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Richard Stallman's Political Notes

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Professor Watchlist

mardi 20 décembre 2016 à 01:00

Students suggest names to add to the Professor Watchlist.

Urgent: Divestment from DAPL

mardi 20 décembre 2016 à 01:00

Everyone: call on two large California retirement funds to divest from the Dakota Access Pipeline.

They should be required by law not to invest in any fossil fuels or fossil fuel infrastructure.

Opposition to kindness

mardi 20 décembre 2016 à 01:00

Nuns that feed the homeless in San Francisco got money to buy a permanent base, but the other residents don't want any kindness in their building.

US prisoners

mardi 20 décembre 2016 à 01:00

An estimated 1/4 of US prisoners were imprisoned in the absence of any public interest in keeping them in prison.

Convicted of "inciting discrimination"

mardi 20 décembre 2016 à 01:00

Geert Wilders, a Dutch populist, was convicted of "inciting discrimination" for suggesting it would be desirable to have "fewer Moroccans" in the Netherlands.

The question of how many immigrants a country should have is a valid political question, and it should not be a crime to say "fewer".

However, some points in Wilders' party platform are outright tyranny. "Preventive" imprisonment is Guantanamo -- an injustice. So is exiling citizens for crimes. Banning the Qur'an is outrageous censorship. Kicking out asylum seekers is cruelty.

Cutting foreign aid is cruel. Cutting public broadcasting won't save much money and seems foolish. Not supporting research is certainly foolish.

Some aspects of the program might be good. Increased direct democracy could be good if implemented the Swiss way, where plebiscites can be held to validate or to reject laws passed by the legislature.

The promise to reduce taxes and increase benefits is questionable. That can be done for a while by deficit spending, which is the right way to give the economy an emergency boost, but is harmful to continue for the long haul. Does the Netherlands need an emergency economic boost just now?

How will rents be lowered? Building more housing would do the job well, but they might try some other less healthy method.

Cutting taxes for owning a car is a way of subsidizing fossil fuels. Do they want the sea to overflow their dikes?