Richard Stallman

Richard Stallman's Political Notes -

Proscribing Palestine Action - 2025-07-05T02:37:37+00:00

*Palestine Action is part of Britain's proud history of protest. Proscribing it is an assault on democracy.*

British food co-op boycotting exports from countries with human rights abuses - 2025-07-05T02:37:36+00:00

A nationwide British food co-op has decided to boycott exports from a list of countries, on account of their widespread human rights abuses: Afghanistan, Belarus, Central African Republic, North Korea, Democratic Republic of Congo, Haiti, Iran, Israel, Libya, Mali, Myanmar, Russia, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

Netanyahu likely to break Iran-Israel cease fire - 2025-07-05T02:37:36+00:00

Arguing that Netanyahu is likely to break the Iran-Israel cease fire because he stands to gain from unending war.

(satire) Entitled child expects to eat every day - 2025-07-05T02:37:36+00:00

(satire) *Entitled Child Expects To Eat Lunch Every Day.*

(satire) Blank Bill for Trump to write whatever law he wants - 2025-07-05T02:37:35+00:00

(satire) *Congress Passes Blank Bill For Trump To Write Whatever Law He Wants.*

(satire) Christian Faith important part of who Senator pretends to be - 2025-07-05T02:37:35+00:00

(satire) *Christian Faith An Important Part Of Who Senator Pretends To Be.*

Campaign to repress journalism intimidating students writing for school papers - 2025-07-05T02:37:35+00:00

The wrecker's campaign to repress journalism is intimidating many students who write or wrote for school newspapers. They are asking the newspapers to delete their articles.

The USA's tree of liberty was always flawed, but now it may be poisoned entirely. The wrecker's axe is cutting into the heart of the trunk.

National government system for internet accounts in China - 2025-07-05T02:37:35+00:00

China has set up a national government system for internet accounts, enabling uniform ID checks on all platforms.

Every unified national system of internet accounts is a scheme ready-made for repression. Whatever its purpose is — even if it is only to verify a person's age — it will enable the government to track all of everyone's internet use, on all servers that the state chooses to impose this on. Combine that with a would-be autocrat and it is disaster.

Government building database to list all citizens - 2025-07-05T02:37:34+00:00

The US government is building a database to list all citizens. This will be dangerous, because it won't list all citizens, only those whom the federal government has verified.

The article says that it *could provide local and state governments a powerful method to check the citizenship of almost all Americans without additional documentation requirements.* But that must be confusion. Even if the data base has a record about you, you will still have to authenticate yourself as that person. What papers will that require?

The "voter ID" method of voter suppression demands that voters show up-to-date government ID. That disenfranchises many citizens who had to move to a different address and have not had the time to update their driver's licenses since. Republicans adopt this method because it tends to stop poor people, students, and old people from voting.

What will happen to people with such driver's licenses if a state checks this citizenship data base? Will it suppress their votes?

Court ruled temporary protected status of Haitians can't be ended prematurely - 2025-07-05T02:37:34+00:00

A court ruled that Kristi Gnome cannot prematurely end the temporary protected status of Haitians.

Religion as political cudgel, Turkey - 2025-07-03T14:37:44+00:00

The publication in Turkey of a cartoon which appears to show Muhammad and Moses shaking hands inspired Erdoğan's tyranny to revile and imprison the cartoonists.

Apparently the idea of peace between religious groups is "against [the] sacred values" of religious fanatics.

Condemnation of depicting Muhammad has not been a universal principle of Islam, and anyway, no religious group has the right to impose censorship on the public. Not Muslims in Turkey, not Christians in the US, and not Jews either.

Tick-bite that can cause meat allergy - 2025-07-03T02:37:28+00:00

Ticks of a certain species, from the southeast US, cause a painful and lasting allergy to mammal meat and dairy, in humans they bite. Due to global heating, the ticks are spreading north and have been seen in New York and Maine, close to the northern border of the US.

One could imagine that the spread of this allergy could reduce consumption of red meat and dairy thus curb global heating, but I don't think it would be enough to save civilization.

Federal judiciary as meddlers - 2025-07-03T02:37:28+00:00

Robert Reich: *Last night I couldn’t get out of my head that [the would-be emperor] is intent on abolishing the two branches of the government with the constitutional duty to constrain him.*

Federal court injunctions as overreach - 2025-07-03T02:37:28+00:00

The Big Brutal Bill was going to strip federal courts of the power to issue injunctions to block specific unconstitutional or illegal practices no matter who the victim was. The decision on that bill has not yet been made, as far as I know. But the Supreme Court just did the deed.

The Supreme Court's devastating decision effectively allows the bully to disregard the constitution, except against the specific plaintiffs that have sued about it.

The same 9 justices upheld that power as legitimate when it was used against Biden's policies, and for a long time before that under other presidents.

More about this.

I've read that some lawyers are using a class-action suit to try to get around this change.

Urgent: Restore funding for vaccine development - 2025-07-02T08:37:30+00:00

US citizens: call on the CDC to restore funding for vaccine development.

Here's how to make the actionnetwork.org letter campaign linked above work without running the site's nonfree JavaScript code. (See https://gnu.org/philosophy/javascript-trap.html for why that issue matters.)

First, make sure you have deactivated JavaScript in your browser or are using the LibreJS plug-in.

I have done the next step for you: I added `?nowrapper=true' to the end of the campaign URL before posting it above. That should bring you to a page that starts with, "Letter campaigns will not work without javascript!"

They indeed won't work without some manual help, but the following simple method seems adequate for many of them, including this one.

To start, fill in the personal information answers in the box on the right side of the page. That's how you say who's sending the letter.

Then click the "START WRITING" button. That will take you to a page that can't function without nonfree JavaScript code. (To ensure it doesn't function perversely by running that nonfree code, you can enable LibreJS or disable JavaScript by visiting that page.) You can finish sending without that code By editing its URL in the browser's address bar, as follows:

First, go to the end and insert `&nowrapper=true'. Then tell the browser to visit that URL. This should give you a version of the page that works without JavaScript. Edit the subject and body of your letter. Finally, click on the "SEND LETTER" button, and you're done.

This method seems to work for letter campaigns that send the letters to a fixed list of recipients, the same recipients for every sender. Editing and revisiting the URL is the only additional step needed to bypass the nonfree JavaScript code. I'm sure you'll agree it is a small effort for the result of supporting the campaign without opening your computer to unjust (and potentially malicious) software.

Urgent: Retract nomination of Fedex board member to USPS - 2025-07-02T08:37:30+00:00

US citizens: call on the USPS board of governors to retract its nomination of a Fedex board member as head of the USPS.

Here's how to make the actionnetwork.org letter campaign linked above work without running the site's nonfree JavaScript code. (See https://gnu.org/philosophy/javascript-trap.html for why that issue matters.)

First, make sure you have deactivated JavaScript in your browser or are using the LibreJS plug-in.

I have done the next step for you: I added `?nowrapper=true' to the end of the campaign URL before posting it above. That should bring you to a page that starts with, "Letter campaigns will not work without javascript!"

They indeed won't work without some manual help, but the following simple method seems adequate for many of them, including this one.

To start, fill in the personal information answers in the box on the right side of the page. That's how you say who's sending the letter.

Then click the "START WRITING" button. That will take you to a page that can't function without nonfree JavaScript code. (To ensure it doesn't function perversely by running that nonfree code, you can enable LibreJS or disable JavaScript by visiting that page.) You can finish sending without that code By editing its URL in the browser's address bar, as follows:

First, go to the end and insert `&nowrapper=true'. Then tell the browser to visit that URL. This should give you a version of the page that works without JavaScript. Edit the subject and body of your letter. Finally, click on the "SEND LETTER" button, and you're done.

This method seems to work for letter campaigns that send the letters to a fixed list of recipients, the same recipients for every sender. Editing and revisiting the URL is the only additional step needed to bypass the nonfree JavaScript code. I'm sure you'll agree it is a small effort for the result of supporting the campaign without opening your computer to unjust (and potentially malicious) software.

Israeli officers and soldiers claim they were ordered to fire at civilians getting aid - 2025-07-02T08:37:30+00:00

*Israeli officers and soldiers said that they were ordered to deliberately fire at unarmed civilians waiting for humanitarian aid.*

I find the accusation credible, given how the aid-bait sites were designed to make killing easy.

* The Israeli military has launched an investigation into possible war crimes following growing evidence that troops have deliberately fired at Palestinian civilians gathering to receive aid in Gaza.*

We can't take for granted that the investigation will seriously consider punishing guilty killers, but at least it has taken the first step towards possibly doing so.

If Israel fails to carry out a proper investigation and prosecution, I think the International Criminal Court could do it.

Andrew Cuomo may run as independent in general election - 2025-07-02T08:37:30+00:00

Andrew Cuomo lost the Democratic primary for mayor of NYC, but he may run for night-mayor as an independent in the general election — against both Mamdani and Eric Adams.

It would be fun to see them split the opposition. Or, who knows, one of them might run as a Republican.

Colombia gangs lure children to join via TikTok and Facebook - 2025-07-02T08:37:29+00:00

*Colombia gangs lure children to join ranks via TikTok [and Facebook], UN warns.*

As many as 35,000 Ukrainian children missing - 2025-07-02T08:37:29+00:00

* As many as 35,000 Ukrainian children are still missing and thought to be held in Russia or Russian-occupied territories, according to an American team of experts, with families saying they are being forced to take desperate and risky measures to try to rescue them.*

Cost of air pollution to Americans - 2025-07-02T08:37:29+00:00

A study concluded that air pollution costs Americans, on the average, around $2500 per person per year as of 2014 in damage from illness or death, and killing around 100,000 people per year in the US. These harms are mostly due to PM2.5 particulates pollution, and the US has greatly reduced them by reducing the burning of coal.

We should reject the demands of the plutocratist politicians that want to preserve coal burning.

Deportation thug grabbed and carried US citizen to deportation prison - 2025-07-02T08:37:29+00:00

A deportation thug grabbed US citizen Andrea Velez and carried her off to a deportation prison, uninterested in seeing her identification.

Her relatives hired lawyers, and it took hours for them to get any information about what happened to her. The deportation thugs said that she was arrested for assaulting a deportation thug.

I am skeptical about that claim, because she would have had no motive to bother him unless he did something wrong to her first.

Orcas used strands of kelp as tool - 2025-07-02T08:37:29+00:00

Orcas cut off strands of kelp to use as a tool to mutually scratch with.

It requires two orcas to use the tool together, by rolling it or rubbing it between their bodies.

US intelligence parroting saboteur in chief's line on Iran - 2025-07-02T08:37:28+00:00

*The saboteur in chief is making US intelligence parrot his line on [war with] Iran,* much as Dubya did on war with Iraq.

*[His] intervention on the issue of the damage done to Iran's nuclear facilities is also crucially important. By setting out the narrative that the spy agencies are [expected to loyally] adhere to, [he] is slamming shut a door on actual investigation and intelligence-gathering.

The saboteur-in-chief has distrusted US intelligence agencies every since they took note of signs that he was under Putin's control or influence.

Gate for aid to Gaza now closed - 2025-07-02T08:37:28+00:00

Israel has been allowing some aid through the Gaza border wall into the north of Gaza, but closed that gate last Thursday.

Perhaps this is why the lack of any hunger games food sites in northern Gaza had not caused a total starvation there … yet.

Example of magats' performative cruelty - 2025-07-02T08:37:28+00:00

An example of magats' performative cruelty: the deportation of US army veteran Sae Joon Park. There were excuses to deport him, and reasons for mercy. Previous administrations chose mercy; the bully chose cruelty.

The pattern of acting this way, by deporting some people, denying other people abortions and depriving yet others of medical care, is one of the basic general characteristics of the persecutor.

Supreme Court authorized states to arbitrarily exclude Planned Parenthood - 2025-07-02T08:37:28+00:00

The Supreme Court has authorized states to arbitrarily exclude Planned Parenthood (or any other clinic or set of clinics) from Medicare funding.

South Carolina, under fanatical right-wing rule, already passed a law to exclude Planned Parenthood. This won't have much effect on abortions, which are nearly always prohibited in South Carolina. But it will impede pregnant women in South Carolina from getting prenatal monitoring and treatment.

US state department to terminate nearly all overseas pro-democracy programs - 2025-07-02T08:37:28+00:00

*US state department told to terminate nearly all its overseas pro-democracy programs.*

No surprise this, given his visible stance on democracy in the US itself.

Eliminating negative information about US from national parks - 2025-07-02T08:37:27+00:00

The propagandist is seeking to eliminate any information that is negative about the US from national parks, monuments and historic sites. If anyone mentions that the US did something bad there, the public is asked to report it so that it can be gagged.

At the camps where Japanese Americans were jailed during World War II. this policy creates an irreconcilable contradiction. it won't be easy to explain what events those sites commemorate.

This reflects the persecutor's general priorities: loyalty over truth.

Using copyrighted work to train pattern recognizer - 2025-07-02T08:37:27+00:00

A US court ruled that using a copyrighted work to train some sort of pattern recognizer is not copyright infringement. That means that we will not lose the right to do digital style analysis.

The recognition program that was being trained was an LLM, and it has the ability to generate output imitating the sty;e of existing works. Copyright does not cover generalities such as writing style, so it is correct that the possibility of imitating styles does not make for infringement.

Attempts to broaden copyright are typically organized by publishers with the support of famous best-selling authors, who label non-infringing uses as "theft" to convince us to surrender more of our freedom. Usually these campaigns advocate changes that we should reject.

For my view on copyright law, and how to support authors better while respecting readers' freedom more, see my speech, Copyright vs Community.

Invention for capturing CO2 emissions from cargo ships - 2025-07-02T08:37:26+00:00

A new invention will capture CO2 emissions from cargo ships by passing the exhaust through a shipping container filled with lime.

Shipping generates 3% of all emissions, so this step is more than tokenism, but won't delay disaster long by itself. We need to demand reductions in greenhouse emissions from ground transport and agriculture.

Ukrainians who fled to UK being refused asylum - 2025-07-02T08:37:26+00:00

*Ukrainians who fled to UK being refused asylum on grounds it is "safe to return" [to Ukraine].*

Rising poverty in conflict zones - 2025-07-02T08:37:25+00:00

*Rising poverty in conflict zones "causes a billion people to go hungry."*

Erdoğan banned the Queer Pride march in Istanbul - 2025-07-02T08:37:25+00:00

Erdoğan banned the Queer Pride march in Istanbul, and arrested activists who tried to hold it anyway.

When you wish to refer to bigotry against queer people, please don't use the multiply misleading term "homophobia". Bigotry and phobia are different things. A phobia is an anxiety disorder, and we cannot blame a person for suffering from one. By contrast, bigotry is a moral fault, and anyone who is bigoted ought to learn not to be.

Israel announced intention to attack east side of Gaza - 2025-07-02T08:37:25+00:00

Israel announced the intention to attack the east side of Gaza City, and warned all civilians to leave. This suggests a plan to disregard the safety of civilians there.

Warning civilians to "evacuate" — supposing they can find an intact house somewhere else — will not excuse indiscriminate killing of civilians.

Bullshitter's stance on his Big Beautiful Bomb - 2025-07-02T08:37:25+00:00

The bullshitter admitted for a time that his Big Beautiful Bomb probably didn't destroy Iran's uranium enrichment factory, but since then reverted to his wishful pretense. And now he has threatened to imprison journalists who published the leaked intelligence report unless they reveal their source.

We do not know whether the journalists know the identity pf the leaker(s). We can hope they do not know. But what if they do?

Their duty is to go prison rather than help the authoritarian regime lie in the future. But that takes special courage, that few people have.

A leaker could protect the journalists by fleeing and then announcing perse was the leaker. But where could perse be safe? Is there a country on Earth that would protect the leakers?

Some enemies of the US might protect the leaker, out of hatred for the US rather than out of love of human rights; but they are ruled by tyrants even worse than what the bully seeks to become. Accepting shelter from such a tyrant would not be a defense of freedom and truth.

(Remember that Snowden did not choose to live in Russia. He bought tickets for a connection in Moscow, but while he was in the air, the US cancelled his passport, so he could not board his flight out of Moscow.)

UK courts increasingly willing to reject "carbon offsets" - 2025-07-01T20:37:36+00:00

UK courts are increasingly willing to reject proposed "carbon offsets" whose validity is suspect.

Urgent: Million-dollar deposit requirement for injunction - 2025-07-01T08:44:20+00:00

US citizens: Tell the Senate to remove the million-dollar deposit requirement for asking for an injunction.

Urgent: Stop prosecuting Rep. McIver - 2025-07-01T08:44:20+00:00

US citizens: Tell the US attorney for NJ to stop prosecuting Rep. McIver.

UK minister for repression determined to label organization Palestine Action as "terrorist" - 2025-07-01T08:44:20+00:00

The UK minister for repression is absolutely determined to label the organization Palestine Action as "terrorist" and ban it on account of a protest where its members sprayed red paint on warplanes in a military base.

If protesters can get access to them to spray paint, someone with violent and hostile aims could get access too. The Royal Air Force should be grateful that its weak security was discovered and reported in this way, and the British government should cease its repression of people protesting against support for Israel's war crimes.

The group's lawyers claim that the proposed ban would be illegal. I wonder whether a court would have a chance to judge whether the ban of the organization is lawful. Or would punishment of its members be automatic, with no consideration of whether the group deserves the name of "terrorist"?

Swedish journalist arrested and tried in Turkey - 2025-07-01T08:44:20+00:00

Swedish journalist Joakim Medin visited Turkey and was arrested, accused (and later convicted) of insulting President Erdoğan at a protest in Sweden. He was also accused of terrorism, but it seems those charges were dropped, because he was allowed to leave Turkey.

If anyone can tell me what concrete act constituted the alleged terrorism, I would be grateful, especially if that comes with a URL that I can link to about that.

Global heating making Britain hotter and dryer - 2025-07-01T08:44:20+00:00

Global heating is making Britain hotter and dryer.

Global heating will cause many problems around the world. Either each part of the world can adapt to too little water or too much water, and too much or too little of many other things that global heating will cause, and then do some more of each in a decade or two, or the world can get serious about curbing global heating.

American student loan borrowers at risk of defaulting - 2025-07-01T08:44:19+00:00

6 million American student loan borrowers are at risk of defaulting in the coming weeks.

This is the persecutor's doing. Biden had allowed the borrowers to stop making payments, while searching unsuccessfully for a way to forgive the loans despite the obstruction by Republicans in Congress.

The US should do what Britain has done, and make repayments conditional on receiving a middle-class salary. Then the loan would not ruin the whole rest of your life if you don't get such a salary.

History of how Israel developed nuclear weapons - 2025-07-01T08:44:19+00:00

For comparison with Iran, the history of how Israel developed nuclear weapons.

In the 1950s, 60s and 70s several of Israel's neighbors insisted that they sought to destroy Israel. There are countries that are hostile to Iran, too, but only Israel might seek to destroy it.

Migrants jailed in Costa Rica - 2025-07-01T08:44:19+00:00

Costa Rica allowed the US to deport there 200 migrants from various Asian and African countries. Costa Rica kept them in jail for a few months, but a court has ordered them freed.

Now will come their real problem: how to live in Costa Rica without knowing any Spanish and not be an outcast. Some of them will be able to learn a new language well, depending on their age and health, but some will not.

Effects of overfishing cod - 2025-07-01T08:44:19+00:00

In 60 years of overfishing, cod have evolved to be half the size.

Agents hiding identities highlights illegitimacy of actions - 2025-07-01T08:44:19+00:00

*Mike German, an ex-FBI agent, said immigration agents hiding their identities [with masks and no badges] "highlights the illegitimacy of actions".*

He also explains how the masks put the public and also the cops in danger — that making it clear you're a cop is the foundation of safety practice. Also, how having thugs from outside ICE deputized to work with ICE can lead them to violate people's legal rights without realizing it, but also enable them to hide the violation.

German worked in the FBI to infiltrate right-wing militia groups. They may have been supporters of the wrecker, and may still be such. I speculate that he was fired this year precisely for having done that job. But I have no way of finding out.

Surveillance pricing - 2025-07-01T08:44:18+00:00

*Surveillance pricing lets corporations decide what your dollar is worth.*

* Algorithmic wage discrimination doesn't need to use third-party surveillance data: Uber, who invented the tactic, use their own in-house data as a way to make inferences about drivers' desperation and thus their willingness to accept a lower wage.*

Uber stands accused of optimizing its pricing algorithm to manipulate both riders and drivers so that they make out worse and the company profits more.

Note that this is not an injustice of nonfree malware. The software for the pricing algorithm runs in Uber's own computer. It is, I suppose, Uber's private software, but if it were someone else's released free software that Uber used a copy of, Uber would have the right to make the same modifications in its copy.

The app that riders must use to be customers of Uber is nonfree software and does have a malicious surveillance functionality, but the computerized manipulation being criticized here is not particularly related to that.

What makes the manipulation possible is that Uber forces its customers to identify themselves, so it can make a complete record of its dealings with each customer. It has a similar asymmetry of information about each driver (and that could hardly be avoided). The results are unjust because they are dooH niboR at work, enriching the rich owners and pushing down the low-income drivers.

In my view, the lessons are (1) don't assume that all nasty behavior of computing is caused by nonfree software, (2) governments should stop Uber from identifying its customers or requiring them to run nonfree software, and (3 governments should regulate drivers' pay to keep it higher.

Russia and Ukraine have developed mostly autonomous drones - 2025-07-01T08:44:18+00:00

Russia and Ukraine have developed mostly autonomous killer drones, and are rapidly researching full anonymity. It could be easy to program one to hunt down and kill a specific individual by recognizing per face.

Negotiations for a UN treaty to ban such weapons are becoming more urgent, bu it is not clear how to make sure all countries, all underground rebel groups and all mafias comply with such a treaty.

Oregon bans methods of corporations owning medical practice - 2025-07-01T08:44:18+00:00

Oregon has banned the subterfuge that corporations were using to sneak around the law that a corporation can't own a medical practice.