How the Coast Guard Revised Its Policy on Swastikas, Nooses and Bullying; The New York Times, November 24, 2025

 John Ismay, The New York Times ; How the Coast Guard Revised Its Policy on Swastikas, Nooses and Bullying

"The revisions set off a backlash. Seth Levi of the Southern Poverty Law Center, a nonprofit civil rights group, called the new policy “a national embarrassment.”

Just hours later, on Thursday night, the Coast Guard’s leadership gave assurance that the public display of hateful symbols would continue to be banned. But whether a service member could display such symbols in private remained unclear...

Why did the Coast Guard make the changes?

Neither the Coast Guard nor the Homeland Security Department offered an explanation for why the “hate incident” category was eliminated, nor why officials felt the need to create a distinction between public and private displays of symbols like nooses and swastikas.

The ban on gender identity issues, however, came straight from the White House."

Putin’s Twisted Drone Scheme Now Has Kids Helping to Kill Kids; The Daily Beast, August 29, 2025

 Anna Nemtsova, The Daily Beast ; Putin’s Twisted Drone Scheme Now Has Kids Helping to Kill Kids

"Children as young as 7 are now being forced to join Vladimir Putin’s dystopian drone war, which rained down attacks on Kyiv on Thursday that left 23 people dead, including four kids.

The 7-year-olds are not directly involved in the war in Ukraine, but in a chilling escalation, they will be trained as future drone pilots as part of their education in school from next year. And then, starting in ninth grade, children are being actively recruited to work in a drone factory that is part of a college where unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) that are sent to kill civilians in Ukraine are being manufactured.

Conditions are brutal in the drone factory at Alabuga college, 600 miles west of Moscow, with allegations of bullying and physical abuse. One of the young workers, who asked to be called Kate, told the Daily Beast that she was being reprogrammed into an “unbreakable” part of Putin’s war machine...

Putin said drone piloting had to become a part of the school program to teach children “to pilot, assemble and construct drones.”

“I am convinced that it will make the kids busy with something useful and interesting, distract them from things they should not be doing,” he explained."

Marines investigating social media post that appears to mock potential recruit; Task & Purpose, August 18, 2025

JEFF SCHOGOL , Task & Purpose; Marines investigating social media post that appears to mock potential recruit

[Kip Currier: This is a really interesting story on several levels. I wouldn't have necessarily expected the Marine Corps to take such a strong stance against what is clearly an example of cyberbullying. It's encouraging to see such an unequivocal response against bullying, given the Corps' reputation as the nation's elite fighting force. When you consider the challenges that most military branches have had with meeting recruitment goals in recent years (see here and here), though, it makes practical sense that this kind of social media bullying would be viewed as counter-productive, as well as unethical.

Given Pete Hegseth's stated intent to instill "warrior culture" and both Hegseth and Trump 2.0's "war on wokeness", which I can imagine them arguing this stance against bullying would exemplify, it will be interesting to see if Hegseth comments on this incident or overrides the statement by Captain Hardin (see below).]

[Excerpt]

"Marine Corps officials are investigating whether a Marine derided a poolee on social media for not completing the Corps’ Delayed Entry Program, which allows potential recruits to prepare to ship out to boot camp. (Civilians in the Delayed Entry Program for the Marine Corps are colloquially referred to as “poolees.”)

An image shared on the unofficial Marine subreddit page appears to be a screenshot of an Instagram post showing a picture of a young man standing in front of a wall with the Marine Corps’ Eagle, Globe and Anchor emblem with the word “Quitter” superimposed over him.

Underneath the picture is a description about how the Marine Corps is not for the “weak minded,” and how the Delayed Entry Program is meant to “get rid of the weak and to help others who want it grow to their full potential.”

The post, which appeared over the weekend, “did not reflect the values and standards” of the Marine Corps and included language that “was inconsistent with the supportive and professional environment we strive to maintain,” said Capt. John Hardin, director of the Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island Communication Strategy and Operations Office.

“We are investigating the incident thoroughly and taking appropriate action to ensure that our recruiting personnel uphold the highest standards of conduct,” Hardin said in a statement to Task & Purpose."

The U.S.-Canada Border Runs Through This Library. That’s Now a Problem.; The New York Times, May 30, 2025

 Norimitsu Onishi, The New York Times ; The U.S.-Canada Border Runs Through This Library. That’s Now a Problem.

"“I think there’s a sentiment of this little library being bullied by this powerful administration, and that helped encourage people to contribute,” said Steve Timmins, a Canadian visiting the library. “In light of what’s going on, it’s an important symbol of the friendship that cannot be taken away.”"

The weekend the "Free World" died; The Ink, March 2, 2025

 ANAND GIRIDHARADAS, The Ink; ESSAY: The weekend the "Free World" died

In the Oval Office fiasco, a country revealed

"Early in the afternoon on Friday, the president and the vice president of the United States delivered a contemptuous scolding to the wartime leader of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky. The country of “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall” and “We choose to go to the moon” and “rendezvous with destiny” had become the country of “You’re not in a good position. You don’t have the cards right now. With us, you start having cards.” It was a shocking, abusive scene, unlike any foreign policy chroniclers could recall. By Sunday, the British prime minister had declared that “we are at a crossroads in history,” and European countries were talking about a coalition of the willing to defend Ukraine. It was the weekend the notion of the “free world” died...

Toward the end of the meeting, Trump commented that the awful scene he had participated in would make great television. Here was the triumph of the spirit of attention-seeking at any cost, the spirit in which there are no values worth defending if they do not carry the possibility of making people watch you. Everyone is an influencer now; everyone covets followers more than friends. Trump trash-talked an erstwhile American ally because he knew it would do numbers with his followers.

In recent weeks, I have wondered why the leaders of other countries have not been brave in calling out the situation in the United States, in naming this fascist threat from within. The obvious answer is American power and leverage. It can be expensive to speak truth to superpower, as Zelensky will surely be learning in coming days.

But after the meltdown in the Oval Office on Friday, I began to wonder if another reason is involved. Maybe those leaders, like much of the world, do not look at America right now and see a country being hijacked by this dangerous leader. Maybe much of the world looks at a country that, in its bones, has fundamentally changed. Has lost that other spirit. Lost the sunniness, the hopefulness, the decency, the will to sacrifice, the idealism, the confidence, the hope.

What will stop Trump? everyone is asking all day long. Maybe an actual and effective form of resistance will involve more than the thwarting of a leader. It will be a cultural project up and down American life. To resist the meanness and smallness and cruelty and cynicism and solipsism. To insist, by showing, that what he is is not who we are."

It Was an Ambush: Today marked one of the grimmest days in the history of American diplomacy.; The Atlantic, February 28, 2025

Tom Nichols, The Atlantic; It Was an Ambush

Today marked one of the grimmest days in the history of American diplomacy.

"Vance’s presence at the White House also suggests that the meeting was a setup. Vance is usually an invisible backbencher in this administration, with few duties other than some occasional trolling of Trump’s critics. (The actual business of furthering Trump’s policies is apparently now Elon Musk’s job.) This time, however, he was brought in to troll not other Americans, but a foreign leader. Marco Rubio—in theory, America’s top diplomat—was also there, but he sat glumly and silently while Vance pontificated like an obnoxious graduate student.

Zelensky objected, as he should have, when the vice president castigated the Ukrainian president for not showing enough personal gratitude to Trump. And then in a moment of immense hypocrisy, Vance told Zelensky that it was “disrespectful for you to come into the Oval Office and try to litigate this in front of the American media.” But baiting Zelensky into fighting in front of the media was likely the plan all along, and Trump and Vance were soon both yelling at Zelensky. (“This is going to be great television,” Trump said during the meeting.) The president at times sounded like a Mafia boss—“You don’t have the cards”; “you’re buried there”—but in the end, he sounded like no one so much as Putin himself as he hollered about “gambling with World War III,” as if starting the biggest war in Europe in nearly a century was Zelensky’s idea...

Trump might as well have dictated this post on Truth Social before the meeting, because Zelensky didn’t stand a chance of having an actual discussion at the White House. When he showed Trump pictures of brutalized Ukrainian soldiers, Trump shrugged. “That’s tough stuff,” he muttered. Perhaps someone told Zelensky that Trump doesn’t read much, and reacts to images, but Trump, uncharacteristically, seems to have been determined to stay on message and pick a fight...

The sheer rudeness shown to a foreign guest and friend of the United States was (to use a word) deplorable as a matter of manners and grace, but worse, Trump and Vance acted like a couple of online Kremlin sock puppets instead of American leaders. They pushed talking points that they either knew or should have known were wrong. Even if Zelensky were as fluent and capable in English as Winston Churchill, he would never have been able to rebut the flood of falsehoods."

A spectacle to horrify the world’: what the papers say about Trump and Vance’s meeting with Zelenskyy; The Guardian, February 28, 2025

 Guardian staff , The Guardian; A spectacle to horrify the world’: what the papers say about Trump and Vance’s meeting with Zelenskyy

"The unprecedented scenes in the Oval Office dominated the front pages on Saturday, with the papers united in their horror. Adjectives including disastrous and vile were used to describe the meeting in which Donald Trump and his vice-president JD Vance openly berated the Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy...

The Daily Mail called the meeting “A spectacle to horrify the world” and said that during the “shouting match in the Oval Office” a “raging Trump humiliates Zelensky on live TV”...

The Daily Mirror went for “Shock & War” as its front page headline, with subheads reading “Trump stuns the world with vile rant at Zelensky” and “Ukraine hero forced home without a deal.”...

The Sun declared “Ukraine hero ambushed” above the splash headline “The Fight House”, alongside a picture of Trump wagging his finger at Zelenskyy...

The Independent said “Zelensky ambushed by Trump, calling the meeting a “disastrously bad-tempered summit”."

Meet Sarah Beth Morgan: An Animation Artist Drawn to Purpose; Library of Congress Blogs, March 28, 2024

 Ashley Tucker , Library of Congress Blogs; Meet Sarah Beth Morgan: An Animation Artist Drawn to Purpose

"Morgan works in the animation field of “motion graphics,” where she brings graphic shapes, typography, and characters to life. She defines her creative style as “playful, quirky, and maybe even a little bit unexpected.” Her most recent animation, Between Lines, is a short film about “the scarring experience of schoolgirl bullying—and the recovery that follows.” The film has received several accolades, including the Audience Award for Animation at the Brooklyn Film Festival as well as Official Selection at Pictoplasma Berlin and the SCAD Savannah Film Festival...

Animation is an example of a motion picture, which is a type of work that can be registered with the U.S. Copyright Office. Motion Pictures are works that contain a series of related images that are intended to be shown with a projector, digital display, or other device. When the images are shown in successive order, they create an impression of movement that is perceptible to the eye. The Copyright Office offers resources on registering a motion picture and provides ways to help grow a creative business in Copyright Registration at a Glance.

Women creators are an essential part of the copyright system, and participating in it allows women artists to benefit economically from their creative works. In 2022, the Copyright Office released a report, Women in the Copyright System: An Analysis of Women Authors in Copyright Registrations from 1978 to 2020. It found that women creators are significantly underrepresented in registrations, especially compared to their participation in copyright-intensive industries, despite an overall positive trend over time...

Sarah Beth Morgan is one of many women who enhance our nation’s creative landscape. The Copyright Office aims to broaden public awareness of what copyright encompasses and how to participate in it. A cornerstone of the Office’s current strategic plan is the advancement of Copyright for All, and the Office is committed to making the copyright system as clear and accessible to as many members of the public as possible, particularly individuals, small businesses, and historically underserved populations."

How can employees and businesses deal with bullying in the hybrid workplace?, Lexology, January 11, 2022

Stewarts - Charlie Thompson , Lexology ; How can employees and businesses deal with bullying in the hybrid workplace?

"Bullying at work reflects the culture of a workplace. Certain conditions create a hospitable environment for bullying, whether it is leadership failures, excessive work pressure, a workplace full of cliques, policies that are not enforced, lack of training or an HR team that is not empowered to tackle problems. In this article, originally published in HRM Guide, Charlie Thompson considers how workplace bullying has changed as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, and what employees can do about it."

Uber board member resigns after making a joke about women at a company meeting on sexism; Los Angeles Times, June 13, 2017

Tracy Lien, Los Angeles Times; Uber board member resigns after making a joke about women at a company meeting on sexism

"Biillionaire businessman David Bonderman resigned from Uber’s board of directors Tuesday evening after making a joke about women at a companywide meeting aimed at addressing the harassment of women and unprofessional conduct at the company...

Bonderman’s remarks came earlier in the day when Uber held a staff meeting to discuss recommendations from a months-long investigation into allegations of sexual harassment, bullying, discrimination and employee misconduct."

Prince William Appears on the Cover of Attitude, a Gay Magazine; New York Times, 6/15/16

Katie Williams, New York Times; Prince William Appears on the Cover of Attitude, a Gay Magazine:

"Ms. Chernock said that Diana understood that the news media could be used to bring awareness to her causes; she also knew that it could help keep the royal family relevant and fashion her image as a royal. When she chose to shake hands with an H.I.V.-positive man in 1987, she was credited with helping to shed light on a cause that had been shunned and ignored.

"That was a really huge turning point for her,” Ms. Chernock said, “and really did change a lot of the public attitude toward H.I.V. AIDS in particular, but as a consequence, the gay community more generally.”

Her sons have largely followed her blueprint. In March, Prince Harry made headlines when he spoke about the need for gender equality while on a visit to Nepal. But Prince William’s decision to allow himself to be photographed for a gay magazine, Ms. Chernock said, shows a royal “pushing the envelope further than we’ve seen before.”"

Monica Lewinsky: ‘The shame sticks to you like tar’; Guardian, 4/22/16

Jon Ronson, Guardian; Monica Lewinsky: ‘The shame sticks to you like tar’ :

"The reason why she finally agreed to meet me, despite her anxieties, is that the Guardian is highlighting the issue of online harassment through its series The web we want – an endeavour she approves of. “Destigmatising the shame around online harassment is the first step,” she says. “Well, the first step is recognising there’s a problem.”

Lewinsky was once among the 20th century’s most humiliated people, ridiculed across the world. Now she’s a respected and perceptive anti-bullying advocate. She gives talks at Facebook, and at business conferences, on how to make the internet more compassionate. She helps out at anti-bullying organisations like Bystander Revolution, a site that offers video advice on what to do if you’re afraid to go to school, or if you’re a victim of cyberbullying...

Later, she emails to explain why she didn’t walk away in the school playground – and why we read the negative comments. “I guess I was in shock,” she writes. “Psychologists speak about freezing as a response to a traumatic event. I was probably more afraid of the imagined pain of being completely outcast than the pain I was experiencing in that moment. Maybe there’s a twisted need to read the comments as a form of self-preservation, to be prepared for what may come down the pike.”"

How to Deal with a Mean Colleague; Harvard Business Review, 10/16/14

Amy Gallo, Harvard Business Review; How to Deal with a Mean Colleague:

"Know the limitations When none of the above works you have to consider: Is this uncivil, mean behavior or am I being bullied? If you are in an abusive situation (not just a tough one), Namie and Woodward agree that chances of change are low. “The only time I’ve seen a bully change is when they are publicly fired. The sanctions don’t work,” says Woodward. Instead, you need to take action to protect yourself. Of course, in an ideal world, senior leaders would immediately fire people who are toxic to a workplace. But both Namie and Woodward agree that rarely happens. “Even though the statistics are clear on the impact on morale, retention, performance, it’s very hard for organizations to take action,” Woodward says. If you’re in an abusive situation at work, the most tenable solution may be to leave — if that’s a possibility. The Workplace Bullying Institute has done online surveys that show more people stay in a bullying situation because of pride (40% of respondents) than because of economics (38%). If you’re worried about letting the bully win, Namie says, you’re better off worrying about your own wellbeing."