#governments — Public Fediverse posts

It is hard to find a pic which sums up Brexity right wing sabotage of #Britain better than this.

Pointless vandalism of something benefiting the entire community and planet ... plus an attached sign begging for the plant to be given any clean, saved household water during morning or evening.

It still amazes me how so many #Brits avoid the real issue of how successive capitalistic, privilege-favouring #Governments exploit them ... by letting themselves be redirected (by those in on the exploitation) to resent anyone different.

It is a stain of stupidity on the British psyche milked and perpetuated by #Farage, #Badenoch, #Johnson, #Gove, #ReesMogg and all similar self-serving enablers, cronies, and unseen donors.

The formula:
Excessive privilege + establishment play 'outsider' and activate dark triad traits in the population ... to extract more from the wider population (while saying 'these are hard times'), joining any corrupt country-sabotaging scheme going, and ensuring psychopathic pro-fossil fuel narrative, corporate-fronted evasion of fair taxation, and genuine improvement of social and health services is avoided, unless for the gain of their dirty deals and donors. All with a thinly spread veneer of 'token' superficial improvements to *seem* non-sabotaging.

Hate-eroded far right 'brains' run to it every time. Lemmings off a cliff, betraying their country while waving the flags obsessively. Moronic.

Franziska Brantner, the Federal Chairwoman of the Green Party, has sharply criticized the federal government for lacking determination following the recent cabi... https://news.osna.fm/?p=61176 | #news #climate #criticizes #economic #governments

4 Desjardins: Some #provincial #governments may, however, be more constrained by their #fiscal realities. #cdnecon #tariffs #tradewar #Canada

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/aug/23/far-right-is-steering-eu-response-on-migration; https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/aug/18/far-right-grip-eu-centrist-coalition-afd-national-rally. "What we are witnessing is not simply the success of the #farright. It is a broader #cultural shift within the #European #political #mainstream... The convergence between #governments as politically different as those of #Denmark & #Italy suggests that positions once associated with the radical right have travelled well beyond it. Parts of the centre-left & centre-right have progressively abandoned a rights-based understanding of #migration."

Hello, fellow hackers,

I am a #whistleblower and have lost access to computing resources for the time being.

I have this code repository, almost ready. It forms the basis of a True Democracy. Basically, voters get to collectively make up the government’s budget. Government departments have to work within the budgets set by the people.

Could someone please clone, tweak, and deploy it to a public website?

This is a topical solution that will fix many issues we face today.

https://gitlab.com/purrperl/peoples-collaborative-budget

Thank you so much!

#hack #hacker #HackThePlanet #government #governments #democracy
#code #software #MutualAidRequest #perl #PerlHacker
#WebDeveloper #MAGA #democrat #republican #UsPol

@collective_truth @RichardJMurphy @aral

Read the pinned post on my profile.

There are a few institutions that work in collusion to run people’s lives, and form the basis of the #Matrix.

1. #Schools
2. #Churches
3. #Governments
4. #Corporations
5. #Media
6. #Banks

Once I became a #whistleblower against the system, in 2023, #WellsFargo #bank would not give me my own money. They still have not.

( Details: https://whistleblower.lovestoblog.com/ )

It’s time for the biblical prophecy to come true, and the money lenders to be kicked out.

Here’s how:
https://rant.li/ashwin/visions-for-a-new-web

AlohaCoin v2 redistributes wealth, and brings about #degrowth

With full bellies, people have the courage to break free of the Matrix, and #disobey leaders. Political, religious, military, corporate leaders etc.

Little incentive for #crime, #war, #violence.

Please boost and spread the message!

I've been saying for years that #SiliconValley operates as a massive #cult - but #PeterThiel (#Palentir) forgot the #1 rule of #cults: don't ever claim to be one.

But here we are faced with a #VentureCapital cult that wants to destroy #democracy, because they want all the power and money.

For how much #antigovernment rhetoric you get from these guys, they sure love colluding with #governments, #despots and #autocrats.

#PeterThiel's Anti-Human Plan Is Pure Evil
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Onphky37vik

#News #ClimateCrisis #Uk Only?
All the #World should be asking #Governments the same question.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/aug/14/green-groups-urge-andy-burnham-to-break-silence-on-climate-crisis

“It seems like #American #firms do not just want #Canadians as customers; they want #businesses, #governments, and individuals to be totally reliant on the American #technology #stack, without any other options for #cloud services, #paymentsystems, #AI models and more.”

RE: https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:5zca2ola2zxpkw37w4f3wxtu/post/3mt2an3b6t225

"...Western countries, our governments are directly complicit and, many times, profiting from Israel’s genocide.

Whatever you do, please don’t judge the entirety of something by the actions of a few and please try and keep things – namely Internet etiquette and genocide – in perspective and ask yourselves what you would do if you were in their shoes."

- #QUOTE @aral
Post: https://mastodon.social/@aral@mastodon.ar.al/117092273556764874

#complicit #governments #genocide
#war #AralBalkan #Israel vs. #Palestine

“Two trends are unfolding in parallel around the world. Public anxiety about #artificialintelligence is growing while communities’ satisfactions in how they #participate in civic activities and contribute to government policy and programs is declining.
Pathways to resolve this tension might be where we least expect them: #governments finding ways to use these technologies to #listenbetter and enable communities to participate more meaningfully.
This paper examines how artificial intelligence and digital platforms are changing what is possible and suggests that a key opportunity is to build #publicsector capability to deliver meaningful #engagement.”

https://australiandemocraticresilience.substack.com/p/e0474853-dc87-4569-bf93-bd11d078459a

https://www.thatprivacyguy.com/blog/chat-control-the-415-who-failed-you/

It would appear that #privacy may well belong to the highest #BigTech or #BigBusiness bidder rather than the people who voted the #politicians in. When will #Governments start to listen to the people that know rather than the people that profit?

🚀🤖 #Governments gambling on AI's #future while struggling with 1990s web tech—because nothing screams cutting-edge like "Please enable JavaScript!" 😜💾
https://www.economist.com/leaders/2026/08/05/governments-are-making-a-dangerous-bet-on-the-ai-boom #AI #WebTech #JavaScript #Innovation #HackerNews #ngated

Governments are making a dangerous bet on the AI boom

https://www.economist.com/leaders/2026/08/05/governments-are-making-a-dangerous-bet-on-the-ai-boom

Comments: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49192160

#HackerNews #AI #boom #Governments #Technology #Risk #Regulation

“The #technology industry, #AIresearchers and #governments alike are grappling with how to understand and mitigate the new dangers unlocked by increasingly powerful #AI tools, with some calling for increased oversight.”

RE: https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:v47nnrjt6wuve56ywmdylxo6/post/3msds2o2jtc2n

#Governments in the #EU will have a hard time explaining away why they still suck up to the #FossilFuelIndustry and weirdo #fascist #billionaires when all of us are directly impacted by the devastating impact of the #heatwaves suffocating #Europe right now that could have been prevented decades ago, and yet radical steps are still not taken today to address the issue.

#truthout #damnright

@Kade1 we vote them in, collectively. I'm disinclined to blame just #governments.

Why #governments keep failing
#ClimateCrisis #neoliberalism
“Too much of our economics in particular assumes today's systems are inevitable. Markets are treated as the answer to every problem, even though we know they are not.
Growth is always the unquestioned objective, although it is glaringly obvious that the limits of #growth are very real on a #finite planet.”
https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2026/07/29/why-governments-keep-failing/#gsc.tab=0

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/jul/29/wildfires-rage-world-climate-action-scientists-fossil-fuels. "Even as more than 35,000 #wildfires rage across the surface of our world, & as we continue to rewind our planet’s #climate so it resembles hotter episodes from its distant past, #governments & #trading blocs are very deliberately turning away from #ClimateAction."

We need to talk about #metadata and the free-market ideology behind how it's treated.

Some people say, "metadata isn't real data." In reality, it's often more revealing. It maps relationships, movements, habits, interests and communities. That's why both #governments and the #dotcons are so eager to collect it.

If you think none of this matters because we're "just individuals in a marketplace" rather than members of a society, you've already absorbed the logic of the #deathcult.

The first step to changing course is naming the poison.

#OMN #4opens #openweb #Privacy

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jul/20/canada-air-quality-warnings-us-wildfire-smoke-trump-tariffs. It seems that #airpollution has now become a mere #political football, & neither the #US nor the #Canadian #governments care tuppence about #Climatechange & its #consequences, @GeraldKutney.

Lot of talk about #AI profitability. Massive amounts of money going in. Businesses using it and not making money. Etc etc. Doesn't matter. #Governments want it. #Surveillance technology depends on it. Doesn't matter if it's wrong now and then. Mostly right will be good enough. Get used to it.

@collective_truth RE: "Perhaps we never had proper control and were working in sub-territories & small bubbles of what is still overall #authoritarian #hierarchical work for #governments / prefectures" 👈🏻 Oooh, is there a reason why you left organisations out of the mess they have created themselves in the first place?

I don't know many democratic orgs. that have survived from over the course of the last 30 years I've been in this industry 😢. Have you?

.cc @NebulaTide @mariafarrell

@NebulaTide @elsua54 @mariafarrell Maybe we never had control from the beginning?

Being slaves of some sort may be natural (like a child needing to follow)...

Perhaps we never had proper control and were working in sub-territories & small bubbles of what is still overall #authoritarian #hierarchical work for #governments / prefectures.

i.e. The #fascistic or army style divisions used to reap / take more than give people something as #reasoned control and #care.

(Said in a positive tone).

RE: https://mastodon.nz/@dayvblack/116818810472357241

'... #rightwing #governments in the #UK and around the world that have focused on #cost-cutting and running down the #public sphere in favour of private provision have neglected and in some cases destroyed #community #amenities, and communities with them. Shared spaces, Mazzucato makes clear in her book, are at the heart of any idea of the common good. “It’s investing in those collective structures,” she says.

Arsenal FC also run children’s football teams and training sessions around north London, an example of the common good in action. “My kids all used to play [at nearby pitches] there on Friday nights, and I used to almost cry when I’d go there. You just see hundreds of kids and their parents, lots of them from the local estates, and I used to think, imagine if this was normal, imagine if this was everywhere, people had a place to go,” she says. “It’s not that it would solve #crime, but I literally would bet that if you made a kind of Marshall plan #investment in soccer pitches, public #libraries, public pools, and made it beautiful, you would see #health benefits and lower crime and a lower #cost to the state. We shouldn’t just do it because it’s good for people – which is the reason to do it – but it also costs you less, ultimately.”'

“In keeping with the #neoliberal approach that has dominated #economic #policymaking for the past half-century, #governments have generally been expected to intervene only after #markets fail. But when it comes to #AI, a wait-and-see approach could prove catastrophic.”

RE: https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:5zca2ola2zxpkw37w4f3wxtu/post/3mqrtuylt522w

@KimPerales #Grow out of it: boost #GDP so #debt becomes easier to carry. This is cleanest route, but it needs strong #growth

#Austerity: cut spending and raise taxes to shrink deficits. This can work, but it often slows the economy and can worsen debt short term.

#Inflation: let prices rise faster than debt. reduces the real value of fixed debt, especially if the debt is in the local currency.

#Financialrepression: keep interest rates artificially low + steer savings into #gov bonds, so debt is cheap to roll over.

#Restructuring or default: change terms, extend maturities, cut principal, or stop paying part of debt.

#Debtmonetization: central bank buys gov debt, effectively financing the state with money creation. can relieve pressure, but risks inflation or currency loss.

#Capitalcontrols / exchange-rate tools: reduce chance of money fleeing the country, especially when debt is in foreign currency.

#War time or emergency #taxation

In practice, #governments usually mix these.

#LeaveX

Great to see that our #democratic #governments and institutions including #Germany and the #EU are still posting on the #AntiDemocratic #Farright and full of #facism platform #X about the #Iranian #regime and #IranWar.

When will our democratic governments and institutions leave X?

#Iran #merz #vonderLeyen #socialmedia

... General strike which is going to take place on 28-29 November 2025 under the slogan: “Say NO to the Meloni government's budget law – stand with ...

WFTU Solidarity Statement with the Strike in Italy 25 Nov 2025by central wftu The World Federation of Trade Unions, the militant voice of more that 105 million workers who live, work and struggle in 134 countries of the 5 continents, expresses its u…#wftu #solidarity #statement #strike #italy #nov #central #world #federation #trade #unions #militant #voice #million #workers #live #work #struggle #countries #continents #expresses #undivided #working #class #general #going #take #place #- #november #slogan #say #meloni #government #s #budget #law #stand #palestinian #people #stop #genocide #conscious #dignified #reaction #popular #strata #war #economy #preparations #reduce #resources #health #education #services #increase #precariousness #undermining #interests #pensioners #students #unemployed #international #class-oriented #union #movement #struggles #peace #immediate #end #wars #imperialist #intervention #affiliates #globe #fight #society #wealth #producers #will #allocated #produce #labor #toil #join #worker #just #demands #wage #permanent #stable #living #conditions #--- #dear #comrades #unione #sindacale #base #usb #salute #including #palestine #call #national #also #deeply #appreciate #long-lasting #unwavering #facing #resisting #israel #ongoing #years #settler-colonialism #apartheid #strikes #shed #bright #light #shameful #complicity #italian #corporations #enabling #illegal #occupation #palestinians #shown #power #inspired #many #across #dockworkers #called #september #october #recent #announced #well #disruptive #actions #preventing #stopping #military #cargo #ports #directed #genocidal #can #play #key #role #escalating #peacefully #disrupting #crimes #civil #large #response #meaningful #global #weekend #action #bds #welcomed #news #ceasefire #agreement #reached #however #continues #killing #starving #maiming #albeit #different #form #even #real #important #first #step #livestreamed #illegally #occupied #besieged #gaza #strip #without #massive #pressure #combined #trump-netanyahu #plan #constitutes #continuation #less #visible #us #hope #provoke #regional #outrage #boycotts #sanctions #repercussions #planned #annihilation #denial #refugees #rights #yet #won #needed #ever #begins #ending #serious #accountability #moral #legal #obligations #see #know #tide #turned #must #back #precisely #brought #wave #targeted #spain #t #rkyie #malaysia #colombia #slovenia #antigua #barbuda #governments #globally #isolated #internationally-wanted #prime #minister #recently #admitted #understood #desperate #attempt #relieve #isolation #save #-year-old #regime #settler-colonial #oppression #reasons #professional #urgently #renew #around #escalate #effort #colonial #calls #movements #put #center #adopt #highest #priority #mobilisations #express #liberation #self-determination #return #reparations #uphold #following #icj #rulings #starting #imposing #comprehensive #embargo #halting #sale #purchase #transfer #transit #parts #dual-use #items #ensuring #user #compliance #eni #halt #oil #petrol #launch #broad #intersectional #campaigns #compel #institutions #city #councils #universities #hospitals #etc #ethical #procurement #investment #policies #applicable #exclude #companies #knowingly #persistently #involved #grave #human #violations #particularly #humanity #forces #broader #economic #academic #cultural #sports #mahmoud #nawajaa #coordinator #committee #bnc #tras #el #anuncio #sindicato #syndicale #de #convocatoria #huelga #horas #para #pr #ximo #d #noviembre #frente #sindical #obrero #canarias #saluda #clase #obrera #italiana #sus #organizaciones #y #especialmente #organizaci #n #hermana #camaradas #fieles #nuestros #principios #manifestamos #todo #nuestro #apoyo #lucha #anticapitalista #apoyamos #esta #las #movilizaciones #que #dar #lugar #abrazo #fraternal #los #piquetes #autentica #vanguardia #saludo #asambleas #comit #muy #especial #juventud #trabajadora #convocada #abre #camino #toda #en #contra #presupuestos #guerra #militarizaci #econom #diferentes #pa #ses #sin #reservas #reivindicaci #inmediata #ruptura #concreci #palestina #libre #desde #rio #hasta #mar #les #deseamos #todas #suertes #fuerzas #todos #xitos #alguna #forma #sentimos #tambi #nuestra #viva #secretario #pol #tico #daniel #casal
Messaggi di solidarietà internazionale ad USB per lo sciopero generale del 28 novembre

... General strike which is going to take place on 28-29 November 2025 under the slogan: “Say NO to the Meloni government's budget law – stand with ...

WFTU Solidarity Statement with the Strike in Italy 25 Nov 2025by central wftu The World Federation of Trade Unions, the militant voice of more that 105 million workers who live, work and struggle in 134 countries of the 5 continents, expresses its u…#wftu #solidarity #statement #strike #italy #nov #central #world #federation #trade #unions #militant #voice #million #workers #live #work #struggle #countries #continents #expresses #undivided #working #class #general #going #take #place #- #november #slogan #say #meloni #government #s #budget #law #stand #palestinian #people #stop #genocide #conscious #dignified #reaction #popular #strata #war #economy #preparations #reduce #resources #health #education #services #increase #precariousness #undermining #interests #pensioners #students #unemployed #international #class-oriented #union #movement #struggles #peace #immediate #end #wars #imperialist #intervention #affiliates #globe #fight #society #wealth #producers #will #allocated #produce #labor #toil #join #worker #just #demands #wage #permanent #stable #living #conditions #--- #dear #comrades #unione #sindacale #base #usb #salute #including #palestine #call #national #also #deeply #appreciate #long-lasting #unwavering #facing #resisting #israel #ongoing #years #settler-colonialism #apartheid #strikes #shed #bright #light #shameful #complicity #italian #corporations #enabling #illegal #occupation #palestinians #shown #power #inspired #many #across #dockworkers #called #september #october #recent #announced #well #disruptive #actions #preventing #stopping #military #cargo #ports #directed #genocidal #can #play #key #role #escalating #peacefully #disrupting #crimes #civil #large #response #meaningful #global #weekend #action #bds #welcomed #news #ceasefire #agreement #reached #however #continues #killing #starving #maiming #albeit #different #form #even #real #important #first #step #livestreamed #illegally #occupied #besieged #gaza #strip #without #massive #pressure #combined #trump-netanyahu #plan #constitutes #continuation #less #visible #us #hope #provoke #regional #outrage #boycotts #sanctions #repercussions #planned #annihilation #denial #refugees #rights #yet #won #needed #ever #begins #ending #serious #accountability #moral #legal #obligations #see #know #tide #turned #must #back #precisely #brought #wave #targeted #spain #t #rkyie #malaysia #colombia #slovenia #antigua #barbuda #governments #globally #isolated #internationally-wanted #prime #minister #recently #admitted #understood #desperate #attempt #relieve #isolation #save #-year-old #regime #settler-colonial #oppression #reasons #professional #urgently #renew #around #escalate #effort #colonial #calls #movements #put #center #adopt #highest #priority #mobilisations #express #liberation #self-determination #return #reparations #uphold #following #icj #rulings #starting #imposing #comprehensive #embargo #halting #sale #purchase #transfer #transit #parts #dual-use #items #ensuring #user #compliance #eni #halt #oil #petrol #launch #broad #intersectional #campaigns #compel #institutions #city #councils #universities #hospitals #etc #ethical #procurement #investment #policies #applicable #exclude #companies #knowingly #persistently #involved #grave #human #violations #particularly #humanity #forces #broader #economic #academic #cultural #sports #mahmoud #nawajaa #coordinator #committee #bnc #tras #el #anuncio #sindicato #syndicale #de #convocatoria #huelga #horas #para #pr #ximo #d #noviembre #frente #sindical #obrero #canarias #saluda #clase #obrera #italiana #sus #organizaciones #y #especialmente #organizaci #n #hermana #camaradas #fieles #nuestros #principios #manifestamos #todo #nuestro #apoyo #lucha #anticapitalista #apoyamos #esta #las #movilizaciones #que #dar #lugar #abrazo #fraternal #los #piquetes #autentica #vanguardia #saludo #asambleas #comit #muy #especial #juventud #trabajadora #convocada #abre #camino #toda #en #contra #presupuestos #guerra #militarizaci #econom #diferentes #pa #ses #sin #reservas #reivindicaci #inmediata #ruptura #concreci #palestina #libre #desde #rio #hasta #mar #les #deseamos #todas #suertes #fuerzas #todos #xitos #alguna #forma #sentimos #tambi #nuestra #viva #secretario #pol #tico #daniel #casal
Messaggi di solidarietà internazionale ad USB per lo sciopero generale del 28 novembre

Official website of the Republic of Belarus. 🇧🇾🇧🇾🇧🇾

https://www.belarus.by/en

#belarus #republicofbelarus #беларусь #білорусь #рэспублікабеларусь #республикабеларусь #республікабілорусь #officialwebsite #officialsite #governmentwebsite #government #governments #egovernment #egovernance #europe #европа #еўропа #європа #sofiaflorina #ソフィアフロリナ

Te #USdollar is becoming a #debased #currency, fraught by debauchery of successive #GOP #governments & #tRumped by te most #corrupt & #despotic #POTUS47.🤦‍♂️

#Dollar struggles to recover from dovish Powell gut punch
"Powell's Jackson Hole message cleared te #market's #lowbar for dovishness.. Te dollar has been under additional pressure in recent weeks as #US President Donald Trump's attacks on Powell & other Fed #policymakers raised concerns abt #centralbank #independence"🧐
https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/dollar-struggles-recover-dovish-powell-gut-punch-2025-08-25/

The world can no longer afford two things:
🔸the costs of economic inequality;
🔸and the rich.

Between 2020 and 2022, the world’s most affluent 1% of people captured nearly twice as much of the new global wealth created as did the other 99% of individuals put together
And in 2019 they emitted as much #carbon #dioxide as the poorest two-thirds of humanity.
In the decade to 2022, the world’s billionaires more than doubled their wealth, to almost US$12 trillion.

The evidence gathered by social epidemiologists, including us, shows that large differences in income are a powerful #social #stressor that is increasingly rendering societies dysfunctional.
For example, bigger gaps between rich and poor are accompanied by higher rates of #homicide and #imprisonment.
They also correspond to more #infant #mortality, #obesity, #drug #abuse and @COVID-19 #deaths, as well as higher rates of teenage pregnancy and lower levels of child well-being, social mobility and public trust
The #homicide rate in the United States
— the most unequal Western democracy
— is more than 11 times that in Norway (see go.nature.com/49fuujr).
#Imprisonment rates are ten times as high, and infant mortality and obesity rates twice as high.

These problems don’t just hit the poorest individuals, although the poorest are most badly affected.
Even #affluent people would enjoy a better quality of life if they lived in a country with a more equal distribution of wealth, similar to a Scandinavian nation.
They might see improvements in their mental health and have a reduced chance of becoming victims of violence; their children might do better at school and be less likely to take dangerous drugs.

The costs of inequality are also excruciatingly high for #governments.
For example, the Equality Trust, a charity based in London (of which we are patrons and co-founders), estimated that the United Kingdom alone could save more than £100 billion ($126 billion) per year if it reduced its inequalities to the average of those in the five countries in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) that have the smallest income differentials
— Denmark, Finland, Belgium, Norway and the Netherlands5.
And that is considering just four areas: greater number of years lived in full health, better mental health, reduced homicide rates and lower imprisonment rates.
Many commentators have drawn attention to the environmental need to limit economic growth and instead prioritize sustainability and well-being.
Here we argue that tackling inequality is the foremost task of that transformation.
Greater @equality will reduce unhealthy and excess consumption, and will increase the #solidarity and #cohesion that are needed to make societies more adaptable in the face of climate and other emergencies.

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-00723-3

#Lawsuits Have Become the Weapon of Choice Against #Activists

Legal intimidation suits known as “#SLAPPs” are becoming the norm for private #corporations and #governments trying to silence those who speak out on matters of public interest.

by Katie Redford
July 17, 2023

“On May 31, #Atlanta #SWAT teams with riot gear and battering rams broke down #MarlonKautz’s door. Police dragged Kautz and two colleagues to jail in their pajamas, charging them with #MoneyLaundering and charity fraud.

“Kautz, Adele MacLean, and Savannah Patterson, are volunteer board members of the #NetworkForStrongCommunities Inc., which was incorporated in 2020. Through it, they are able to raise funds for the #AtlantaSolidarityFund (#ASF). Since 2016, the fund has bailed out people arrested in #Georgia while exercising their First Amendment right to protest and helped them find legal help.

“Recently, the ASF has supported Atlanta activists who have been protesting a new $90 million police training center known as '#CopCity,' arguing that it will rob Atlanta of a #VitalGreenLung and increase inequality in surrounding neighborhoods. The state of Georgia, on the other hand, has charged dozens with 'domestic terrorism' for participating in largely peaceful protests.

“Georgia authorities claim that the money laundering charge is based on evidence of a fund transfer to another organization, but they haven’t shared any other details about their allegations. Magistrate Judge Altman, who presided over the bail hearing, described the state’s evidence as 'unimpressive,' reinforcing the defendants’ claims that the arrests are politically, not legally, motivated.

“Shortly after the arrest, Governor Brian Kemp announced that the state would go after everyone involved, and Attorney General Chris Carr tweeted that the funders of the bail and legal defense fund were next. As an executive director at a climate philanthropy who made charitable donations to the ASF for legal defense, I had to wonder: Was my door going to be battered down next?

“Some of the accused may have trespassed or destroyed property, but to charge protesters with 'domestic terrorism' and a legal defense fund with money laundering is a cynical political act that bears no relation to the misdemeanors alleged. Any American committed to democracy should be interested in making sure these charges lose in both the court of law and the court of public opinion.

“These charges seek to silence and stop opposition to an unpopular development project. They also telegraph a message to others in the state and nationwide: We will not tolerate lawful protest in Georgia. This strategy is known as strategic litigation against public participation (SLAPP), which is an intimidation lawsuit, typically used by private corporations against those who speak out on matters of public interest. Various state governments are increasingly deploying this tactic, too.

“SLAPPs don’t usually win in court, but that’s not what they’re intended to do. Instead, they set out to threaten activists and drain the financial resources of social movements. They often unfold as years-long wars of attrition, where corporations and governments with disproportionately large resources grind down the financial, emotional, and legal capacities of activists. The threat of such a suit—typically brought against individuals or groups that confront powerful people or institutions—discourages free speech and association, chilling democracy itself.

“As a lawyer on the front lines of climate justice activism, I witnessed firsthand how a SLAPP was used to weaponize the law against free speech and association. During the mass protests by Indigenous water protectors and environmentalists campaigning against the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline, SLAPPs were used widely.

“As #StandingRock became a global cause célèbre, the pipeline’s owners brought a $900 million #racketeering case against individuals and #NGOs like #BankTrack and #Greenpeace, alleging a vast global conspiracy to damage the company’s reputation and bottom line through fraud and #defamation.

“A federal court ultimately dismissed the lawsuit. But despite its eventual failure in court, the SLAPP tactic served its intended purpose: intimidation. #KrystalTwoBulls, one of the Standing Rock organizers that my organization represented, said that being sued tangled her up, practically and emotionally, in a legal battle that diverted her attention, taking her away from her work on the climate crisis and #Indigenous #LandRights.

“She began to #censor herself; she withdrew from her community and the movement, fearing that conspiracy allegations might extend to anyone she touched. And that, of course, is the point of these suits: to send out the message to either shut up or suffer the consequences.

“The case against #Kautz in #Atlanta similarly seeks to spark fear in activists and donors against supporting #FirstAmendment rights and legal defense. There is reason to believe that prosecutors may also be preparing #RICO charges against anti–Cop City activists, another dangerous use of the legal system to quell #grassroots movements.

“Since Standing Rock, over 20 states have passed '#CriticalInfrastructure' laws, which dramatically increase civil and criminal penalties related to protests at or near #FossilFuel projects. #DomesticTerrorism laws like that in Georgia have a similar intention: to weaponize the legal system against critics and stifle #DissentingVoices.

“I have no doubt that the majority of the domestic terrorism charges around Cop City will fail. But in the process, a political point will have been made, at the expense of the constitutional right to free speech. People protesting to protect the #environment and #climate will have been publicly accused of being harmful to America’s security, and they will have been forced to defend themselves—likely at exorbitant cost—against a 30-year jail sentence. Other potential activists will surely remember these charges when they consider whether it’s worth it to attend a concert, sit-in, or protest.

"The best strategy for stopping SLAPP suits in their tracks, whether they emanate from the private sector or are used by the state, is to keep speaking out, to support defamed activists, and to make the litigants pay a price. About 30 states have introduced legislation that protects against SLAPPs. And last year, #Jami Raskin introduced the #SLAPPProtectionAct of 2022 to #Congress. It must be reintroduced.

“My organization, #EquationCampaign, created a fund to provide lawyers and legal support for people who face this kind of legal retaliation for their environmental and climate work. I’m astonished at the wide range of people who need our help: from #farmers and ranchers to #journalists and #IndigenousActivists. All of them are on the receiving end of David vs. Goliath legal tactics that have long served powerful interests with near-endless resources.

“Absent federal protections, we all must be vigilant in the face of the egregious proliferation of #antiprotest laws and lawsuits.

“#Democracy and the future of this #planet require people to speak up. The law should serve—not silence—those of us who do."

https://www.thenation.com/article/activism/slapp-legal-intimidation-activists/

#ForestDefenders #DefendTheForest #StopCopCity #DirectAction #Fascism #RICO #CriminalizingDissent #WaterProtectors #EnvironmentalActivists #ClimateActivists #ClimateJustice #SilencingDissent #CorporateColonialism #EcoActivists #Censorship #HumanRightsViolations #Article20 #RightToProtest #SlowMarch #BigOilAndGas #EnvironmentalRacism #NoDAPL #DakotaAccess #StandingWithStandingRock

#Apple Confirms #Governments Using Push #Notifications to #Surveil Users

https://www.macrumors.com/2023/12/06/apple-governments-surveil-push-notifications/

How criminalisation is being used to silence #ClimateActivists across the world

Guardian investigation finds growing number of countries passing #AntiProtest laws as part of playbook of tactics to intimidate people peacefully raising the alarm

“Criminalisation is the most common tactic used against #HumanRights defenders, because it’s so easy and has such a big impact.”

Nina Lakhani, Damien Gayle and Matthew Taylor
Thu 12 Oct 2023 07.00 EDT

"As #wildfires and #ExtremeTmperatures rage across the planet, sea temperature records tumble and polar glaciers disappear, the scale and speed of the climate crisis is impossible to ignore. Scientific experts are unanimous that there needs to be an urgent clampdown on fossil fuel production, a major boost in renewable energy and support for communities to rapidly move towards a fairer, healthier and sustainable low-carbon future.

"Many governments, however, seem to have different priorities. According to climate experts, senior figures at the UN and grassroots advocates contacted by the Guardian, some political leaders and law enforcement agencies around the world are instead launching a fierce crackdown on people trying to peacefully raise the alarm.

"'These defenders are basically trying to #SaveThePlanet, and in doing so save #humanity,' said Mary Lawlor, the UN special rapporteur on #HumanRights defenders. 'These are people we should be protecting, but are seen by #governments and #corporations as a threat to be neutralised. In the end it’s about power and #economics.'

"#Climate and #EnvironmentalJustice groups report a significant increase in draconian, and often arbitrary, charges for peaceful protesters as part of what they claim is a playbook of tactics to vilify, discredit, intimidate and silence activists.

"The Guardian has also found striking similarities in the way governments from #Canada and the #US to #Guatemala and #Chile, from #India and #Tanzania to the #UK, #Europe and #Australia, are cracking down on activists trying to protect the planet.

"The legal contexts vary, but the charges – such as #subversion, illicit association, terrorism and tax evasion – are often vague and time-consuming to disprove, while a growing number of countries, including the US and UK, have passed controversial anti-protest laws ostensibly intended to protect national security or so-called critical infrastructure such as #FossilFuel #pipelines.

"The systematic criminalisation of environmental defenders is not new. Natural resources on #Indigenous land have long been exploited, driving big profits for some but also fuelling violence and inequality.

"Experts say the Marlin mine in Guatemala was one of the earliest documented cases of a transnational #corporation – and its state allies – weaponising the legal system against environmental defenders. Since then, the Inter American Commission on Human Rights has repeatedly condemned what it describes as the alarming rise in the misuse of criminal justice systems against environmental, land and other human rights defenders across #LatinAmerica.

"'Criminalising defenders encourages collective stigma and sends off an intimidating message,' the IACHR said last year.

"According to Lawlor, this criminalisation of environmental #protestors has since become a #global phenomenon, and is now the most common tactic used to silence and discredit defenders.

"'At its core it’s about maintaining the #PowerStructures in place. This is true regardless of whether it’s a #dictatorship, #democracy or a corrupt #NarcoState, and regardless of the state’s professed commitment to human rights, protecting the environment and combating #ClimateChange.' she said.

"'Smearing defenders as lawbreakers or anti-development distracts from the cause and changes the narrative … What’s clear is that states learn from each other.'

"#ClimateActivism is well and truly back. Paolo Gerbaudo, an academic at King’s College London who studies social movements, said that before the 2008 financial crash, the climate emergency felt like 'the challenge of our time'. But it 'largely slipped off the social and political agenda” as activists such as #Occupy turned their attention to opposing #austerity policies and pushing for global economic reforms.

"As scientific warnings grew ever more dire during the 2010s, there was a deepening feeling that traditional environmental campaigning was failing, and that politicians were not delivering – with potentially catastrophic consequences.

"It was into this context that more #DirectAction, and more #radical environmental protest groups emerged. Over the past five years, the UK has been not only at the forefront of these new forms of non-violent activism, but also novel means of silencing it."

Full article:
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/oct/12/how-criminalisation-is-being-used-to-silence-climate-activists-across-the-world

#ClimateJustice #ClimateActivism #AntiProtestLaws #BigOil #Corruption #Lobbyists

#UNClimateChange secretariat told Reuters it is up to the countries themselves to decide whether to impose uniform standards.
Although a coal plant, a hotel, chocolate stores, a movie and an airport expansion don't seem like efforts to combat global warming, nothing prevented the #governments that funded them from reporting them as such to the #UnitedNations and counting them toward their giving total.

https://www.cbc.ca/amp/1.6861666

#TotalFarce #ClimateFinancing #NoAccountability #Corrupt #Useless

Can Unlimited Fiat and Governments Suppress Bitcoin’s Price? 2 Analysts Discuss the Theory and Odds

https://news.bitcoin.com/can-unlimited-fiat-and-governments-suppress-bitcoins-price-2-analysts-discuss-the-theory-and-odds/

#BTCderivativesmarkets #CMEchairmanemeritus #derivativesmarkets #largestFXexchange #suppressbitcoin #bitcoinfutures #Tamingbitcoin #UnlimitedFiat #DrCryptoTony #ArthurHayes #derivatives #Governments #suppression #TameBitcoin #AlexKruger #BTCFutures #Government #BitMex