*Belarus's struggle is a powerful reminder of the value of freedom.*

Freedom is important even if it doesn't go all the way: "The oligarch who runs the factory next won’t be any worse than the state is now." And if you get some democracy, you can try to get rid of the oligarchs as the next step.

Sex-selective abortion continues increasing in some parts of India. Parents want sons, not daughters.

Aborting a fetus doesn't do wrong to anyone, but the preference for boys is part of a structure of systemic sexism that pervades Indian society, and the other parts of the system do do wrong to females.

I support trying to eliminate that structure, but that can't be achieved by banning sex-selective abortion. Part of that system is a requirement for parents to pay a dowry when a daughter marries. That can be such a hardship that it is difficult to convince parents not to try to avoid it. It may be easier to reduce that requirement, for instance by making it easier for women to learn good jobs.

Anything that reduces poverty in India, or reduces the birth rate, can help too, as well as being good in its own right.

However, there is no excuse for trying to stop women from having abortions for whatever reasons.

H P Lovecraft was an unabashed racist. He hated Jews, blacks, and non-white immigrates, and did not hesitate to say so. What shall we make of this today?

Nnedi Okorafor, a fantasy writer who received an award which came with a bust of Lovecraft, is a member of a group he hated. Hatred of blacks still exists today, and is an important moral-political issue. She objected to the choice of trophy, and got it changed.

I too am a member of a group he hated, and that hatred still exists today. Antisemitism is also an important moral-political issue. But I don't think it matters much today what Lovecraft's opinions were a century ago, about these points or any other. He has no political influence now.

So our choice is whether to dwell on his politics, or let it be forgotten and think about him only for his fiction.

I think the latter is wiser, overall. The change Ms Okorafor achieved was, marginally, a step forward, but there is no point pushing it further. There are so many bigots alive today, and so many practices that are part of systemic racism, that de-Lovecraftizing literary activities on account of his bigotry is a distraction from effective activism.

I would not be reluctant to read his work knowing that he would have hated me if he had met me, just as I wouldn't hesitate to listen to Wagner for the like reason. As it happens, I don't especially like their work, but that is a different matter.

Most protests in Portland are peaceful, but the violent ones get the media attention and make the movement look bad.

Covid-19 offers an opportunity for climate action.