Richard Stallman

Richard Stallman's Political Notes -

Urgent: Speaking engagements, Europe - 2026-03-26T08:38:56+00:00

I expect to have a trip to Europe in May - June. The start and end dates remain to be decided.

If you would like to invite me to speak during that trip, please write to me now so we can start discussing it. Write to `-invitation' following my three-letter username.

Kennedy Center closing down for two years - 2026-03-26T02:35:20+00:00

The board of the Kennedy Center in Washington DC, newly altered by the saboteur in chief, voted to close down for two years of "renovations".

I can imagine what the building will look like after that remodeling: every 20 feet along any wall there will be a molding depicting his face. It will be necessary to spend more money to undo that.

Greatly reduced homicides in Oakland, CA - 2026-03-26T02:35:20+00:00

How Oakland, California, greatly reduced homicides.

"Emergency Order" to restart leaky oil pipeline - 2026-03-26T02:35:20+00:00

California law shut down a leaky, polluting pipeline under the Pacific Ocean from Santa Barbara, after it spilled a lot of oil on a beach. so the oil spiller in chief gave the pipeline's owner, as a favor, an "emergency order" to restart it immediately.

California and the federal government continue legal action over whether the pipeline will be allowed to operate. What is clear is that having one more oil pipeline operating is not overall a benefit for the world.

Democratic candidates backed by AIPAC - 2026-03-26T02:35:20+00:00

Democratic candidates that are backed by AIPAC are now reluctant to admit that.

Google dis-service offering online medical advice deactivated - 2026-03-26T02:35:20+00:00

Google has deactivated an online dis-service that until recently offered medical advice based on applying Pretend Intelligence to what users with no medical training said.

This may have been the wise course, since Pretend Intelligence does not actually understand the text it inputs or outputs.

Criticism of streaming platforms in mainstream press - 2026-03-26T02:35:19+00:00

In the mainstream press, even criticism of streaming platforms takes for granted that they are entitled to the power to control what you can do with a recording, and thus reinforces that assumption. Here's an example.

Once you recognize that that power is based on Digital Restrictions Management, which means using nonfree software to control what users can and can't do, you can resist that implicit argument in favor of subjugating you.

Many infants start practicing deception before they can talk - 2026-03-26T02:35:19+00:00

Many infants start practicing deception before they can talk, at an age of less than one year.

Eight protesters in Texas convicted - 2026-03-26T02:35:19+00:00

Eight protesters in Texas, allegedly supporting of the alleged organization "Antifa", were convicted of "material support for terrorism". In their trial, prosecutors cited the fact that some of them wore black clothing, used Signal, and/or carried guns.

Right-wingers also carry guns at protest, and use Signal, but somehow do not get prosecuted for that.

US Department of Health ignored administration of Title X - 2026-03-26T02:35:18+00:00

The US Department of Health quietly ignored the administration of Title X, which provides birth control and sex-specific medical treatment for females, and the system may soon collapse.

I have a suspicion that this mysterious failure was engineered by right-wing extremist Christians who seek to force females to have babies.

Wrecker's new nominee to head of Department of Hatred and Sadism - 2026-03-26T02:35:18+00:00

The wrecker's new nominee to head the Department of Hatred and Sadism has a pattern of speaking so as to give the false impression that he has military experience.

This deception marks him as untrustworthy, but if he were honest about his lack of military experience, that might not be crucial. The DHS does not manage soldiers, after all.

I expect that anyone nominated by the wrecker would regard it as per mission to be cruel and sadistic, and thus should not be confirmed, but that is a separate issue.

Burning Tesla "cybertrucks" locked passengers inside - 2026-03-26T02:35:18+00:00

Tesla "cybertrucks" have locked passengers inside and burned so hot they've disintegrated drivers' bones.

States should designate vehicles which can lock passengers in as unsafe and illegal to drive on a road.

Populations of insect-eating birds in EU - 2026-03-26T02:35:18+00:00

Just 8 years after the EU banned neonicotinoid pesticides, the populations of insect-eating birds are starting to recover.

Because these pesticides are persistent, full recovery will take a long time. I hope other human-caused effects, such as global heating, will not swamp it.

British "Reform" party trying to bribe voters - 2026-03-26T02:35:17+00:00

The British right-wing extremist "Reform" Party is trying to bribe voters by entering them in a lottery, where winning may depend on which party you voted for, and stating which one you will vote for next time.

Zelenskyy offers Europe help in countering drone attacks - 2026-03-26T02:35:17+00:00

Zelenskyy offers Europe Ukraine's help in countering drone attacks, whether from Russia, from Iran, or from criminal gangs.

New link - 2026-03-26T02:35:16+00:00

Just added a new link to a podcast about political and moral issues in computing.

Urgent: Energy market - 2026-03-26T02:35:15+00:00

US citizens: call on Congress to investigate energy market manipulation.

US citizens: Join with this campaign to address this issue.

To phone your congresscritter about this, the main switchboard is +1-202-224-3121.

Please spread the word.

Urgent: No funding for Iran war - 2026-03-25T02:38:20+00:00

US citizens: call on Congress to reject the $200 billion funding request for the war with Iran.

US citizens: Join with this campaign to address this issue.

To phone your congresscritter about this, the main switchboard is +1-202-224-3121.

Please spread the word.

Urgent: Unwanted pro-war propaganda - 2026-03-25T02:38:19+00:00

US citizens: call on Congress to investigate FCC Chairman Carr's threats to silence news media that report on the Iran war without slanting it to favor the war-starter.

US citizens: Join with this campaign to address this issue.

To phone your congresscritter about this, the main switchboard is +1-202-224-3121.

Please spread the word.

Urgent: Families, child care unfunded - 2026-03-25T02:38:19+00:00

US citizens: call on your federal legislators to stop the bully's attack on child care and families.

See the instructions for how to sign this letter campaign without running any nonfree JavaScript code--not trivial, but not hard.

US citizens: Join with this campaign to address this issue.

To phone your congresscritter about this, the main switchboard is +1-202-224-3121.

Please spread the word.

Urgent: No Kings - 2026-03-25T02:38:19+00:00

On March 28, or a date close to that, join one of the No Kings protests.

Alzheimer's drug that occasionally kills patients - 2026-03-24T03:18:43+00:00

A drug that is used to slow Alzheimer's disease occasionally kills patients. This article reports on an alleged conspiracy to get the drug wrongfully approved, and threats against someone who wrote about deaths that it caused.

Corruption of the medical system by Big Pharma is rife, and it does a lot of harm. Threats of violence against journalists are part of the evil of fascism.

But this drug raises an deeper question. Can a treatment for Alzheimer's disease be beneficial for patients, and thus morally deserve approval, despite killing a small fraction of the patients who take it?

Alzheimer's disease turns its victims slowly into zombies. Although the patient's body continues to live, the person who became a zombie is dead. This begs the question, if a certain drug gives a large fraction of patients several more years of non-zombie life, but kills a small fraction of them, does that make it a failure? If on the average it extends patients' non-zombie life, does that make it a bet worth making, one that drug regulations should allow people to make?

This question is important to me personally because I can envision being in that situation in a few years.

Fabrication by undercover infiltrator cop - 2026-03-24T03:18:43+00:00

One of Britain's undercover infiltrator cops seems to have fabricated an accusation that an animal rights activist wanted to get a gun and attack someone with it. Fortunately, his handlers distrusted the accusation.

I speculate that a cop whose job includes lying as part of false friendship will tend to normalize lying to anyone else.

Falsely identified by facial recognition system - 2026-03-24T03:18:43+00:00

A facial recognition system falsely identified a suspect as Angela Lipps, and she was jailed for 6 months; then, when she was brought to a courtroom in another state, the court noticed that the criminal could not be her. Meanwhile, she had lost her home and her car.

False identifications will always occur. Although this one used digital face matching, recognition by human witnesses makes mistakes too. But I think that the main mistake here was to wait 6 months before noticing her alibi and without granting her bail.

Charges dropped against soldiers accused of raping prisoner - 2026-03-24T03:18:43+00:00

The Israeli army has dropped charges against soldiers accused of raping a Palestinian prisoner.

The grounds given for dropping the charges are that (1) the prisoner had been released to Gaza and (2) *the conduct of senior officials had affected the chance of holding a fair trial.* To me, this says that (1) they are exaggerating to create an excuse and (2) high officials created an excuse and have suffered no punishment for it.

Bayer's CEO met with US regulators - 2026-03-24T03:18:42+00:00

*Top US regulators met with Bill Anderson, Bayer's CEO, last year to discuss "litigation" issues – including "supreme court action" over its glyphosate weed killer – just months before henchmen administration took a series of steps to boost Bayer's case at the high court, internal government records show.*

This sounds like a betrayal of the US — analogous to treason except that it occurred in a civil dispute rather than in a war.

Cops use license plate cameras to help deportation thugs - 2026-03-24T03:18:42+00:00

Local cops of some US towns regularly search license plate cameras to help the deportation thugs to track immigrants.

More about this.

Israel blockade traps U.S. doctors - 2026-03-24T03:18:42+00:00

*Israel's Deadly Blockade Traps 7 U.S. Doctors in Gaza.*

Deportation thugs testified in court - 2026-03-24T03:18:42+00:00

In a class-action lawsuit against the deportation thugs, some of them testified about their arrest quotas, and the digital tools whose vague output often leads them to arrest people who are present in the US lawfully.

Violent practices, such as breaking car windows with only a hint of an excuse, seem to be systematic. They figure they will nearly always get away with it, and for typical victims (whether unauthorized immigrants or authorized immigrants or citizens), the expense of repair will create hardship. Releasing a person hundreds of miles away from home can make it very difficult to get home.

The officials in charge of deportation agencies have the duty to stop these practices, but it is clear that they are not really trying.

Magat policies set to increase lung disease - 2026-03-24T03:18:42+00:00

*[Various different magat] policies set to increase rates of lung disease and death, study finds.*

Limits on no-knock warrants being cancelled by magats - 2026-03-24T03:18:41+00:00

Breonna Taylor was shot dead by a thugs who had burst into her home without warning, and then fired wildly. Americans demanded and got policies to limit no-knock warrants. But now magats are canceling the limits.

Why do this? I don't think it will make any legitimate activities of cops significantly more effective.

I speculate that magats expect that killing people that they can demonize (for instance, blacks) will win them increased support from their base.

Lies about abandoning renewables - 2026-03-24T03:18:41+00:00

George Monbiot: *Rightwing politicians, Tufton Street junktanks and the billionaire press tell us our energy security will be enhanced and our bills will fall if we abandon net zero policies, ditch renewables and reinvest in North Sea gas. These claims are not just a little bit wrong. They are the exact opposite of the truth.*

Wearing all black at protests - 2026-03-24T03:18:41+00:00

*Wearing All Black at Protests Makes You Guilty of Terrorism, Prosecutors Tell Jury.*

More precisely, they claimed that wearing all black is a sign of support for the nonexistent US organization, "Antifa".

Spycops inquiry found undercover thugs snooping - 2026-03-24T03:18:41+00:00

The Spycops inquiry in the UK found that undercover London thugs snooped on the relatives of Jean Charles de Menezes, because they had denounced thugs' murder of him.

It is impossible not to suspect that they did this because they wanted to prevent his relatives from making the thug department look bad by teaching people about the killing by exposing its cover-up.

Threats to shut down broadcasters - 2026-03-24T03:18:40+00:00

A henchman threatens to shut down broadcasters for saying things that the bullshitter chooses to call "hoaxes".

This is a threat of arbitrary censorship, and I'm sure the TV news broadcasters understand it as such. Many have already bent the knee to the bullshitter; they have nothing to worry about. But the rest will now face another kind of threat.

Age-checking in Australia pushing adults away from sites - 2026-03-24T03:18:40+00:00

Age-checking in Australia is pushing adult internauts away from the sites that are banned for minors, because they fear the tracking that is a side effect of the age-checking systems.

Bullshit generators encouraging delusions in patients - 2026-03-24T03:18:40+00:00

A study observed bullshit generators encouraging delusions in some patients.

US and Israel lying, according to University of Tehran student - 2026-03-24T03:18:40+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 side. It would not have cost much.

Ultrawealthy put the wrecker in power - 2026-03-24T03:18:39+00:00

Paul Krugman: *The ultrawealthy put [the wrecker] in power but other people will pay the price.*

Seventeen Impeachable offenses by Trump and counting - 2026-03-24T03:18:39+00:00

Ralph Nader: Seventeen Impeachable Offenses by Trump and Counting. He urges Americans to send this list to their congresscritters and senators.

ChatGPT eroding critical thinking skills - 2026-03-24T03:18:39+00:00

*ChatGPT May Be Eroding Critical Thinking Skills, According to a New MIT Study.*

Any kind of skill fades if a person stops practicing it.

Upcoming talk in Cesena, Italy - 2026-03-23T14:38:45+00:00

Richard Stallman will speak on March 26 in Cesena, Italy, at the Engineering and Architecture Campus of Cesena of the University of Bologna. Pillars of Tech Free/Libero Software And Freedom in the Digital Society The talk is in English from 15:30 to 17:30 in Aula Magna (Room 4.3), Via dell'Università 50, Cesena. We suggest you bring cash.

Urgent: Block deployment of U.S. ground troops in Iran - 2026-03-23T08:45:56+00:00

US citizens: phone your congresscritter and call on per to support an Emergency War Powers Resolution to block the deployment of U.S. ground troops in Iran — and vote NO on any bill for conscription.

US citizens: Join with this campaign to address this issue.

To phone your congresscritter about this, the main switchboard is +1-202-224-3121.

Please spread the word.

Urgent: Do not let polluters off the hook - 2026-03-23T08:45:56+00:00

US citizens: call on Congress not to let polluters off the hook for climate damage.

US citizens: Join with this campaign to address this issue.

To phone your congresscritter about this, the main switchboard is +1-202-224-3121.

Please spread the word.

Urgent: Refuse to fund bully's war - 2026-03-23T08:45:56+00:00

US citizens: call on Democrats in Congress to refuse to fund the bully's illegal war.

US citizens: Join with this campaign to address this issue.

To phone your congresscritter about this, the main switchboard is +1-202-224-3121.

Please spread the word.

Urgent: Block bully's machine-learning-powered surveillance - 2026-03-23T08:45:56+00:00

US citizens: call on Congress to block the bully's machine-learning-powered warrantless surveillance of Americans.

We must support this by blocking the collection of data about us. We can do so by refusing to give our names, addresses or other personal data when we pay for products or transportation.

At 73 years of age, with arthritis in the knees, I have multiple justifications for getting a discount card for the Boston buses and subways. I reject it because that card would identify me whenever I use it to travel. We must not surrender to massive surveillance for the sake of convenience!

US citizens: Join with this campaign to address this issue.

To phone your congresscritter about this, the main switchboard is +1-202-224-3121.

Please spread the word.

Urgent: Investigate corrupter's profit from presidency - 2026-03-23T08:45:56+00:00

US citizens: call on your members of Congress to investigate the corrupter's $1.4 billion profit from the presidency.

See the instructions for how to sign this letter campaign without running any nonfree JavaScript code--not trivial, but not hard.

Urgent: Comment to reject corrupter's attacks on diversity, immigrants and nonprofits - 2026-03-23T08:45:55+00:00

US citizens: submit an official comment to reject the corrupter's attacks on diversity, immigrants, and nonprofits.

See the instructions for how to sign this letter campaign without running any nonfree JavaScript code--not trivial, but not hard.

Urgent: Censure Republicans who called f or violence against American Muslims - 2026-03-23T08:45:55+00:00

US citizens: call on Congress to censure Republicans who called for violence against American Muslims, and for taking away their committee seats.

US citizens: Join with this campaign to address this issue.

To phone your congresscritter about this, the main switchboard is +1-202-224-3121.

Please spread the word.

Urgent: Support Equal Tax Act - 2026-03-23T08:45:55+00:00

US citizens: call on your senators to support the Equal Tax Act.

See the instructions for how to sign this letter campaign without running any nonfree JavaScript code--not trivial, but not hard.

US citizens: Join with this campaign to address this issue.

To phone your congresscritter about this, the main switchboard is +1-202-224-3121.

Please spread the word.