Israel Butler

"The concept of universalism is fading, just like the idea that human rights are meant for everyone. In some countries they apply to everyone—except environmental activists."

Libertes' Balazs Denes on rule of law issues today at the LIBE committee:
multimedia.europarl.europa.eu/en/webstream...

If you want your audience to support your cause, give them a vision to fight for.

Always great messaging advice from @wmtfaction.bsky.social. If you campaign on social justice issues, give them a follow.

And check out our own messaging guides here: www.liberties.eu/en/reports-a....

If you've not heard @untruth-band.bsky.social before, give this a listen. They should be as famous as Arcade Fire or Crowded House. Hearing them next to Coldplay makes you realise how the latter really are the Enya of indie. Slap on their quality tunes. You will still be singing along decades later.

New York mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani challenges Donald Trump in victory speech as Democrats win key US election races – live Mamdani condemns ‘oligarchy and authoritarianism’ in speech directly talking to Trump as Democrats win California redistricting vote and New Jersey and Virginia gubernatorial elections

A new hope. Will it help parties on the left stop being so scared of being... left? This guy and @zackpolanski.bsky.social are my antidotes to doomscrolling and are the answer to populist authoritarians. There must be more like these folks out there. We need you.

www.theguardian.com/us-news/live...

What does "authenticity" look like? Doing the work *and* showing you're doing the work *and* making fun of yourself for what you don't know. (Bonus points for a really excellent accent, and I say this as a former college Spanish teacher who demanded rolled Rs.)

www.instagram.com/p/DQZrQz4jtFm/

It's true. Poverty is a choice.

A choice made by billionaires to take all the money working people create while holding down wages, refuse to contribute to the country that made them, empower politicians to steal the resources we generate for our common good.

That was not on my bingo card :) We're all still buzzing from the gig. It was excellent in its own right, but also very special for us because of the experiences your music accompanied us through. We'll try to print out some 'Enrique' t-shirts to wear next time you folks tour.

So excited to see @untruth-band.bsky.social tonight. My siblings and I have been listening to them since the 90s but we never made it to a gig the first time around. Thanks for getting back together and giving us siblings a reason to see each other.

I don't understand that when analysts talk about the threat from Putin they only talk about sleeper agents and hybrid warfare. They never mention how he's supporting the far right to disrupt societies and politics.

2/ I hope he goes on to hammer home how Farage points the finger at people who migrate as a strategy to get votes, and avoid voters talking about the real solution - which is to make the billionaires influencing much of our politics pay their workers and their taxes.

1/ Great messaging from @zackpolanski.bsky.social that gives voters an alternative - accurate - way to understand who is to blame for their hard times. Farage, parroted by Labour and amplified by the media, has made migration the 'common sense' explanation for many people for why everything sucks.

This is the cover of the messaging guide. It displays the title of the guide (Safe and free: A messaging guide for communicators fighting violence against women). It displays the date of publication (June 2025). Under the text is an illustration showing women, girls, men and boys of different backgrounds and ages all smiling.

🟠 Want to grow public support to stamp out #ViolenceAgainstWomen? Check out my new messaging guide www.liberties.eu/f/hnoxzp. Get sample messaging & learn how to:

👉 Persuade people beyond existing supporters

👉 Spot & avoid common messaging mistakes

👉 Respond to common attacks & misinformation

Although, it should really be up to governments to make sure Amazon pays its taxes & and pays workers a salary they can live on so that it can't undercut local businesses, rather than expecting squeezed consumers to not choose the lowest prices.

Am I the only one reminded of Baghdad Bob / Comical Ali when seeing statements from Trump's administration? Do they have him in the back writing their press releases?

Maybe Labour's principles are just more expensive.

JD Vance among last visitors to Pope Francis after series of public fallouts The US vice-president’s brief audience with the late pontiff came despite deep disagreements in recent months

News: China invites JD Vance to visit Dalai Lama for 'exchange of opinions'. #PopeFrancis

www.theguardian.com/world/2025/a...

Well that's naïve. These folks are pretty strategic. This is just one step on a longer journey for those behind the movement to reverse progress towards towards equality for all sorts of people. Changes to access to abortion care and marriage equality, are probably next on the list.

The biggest divide is not between “right” and “left."

It’s between democracy and oligarchy.

The billionaires who control our economy and democracy seek to divide us.

They want us to turn on each other so we don't look up and see that they have all the wealth and power.

How has fascism in Britain got this far? Neoliberalism has opened the door for it | George Monbiot We need a new politics of belonging, not Labour’s craven appeasement of capital, says Guardian columnist George Monbiot

Neoliberalism destroys democratic hope & far right fills the political void. We need a new politics of belonging, not Labour’s craven appeasement of capital

Why pursue austerity when country voted so decisively to end it?

Why reject wealth tax, when 2% levy assets over £10m could raise £24bn a yr?

Hungary Bans LGBT Pride Events Hungary deepened its repression of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people on March 18 as the parliament passed a draconian law that will outlaw Pride and similar events, thereby penaliz...

A crook runs Hungary, feeding off public funds. He's rigged the system to make it hard to lose elections - as long as his hardcore supporters vote for him. He's scared of a new rival party. So he scapegoats to whip up his base & restricts protests to hobble his critics. www.hrw.org/news/2025/03...

Someone put her in charge of the Dems. Please.

Warning Thames Water collapse could hit taxpayers and pensions Ofwat says placing Thames under government control could end up costing taxpayers billions of pounds.

Privatisation means hiring a middleman to deliver an inferior service while underpaying their staff so that they can siphon off public funds to some very rich people.

www.bbc.com/news/article...

EU offers its own ‘win-win’ minerals deal to Ukraine “The added value Europe offers is that we will never demand a deal that’s not mutually beneficial,” top official Stéphane Séjourné says.

How come we aren't talking more about a European minerals deal? Why join mobster Trump's protection racket if Ukraine could get a fair agreement from an EU that realises that Ukraine's security = Europe's security? www.politico.eu/article/crit...

@anatosaurus.bsky.social has a lot under her belt. Check out @wordstowinby.bsky.social.

The Dutch government got sued (and lost) for using similar software a few years ago. If you're interested, it's referred to as the SyRI case.

Commission tells NGOs EU money is not for lobbying A €5.4 billion fund for green projects can no longer be spent on lobbying, says Commission.

There are corporations making a killing by dirtying our air & water, fuelling extreme weather & destroying our soil. Our leaders are deciding to serve them, instead of protecting the rest of us. So they're making it harder for activists to push the EU to protect our environment.

shorturl.at/PYLYH

Perspective | The answer to GOP dog whistles? Democrats should talk more about race, not less. Our survey found that Democrats can win with messaging that ties race and class together.

Co-wrote this 6 years ago and it applies equally to anti trans siren songs. MAGA keeps trotting out the same playbook and Dems keep acting brand new.

www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/the-...

Opinion | ‘We Tire Very Quickly of Being Told That Everything Is on Fire’ Why invoking a public health crisis too often can lead society astray.

Crisis framing activates fatalism (a sense the world is beyond repair), which makes people apathetic.

A far better strategy for inspiring action is to show that change is not only desirable but also possible www.nytimes.com/2024/11/21/opinion/public-health-crisis-america.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share