Richard Stallman

Richard Stallman's Political Notes -

Gas prices a windfall for big oil - 2026-03-21T09:04:34+00:00

*Democrats urge windfall tax as big oil set to make billions from Iran war.*

Journalists flee Bukele's rule, SLV - 2026-03-21T09:04:34+00:00

President Bukele's repression forced the news site El Faro and its journalists to flee El Salvador.

Poor nations' children dying - 2026-03-21T09:04:34+00:00

*Most of the 4.9 million children who died in 2024 could have been saved, according to a new UN report.

US media as propaganda engine - 2026-03-21T09:04:34+00:00

The corrupter is following the usual fascist playbook for clamping down on the free press and converting it into a propaganda engine.

US bills do become law if not signed - 2026-03-21T09:04:34+00:00

The wrecker said he will refuse to sign any bills until Congress passes a bill to disenfranchise millions of American citizens. This seems to imply that he will veto every bill — but it does not in fact imply that.

The president can allow a law to pass by waiting ten days (not counting Sundays) without either signing or vetoing the bill. He hasn't said whether he will do that. He might go for the greatest possible sabotage by vetoing every bill passed — but he also might not.

Of course, he is not at all honest and doesn't hesitate to contradict whatever he said he would do, so maybe it makes no difference what he said.

Political betting influencing journalism - 2026-03-21T09:04:34+00:00

Political prediction betting has led to threats against a journalist demanding he retract an article, supposedly coming from a bettor who stood to lose millions of dollars because of that article.

Israel bombing Iran gas fields - 2026-03-21T09:04:33+00:00

Israel attacked an Iranian fossil gas extraction complex, and Iran is now threatening to retaliate against other countries' fossil gas extraction complexes.

Israel's attack was unjust and dangerous, because there was no military basis for it. Iran's threatened response would likewise be unjust and dangerous, for the same reason. However, Iran has not done it yet; if other powers deter Israel from continuing this, Iran may not start.

Iran survives officials' assassinations - 2026-03-21T09:04:33+00:00

The US/Israeli attempt to make Iran's government collapse by killing high officials appears to have failed — it is organized to survive assassinations.

Iran's regime has committed enormous violence against the opposed public, violence at a level that magats might dream of but have not yet fallen to.

The physics of worker burnout - 2026-03-21T09:04:33+00:00

Optimizing systems for efficiency when running at maximum capacity means aiming for minimum slack. It is a mistake for an individual, but an even more devastating mistake when a country does it.

Young-worker medical disability, UK - 2026-03-21T09:04:33+00:00

Almost half of the Britons age 16 to 24 who are neither working nor studying say the reason is due to a medical problem.

I think it is alarming that life-hampering diseases are increasing in frequency.

Childhood obesity, KOR, DNK - 2026-03-21T09:04:32+00:00

Some countries' successful interventions to reduce childhood obesity.

Some of them cost money. Governments must bite the bullet and take a bite out of the billionaires' assets.

Deportation arrest requires warrant, OR - 2026-03-21T09:04:32+00:00

Deportation thugs arrested authorized permanent resident Juanita Avila without looking at her green card, but her daughter recorded the arrest and that shamed them into releasing Avila with merely some gratuitous physical injury.

Then Avila and others sued, and a federal court in Oregon ruled that deportation thugs cannot arrest anyone without a specific warrant unless they present a written justification that satisfies strict legal standards for arrest without a warrant.

CBS interviews President of US - 2026-03-21T09:04:32+00:00

*CBS News heavily edits 60 Minutes interview [with the corrupter], cutting boast network "paid me a lotta money".*

A year ago, he sued CBS for editing an interview with candidate Kamala Harris in a way he did not like. It paid him millions to settle that lawsuit, and he explicitly presented that as a success in humiliating CBS. And suggested that CBS not broadcast that remark, and other humiliations, but he knew they would be reported.

Was it wrong for CBS to edit out the bully's boast about having made CBS bend the knee to him? Is it better for freedom and democracy to make a company look bad for having let us all down, or would that be likely to help him bully other companies into subservience? I don't know, but I would not trust news from companies that have given fealty to a would-be king.

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.