Freedom isn’t free.

Perhaps you’ve heard that before. If you grew up in the United States, you’ve certainly heard that said once or twice in your lifetime. Hell, maybe you’ve said it.

Freedom isn’t free.

Have you ever really thought about that phrase? It has a nice ring to it, but what does it mean exactly?

Freedom isn’t free.

In the United States, we often celebrate the Fourth of July as our Independence Day. We proclaimed our independence from Great Britain and, from that day forward, the rebellion became a revolution with a purpose: freedom from the crown.

July 4th, 1776 is not actually the day freedom was achieved, however. September 3rd, 1783 was the day Great Britain signed the Treaty of Paris, which recognized and granted the Thirteen Colonies their independence after their eight-year-long fight for freedom. Even then, it wouldn’t be ratified until May 12, 1784, which is over nine years removed from the Battles of Concord and Lexington.

Freedom isn’t free.

But with all that being said, none of those dates actually represent “freedom” in its purest, most unadulterated form. That day is June 19th, 1865. 160 years ago today.

Now this is not an article about Juneteenth. This is an article posted on the date of Juneteenth to drive home the point of the article.

Freedom isn’t free.

The American Civil War is the United States of America’s defining tragedy of the 19th century. Brother versus brother, bloodshed and battles to maintain bondage. While I do believe it is fascinating to research the War Between the States, I also find very little honor in the conflict. I find it more tragic than anything else.

But in the American Civil War, comes a story of a man so remarkable, so brave, that I can’t help but marvel in awe when I think about it.

This is about Robert Smalls, the man who was born a slave and sailed his way to freedom.

Freedom isn’t free.

Robert Smalls was born in a cabin behind his slavemaster’s house at 511 Prince Street in Beaufort, South Carolina. At age 12, he was sent to Charleston to labor. It was there that he was introduced to working on the docks and wharves, where after years of work, the still-enslaved Smalls became a wheelman (a helmsman without the proper title) of the CSS Planter.

Robert Smalls would gain invaluable experience that would directly benefit him on what would be the most important day of his life: May 12th, 1862.

Freedom isn’t free.

Smalls, having spent his time studying the Captain’s signals and mannerisms, hatched a plan to escape. Then, on the night of May 12th, the ship’s white crew left Smalls and other slaves in charge while the crew spent the night ashore.

Smalls, knowing this would be the opportunity, asked if the families of the slaves could visit while the crew was ashore. With that permission granted, the life or death plan went into action.

Robert Smalls, when the time became opportune, disguised himself in the Captain’s clothing and hat, mimicking his mannerisms and signals. Having been able to pass not one, but four checkpoints, Smalls, the other enslaved people and their families sailed toward the Union blockade. Still flying high on the Planter, they removed the Confederate flag and replaced it with a white bedsheet; this crew of Pirates had successfully sailed their way to freedom.

“I am delivering this war material including these cannons and I think [President] Lincoln can put them to good use,” is reportedly the words uttered by Smalls upon the surrender of the ship.

Freedom isn’t free.

For Smalls and the families he helped escape that night, freedom had come. But freedom in this country was not accomplished with men and women still in bondage; and for Smalls: the fight wasn’t over yet either.

For his bravery and deliverance of the CSS Planter, Robert Smalls was named the first black Captain of the US Navy, became an overnight sensation in the Union and a pariah in the Confederacy. The bounty on the life of Robert Smalls from the Richmond government nearly half of what the D.C. government valued the Planter at.

During the war, Smalls would captain the now USS Planter in battle against the Confederacy. The man who was sent to involuntary service and bondage aboard this ship was now the man commanding it.

It was Smalls and his actions that convinced Lincoln to allow freedmen to fight for the Union cause. If the North’s purpose was to maintain the Union when the war first broke out, it was the actions of Smalls and the bravery of many free black soldiers that turned the purpose of the war into preserving the Union and abolishing slavery where it remained.

It was on New Year’s Day, January 1st, 1863, did President Lincoln issue the Emancipation Proclamation, declaring all enslaved peoples within the rebelling states to be free. But that news didn’t reach everyone quite as quick.

It wouldn’t be until June 19th, 1865, 160 years ago today, that the final people in bondage were told about their freedom. It would be June 19th that marked the day that, finally, 90 years removed from the Revolution against Great Britain could it be stated: All citizens are free.

Freedom isn’t free.

The United States Pirate Party, as part of our platform, advocates for self-determination. As outlined in our platform: “We advocate for the right to free association and self-determination. People living in a political entity should have the right to maintain, alter or conclude their relationship to larger entities, or join in union, if it is the will of the people.”

People have asked members of the party how they feel about the confederacy when this point is brought up, asking if we would support their calls and desire for secession.

The answer is “no”.

The CSA was a slaver nation. So long as folks were held in bondage, then “people living in a political entity” doesn’t apply to all people of the Confederacy, and thus the CSA is not something the US Pirate Party supports. We support the will of the people.

What Robert Smalls did, not only for himself and the people he saved, is nothing short of heroic. The Union was the freedom that wouldn’t come free, and Smalls sailed straight to it. People look back on the Civil War and remember the heroes of the Union Army and occasionally get caught up in the Grants or Shermans or some might focus on the Lees or Jacksons. But today, on the day that marks freedom for all of us in the United States, we remember Captain Smalls.

Robert Smalls would go on to become one of the most important and influential politicians of the Reconstruction era and in South Carolina. He would return to Beaufort to purchase his new home: 511 Prince Street. The home he was once a slave in was now the home he owned.

It is on this day we should take the time to remember that freedom, something that we associate with the United States, wasn’t simply granted to us on the July 4th, 1776. It is important to remember not everyone was freed on New Year’s Day, 1863. It is today, June 19th, that deserves the name “Freedom Day”.

So in honor of Robert Smalls, his bravery and the struggles many in this country had to face just to be considered free citizens, we must not only remember, but never forget.

Freedom isn’t free.

uspirates.org/through-the-spyg…

Il ransomware Anubis ha acquisito la funzionalità di cancellazione dei dati ed è ora in grado di distruggere i file presi di mira.

Anubis è stato individuato per la prima volta dagli specialisti della sicurezza informatica nel dicembre 2024 e ha iniziato a mostrare attività all’inizio di quest’anno. Come riportato all’epoca dagli analisti di F6, i creatori di Anubis offrivano ai loro partner tre diversi schemi di attacco: Anubis Ransomware, Anubis Data Ransom e Access Monetization. Di conseguenza, i partner del gruppo potevano ricevere fino all’80% dei “ricavi” ottenuti tramite gli attacchi.

Come hanno ora segnalato gli esperti di Trend Micro, gli autori di Anubis stanno attivamente migliorando il loro malware e lavorando all’aggiunta di nuove funzionalità, una delle quali è la funzione di distruzione dei file.

I ricercatori ritengono che la funzionalità di cancellazione dei dati, recentemente introdotta, venga utilizzata per esercitare ulteriore pressione sulle vittime affinché paghino più rapidamente anziché ritardare o ignorare le negoziazioni con gli aggressori.

Anubis è molto diverso dagli altri RaaS e utilizza una funzionalità di distruzione dei file progettata per ostacolare qualsiasi tentativo di recupero anche dopo la crittografia

spiega Trend Micro. “Questa tattica distruttiva aumenta la pressione sulle vittime e aumenta la posta in gioco di un attacco già devastante.”

Il wiper viene attivato utilizzando il parametro della riga di comando /WIPEMODE, che richiede l’autenticazione basata su chiave. Una volta attivato, tutto il contenuto dei file viene cancellato, le loro dimensioni vengono ridotte a 0 KB e i nomi e la struttura rimangono intatti. In altre parole, la vittima sarà ancora in grado di visualizzare tutti i file, ma il loro contenuto verrà distrutto in modo irreversibile e il ripristino sarà impossibile.

L’analisi di Trend Micro ha inoltre dimostrato che Anubis supporta diversi comandi al momento dell’avvio, tra cui comandi di escalation dei privilegi, l’esclusione di determinate directory e la specifica di percorsi di destinazione per la crittografia. Inoltre, il malware elimina le copie shadow del volume e termina processi e servizi che potrebbero interferire con il ransomware.

Viene utilizzato ancora ECIES (un algoritmo di crittografia basato su curve ellittiche), il che è piuttosto raro. Nel loro rapporto, gli esperti sottolineano la somiglianza di questa implementazione con i malware EvilByte e Prince.

L'articolo Anubis Ransomware: Ora Distrugge i File! Se non paghi e non li cacci dalla rete, cancellano tutto proviene da il blog della sicurezza informatica.

Creating strong permanent magnets without using so-called rare earth elements is an ongoing topic of research. An interesting contestant here are iron nitride magnets (α”-Fe₁₆N₂), which have the potential to create permanents magnets on-par with with neodymium (Nd₂Fe₁₄B) magnets. The challenging aspect with Fe-N magnets is their manufacturing, with recently [Ben Krasnow] giving it a shot over at the [Applied Science] YouTube channel following the method in a 2016 scientific paper by [Yanfeng Jiang] et al. in Advanced Engineering Materials.

This approach uses a ball mill (like [Ben]’s planetary version) with ammonium nitrate (NH₄NO₃) as the nitrogen source along with iron. After many hours of milling a significant part of the material is expected to have taken on the α”-Fe₁₆N₂ phase, after which shock compaction is applied to create a bulk magnet. After the ball mill grinding, [Ben] used a kiln at 200°C for a day to fix the desired phase. Instead of shock compaction, casting in epoxy was used as alternative.

We have covered Fe-N magnets before, along with the promises they hold. As one can see in [Ben]’s video, oxidation is a big problem, with the typical sintering as with other magnet types not possible either. Ultimately this led to the resulting magnet being fairly weak, with a DIY magnetometer used to determine the strength of the created magnet.

Interestingly, there’s a much newer paper by [Tetsuji Saito] et al. from 2024 in Metals that does use sintering, specifically spark plasma sintering with dynamic compression (SPS-DC). SPS-DC can be done at fairly low temperatures (373 – 573 K, or 99.85 – 299.85 °C), producing much stronger magnets than [Ben] accomplished.

Although Fe-N magnets hold a lot of promise, they have lower coercivity. This means that they demagnetize easier, which is another aspect that weighs against them. For now it would seem that we aren’t quite ready to say farewell to Nd-Fe-B magnets.

youtube.com/embed/M6XIgdS1rzs?…

hackaday.com/2025/06/19/iron-n…

Dear Friend of Press Freedom,

It’s the 87th day that Rümeysa Öztürk is facing deportation by the United States government for writing an op-ed it didn’t like, and journalists covering protests are still facing aggression from law enforcement. Read on to learn how you can help.

Five ways to help journalists covering protests

Like other protests, recent immigration raid protests in Los Angeles and elsewhere have proven to be dangerous places for journalists. Reporters and protestors are especially vulnerable to attacks by the police. In response, we’ve put together five ideas for how anyone who cares about press freedom and doesn’t want to see the authorities abuse the First Amendment can help.

From providing financial support to reporters and news outlets to filming attacks when it’s safe to filing public records requests, there are many things people can do to stand up for journalists and freedom of the press in this moment. With your help, journalists can and will continue to report the truth. Read more here.

And a shoutout to the California journalists and press freedom groups taking the Los Angeles Police Department to court over its abuses.

Remembering Daniel Ellsberg

Monday marked the second anniversary of the passing of legendary whistleblower, anti-war hero, and FPF co-founder Daniel Ellsberg. His courageous decision to leak the Pentagon Papers to the press in 1971 led to the most important Supreme Court case for press freedom in the century.

Read the moving tribute that our executive director, Trevor Timm, wrote for the Guardian after Ellsberg’s passing. You can also check out The Classifieds to see the work that Harper, our Daniel Ellsberg Chair on Government Secrecy, has been doing.

And if you’re considering following in Ellsberg’s footsteps, here’s a Reddit “Ask Me Anything” about how the public can safely share information with the press and use available tools to do so, featuring FPF’s Chief Information Security Officer and Director of Digital Security Harlo Holmes and SecureDrop Staff Engineer Kevin O’Gorman.

Agencies hijack the ‘public interest’ to attack free speech

Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr has turned the investigatory power of the agency against the press, while the Department of Justice is pursuing investigations into nonprofits connected to left-leaning causes.

One hook both are using to intrude on First Amendment activity is requirements that broadcast licensees and nonprofits operate in the “public interest” or for the “public benefit,” which the Trump administration interprets to mean kowtowing to its political agenda. To learn more, we spoke to FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez and nonprofit lawyer Ezra Reese. Read more and watch the conversation here.

Preparing devices for travel through a US border

Our digital security team at Freedom of the Press Foundation (FPF), in collaboration with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, put together a detailed checklist to help journalists prepare for transit through a U.S. port of entry while preserving the confidentiality of their most sensitive information, such as unpublished reporting materials or source contact information. Read it here. FPF and its partners are also conducting two in-person training programs for journalists and freelancers who cover migration and events on the U.S. border with Mexico.

Public records shouldn’t be blocked by copyright

FPF joined an amicus brief led by Americans for Prosperity in a case that raises the increasingly common issue of whether the Copyright Act allows government agencies to withhold public records. In short, it doesn’t. Read the brief here.

Pushing back on secrecy through public records

Join us on June 24 at 1 p.m. ET for an online conversation about using public records to push back on government secrecy, featuring Nate Jones, Freedom of Information Act Director at The Washington Post, Michael Morisy, CEO of MuckRock, investigative journalist and author Miranda Spivack and FPF’s Daniel Ellsberg Chair on Government Secrecy, Lauren Harper. Register here.

What we’re reading

Arrested in Georgia protest, immigrant journalist now in ICE custody (WRDW). There is absolutely no reason to deport a longtime journalist who is authorized to work in the United States. The Dekalb County Sheriff’s Office should not have released Mario Guevara to ICE.

Australian deported from US says he was ‘targeted’ due to writing on pro-Palestine student protests (The Guardian). The administration is using every tool at its disposal to retaliate against journalists and others who expose facts it wants kept secret or hold opinions it doesn’t like.

Trump to again extend TikTok’s reprieve from U.S. ban (The New York Times). Isn’t it weird how all the national security hawks have gone silent about the imminent, serious threat to the U.S. that TikTok supposedly poses? It’s almost like it was BS the whole time.

Mayor Adams says he’s banning Daily News reporter from pressers for ‘calling out’ questions (New York Daily News). What can we say about Eric Adams that a grand jury hasn’t already said? Not much, but here’s something: He’s a thin-skinned bully who apparently can’t handle unexpected questions from the press without throwing a tantrum.

Israeli strike on Iranian state TV fills studio with dust and debris during live broadcast (Associated Press). News outlets, even propagandist ones, are not legitimate military targets. Bombing a studio during a live broadcast will not impede Iran’s nuclear program. It’s not the work of the world’s “most moral army” and is not something the U.S. should support.

In a Sacramento federal courtroom, immigration hearings evoked the Dark Ages (Sacramento Bee). “At a time when there is great public interest in ICE and the Trump Administration’s plan for mass deportations, keeping the public and the press at bay will only stoke mistrust and is in no one’s best interest.”

Court dismisses father’s lawsuit against Burlington newspaper over lack of basketball coverage (VTDigger). The worst part is that this random Vermont basketball dad’s nonsense lawsuit objectively isn’t any more frivolous than legal theories advanced by our president.

freedom.press/issues/how-to-he…

The immigration raid protests that began on June 6, 2025, in Los Angeles and spread to other cities across the U.S. have shown, once again, that protests are one of the most dangerous places for journalists in America.

As of today, the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker has documented more than 20 press freedom incidents involving journalists covering protests in California, most of them instigated by law enforcement, and is investigating numerous others in California and other states.

Demonstrations have lessened recently, but they’re likely to resume as the Trump administration continues to push unpopular immigration raids in Democratic cities. Journalists — as well as protesters — remain vulnerable.

When the police detain, assault, and attack journalists covering protests, it can prevent them from reporting the news and the public from learning about newsworthy events. That’s why we all must condemn police attacks on the press and take action to stop them in the future.

If you don’t want to see the authorities abuse journalists and the First Amendment during protests, here are five things you can do to help.

1. Support local journalism.

Many of the journalists covering recent protests have been freelancers or reporters for smaller, local outlets. They could undoubtedly use your financial support. In recent years, many local news sources have struggled or even shuttered completely because they simply can’t make enough money to support themselves.

Your monetary support is what keeps the lights on and pays for the journalists who report from protests. Consider buying a subscription to news outlets that are sending journalists to cover protests in your community, or subscribing or donating to freelance journalists.

In Los Angeles, journalists for the small news outlets L.A. Taco and The Southlander have faced press freedom aggressions while covering recent protests, as have freelancers like Joey Scott. Journalists at commercial broadcasters like KTLA, KVEA, and KNBC, and larger outlets like the Los Angeles Times, The New Yorker, CNN, and the New York Post have also experienced press freedom incidents.

If you can’t support local outlets monetarily, you can also contribute to them through letters to the editor and op-eds making clear that you value their work and want them to be able to report safely. Even social media posts and reposts help.

2. Support injured journalists and journalists’ legal defense funds.

In addition to providing financial support to news outlets, individual journalists injured by law enforcement could use your help, as could the legal defense services that assist them.

For example, independent photojournalist Nick Stern suffered a severe injury at the recent LA protests. Stern is recovering from emergency surgery after being shot in the leg with a crowd-control munition. His friends started a GoFundMe campaign to help cover his medical bills.

In addition, The Intercept, in partnership with CalMatters and the National Press Photographers Association, has launched a rapid response fund to provide financial help for emergency medical support, among other costs, for journalists covering protests in LA.

Other journalists will need legal help to respond to unjustified arrests. The Intercept’s rapid response fund can be applied to legal expenses, as can the Society of Professional Journalists’ Legal Defense Fund. Both groups accept donations.

Another organization you may want to support is the Los Angeles Press Club, which, with help from another group worthy of your donations, the First Amendment Coalition, is suing local law enforcement for violating journalists’ First Amendment rights.

3. Film or record attacks and arrests of journalists, if it’s safe to do so.

Of course, financial support isn’t the only way you can help. If you witness law enforcement arresting or attacking journalists covering a protest and it is safe for you to do so, you should consider recording the incident.

Creating a record of journalists’ arrests and assaults can help hold police accountable. Publishing videos or photographs deters misconduct by bringing negative attention to police. Recordings, pictures, and witness statements can also be useful in future lawsuits. So, if possible, you should give copies of your recordings and contact information directly to the journalist or their news outlets.

Even if you see others recording, your recording may capture a useful angle that rebuts false narratives. For example, in this video an officer adamantly accuses ABC’s Matt Guttman of having provoked an altercation by “touching” him, but this video shows that it was the officer who pushed Guttman, who, at most, reflexively grabbed the officer’s arm to steady himself after being assaulted.

The public has a First Amendment right to record police in the performance of their official duties in public, including at protests. Of course, the existence of that right doesn’t necessarily mean it’s safe to exercise it. Police have been known to attack or arrest people who film them or take their pictures, and other laws may allow police to require non-journalists to disperse or move back. You should assess your personal risk and the laws in your jurisdiction before deciding to take pictures or videos of police arresting or attacking journalists.

4. Submit requests for public records and bodycam footage.

Even if you can’t document police action against journalists at protests while they’re underway, you may be able to unearth valuable documentation after the fact using public records requests.

If your state classifies bodycam footage as a public record, requests for police body-worn camera footage from protests could be particularly useful. (Even if your state does not consider bodycam footage a public record, you may be able to request it under a specific provision in state law governing such footage.) In the past, bodycam footage has shown police targeting journalists at demonstrations or ignoring reporter’s statements that they are press.

You don’t have to be a journalist to submit a records request. Organizations like MuckRock have easy-to-follow tools and guidance for submitting and tracking requests, and examples of requests from others that you can crib from.

5. Call on lawmakers to end qualified immunity.

Finally, one of the reasons that police feel emboldened to violate First Amendment rights of both protesters and journalists is because they know they can get away with it. A legal doctrine known as qualified immunity often protects police and other government officials from civil claims that they’ve violated a person’s constitutional rights. Police have invoked qualified immunity in cases brought by journalists alleging violations of their First Amendment rights, sometimes successfully and sometimes not.

After the police murder of George Floyd in 2020 and the subsequent Black Lives Matter protests, many called for an end to qualified immunity. Unfortunately, that reform effort has largely stalled.

Today, a few states ban or limit the ability of the police to invoke qualified immunity. Congress has introduced, but not passed, a bill to end qualified immunity. If you don’t want police to be able to attack protesters and journalists with impunity, contact your state and federal representatives and tell them to end qualified immunity.

What all five of these ideas have in common is that they call on you to exercise your First Amendment rights to protect journalists who are using theirs. Whether you’re supporting journalists’ work, documenting abuses, or contacting your representatives, your voice matters. With your help, journalists can and will continue to report the truth.

freedom.press/issues/journalis…

Filomena Gallo, Segretaria nazionale dell’Associazione Luca Coscioni partecipa assieme a Marco Perduca, responsabile delle attività internazionali dell’Associazione Luca Coscioni, e all’avvocata Angela Scaglione, attivista dell’Associazione, al dibattito Diritti scomodi: le leggi sul Fine vita e sulla Cannabis in Toscana, organizzato dal Partito Democratico della Toscana in collaborazione con i Giovani Democratici di Firenze.

L’appuntamento è per lunedì 23 giugno 2025, alle ore 18:30 presso il SMS di Rifredi in via Vittorio Emanuele II 303 a Firenze.

Sono previsti anche gli interventi di Iacopo Melio, consigliere regionale della Toscana, Enzo Brogi, responsabile Diritti Toscana PD e Andrea Raglianti, attivista dei Giovani Democratici di Firenze. Modera la giornalista de La Nazione, Sarah Esposito. Sono previsti, inoltre, i saluti iniziali dell’onorevole Marco Furfaro

L'articolo Filomena Gallo, Marco Perduca e Angela Scaglione partecipano al dibattito “Diritti scomodi: le leggi sul Fine vita e sulla Cannabis in Toscana” proviene da Associazione Luca Coscioni.

La Cellula Coscioni di Catania, in collaborazione con l’Unione degli Atei e Agnostici Razionalisti, Rivolta Pagina, il Centro antiviolenza Galatea, Sham Officine e le federazioni locali del Partito Democratico, Alleanza Verdi e Sinistra, Rifondazione Comunista e Potere al Popolo! promuovono il lancio della campagna Aborto senza ricovero.

L’appuntamento è per mercoledì 25 giugno 2025 alle ore 18:30 presso il Cinema King, in via Antonio De Curtis 14 a Catania.

Interverranno Walter Venti, ginecologo consultoriale, e Giorgia Landolfo, scrittrice e giornalista. Contestualmente avverrà la proiezione del film Mai raramente a volte sempre di Eliza Hittman. L’ingresso è di 5 euro.

L'articolo Lancio della campagna “Aborto senza ricovero” e proiezione del film “Mai raramente a volte sempre” proviene da Associazione Luca Coscioni.

La povertà aumenta, in Italia, in Europa.
Ovunque.
Togliere la dignità alle persone sembra l'idea di molti Governi.

noblogo.org/transit/povero-fut…

Transit

2025-06-18 12:27:41

Povero futuro.

(169)

Nota: questo sarà un post noioso, ma, a volte, le aride cifre fotografano nitidamente le situazioni, anche quelle molto grandi, anche quelle che dentro hanno milioni di persone. D’altro canto sono certo che chiunque vorrà leggere queste righe sa comprendere benissimo numeri e percentuali. Altrimenti sarebbe un guaio.

Nel corso del 2024, l’Italia ha registrato un aggravamento significativo sia della #povertà assoluta sia di quella relativa, alla luce di dati ufficiali e referti della società civile. Secondo l’ultimo rapporto ISTAT e della “Caritas”, la quota di persone in condizione di povertà assoluta ha raggiunto il 9,7 %, pari a circa 5,6–5,7 milioni di individui, corrispondente a circa 2,2 milioni di famiglie. Lo stesso rapporto segnala come la povertà assoluta, benché stabile tra il 2022 e il 2023, risulti al livello più elevato dell’ultimo decennio, con una progressione costante dal 2014 (dal 6,9 % al 9,7 %) per quanto riguarda le persone.

Sul versante della povertà relativa, si evidenzia un ulteriore peggioramento: nel 2023 le famiglie colpite dal fenomeno superavano i 2,8 milioni (10,6 %) e le persone in difficoltà ammontavano a 8,4 milioni (14,5 %). Parallelamente, l’Eurostat stima che nel 2024 il 23,1 % degli italiani – circa 13,5 milioni – viva in condizioni di rischio di povertà o esclusione sociale, con aumenti particolarmente allarmanti per quanto riguarda i minori e le persone over 60.

A questi numeri drammatici si accompagna la crescita del fenomeno dei “Working poor”: in Italia il 21 % dei lavoratori percepisce un reddito insufficiente per condurre una vita dignitosa, con una situazione che colpisce in modo particolarmente intenso le classi operaie (tra le quali la povertà assoluta ha superato il 16,5 %) e i 35-54enni, oltre il 30 % dei quali non riesce a evitare uno stato di indigenza.

Tale contesto si dispiega in un quadro di politiche pubbliche inadeguate: le misure statali di contrasto alla povertà — dal “reddito di inclusione” alla spesa sociale — risultano insufficienti e, in molti casi, inefficaci. Nonostante il “Reddito di cittadinanza” abbia avuto un impatto importante, ben il 56 % delle persone povere non lo ha percepito, per cause che vanno dai problemi di residenza alla burocrazia. Le politiche di welfare restano lacunose e non affrontano adeguatamente la questione del “lavoro povero”, né investono in una rete di protezione robusta per le famiglie vulnerabili.

Questa fragilità sociale si inserisce in un contesto europeo che appare sempre più orientato verso la militarizzazione. Il “ReArm Europe – Readiness 2030”, lanciato a marzo 2025 dalla Commissione UE, punta a mobilitare fino a 800 miliardi di euro in spese per la difesa, tra aumenti delle spese nazionali, fondi comuni e prestiti SAFE da 150 miliardi, con la possibilità di dirottare risorse dai fondi di coesione e sostenibilità. Secondo le ultime stime, per colmare il gap militare si dovrebbe arrivare a investire fino al 5 % del PIL, una cifra che in Francia, Regno Unito e in molti altri Paesi corrisponde all’intero ammontare delle loro politiche di welfare e di protezione sociale. Analisti economici sottolineano che una simile quantità di risorse sarà sottratta a capitoli cruciali per combattere la povertà, rafforzare l’istruzione, la sanità e l’inclusione sociale, aumentando di conseguenza le disuguaglianze e l’emarginazione delle fasce più deboli.

La convergenza tra crisi del reddito, insufficienza delle politiche sociali e spinta europea verso spese militari aggressive aggrava la condizione dei più deboli. Se non si rivedono le priorità — affiancando politiche attive per il lavoro, la dignità universale del reddito e un welfare veramente inclusivo — il rischio è quello di lasciare milioni di cittadini italiani ed europei in una situazione di esclusione sempre più profonda.

Ma, forse, è proprio questo lo scopo ultimo di tutta questa sequela di mancanze, di tutti i soldi che non andranno ad aiutare le persone, soprattutto quelle povere, emarginate, fastidiose: la loro eliminazione. Se non fisica (almeno lo spero), almeno dalla vita pubblica, dalla società. Relegare coloro che non possono più permettersi la dignità sarebbe un ottimo viatico alla dittatura totale del liberismo, dell’effimero, del domani concesso solo a chi i soldi li ha e non viene disturbato da Governi sempre più distanti da una minima idea di democrazia.Se il futuro deve ancora essere scritto, non può diventare così. Non dovrebbe permetterlo nessuno, mai.

#Blog #Italia #ReArmEurope #UE #Società #Povertà #Society #Poverty #Opinioni #Opinions

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Il blog di Alessandra Corubolo & Daniele Mattioli. On line -in varie forme- dal 2005.

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