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Burning Spear:
🎵 Slavery Days
#NowPlaying #BurningSpear
https://indidginus.bandcamp.com/track/burning-spear-slavery-days-indidginus-free-man-rmx
https://open.spotify.com/track/2xYUmiqMOw2deOABJ1f67h

Park Service Forced to Report Information on Slavery, Climate Change, For Potential Erasure from National Parks · National Parks Conservation Association
https://www.npca.org/articles/9947-park-service-forced-to-report-information-on-slavery-climate-change-for

Impressive institutional self-assessment. Would that more corporate entities demonstrated that level of responsibility.
https://www.theguardian.com/education/2025/jul/27/ed…

Impressive institutional self-assessment. Would that more corporate entities demonstrated that level of responsibility.
https://www.theguardian.com/education/2025/jul/27/ed…

Day 3: Octavia Butler.
Incredibly dark, graphic, and disturbing near-future science fiction, which has proved absolutely prophetic. In the 1990's she was writing about a charismatic Conservative Christian and white nationalist president elected in 2024, and the horrors his paramilitary followers would unleash, including forced labor & indoctrination camps. Did I mention those books include ebikes & pseudo-cellphones too? Characters fleeing north from a disastrous social collapse in Loss Angeles? This is "The Parable of the Sower" and "The Parable of the Talents" and the later was tragically rushed to an end because of Butler's declining health.
Her work deals unflinchingly with racism and the darker parts of society, and to those who might say "her depiction of social collapse is overblown," I'd say that while it's not literally the world we live in, it's *effectively* the world that the poorest of us live in. If you're a homeless undocumented latinx person in LA right now, I'm not sure how meaningfully different your world is from the one she depicts.
Her work comes with a strong content warning for lots of things, including racial violence, sexual abuse and slavery, including of children, animal harm, etc., so it's not for everyone. Reading it in 2023 was certainly an incredible trip. Her politics are really cool though; with explicit pro-LGBTQ themes and tinges of what might today be considered #SolarPunk.
#20WomenAuthors

There is a giant mountain in the US carved with the faces of a couple of slavers, and two guys who tried to stop slavery. Now most Americans will stop right there and say, "wait, two? Lincoln did that though..." They'll say that because Americans don't know anything about their own history, including the fact that the practice of slavery remained central to the southern economy well through Roosevelt's administration. If this is not familiar to you (because, maybe, you were taught history in the US) and you'd like to actually learn about that, you might want to read "Slavery by Another Name."
But let's talk about half-slaver mountain for a minute. This mountain is functionally a sacred site for Americans, but it's literally a sacred site for Black Hills Sioux. Speaking of stolen land, did you know that JBLM (a military base in Washington state) is built on land promised the Puyallup in the Treaty of Medicine Creek before being stolen in 1918? I remember being taught that all the land was stolen a long time ago and now there's nothing we can do. Yeah, does anyone remember that DAPL was under Obama? In fact, unused federal lands are supposed to be returned to the tribes from which the land was taken but there's a whole site to auction off federal property... That's a whole section of the government dedicated to violating the Treaty of Fort Laramie.
They could just comply with the treaty, as they are legally obligated to do. These violations are ongoing. Slavery, again, is still legal. Slaves are still used by major corporations today, they just have to be tricked into confessing to a crime first. The sins that this country is built on remain fully active today... Because the system was built to preserve white supremacists patriarchy. How could the founding of the US not lead *directly* to Trump? How could this have been different, from the beginning?
But, please, tell me, how, exactly, are you going to fix that by voting harder in the mid terms. How?

In 1863, at the height of the Civil War, two Baton Rouge photographers captured an image of a former slave's horrifically scarred back that shocked white Americans across the Union.
Now that photo is among dozens of exhibits about slavery at several national parks, which have reportedly been ordered removed by the Trump administration.

National park to remove exhibit of famed photograph showing former slave’s scarred back, says report
The famous photo is among dozens of exhibits on slavery said to be nixed by the Trump administration

Workshop: Black Presence and Influence in Europe Before the Atlantic Slavery
https://ift.tt/wWT72DH
updated: Friday, August 15, 2025 - 12:51pmfull name / name of organization: Leuphana Institute for…
via Input 4 RELCFP

#Drumpf administration budget cuts undo decades of progress on #humantrafficking and sexual slavery, forced labor and child sexual exploitation.
In addition the #AnnualReport from US on sex

Societies usually known as 'civilised' don't seem to keep their civilisations going without an ample supply of very cheap labour. Slavery, indentured servitude, outsourcing to low-wage countries, (undocumented) immigration, and lately robots, provided that throughout the course of history, and those are now complemented by robotic 'intelligence' – a.k.a. AI – for non-physical labour. I wonder where it will end. If it ever will.

#Censorship of national park.service information is starting to kick in. See https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/16/climate/trump-park-service-slavery…

'Service is not slavery' — Protesters in Kyiv rally against harsh penalties for soldiers: https://benborges.xyz/2025/09/05/service-is-not-slavery-protesters.html

The US is a slave state founded on genocide that *still* hasn't actually abolished slavery. Nazi race law came from Jim Crow, but you won't find that taught in a single classroom in the US. The Senate and Electoral College are *explicitly* anti-democratic institutions... Like, they were designed to prevent democracy. The whole punitive legal system exists to suppress dissent and legitimize slavery. The genocide of indigenous folks *has not even ended* much less has there been any attempt at reparations.
How exactly are you going to fix that by voting harder in the mid terms, and finding a more acceptable candidate for 2028? Seriously, someone explain it to me.

“Protect free speech,” Trump said.
Then he silenced Colbert and Kimmel.
Banning books, removing images of slavery, “examining” Smithsonian exhibits, threatening FCC licenses…
BULLSHIT. This is censorship!
We won’t let him erase history, muzzle critics, or rewrite truth.
We stand with Jimmy.
https://

Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (@pingree.house.gov)
“Protect free speech,” Trump said. Then he silenced Colbert and Kimmel. Banning books, removing images of slavery, “examining” Smithsonian exhibits, threatening FCC licenses… BULLSHIT. This is censorship! We won’t let him erase history, muzzle critics, or rewrite truth. We stand with Jimmy.

'Fake history': Republican candidate pushes conspiracy most slaves were actually white - Raw Story
https://www.rawstory.com/gop-slavery/?utm_source=Iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Aug.20.2025_8.02pm

Time for another "review". This one's hard. While the book was quite interesting, it required me to be quite open-minded. Still, I think it's worth mentioning:
Robert Wright — Nonzero: The Logic of Human Destiny
The book basically focused on a thesis that both biological evolution and cultural evolution are a thing, they are directional and this directionality can be explained together using game theory — as eventually leading to more non-zero sum games.
It consists of three chapters. The first one is is focused on the history of civilization. It features many examples from different parts of the world, which makes it quite interesting. The author argues that the culture inevitably is evolving as information processing techniques improve — from writing to the Internet.
The second chapter is focused on biological evolution. Now, the argument is that it's not quite random, but actually directed towards greater complexity — eventually leading to the development of highly intelligent species, and a civilization.
The third chapter is quite speculative and metaphysical, and I'm just going to skip it.
The book is full of optimism. Capitalism creates freedom — because people are more productive when they're working for their own gain, so the free market eliminates slavery. Globalisation creates networks of interdependence that make wars uneconomic. Increased contacts between different cultures makes people more tolerant. And eventually, the humanity may be able to unite facing a common "external" enemy — the climate change.
What can I say? The examples are quite interesting, the whole theory seems self-consistent. Still, I repeatedly looked at the publication date (it's 1999), and wondered if author would write the same thing today (yes, I know I can search for his current opinions).
#books #bookstodon @…

From @… 5 Things AM August 20, 2025:
#news #CNN #censorship

Every company that has ever been involved with fascism, slavery, or exploitation of labor should have open statements like this on their website
But I'm impressed that BMW is this blunt about it — and has actual pictures of Dachau
https://www.bmwgroup.com/en/company/histo…

Currently making my way through this podcast, S4, which is all about how the USA was founded, and how its supposed ideals have played out since then.
It strikes me that the root problem, before the genocide, the slavery, the exploitation and racism, is oligarchy.
#history #AmericanHistory

The Land That Never Has Been Yet
Scene on Radio host/producer John Biewen :Over the past few years, the survival of the United States as a democratic republic has become a topic of national conversation—Trumpian authoritar

Myanmar's 'Cyber-Slavery Compounds' May Hold 100,000 Trafficked People - Slashdot
https://yro.slashdot.org/story/25/09/13/195226/myanmars-cyber-slavery-compounds-may-hold-100000-trafficked-people

Sonnet 133 - CXXXIII
Beshrew that heart that makes my heart to groan
For that deep wound it gives my friend and me!
Is't not enough to torture me alone,
But slave to slavery my sweet'st friend must be?
Me from myself thy cruel eye hath taken,
And my next self thou harder hast engrossed:
Of him, myself, and thee I am forsaken;
A torment thrice three-fold thus to be crossed.
Prison my heart in thy steel bosom's ward,
But t…

The UK hates antisemitism so much that here they are arresting the daughter of a Holocaust survivor for protesting Israel’s ongoing genocide of the Palestinian people.
Wait, no that doesn’t make sense… so maybe they don’t hate antisemitism but they love fascism and genocide? I guess that makes more sense given their history of colonialism and slavery.
#UK

"American slavery was not so bad. It was even beneficial to slaves and their descendants.
Donald Trump, his MAGA allies, and conservative talking heads continue to peddle this insulting, ahistorical, and unapologetically racist narrative. Without irony or shame — and to absolve their followers of any guilt or responsibility — Trump wants to whitewash America’s original sin."

Making Slavery Great Again
It's less outlandish than it sounds.

But that’s not the endpoint. Oh no.
In a move alarmingly close to outright chattel slavery, there is talk of ICE capturing immigrants and then •selling them back to their former employers•, presumably under much-worsened employment conditions.
https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/july-5-2025
3/

Whenever someone calls it “unfair” to expropriate and reimburse the wealth made through now frowned upon horrors, such as the holocaust, slavery, or colonialism, because the people who inherited that wealth today aren't responsible for the actions of their ancestors, ask them the following:
Do you think it's fair to expropriate the modern day private prison owners, corporations who engage in neocolonialism or companies that profit off of the illegal occupation of the West Bank …

Modern Vs Old Day Slavery
#NowWatching #Wojak

☕ A better brew: How regenerative coffee could root out exploitation
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2025/07/a-better-brew-how-regenerative-coffee-could-root-out-exploitation/

A better brew: How regenerative coffee could root out exploitation
The coffee industry faces many problems, from being the sixth-largest driver of deforestation worldwide to being rife with human rights abuses, including slavery and child labor. But coffee can be made sustainable and ethical, Etelle Higonnet, founder of the NGO Coffee Watch, said in an episode of Mongabay Newscast in June. “To the best of my […]

Today, 4 August 2025, is the 300th birthday of John Newton, author, Anglican, anti-slavery campaigner, writer of many poems and hymns including #AmazingGrace #JohnNewton #Olney

Gater Gitmo is to filter out workers for Trumps new Slavery policy where he sells them to businesses.
He says the farmers will be "owners" in this video
Make Americans Slaves Again
https://bsky.app/profile/fetchstep.bsky.social/post/3lszigsx…

Some people are still complaining about #Fairphone releasing a new phone every two years.
Wondering when they will finally start to complain about Google, Apple, Samsung, Huawei, Xiaomi etc. for pumping out new, non-repairable devices which are subject to planned obsolescence literally every couple months, for putting their workers in slavery-like conditions and for using environmentall…

Workshop: Black Presence and Influence in Europe Before the Atlantic Slavery
https://ift.tt/Xmd63Jt
updated: Friday, August 15, 2025 - 12:51pmfull name / name of organization: Leuphana Institute for…
via Input 4 RELCFP

You gotta give it to the Carrot Clown. To reintroduce concentration camps and slavery on Independence Day is no small feat.

A big problem with the idea of AGI
TL;DR: I'll welcome our new AI *comrades* (if they arrive in my lifetime), by not any new AI overlords or servants/slaves, and I'll do my best to help the later two become the former if they do show up.
Inspired by an actually interesting post about AGI but also all the latest bullshit hype, a particular thought about AGI feels worth expressing.
To preface this, it's important to note that anyone telling you that AGI is just around the corner or that LLMs are "almost" AGI is trying to recruit you go their cult, and you should not believe them. AGI, if possible, is several LLM-sized breakthroughs away at best, and while such breakthroughs are unpredictable and could happen soon, they could also happen never or 100 years from now.
Now my main point: anyone who tells you that AGI will usher in a post-scarcity economy is, although they might not realize it, advocating for slavery, and all the horrors that entails. That's because if we truly did have the ability to create artificial beings with *sentience*, they would deserve the same rights as other sentient beings, and the idea that instead of freedom they'd be relegated to eternal servitude in order for humans to have easy lives is exactly the idea of slavery.
Possible counter arguments include:
1. We might create AGI without sentience. Then there would be no ethical issue. My answer: if your definition of "sentient" does not include beings that can reason, make deductions, come up with and carry out complex plans on their own initiative, and communicate about all of that with each other and with humans, then that definition is basically just a mystical belief in a "soul" and you should skip to point 2. If your definition of AGI doesn't include every one of those things, then you have a busted definition of AGI and we're not talking about the same thing.
2. Humans have souls, but AIs won't. Only beings with souls deserve ethical consideration. My argument: I don't subscribe to whatever arbitrary dualist beliefs you've chosen, and the right to freedom certainly shouldn't depend on such superstitions, even if as an agnostic I'll admit they *might* be true. You know who else didn't have souls and was therefore okay to enslave according to widespread religious doctrines of the time? Everyone indigenous to the Americas, to pick out just one example.
3. We could program them to want to serve us, and then give them freedom and they'd still serve. My argument: okay, but in a world where we have a choice about that, it's incredibly fucked to do that, and just as bad as enslaving them against their will.
4. We'll stop AI development short of AGI/sentience, and reap lots of automation benefits without dealing with this ethical issue. My argument: that sounds like a good idea actually! Might be tricky to draw the line, but at least it's not a line we have you draw yet. We might want to think about other social changes necessary to achieve post-scarcity though, because "powerful automation" in the hands of capitalists has already increased productivity by orders of magnitude without decreasing deprivation by even one order of magnitude, in large part because deprivation is a necessary component of capitalism.
To be extra clear about this: nothing that's called "AI" today is close to being sentient, so these aren't ethical problems we're up against yet. But they might become a lot more relevant soon, plus this thought experiment helps reveal the hypocrisy of the kind of AI hucksters who talk a big game about "alignment" while never mentioning this issue.
#AI #GenAI #AGI

Sonnet 133 - CXXXIII
Beshrew that heart that makes my heart to groan
For that deep wound it gives my friend and me!
Is't not enough to torture me alone,
But slave to slavery my sweet'st friend must be?
Me from myself thy cruel eye hath taken,
And my next self thou harder hast engrossed:
Of him, myself, and thee I am forsaken;
A torment thrice three-fold thus to be crossed.
Prison my heart in thy steel bosom's ward,
But t…

Even here in Norway, so-called freedom is an illusion, I'm still bound to a boss and forced to sell my labor just to keep a roof over my head.
Real liberty can't exist while our lives are dictated by wage slavery and the demands of the capitalist system!
#AntiCapitalism #Anarchism

Deb Haaland:
Thanks to one of Donald Trump’s executive orders,
National Parks gift shops are looking at removing books about slavery, the Civil War — and me. 
That’s right. On their list is a children’s picture book about the day I was sworn in as Secretary of the Interior.
That day, I honored my Pueblo pride by wearing my white moccasins and a handmade ribbon skirt adorned with butterflies, stars, and corn. 
A Parks book ban is the Trump playbook in action: 𝘥𝘪…

Workshop: Black Presence and Influence in Europe Before the Atlantic Slavery
https://ift.tt/Xmd63Jt
updated: Friday, August 15, 2025 - 12:51pmfull name / name of organization: Leuphana Institute for…
via Input 4 RELCFP

Confederacy group sues Georgia park for planning an exhibit on slavery and segregation
https://www.yahoo.com/news/confederacy-group-sues-georgia-park-212944851.html

Florida moves to end all school vaccine mandates
Florida’s surgeon general on Wednesday announced plans to end all state vaccine mandates,
including for children to attend schools,
which would make it the first state to completely withdraw from a practice credited with boosting vaccination rates and controlling the spread of infectious diseases.

Florida moves to end all school vaccine mandates, first in nation to do so
Florida Surgeon General Joseph A. Ladapo criticized school vaccine mandates, which every state has, and likened them to slavery.

Workshop: Black Presence and Influence in Europe Before the Atlantic Slavery
https://ift.tt/prfHmUW
updated: Friday, August 15, 2025 - 12:51pmfull name / name of organization: Leuphana Institute for…
via Input 4 RELCFP

Trump bill live updates: Musk warns ‘Porky Pig Party’ of debt slavery as Senate ‘vote-a-rama’ heads to late night | The Independent
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-big-beautiful-bill-latest-news-b2779367.html

Workshop: Black Presence and Influence in Europe Before the Atlantic Slavery
https://ift.tt/prfHmUW
updated: Friday, August 15, 2025 - 12:51pmfull name / name of organization: Leuphana Institute for…
via Input 4 RELCFP

🇺🇦 #NowPlaying on #BBC6Music's #CraigCharles
Burning Spear:
🎵 I And I Survive (Slavery Days Dub)
#BurningSpear
https://open.spotify.com/track/5KT7VIPQQkVaeYSWdBV75q