Richard Stallman

Richard Stallman's Political Notes -

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.

Urgent: Protect students from retaliation for protesting deportation thugs - 2026-03-23T08:45:55+00:00

US citizens: call on your state education leaders to protect Students from federal retaliation for protesting deportation thugs.

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

Urgent: Stop war-lover from sending American troops into Iran - 2026-03-23T08:45:54+00:00

US citizens: call your members of Congress to stop the war-lover from sending American troops into Iran – And Vote NO on the Draft!

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: Stop $10 billion scam to fund Board of Peace - 2026-03-23T08:45:54+00:00

US citizens: call on your members of Congress to block the $10 billion scam to fund the corrupter's Orwellian Board of Peace.

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.

(satire) Addition of Ballroom to Air Force One - 2026-03-23T08:45:54+00:00

(satire) [The nincompoop] *Defends Addition Of Ballroom To Air Force One.*

Interesting analysis of differences between generations - 2026-03-23T08:45:54+00:00

An interesting analysis of differences between generations. For instances, the differences in attitudes nowadays are much less than in the past, but marketing makes them look bigger than they are.

It is unfortunate for me that hitchhiking has ceased. There are times when I have no way to get anywhere except to beg, such as when the bus over the Golden Gate Bridge rejected me as a passenger because I had the luggage that I had taken on a flight.

I don't feel danger in getting into a stranger's car; by contrast, the potential danger in a proprietary surveillance system (for example, Guber) is intolerable. The probability that the driver would do wrong to me is minuscule, but the probability that the proprietary surveillance system would do wrong to many passengers is quite large.

Thatcher's greatest achievement - 2026-03-23T08:45:54+00:00

Thatcher said that the "New Labour" of Tony B'liar was her greatest achievement — shifting the Labour Party to put business and rich people first. A Labour MP describes the major changes needed to restore democracy and give priority and political power to the people.

White South Africans myth of reversed racism - 2026-03-23T08:45:53+00:00

White South Africans have spread a myth that ending apartheid led to a reversed system of racism against them, that blacks hated and persecuted whites much as white racists in power had formerly hated and persecuted blacks. Right-wing extremists have propagated this falsehood to justify the cause of continuing or bringing back racism.

The article linked to just above displays symbolic bigotry by capitalizing "black" but not "white". (To avoid endorsing bigotry, capitalize both words or neither one.) I denounce bigotry, and normally I will not link to articles that practice it. But I make exceptions for some articles because I consider their information important — and I present this comment about them.

Germany's right-wing government - 2026-03-23T08:45:53+00:00

Germany's current government is right-wing, and competing not to let the extreme right-wing outdo it in wrongdoing. It intervened in the prize for best independent bookstore by arbitrarily excluding some candidate bookstores. It refused to give any explanation, but it may be because they are antifascist.

Black people more likely to be searched in rich areas of London - 2026-03-23T08:45:53+00:00

*In richest areas of London, black people up to 48 times more likely to be stopped and searched [than other people].*

It is hard to be sure why cops' behavior is prejudiced in this way, but the tendency to search people because of perceiving them as making "furtive glances" suggests that unconscious racism is at work. Suspecting someone because of a vague impression is exactly the sort of thing that gives unconscious prejudice an opportunity to influence the decision.

Fears for women's rights in Chile - 2026-03-23T08:45:53+00:00

*Fears for women's rights in Chile as anti-abortion president set to take office.*

The new president is literally a fascist — a supporter of the coup-leader Pinochet, who in power was a murderous dictator.

I wonder how he managed to win the election. Was it stolen?

Values of right-wing politics - 2026-03-23T08:45:53+00:00

The values of right-wing politics, based on dominating other people, have led to pressure on men to make their faces meet an imposed idea of what looks powerful.

The wellness-influencer axis plays a part as well.

North Korean agents hired for remote work - 2026-03-23T08:45:52+00:00

North Korean agents are getting hired for remote work under fake identities by using Pretend Intelligence to disguise their appearance and voice.

Adam Smith never held "free" market ideology - 2026-03-23T08:45:52+00:00

Adam Smith never held the "free" market ideology that its supporters claim he held. He endorsed many of the progressive causes we stand for, such as making the rich pay more taxes.

RFK jr quietly drops idea of terminating Covid-19 vaccination - 2026-03-23T08:45:52+00:00

Public opposition has made RFK jr quietly drop the idea of terminating the recommendation for Covid-19 vaccination.

He will continue undermining US public health as long as he is in a position to do so. But it is not only him. Many of the saboteur in chief's appointed henchmen seem to have been chosen for their inclination to cause chaos; he seems to think that their chaos will open the door for him to destroy more of the institutions that protect the Constitution, human rights, and democracy.

Corruptor's favorite methods of fomenting corruption - 2026-03-23T08:45:52+00:00

One of the corrupter's favorite methods of fomenting corruption that can bring him extra income is by firing the inspectors general of various agencies.

Exploitative career of "influencer" - 2026-03-23T08:45:52+00:00

The exploitative career of "influencer" is based on deluding suckers into spending money on artificially enhanced alluring dreams.

Knowing this, you can easily refuse to contribute any of your own attention to their "attention economy."

El Salvador's democracy eliminated - 2026-03-23T08:45:51+00:00

Bukele has eliminated El Salvador's gang violence, and El Salvador's democracy with it, replacing it with arbitrary imprisonment and torture.

Badly designed studies on effects of vaccine - 2026-03-23T08:45:51+00:00

Researchers doing badly designed studies on vaccine effects in Guinea-Bissau are connected with some of RFK jr's vaccination sabotage team, and some fear that they will try to impose policy based on badly designed studies in the US too.

Australia arrested and charged protesters - 2026-03-23T08:45:50+00:00

Australia has arrested and charged protesters for saying the words, "From the river to the sea." One was arrested for giving an explanation of what the phrase refers to and history of its use.

Failure to limit global heating - 2026-03-23T08:45:50+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.

County in Florida replaced some bus routes - 2026-03-23T08:45:49+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.

Waiting 1,088 days for rape case to reach court - 2026-03-23T08:45:49+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.

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.