*There's Still Time to Avoid Climate Catastrophe.*

*The coronation [in the UK] pulled a screen across a desperate, failing nation — just as intended. Those who opposed it must be portrayed as radical, or the whole rotten system it represents might come crashing down.*

If I imagine myself as British, I do not see myself as opposing either the coronation or the monarchy. I simply see them as side issues. Queen Elizabeth II was not responsible for the Tory policy of repression and impoverishment of the poor, nor for Starmer's ruination of the Labour party. Those are what's really bad about the UK government.

The presence of indigenous people in what is now the US was not a mere detail. The desire to take their lands was central to the history of the US.

The labor shortage that gave workers more clout has ended. Now employers are gleefully screwing workers again.

The author states the cause opaquely by saying that "the economy has slowed," choosing not to mention the cause of that: interest rate increases by central banks, made in the name of curbing the inflation whose real causes they refuse to recognize.

For some employees with special talents, this takes the form of loss of some special perks, described in the article, plus increased unjust surveillance. For the less influential employees who were mistreated all along, it takes the form of refusing to negotiate with their unions.

But don't stop there. Amazon mistreats customers as well as workers and everyone else. Do as I do, and refuse to ever give your name or your address to Amazon.

Putin's growing authoritarianism started driving the leading artists of Russian culture out of Russia even before he started attacking Ukraine. Now the only major artists that remain in Russia are those who wish to flaunt their support for Putin's regime.

Recall how Putin used to mock the idea that other Russians could run against him in elections? It wasn't enough for him that he was popular and would win even a free election. It wasn't enough for him to make victory for his opponents impossible. He went out of his way to rig elections blatantly (for instance, against Kasparov) so as to disparage the very idea of democracy.