#Policy Change

[ivygorgon]

AN OPEN LETTER to THE PRESIDENT & U.S. CONGRESS

No more arms transfers! Ceasefire now. The hostages must come home.

637 so far! Help us get to 1,000 signers!

Last week, President Biden expressed his outrage over the Israeli military’s killing of seven World Central Kitchen workers directly to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Within hours, the Israeli cabinet voted to increase aid deliveries in Gaza — a welcome sea change in its months-long siege that can help tens of thousands of people avoid famine.

There’s no need to wait for the Israeli military to make another deadly decision for President Biden to do all he can to save lives now. President Biden should enforce U.S. law immediately to suspend U.S. military aid to Israel and ensure the indiscriminate killing of aid workers and mass starvation of Palestinians ends today. We need the focus to shift to peace negotiations, rescuing the hostages, and rebuilding.

The U.S. government is likely the only one capable of swaying the Israeli government from deepening the crisis and tipping the entire region into all-out war. It must do so. Americans overwhelmingly want the carnage to stop.

Thanks.

▶ Created on April 8 by Jess Craven · 636 signers in the past 7 days

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[futurefatum]

Understanding Societal Overshoot: Lessons from History

Posted March 14th, 2025 by @futurefatum I was reading a Substack post by someone who I’m a great fan of—Nate Hagens, who has published various blogs and has a YouTube channel that I adore. In his work, Nate discusses the concepts of how we as humanity may have created problems for our own species that will be hard to recover from and adjust to. What I like about Nate’s work is that he is mostly…

[themetaphorical]

A New Era of Accountability: Why Local Leadership Must Step Up Now

Taking Responsibility: Preparing Our Community for the Future of Governance America is at a turning point. The federal government is undergoing one of the most significant shifts in modern history, with President Trump, Elon Musk, and leaders like Dodge championing a vision of transparency, efficiency, and fiscal responsibility. The movement to audit and reform bloated agencies, return education…

[new25us3]

In Trump’s quest to close the Education Department, Congress and his own agenda may get in the way

https://urlhub.pro/45ad9c

[tamilethnicity]

Shoppers to use digital ID to buy booze after major change for 50 million people

Millions of people will be able to use a digital driving licence as proof of age in a government smartphone “wallet” later this year. The app for Government services will be launched by June and will include a digital wallet to store documents, beginning with a veteran card and then a pilot of driving licences by the end of the year. Science and Technology Secretary Peter Kyle said: “You will be…

[ivygorgon]

No free rides for old money! - Pass The Billionaires Income Tax Act! (S. 3367)

I am writing to express my strong support for the proposed S. 3367 bill, which aims to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. This legislation represents a crucial step towards achieving economic justice by seeking to eliminate tax loopholes that have allowed billionaires to defer taxes indefinitely. By doing so, we would be ensuring a fairer distribution of wealth and rectifying a system that has long favored the ultra-wealthy. Additionally, the bill modifies over 30 tax provisions, requiring billionaires to contribute annually. It's time to ensure that those with the most significant influence and wealth contribute proportionately to our society's well-being. Therefore, I urge you to support and pass the Billionaires Income Tax Act.

Billionaires have amassed vast wealth, often at the expense of their employees who struggle to make ends meet on minimum wages. It is only just and equitable that they pay their employees a living wage AND contribute proportionally to the betterment of our society.

Furthermore, if billionaires wield significant influence over our government and policy-making, they should demonstrate their commitment by financially supporting the very system that has allowed them to prosper. No longer should they enjoy free rides on the backs of hardworking taxpayers. It is past time to ensure that billionaires are contributing their fair share to the well-being of our country.

Passing the Billionaires Income Tax Act is not only a matter of fiscal responsibility but also a moral imperative. It is time to ensure that our tax system is fair and equitable for all, not just the wealthy few.

Thank you for considering my views on this important issue. I urge you to stand on the side of fairness and justice by supporting S.3367.

No free rides for old money!

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[jolikmc-thoughts]

People are losing their god damn minds over a recent policy change over on Janitor AI.

The policy change now prohibits sexually explicit imagery in 'bot profile pictures as well as within the Bio section. I say "good effing riddance". The profile pictures should be there to give you a basic idea of who you're interacting with, and extra pictures within the Bio are absolutely pointless.

The site. Is a texting site. So freaking text.

[swkrullimaging]

Becoming a Change Agent

After seeing numerous social media posts following the election, I thought it might be a good time to add my thoughts on how to become a change agent in the new government. The election is over and many people are happy with the results, many are not. One thing that must be remembered though, the government is not just one man. There are three branches of government, 100 senators, 435…

[blaze-papers]

China Raises Retirement Age for First Time Since 1950s

In a historic policy shift, China has announced a gradual increase in retirement age, marking the first adjustment since the 1950s. The decision, approved by the top legislative body on Friday, aims to tackle the challenges posed by an ageing population and a strained pension system.

Starting January 1, 2025, the statutory retirement age will be raised from 50 to 55 for women in blue-collar jobs and from 55 to 58 for those in white-collar roles. For men, the retirement age will increase from 60 to 63. These changes will be implemented progressively over the next 15 years.

The reform comes as China faces mounting pressure from a rapidly ageing population and a pension system under financial strain. Currently, China’s retirement ages are among the lowest globally, necessitating this significant policy overhaul. The new plan also introduces additional requirements for pension contributions. Beginning in 2030, employees will need to make larger contributions to the social security system. By 2039, a minimum of 20 years of contributions will be required to qualify for a pension.

The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences has previously warned that the main state pension fund could be exhausted by 2035, a projection made before the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic was fully understood. The policy changes are intended to extend working years and increase pension contributions to address these concerns.

China's population has been shrinking for two consecutive years, with a declining birth rate and an increasing average life expectancy of 78.2 years. This demographic shift is placing additional pressure on the pension system.

Reactions to the announcement have been mixed. On Chinese social media platform Weibo, some users expressed frustration and speculated that retirement age might be further extended in the future. Others accepted the changes, noting that they align with global trends in retirement age.

With approximately 300 million people aged 50 to 60 expected to retire over the next decade, China faces a significant challenge in managing its pension system. The effectiveness of these new policies in ensuring the system's sustainability and meeting the needs of its ageing population will be closely monitored.

[dynamichealthinsights]

How to Support Health Education in Your Community: A Blueprint for Empowering Wellness

In a world where information flows like a river, and discerning the currents of truth from the tides of misinformation can feel overwhelming, health education emerges as a lighthouse, guiding us towards informed decisions and empowered well-being. It’s not just about knowing the facts; it’s about understanding the ‘why’ behind healthy choices, and weaving those choices into the fabric of our…

[reasonsforhope]

No paywall version here.

"Two and a half years ago, when I was asked to help write the most authoritative report on climate change in the United States, I hesitated...

In the end, I said yes, but reluctantly. Frankly, I was sick of admonishing people about how bad things could get. Scientists have raised the alarm over and over again, and still the temperature rises. Extreme events like heat waves, floods and droughts are becoming more severe and frequent, exactly as we predicted they would. We were proved right. It didn’t seem to matter.

Our report, which was released on Tuesday, contains more dire warnings. There are plenty of new reasons for despair. Thanks to recent scientific advances, we can now link climate change to specific extreme weather disasters, and we have a better understanding of how the feedback loops in the climate system can make warming even worse. We can also now more confidently forecast catastrophic outcomes if global emissions continue on their current trajectory.

But to me, the most surprising new finding in the Fifth National Climate Assessment is this: There has been genuine progress, too.

I’m used to mind-boggling numbers, and there are many of them in this report. Human beings have put about 1.6 trillion tons of carbon in the atmosphere since the Industrial Revolution — more than the weight of every living thing on Earth combined. But as we wrote the report, I learned other, even more mind-boggling numbers. In the last decade, the cost of wind energy has declined by 70 percent and solar has declined 90 percent. Renewables now make up 80 percent of new electricity generation capacity. Our country’s greenhouse gas emissions are falling, even as our G.D.P. and population grow.

In the report, we were tasked with projecting future climate change. We showed what the United States would look like if the world warms by 2 degrees Celsius. It wasn’t a pretty picture: more heat waves, more uncomfortably hot nights, more downpours, more droughts. If greenhouse emissions continue to rise, we could reach that point in the next couple of decades. If they fall a little, maybe we can stave it off until the middle of the century. But our findings also offered a glimmer of hope: If emissions fall dramatically, as the report suggested they could, we may never reach 2 degrees Celsius at all.

For the first time in my career, I felt something strange: optimism.

And that simple realization was enough to convince me that releasing yet another climate report was worthwhile.

Something has changed in the United States, and not just the climate. State, local and tribal governments all around the country have begun to take action. Some politicians now actually campaign on climate change, instead of ignoring or lying about it. Congress passed federal climate legislation — something I’d long regarded as impossible — in 2022 as we turned in the first draft.

[Note: She's talking about the Inflation Reduction Act and the Infrastructure Act, which despite the names were the two biggest climate packages passed in US history. And their passage in mid 2022 was a big turning point: that's when, for the first time in decades, a lot of scientists started looking at the numbers - esp the ones that would come from the IRA's funding - and said "Wait, holy shit, we have an actual chance."]

And while the report stresses the urgency of limiting warming to prevent terrible risks, it has a new message, too: We can do this. We now know how to make the dramatic emissions cuts we’d need to limit warming, and it’s very possible to do this in a way that’s sustainable, healthy and fair.

The conversation has moved on, and the role of scientists has changed. We’re not just warning of danger anymore. We’re showing the way to safety.

I was wrong about those previous reports: They did matter, after all. While climate scientists were warning the world of disaster, a small army of scientists, engineers, policymakers and others were getting to work. These first responders have helped move us toward our climate goals. Our warnings did their job.

To limit global warming, we need many more people to get on board... We need to reach those who haven’t yet been moved by our warnings. I’m not talking about the fossil fuel industry here; nor do I particularly care about winning over the small but noisy group of committed climate deniers. But I believe we can reach the many people whose eyes glaze over when they hear yet another dire warning or see another report like the one we just published.

The reason is that now, we have a better story to tell. The evidence is clear: Responding to climate change will not only create a better world for our children and grandchildren, but it will also make the world better for us right now.

Eliminating the sources of greenhouse gas emissions will make our air and water cleaner, our economy stronger and our quality of life better. It could save hundreds of thousands or even millions of lives across the country through air quality benefits alone. Using land more wisely can both limit climate change and protect biodiversity. Climate change most strongly affects communities that get a raw deal in our society: people with low incomes, people of color, children and the elderly. And climate action can be an opportunity to redress legacies of racism, neglect and injustice.

I could still tell you scary stories about a future ravaged by climate change, and they’d be true, at least on the trajectory we’re currently on. But it’s also true that we have a once-in-human-history chance not only to prevent the worst effects but also to make the world better right now. It would be a shame to squander this opportunity. So I don’t just want to talk about the problems anymore. I want to talk about the solutions. Consider this your last warning from me."

-via New York Times. Opinion essay by leading climate scientist Kate Marvel. November 18, 2023.

[sergle]

No fucking WAYYYYYY YOUTUBE CHANGED THEIR TOS TO AVOID PUNISHING SSSNIPERWOLF FOR DOXXING

[perplexingly]

I kinda wish they bonded over their dead man walking like behavior…