Tootfinder

Ukraine Reforms Tracker Weekly — Issue 44: https://benborges.xyz/2026/02/06/ukraine-reforms-tracker-weekly-issue.html

Following the fatal shootings of American citizens Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal agents in Minneapolis last month,
Democrats have refused to support long-term funding for the Department of Homland Security unless Republicans agree to reforms on the tactics of federal agents carrying out Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.
“The American people rightfully expect their elected representatives to take action to rein in ICE and ensure no more lives are lost,” Senate minorit…

Reforms Underway in Lyut Assault Brigade: https://benborges.xyz/2026/03/05/reforms-underway-in-lyut-assault.html

'Dramatic changes are necessary': Hakeem Jeffries defends Democrats' push for ICE reforms amid funding fight (Dana Bash/CNN)
https://cnn.com/2026/02/08/politics/video/house-minority-leader-hakeem-jeffries-dhs-funding-gov-shutdown-trump-obamas-elections
http://www.memeorandum.com/260208/p43#a260208p43

First they made useless demands, then they also caved even on their useless demands. The US is a one-party state but in our typical extravagance we have two of them.
https://truthout.org/articles/democrats-cave-on-demands-f…

Democrats Cave on Demands for DHS Reforms, Agree to Short-Term Spending Bill
The deal — a major concession from Democrats — funds DHS and its immigration-related agencies for another two weeks.

California lawmakers made major changes to the state’s car-buying rules this year,
including a  controversial rewrite of the state law that allows buyers to get their money back if they are sold a defective vehicle
and a new right to return a used vehicle within three days.

In my view, the SEND reforms are in the right direction but will fail because insufficiently funded.
Send reforms not enough to fix ‘broken’ system | Morning Star
https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/send-reforms-not-enough-fix-broken-system…

This week’s post jumps from Super Bowl ticket prices to Oklahoma’s new steps toward transparency on asset forfeiture—and then into a long-running fight over casket sales and licensing. Sports, policy, and skepticism included. 🏈⚖️
https://www.bobmuellerwriter.com/foo…

Football Dreams, Government Overreach, and Small Businesses Pushing Back – Bob Mueller
Super Bowl prices, Oklahoma reforms, and a look at why asset forfeiture transparency and licensing laws matter to regular people.

INVESTMENTS REFORMS: EU prepares Ukraine for economic leap forward #shorts: https://benborges.xyz/2026/01/29/investments-reforms-eu-prepares-ukraine.html

"AI and facial recognition to be rolled out as Britain’s ‘broken’ policing system faces sweeping reforms"
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/police-overhaul-shabana-mahmood-home-office-ai-b2907845.html

Jeffries demands ban on deportation of US citizens as part of DHS reforms (Mike Lillis/The Hill)
https://thehill.com/homenews/house/5713521-jeffries-dhs-reforms-dportation-citizens/
http://www.memeorandum.com/260129/p104#a260129p104

If you believe capitalism is something we simply have to live with, then we are not standing on the same ground. I cannot accept the idea of resigning myself to a system built on exploitation and inequality, treated as if it were natural or eternal. What passes for stability in capitalism is only the quiet before another round of dispossession.
I reject the kind of unionism that settles for small reforms while leaving the machinery of domination untouched. Progress does not come from p…

Football Dreams, Government Overreach, and Small Businesses Pushing Back
From Super Bowl ticket shock to Oklahoma policy changes, this post reflects on football fandom, small-business fights, and why new transparency rules around asset forfeiture matter for civil liberties and everyday people more than most realize.

Football Dreams, Government Overreach, and Small Businesses Pushing Back – Bob Mueller
Super Bowl prices, Oklahoma reforms, and a look at why asset forfeiture transparency and licensing laws matter to regular people.

My message to Senators:
❝The correct amount of funding for not just ICE but the •entire Department of Homeland Security• is zero. ZERO. You heard me: the entire agency. Under current leadership, it is off the rails. It is dangerous. It it a menace.
“More training” is a pathetic non-answer; that just means more money. These murderers are trained; they are just monsters. Don’t say “better oversight.” Don’t say “more reforms.” Pull the rug. Switch it off. • Shut • it • down • NOW •
If you have to shut down every airport in the country because the TSA budget is in there too, then you shut down every damned airport in the country. If you have to shut down the federal government again, you shut it down. Your inaction is sleepwalking the country into civil war. SHUT. IT. DOWN.❞
2/

Chuck Schumer, the Senate’s top Democrat, on Wednesday demanded that legislation funding the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) include a ban on wearing masks and other reforms aimed at federal agents involved in immigration enforcement, setting up a clash with Republicans that could see the government partially shut down in the coming days.

So I think about one of the central thesis of Joseph Weizenbaum a lot.
It’s essentially an extension of “there’s no technical solutions to social problems”; it posits that computers are widely used to immortalize and amplify social problems while preventing reforms.
And it has gotten much worse since he wrote about this in the 1970s.
Two of the examples he gives are nation/world-wide stock exchanges and automated trading (lead to wealth concentration and gambling), as well as highly complex but wasteful, punishing and unfair welfare systems (instead of e.g. UBI).

"Reform’s Operation Restore Justice is nothing less than the total mobilisation of state power for the sole purpose of attacking those deemed unworthy of being in the UK. We need to be very clear about this. If you think what is happening in the US cannot happen here, you are simply not paying attention."
Inside Reform’s plans for a fascist takeover

Inside Reform’s plans for a fascist takeover
See | Hear | Act | Do

Two things can be true at the same time:
1. copyright is a bit broken and needs reforms
2. the way "AI" can only be trained by complete disregarding copyright is unacceptable
"But you used to criticise copyright" is not the gotcha you might think it is.

No shortcuts for Ukraine's EU accession, Dutch FM says. Reforms key to progress: https://benborges.xyz/2026/03/05/no-shortcuts-for-ukraines-eu.html

Jeffries: Democrats 'steadfast' in demands for ICE reforms (Mike Lillis/The Hill)
https://thehill.com/homenews/house/5743946-jeffries-democrats-ice-reforms/
http://www.memeorandum.com/260218/p96#a260218p96

FPF Releases an Updated Issue Brief on Vietnam’s Law on Protection of Personal Data and the Law on Data
https://fpf.org/blog/fpf-releases-updated-issue-brief-on-vietnams-law-on-protection-of-personal-data-and-the-law-on…

Ukraine Reforms Tracker Weekly — Issue 43: https://benborges.xyz/2026/01/16/ukraine-reforms-tracker-weekly-issue.html

The UK government begins its review of the BBC's charter, set to expire in 2027, as ministers consider licence fee reforms and allowing more commercial revenue (Jake Kanter/Deadline)
https://deadline.com/2025/12/bbc-charter-review-launched-1236649702/

BBC Charter Review Launched: Government Opens Door To More Commercial Funding & Board Duties On Workplace Misconduct
The UK government has fired the starting gun on BBC charter review, a once-in-a-decade review of the broadcaster's funding and operations.

"Reform’s Operation Restore Justice is nothing less than the total mobilisation of state power for the sole purpose of attacking those deemed unworthy of being in the UK. We need to be very clear about this. If you think what is happening in the US cannot happen here, you are simply not paying attention."
Inside Reform’s plans for a fascist takeover.

Inside Reform’s plans for a fascist takeover
See | Hear | Act | Do

Time and again in the communist bloc, economic reformers from Moscow to Pyongyang planned to introduce rationality and markets into planning.
They often thought they had won the argument,
-- and not just among dissidents in labor camps but at the highest levels of their Politburos.
Yet almost every time, their proposed reforms were either whittled down to nothing before implementation, or passed and then reversed after a few months or years.
Why?
These reformers …

Why communist reformers always lost
Communism had reforming optimists too. Their failure can help today’s reformers to avoid the same fate.

A Tale of Two Medicaid States: Minnesota Fraud vs. Indiana Reform (Wall Street Journal)
https://www.wsj.com/opinion/medicaid-fraud-minnesota-indiana-reforms-tim-walz-mike-braun-d1edb6b1?st=2ibubt
http://www.memeorandum.com/251228/p37#a251228p37

Senate Democrats are considering a deal that would head off a partial government shutdown
and give the party time to negotiate new restrictions on immigration operations
in response to the killings of US citizens Alex Pretti and Renee Good in Minneapolis.
The talks, confirmed to the Guardian by a Senate aide, come after Senate Democrats demanded a series of reforms on federal agents involved in Donald Trump’s mass deportation campaign,
including a prohibition on weari…

Government proposes yet another revision to the NPPF (Planning Framework) for England and Wales.
Here's what we said about the last one.
Open Letter about NPPF to GM Labour MPs | Steady State Manchester https://steadystatemanchester.net/2025/01/1…

Open Letter about NPPF to GM Labour MPs
This open letter has been sent to Greater Manchester labour MPs. It raises a series of concerns about the government’s planning reforms, as set out in the new National Planning Policy Framewo…

Former Fifa president Sepp Blatter on Monday suggested he supports fans boycotting World Cup matches in the United States this year due to security concerns.
Blatter gave his support to comments from Swiss anti-corruption lawyer Mark Pieth, who worked with Fifa on potential reforms when Blatter was president, saying fans should stay away from the US for the tournament.
“I think Mark Pieth is right to question this World Cup,” Blatter said on social media.
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2026/jan/26/sepp-blatter-suggests-fans-should-not-travel-to-us-for-world-cup?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

EU says no shortcut to Ukraine reforms amid 2027 membership speculation: https://benborges.xyz/2026/02/13/eu-says-no-shortcut-to.html

"Norway adds 117 MW of solar in 2025"
#Norway #SolarPower #Energy #Renewables

Norway adds 117 MW of solar in 2025
Norway’s solar market experienced a slowdown in 2025, particularly among residential installations. The outlook for 2026 looks more optimistic, thanks to policy reforms supporting larger projects and continued demand from commercial and industrial customers.