Richard Stallman

Richard Stallman's Political Notes -

US vaccine-advisory committee as illegal - 2026-03-20T02:38:01+00:00

*The appointment of a controversial slate of [antivax] vaccine advisers by Robert F Kennedy Jr likely violated federal law, and all votes taken by the committee over the past year have been stayed, a federal judge ruled on Monday.*

In particular, their vote to remove many vaccines from the US childhood schedule has been rendered inactive — for now. But if a higher court reverses this court decision, that will reactivate the vote.

*These "advisers" "missed 99% of data" on Covid vaccines before making recommendation, memos reveal.*

The hardship-happy Tehranians - 2026-03-20T02:38:01+00:00

Interviews with civilians in Tehran who aren't sure which side of the war they need to fear more.

Iranian dissident disappeared, CAN - 2026-03-20T02:38:01+00:00

Masood Masjoody, an Iranian dissident in exile in Canada, disappeared and it looks like the regime had him murdered.

Betting on Iran war - 2026-03-20T02:38:01+00:00

Calling for investigation of bets about the attack on Iran, because of suspicions the bettors had inside information, and the implications if they did.

New supreme leader, IRN - 2026-03-20T02:38:01+00:00

Iran has plenty of supporters for its new supreme leader, just as it has plenty of protesters who hate him.

He is reported to hate the protesters and plans to ramp up the repression in Iran.

Refusing to sign bills into law, US - 2026-03-20T02:38:00+00:00

The wrecker threatens to go on strike by refusing to sign any bills that Congress might pass, unless/until it passes the voter-suppressing Subjugate America Act.

If he does go on strike, that would protect American from many bad bills that Republicans want to pass, bills which would attack our freedoms, crush the poor, or subject us to diseases.

Alas, we can't expect him to keep his word. He might at any moment break his own strike by signing some particularly vicious bill.

US/Israel-Iran war condemned, AUS - 2026-03-20T02:38:00+00:00

A famous and celebrated Australian defender of human rights has condemned the government's endorsement of the US and Israeli attack on Iran.

Iranians' dilemma: they are all tyrants - 2026-03-20T02:38:00+00:00

*"They [the US and Israel] are also lying! Like the regime has been lying to us," said Amir, a student at the University of Tehran. "You are all worse than each other."*

It appears to Iranians that Israel and the US are attacking infrastructure rather that the regime's SS-equivalent, trying to weaken Iran for the long term rather than free Iran.

It doesn't surprise me that they were only trying to use the Iranians who have opposed the Iranian tyranny. Neither Netanyahu nor the bullshitter cares about human rights, democracy, or well being, not those of ordinary people in any country, and neither one hesitates to lie.

Even so, with even a lick of sense they would have tried carefully to protect those Iranians and keep them on our side. It would not have cost much.

Urgent: Democratic National Committee investigation - 2026-03-19T01:39:56+00:00

US citizens: call on the Democratic National Committee to release their investigation into the causes of their defeat in the 2024 election.

Mexico's cartel violence fueled by US firearms - 2026-03-19T01:39:55+00:00

*Mexico's cartel violence fueled by trafficked firearms from US.*

It's no surprise that American right-wing extremists turn this on its head by claiming that guns come into the US from Mexico.

Antivax rhetoric spreading measles around the world - 2026-03-19T01:39:55+00:00

Antivax rhetoric boosted by the US government is spreading measles around the world. It is truly sickening.

Iran shut down communications again - 2026-03-19T01:39:55+00:00

Iran has once again shut down communication with other countries for nearly everyone.

Proposed bill to tax billionaires' wealth - 2026-03-19T01:39:55+00:00

Another proposed bill to tax billionaires' wealth has been introduced by Bernie Sanders and Ro Khanna.

It doesn't have enough support now to pass, but it will focus public pressure on politicians.

UK university halted human rights research - 2026-03-19T01:39:55+00:00

UK university halted human rights research after pressure from China.

It is crucial to limit the influence on your country's institutions of individuals, groups, companies and institutions in a repressive foreign country.

Abraham Lincoln argued against presidential power to counterinvade - 2026-03-19T01:39:54+00:00

How Abraham Lincoln argued against giving the president the unilateral and unchecked power to counterinvade.

Funds that keep global internet visible where access is blocked - 2026-03-19T01:39:54+00:00

The wrecker's henchmen eliminated most of the funds that help keep the global internet visible inside countries that try to block access to foreign news and discussion. These funds reduced the effectiveness of Putin's imaginary world propaganda.

DoJ drops legal case against law firms - 2026-03-19T01:39:54+00:00

US DoJ drops legal case against law firms that stood up in court against the bully's arbitrary demands for subservience by these big law firms.

Case involved henchmen's orders targeting major law firms for representing clients or causes the president wanted to blow away.

Texas increased tax on poor - 2026-03-19T01:39:54+00:00

Texas has increased the tax on the poor represented by the system of cash bail.

Nominally, bail is money handed over by or on behalf of the defendant, to be returned if the defendant does appear for trial. This would appear to be fair (except when the defendant can't come up with that much money and is kept in jail during months or years of waiting).

But the way the system usually really works is that the defendant gets the money from a "bail bonds" company for a nonrefundable fee of around 10% of the sum. The company will later get its money back from the court, but the defendant pays, in effect, a tax for being charged.

(satire) Kim Jong Un daughter executing boys - 2026-03-19T01:39:53+00:00

(satire) Kim Jong Un Can't Believe Daughter Already Executing Boys.

The "homogenocene" epoch - 2026-03-19T01:39:53+00:00

In the "homogenocene" epoch, human effects mess up specialized niches and drive their specialized species extinct, and they are replaced by generalist species such as pigeons and rats.

I think it is a mistake to extend this to the disappearance of coral, since that is due to a systematic trend human-caused that damages coral.

Indirect method of measuring sea levels - 2026-03-19T01:39:53+00:00

An indirect method of measuring sea levels at points around the world has been found to be inaccurate. Remeasuring with better methods will give a more accurate picture of soon any particular piece of coastal land is likely to be inundated.

The rate of sea level rise is mostly under human control. The question is which humans will prevail: the inhabitants of coastal regions, or the planet roasters.

(satire) Deportation agent trying to detain people in mural - 2026-03-19T01:39:53+00:00

(satire) *[Deportation] Agent Injured After Repeatedly Trying To Detain People In Neighborhood Mural.*

Prioritizing socially and ecologically destructive growth - 2026-03-19T01:39:53+00:00

* Olivier De Schutter, the UN special rapporteur [107]on extreme poverty and human rights, says politicians must stop prioritizing "socially and ecologically destructive growth" that only increases the profits – and serves the consumption demands – of the world’s richest individuals and corporations.

"The scarce resources we have should be used to prioritize the basic needs of people in poverty and to create what is of societal value rather than serve the frivolous desires of the ultra-rich."*

I agree.

Using Pretend Intelligence to plan wars - 2026-03-19T01:39:53+00:00

The lunatic is using Pretend Intelligence to plan wars. This is a risky thing to do.

Please don't refer to PI as "Artificial Intelligence". If you train yourself to take for granted that it really is intelligence, you'll come to learn to expect it to be far more intelligent than it really is.

It is clear that computing companies' rules can't effectively bind a powerful government.

Deportation thugs tricked Oregon cops - 2026-03-19T01:39:52+00:00

The deportation thugs tricked Oregon cops into helping them by hiding their raid for deportation behind a raid by other federal agencies for alleged growing or marijuana.

Just goes to show you can never trust what a federal agency tells you when the bullshitter has anything to do with it.

(satire) NBA commitment to gamblers - 2026-03-19T01:39:52+00:00

(satire) *NBA Reaffirms Commitment To Gamblers Only Ruining Their Lives Legally.*

Kash Patel halted probe into killing of Renee Good - 2026-03-19T01:39:52+00:00

Kash Patel Halted Probe Into [the killing of] Renee Good [for PR purposes: so she would not be described as "victim"].

Attacking the moral basis of civilization - 2026-03-19T01:39:52+00:00

Robert Reich: The unlimited use of military and monetary power is attacking the moral basis of civilization.

Kristi Noem's firing from the DHS - 2026-03-19T01:39:52+00:00

*Kristi Noem's [firing] from the DHS won't mean an end to agency's violent tactics.*

Some details might change, as the new head of Hatred and Sadism may have a different set of fetishes and cunning ideas. But the overall mission from the hater won't change much.

US SecDef: "No quarter", no survivors - 2026-03-18T08:38:40+00:00

Henchman Hegseth ordered "no quarter" at war, which means to execute any enemy soldiers that surrender. Doing that would be a war crime: killing prisoners.

Urgent: War as "operations", "campaigns" - 2026-03-18T08:38:40+00:00

In the US: call on the media to call the war with Iran a "war".

Iran war: war-lover's distraction tactic - 2026-03-18T08:38:40+00:00

*Why would the bully launch a foreign war when he is so domestically weak? Precisely because he is weak.* The article presents the war as a distraction from how weak he is, and from his plans to rig the election in November.

Iran war images faked - 2026-03-18T08:38:39+00:00

*[Pretend Intelligence]-generated Iran images are widespread. How do we know what to believe?*

I think the advice in that article is wise.

Iran war as "wishful thinking" - 2026-03-18T08:38:39+00:00

*Israel did not have a realistic plan for regime change when it attacked Iran, multiple Israeli security sources have said, with expectations that airstrikes could lead to a popular uprising having been driven by "wishful thinking" rather than hard intelligence.*

Iran war damaging heritage sites - 2026-03-18T08:38:39+00:00

*Dismay as ancient heritage sites across Iran damaged in US-Israel bombing*

The most serious confirmed damage to date has been to Tehran’s Golestan Palace, dating back to the 14th century, and the 17th-century Chehel Sotoon Palace in Isfahan.

Judging from videos and public statements, neither historic building was hit by a missile directly but the shock wave from nearby blasts and possibly some missile debris shattered glass and brought down tiles and masonry.*

Why aim a missile that close to a unique ancient treasure? Whatever legitimate target was near either of those palaces, it could not have been so militarily important as to justify the risk of damage to them, nor the risk of alienating Iranians.

Unwanted Iran-war failure points, fixes - 2026-03-18T08:38:39+00:00

Robert Reich: *The best way for us to respond to the devastation of this war … is to strengthen the mechanisms that should never have allowed it to occur in the first place.*

Iran War images illegal, UAE - 2026-03-18T08:38:39+00:00

Dubai is especially repressive about posting photos or videos of anything related to the war, and even commenting on such postings. Foreigners are shocked when they face many years in prison for that.

Iran's defiant stance - 2026-03-18T08:38:39+00:00

Iran's rulers believe that they can hold out despite US attacks, and are unwilling to agree to any concessions.

The article reports an expert as saying that Israel bombed Iran's infrastructure, with that the people now see this war as an attack against their country rather than as an attempt to liberate them from religious tyranny.

I speculated a few days ago that Iranians would be torn between these two perspectives.

Predicting this result, *Iranians living in UK tell Starmer that war will only strengthen Tehran regime.*

Thus, it seems that Netanyahu and the wrecker were carried away by foolish overconfidence and defeated themselves: they turned a potential ally, the Iranian people, against them.

US aerial attack on Iranian school - 2026-03-18T08:38:38+00:00

Available evidence shows that the Minab school was attacked by the US, as part of an attack on the Iranian military buildings right nearby.

I think this convincing proof that US fired at a missile at that school, not intentionally, but through assuming erroneously that it was a military structure.

The US military had pictures that should have indicated the building was a school, so it had the responsibility to recognize this and spare the school. I think that makes the attack a culpable error, but that is not as bad as an intentional atrocity.

DSHS head was recently fired - 2026-03-18T08:38:38+00:00

The gnome has been fired as head of the Department of Hatred and Sadism. *She committed the cardinal sin of making [the bully] look stupid.*

Bait-and-kill-medics tactic in Iran war - 2026-03-18T08:38:38+00:00

The US and Israel are using in Iran the terrorist tactic of dropping a second bomb just when medics have had time to attend victims of the first bomb.

Iran war ideologies - 2026-03-18T08:38:38+00:00

Arguing that the bully and Netanyahu have misunderstood Iran's governmental system and Iranian people's attitudes.

The writer suggests they are not likely to collapse. If Iran does at last fall apart, it won't be the way they expect.

Kurds asked to join Iran war - 2026-03-18T08:38:38+00:00

I have a hunch that any non-Persian group in Iran that allies itself with the US will arouse hostility among Persians.

Iran war startings and endings - 2026-03-18T08:38:37+00:00

The wrecker's bombings have made Iran unstable, but he and his henchmen have no clear idea of how this will end, or even how they wish it will. At some point he will say, "It's over, we won."

But it may not be "over" in any meaningful sense. The repressive Revolutionary Guards, the Iranian people, the Gulf states and Israel have conflicting ideas of how they want Iran to end up, and they may fight over this for months or decades.

The US is encouraging Kurdish and Balochi separatists outside Iran's borders to enter Iran and destabilize the border areas.

Perhaps the US commanders see this as a way to make the situation even more tactically complex for Iran's military. But it could also give the Revolutionary Guards a way to rally the support of Iranians whose sense of nationalism takes offense at the possibility of "dismembering" Iran.

To come out of this crises with peace and respect for freedom calls for someone with the understanding of statemanship together with the political strength to win people over to an outcome. I don't see who that could be, or what the outcome might be.

Why war with Iran? - 2026-03-18T08:38:36+00:00

*[The bully and his henchmen have] still not settled on reasons for going to war with Iran.*

Iran War: escalation paths - 2026-03-17T14:37:52+00:00

The wrecker and Iran have different escalation paths available, and both include making the war broader and harder to halt.

The Society of Authors - 2026-03-15T02:37:41+00:00

*UK Society of Authors launches logo to identify books written by humans.*

I support this specific campaign, because it is a campaign for honesty and against worthless Pretend Intelligence. It may help people reject PI slop.

However, I continue to reject the selfishness of most of the same authors, when they demand the power to stop human readers from honestly and truthfully sharing copies of human-authored books with other humans.

Plan to cut jury trials - 2026-03-15T02:37:40+00:00

*MP [Charlotte Nichols] tells Commons she waited 1,088 days for her rape case to reach court. [Nonetheless,] Charlotte Nichols opposes plan to cut jury trials in England and Wales and calls [instead] for creation of special courts to hear rape cases.*

I basically agree with her: prosecuting crime is vital and so is the right to a trial by jury. There is no fundamental conflict between them — all that's needed is to tax the rich enough to pay for these and the other things that even non-rich people deserve.

LYNX bus routes - 2026-03-15T02:37:40+00:00

A county in Florida has replaced some bus routes with an ULU system (Unjust Like Uber) that requires an individual user to make a request via a snoop-phone.

Missing 1.5C climate target - 2026-03-15T02:37:39+00:00

*The failure to limit global heating to 1.5C is a "moral failure and deadly negligence," the UN secretary general [said] at the opening session of the COP30 climate summit.*

Alas, COP30 proceeded to (in effect) abandon that goal, which many countries had abandoned already in the preceding year.

The causes of that abandonment are not visible, but I suspect the impetus comes from billionaires who are sucking up to governments that are more or less fascist and in cahoots with the fossil fuel companies.

One of them is Bill Gates, who has called for offering palliative care to the billions of poor who will be wiped over coming decades by accelerating global heating.

By the way, I do not endorse the straw man claim that global heating could literally render humanity extinct. Humans, even without science and the technology it led to, were very flexible about surviving in a wide range of environments. But the number who could survive would be far less than today.