the Guardian
Lies, ideology and repression: China seals Hong Kong’s failed-state fate | Simon Tisdall
The former British territory was a flawed success. Xi Jinping has ended that with the punitive and hastily passed article 23
 Xi thought he could crush the spirit of Hong King and still benefit from it economically. He crushed its spirit, indeed, and ended up with a wreck of a once-great city.
the Guardian
Hundreds of Palestine supporters protest Israeli real estate event at New Jersey synagogue
Real estate company, called My Home in Israel, boasts luxury apartments for sale across Israel and the occupied West Bank
 Several organizations of Jews who criticize Israel's occupation of Palestine protested an event in New Jersey to sell luxury apartments in Israel and occupied Palestine.
[5/5] … nitrogen the power to control what purchasers will do with it, refuse to get distracted from this by the idea of blocking some methods of execution (but not all) in this way. Instead we should use that political support to prohibit the death penalty. We could insist that purchasers of nitrogen be free to use it for any lawful activity, which would no longer include executions.
[4/5] … for something innocent, such as copying DVDs or Blu-ray disks? Should the seller be allowed to forbid you to use it that way? We must not allow companies to have such power over their customers! We must defeat any law that would give a company that kind of power. What, then, about using nitrogen for execution? If we are opposed to the death penalty, and we have the political support to put a stop to it, we should refuse to get distracted by the side issue of giving producers of …
[3/5] … might — but if you have the fortitude to handle days of pain after surgery, you'd say, "Operate! I will suffer so I can live." So I don't see how a painless method of execution can make execution legitimate. Meanwhile, it is dangerous and unjust to allow the sellers of products any say in how purchasers use them. That power is very broad and lends itself to injustice. Few of the purchasers of any product want to use it for executions. What if you buy something so as to use it …
[2/5] … penalty on principle, regardless of the method used, I am always puzzled by the fuss that people make about those details. I'm especially puzzled by the question of whether the person being executed feels pain during the process. Does it presume that temporary pain is worse than death? Imagine that you are in Gaza and you are wounded. You may be lucky enough to find a surgeon but there will be no anesthetic available. Would you say, "Please don't operate, just kill me"? You might, I …
[1/5]
the Guardian
Three top nitrogen gas manufacturers in US bar products from use in executions
Move follows Alabama’s recent killing of death row inmate Kenneth Smith using previously untested method
2011: July - October Political Notes - Richard Stallman
2016: March - June Political Notes - Richard Stallman
 Now that some US states are using, or may use, nitrogen gas for executions, there is a campaign to block that method by restricting what the buyers of medical nitrogen can use it for. As one who opposes the death …
the Guardian
Navalny ally Leonid Volkov vows to continue fight against Putin after hammer attack in Vilnius
‘We will not give up,’ Volkov says in video after being discharged from hospital following attack in Lithuania that left him covered in blood
 One of Navalny's associates, living in Lithuania, was attacked while in his car and badly injured. I expect this to firm up European determination to defeat Putin. But what did Putin hope to achieve? How could this benefit him?
the Guardian
Minister consulted BP over incentives to maximise oil production, FoI reveals
Exclusive: Meeting took place days after BP reported record profits while households were squeezed by high energy bills
 Minister consulted BP over ‘right incentives to maximise’ oil production, FoI reveals.
the Guardian
Film studio from Oscar-winning director aims to stir up ‘populist anger’ over climate crisis
Yellow Dot Studios produces short-form videos to inform with ‘genuine, righteous anger’ and ‘laugh-out-loud comedy’
 https://iv.datura.network/watch?v=S2XTGteritE https://iv.datura.network/watch?v=0O95kvMKPeQ Funny parody commercials tell the straight truth about global heating. Please don't watch them from YouTube itself. For instance, here's the URL for the parody Chevron commercial. And here's the one where a climate scientist explains the issue to a right-wing know-nothing.