[01/02] When uniformed thugs are tried for crimes, they ask to be tried by a judge with no jury, because they know judges are likely to find them not guilty:
Law & Crime
Why Do Police Defendants Want to be Tried by Judges, and Not By Juries? | Law & Crime
ecessary. Why have judges so consistently acquitted police officers? Are they biased? Maybe. I recall as a prosecutor appearing before a judge, Ger...
 People who work in the criminal justice system often need the cooperation of thugs. For this reason, some prosecutors go to extreme lengths to protect uniformed thugs from prosecution...
The EU says that Putin's claims about sanctions' interfering with Russia's food exports are lies, and calls on Putin to resume the Black Sea truce that permitted Ukraine to export more food:
the Guardian
Putin is using food as a weapon – but his cynical attempts to drum up forced allies will fail | Josep Borrell
By reneging on the Black Sea grain deal, Russia has driven up food prices around the world, says Josep Borrell, the EU’s high representative for ...
 However, a truce can't rebuild the Kakhovka dam. The world will suffer from food scarcity for years. What can the world do about this problem? Eat less beef. Have fewer babies.
[01/02] British politicians call for rules against using altered photos made using neural network systems, or at least a requirement to indicate that an image was altered:
the Guardian
AI-enhanced images a ‘threat to democratic processes’, experts warn
Call for action comes after Labour MP shared a digitally manipulated image of Rishi Sunak on social media
 I'm in favor of such requirements.
[01/04] This is a follow-up to the pol note about the Texas law that requires bookstores to determine the proper rating for each book it may sell to a school or has sold to a school. Some people have wondered why this is harder to implement than movie ratings. Here are some pertinent differences: 1. A cinemas does not have a role in determining the rating for a movie. Instead, each movie is rated by a national board before the cinema gets it. 2. Most cinemas show around 100 movies a year, A...
[01/01] Women in Alabama who use marijuana (or a substance extracted from it) while pregnant are sentenced to jail.
Reason.com
Alabama woman jailed for 2 months for using CBD oil while pregnant
Etowah County, Alabama, has charged hundreds of pregnant women and new mothers with "chemical endangerment" over minor drug offenses.
 It is important to teach that using drugs (including alcohol and tobacco) while pregnant can damage the fetus — for the sake of those babies that will be born.
[01/02] A big fraction of children in the part of Pakistan that was flooded last year are stunted, and many have been sick:
the Guardian
A year on, the devastating long-term effects of Pakistan’s floods are revealed
Country’s health and economy ruined as Islamic charity says rich nations must compensate those suffering worst of climate crisis
A Briton faces contempt charges for holding a sign reminding potential jurors of their right to acquit defendants for any reason:
the Guardian
Contempt threat against climate activist may undermine trial by jury, lawyers say
Trudi Warner could be prosecuted over holding up placard outside court where fellow activists banned from using climate crisis in defence
 That includes, in particular, the reason that the state is railroading heroic nonviolent protesters who are trying to protect the people alive a few decades now from global climate disaster. There is still a chance to limit disaster to something civilization can survive, but it depends on defeating planet-roaster governments.
US citizens: call on the Senate to reject Sinema's bill to cut the pay of wildland firefighters:
Demand Progress
Oppose the cuts to firefighter pay!
Congress must pay wildland firefighters fairly for the dangerous job they are doing in protecting the forest and our homes from wildfire. Senator S...
 Many of them are prisoners, temporarily released to risk their lives fighting fires. They are easy targets for cruelty.