Tag: expats

WHAT NIJ RESEARCH TELLS US ABOUT DOMESTIC TERRORISM: The Report

So the DOJ removed this report that that concluded that far-right extremists had killed more Americans than left-wing or radical islamist extremists. Well, what’s a lapsed archivist/librarian to do when someone is trying to deliberately (and with malice, I might add) alter the historical facts?

Well, share it of course! So here’s a link to it:

https://a.nwps.fi/306123.pdf

… should that link disappear, I’ll make sure the report is still available.

#Resist #Persist #NoMartyrsForMAGA

The water is boiling and the frog is oblivious…

#Persist #Resist #WeStandWithJimmyKimmel #TheWholeWorldIsWatching

It’s nearly Friday over in this part of the world and the news cycle seems to have accelerated such that it is a continuous spin cycle. What will happen tomorrow that The Regime will try and spin for us to forget over the weekend remains to be seen.

One thing is clear: Authoritarianism is already in the USA. No waiting for the markers of pre-WWII or the Soviet Union — it’s here. Now. The title comes from the story of placing a frog in a pan of water and slowly bringing it to a boil. The frog remains in the water until it is dead. Drop a frog in a pan of already boiling water and it will do its damnedest to leap out.

Analogy for Amerika? Oh, yeah. There is no sugar coating it, given the events of the past week.

Many Americans still enjoy a lifestyle seemingly untouched by the changes of the past nine months. How much longer that can be said remains to be seen. A friend shared this earlier today and I was shocked reading just how far along The Regime, and Project 2025 has succeeded in reaching their goals:

https://www.project2025.observer/en

Forty seven percent today. And it’s only Thursday, nearing the second week of September. Winter is coming.

You face a choice. I suggest reading this essay and think about it. Feel free to share it, too.

https://the.ink/p/essay-what-are-you-waiting-for

Image of Jimmy Kimmel with text reading, "I stand with Jimmy Kimmel"

Bringing it back: “Silence = Consent”

Cut and paste and pass it on… #Resist #Persist #SandInTheGears

WHAT TO DO AT AN ICE CHECKPOINT, ESPECIALLY IF YOU ARE WHITE and/or FEEL THE NEED TO JAM UP THE WORKS.
Here’s the deal:
🔘 Border Patrol can verify citizenship within 100 miles of a border or “external boundary.” This includes coastlines, so NYC, Philadelphia, and all of NJ are within the 100-mile zone.
🔘 Border patrol can only ask brief questions about citizenship, and they cannot hold you for an extended time without cause.
🔘 You always have the right to remain silent. You do not need to answer their questions.
🔘 WITH THAT SAID, IF YOU ARE A BORN CITIZEN OF THE UNITED STATES AND ESPECIALLY IF YOU ARE WHITE, YOU NEED TO SPEAK THE FUCK UP.
🔘 The most important acts of resistance are the small ones. Make it difficult and uncomfortable for ICE agents to do their jobs. They are counting on citizens to turn a blind eye and allow them to deport undocumented citizens without challenge. Disabuse of that notion.
🔘 If you are on a train, bus, or anything else and ICE or CBP boards, you need to stand up and loudly let everyone know that they have the right to remain silent or only answer questions in the presence of an attorney, no matter their citizenship or immigration status. There have been numerous reports that confronting the agents in this way has caused them to leave without verifying citizenship. THIS CAN SAVE LIVES. 🙌
🔘 If you see anyone being held up by immigration, loudly ask if they are being detained and if they are free to go.
🔘 Immigration officers cannot detain anyone without reasonable suspicion, an agent must have specific facts about you that make it reasonable to believe you are committing or committed, a violation of immigration law or federal law. If an agent detains you, you can ask for their basis for reasonable suspicion, and they should tell you.
🔘 Always say no to a search and let everyone know that they can and should refuse consent to a search.
🔘 They cannot search or arrest anyone without facts about that make it probable that they are committing, or committed, a violation of immigration law or federal law.
🔘 Silence alone meets neither of these standards. Nor does race or ethnicity alone suffice for either probable cause or reasonable suspicion
🔘 White citizens, you have a level of privilege which protects us from retaliation from ICE for being “rude” and making a scene, which makes it our DUTY to speak up and make sure people without the same privilege know their rights. GET LOUD. YELL. YELL IN SPANISH IF YOU KNOW IT. LET PEOPLE KNOW THEY DON’T HAVE TO SAY SHIT. MAKE ICE UNCOMFORTABLE. THROW SAND IN THE GEARS OF WHITE SUPREMACY.
⭐️ Bonus info ⭐️
🔘It is perfectly legal to record immigration agents as long as you are not on government property or at a port of entry. If your train/bus gets boarded, pull your phone out and start videotaping immediately.
🔘 If you are detained or see someone getting detained, get the agent’s name, number, and any other identifying information. Get it on video if possible.
And get any detainees’ names and (even rough) birthdate information – this will make it easier for them to be found in the system.
🔘 Contact the ACLU or your local immigrant/migrant support orgs if you see someone’s rights being violated.
(this has been copy and pasted — please do the same)

16:58 EST

Sharing this here so others can find the news… FaceBook doesn’t like it when I link news stories from here in Montréal — so here from the Guardian’s reporting:

Trump suggests he’s not prepared to invoke Insurrection Act, saying he doesn’t think events in California are an ‘insurrection’

Asked if he’s prepared to invoke the Insurrection Act, Donald Trump told reporters in New Jersey: “It depends on whether or not there’s an insurrection.”

Asked if he thinks there is one, Trump replied: “No, no, but we have violent people and we’re not going to let them get away with it.”

In response to another journalist’s question, Trump said: “I think you’re going to see some very strong law and order.”

The Whole World Is Watching…

… and it would seem that the US (almost said “we”, but I hardly feel that way anymore) is headed for the wrong side of history. How that course could be changed is subject to debate, but the following offers some ideas.

“This is a summary of what citizens can do to dislodge an oppressive dictator. It focuses entirely on nonviolent action, because the state almost always has overwhelming superiority when it comes to the use of force. Violent opposition most often leads to prolonged stalemate or prolonged civil war.”

~~ from the text of the link below:

How to Get Rid of a Dictator
https://citizenshandbook.org/get_rid_of_a_dictator.html

“… that which once was.”

I’m getting really tired of Suckerburg’s tiff with Canadian news sources… while I didn’t particularly notice while in Europe, now that I am here, it is a constant annoyance. I have taken to obfuscating the URLs, but this has meant that images, which are always more potent, were also unable to be displayed. So it looks like the blog will be getting a workout… today’s treat follows.

Take some time to drift through the images of Palestine before the nakkba of 1948. It reminds me of the stories of an earlier time further to the west, of Alfonso el Sabio.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/longform/2025/5/15/palestine-before-the-nakba-in-100-photos

Image of Druze family members in Palestine.

Université de Montréal publishes travel guidelines for students, staff heading to the U.S.

Quoting part of the story so my friends can read it on Facebook — due to the spat the Zuck has with the Canadian government, it isn’t possible to directly link to “real” news stories. Which is pretty interesting as to what their algo defines as a “news story”.

“Université de Montréal has issued a series of guidelines to students and staff who will be travelling to the United States for academic purposes.

Rector Daniel Jutras says the guidelines were issued on Thursday in response to numerous questions from students and staff about U.S. travel concerns amid a number of reports of detentions and denial of entry into that country in recent weeks.

Jutras says while there’s no specific incident involving the university community, it felt the need to respond to concerns raised.

The university advises students and staff to tell the institution when they are travelling and discuss potential risks before leaving to the U.S.”

Link to the full article here:

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/udem-guidelines-travel-to-u-s-1.7497089?cmp=rss