Richard Stallman

Richard Stallman's Political Notes -

Wrecker will give Israel a 'blank check' - 2024-11-14T16:50:59+00:00

*[The wrecker] will give Israel ‘blank check’ which may mean all-out war with Iran, says ex-CIA chief.*

If that happens, it could become a nuclear war if one side starts to lose.

Evidence the bullshitter lied about Project 2025 - 2024-11-14T16:50:58+00:00

When the bullshitter said Project 2025 had nothing to do with him or his plans, we suspected he was lying as usual. Now there is evidence of this.

Rise in emissions of flights - 2024-11-14T16:50:57+00:00

*Analysis of 19m flights between 2019 and 2023 reveals 50% rise in emissions, condemned as "gratuitous waste".*

Any country can regulate private jet flights that begin in, end in, or cross that country.

Children of two unauthorized immigrants - 2024-11-14T16:50:55+00:00

The wrecker said he would wreak havoc by ordering that a child of two unauthorized immigrants no longer be considered a US citizen.

Even the Extreme Court might reject the validity of such an order; but if it were to be carried out, it would result in a vast increase in deportations of people who never knew any country but the US, to places where they don't speak the language and can never fit in.

Reason for right-wing victory - 2024-11-14T16:50:54+00:00

Arguing that the main reason for right-wing victory is the highly funded right-wing media that dominate "news" (including pseudo-news) in the US nowadays.

World's food production at risk - 2024-11-14T16:50:51+00:00

* More than half the world's food production will be at risk of failure within the next 25 years as a rapidly accelerating water crisis grips the planet, unless urgent action is taken to conserve water resources and end the destruction of the ecosystems on which our fresh water depends, experts have warned in a landmark review.*

Judge bars purging of voters - 2024-11-14T16:50:45+00:00

*US judge bars Alabama from purging thousands of voters before election.*

Change in intestinal bacteria by PFAS - 2024-11-14T16:50:43+00:00

Evidence that PFAS cause changes in intestinal bacteria.

Developer of encrypted messaging software leaves Australia - 2024-11-14T16:50:40+00:00

An Australian developer of encrypted messaging software has moved to Switzerland to escape the hostility of Australian laws, including the law that allows the state to order employees to install backdoors in servers and in released software.

Ethnic cleansing of North Gaza - 2024-11-14T16:50:38+00:00

Netanyahu announced the ethnic cleansing of North Gaza.

I must suspect that South Gaza will follow, but this is itself an enormous war crime.

Biden can redeem himself morally by voting for a Security Council resolution to order Israel to take this back, and calling for sanctions otherwise.

Amazon, Meta and Apple congratulate Trump - 2024-11-14T16:50:37+00:00

*Heads of Amazon, Meta and Apple swift to congratulate Trump as Musk celebrates and declares victory for himself.*

I boycott all of those companies, as well as Musk's companies. You can join in!

(satire) America defeated America - 2024-11-14T16:50:35+00:00

(satire) *America defeated America at the ballot box.*

Military support for Ukraine - 2024-11-14T16:50:34+00:00

People expect that the wrecker will give his pal Putin a gift by ending military support for Ukraine.

If Ukraine is weakened that way, it might be sensible for Ukraine to seek a compromise peace that would be less disastrous than fighting and losing.

However, Putin has the attitude of a cheap gangster: when a victim starts to talk about making a deal, that means perse is weak, so it is time to demand more. Putin would increase his demands to the maximum, figuring that he will get all he demands, sooner or later, whenever Ukraine can't hold a front line any more.

But what if we imagine bizarre ideas with the sort of audacity that Putin has got away with? I have a few wild ideas.

* Ukraine can attack Belarus and perhaps trigger a rebellion to overthrow the dictator, Lukashenko, who is a client of Putin. There is a chance this would free Belaris. At least, Putin might have to send a large army there, enough to interfere with the attack on Ukraine.

* Ukraine can attack Hungary and remove Orban, who is a client of Putin. Maybe Hungary's government would flip.

* The Biden can send several regiments to Ukraine, at Ukraine's invitation, then station them the way of Putin forces' advance, ordering them not to fight unless attacked. Putin will face the choice of attacking the US troops and bringing NATO into the war, or ceasing to pursue those lines of attack.

If Putin does attack them, it would be hard for the wrecker subsequently to pull the US out of the fight. He would look like a coward and a traitor if he did. He does not want to look that way.

If this does not save Ukraine, it will at least help ensure that Ukrainians can take refuge in NATO countries if their country is conquered.

Democracy in intensive care unit - 2024-11-14T16:50:32+00:00

What do you do when democracy is in the intensive care unit?

Living in Beit Iksa is like prison - 2024-11-14T16:50:29+00:00

"Living in Beit Iksa is like living in prison." The only way in or out of that Palestinian village is through an Israeli checkpoint, and if the guards see fit, they can block an ambulance from coming for you while you die.

Vaccination and aid official's car in Gaza - 2024-11-14T16:50:24+00:00

*Vaccination centre and aid official's car bombarded in Gaza, says UN.*

Right wing extremists - 2024-11-12T04:47:31+00:00

Right wing extremists aimed to sow so much chaos that the election would fail, and they could start an uprising to make the election irrelevant.

They failed this time, it seems, but perhaps since the wrecker won they decided it was time to relax.

Robert Reich:The Lesson - 2024-11-12T04:47:30+00:00

Robert Reich describes the misguided "lessons" that plutocratists want the Democrats to learn from Harris's defeat.

Trump-proofing - 2024-11-12T04:47:29+00:00

California has already prepared to resist some forms of attack and reprisal that the bully could apply arbitrarily.

Yoav Gallant - 2024-11-12T04:47:28+00:00

Netanyahu dismissed his war minister, Yoav Gallant, who then said there is no "security reason" to continue the fighting in Gaza.

He accuses Netanyahu for rejecting a deal of hostages for peace for invalid reasons.

American press survival-ism - 2024-11-12T04:47:27+00:00

Ways that the wrecker could preside over the effective elimination of the free press in the US.

One of many ways would be to follow Biden's beginning by prosecuting publishers of leaks.

A couple of years from now, serious journalism about what the US government is doing may have been forced into exile, much as serious journalism about what the Russian government, Chinese government. and many other repressive governments.

Blind woman denied benefits - 2024-11-11T22:47:11+00:00

Sending letters to blind people who cannot read them is one of many forms of idiotic careless contempt that the UK government shows to the handicapped.

I think this attitude was instilled by the Tory government's attitude.

but Labour has a responsibility is to correct it, rather than disclaim responsibility.

Trump voters want revolution - 2024-11-11T22:47:10+00:00

*[The wrecker's] voters want a revolution. It’s time for progressives to offer their own.*

*Democrats must offer more than just hope.*

Trump victory despair - 2024-11-11T22:47:09+00:00

If you ignore politics, your life may be easier for a while — until nasty policies, that you failed to fight, ruin thousands or millions of lives,

and by chance yours is one of them.

*Why Democrats Lose Even When Republicans Are So Endlessly Terrible*

Harris on immigration border - 2024-11-11T22:47:08+00:00

*Harris Ran to [The wrecker's] Right on Immigration — and Gained Absolutely Nothing For It.*

Plastic pollution analysis - 2024-11-11T22:47:08+00:00

*[Plastic] pollution is affecting the climate, biodiversity, ecosystems, ocean acidification and human health, according to analysis.*

Trump's deportation plan - 2024-11-11T22:47:07+00:00

The wrecker says he will deport all unauthorized immigrants and threatens to punish states that resist.

This must be part of the reason California is allocating funds to cope with that punishment.

If the wrecker goes ahead with this plan, then he will have to replace them with authorized immigrants, or convince millions of Americans to do the job. For that, he would have to give those workers a big raise.

Trump health coverage threatened - 2024-11-11T22:47:06+00:00

*Incoming Trump presidency threatens millions of Americans’ [medical insurance].*

Trump press freedom - 2024-11-11T22:47:05+00:00

The wrecker's threat to freedom of speech and journalism in the US.

Rebecca Solnit - 2024-11-11T22:47:04+00:00

Rebecca Solnit: *Authoritarians like Trump love fear, defeatism, surrender. Do not give them what they want.*

One important point is distinguishing hope from optimism.

Written reprimand for Ohio sheriff's lieutenant - 2024-11-11T04:47:36+00:00

* [Ohio sheriff's lieutenant] received written reprimand for posting: "If you support the Democrat Party I will not help you."

This illustrates the attitude of hostility that convinces Republicans to act as if Democrats (the majority of Americans) were enemies to be fought bitterly.

This is the bully's fault, and his strategy too. Before 2020 it would have been almost unthinkable. The bully's strategy is an attack on the unity of the United States, and his use of it makes him an enemy of the United States.

Campaigning in churches - 2024-11-11T04:47:35+00:00

*Texas House candidate campaigning in churches, in potential legal violation.*

Christian churches have long tried to disregard the law against supporting political candidates. Punishment by a slap on the wrist encourages the defiance. Since that is a systematic campaign, I think the US needs to punish this enough to make churches think twice.

I would suggest revoking the tax exemption of any church caught doing this. That will make executives of churches take care, while not making any person a martyr.

Backdrop of extreme weather and ecosystem collapse - 2024-11-11T04:47:34+00:00

* Representatives at the Cop16 summit in Colombia negotiated against a backdrop of extreme weather and ecosystem collapse.*

Tricked,threatened and driven in seatless U-Haul vans - 2024-11-11T04:47:33+00:00

* A dozen black canvassers were tricked, threatened, and driven in seatless U-Haul vans [by Musk]. They were fired after WIRED reported on their plight — some without full pay or a way back home.*

Punishment for activist in Singapore - 2024-11-11T04:47:32+00:00

[A political activist in Singapore] faces punishment after refusing to "correct" online posts criticizing Singapore’s death penalty and drug laws.

Singapore strictly represses criticism of the government.

Moldovans fought off Russian election meddling - 2024-11-11T04:47:31+00:00

*How Moldovans bravely fought off Russian election meddling — and stood up for democracy.*

If only we could say the same about the United States.

Truth seemed to be Haydn - 2024-11-11T04:47:30+00:00

The truth seemed to be Haydn for a while.

China wants its embassy in UK bigger - 2024-11-11T04:47:30+00:00

China wants to make its embassy to the UK much bigger. Why would it want this? One reason could be to keep Uygur and Tibetan protesters, whose protests we should support, further away. But if this allows China to have more diplomats in the UK, China would use them for nefarious purposes, including espionage and intimidation of oversees Chinese. An inconvenient old embassy in Beijing is a price worth paying to hamper that.

Disbelief in vanishing glaciers - 2024-11-11T04:47:29+00:00

*"People do not want to believe it is true": the photographer capturing the vanishing of glaciers.*

Conditions for workers in Persian Gulf countries - 2024-11-11T04:47:28+00:00

Migrant workers in the Persian Gulf countries are compelled to work in temperatures of up to 45°C for as much as 14 hours a day.

Suspicions about Netanyahu's war aims - 2024-11-07T10:47:35+00:00

*Increasingly violent siege of north [Gaza] raises suspicions about Netanyahu’s war aims.*

The concern is that he may aim to annex part or all of Gaza, and expel any living Palestinians. Before that,the fighting could kill most of the people in North Gaza. That would indisputably be genocide.

Tory Party snoopphone app - 2024-11-07T10:47:34+00:00

The Tory Party released a snoopphone app (nonfree, like nearly all of them) which sends back data about its users.

I wonder what Tory supporters think about these nasty business practices when used by that party against them.

Democracy's survival with the world's richest man - 2024-11-07T10:47:33+00:00

*Can democracy survive now the world’s richest man has it in his sights?*

It is clear that some of the dirty things the muskrat is doing ought to be crimes punished by imprisonment.

EU's Common Agricultural Policy - 2024-11-07T10:47:32+00:00

The EU's Common Agricultural Policy was supposed to protect biodiversity and the environment, but has failed to achieve that goal. Things are getting rapidly worse.

Columbia pays $395,000 to student - 2024-11-07T10:47:31+00:00

*Columbia pays $395,000 to student suspended over protest "fart spray".*

I think Columbia went too far in punishing the student for expressing perself in a way that was annoying but not actually harmful to anyone. It is proper that the university was punished for this.

However, we must not forget that most of the punishment is being directed mainly at critics of Israel's massacres, not at supporters of them, and much of that punishment is also unjust.

If Trump loses - 2024-11-07T10:47:30+00:00

*Republicans preparing to reject US election result if Trump loses, warn strategists.*

Toxicity of PFAS mixtures - 2024-11-07T10:47:30+00:00

*PFAS mixtures more toxic than single compounds, [which would tend to be the danger worse than previous estimates.]*

Republicans challenging voters

Republicans with no particular authority or evidence are now empowered - 2024-11-07T10:47:29+00:00

to challenge large numbers of voters, forcing each one to prove per eligibility to vote. They cite various stretched reasons, but the real reason is often the person's ethnic background.

One of 900 voters challenged in Savannah had written her doctoral thesis on this particular abusive system. She appealed this and won her voting rights back, but many others really lose their voting rights.

I think the Voting Rights Act used to prohibit this, before voter-suppressing Republicans took control of the Extreme Court and neutralized most of it.

Robert F Kennedy promised everything related to public health - 2024-11-07T10:47:28+00:00

Robert F Kennedy Jr. says that the wrecker would put him in charge of everything related to public health.

Even worse, the wrecker is hinting at banning vaccines.

UK deported man on administrative technicalities - 2024-11-07T10:47:28+00:00

The UK deported a man based on administrative technicalities caused by delays due to the pandemic, without the hearing he was entitled to, and then gave him just three days to leave.

This demonstrates that humans can be as rigid as robots if they are taught to do so.