or years without any romantic
possibility, without enough of a beginning that I could learn from it.
Often I would cry, berating myself as unlovable. Then I would get out
of bed and walk over to the terminal. If love was out of reach, I
would at least get something useful done.
If you can get yourself out of bed and into doing some good, and it
takes your mind off the pain, that's resilience, I guess.
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| 2:54a |
Flooding us cities
Animations show what floods predicted for the year 2100 would look like
on
towns of today.
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| 2:54a |
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| 2:54a |
Outlaw poverty
The right-wing Swedish government
is trying to make begging a crime.
i understand that it is unpleasant to be asked for money by a beggar.
But that is no justification for taking out your displeasure on people
who are in a much worse situation. That bespeaks a cruel and callous
attitude.
I do dislike beggars who try to pressure me. For the first, I learned
the firmness to say no. It is very important to have that firmness.
I think it helped me develop the capacity to say no to worse things,
such as pressure to use nonfree software.
As for beggars that lie about their situations. I found a way to
offer help to those who are honest
but not to those who are lying.
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| 2:54a |
Abortion pills
*[Louisiana] officials class mifepristone and misoprostol as "controlled substances" — which medics say could imperil women's lives if
they have hemorrhage.
I think the aim is to confiscate supplies of these pills and perhaps
arrest people for carrying them into Louisiana. People do this to
help women have abortions, in states where that is prohibited.
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| 2:54a |
Carbon capture
Climate scientists called for cancellation of British plans for
large-scale generation of hydrogen gas from fossil fuel, with
hypothetical carbon capture to catch some of the CO2
that would
produce.
Even if the carbon capture works (it has never been made to work
enough to be advantageous), this would still emit lots of greenhouse
gas.
"Blue hydrogen" is supposed to sound similar to "green hydrogen", but
in terms of carbon footprint the two are very different. "Green
hydrogen" is hydrogen made by electrolysis of water, using electricity
generated renew-ably. That would be a low-carbon fuel. But "blue
hydrogen" is hydrogen made by burning fossil fuel, and its production
emits CO2.
Alas, Labour just reaffirmed its decision "invest" around 30 billion
dollars in carbon capture and
continuing greenhouse gas emissions.
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| 2:54a |
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| 8:53a |
Urgent: Investigate Texas Republicans' voter purge
US citizens: call on the DOJ to investigate Texas Republicans'
voter purge.
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| 8:53a |
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| 8:53a |
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| 8:53a |
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| 8:53a |
Urgent: stop funding Mark Robinson
US citizens: call on DoorDash, Google, Walmart, CVS, and other major
corporations to stop funding Mark Robinson's Nazi-excusing and queer-hating
campaign for
governor of North Carolina.
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| 8:53a |
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| 8:53a |
Urgent: abolish death penalty
US citizens: call for abolition of the
death penalty.
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| 8:53a |
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| 8:53a |
Urgent: Elon Musk trillionaire
US citizens: call on Congress to tax Elon Musk before
he becomes a
trillionaire.
If the wrecker grabs the presidency, he will twist laws to help Musk
become a multi-trillionaire by the end of the wrecker's fourth term in
office.
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| 8:53a |
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| 8:53a |
Urgent: Eric Adams
US citizens: call on NYC Mayor Adams to stop trying to force retirees
onto
Medicare "Advantage" plans.
These insurance plans are convenient for people who are basically
well, but can get incredibly expensive for people who are sicker.
When that happens they are far more
expensive than basic Medicare.
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| 8:53a |
Urgent: Sanders resolution
US citizens: call on the Senate to pass Sanders's resolution to block
weapons
sales to Israel.
When Sanders was young, he went to Israel and lived in a kibbutz.
That he now advocates refusing to arm Israel is proof of how clear
the case is for that policy.
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| 8:53a |
Urgent: call on CNN
US citizens: call on CNN to apologize to Rep. Rashida Tlaib for
falsely claiming she had attacked the Michigan
Attorney General for
bring Jewish.
In fact, Rep. Tlaib reproached her for arresting peaceful protesters.
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