www.afscme.org Minnesota Science Museum workers celebrate historic first contract
Solidarity, persistence help workers at the Science Museum of Minnesota win a historic contract.
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dwazou @lemm.ee
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Cancel contracts with Microsoft Office
British Columbia could save a lot of money, simply by switching to LibreOffice.
https://www.libreoffice.org/discover/libreoffice/
I donate money to the LibreOffice project. I use it and I'm super satisfied. In fact, I don't even remember the last time I used Word or Excel.
On February 8th, 1943, Lepa was captured by the 7th SS Prinz Eugen Division.
She was interrogated, tortured and beaten for 3 days, but she refused to say anything.
On February 11th, they publically hanged her. She was 17 year-old.
A local photographer took several pictures. Here is another one:
https://i.ibb.co/wNLbpvBL/aaz.jpg
She was born in 1925, in the small city of Gašnica.
Today, the town built a bust in her memory:
https://seesrpska.com/en/kultura/ckud-lepa-radic-obiljezava-veliki-jubilej-15-12-2024
Lepa Radić was a Yugoslav resistance fighter hanged in 1943 by Nazi soldiers. Before her execution, Nazis offered her pardon if she exposed clandestine fighters. She refused. She was 17-year-old.
On February 8th, 1943, she was captured by the 7th SS Prinz Eugen Division. She was interrogated, tortured and beaten for 3 days, but refused to say anything. On February 11th, she was publically hanged.
Workers at the Science Museum of Minnesota made HISTORY winning their first-ever union contract 👏
Society moved so far to the right that the simple idea water should be publically owned is now considered socialism.
The FT is still a pretty-right wing newspaper. They simply can't afford to offend their CEO readers. However, I doubt the average FT journalist is neoliberal.
They are all unionized:
Philosopher Noam Chomsky says he likes to read the FT.
They once interviewed him.
"My impression in general is that the business press is more open, more free, often more critical, less constrained by external power and external influences” he tells beyondbrics.
“I guess that’s also true for the reporting in the Wall Street Journal and Businessweek, although the range of opinion that appears is different. So, for example, in the Wall Street Journal – and there are exceptions – but overwhelmingly the coverage is constricted and very reactionary, and the Financial Times has a much broader range, more terse, and I find it more instructive.”
The business press has a different incentive to get the facts right, Chomsky says, which is why the Financial Times is his regular read. ''Those who Adam Smith called ‘the masters of the universe’ have to understand the universe. They have to have a tolerably realistic understanding of the world that they are managing and controlling. That’s true of political elites as well, but the business world particularly. Also, the business press essentially trust their audience. They don't have to impose propagandistic illusions to keep the rabble under control.”
https://www.ft.com/content/bcdefd38-3beb-3506-b24c-82285ac87f6c
Paris Mayor: I want a city with less cars. Perhaps it's controversial, but I think I'm on the right side of history. I had lobbyists from car companies threaten me in my own office.
www.radiofrance.fr Anne Hidalgo dit avoir été "menacée dans son bureau" par des lobbies automobiles
La maire PS de Paris, invitée lundi de franceinfo, a assumé sa politique urbaine visant à diminuer la circulation automobile, malgré dit-elle, les pressions de lobbies.
"They told me that if I do not back down, they will fight to defeat me"
An article that every British citizen should read
www.ft.com The benefits and limits of privatisation
We can draw important lessons from the UK’s varied experience
I usually don’t like to share content behind paywalls, because quality journalism must be supported. But the Financial Times is doing well and this article is important.
The benefits and limits of privatisation
Some 40 years ago, the United Kingdom became a pioneer in the privatisation of publicly owned industries.
Initially the focus was upon a few large businesses.
But over time this changed, as the government privatised monopolies or quasi-monopolies and then went on to contract with private suppliers of a wide range of sensitive public services.
The experience has now been lengthy and varied enough to learn some important lessons, the most important of which is that the basic principles of economics matter.
If a number of suppliers compete in the market for a good or service, consumers are properly informed about what they are buying and able to switch easily to other suppliers, and business owners bear the cost of failure, then private profit-motivated
Canadian university teachers warned against visiting the United States. The association representing Canadian Academics warned members to avoid all non-essential travel
Trying to avoid antitrust suits, Google senior executives told employees to destroy internal messages
www.nytimes.com How Google Spent 15 Years Creating a Culture of Concealment
Trying to avoid antitrust suits, Google systematically told employees to destroy messages, avoid certain words and copy the lawyers as often as possible.
Apple customers are paying 16 times more for DDR4 RAM sold 25 bucks. Both are manufactured in the same Chinese city, by the same workers.
Locked
Apple customers are paying 16 times more for DDR4 RAM sold 25 bucks. Both are manufactured in the same Chinese city.
‘Staggering growth’ makes Toronto the fastest-growing metro area in North America for second straight year
www.thestar.com ‘Staggering growth’ makes Toronto the fastest-growing metro area in Canada and the U.S. for second straight year
Toronto added nearly 269,000 people from July 2023 to July 2024, according to Statistics Canada data.
He is one of the richest man in the world. He owns one of the largest corporation in Canada. Do you know who this guy is?
I'm just curious.
If you met this guy on the street, would you know who he is?
Please answer.
À quoi pourrait ressembler un gouvernement Poilievre ? Pour savoir qui est vraiment cet homme, nous avons examiné ses 5400 interventions et ses 3680 votes depuis 2004.
www.ledevoir.com De quoi aurait l’air un gouvernement de Pierre Poilievre ? | Le Devoir
Que peuvent nous apprendre les années 2000 sur les intentions du chef conservateur.
Excellent article du journal Le Devoir.
www.ft.com DeepMind UK staff seek to unionise and challenge defence deals and Israel links
Move by employees at Google’s AI arm follows discontent after weapons and surveillance pledge is dropped
Around 300 London-based tech employees of Google's AI arm, have sought to join the Communication Workers Union in recent weeks, according to three people briefed on the move.
The move to unionise follows growing discontent at Deep Mind after Google dropped a pledge in February not to develop AI technologies that “cause or are likely to cause overall harm”
Three people involved with the unionisation drive said media reports that Google is selling its cloud services and AI technology to the Israeli Ministry of Defence has also caused disquiet
This is the logical outcome of two things.
1. Their silly campaign finance rules. British campaign finance laws are literally the worst in the Western world, only after the United States. It's just embarassing.
2. Their First-Past-The-Post voting system. It is a voting system that is designed to create a 2-party duopoly on power.
Show me the incentives of any political system. I will show you the outcome.
Look the recent British elections. Keir Starmer won 65% of seats in Parliament with only 35% of votes. It's his country now. He can do whatever he wants for 5 years. Greens, SNP or Reform received millions of votes. They get very few seats.
Under the Danish voting system, here is what would happen in Britain.
The Reform Party would tell Starmer : "You don't have a majority Keir. We can allow you to form a government. But in exchange, we want to reduce immigration. And we want a law banning cousin marriage. Do we have a deal ?"
The Green Party would tell Starmer : "You don't have a majority Keir. We can allow you to form a government. But in exchange, we want to nationalize water companies. And we a law banning all gambling ads. Do we have a deal?"
This is how it works in Denmark. I feel the overall result is just better.
Getting a dumbphone was one of the best decisions I took in my life. It helps me focus better and read books. I don't actually need the internet with me 24/7. If you really need me, you can call.
Try it. Some people will call you crazy. Just ignore them.
This is not surprising at all.
I was recently reading an article in the French newspaper Le Monde.
In Britain, corporations are increasingly using a special system called zero-hour contracts.
These contracts are designed to offer maximum flexibility for business owners, in order to reduce his risks. The employee is guaranteed nothing and must always be available.
« They send my hours on Sunday, but nothing is sure. Sometimes, they cancel the same day » says Yana Petticrew, a young Glasgow Scottish worker who has been on zero-hour contracts for nearly 10 years. « Life is hard. I can't even plan a meeting with my friends next week, because my boss could call me at any time » Yana says. She can't refuse, or her boss will get rid of her.
Labor unions say workers on zero hour contracts earn on average less than those who are not. In 2010, 168 000 british workers were on zero hour contracts. In 2024, 1.1 million british workers were on zero hour contracts.
Here is another things that stuns me. I learned that in Britain, employees have no boardroom representation. In France, all companies publically listed on the stock market are legally required to have union representatives on the board of directors.
For instance LVMH :
https://www.lvmh.com/en/our-group/governance
Why can't british employee have board representatives?!
The UK system is rotten. Brits need to fight for change. They deserve so much better.
San Francisco is the city with the most tech engineers and software developers. It's the US city with the most tech entrepreneurs. The roads are full of robot cars. You see people walking around with tech glasses and weird devices. You could throw a rock in the street and it will probably land on some tech guy.
It's a complete disaster. Homeless people everywhere. Families unable to see a doctor or a dentist. Desperate men in the streets, injecting themselves with drugs. Luxury private schools where smartphones are banned and professors give tips to get into Stanford. Poor public schools for ordinary kids.
What kind of Utopia is this? This is not utopia. It's a nightmare.
Microsoft essentially created a private sales tax on every computer sold in the world. This is how Bill Gates became extraordinary wealthy.
The US should have won that anti-trust case. If you want to understand how Gates saved Microsoft, read this 1998 investigation that I found in newspaper archives :
HOW MICROSOFT SOUGHT TO GAIN ALLIES AND INFLUENCE IN WASHINGTON
WASHINGTON -- Twenty months ago, Rep. Billy Tauzin walked into the office of Bill Gates, chairman of Microsoft, bearing a 10-inch-by-10-inch white box and a warning.
Tauzin, R-La., the chairman of a subcommittee that oversees the telecommunications industry, placed the box on Gates' desk. Inside was a lemon meringue pie, a reminder of another pie that had been thrown in Gates' face several weeks earlier by a Microsoft critic.
The message to Gates, the richest man on earth and the leader of the digital world, was blunt: You need to make friends in Washington.
At the time of Tauzin's visit in early 1998, the Justice Department was contemplating filing its antitrust suit against Microsoft.
"I told him he was being demonized," Tauzin said in an interview. "I said he had to win the antitrust case in court, but there was also the court of public opinion."
Gates apparently took Tauzin's message to heart -- with a vengeance. While Microsoft and its executives contributed a relatively modest $60,000 to Republican Party committees in 1997, the company's contributions in 1998 shot up to $470,000 as part of its overall political contribution of $1.3 million. The 1998 figure included donations to political candidates, with the bulk of the money going to Republicans.
This year, the company's contributions of nearly $600,000 have been more evenly divided between Republicans and Democrats, according to Federal Election Commission records.
Microsoft's lobbying, focused on swaying Congress and creating a generally friendlier climate in Washington, has had little if any effect on the current antitrust litigation in U.S. District Court, where the company was dealt a major setback on Friday by Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson's initial findings that it had used monopoly power to stifle competition.
Rather, the lobbying campaign is a long-term strategic push intended to alter the political terrain where future power struggles will be fought.
Campaign donations were just one element of Microsoft's multimillion-dollar effort to win allies in Washington. The company also poured millions of dollars into an aggressive public relations and political offensive, hiring an armada of well-connected lobbyists and underwriting the work of research groups, academics and consultants who have made arguments sympathetic to Microsoft's defense in the antitrust case.
The company's lobbying budget nearly doubled in 1998 from the previous year, to $3.74 million, according to the company's lobbying disclosure reports, and is on pace this year to significantly surpass that figure.
Gates and his top lieutenants have made dozens of trips to Washington, cultivating powerful figures in both parties and hiring some of the city's priciest lobbyists.
Microsoft has retained Haley Barbour, former chairman of the Republican National Committee; Vic Fazio, a former Democratic congressman from California; Vin Weber, a former Republican congressman from Minnesota; Tom Downey, a former Democratic congressman from New York and a close friend of Vice President Al Gore; Mark Fabiani, former special counsel to the Clinton White House; and Kerry Knott, former chief of staff to Rep. Dick Armey of Texas, the House majority leader.
Microsoft has also given hundreds of thousands of dollars to research groups, trade groups, polling operations, public relations concerns and grass-roots organizations. It has financed op-ed pieces and full-page newspaper advertisements, and mounted a lobbying effort against an increase in the Justice Department's antitrust enforcement budget.
In June, Bill Gates met for lunch with the Republican leaders of the House in the small whip's room off the House chamber. They discussed Microsoft's public policy agenda, ranging from exports of encryption software to Internet privacy to antitrust actions, said several participants at the meeting. Knott, now a top official in Microsoft's Washington office, attended the session.
Eight days later, Armey introduced what he called his "e-Contract," a list of Republican legislative initiatives that pointedly adopted Microsoft's view of the role of government antitrust actions, like the one that now threatens to dismantle Microsoft.
"When federal agencies use heavy-handed tactics to target specific companies," the Republican document states in language that echoes Microsoft's own, "the real message they send to the market place is this: You could be next."
Armey's aides insist that the release of the document was just a coincidence and that Republicans had long opposed aggressive enforcement of antitrust laws. Microsoft officials also denied that they had influenced Armey's priorities or his language. The package of Republican proposals is still before Congress.
Another Microsoft move on Capitol Hill drew criticism for heavy-handedness.
It is lobbying to trim the antitrust division's budget brought a flurry of editorial condemnation. The Washington Post said Microsoft's actions were "a comical caricature" of a company trying to bully its way through Washington."
One Justice Department official said, "Even the mob doesn't try to whack a prosecutor during a trial."
https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/11/biztech/articles/07strategy.html
The reason why Apple displaced Microsoft as the richest company in the world? Billionaire Tim Cook is using tactics that are even more predatory. If you make any purchase with an app, Apple takes a 30% cut. And if the app makers refuse, Apple murders their business by kicking them out of the App store.
They banned the videogame Fortnite because the developers tried to resist:
These tech billionaires are economic tyrants. They want to use technology in order to enslave consumers and workers. They want customers to have no choice. They want their suppliers to be powerless. They want workers to have a limited number of huge employers. Their dream is absolute power over the market.
Fuck economic tyrants.
Only idiots kiss their ass.
I actually understand his concerns. Ontario passed a law banning bike lanes. It's completely stupid. It's against local democracy.
The issue is that local cities all blocked multi-storey housing for so long that extreme measures were necessary. British Columbia is the epicenter of the housing crisis in Canada.
At some point, the province had to do something.
While the British press have focused on Reform threatening Labour from the right, the Greens have been quietly strengthening on the left.
.
I hope the wonderful British people will not accept these lies.
These people have a monopoly over your water. They have been ROBBING YOU for decades to buy yachts and luxury cars. And you know the worst thing? They are using the money they robbed from you to fund Water UK, a lobbying organization giving money to political parties and pressuring MPs.
Anything short of nationalization is a scam
Anything short of nationalization is a scam
Anything short of nationalization is a scam
You are dealing with lawless criminals wearing suits. Sending nice letters isn't going to be enough.
These kind of surveys can sound alarmist.
From the United Kingdom:
Fewer than 2% believe educational institutions take racism seriously.
88% participants reported experiencing racial discrimination in the workplace.
Sounds scary right?
I'm not White. I have been to Britain. I can honestly say Britain is probably one of the most open-minded and tolerant countries in the world.
My native country is far FAR more racist than Canada, France or Britain. Actual Racism. Actual hatred. Not "I had a bad day, it's maybe racism".
Elon Musk's social platform X files sues Minnesota, challenging a law banning the use of deepfakes to influence elections
www.mprnews.org Elon Musk's social media platform X sues Minnesota over political deepfake ban
The social media platform X, run by Elon Musk, has filed a federal lawsuit challenging a Minnesota law barring the use of deepfakes to influence an election.
Elon Musk's social platform X files lawsuit against Minnesota, challenging a law prohibiting the use of deepfakes to influence elections
Elon Musk's social platform X files lawsuit against Minnesota, challenging a law prohibiting the use of deepfakes to influence elections
www.mprnews.org Elon Musk's social media platform X sues Minnesota over political deepfake ban
The social media platform X, run by Elon Musk, has filed a federal lawsuit challenging a Minnesota law barring the use of deepfakes to influence an election.
Elon Musk's social platform X sues Minnesota over law banning political deepfakes
www.mprnews.org Elon Musk's social media platform X sues Minnesota over political deepfake ban
The social media platform X, run by Elon Musk, has filed a federal lawsuit challenging a Minnesota law barring the use of deepfakes to influence an election.
UK Government warns British lawyers about possible american sanctions over advice to ICC in Israel case
www.ft.com UK warns British lawyers about possible US sanctions over advice to ICC in Israel case
Several people involved in the war crimes case against Netanyahu and Gallant have received notices
The UK Foreign Office has warned senior British lawyers they are at risk of sanctions by the United States because of advice they provided to the International Criminal Court on Israel’s conduct in Gaza.
Senior lawyers involved in the ICC’s war crimes case against Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defence minister Yoav Gallant have received the warnings from Britain’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, according to people familiar with the matter.
They include a former senior British judge, Lord Justice Adrian Fulford, Labour peer Baroness Helena Kennedy of the Shaws, and Danny Friedman, a barrister at Matrix Chambers, the people said.
https://www.ft.com/content/18f25482-3c7f-4fb2-b069-0a758fb4dd73
In a conference sponsored by Hyundai, the US Transportation Secretary claimed bike lanes cause congestion and decrease road safety
usa.streetsblog.org USDOT Secretary Sean Duffy Is Dead Wrong About Bike Lanes — Streetsblog USA
The Secretary of Transportation says he hasn't seen enough data to believe in the benefits of bike lanes. So we put together an explainer help him out — mostly using information from his own department.
Calling it "a disaster in the making" a Surrey politician says he intends to keep up the fight to repeal BC legislation designed to boost housing
www.surreynowleader.com B.C. housing policy a 'disaster in the making': Surrey-White Rock MLA
Halford blasts Bill 44, encourages resistance by White Rock council
Calling it "a disaster in the making" "undemocratic" and a "one-size-fits-all" model that doesn't take into account local topography, Surrey-White Rock Conservative MLA Trevor Halford reaffirmed that he intends to keep up the fight to repeal Bill 44, the provincial government's legislation designed to boost housing
Speaking at Monday afternoon's council meeting, Trevor Halford encouraged council members to do the same – although Mayor Megan Knight noted that while council shares his concerns, the city has not many options other than complying with the legislation
Measures in the legislation enable the redevelopment of single-family lots to provide as many as 6 separate units, with public hearings waived and city requirements for on-site parking suspended when developments are deemed close enough to transit stops.
Halford said that while he believes that the legislation may make sense in some areas of the province, it doesn't make any sense in White Rock and South Surrey.
*"I th
Alberta in the midst of worst measles outbreak since 1997 as doctors call for action
I'm not British. There are many things that I admire about the United Kingdom.
This is the nation that produced Agatha Christie, Jane Austen, George Orwell, JK Rowling, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Elton John, David Attenborough. Led Zeppelin, Aldous Huxley, JRR Tolkien.
But the one thing that disturbs me is the unbelievable level of corruption.
In Britain, political parties can raise millions of pounds from one single individual. Private corporations, including foreign corporations, are allowed to give large amounts of money to political parties. Several members of the UK parliament currently work as consultants and lawyers for large corporations such as Thames Water or HSBC. This is all legal.
Compare this to France.
In France, no individual is allowed to give more than 7000 pounds to a political party. Corporations are banned from giving money to political parties. Members of parliament are all banned from having second-jobs. And if you break these rules, an independent agency (HATVP) has the power to criminally prosecute you.
Why did France pass these tough rules ? Huge corruption scandals
France had one President (Nicolas Sarkozy) sell access to his donors
When the French media revealed these scandals, the French political class was so embarrassed that it actually forced them to take action.
The British had similar corruption scandals.
David Cameron was caught selling access to Downing Street in exchange of money:
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2012/mar/26/david-cameron-private-dinners-tory-donors
Boris Johnson was also caught selling access to Downing Street in exchange of money:
https://www.ft.com/content/8c6041ff-a223-43e9-9e45-53c3f7cf47f7
Yet the British political class did... absolutely nothing !!! No reform...
Similar scandals have led to completely different legislative outcomes.
In Britain, the rot runs deep.
What the fuck does your parents profession have to with with anything?
Everything? This data allows you to see if children of sales assistants, restaurant workers, janitors, are underrepresented. It allows you to measure social mobility and meritocracy.
All French universities gather anonymous data about the professions of your parents. That way, it can be studied by social scientists:
If kids of low-income people don't have the same chances to study at leading university, it means the education system needs to improve meritocracy. Otherwise, you end up living in a caste society.
Anglosphere countries seem to care primarly about race.
This obsession about race is something I will never understand about anglosphere culture.
Britain, Canada and the United States have really gone off the rail.
In French culture, it is considered completely obscene to ask people about their race. In fact, that's illegal. Employers and universities can be criminally prosecuted if they start gathering data about skin color. The only question universities ask you is the profession of your parents.
This obsession about race is something I will never understand about Canadians and Americans. Never. Never. In France, it is considered obscene to ask people about their race in surveys.