# articles

feed_id: 3dba6e8c15d92d117625dc006c9830b5
title: Freedom to shave
uri: Freedom-to-shave
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#9_November_2016_%28Freedom_to_shave%29
content:
<p>
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global/2016/nov/08/i-hate-this-beard-by-god-iraqi-mosul-men-celebrate-freedom-by-shaving">
Iraqi men liberated from PISSI's rule celebrate being free to get
rid of their beards.
</a>
<p>
I hope that women will celebrate being free to get rid of their veils,
but I am not sure if they get that freedom.


feed_id: 52939924777a6789449565ebb31f88f5
title: Child sexual abuse images
uri: Child-sexual-abuse-images
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#9_November_2016_%28Child_sexual_abuse_images%29
content:
<p>
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/nov/08/campaigners-warn-of-emergency-over-online-child-sexual-abuse">
A survey in Germany found that 2.4% of men admitted to viewing "child
sexual abuse images".
</a>
  I share the article's concern, but my conclusions are very different
from those in the article.
<p>
To imprison such a large fraction of society would be outrageous.  In
the US, that would amount to millions of people.  (The US already
imprisons far too many of its residents.)  This shows that the
current repressive approach is untenable.
<p>
The boundaries of "child sexual abuse images" are subject to a lot of
stretching, and I don't know what those men had in mind when they
answered, or whether they were shown a specific definition.  We must
not label everyone under 18 as "children", nor assume that sex for
someone under 16 or 18 (take your pick) is invariably "abuse", nor
treat images of fictitious children as real "abuse".  But real
children are sexually abused for real, and I support laws against
that.  Efforts against the business of making and distributing images
of that are justified -- but these must not be done by dangerous
methods.
<p>
A law against looking at or possesing a copy of some publication,
<em>no matter how odious it is or why</em>, is a threat to everyone.
It is an excuse for fishing expeditions, when the state seeks an
excuse to imprison someone.  It also provides an easy way to
manufacture a case against someone.  How hard is it to slip copies of
things into your computer?


feed_id: 8d826702ede6403c74ff6fff69ef557f
title: Urgent: Nonviolent protesters' rights
uri: Urgent-Nonviolent-protesters-rights
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#11_November_2016_%28Urgent%3A_Nonviolent_protesters_rights%29

content:
<p>
US citizens: 
<a href="https://stallman.org/petitions/petition-dakota/">Call for
respecting nonviolent protesters' rights</a> at least as much as armed
protesters.


feed_id: 9c7423d4cd1159c21c274eb450e50ea8
title: Trump and global heating denial
uri: Trump-and-global-heating-denial
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#11_November_2016_%28Trump_and_global_heating_denial%29

content:
<p>
Trump can make global disaster inevitable 
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/news/2016/11/09/does-president-elect-trump-spell-doom-planet">simply
by promoting fossil fuel use for four years</a>.
<p>
Since he is 70 years old, he He probably will not live long enough to
reach the point where it is impossible to deny the disaster.
<p>
How much further can global heating denialists 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/brain-flapping/2014/nov/25/climate-change-is-an-obvious-myth-how-much-more-evidence-do-you-need">fool
themselves</a>?


feed_id: 9db7ff976b7f81563e550e9b89faef56
title: Trump
uri: 2016-11-11-Trump
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#11_November_2016_%28Trump%29
content:
<p>
There is no point trying to cooperate with Trump so we can "get to
know him".  
<a href="https://plus.google.com/+LaurenWeinstein/posts/HHj6gBhpzv2?sfc=true">We
already know his trumpery</a> too well.
<p>
The idea of "unity" with Trump is absurd.  With so much
self-contradiction, he can't even unify himself.


feed_id: f17103c6e8112dbee34ac49093cf14c8
title: Sanders
uri: 2016-11-11-Sanders
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#11_November_2016_%28Sanders%29
content:
<p>
Sanders says, with justification, 
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2016/11/09/sanders-statement-trump">"I
told you so."</a>


feed_id: 217b7edf8b16eb48f52fb5e30fd7d029
title: Democrats
uri: 2016-11-11-Democrats
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#11_November_2016_%28Democrats%29
content:
<p>
[Elected] Democrats Once Represented the Working Class.  
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/nov/10/democrats-working-class-americans-us-election">Not
Anymore</a>.
<p>
Trump doesn't represent them either, but he incoherently pretended to.


feed_id: 90317bee57419f9b97bf44fecaafb3c9
title: Transgender Americans fear oppression under Trump
uri: Transgender-Americans-fear-oppression-under-Trump
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#11_November_2016_%28Transgender_Americans_fear_oppression_under_Trump%29

content:
<p>
Transgender Americans 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/nov/10/transgender-rights-lgbt-donald-trump-presidency">fear
oppression under a Trump regime</a>.
<p>
All depends on whether Trump sees a personal benefit in continuing to
demonize them.  If he does, he might hound them cruelly.  On the other
hand, he may feel that now that he's elected he has no need to do
that.


feed_id: 5ebc98e514771901730381b3204c2399
title: Trump's callous bullying
uri: Trump-s-callous-bullying
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#11_November_2016_%28Trumps_callous_bullying%29
content:
<p>
"Youâre hired: 
<a href='https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/nov/10/trump-the-apprentice-president-elect-reality-tv'>how
The Apprentice led to President Trump</a>."
<p>
I never watched The Apprentice — In 1970 I decided to drop my TV
habit cold-turkey and I've never had one since.  But it sounds like
the sort of callous bullying that we have seen from Trump this year.


feed_id: ca66ecf53ac5fb9358cf7ba9d314027e
title: Israeli colonists
uri: Israeli-colonists
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#10_November_2016_%28Israeli_colonists%29
content:
<p>
Israeli colonists
<a href="http://alternativenews.org/index.php/headlines/246-settlers-attack-injure-palestinians-harvesting-olives">attacked
Palestinians as they tried to harvest their olive trees</a>.
<p>
Elsewhere colonists
<a href="http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=773860">stole olives
after Palestinians harvested them</a>.
<p>
In El Araqib, Israel state agents don't just destroy houses and tents,
they also
<a href="http://www.kibush.co.il/show_file.asp?num=74077">steal
anything movable</a>.


feed_id: 7bdf93463adf49a850e504dcddadbb33
title: Israel closes roads to punish Palestinians
uri: Israel-closes-roads-to-punish-Palestinians
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#10_November_2016_%28Israel_closes_roads_to_punish_Palestinians%29

content:
<p>
Chris Christie closed lanes to punish Democrats, but Israel
<a href="http://www.btselem.org/freedom_of_movement/20161030_restrictions_in_nablus_area">closes
roads entirely to punish Palestinians</a>.


feed_id: 958c4693567fbe98576b4b591b66a71a
title: Netanyahu's blatant oppression
uri: Netanyahu-s-blatant-oppression
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#10_November_2016_%28Netanyahus_blatant_oppression%29

content:
<p>
Netanyahu
<a href="http://972mag.com/israel-increasingly-defiant-as-the-world-loses-interest-in-palestine/122936/">believes
that the world doesn't care enough to object</a> to Israel's
colonization of parts of Palestine.  He figures he can get away with
blatant gradual oppression.


feed_id: 78e704ba89bf08a60989a5036ea7d33e
title: Urgent: Investigate cell phone jamming
uri: Urgent-Investigate-cell-phone-jamming
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#10_November_2016_%28Urgent%3A_Investigate_cell_phone_jamming%29

content:
<p>
US citizens:
<a href="http://act.demandprogress.org/sign/tell-fcc-investigate-cell-phone-jamming-and-spying-standing-rock/">call
on the FCC</a> to investigate cell phone jamming at pipeline protests.


feed_id: de1a2fddd8b225903d00d94eaf887a87
title: Abortion
uri: 2016-11-11-Abortion
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#10_November_2016_%28Abortion%29
content:
<p>
Valerie Tarico explains
<a href="http://www.alternet.org/i-am-pro-abortion-not-just-pro-choice-10-reasons-why-we-must-support-procedure-and-choice">why
she is pro-abortion</a>.


feed_id: 4d68304ece4f668ce96089422971acb6
title: India attacks payment in cash
uri: India-attacks-payment-in-cash
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#10_November_2016_%28India_attacks_payment_in_cash%29

content:
<p>
India has attacked payment in cash by suddenly
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/nov/08/india-withdraws-500-1000-rupee-notes-fight-corruption">invalidating
all bills that are worth more than around $13</a>.
<p>
I support fighting corruption, but tracking everything everyone buys
is tyranny.


feed_id: 6ac8386ac8ce5edb7b89b175ac82a3f4
title: Ethiopia arrests relatives of protesters
uri: Ethiopia-arrests-relatives-of-protesters
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#10_November_2016_%28Ethiopia_arrests_relatives_of_protesters%29

content:
<p>
After Ethiopian expats protested in Australia, Ethiopia
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/nov/09/call-for-release-of-ethiopians-arrested-after-their-relatives-protested-in-australia">arrested
their relatives</a>.


feed_id: b08375affbdb20c22edd9f50e8f480d6
title: EU tax haven blacklist
uri: EU-tax-haven-blacklist
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#10_November_2016_%28EU_tax_haven_blacklist%29
content:
<p>
EU
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2016/11/07/eu-cant-afford-fudge-tax-haven-blacklist">Can't
Afford to Fudge Tax Haven Blacklist</a>.


feed_id: 55bfe156c6482aafdb1f411a883b614b
title: Indian soldiers blind hundreds of protesters
uri: Indian-soldiers-blind-hundreds-of-protesters
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#10_November_2016_%28Indian_soldiers_blind_hundreds_of_protesters%29

content:
<p>
Indian soldiers have blinded hundreds or protesters in Kashmir by
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/nov/08/india-crackdown-in-kashmir-is-this-worlds-first-mass-blinding">shooting
pellets at crowds</a>.
<p>
When India took over Kashmir, it promised the population a plebiscite
to decide whether to remain part of India.  That plebiscite has never
been held, and I think India should hold it.
<p>
The government of Pakistan is more repressive than that if Ondia, in
general, but Kashmir does not have to become part of Pakistan if it
becomes independent from India.  There are many possibilities.


feed_id: 94f5f8def4dc6d6bd05fa0187d598729
title: Anti-solar bill fails
uri: Anti-solar-bill-fails
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#10_November_2016_%28Anti-solar_bill_fails%29
content:
<p>
<a href="https://thinkprogress.org/florida-amendment-1-fails-52e07bb50adf">
Florida voters rejected the anti-solar amendment.
</a>


feed_id: 90f383f041286ce8328444ba3c3f9d94
title: Winaholic Trump
uri: Winaholic-Trump
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#10_November_2016_%28Winaholic_Trump%29
content:
<p>
<a href="http://www.alternet.org/election-2016/trumps-winaholic-binge-continues">
Trump seen as a "winaholic" who has to believe he never loses.
</a>
  He may now have so much power that he can deny all future failures and
make people around him deny them too.


feed_id: 0ae4e61cde1ddca97e4fe9fa3450ef6d
title: Trump's victory
uri: Trump-s-victory
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#10_November_2016_%28Trump%27s_victory%29
content:
<p>
Some prominent US racists are
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/nov/09/former-ku-klux-klan-leader-and-us-alt-right-hail-election-result">
very happy with Trump's victory.
</a>


feed_id: adfda338b5ec54dd93c7e71e3b807784
title: Vote-rigging
uri: Vote-rigging
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#10_November_2016_%28Vote-rigging%29
content:
<p>
<a href="http://us4.campaign-archive2.com/?u=33e4ec877eed6a43863a4a92e&id=bba5da2f54&e=8283eff9b8">
Republican vote-rigging in Ohio.
</a>
<p>
We need to determine whether Trump stole this election
or whether he would have won without the vote-rigging,
intimidation, and voter suppression.
<p>
<a href="https://thinkprogress.org/arizona-voters-demand-justice-department-keep-polls-open-late-tonight-ebcf3fc0057a">
Here's voter-suppression from Arizona.
</a>


feed_id: ed80071b56fba9d6c9eef18537f9af49
title: Trump's promises
uri: Trump-s-promises
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#10_November_2016_%28Trump%27s_promises%29
content:
<p>
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/nov/09/donald-trump-victory-us-election-result-revolution">
If you believe Trump meant what he said, here's what that might imply
for the coming years.
</a>
<p>
I don't think Trump meant very much of what he said.  It was mere
Trumpery.  The only serious part was his inclination towards bullying
and intimidation.  Aside from that, he might do anything whatsoever.
<p>
Trump took advantage of broad US freedom of speech
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/nov/09/division-besets-us-but-the-us-must-live-up-to-its-role-in-the-world">
even as he said he wanted to get rid of it.
</a>
<p>

Trump has showed that
<a href="https://theintercept.com/2016/11/09/the-nightmare-president/">
one can fool enough of the people, enough of the
time, to become president
</a>
if one is insincere and exploitative.


feed_id: 419e5986258ca1028cfbd0548cd812e0
title: End of sheriff's reign
uri: End-of-sheriff-s-reign
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#10_November_2016_%28End_of_sheriff%27s_reign%29
content:
<p>
Sheriff Arpaio, who had contempt for laws that protected other people's rights,
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/nov/09/joe-arpaio-arizona-republican-sheriff-loses-re-election">
has been voted out of office.
</a>


feed_id: 62613cc3ebaca99697206de6f3a3a640
title: Illegal wildlife trade
uri: Illegal-wildlife-trade
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#10_November_2016_%28Illegal_wildlife_trade%29
content:
<p>
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/nov/09/how-forensics-are-aiding-the-fight-against-illegal-wildlife-trade">
How Forensics Are Aiding the Fight Against Illegal Wildlife Trade.
</a>


feed_id: d9153746a85b9596eca0d6eb99710138
title: Unspeakable horrors
uri: Unspeakable-horrors
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#10_November_2016_%28Unspeakable_horrors%29
content:
<p>
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/nov/09/president-trump-national-security-nuclear-arsenal">
Trump could commit unspeakable horrors
</a>
because Bush started them,
and Obama either continued them or created no obstacles to stop them.


feed_id: 1952ee9e89b7df1a474011547413aa86
title: Breaking the Silence
uri: 2016-11-11-Breaking-the-Silence
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#10_November_2016_%28Breaking_the_Silence%29
content:
<p>
After a prestigious Israeli human rights award to Breaking the Silence
was vetoed blocked for political reasons,
<a href="http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4875815,00.html">
other Israelis set up an
alternative prize to give it.
</a>
<p>
In Breaking the Silence, former soldiers talk about the occupation
atrocities they saw, or participated in.


feed_id: 60cf402d62cad67b11fb3b0e32a702fe
title: Child sexual abuse images
uri: 2016-11-11-Child-sexual-abuse-images
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#9_November_2016_%28Child_sexual_abuse_images%29
content:
<p>
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/nov/08/campaigners-warn-of-emergency-over-online-child-sexual-abuse">
A survey in Germany found that 2.4% of men admitted to viewing "child
sexual abuse images".
</a>
  I share the article's concern, but my conclusions are very different
from those in the article.
<p>
To imprison such a large fraction of society would be outrageous.  In
the US, that would amount to millions of people.  (The US already
imprisons far too many of its residents.)  This shows that the
current repressive approach is untenable.
<p>
The boundaries of "child sexual abuse images" are subject to a lot of
stretching, and I don't know what those men had in mind when they
answered, or whether they were shown a specific definition.  We must
not label everyone under 18 as "children", nor assume that sex for
someone under 16 or 18 (take your pick) is invariably "abuse", nor
treat images of fictitious children as real "abuse".  But real
children are sexually abused for real, and I support laws against
that.  Efforts against the business of making and distributing images
of that are justified — but these must not be done by dangerous
methods.
<p>
A law against looking at or possessing a copy of some publication,
<em>no matter how odious it is or why</em>, is a threat to everyone.
It is an excuse for fishing expeditions, when the state seeks an
excuse to imprison someone.  It also provides an easy way to
manufacture a case against someone.  How hard is it to slip copies of
things into your computer?


feed_id: f7209108ff8f1fa160381567c1b4b2a8
title: Israel rejecting peace talks
uri: 2016-11-11-Israel-rejecting-peace-talks
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#9_November_2016_%28Israel_rejecting_peace_talks%29
content:
<p>
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/nov/07/israel-france-not-join-talks-revive-palestine-peace-process-benjamin-netanyahu">
Israel rejected France's proposed peace process
</a>
in favor of an alternative
that has been dead since 2014,
<a href="2016-jan-apr.html#30_January_2016_(Ban_Ki-moon_condemns_Israeli_colonization)">
   and was only a sham before that.
</a>


feed_id: 3ce7da232c572b0c07cfb119a1c1b1c7
title: Phone WiFi tracking
uri: 2016-11-11-Phone-WiFi-tracking
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#9_November_2016_%28Phone_WiFi_tracking%29
content:
<p>
The WiFi systems of portable phones make it 
<a href="https://theintercept.com/2016/11/07/hackers-and-law-enforcement-could-hijack-wifi-connections-to-track-cellphones/">easy
to get the phone's unique number or IMSI</a>.
<p>
I think the root of this problem is that the phone transmits a unique
number that the user cannot change.  When I connect to WiFi or
ethernet, I change my MAC address each time I use a different network.
Machines that won't let you do this are mistreating you.


feed_id: 004d1c525449b33b9667c676b567935c
title: Net of a Million Lies
uri: 2016-11-11-Net-of-a-Million-Lies
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#9_November_2016_%28Net_of_a_Million_Lies%29
content:
<p>
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/nov/06/technology-disruption-infects-political-system">
The fictional Net of a Million Lies has become real,
</a>
and the filter bubble
has made serious political discourse almost ineffective.


feed_id: 10e71e6bed04764a64af74b2e16bab4b
title: Game addiction
uri: 2016-11-11-Game-addiction
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#9_November_2016_%28Game_addiction%29
content:
<p>
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/nov/06/fears-children-addicted-online-games">
Many children are becoming addicted to proprietary software games.
</a>
<p>
The games are designed to make users keep playing — and, in many
cases, keep paying.  Unlike the games of 30 years ago, you don't just
buy a copy once and use it as much as you like.  In many games,
players are pressured to pay to advance.
<p>
The fact that the games are proprietary, not free (libre) software, is
a crucial part of the problem, because that enables the designers to
maximize the amount they draw out of people, and gives them an incentive
to make the games addictive.
<p>
The technology-industrial complex shows a general dynamic of
<a href="2012-jul-oct.html#18_July_2012_(Addiction)">
designing
things to be increasingly addictive.
</a>
<p>


feed_id: 9d4a19ffb99f1cc3283aa8ba95fc93de
title: Europe's upload filtering proposal
uri: Europe-s-upload-filtering-proposal
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#14_November_2016_%28Europes_upload_filtering_proposal%29

content:
<p>
Users Around the World 
<a href="https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2016/11/users-around-world-reject-europes-upload-filtering-proposal">Reject</a>
Europe's Upload Filtering Proposal.
<p>
It mandates censorship on behalf of companies that have far too much
power already.  We 
<a href="http://gnu.org/philosophy/copyright-vs-community.html">need
to make copyright weaker</a>, not stronger.
<p>
It is regrettable that the EFF article disparages publications and
creative works by calling them 
<a href="http://gnu.org/philosophy/words-to-avoid.html#Content">"content"</a>.


feed_id: 98cae9371dcf008728c4471dae4c26e6
title: Cuba's economy
uri: Cuba-s-economy
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#14_November_2016_%28Cubas_economy%29
content:
<p>
Cuba must take care when liberalizing its economy 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2016/nov/11/cuba-shun-capitalism-seek-development-solutions-within">not
to fall for the plutocrats' trickle-down idiocy</a>.


feed_id: ad4e7c5729a0581a124ae23f094a20e6
title: Methane emissions from dams
uri: Methane-emissions-from-dams
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#14_November_2016_%28Methane_emissions_from_dams%29
content:
<p>
Better analysis shows dams emit 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2016/nov/14/hydroelectric-dams-emit-billion-tonnes-greenhouse-gas-methane-study-climate-change">25%
more methane than was believed</a>.
<p>
I wonder whether something can be done to reduce that, or else to
collect the methane.


feed_id: 28d3cdb4704bf3098fddf42afab4a793
title: The sick economy
uri: The-sick-economy
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#14_November_2016_%28The_sick_economy%29
content:
<p>
"He's right, the economy is sick — and 
<a href='https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/nov/14/trump-us-economy-sick-businesses-like-his-value-creation'>businesses
like Trump's are part of the disease</a>."


feed_id: a0207da94f7a008bc6a8dcf1cfd8438c
title: Why Wallonia fought CETA
uri: Why-Wallonia-fought-CETA
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#14_November_2016_%28Why_Wallonia_fought_CETA%29
content:
<p>
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/nov/14/wallonia-ceta-ttip-eu-trade-belgium">Why
Wallonia fought CETA</a>, and what it won for Europeans and Canadians
by doing so.


feed_id: 14e982dd6a0d367766409c20635f9700
title: Obama
uri: 2016-11-15-Obama
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#14_November_2016_%28Obama%29
content:
<p>
Obama will press for 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/nov/13/barack-obama-calls-for-meaningful-debt-relief-for-greece">"meaningful
debt relief" for Greece</a>, now that he no longer has much influence.
<p>
Why didn't Obama push for this a year ago?  Two years ago?  Three
years ago?  Clearly he already knew what was harming Greece.


feed_id: c9911c9b30783d542e183c801f299051
title: Trump will try to intimidate criticism
uri: Trump-will-try-to-intimidate-criticism
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#14_November_2016_%28Trump_will_try_to_intimidate_criticism%29

content:
<p>
Trump's mouthpiece 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/nov/13/kellyanne-conway-harry-reid-legal-threat">threatened
to sue Harry Reid</a> for an accurate condemnation of Trump.
<p>
This confirms that Trump will try to intimidate all criticism.


feed_id: f4ec3c9a6a3f5d75eb4e4aa193ca2b10
title: If the US news media were Liberal
uri: If-the-US-news-media-were-Liberal
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#14_November_2016_%28If_the_US_news_media_were_Liberal%29

content:
<p>
<a href="https://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/08/07/1229087/-15-things-everyone-would-know-if-there-were-a-liberal-media">Important
stories the US news media would cover thoroughly</a> if it were
Liberal.
<p>
The idea that US news media are Liberal is a right-wing lie.  They
want people who see the mainstream media to imagine that the truth is
even more right-wing than what they find there.


feed_id: 6501d45de15fc9ee84604777095e8bf5
title: Canadian public radio reporters
uri: Canadian-public-radio-reporters
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#13_November_2016_%28Canadian_public_radio_reporters%29

content:
<p>
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/2016/nov/03/quebec-scandal-of-spying-on-journalists-widens-to-national-broadcaster">
Quebec thugs snooped</a> on Canadian public radio reporters too.


feed_id: 2395b1d9030338cb652b6f750c7d3997
title: Open letter
uri: Open-letter
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#13_November_2016_%28Open_letter%29
content:
<p>
An
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/views/2016/11/02/public-servants-or-corporate-security-open-letter-law-enforcement-and-national">
open letter to the thugs enforcing some laws against protesters</a>
in North Dakota, to help corporations disobey other laws.


feed_id: ab0c5ab9d918dafc98b2a593a3a472cf
title: Cheran
uri: Cheran
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#13_November_2016_%28Cheran%29
content:
<p>
The town of Cheran in Michoacan has
<a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-37612083">
kicked out gangsters and set
itself
as an autonomous indigenous community</a>.
However, other localities have not succeeded in replicating this.
It seems to require strong social cohesion that is not found
elsewhere.


feed_id: 78c06970aa960826459b4441d5d47107
title: New York underwater by 2050
uri: New-York-underwater-by-2050
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#13_November_2016_%28New_York_underwater_by_2050%29
content:
<p>
We 
<a href="http://phys.org/news/2016-11-york-braces-looming-threats-climate.html">could
get rid of Wall Street by 2050</a> through global heating.


feed_id: 992e1e1756b3ce648b2331bc4b04e1ca
title: US environmental protection
uri: US-environmental-protection
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#13_November_2016_%28US_environmental_protection%29
content:
<p>
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/nov/13/climate-change-trump-administration-environmental-protection">Trump
could destroy environmental protection in the US
</a>
by appointing
hypocritical officials with orders not to do the job.
<a href="#16_October_2016_(Elizabeth_Warren)">Obama did just that with
agencies such as the SEC</a> that are supposed to regulate Wall
Street.


feed_id: 42bc9d2df2be2a07ba83a93488562759
title: Sanders' campaign
uri: Sanders-campaign
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#13_November_2016_%28Sanders%27_campaign%29
content:
<p>
Sanders will continue the campaign to
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/views/2016/11/12/where-democrats-go-here">
redirect Americans' anger at
plutocracy into a movement that will honestly oppose it.
</a>


feed_id: 8a33132d6544c48a76a2028c2a10e67b
title: Amazon worker exploitation
uri: Amazon-worker-exploitation
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#13_November_2016_%28Amazon_worker_exploitation%29
content:
<p>
Amazon pressures its "self-employed" delivery drivers to drive without
seat belts;
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/nov/13/help-amazon-driver-hot-foot-it-to-shops">
they aren't given time to go to the toilet so they have to
piss and defecate in the car.
</a>
<p>
This is perhaps not as bad for the individual as being unemployed,
which is what they will become when Amazon gets driverless delivery
vans.  But that does not make it acceptable.


feed_id: b8cdf181c13989c47f0627dc29673ee8
title: Prison lockdown
uri: Prison-lockdown
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#13_November_2016_%28Prison_lockdown%29
content:
<p>
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/nov/13/ben-gunn-prison-lockdowns-dangerous">
A lockdown in prison automatically creates tension.
</a>
As a method to
deal with tension among prisoners, it defeats itself if it is used
very much.


feed_id: c606b5b86f179af79327c2cd026f5ec4
title: Fact-checking service
uri: Fact-checking-service
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#13_November_2016_%28Fact-checking_service%29
content:
<p>
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/aug/01/snopes-com-internet-fact-checker-post-truth-david-mikkelson">
Snopes.com continues its fact-checking service, but our political system
no longer rejects lies.
</a>
<p>
The fake story about Ted Cruz and the ban on masturbation is funny
because it is believable.  It goes just a little beyond the sort of
thing religious conservatives would really advocate.


feed_id: 0a338f4cec7b3ba6588589b73717ff1e
title: Audi's proprietary software
uri: Audi-s-proprietary-software
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#13_November_2016_%28Audi%27s_proprietary_software%29

content:
<p>
<a href="http://jalopnik.com/america-figured-out-a-new-way-audi-cheated-on-emissions-1788630969">
Audi's proprietary software used a simple method to cheat on emissions
tests:
</a>
to activate a special low-emission gearshifting mode until the
first time the car made a turn.
<p>
This is proprietary software at work.
<a href="http://gnu.org/philosophy/free-software-even-more-important.html">
You can't trust a proprietary program
with control of anything.
</a>


feed_id: bea6788c49bef81e4b4c31d308fa0ed4
title: Clinton's plutocratic nature
uri: Clinton-s-plutocratic-nature
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#13_November_2016_%28Clinton%27s_plutocratic_nature%29

content:
<p>
<a href="https://theintercept.com/2016/11/09/democrats-trump-and-the-ongoing-dangerous-refusal-to-learn-the-lesson-of-brexit/">
It was Clinton's own plutocratic nature
</a>
that brought the election
within stealing range for the Republicans,
<p>
Remember when polls showed
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/views/2016/11/13/polls-showed-sanders-had-better-shot-beating-trump-pundits-told-you-ignore-them">
Sanders had a better chance than Clinton
against Trump?
</a>
Sanders might have won by too many votes for the Republicans to steal.


feed_id: 3ac9f1396300799626223ed9037daf30
title: Why America elected Trump
uri: Why-America-elected-Trump
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#13_November_2016_%28Why_America_elected_Trump%29
content:
<p>
<a href="https://medium.com/@anildash/forget-why-its-time-to-get-to-work-c49ac5f0da20">
Forget "Why?", It's Time to Get to Work.
</a>


feed_id: f1b4bb8ae2196af94444a2614155a1c4
title: Bots undermining discussion
uri: Bots-undermining-discussion
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#13_November_2016_%28Bots_undermining_discussion%29
content:
<p>
<a href="http://arstechnica.co.uk/information-technology/2016/11/trump-twitter-bots-us-presidential-election/">
Twitter bots had a large effect in manipulating and undermining
political discussion between humans in the US.
</a>
<p>
Whether or not they favored Trump this time, and no matter who they
favor in the future, this is clearly bad.


feed_id: d593e0726553b8590ed453aac402210c
title: Eliminating Medicare
uri: Eliminating-Medicare
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#13_November_2016_%28Eliminating_Medicare%29
content:
<p>
<a href="http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2016/11/paul-ryan-says-medicare-privatization-is-on.html">
Paul Ryan wants to eliminate Medicare.
</a>
<p>
Republicans depend on the votes of older Americans — I see some
hope that this plan can be stopped.  However, it will be harder to
stop the plans for tax cuts for the rich.


feed_id: a46bd303dc3062fb014abecdf15ff81c
title: Vicious state practices
uri: Vicious-state-practices
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#13_November_2016_%28Vicious_state_practices%29
content:
<p>
During Obama's presidency,
<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2016/11/11/glenn-greenwald-trump-will-have-vast-powers-he-can-thank-democrats-for-them/">
many Democrats protected vicious state
practices such as massive surveillance, torture, targeted killings,
and imprisonment without trial.
</a>
<p>
Not all Democrats accepted these practices, but enough did so that we
missed the chance to make it hard for Trump to use them.


feed_id: 7ba3af9e1b773842f97788847ba6185a
title: Auto industry lobbying
uri: Auto-industry-lobbying
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#13_November_2016_%28Auto_industry_lobbying%29
content:
<p>
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2016/11/11/bailed-out-auto-industry-asks-trumps-lobbyist-transition-team-ease-rules-save">
Car manufacturers ask Trump to cancel fuel economy standards.
</a>
<p>
He has two reasons to do it: to please car companies, and to please
oil companies.  I expect he will do what those companies want.


feed_id: a411e65725c773fd25fb1a6f6aec921f
title: Altered ecosystems
uri: Altered-ecosystems
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#13_November_2016_%28Altered_ecosystems%29
content:
<p>
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/news/2016/11/11/climate-change-has-already-altered-nearly-every-ecosystem-earth">
Just 1 degree C of global heating has already altered ecosystems
around the world.
</a>
  Some animals have evolved to be significantly smaller in just 50 years.
<p>
If you imagine that something killed all tall humans, humans could
become substantially shorter in a few generations, because shorter
humans already exist.  But this rapid evolution can only go as far as
the existing variation permits.  To evolve to be even shorter would
require a long time for mutation to make more variation.


feed_id: 56ca1e2aa7fc9ae98608d5f7ec2f5f54
title: Champagne party
uri: Champagne-party
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#13_November_2016_%28Champagne_party%29
content:
<p>
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/education/2016/nov/11/durham-university-champagne-society-investigated-claims-of-drugs-and-sex-at-party">
A big fuss is made about a champagne party at a university, for the
wrong reasons.
</a>
<p>
That college students already have an alcohol problem, and drank themselves
into unconsciousness, is very grave.  However, I don't see anything wrong in
having sex at a party, or in jumping in a pond, if you want to do that.


feed_id: b4da6ea90fe2058439185c3069816e05
title: TPP is dead!
uri: TPP-is-dead
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#13_November_2016_%28TPP_is_dead%21%29
content:
<p>
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/nov/12/tpp-trade-deal-congress-obama">
The TPP is dead!
</a>


feed_id: 5691a51e6a25011752885fec6fae57e5
title: Scump's victory
uri: Scump-s-victory
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#12_November_2016_%28Scump%27s_victory%29
content:
<p>
<a href="http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/donald-trump-america-us-president-protest-hillary/1/807450.html">
Scump's victory has encouraged violent bigots of all stripes.
</a>


feed_id: 7b8c236454e74d1b031ac3f715cedaa4
title: Trump's surveillance network
uri: Trump-s-surveillance-network
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#12_November_2016_%28Trump%27s_surveillance_network%29

content:
<p>
Obama defended massive surveillance,
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/nov/11/trump-surveillance-network-nsa-privacy">
so now Trump gets to use it
against the world.
</a>


feed_id: 00721b93bf89a7a5e256bbed877e8abf
title: No plan B for global heating
uri: No-plan-B-for-global-heating
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#12_November_2016_%28No_plan_B_for_global_heating%29
content:
<p>
Climate scientists warn,
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/nov/12/climate-change-marrakech-no-plan-b--trump-victory">
"There's no plan B" if Trump sabotages the
already-insufficient plans to curb global heating.
</a>


feed_id: d525377938e2bfa26f6566f049d38db4
title: The election was stolen
uri: The-election-was-stolen
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#12_November_2016_%28The_election_was_stolen%29
content:
<p>
<a href="http://us4.campaign-archive1.com/?u=33e4ec877eed6a43863a4a92e&id=3a5e219073&e=8283eff9b8">
Republicans stole the presidential election using voter suppression
using methods already identified.
</a>
<p>
Exit polls confirmed that Clinton won some of the states that were
credited to Trump — but many people's votes were not counted.
<p>
Republican rule is like a roach motel for free elections.


feed_id: 10d1f7478a0c17c34656eb507e34add3
title: Hostility against minorities
uri: Hostility-against-minorities
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#12_November_2016_%28Hostility_against_minorities%29
content:
<p>
<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/11/us/police-investigate-attacks-on-muslim-students-at-universities.html?_r=0">
Campuses Confront Hostile Acts Against Minorities After Donald Trump¿s Election.
</a>


feed_id: 31966f375ab1a878e1108a8f1230c40f
title: Urgent: Stand against Trump's repression
uri: Urgent-Stand-against-Trump-s-repression
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#12_November_2016_%28Urgent%3A_Stand_against_Trump%27s_repression%29

content:
<p>
US citizens:
<a href="https://action.aclu.org/secure/timetofight">
Stand with ACLU against Trump's bigotry and repression.
</a>


feed_id: 8527afc505ca8692b22809e4d6e670d5
title: Trump's conflict of interest
uri: Trump-s-conflict-of-interest
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#12_November_2016_%28Trump%27s_conflict_of_interest%29

content:
<p>
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/nov/12/donald-trump-conflicts-of-interest-business">
Trump's business interests add up to a broad net of conflicts of
interest.
</a>
Almost any decision he makes will be a matter of his own
profit and loss.
<p>
He plans to handle this pervasive potential corruption the way he
handled his bullying and bigotry: by insisting that there is nothing
wrong with them.


feed_id: d5fc19af4d2e92f72af19b8b1507dfdf
title: Civilian casualties
uri: 2016-11-15-Civilian-casualties
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#12_November_2016_%28Civilian_casualties%29
content:
<p>
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/news/2016/11/10/pentagon-admits-it-underreported-civilian-deaths-iraq-and-syria">
The Pentagon doubled its estimate of civilian casualties from US
bombings in Syria and Iraq since 2014.
</a>
  But most of the casualties known to Amnesty International are still
not included.


feed_id: 2f0d7d485e00d7de696e27d3e1f24752
title: Trump's narcissism
uri: Trump-s-narcissism
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#12_November_2016_%28Trump%27s_narcissism%29
content:
<p>
Attacking Trump's narcissistic appeal with criticism of his wrongs
bounced off him
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/nov/12/donald-trump-king-narcissist-victory">
because his followers admired him for dismissing
all possible criticism.
</a>
<p>
I disagree with the article's claim that that was the whole way
Trump got as many votes as he did.  But it played a role.  Without it,
he would not have got close enough to steal the election.


feed_id: d0a8ccb305546eee8be2f8fb177061d0
title: Banning junk food ads
uri: Banning-junk-food-ads
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#12_November_2016_%28Banning_junk_food_ads%29
content:
<p>
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/nov/12/stop-junk-food-advertising-curb-childhood-obesity-experts">
Proposing a ban on ads for junk food
</a>
as a way to curb childhood obesity.


feed_id: 6aeccf6ec765539e9bcfe7bb5a883a90
title: Urgent: Stop CETA and TTIP
uri: Urgent-Stop-CETA-and-TTIP
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#12_November_2016_%28Urgent%3A_Stop_CETA_and_TTIP%29
content:
<p>
European Union citizens:
<a href="https://stop-ttip.org/sign/">
sign the campaign against CETA and TTIP.
</a>
<p>
The web site does not work without running nonfree software,
but it offers ways to sign by email or fax.


feed_id: 7cc6254f19c6dc993788b34f67b80ebe
title: Israeli expansion
uri: Israeli-expansion
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#12_November_2016_%28Israeli_expansion%29
content:
<p>
Trump seems likely to
<a href="http://reason.com/blog/2016/11/10/trump-will-not-oppose-israeli-settlement">
drop the pretense of pushing for a peace
agreement between Israel and Palestine,
</a>
and effectively endorse the
occupation and apartheid on a permanent basis.


feed_id: 2ac864a405f408607b51d2f6d6251fd8
title: What Trump could do
uri: What-Trump-could-do
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#12_November_2016_%28What_Trump_could_do%29
content:
<p>
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/views/2016/11/10/farewell-america">
A projection of what Trump could do to America if progressives
don't rally the public strongly against him.
</a>
<p>
I doubt that he will do all of these bad things,
but I expect he is likely to make some things considerably worse.


feed_id: fd02f2e54aaf7d212d79b6df82584903
title: Suspected PISSI supporters
uri: Suspected-PISSI-supporters
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#12_November_2016_%28Suspected_PISSI_supporters%29
content:
<p>
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2016/11/10/investigate-reports-iraqi-forces-tortured-and-killed-villagers-near-mosul-cold">
Iraqi thugs tortured and killed villagers suspected of being
supporters of PISSI.
</a>
<p>
Maybe those people did support PISSI, but that doesn't excuse killing them
arbitrarily in a place that has been recaptured.
<p>
And nothing excuses torture.


feed_id: e399c68cd0034ccfdd2a73fd39b25570
title: Egyptian courts
uri: Egyptian-courts
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#12_November_2016_%28Egyptian_courts%29
content:
<p>
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2016/11/10/italy-trains-egyptian-judges-despite-death-sentences-and-torture">
Italy is providing training and support to Egyptian courts.
</a>
<p>
In addition to use of torture and the death penalty, Egypt's courts
are basically irrational.  They sometimes sentence hundreds of people
at once hardly bothering to find out what each person did.
<p>
Since Egypt's courts will exist in any case, training judges in paying
attention to details such as guilt or innocence seems like a good
thing even if the other injustices continue, provided it can be done
without endorsing Egypt's courts in any way,
<p>
However, providing facilities or equipment is going too far.


feed_id: 309d0e2ab4600224402b3aa5c7899797
title: Bribes with immunity
uri: Bribes-with-immunity
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#12_November_2016_%28Bribes_with_immunity%29
content:
<p>
Brazilian politicians have proposed
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/nov/11/brazil-petrobras-corruption-scandal-politicians-bills">
laws to shield themselves from
prosecution.
</a>


feed_id: f5ace87c0500eadbd4cb80c16b7c4fe8
title: Working-class votes
uri: Working-class-votes
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#12_November_2016_%28Working-class_votes%29
content:
<p>
Local Democrats warned the Clinton campaign that she was going to
<a href="http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2016/11/rust-belt-democrats-saw-trump-wave-coming">
lose
traditional working-class Democratic votes.
</a>


feed_id: c559020a6b39d186bbc5aad3a2ddfb3b
title: Right-wing opportunities
uri: Right-wing-opportunities
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#12_November_2016_%28Right-wing_opportunities%29
content:
<p>
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/nov/11/trumps-victory-a-wake-up-call-for-europe">
Right-wing extremists have many opportunities in Europe
against parties that have surrendered to the banksters.
</a>
   I expect that, like Trump, they will adopt policies that screw
the non-rich even worse if they win.


feed_id: 49dcb9ef6f88924a495c82d7a4f5e42c
title: Dismantle the Democratic Party
uri: Dismantle-the-Democratic-Party
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#12_November_2016_%28Dismantle_the_Democratic_Party%29

content:
<p>
<a href="http://inthesetimes.com/article/19625/robert-reich-donald-trump-democratic-party-president">
Robert Reich: It¿s Time to Dismantle the Democratic Party and Start Anew.
</a>


feed_id: dc5756e9c2bf17e084673dd4f92ddabf
title: Facebook supports racism
uri: Facebook-supports-racism
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#12_November_2016_%28Facebook_supports_racism%29
content:
<p>
Facebook will stop allowing advertisers to discriminate by race,
<a href="https://www.propublica.org/article/facebook-to-stop-allowing-some-advertisers-to-exclude-users-by-race">
only in the specific areas where that is illegal in the US.
</a>
<p>
In other words, Facebook supports racism as far as the law allows.


feed_id: 7998022afdbb9dc110e8bee9beaeb06f
title: Bringing back torture
uri: Bringing-back-torture
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#12_November_2016_%28Bringing_back_torture%29
content:
<p>
<a href="https://theintercept.com/2016/11/11/trump-cia-torture/">
Trump seems to be serious about bringing back torture
in the CIA.
</a>
<p>
If Obama had prosecuted Dubya and other guilty parties, Trump wouldn't
be able to do this.


feed_id: f8f47ed8bedcfb6487c85b77ddac50ea
title: German emission cuts
uri: German-emission-cuts
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#12_November_2016_%28German_emission_cuts%29
content:
<p>
The German government agreed to
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/nov/11/german-coalition-agrees-to-cut-carbon-emissions-up-to-95-by-2050">
cut emissions 95% by 2050.
</a>


feed_id: 6d689937c3d8a3b043e21b71dbbc9019
title: Trans people terrified of Trump presidency
uri: Trans-people-terrified-of-Trump-presidency
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#12_November_2016_%28Trans_people_terrified_of_Trump_presidency%29

content:
<p>
"Trans people are terrified of what lies ahead.
<a href='https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/nov/11/trans-people-future-lgbt-rights-trump-presidency'>We
must look out for one another</a>."


feed_id: 59ed03f73ebe8daaf4f5edff670fd041
title: Dakota Access Pipeline
uri: 2016-11-15-Dakota-Access-Pipeline
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#12_November_2016_%28Dakota_Access_Pipeline%29
content:
<p>
Trump will certainly approve the Dakota Access Pipeline, but the
company is
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/news/2016/11/09/dakota-access-company-defy-obama-drill-under-missouri-river">already
disregarding Obama</a>.


feed_id: 0c1e8b57f401d3a409bf77f26556fb8f
title: Facebook encourages spread of falsehoods
uri: Facebook-encourages-spread-of-falsehoods
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#12_November_2016_%28Facebook_encourages_spread_of_falsehoods%29

content:
<p>
Facebook and other digital media have
<a href="http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-election-media-20161109-story.html">encouraged
the spread of falsehoods</a> — what can be done about this?
<p>
Facebook
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/nov/10/facebook-fake-news-election-conspiracy-theories">presents
fake news like real news</a>, with no attempt to check.
<p>
How Facebook provided the
<a href="https://theintercept.com/2016/11/10/facebook-im-begging-you-please-make-yourself-better/">perfect
platform for trumpery</a>.
<p>
However, rather than begging Facebook to use its influence "better", I
think we need to reduce its influence.


feed_id: d345b3ed04781ad0d18fc565ce738991
title: Czech reconciliation with Germans
uri: Czech-reconciliation-with-Germans
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#12_November_2016_%28Czech_reconciliation_with_Germans%29

content:
<p>
Some Czechs are
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/nov/11/germans-and-czechs-mass-expulsion-trying-to-deal-with-ghosts-of-the-past">working
for reconciliation with the German families expelled from
Czechoslovakia</a> at the end of World War II.
<p>
Hitler used the presence of ethnic Germans in part of Czechoslovakia
as an excuse to take over part of Czechoslovakia.


feed_id: 12142f348f6c8351a44ae30193cbb7ce
title: Taxes paid by companies
uri: Taxes-paid-by-companies
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#12_November_2016_%28Taxes_paid_by_companies%29
content:
<p>
Companies Should Be Forced to
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2016/nov/11/companies-tax-avoidance-transparency-market-access-regulation">Say
How Much Tax They Pay And Where</a>.
<p>
Also how much income they get and where.  And many other things.


feed_id: aa90af72f98e20ed432dc6b74c8876e7
title: Trump wants to destroy Dodd-Frank law
uri: Trump-wants-to-destroy-Dodd-Frank-law
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#12_November_2016_%28Trump_wants_to_destroy_Dodd-Frank_law%29

content:
<p>
Trump wants to destroy the Dodd-Frank law so that business executives
can
<a href="http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2016/11/sen-elizabeth-warren-promises-fight-trump-wall-street-regulation">more
easily cheat their investors and clients</a>.


feed_id: 4d6e0c43499e4e68bf0b9840aedc8614
title: National Popular Vote bill
uri: National-Popular-Vote-bill
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#12_November_2016_%28National_Popular_Vote_bill%29
content:
<p>
"The National Popular Vote bill would
<a href='https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/nov/10/at-the-next-presidential-election-the-popular-vote-must-win-out'>guarantee
the presidency to the candidate who receives the most popular
votes</a> in all 50 states and the District of Columbia."


feed_id: 20f9a67e8de477dc52a5f3f3bea351c1
title: Responsibility for Democrats' loss
uri: Responsibility-for-Democrats-loss
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#12_November_2016_%28Responsibility_for_Democrats_loss%29

content:
<p>
The main responsibility for the Democrats' loss falls on
the
<a href="https://theintercept.com/2016/11/09/democrats-trump-and-the-ongoing-dangerous-refusal-to-learn-the-lesson-of-brexit/">right-wing
Democratic establishment</a>, which made Clinton the candidate despite
knowing she could easily lose.


feed_id: 03551774a7ba6f47c60677e4cd55e49c
title: Black Lives Matter
uri: Black-Lives-Matter
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#12_November_2016_%28Black_Lives_Matter%29
content:
<p>
Black Lives Matter
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/nov/11/trump-election-black-lives-matter-police-brutality">refuses
to be silenced by a racist president</a>.
<p>
Another name for this movement could be Blue Lies Matter.


feed_id: 080a1f7f3c72d3eaf49f1b5fe2d2ed41
title: Trump to inherit official "kill list"
uri: Trump-to-inherit-official-kill-list
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#12_November_2016_%28Trump_to_inherit_official_kill_list%29

content:
<p>
Trump will now inherit
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/news/2016/11/10/obama-went-unchallenged-now-donald-trump-will-have-kill-list">the
official "kill list"</a> that Obama didn't try to kill off.


feed_id: 4ea001beaf314228c64afcaa5a8e7e02
title: Social Security
uri: 2016-11-15-Social-Security
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#12_November_2016_%28Social_Security%29
content:
<p>
Trump
<a href="https://theintercept.com/2016/11/10/donald-trump-ran-on-protecting-social-security-but-transition-team-includes-privatizers/">may
be planning to privatize</a> Social Security.


feed_id: e432e8f568dd656b83364541c599ca6e
title: Eliminating the electoral college
uri: Eliminating-the-electoral-college
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#12_November_2016_%28Eliminating_the_electoral_college%29

content:
<p>
Four yeas ago, Trump called for eliminating the electoral college and
letting popular vote decide the presidency.  Maybe it would be a good
idea, since it
<a href="https://theintercept.com/2016/11/10/trump-warms-electoral-college-4-years-calling-disaster-democracy/">would
have denied him victory this time</a>.


feed_id: 3f24c46983cbfecb67cb3287e8f60d92
title: Unpaid foreign workers in Salafi Arabia
uri: Unpaid-foreign-workers-in-Salafi-Arabia
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#12_November_2016_%28Unpaid_foreign_workers_in_Salafi_Arabia%29

content:
<p>
In Salafi Arabia,
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/nov/11/saudi-arabia-owes-billions-to-private-firms-after-collapse-in-oil-revenues">thousands
of foreign construction workers have been working for months without
pay</a>.
<p>
I hope that country has had to cut back its world-wide support for
a malignant variety of Islam.


feed_id: 7212fc1b5054de130a3ac45370e5a9cc
title: Brazil's substitute president charged
uri: Brazil-s-substitute-president-charged
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#12_November_2016_%28Brazils_substitute_president_charged%29

content:
<p>
Brazil's substitute President Temer has been
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/nov/11/dilma-rousseff-brazils-ex-president-says-successor-temer-took-bribes">charged
with taking bribes</a>.


feed_id: f3f3b0447b43362a29ff501bf045fedb
title: Citizens vote to raise minimum wage
uri: Citizens-vote-to-raise-minimum-wage
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#11_November_2016_%28Citizens_vote_to_raise_minimum_wage%29

content:
<p>
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/news/2016/11/09/resounding-win-economic-equality-4-states-vote-boost-minimum-wage">Four
US states' citizens</a> voted to raise the minimum wage.


feed_id: 5c005342daa079ccb7d3d7167b7b7c1b
title: Rejection of political correctness
uri: Rejection-of-political-correctness
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#11_November_2016_%28Rejection_of_political_correctness%29

content:
<p>
One reason voters supported Trump is as a
<a href="http://reason.com/blog/2016/11/09/trump-won-because-leftist-political-corr">rejection
of political correctness</a>.
<p>
Objective measurements show that
<a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2016-jul-oct.html#21_July_2016_(Unconscious_racism)">racism</a>
and
<a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2016-jul-oct.html#09_July_2016_(Women_in_engineering_professions)">sexism</a>
in the US are real and cause substantial injustice.  For the sake of
justice, we need to put an end to them.
<p>
However, the use of political correctness as a method has to be
limited.  We need to aim to win real support for equality, not just
shame bigots.


feed_id: 4ce949c9d87c394ef61f2df980f93167
title: UK state more xenophobic than most UK people
uri: UK-state-more-xenophobic-than-most-UK-people
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#11_November_2016_%28UK_state_more_xenophobic_than_most_UK_people%29

content:
<p>
In the UK, the state is
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/nov/10/cardiff-teenager-afghanistan-bashir-naderi">more
xenophobic than most people are</a>.
<p>
For people who arrived as children, and are now entirely anglicized,
it is absurd to send them back to their dangerous places of origin
where they wouldn't speak the language and could never fit in.
<p>
<a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2016-jul-oct.html#31_October_2016_(US_immigration_policy)">The
US does this</a>, too.


feed_id: f3d7b73538349f542b99d162f83bf453
title: Trump and Russia
uri: Trump-and-Russia
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#11_November_2016_%28Trump_and_Russia%29
content:
<p>
Russia said that Trump's campaign was in
<a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/us-election/russia-says-it-was-in-touch-with-trumps-campaign-during-election/article32787574/">frequent
contact with Russian officials</a>.


feed_id: a3fbefeadaae5ab519ffb1d0023a9b46
title: Studies on sugary drinks and diabetes
uri: Studies-on-sugary-drinks-and-diabetes
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#11_November_2016_%28Studies_on_sugary_drinks_and_diabetes%29

content:
<p>
Do medical studies find a link between sugary drinks and diabetes?  It
<a href="http://ieet.org/index.php/IEET/more/Dvorsky20161110">depends
on who funds them</a>.


feed_id: 5d37db70d656a5df7df268c4729ef84d
title: How Trump might destroy America
uri: How-Trump-might-destroy-America
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#11_November_2016_%28How_Trump_might_destroy_America%29

content:
<p>
Will Trump destroy America?  Here is
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/nov/10/will-trump-destroy-america">how
it might happen</a>.
<p>
It won't necessarily happen, because Trump doesn't mean what he says.


feed_id: b5e8dd5da5b20e0e98d96747b2a644ac
title: Organize to block Trump
uri: Organize-to-block-Trump
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#11_November_2016_%28Organize_to_block_Trump%29
content:
<p>
Trump Won. Now We Organize to Block Him,
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/views/2016/11/09/trump-won-now-we-organize-block-him-every-step-way">Every
Step of the Way</a>.


feed_id: 90e89078e26662bb5d78f1b9972b9d49
title: Abortion a crime in South Korea
uri: Abortion-a-crime-in-South-Korea
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#11_November_2016_%28Abortion_a_crime_in_South_Korea%29

content:
<p>
In South Korea, abortion is a crime outside of specific circumstances.
This is both
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2016/11/08/abortion-should-not-be-crime">wrong
and dangerous</a>.


feed_id: 4f9eb364aeab0577fc8dce873e134739
title: Telling children about Trump
uri: Telling-children-about-Trump
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#11_November_2016_%28Telling_children_about_Trump%29
content:
<p>
<a href="https://theintercept.com/2016/11/09/liberals-wonder-tell-children-truth-america-not-fairy-tale/">What
do you tell your children</a> when a gross and obvious bully wins the
presidency?


feed_id: 14019fff2457ab52f4e406ecc72c743f
title: Rise of the Davos class
uri: Rise-of-the-Davos-class
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#11_November_2016_%28Rise_of_the_Davos_class%29
content:
<p>
Naomi Klein: "It was the rise of the Davos class that
<a href='https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/nov/09/rise-of-the-davos-class-sealed-americas-fate'>sealed
America's fate</a>."
<p>
That's because dooH niboR "trickledown", and the globalization of
increasing economic inequality, caused the economic decline for
American workers that motivated many of them to support Trump.
<p>
Sanders pointed at the real enemy, but the establishment defeated him.
(Through
<a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2016-jul-oct.html#9_August_2016_(Clinton_rewards_Wasserman_Schultz)">trickery
in the Democratic National Committee</a>, we now know.)
<p>
Meanwhile, Trump used typical right-wing scapegoating of groups with
little power, to distract American whites from the real enemy.


feed_id: 76f71199e44892b52cc9d08ec5156090
title: Insurance coverage for IUD
uri: Insurance-coverage-for-IUD
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#11_November_2016_%28Insurance_coverage_for_IUD%29
content:
<p>
US women: if your insurance covers an IUD,
<a href="https://theintercept.com/2016/11/09/american-women-are-preparing-for-a-war-on-reproductive-rights-under-president-trump/">try
it now before Trump can screw you</a>.


feed_id: 6692fc092dbf5c05fbc89354d4c696a8
title: Republican election-rigging
uri: Republican-election-rigging
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#11_November_2016_%28Republican_election-rigging%29
content:
<p>
In a Black Precinct in Georgia, Simply
<a href="https://theintercept.com/2016/11/09/in-a-black-precinct-in-georgia-simply-finding-the-polling-place-was-a-challenge/">Finding
the Polling Place</a> Was a Challenge.
<p>
Republican election-rigging
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/news/2016/11/08/absent-vra-protections-voters-report-long-lines-intimidation-critical-swing-states">operates
on many levels</a>.


feed_id: 05daea48d080a77d8015f425f988a0d3
title: Somali-American elected in Minnesota
uri: Somali-American-elected-in-Minnesota
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#11_November_2016_%28Somali-American_elected_in_Minnesota%29

content:
<p>
Somali-American Ilhan Omar has been
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/nov/09/ilhan-omar-first-somali-american-legislator-minnesota">elected
to the Minnesota legislature</a>.
<p>
Trump says that Somali-Americans are a "disaster".  I hope she
leads to a disaster for Trump.


feed_id: f1d5bcbafa1fbe73f5dc9d9172985c47
title: Urgent: Nonviolent protesters' rights
uri: 2016-11-15-Urgent-Nonviolent-protesters-rights
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#11_November_2016_%28Urgent%3A_Nonviolent_protesters_rights%29

content:
<p>
US citizens:
<a href="https://stallman.org/petitions/petition-dakota/">Call for
respecting nonviolent protesters' rights</a> at least as much as armed
protesters.


feed_id: 2664886323ffe1e0311b28e108575459
title: Trump and global heating denial
uri: 2016-11-15-Trump-and-global-heating-denial
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#11_November_2016_%28Trump_and_global_heating_denial%29

content:
<p>
Trump can make global disaster inevitable
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/news/2016/11/09/does-president-elect-trump-spell-doom-planet">simply
by promoting fossil fuel use for four years</a>.
<p>
Since he is 70 years old, he He probably will not live long enough to
reach the point where it is impossible to deny the disaster.
<p>
How much further can global heating denialists
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/brain-flapping/2014/nov/25/climate-change-is-an-obvious-myth-how-much-more-evidence-do-you-need">fool
themselves</a>?


feed_id: a5f869d3269ec018d511fc715bcf4dc8
title: Trump
uri: 2016-11-15-Trump
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#11_November_2016_%28Trump%29
content:
<p>
There is no point trying to cooperate with Trump so we can "get to
know him".
<a href="https://plus.google.com/+LaurenWeinstein/posts/HHj6gBhpzv2?sfc=true">We
already know his trumpery</a> too well.
<p>
The idea of "unity" with Trump is absurd.  With so much
self-contradiction, he can't even unify himself.


feed_id: 3a76ff4f42fd4a6732210d93dc460785
title: Sanders
uri: 2016-11-15-Sanders
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#11_November_2016_%28Sanders%29
content:
<p>
Sanders says, with justification,
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2016/11/09/sanders-statement-trump">"I
told you so."</a>


feed_id: 3bdfc0a1a696abbb36355e0c71d999fb
title: Democrats
uri: 2016-11-15-Democrats
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#11_November_2016_%28Democrats%29
content:
<p>
[Elected] Democrats Once Represented the Working Class.
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/nov/10/democrats-working-class-americans-us-election">Not
Anymore</a>.
<p>
Trump doesn't represent them either, but he incoherently pretended to.


feed_id: 9bcea7977b33d58d0e98a7c7a44f7fc6
title: Transgender Americans fear oppression under Trump
uri: 2016-11-15-Transgender-Americans-fear-oppression-under-Trump
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#11_November_2016_%28Transgender_Americans_fear_oppression_under_Trump%29

content:
<p>
Transgender Americans
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/nov/10/transgender-rights-lgbt-donald-trump-presidency">fear
oppression under a Trump regime</a>.
<p>
All depends on whether Trump sees a personal benefit in continuing to
demonize them.  If he does, he might hound them cruelly.  On the other
hand, he may feel that now that he's elected he has no need to do
that.


feed_id: a3e6fc06415ad4c2e0d922fe46198799
title: Trump's callous bullying
uri: 2016-11-15-Trump-s-callous-bullying
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#11_November_2016_%28Trumps_callous_bullying%29
content:
<p>
"You're hired:
<a href='https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/nov/10/trump-the-apprentice-president-elect-reality-tv'>how
The Apprentice led to President Trump</a>."
<p>
I never watched The Apprentice — In 1970 I decided to drop my TV
habit cold-turkey and I've never had one since.  But it sounds like
the sort of callous bullying that we have seen from Trump this year.


feed_id: 609bf35835bc55c5f793f8435f907e74
title: Study on AirBnB racial discrimination
uri: Study-on-AirBnB-racial-discrimination
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#19_November_2016_%28Study_on_AirBnB_racial_discrimination%29

content:
<p>
AirBnB seems to have
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/nov/17/airbnb-while-black-discrimination-harvard-researcher-banned">resisted
an attempt to study</a> whether black users face discrimination in it.


feed_id: 5e5c363319f72b4202cc62feac6e7d29
title: Trump's environmental saboteurs
uri: Trump-s-environmental-saboteurs
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#19_November_2016_%28Trumps_environmental_saboteurs%29

content:
<p>
Trump
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/climate-consensus-97-per-cent/2016/nov/17/trump-begins-filling-environmental-posts-with-clowns">Begins
Filling Environmental Posts</a> with Clowns.
<p>
I think the term "saboteurs" fits them better.  If you are under 30
years old there is a good chance that you will be killed by global
heating in a few decades.  Trump and other extractionists are planning
the biggest act of mass murder in history, and you're the target.
<p>
Clinton would not have openly destroyed the EPA and climate defense
but she showed no inclination to take the vigorous measures needed to
evade disaster.


feed_id: c5677fb087ee9f8f9e8d4d973babe1cc
title: DNC corrupted
uri: DNC-corrupted
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#19_November_2016_%28DNC_corrupted%29
content:
<p>
The DNC is not weak, it is
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/views/2016/11/16/tear-it-down-why-every-person-dnc-should-be-fired">corrupted
by rich people's money</a>.


feed_id: fe04f25e40ed85d2cae7840e5fcbaf4a
title: New fossil fuel infrastructure projects
uri: New-fossil-fuel-infrastructure-projects
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#19_November_2016_%28New_fossil_fuel_infrastructure_projects%29

content:
<p>
Despite weak laws and divestment,
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/views/2016/11/16/why-we-must-fiercely-defend-those-who-defend-earth">many
new fossil fuel infrastructure projects</a> are being constructed.
States and people must protect the activists that try to stop them.
<p>
We have to fight to stop them, because
<a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2016-jul-oct.html#27_September_2016_(The_existing_fossil_fuel_mines_and_wells)">even
using all the facilities that exist is projected to mean disaster</a>.


feed_id: 10dd213c9750c378f726a57491a3bcfe
title: UK makes it risky to challenge government projects
uri: UK-makes-it-risky-to-challenge-government-projects
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#19_November_2016_%28UK_makes_it_risky_to_challenge_government_projects%29

content:
<p>
The UK has made it
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/nov/17/challenges-to-heathrow-runway-and-hs2-to-be-hit-by-law-lifting-cap-on-legal-costs">risky
to sue to challenge government projects</a> that could (for instance)
harm the environment, alleging for instance that the environmental
permission applications were invalid.
<p>
This is basically a plan to make environmental protection laws easy to
violate.


feed_id: 574908edf227bd7b3a25cb7288b665c7
title: Trump's transition team
uri: Trump-s-transition-team
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#19_November_2016_%28Trumps_transition_team%29
content:
<p>
Welcome to
<a href="http://www.alternet.org/election-2016/welcome-swamp-trump-please-dont-feed-gators">Swamp
Trump</a> — Please Don't Feed the Gators.


feed_id: 7af91de0605fdacecd9cb3190b09806d
title: Putting a stop to gun violence
uri: Putting-a-stop-to-gun-violence
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#19_November_2016_%28Putting_a_stop_to_gun_violence%29

content:
<p>
How Australia And Other Developed Nations Have
<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/canada-australia-japan-britain-gun-control-2013-1">Put
A Stop To Gun Violence</a>.
<p>
The example I recommend to the US is that of Canada.  Many Canadians
still have guns, but few people in Canada are shot with them.


feed_id: fea22c33d94f5358fa774901994d5f9a
title: China reprimands Trump for denying global heating
uri: China-reprimands-Trump-for-denying-global-heating
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#19_November_2016_%28China_reprimands_Trump_for_denying_global_heating%29

content:
<p>
China reprimanded Trump for denying global heating and
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/nov/17/climate-change-a-chinese-plot-beijing-gives-donald-trump-a-history-lesson">pointed
out that Reagan and Bush I launched global climate defense
negotiations</a>.
<p>
Dubya was the first president to be so submissive to the oil companies
that he
<a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2014-jul-oct.html#23_October_2014_(Bushs_chief_of_environmental_quality)">worked
explicitly to thwart efforts to protect the world from disaster</a>.
<p>
Obama made small steps in the right direction while mostly continuing
Dubya's practical policies and
<a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#10_November_2015_(Rejection_of_Keystone_XL)">not
saying much</a>.


feed_id: eb17ae84029c87f37288a7d78e9c969e
title: Personal sanctions against Chinese officials
uri: Personal-sanctions-against-Chinese-officials
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#19_November_2016_%28Personal_sanctions_against_Chinese_officials%29

content:
<p>
US senators, including theocrat Marco Rubio, have proposed personal
sanctions against
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/nov/17/hong-kong-abductions-marco-rubio-seeks-us-sanctions-against-officials">Chinese
officials responsible for kidnaping Hong Kong booksellers</a>.
<p>
In principle I support efforts to make China back off from crushing
freedom in Hong Kong, and I would not reject an initiative just
because it gets support from right-wing theocrats.  But I think this
response is too small to make China concede anything, and more likely
to provoke a hostile response.


feed_id: 49c8faf43e4fe3f265756966e10f33a2
title: Ex-Russian thinks Trump will be like Putin
uri: Ex-Russian-thinks-Trump-will-be-like-Putin
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#18_November_2016_%28Ex-Russian_thinks_Trump_will_be_like_Putin%29

content:
<p>
An ex-Russian thinks Trump will be like Putin: a gang leader who uses
bigotry but only really wants to 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/nov/17/vladimir-putin-donald-trump-xenophobia-country-divide">repress
those who oppose him or get in his way</a>.
<p>
This may be true — I've suspected it too — but the bigots
that Trump has made socially acceptable will continue to recruit, with
or without further support from him.  Moreover he seems inclined to
continue to give the bigots help (for instance, Bannon).
<p>
Meanwhile, Pence is a
<a href="https://theintercept.com/2016/11/15/mike-pence-will-be-the-most-powerful-christian-supremacist-in-us-history/">solid
theocratic right-wing extremist</a>.


feed_id: 13942111ef6ab4236a2d8f7211f83d03
title: Allying with Muslims to defeat jihadi fanatics
uri: Allying-with-Muslims-to-defeat-jihadi-fanatics
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#18_November_2016_%28Allying_with_Muslims_to_defeat_jihadi_fanatics%29

content:
<p>
The West faces a choice: to 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/nov/17/britain-must-lead-battle-isis-theresa-may-counter-terrorism-plan">ally
with most Muslims to defeat the jihadi fanatics that kill them</a>, or
to equate them to the fanatics and drive them into the fanatics' camp.
<p>
Recognizing that human grievances drive people of Muslim background to
become devout and fanatical at once, we must end Israel's
siege/occupation of Palestine — which is 
<a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#9_October_2015_(Israel_and_Palestine)">called
for by justice anyway</a>.


feed_id: 1fafc1bb7a1eb7cae030f5f45f59cded
title: Protection for Australian bush weakened
uri: Protection-for-Australian-bush-weakened
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#18_November_2016_%28Protection_for_Australian_bush_weakened%29

content:
<p>
It's bad news for Australian wildlife and the environment as one
state, perhaps 10% of Australia's land area, 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2016/nov/17/farmers-able-to-clear-land-more-easily-as-new-laws-pass-in-nsw">weakens
protection for native bush</a>.  This will increase greenhouse gas
emissions too.


feed_id: 0f0ef9ee6672960e4dc5dfd4ea4b3842
title: Cutting support for disabled people
uri: Cutting-support-for-disabled-people
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#18_November_2016_%28Cutting_support_for_disabled_people%29

content:
<p>
UK: Cut After Cut Has Left a Disabled Woman with 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/nov/17/cut-disabled-woman-dwp">Nothing
to Live On</a>.
<p>
In the US, many people are told to go die if they can't find work, but
disabled people may get support via medicaid.  Paul Ryan wants to put
an end to that.


feed_id: ffa7f4f235577f29a463ece85ea1110b
title: Close encounters between airplanes and drones
uri: Close-encounters-between-airplanes-and-drones
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#18_November_2016_%28Close_encounters_between_airplanes_and_drones%29

content:
<p>
There have been 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/nov/17/drone-came-within-5-metres-of-passenger-jet-at-liverpool-airport">many
close encounters</a> between airplanes and drones.
<p>
The chances that one of these results in a collision are small but
significant.  (5 meters away from the plane includes an area several
times the plane's own cross section.)
<p>
Many drones are small and lightweight.  Does anyone know how likely it
is that a collision with a plane travelling at (say) 200 miles an hour
(since it's close to landing or taking off) is to damage the plane?  I
guess the chance of significant harm is small — this is not like
colliding with another plane.
<p>
It would be good to find a solution for avoiding the danger,
but we shouldn't panic about it.


feed_id: 1328fde27fda3c387da9e68856462d1a
title: Neocons in the White House
uri: Neocons-in-the-White-House
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#18_November_2016_%28Neocons_in_the_White_House%29
content:
<p>
One of the bad things about Clinton was her association with neocons
that wanted to launch more wars.  Trump didn't seem to support that,
but he may be about to appoint a 
<a href="https://theintercept.com/2016/11/16/nevertrump-neocons-try-to-make-peace-with-unfit-president/">militaristic
neocon</a> as Secretary of State.
<p>
In order to turn the neocons into ex-cons, we first need to prosecute
them.  Perhaps for the crime of aggressive war.


feed_id: 0ebb264560f3e045bb2a45e0c94ba64e
title: In jail for attempting abortion
uri: In-jail-for-attempting-abortion
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#18_November_2016_%28In_jail_for_attempting_abortion%29

content:
<p>
Anna Yocca 
<a href="http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2016/11/tennessee-woman-jailed-self-induced-abortion-faces-new-charges">has
been in jail for almost a year</a> under various charges because she
tried to give herself an abortion.
<p>
If we don't want women to get abortions after almost 6 months of
pregnancy, we should make it easy for them to do so earlier.


feed_id: 1f14fa237dd3bb817b3faadbca1132b7
title: Thug charged with manslaughter
uri: Thug-charged-with-manslaughter
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#18_November_2016_%28Thug_charged_with_manslaughter%29

content:
<p>
The thug that 
<a href="http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2016/11/philando-castile-officer-charged-manslaughter">shot
and killed Philando Castile</a> has been charged with manslaughter.


feed_id: ebe5b0cf0fd2c9b4824a4ecf66b5d912
title: Thugs intercept boy who left home
uri: Thugs-intercept-boy-who-left-home
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#18_November_2016_%28Thugs_intercept_boy_who_left_home%29

content:
<p>
A British boy left home, saying he 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/nov/15/arthur-heeler-frood-missing-boy-found-safe-nine-miles-from-home">wanted
to go off on his own</a>.  This article takes for granted that this
was unthinkable and that he needed to be rescued by thugs.


feed_id: cc4f5e5a0970a6c2f7b54227798204ca
title: Urgent: Reject Steve Bannon
uri: Urgent-Reject-Steve-Bannon
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#18_November_2016_%28Urgent%3A_Reject_Steve_Bannon%29

content:
<p>
US citizens: 
<a href="http://act.moveon.org/go/6673">call on Congress</a> to reject
Steve Bannon as official White House bigot.
<p>
Here's 
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/views/2016/11/15/steve-bannon-real-danger-white-house">what
makes Bannon so bad</a>.


feed_id: 6ab2e45089d322190574f3a0ddfdc992
title: Increase in killings with guns in Florida
uri: Increase-in-killings-with-guns-in-Florida
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#18_November_2016_%28Increase_in_killings_with_guns_in_Florida%29

content:
<p>
Florida adopted a "stand your ground" defense for shooting someone
dead in 2005.  Since then, the rate of killings with guns has
<a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3938518/How-Florida-gun-killings-soared-30-cent-Stand-Ground-law-passed-2005.html">increased
substantially</a>.
<p>
This is not proof of causality, but it seems plausible.


feed_id: 1839afcf34f9d5b58b83ae6a6b9f3253
title: Many thugs kill dogs without reason
uri: Many-thugs-kill-dogs-without-reason
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#18_November_2016_%28Many_thugs_kill_dogs_without_reason%29

content:
<p>
Many thugs kill dogs when they raid a house 
<a href="http://reason.com/archives/2016/11/15/the-detroit-police-department-is-running">without
the slightest reason</a>.


feed_id: b88a086a9e72305147a230479aa6c0eb
title: Punishing people without a conviction
uri: Punishing-people-without-a-conviction
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#18_November_2016_%28Punishing_people_without_a_conviction%29

content:
<p>
Trump 
<a href="http://reason.com/blog/2016/11/15/trump-wants-to-deport-over-two-million">wants
to deport immigrants who were charged with crimes but not
convicted</a>.  Trump does not understand that punishing people
without a conviction is an injustice.
<p>
In general, I think it is legitimate to deport foreigners who are
present without authorization in the US (or whichever country).  To
prioritize those who committed serious crimes is acceptable too.
<p>
However, if people were brought in to the country as children and grew
to adulthood in the country, they should be given citizenship, even if
they committed minor crimes.


feed_id: f83c7cb7a69a748ac6c7c16f4fd71df2
title: Israel legalizing robbery of land
uri: Israel-legalizing-robbery-of-land
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#18_November_2016_%28Israel_legalizing_robbery_of_land%29

content:
<p>
Israel is 
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/news/2016/11/15/emboldened-trump-israel-moves-legalize-west-bank-settlements">using
Trump as cover</a> to legalize robbery of land from Palestinians, and
even annexation of additional parts of the West Bank.


feed_id: ff214031c4063ab904cc171de42fc411
title: Most Britons getting poorer
uri: Most-Britons-getting-poorer
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#18_November_2016_%28Most_Britons_getting_poorer%29
content:
<p>
Margaret Thatcher's lasting legacy is that most Britons are getting
poorer and 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/education/2016/nov/16/uks-social-mobility-problem-holding-back-thatcher-generation-says-report">social
mobility is reduced</a>.
<p>
As in other countries, the victims often support right-wing candidates
that scapegoat marginal groups instead of pulling back against the
elites that are responsible.


feed_id: caffdc6768d80724d18ae359b05af7f8
title: Actions against false news distribution
uri: Actions-against-false-news-distribution
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#18_November_2016_%28Actions_against_false_news_distribution%29

content:
<p>
Facebook and Google have 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/nov/15/facebook-google-fake-news-sites-ad-networks">taken
steps against being used to distribute false news</a>.
<p>
However, Facebook has 
<a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/technology/2016/11/the_problem_with_facebook_runs_much_deeper_than_fake_news.html">other
harmful effects</a>, and is actions against fake news (even if
effective against that problem) may make the others worse.


feed_id: d950106320863710c90008e236bc3de3
title: Battleground states in this election
uri: Battleground-states-in-this-election
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#18_November_2016_%28Battleground_states_in_this_election%29

content:
<p>
The battleground states in this election were also states with a
<a href="https://mathbabe.org/2016/11/14/guest-post-the-foreclosure-vote/">high
rate of foreclosure of housing</a>.


feed_id: 6393a4f71d6e05b0d08bcb71b5a52acd
title: Tech companies' fear of Trump
uri: Tech-companies-fear-of-Trump
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#18_November_2016_%28Tech_companies_fear_of_Trump%29
content:
<p>
Fear of Trump is 
<a href="http://www.theverge.com/2016/11/10/13581314/trump-google-facebook-data-collection-nsa-encryption">leading
some tech companies to consider collecting less data about people</a>.
<p>
I hope it persuades some, but I don't think it will persuade them all.


feed_id: 4db95e4054312e19fac11c46815b1862
title: Violation of religious neutrality in schools
uri: Violation-of-religious-neutrality-in-schools
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#18_November_2016_%28Violation_of_religious_neutrality_in_schools%29

content:
<p>
Canadian schools, when they have indigenous religious ceremonies,
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/nov/16/canada-mother-ban-indigenous-ceremonies-public-schools">violate
religious neutrality</a>.


feed_id: bf8c690bb6e5a79b7ffcbddea0b26d57
title: Obama's business supremacy treaties
uri: Obama-s-business-supremacy-treaties
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#18_November_2016_%28Obamas_business_supremacy_treaties%29

content:
<p>
Obama, responding to Americans' 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/nov/16/obama-calls-for-course-correction-to-share-spoils-of-globalisation">rejection
of his business supremacy treaties</a>, calls for leaders to reassure
people that they are "being heard", but not for any concrete change in
the rejected policies.


feed_id: 1af6ece1217e6005574315155b527b32
title: UK temp agencies cut workers' health care
uri: UK-temp-agencies-cut-workers-health-care
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#17_November_2016_%28UK_temp_agencies_cut_workers_health_care%29

content:
<p>
Large temporary agencies in the UK
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/nov/16/labour-trade-unions-demand-action-temp-agencies-tax-avoidance-scheme">cut
their payments for workers' health care</a> by pretending they are
employed by many small dummy companies.


feed_id: d37e907dcb33643fa290e26b6168f56a
title: Proposed Alberta-Vancouver pipeline
uri: Proposed-Alberta-Vancouver-pipeline
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#17_November_2016_%28Proposed_Alberta-Vancouver_pipeline%29

content:
<p>
A proposed pipeline from Alberta to Vancouver is
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/nov/16/canada-oil-pipeline-expansion-killer-whales-kinder-morgan">likely
to wipe out the resident population of Orcas</a> there.
<p>
Meanwhile, the CO<sub>2</sub> from burning additional fossil fuels
from Alberta, no matter what kind, or how they are exported, could
wipe out a million other species.


feed_id: 9347ecd8a03f9870defc9d47676b6907
title: Trump promotes antisemitism
uri: Trump-promotes-antisemitism
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#17_November_2016_%28Trump_promotes_antisemitism%29
content:
<p>
Trump has promoted antisemitism and
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/nov/16/us-no-longer-haven-jews-under-donald-trump-steve-bannon-antisemitism">made
it acceptable in the US again</a>.  It adds to the viciousness of his
other forms of bigotry.


feed_id: f8c29406fa6ff5e984abd201d4b23e48
title: White evangelical votes for Trump
uri: White-evangelical-votes-for-Trump
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#17_November_2016_%28White_evangelical_votes_for_Trump%29

content:
<p>
"Fellow white evangelicals: your votes for Trump
<a href='https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/nov/16/white-evangelical-christians-vote-trump'>shook
my faith</a>."


feed_id: 34becfbc74d10e01d8fc9d20250077fb
title: Resisting gentrification
uri: Resisting-gentrification
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#17_November_2016_%28Resisting_gentrification%29
content:
<p>
One neighborhood in Montreal is trying to resist gentrification by
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2016/nov/16/one-in-six-rule-can-montreal-canada-fight-gentrification-banning-restaurants">limiting
the number of restaurants</a>.
<p>
I don't think there is a human right to run a restaurant,
so if this measure succeeds I will give my congratulations.
<p>
However, in the long term the ways to prevent gentrification are to
reduce economic inequality, allow increased density of housing
construction, and provide more opportunity for work (or at least
prosperity) outside the centers of cities.  Reducing population growth
can help, too.


feed_id: e64ca18633f679c6c0ba2efb47a50e9e
title: Russia cancels support for ICC
uri: Russia-cancels-support-for-ICC
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#17_November_2016_%28Russia_cancels_support_for_ICC%29

content:
<p>
Russia has cancelled its weak support for the International Criminal
Court after it
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/nov/16/russia-withdraws-signature-from-international-criminal-court-statute">criticized
Putin's military takeover of Crimea</a>.
<p>
If the ICC ultimately fails, I think that will be due to the failure
of the US to support it.  If the US had done so, it would be difficult
for others to reject it; they would have appeared brutal.


feed_id: abad4d3d73802200b6d71b504a259367
title: Democratic National Committee
uri: 2016-11-19-Democratic-National-Committee
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#17_November_2016_%28Democratic_National_Committee%29

content:
<p>
Why
<a href="https://theintercept.com/2016/11/15/race-for-next-dnc-chair-is-between-americas-first-muslim-congressman-and-two-corporate-lobbyists/">Keith
Ellison</a> and not Howard Dean should be head of the Democratic
National Committee.


feed_id: 652e10a0a5e83b2d6d502e1ac84cd2a3
title: Unending French State of Emergency
uri: Unending-French-State-of-Emergency
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#17_November_2016_%28Unending_French_State_of_Emergency%29

content:
<p>
President Hollande
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/nov/15/french-president-seeks-extension-of-state-of-emergency">wants
to extend the French State of Emergency</a> for 6 more months, till
May.
<p>
Will it ever be allowed to end?  I doubt it.  Unless the French people
remember how to fight for their freedom, they will never get it back.


feed_id: 9e90620c52212da0e8c185e8f4f1afe6
title: Chagos Islanders denied right to return home
uri: Chagos-Islanders-denied-right-to-return-home
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#17_November_2016_%28Chagos_Islanders_denied_right_to_return_home%29

content:
<p>
The UK has finally denied the Chagos Islanders the right to return to
the islands from which they were
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/nov/16/chagos-islanders-denied-right-to-return-home">forcibly
removed to make a US naval base</a>.
<p>
The UK created a nature reserve which was widely seen as an
<a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2011-mar-jun.html#22%20May%202011%20(Chagossian%20Conservation)">excuse
to keep them from returning home</a>.  Some environmentalist groups
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/blog/2011/may/20/division-green-groups-chagos-islanders">advocated
the denial</a> as a means to keep the people out entirely.
<p>
I think it must be possible for civilization to have a part and for
wildlife to have a part.


feed_id: 658593e37cc0247d9eb2f9ba177b6a90
title: Jakarta's governor to face blasphemy trial
uri: Jakarta-s-governor-to-face-blasphemy-trial
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#17_November_2016_%28Jakartas_governor_to_face_blasphemy_trial%29

content:
<p>
Jakarta's Christian Governor to Face Blasphemy Trial over
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/nov/16/jakarta-christian-governor-to-face-blasphemy-trial-over-islam-insult-claim">Islam
Insult Claim</a>.
<p>
The government ceded to the demands of religious fanatics, stirred up
over decades by
<a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2011-nov-feb.html#19_February_2012_(Blasphemy)">Salafi
Arabia</a>, who are using him as an opportunity to deny equal rights
to all the non-Muslims in Indonesia.
<p>
The right to criticize a religion is an essential part of human
rights.  It appears that Ahok did not really do that; I think he would
not have won the election if he really had criticized the religion of
most of the voters in his region.  But someone's innocence or guilt
under a manifestly unjust law is a distraction from the guilt of the
law itself.
<p>
The idea that no one but a Muslim should be a leader over Muslims is
in itself an example of the bigotry that often embodies Islam.  We are
obligated to respect people's right maintain such a view, but the view
itself deserves only condemnation.


feed_id: 0d69a30af6b65e73048e63aa37a4622d
title: Urgent: Don't "normalize" Trump
uri: Urgent-Don-t-normalize-Trump
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#17_November_2016_%28Urgent%3A_Dont_normalize_Trump%29

content:
<p>
Everyone: 
<a href="https://act.weareultraviolet.org/sign/truthful_trump_coverage/">to
the US press</a>: don't "normalize" Trump and his henchmen.
<p>
Here's what 
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/news/2016/11/14/theres-no-normalizing-president-elect-trump-or-least-there-shouldnt-be">the
issue</a> is.


feed_id: 2dd645eeaf1906bf87a1669194dc5af9
title: Germany admits defeat for TTIP
uri: Germany-admits-defeat-for-TTIP
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#17_November_2016_%28Germany_admits_defeat_for_TTIP%29

content:
<p>
Germany has 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/nov/15/germany-trump-ttip-trade-deal">admitted
defeat</a> for the TTIP.
<p>
Even if everything else Trump does is vicious, we must credit Trump
with this one good deed.  Activists had pretty much defeated the TTIP,
but there's a difference between "pretty much defeated" and "defeated
conclusively".  With so much political pressure to agree to an
antidemocratic deal, states can often find a way to bypass democratic
obstacles.


feed_id: 041704ca8770e34813781af2f65eac67
title: Trump's ties to Dakota Access Pipeline
uri: Trump-s-ties-to-Dakota-Access-Pipeline
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#17_November_2016_%28Trumps_ties_to_Dakota_Access_Pipeline%29

content:
<p>
Trump has 
<a href="http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2016/11/army-corps-dakota-access-pipeline-trump">invested
at least a million dollars in companies that are involved in the
Dakota Access Pipeline</a>, and one of them paid at least 100,000 to
his campaign.
<p>
It seems like a corrupt conspiracy to me.


feed_id: 51f4d8bf070044a897ef26839aa03975
title: Dealing with bigotry on the internet
uri: Dealing-with-bigotry-on-the-internet
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#17_November_2016_%28Dealing_with_bigotry_on_the_internet%29

content:
<p>
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/nov/16/more-than-a-third-of-12--to-15-year-olds-are-exposed-to-hate-speech-online">1/3
of young teenagers in the UK</a> encounter bigotry on the internet.
<p>
Children who see insults aimed at groups they belong to may feel hurt,
but those that are targets of bigotry were sure to encounter it sooner
or later.  If they are told lies about their own ethnic groups, they
will probably find that their families correct the lies.
<p>
I am worried more about children that see hatred expressed towards
other groups.  I worry that they will imitate it, and that they will
believe the lies because they will not know anyone who will correct
the lies.
<p>
So this suggests to me that it might be good to make persuasive
refutations of bigoted lies, and good examples of rejecting hate
available where more kids will see them.


feed_id: d4de7f103eef4ea870f6a624454034e3
title: Canadian subsidies for fossil fuel
uri: Canadian-subsidies-for-fossil-fuel
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#17_November_2016_%28Canadian_subsidies_for_fossil_fuel%29

content:
<p>
Canada Gives 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/nov/15/climate-change-canada-fossil-fuel-subsidies-carbon-trudeau">$3.3bn
Subsidies</a> to Fossil Fuel Producers Despite Climate Pledge.


feed_id: 1bccb36875d09c036ec016c69a774d26
title: Qadhafi's money in Sarkozy's campaign
uri: Qadhafi-s-money-in-Sarkozy-s-campaign
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#17_November_2016_%28Qadhafis_money_in_Sarkozys_campaign%29

content:
<p>
A man confessed to 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/nov/15/muammar-gaddafi-allegedly-gave-nicolas-sarkozy-50m-euros-2007-presidential-campaign">giving
Qadhafi's money to Sarkozy's presidential campaign</a>.


feed_id: d0a0aefd56e76a7a5fe650c4bd0baa0c
title: Cease-fire in Yemen
uri: 2016-11-19-Cease-fire-in-Yemen
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#17_November_2016_%28Cease-fire_in_Yemen%29
content:
<p>
Kerry says a 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/nov/15/yemen-houthis-saudi-coalition-ceasefire-john-kerry">cease-fire</a>
has been agreed in Yemen.


feed_id: 190fb134479f0d77b3efe2cf4e49b25b
title: Blaming other parties after the election
uri: Blaming-other-parties-after-the-election
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#17_November_2016_%28Blaming_other_parties_after_the_election%29

content:
<p>
Jill Stein: it is 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/nov/15/blame-for-us-election-outcome-not-third-parties-jill-stein">fallacious
to blame other parties</a> for the fact that people didn't vote for
Clinton, or to assume that they would have voted for Clinton if the
other parties didn't exist.  Instead, push for instant runoff voting.
<p>
She could make her point stronger if she didn't legitimize 
<a href="https://www.stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#12_November_2016_(The_election_was_stolen)">the
Republicans' dishonest "victory"</a>.


feed_id: 27583cd0f9900c828920dd30d9e76373
title: The corrupt rich in India
uri: The-corrupt-rich-in-India
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#17_November_2016_%28The_corrupt_rich_in_India%29
content:
<p>
Why the Corrupt Rich 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/nov/15/corrupt-rich-india-modi-500-1000-rupee-note">Will
Welcome Modi's "Surgical Strike on Corruption"</a>.


feed_id: 8e7d846f8e9df0f5136b1aff982cf5ea
title: Trump to increase threats to humanity
uri: Trump-to-increase-threats-to-humanity
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#17_November_2016_%28Trump_to_increase_threats_to_humanity%29

content:
<p>
Trump 
<a href="https://medium.com/@philosophytorres/what-a-trump-presidency-means-for-human-survival-one-experts-take-ed26bf9f9a21">will
increase some threats</a> to humanity's survival.


feed_id: e9e0981fbb82593c11a6c12cf54e6880
title: Urgent: National Popular Vote act
uri: Urgent-National-Popular-Vote-act
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#16_November_2016_%28Urgent%3A_National_Popular_Vote_act%29

content:
<p>
US citizens: 
<a href="http://act.demandprogress.org/sign/sign-petition-end-electoral-college-elect-americas-presidents-national-popular-vote/">call
on states</a> to negate the electoral college by passing the National
Popular Vote act.


feed_id: 24e0c4003955565efa954217152d8f1a
title: Urgent: Oppose cozying up to Trump
uri: Urgent-Oppose-cozying-up-to-Trump
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#16_November_2016_%28Urgent%3A_Oppose_cozying_up_to_Trump%29

content:
<p>
US citizens:
<a href="https://act.credoaction.com/sign/fight_trump">call on
Democrats</a> not to cozy up to Trump.


feed_id: a93aeb9513cc18f65936ffde8019bdae
title: Repression in Bahrain
uri: 2016-11-19-Repression-in-Bahrain
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#16_November_2016_%28Repression_in_Bahrain%29
content:
<p>
Bahrain 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/greenslade/2016/nov/15/uk-and-us-concerned-at-arrest-of-politician-after-prince-charles-visit-to-bahrain">continues
to repress</a> anyone that criticizes the regime's disrespect for
human rights.


feed_id: d7bbb6da39b36f351e4553317aab10b2
title: Effect of funding on research results
uri: Effect-of-funding-on-research-results
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#16_November_2016_%28Effect_of_funding_on_research_results%29

content:
<p>
"Sense About Science" 
<a href="https://theintercept.com/2016/11/15/how-self-appointed-guardians-of-sound-science-tip-the-scales-toward-industry/">tries
to teach people not to question research results based on who paid for
the research</a>.  It was founded by someone with ties to the tobacco
industry.


feed_id: a7b1e2a2bea02a4b7ddf792fcd4d9699
title: Trump "empowers" his daughter
uri: Trump-empowers-his-daughter
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#16_November_2016_%28Trump_empowers_his_daughter%29
content:
<p>
Trump "empowers" his daughter as a 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/nov/15/ivanka-trump-feminism-us-election">substitute
for respecting the rights of women in general</a>.


feed_id: dcd10e3983f9b2b5a430925ccfa9a194
title: Slogans in place of logical arguments
uri: Slogans-in-place-of-logical-arguments
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#16_November_2016_%28Slogans_in_place_of_logical_arguments%29

content:
<p>
In the Age of Trump, 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/higher-education-network/2016/nov/15/in-the-age-of-trump-why-bother-teaching-students-to-argue-logically">Why
Bother Teaching Students to Argue Logically</a>?


feed_id: 80084ecfe9c236aa26d5b8437282a406
title: Trump's extreme misogynist supporters
uri: Trump-s-extreme-misogynist-supporters
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#16_November_2016_%28Trumps_extreme_misogynist_supporters%29

content:
<p>
Trump's extreme misogynist supporters are a radical movement that
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/nov/15/alt-right-manosphere-mainstream-politics-breitbart">could
become violent and dangerous</a>.


feed_id: ea0e41a10c7e833d69db74e18c0acdb4
title: Organizing against injustices in Russia
uri: Organizing-against-injustices-in-Russia
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#16_November_2016_%28Organizing_against_injustices_in_Russia%29

content:
<p>
Local organizing against injustices in Russia 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/nov/15/russia-getting-harder-ignore-grassroots-movement">continues
despite Putin's power</a>.


feed_id: dd3163eaf4ce5868daab24889af7d2e5
title: A plan to study African crop species
uri: A-plan-to-study-African-crop-species
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#16_November_2016_%28A_plan_to_study_African_crop_species%29

content:
<p>
A plan to 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2016/nov/15/can-mars-bid-to-publish-genetic-maps-of-historic-african-crops-boost-nutrition">genetically
study some African crop species</a> could be the basis to harm farmers
in Africa.
<p>
In principle, genetic engineering of these species could be a good
thing — if the result is seed that farmers can freely grow and
breed.  But if it provides an opportunity for Monsanto and Bayer, or
some other seed company, to impose its power over farmers, it will be
a means to extract more money out of Africa.
<p>
The article repeats the common confusion of using the term
"intellectual property rights", which confuses many different laws.
The two laws which are pertinent here are patent law and plant variety
monopolies.  Each of these gives seed companies power to restrict
farmers, but the two laws give different powers.


feed_id: 019ff3091cb85804cdc30ff44d80bd2b
title: President that admires unjust rule
uri: President-that-admires-unjust-rule
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#16_November_2016_%28President_that_admires_unjust_rule%29

content:
<p>
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/nov/15/trump-and-china-fears-deal-making-consign-human-rights-to-political-roadkill">China's
rulers rejoice</a> in having a US president that admires unjust rule.
<p>
However, US presidents since from Clinton (and maybe Bush I) have been
heading in the same direction.


feed_id: c9bc3ec7f29939e5f1353b4c19f5bdfe
title: Sugar in a can of soda
uri: Sugar-in-a-can-of-soda
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#16_November_2016_%28Sugar_in_a_can_of_soda%29
content:
<p>
Many cans of soda have 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2016/nov/15/half-of-fizzy-drinks-have-more-sugar-in-one-can-than-adult-daily-limit">more
sugar than an adult should consume in one day</a>.


feed_id: 1cbd47bbb52661426f3c0bdd954778fe
title: Army puts hold on Dakota Access Pipeline
uri: Army-puts-hold-on-Dakota-Access-Pipeline
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#16_November_2016_%28Army_puts_hold_on_Dakota_Access_Pipeline%29

content:
<p>
The US Army has 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/nov/14/dakota-access-pipeline-completion-delayed-army-corp-engineers-review">put
a hold on construction</a> of the Dakota Access Pipeline, saying that
it requires "additional discussion and analysis".
<p>
If it had done its job carefully, it would have said this before
construction started.  Environmental laws requiring environmental
impact statements are ineffective if agencies accept incomplete
statements.  It should not take months of protests, and violence
against protesters, to get an agency to recognize that requirements
have not been followed.
<p>
Well, better late than never.
<p>
Trump 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/nov/15/climate-protection-donald-trump-must-fight-now">may
order officials to accept bogus environmental impact statements
intentionally</a> all the time.


feed_id: a3799128d630524d19922ffe713cad5a
title: Day of the Imprisoned Writer
uri: Day-of-the-Imprisoned-Writer
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#15_November_2016_%28Day_of_the_Imprisoned_Writer%29
content:
<p>
Today is the
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/nov/15/margaret-atwood-letter-solidarity-asli-erdogan">Day
of the Imprisoned Writer</a>, and five writers that are now in prison
have been specifically honored with support.


feed_id: 5a75887f67057e7cd0707dc428b8be23
title: Cost of floods, storms, droughts
uri: Cost-of-floods-storms-droughts
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#15_November_2016_%28Cost_of_floods%2C_storms%2C_droughts%29

content:
<p>
Damage from floods, storms and droughts costs over
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/nov/14/natural-disasters-poverty-world-bank-climate-change">500
billion dollars a year</a>.
<p>
A century ago, such disasters were essentially natural.  To continue
calling them "natural disasters" nowadays is an error, because global
heating and deforestation have become a considerable fraction of the
cause.
<p>
In a few decades the annual damage will be far more than now.


feed_id: a577cd8fd9bb68ab1026118ad0d67762
title: Two journalists arrested in Burma
uri: Two-journalists-arrested-in-Burma
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#15_November_2016_%28Two_journalists_arrested_in_Burma%29

content:
<p>
Two journalists have been arrested in Burma and
<a href="https://cpj.org/2016/11/two-myanmar-journalists-arrested-on-criminal-defam.php">charged
with the crime of "defamation"</a>.
<p>
That law is so vicious that Trump would be in favor of it.


feed_id: 114c998cd674bddb763c04ffda6455c6
title: The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
uri: 2016-11-19-The-Consumer-Financial-Protection-Bureau
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#15_November_2016_%28The_Consumer_Financial_Protection_Bureau%29

content:
<p>
Senator Warren is
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/news/2016/11/14/wall-street-licking-their-chops-sen-warren-readies-fight">campaigning
to defend the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau</a> from Wall
Street flunkies led by Trump.


feed_id: 7611ccb3fcaecfa70a4f3460c3932cb9
title: Trump's expected actions
uri: Trump-s-expected-actions
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#15_November_2016_%28Trumps_expected_actions%29
content:
<p>
Trump's expected actions are likely to
<a href="http://ieet.org/index.php/IEET/more/torres20161114">indirectly
increase the danger of extinction of humans</a>.


feed_id: 08b4ccabf9e23fcc655979c2f4395ab8
title: Destruction of kelp
uri: Destruction-of-kelp
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#15_November_2016_%28Destruction_of_kelp%29
content:
<p>
Global heating has
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/nov/15/destruction-of-kelp-forests-by-tropical-fish-shows-impact-of-ocean-temperature-rises">enabled
tropical fish to spread away from the equator</a>, to places where
kelp forests are found, and the tropical fish destroy the kelp.
<p>
Once the kelp is gone, many species associated with it disappear too.


feed_id: f6e6417b76cfd20a936ab950b095eb07
title: Militarization of social media
uri: Militarization-of-social-media
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#15_November_2016_%28Militarization_of_social_media%29

content:
<p>
Your Government Wants to Militarize Social Media to
<a href="http://motherboard.vice.com/read/your-government-wants-to-militarize-social-media-to-influence-your-beliefs">Influence
Your Beliefs</a>.
<p>
Bigots for Trump
<a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#13_November_2016_(Bots_undermining_discussion)">already
did so</a>.


feed_id: 75c6478f093098ed3a9f0be5e7128e9f
title: Copyright aggression
uri: Copyright-aggression
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#15_November_2016_%28Copyright_aggression%29
content:
<p>
<a href="https://torrentfreak.com/donald-trump-parody-results-in-clockwork-orange-copyright-suit-161114/">Shame
on composer Wendy Carlos</a> for copyright aggression.
<p>
Don't pay for anything that includes her music.


feed_id: 32a9d504217b0d354046e695e7c2dc32
title: "Stag party" social pressure
uri: Stag-party-social-pressure
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#15_November_2016_%28Stag_party_social_pressure%29
content:
<p>
Many men loathe lewd "stag parties".  It seems they participate
because they
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/nov/14/what-men-really-think-about-stag-parties">don't
know how to say no to social pressure</a>.
<p>
I hope they start trying to resist social pressure soon.  A few
uncomfortable visits to a strip club won't ruin your life, but a habit
of letting people pressure you into drinking to excess can make you an
alcoholic, and that can kill you.


feed_id: fc6f57b7b3633a2a3514611cbea0e49b
title: Masculine culture
uri: Masculine-culture
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#15_November_2016_%28Masculine_culture%29
content:
<p>
Masculine Culture Responsible for
<a href="https://theconversation.com/masculine-culture-responsible-for-keeping-women-out-of-computer-science-engineering-67217">Keeping
Women out of Computer Science, Engineering</a>.


feed_id: 46104bc957f9711e06bed9e74025c086
title: Hottest year
uri: Hottest-year
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#15_November_2016_%28Hottest_year%29
content:
<p>
'It Was Too Hot, Even to Leave Home':
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/nov/14/it-was-too-hot-even-to-leave-home-stories-from-the-worlds-hottest-year">Stories
from the World's Hottest Year</a>.
<p>
In Nigeria, Alaska, Russia, India, Finland, Thailand, Australia,
Malawi, Brazil, the heat affects people's lives.
<p>
It's interesting that Boko Haram, like PISSI, seems to have got its
chance from global heating.


feed_id: 79ab322c703a9abdb8cb36402ee74d79
title: TTIP defeated by activists
uri: TTIP-defeated-by-activists
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#15_November_2016_%28TTIP_defeated_by_activists%29
content:
<p>
TTIP Was Defeated by Activists —
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/nov/14/ttip-defeated-activists-donald-trump">before
the stolen election</a> that Trump almost won.
<p>
Trump may be responsible for stopping the TPP from being passed in the
US during the coming lame duck session of Congress.  If so, we
benefited, but his goal was not really to end the economic harm that
globalization does to working people.  He wants plutocracy with a
different business model.


feed_id: 446c77f8a10ada2867e7f1d129c0a84d
title: Urgent: Oppose appointing Ebell
uri: Urgent-Oppose-appointing-Ebell
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#2_December_2016_%28Urgent%3A_Oppose_appointing_Ebell%29

content:
<p>
US citizens: 
<a href="https://act.climatetruth.org/sign/ebell-epa/">call on
Trump</a> not to appoint Ebell.


feed_id: f374bb9bd31919fbe207ef6fff9d0029
title: Phone snubbing
uri: Phone-snubbing
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#1_December_2016_%28Phone_snubbing%29
content:
<p>
Using a smartphone is
<a href="https://theconversation.com/she-phubbs-me-she-phubbs-me-not-smartphones-could-be-ruining-your-love-life-68463">
bad for your romantic relationships.                                                                                             
</a>


feed_id: a43c4e99414ee9f856d89dbe4a60934f
title: Blue Lies Matter
uri: Blue-Lies-Matter
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#1_December_2016_%28Blue_Lies_Matter%29
content:
<p>
The thugs that attacked pipeline protesters subsequently
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/nov/29/standing-rock-protest-north-dakota-shutdown-evacuation">
lied about                                                                                    
what they had done.                                                                                                                                    
</a>
<br>
If we are ever to be safe, we have to make those bullies pay for their                                                                                 
lies.  Blue Lies Matter!                                                                                                                               


feed_id: 4f03009bab477fafcd64d3c546f63976
title: Strike in US
uri: Strike-in-US
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#1_December_2016_%28Strike_in_US%29
content:
<p>
US airport workers and fast food workers
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/nov/29/us-economy-rigged-strike-fight-for-15">
will strike on Dec 1.                                                                                         
</a>


feed_id: 0cda318e8bf398209c5ca0e7408045e9
title: Videos altered by thugs
uri: Videos-altered-by-thugs
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#1_December_2016_%28Videos_altered_by_thugs%29
content:
<p>
Albuquerque thugs don't just cover up videos of their killings,
<a href="https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20161121/11372836101/albuquerque-police-officers-supervisors-accused-deleting-altering-video-use-force-incidents.shtml">
they                                                                                   
alter it too.                                                                                                                                          
</a>


feed_id: b979342b9adb8a004f703eb1b5608556
title: High Medicare co-pays
uri: High-Medicare-co-pays
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#1_December_2016_%28High_Medicare_co-pays%29
content:
<p>
<a href="http://www.futurity.org/medicare-cancer-health-care-costs-1304452-2/">
Medicare covers only part of the costs of treating cancer,
</a>
leaving
old Americans with bills they may not survive.


feed_id: f7c5625f7866b42a89735f5412aa4e07
title: Assange questioned
uri: Assange-questioned
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#1_December_2016_%28Assange_questioned%29
content:
<p>
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/2016/nov/29/julian-assange-ecuador-says-no-no-quick-way-out-of-embassy-impasse">
Assange has been questioned in the Ecuadorian embassy.
</a>
<br>
If Swedish prosecutors really want to prosecute Assange in Sweden,
they will be able to do so with little further ado provided they give
the formal assurances they won't send him to the US.  Their refusal to
do so shows that they are not really interested in the crimes alleged
against him, and only interested in an excuse to send him to the US.
<br>
Soon we will see what the Swedish prosecutors' next maneuver is.


feed_id: bf23dd0e83de770eab2c190d7e0852d7
title: Begging ban
uri: Begging-ban
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#1_December_2016_%28Begging_ban%29
content:
<p>
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/nov/29/nigeria-crackdown-begging-raises-fears-over-human-rights-violations">
Begging is banned in Lagos,
</a>
and tens of thousands of people, most of
them disabled or mentally ill, have been jailed in horrible conditions
without trial.
<br>
Around the world, cities either are
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2016/nov/29/how-should-cities-deal-with-street-begging-homelessness">
harsh toward beggars
or try to give
them help and treatment.
</a>


feed_id: e15f3a3e5e866ca668ce7e84e1013975
title: Economic reforms in Cuba
uri: Economic-reforms-in-Cuba
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#1_December_2016_%28Economic_reforms_in_Cuba%29
content:
<p>
Raúl Castro has made some economic reforms in Cuba
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/nov/28/raul-castro-fidel-brother-successor-cuba-what-next">
but has not
increased human rights.
</a>
<br>
I think Cuba deserves human rights, but must be careful about how far
to permit private business.
<br>
Cubans deserve democracy but have no experience in running democracy.
They could easily fall into the plutocrats' trap.  Even US voters,
with much more experience have made the mistake of electing
politicians such as Clinton, Dubya and Obama that have
<a href="../business-supremacy-treaties.html">
surrendered
their countries to global business.
</a>
  How, then, to lead Cuba to a democracy that won't allow
multinationals to take power?
<br>
As long as businesses are small, and have no political power, they are
safe and useful -- though it is necessary to police them carefully so
that they don't think they can
<a href="2013-may-aug.html#29_June_2013_(Fast_food_workers_accuse_employers_of_stealing_pay_and_obscuring_it)">
get away with stealing workers' pay
</a>
  and other abuses.
<br>
Perhaps the Cuban constitution should prohibit in a broad way the
operation of foreign companies <em>in</em> the country.  Buying and
selling foreign goods, ok; letting a large multinational actually
operate in the country, no.


feed_id: 6f129ac7e49da8a2393b45518c61f50d
title: Urgent: Presidential Accountability Act
uri: Urgent-Presidential-Accountability-Act
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#30_November_2016_%28Urgent%3A_Presidential_Accountability_Act%29

content:
<p>
US citizens:
<a href="http://act.demandprogress.org/sign/trump-conflicts-of-interest/">call
on Congress</a> to pass the Presidential Accountability Act.


feed_id: db5acfa4894ee7ea49b1e5eb10fbb9b2
title: Urgent: Free Shawkan
uri: Urgent-Free-Shawkan
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#30_November_2016_%28Urgent%3A_Free_Shawkan%29
content:
<p>
Everyone:
<a href="https://act.amnestyusa.org/ea-action/action?ea.client.id=1839&ea.campaign.id=55737">call
on Egypt</a> to free journalist Shawkan.


feed_id: 171e0634d9353d89d5de149581db2184
title: Urgent: US TV network integrity
uri: Urgent-US-TV-network-integrity
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#30_November_2016_%28Urgent%3A_US_TV_network_integrity%29

content:
<p>
US citizens:
<a href="http://act.freepress.net/sign/journ_trump_media/">call on US
TV networks</a> not to become Trump's lapdogs.


feed_id: 4638561fa58d7a1bcb8b579d8bf6c820
title: Homelessness in Australia
uri: Homelessness-in-Australia
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#30_November_2016_%28Homelessness_in_Australia%29
content:
<p>
It is starting to appear that "homelessness [in Australia] is not just
caused by government policy, it
<a href='https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/nov/29/housing-inequality-is-a-failure-to-govern-and-the-market-is-not-the-answer'>is
government policy</a>."


feed_id: 81773daf8cfc258f21de937b1597f729
title: Campaigns to roast our planet
uri: Campaigns-to-roast-our-planet
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#30_November_2016_%28Campaigns_to_roast_our_planet%29

content:
<p>
The book Burn Zone accuses individuals of
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2016/nov/28/danny-lyon-burn-zone-photographer-climate-change">campaigning
to roast our planet</a>.


feed_id: fac0b08da40db0fcd71269479b3a02bf
title: The Great Barrier Reef
uri: 2016-12-03-The-Great-Barrier-Reef
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#30_November_2016_%28The_Great_Barrier_Reef%29
content:
<p>
It will take 15 years for the Great Barrier Reef to recover from
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/nov/29/great-barrier-reef-scientists-confirm-largest-die-off-of-corals-recorded">massive
coral death</a> (caused to ocean temperature among other things).
<p>
More likely it will never recover, because even broader coral deaths
will follow during that period.


feed_id: b756b224284b3bbb62ca1a1ae746a972
title: Oil from the Big Spill
uri: 2016-12-03-Oil-from-the-Big-Spill
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#30_November_2016_%28Oil_from_the_Big_Spill%29
content:
<p>
Oil from the Big Spill has been
<a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-37988438">found
in feathers of land birds</a> on the Gulf Coast.


feed_id: f28376d1a0ef151db01d7cea18df2aa5
title: Carbon tax in the US
uri: Carbon-tax-in-the-US
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#30_November_2016_%28Carbon_tax_in_the_US%29
content:
<p>
Economic modelling says that a revenue-neutral carbon tax in the US
would
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/climate-consensus-97-per-cent/2014/jun/13/how-revenue-neutral-carbon-tax-creates-jobs-grows-economy">create
jobs and economic growth, and increase the income of working
people</a>, as well as accelerating the reduction in CO<sub>2</sub>
emissions.
<p>
The crucial point is that the tax increases every year, and investors
know that it will increase every year.  This means that the pressure
on investors to avoid future fossil fuel use is very strong.
<p>
The model for this study was revenue-neutral, but I don't think that a
carbon tax has to be revenue-neutral.  Perhaps the state should keep
some of the money to spend on useful things such as infrastructure;
that too puts the money back into circulation.


feed_id: 8ca9c87b0bb1db0ba7301111156b7c38
title: US churches offer sanctuary to non-citizens
uri: US-churches-offer-sanctuary-to-non-citizens
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#30_November_2016_%28US_churches_offer_sanctuary_to_non-citizens%29

content:
<p>
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/nov/27/undocumented-immigrations-us-churches-sanctuary-trump">300
US churches</a> have recently offered sanctuary to non-citizens
without visas.
<p>
"Help the downtrodden" is the good side of Christianity.  The bad side
shows in Trump supporters those who wish to persecute someone.
<p>
Keep in mind that Obama has deported over 2 million unauthorized
immigrants, in some cases because they
<a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2015-mar-jun.html#22_June_2015_(260000_foreigners_deported)">committed
minor crimes decades ago</a>.
<p>
If Trump wants to adopt a harsher policy, what will he do?  Deport
jaywalkers?


feed_id: ed96b7a76dc1eac135980e5339a6bdc5
title: Corruption in Brazil
uri: 2016-12-03-Corruption-in-Brazil
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#30_November_2016_%28Corruption_in_Brazil%29
content:
<p>
As a new corruption scandal directly implicates coup-president Temer,
nearly all the major parties in Brazil are supporting a
<a href="https://theintercept.com/2016/11/25/in-brazil-major-new-corruption-scandals-engulf-the-faction-that-impeached-dilma/">bill
to protect everyone in Congress from corruption accusations</a>.


feed_id: 6a725ad8b932c0553781bcae3e81e65d
title: Storytelling
uri: Storytelling
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#30_November_2016_%28Storytelling%29
content:
<p>
Will Self: "Are humans evolving
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/nov/25/will-self-humans-evolving-need-stories">beyond
the need to tell stories</a>?"
<p>
Reading the article, I think it is only speculation that this change
(which affects a large fraction of young people but not all) is a
pathway to any new capability.  It seems more likely to me that it is
a pathway to cognitive discapacity.


feed_id: 763831b2305e16c82d0bd38a6a47306d
title: Tunisia proposes new national ID card
uri: Tunisia-proposes-new-national-ID-card
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#30_November_2016_%28Tunisia_proposes_new_national_ID_card%29

content:
<p>
Tunisia is considering a new form of national ID card, which would be
used for
<a href="https://www.accessnow.org/tunisia-statement-proposed-national-id-card/">unspecified
forms of tracking and surveillance</a>.
<p>
Even nastier, a citizen would be punished for trying to decrypt the
data in per own ID card.


feed_id: c6012bca03261e59335a76597b705dc6
title: Privacy rights
uri: Privacy-rights
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#30_November_2016_%28Privacy_rights%29
content:
<p>
The UN Human Rights Council
<a href="https://www.accessnow.org/u-n-targets-tech-companies-call-data-protection-transparency/">continues
to extend its support for privacy rights</a>.
<p>
However, it is advocating insufficient measures — data
"protection" rather than banning the accumulation of personal data.


feed_id: 456aa564a3d673ee3dcf6c8d1b974ed3
title: Arrogance towards the truth
uri: Arrogance-towards-the-truth
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#30_November_2016_%28Arrogance_towards_the_truth%29
content:
<p>
The supporters of taking the UK out of the EU
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/nov/24/brexiteers-office-for-budget-responsibility">condemned
a neutral agency that reports facts and estimates</a>, because it
didn't distort them to suit that side.
<p>
Their arrogance towards the truth resembles Trump's.


feed_id: bda7964cf1ebfb7bf61638b49ae828bb
title: Spanking in US schools
uri: Spanking-in-US-schools
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#30_November_2016_%28Spanking_in_US_schools%29
content:
<p>
Schools in many southern US states
<a href="https://thinkprogress.org/schools-are-still-using-corporal-punishment-3c02708313dc">still
spank or beat students</a>.


feed_id: 9cef21406078a46c18846e0a945bed32
title: The Tories are lower than vermin
uri: The-Tories-are-lower-than-vermin
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#30_November_2016_%28The_Tories_are_lower_than_vermin%29

content:
<p>
Thatcher
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/nov/25/margaret-thatcher-pushed-for-breakup-of-welfare-state-despite-nhs-pledge">privately
studied plans for abolishing the National Health Service, while
publicly pledging to preserve it</a>.
<p>
The Tories are lower than vermin — Aneurin Bevan.


feed_id: f36e104216edda8511958de046cd98e5
title: EU-US data agreement
uri: EU-US-data-agreement
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#29_November_2016_%28EU-US_data_agreement%29
content:
<p>
The EU has agreed to
<a href="https://www.accessnow.org/umbrella-agreement-just-isnt-good-enough-protect-rights/">
let companies send personal data to the US
</a>
based on totally inadequate assurances.
<br>
Rules about the use of accumulated data are just a band-aid.  To avoid
tyranny and protect dissent and journalism, we need to
<a href="http://gnu.org/philosophy/surveillance-vs-democracy.html">
forbid and
prevent the accumulation of data about people.
</a>


feed_id: ad6d9741d711399791120c33c4b6ab8f
title: Organized disinformation
uri: Organized-disinformation
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#29_November_2016_%28Organized_disinformation%29
content:
<p>
Philip Morris, the tobacco company, set up an organization to
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2006/sep/19/ethicalliving.g2">
deny
scientific conclusions about the danger of second-hand smoke.
</a>
To disguise itself, it sought to attack various other valid scientific
conclusions, including that global heating would be dangerous.
That was the beginning of organized global heating disinformation.
<br>
Exxon started funding it later.


feed_id: d874a9087425818b72e6e4994ae85c4d
title: Post-election ideas
uri: Post-election-ideas
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#29_November_2016_%28Post-election_ideas%29
content:
<p>
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/views/2016/11/28/twelve-ideas-post-election-front-line-organizers">
Twelve Ideas Post-Election
</a>
from Front Line Organizers.


feed_id: 0cd97404627454c6cf840e53e2610863
title: Media control techniques
uri: Media-control-techniques
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#29_November_2016_%28Media_control_techniques%29
content:
<p>
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/views/2016/11/28/trumps-seven-techniques-control-media">
Trump's Seven Techniques to Control the Media.
</a>
<br>
I think the etymology of "news media" given in the article is not quite
correct -- I think "media" refers to "medium of expression", in this
case used to present news.


feed_id: 20b2b3af162f1c76d6dd641ecc24b5f7
title: Financial stress
uri: Financial-stress
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#29_November_2016_%28Financial_stress%29
content:
<p>
Millions Americans face
<a href="http://www.alternet.org/economy/we-have-face-major-problem-acute-financial-stress">
constant financial stress due to their debt.
</a>
<br>
This causes them bodily, medical harm.


feed_id: 8abd14d6207ddf55bed122060e908572
title: False memories
uri: False-memories
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#29_November_2016_%28False_memories%29
content:
<p>
Elizabeth Loftus received a prize for standing by science against the
illusions of people who had been led to
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/2016/nov/17/we-cant-let-the-bullies-win-elizabeth-loftus-awarded-2016-john-maddox-prize-false-memory">
invent and believe, as adults,
false memories
</a>
of child abuse that never happened.
<br>
The victims of real child abuse generally don't forget about it, and
don't need the help of a "recovered memory" practitioner to remember
that it happened to them.  (They may wait many years before they
decide to talk about it -- but that's not forgetting.)
<br>
On the other hand, it is not hard to convince a person to "remember"
imaginary abuse (or other imaginary events), using repeated sessions
and various techniques of manipulation.  Thus, we should be skeptical
of criticizing anyone based on "recovered memories".


feed_id: 4dcaea91ab853385f85fb83f33900f78
title: Emissions tests
uri: Emissions-tests
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#29_November_2016_%28Emissions_tests%29
content:
<p>
EU countries are
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/nov/28/eu-stalls-pledge-independent-checks-car-emissions">
surrendering to car manufacturers
</a>
that want to continue
cheating on emissions tests.
<br>
The purpose of the state is to make companies like that bow to the
people's needs.  The EU is, evidently, inadequate.


feed_id: b4a85d3bb32c1664420e763d84d8c0c5
title: Bolivia's water supply
uri: Bolivia-s-water-supply
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#29_November_2016_%28Bolivia%27s_water_supply%29
content:
<p>
Global heating has
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/nov/28/shrinking-glaciers-state-of-emergency-drought-bolivia">
taken away Bolivia's water supply.
</a>
<br>
This problem is not of Bolivia's making -- the US has done far more to
cause it -- but to cope with it will require Bolivia to convince people
to have fewer children.


feed_id: ae1f6c83aae6bb32ea1547c9eacbaae2
title: Gratis Klan advertising
uri: Gratis-Klan-advertising
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#29_November_2016_%28Gratis_Klan_advertising%29
content:
<p>
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/nov/28/trump-ku-klux-klan-media-manipulation-kkk">
Linking Trump to the Ku Klux Klan
</a>
Risks Boosting a Rump Organisation.


feed_id: a37572f8145470e79b5a79076d579807
title: Replacing diesel with solar
uri: Replacing-diesel-with-solar
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#29_November_2016_%28Replacing_diesel_with_solar%29
content:
<p>
A small island in American Samoa has
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/nov/28/south-pacific-island-ditches-fossil-fuels-to-run-entirely-on-solar-power">
replaced 100,000 gallons per year
of diesel fuel with solar power.
</a>
With batteries, no more fuel needs
to be burned.
<br>
American Samoa plans to end fossil fuel use by 2040.
But I think that is not soon enough, if it is to be a leader for the
rest of the world to get off fossil fuels fast enough.


feed_id: 28c430e9f59d20907a119cf23544fef7
title: Electors shouldn't vote Trump
uri: Electors-shouldn-t-vote-Trump
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#29_November_2016_%28Electors_shouldn%27t_vote_Trump%29

content:
<p>
<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/davidhalperin/8-new-reasons-the-elector_b_13248386.html">
Some reasons why the electoral college
</a>
should refuse to vote for Trump.


feed_id: 3f7b3fe094ab1b329be4e6e6c3259a08
title: Trump did less poorly among non-whites
uri: Trump-did-less-poorly-among-non-whites
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#29_November_2016_%28Trump_did_less_poorly_among_non-whites%29

content:
<p>
Compared with 2012, Trump got more votes from nonwhites, apparently
because he talked about the
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/views/2016/11/27/appeal-working-class-dont-bother-says-krugman">
injustice of plutocratist politics
</a>
while Clinton (more honestly) did not.
<br>
This brought him within range for Republicans to
<a href="#12_November_2016_(The_election_was_stolen)">
steal the rest of the way.
</a>
<br>
Trump was lying in
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/views/2016/11/27/already-big-gap-between-trumps-promises-middle-class-and-his-policies">
saying he would help,
</a>
of course.
<br>
<a href="https://theintercept.com/2016/11/22/hedge-fund-managers-expect-a-return-on-their-investment-in-donald-trump/">
Hedge Fund Managers Expect a Return on Their Investment in Donald Trump.
</a>


feed_id: d2cbf4e8a9c06f1beb36595d00d44d8c
title: "Flynn facts"
uri: Flynn-facts
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#29_November_2016_%28Flynn_facts%29
content:
<p>
Michael Flynn has a history of making
<a href="http://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/the-disruptive-career-of-trumps-national-security-adviser">
untrue claims about facts.
</a>
<br>
The article also includes actions that
<a href="http://americablog.com/2016/11/gen-flynn-alleged-committed-major-breach-pentagon-security.html">
violated government security
rules more than Clinton did.
</a>
  (It may not really have been harmful in Flynn's case, or in
Clinton's case.  Rather, there was a risk in each case that it would
be harmful.)
<br>
With Trump, the only standard is a double standard.  Nothing is
objectively right or wrong, for him, only an opportunity to praise                                                                                             someone (if that is his wish) or to condemn someone (if that is his
wish).


feed_id: 38e071a5861d45708d326654ec068082
title: Refugees denied healthcare
uri: Refugees-denied-healthcare
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#29_November_2016_%28Refugees_denied_healthcare%29
content:
<p>
Australia says that the boat people it stores in Manus Island will be
moved to Australia for medical care if their illnesses require this.
Leaked documents show that
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2016/nov/28/delay-to-treatment-of-hamid-kehazaei-before-he-died-revealed-in-leaked-files">
bureaucrats work very hard to deny that
this is necessary.
</a>


feed_id: 829363b51e752394a39d658182d1ee6f
title: Homophobia
uri: Homophobia
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#29_November_2016_%28Homophobia%29
content:
<p>
Thug departments in the UK (and, I suppose, the US) are rife with
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/nov/27/gay-officer-institutionalised-homophobia-police-force-stephen-port">
bigotry against homosexuals,
</a>
but they pretend not to be.


feed_id: 89528c4bc07b133dc22884dcf460bf19
title: Election manipulation
uri: Election-manipulation
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#29_November_2016_%28Election_manipulation%29
content:
<p>
Scholars call for a congressional investigation of
<a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdwQa-5YTdMJP4U1mqRLihr1wG4Kz8Nw58lTGFabrcZprUkYw/viewform?c=0&w=1">
possible foreign
manipulation of the US election.
</a>


feed_id: 0a532101db0dcbafca93e6af96a0e8df
title: Business-subservient centrist Democrats
uri: Business-subservient-centrist-Democrats
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#29_November_2016_%28Business-subservient_centrist_Democrats%29

content:
<p>
Progressives must
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/views/2016/11/23/why-targeting-corporate-democrats-part-fight-against-trump">pressure
and replace business-subservient centrist Democrats</a>.  Just as the
corporate-funded "tea party" targeted centrist Republicans and
replaced them with science-denying theocrats.


feed_id: a57d71fcfb2d0131766f9ed306f71618
title: Israel loves anti-Semitic supporters
uri: Israel-loves-anti-Semitic-supporters
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#29_November_2016_%28Israel_loves_anti-Semitic_supporters%29

content:
<p>
Israel loves its
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/views/2016/11/23/israels-new-friends-trump-white-house">anti-Semitic
supporters in Trump's circle</a>.  "If an anti-Semite can be a Zionist
then anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism are not the same."


feed_id: 478ea30844476253184ef12d9f6efaab
title: US election security
uri: US-election-security
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#29_November_2016_%28US_election_security%29
content:
<p>
The way to determine whether US election security was cracked is to
<a href="https://medium.com/@jhalderm/want-to-know-if-the-election-was-hacked-look-at-the-ballots-c61a6113b0ba">check
the ballots by hand</a>.
<p>
It's too  bad that the article uses the term
<a href="/articles/on-hacking.html">"hack"</a> as a synonym for "break
computer security", but that doesn't alter the validity of the point.
<p>
The article advocates insisting on voting with paper because
that system is the best.  I agree.
<p>
The author asks us not to call him a Luddite — but this is
precisely what Luddism means.  Luddites believe we can reject
technological "advances" when they are harmful.  We reject the
assumption that these harmful "advances" are inevitable and that
resistance is useless (technological defeatism).
<p>
The use of "Luddite" as an insult is an indirect way of presuming
technological defeatism.  If we pander to that, it will will undermine
our opposition to harmful technologies.  We must be proud to oppose
harmful "advances" in technology, proud to call ourselves Luddites.
<p>
Fellow Luddites, stand tall with me!


feed_id: 0c0d1378927037fa30f378c1293cab53
title: Chinese subcontractors
uri: Chinese-subcontractors
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#29_November_2016_%28Chinese_subcontractors%29
content:
<p>
Even workers at factories in China are afraid of being employed by
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/nov/25/strikes-in-china-over-foreign-employers-selling-out-to-local-companies">Chinese
subcontractors</a>.


feed_id: 830488aff62e9fe0e977e37ebda5f58a
title: Trump's bullying and bigotry
uri: Trump-s-bullying-and-bigotry
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#29_November_2016_%28Trumps_bullying_and_bigotry%29
content:
<p>
Trump's campaign focused on
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/views/2016/11/24/learning-wrong-lesson-trump-victory">bullying
and bigotry</a> as much as on economic losses for working class
Americans.


feed_id: 9f529833f0f31ebe5b217d4c154ac307
title: Republican legislators
uri: Republican-legislators
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#29_November_2016_%28Republican_legislators%29
content:
<p>
Republican legislators in North Carolina seem to
<a href="http://www.dailykos.com/stories/2016/11/22/1602733/-How-Pat-McCrory-is-preparing-to-ask-North-Carolina-s-GOP-legislature-to-steal-the-election-for-him">plan
to override the voters' choice of a Democratic governor</a>.  The
party is now spreading FUD to make it look less bad.
<p>
The voters didn't really choose those legislators, either: their
districts have been gerrymandered.  In effect, they intend to rig all
elections for all state offices forever.


feed_id: f38379e7c24392664d5ad62c9d585905
title: UK ministers delay fracking report
uri: UK-ministers-delay-fracking-report
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#29_November_2016_%28UK_ministers_delay_fracking_report%29

content:
<p>
UK ministers
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/nov/25/government-accused-of-dirty-tricks-over-controversial-fracking-report">knew
they were applying a double standard</a> in helping NIMBYs to block
wind farms but suppressing them for fracking.


feed_id: 15e8c1f937479c26e363594c6320fc1a
title: Rapid Arctic melt
uri: Rapid-Arctic-melt
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#29_November_2016_%28Rapid_Arctic_melt%29
content:
<p>
Scientists identify
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/nov/25/arctic-ice-melt-trigger-uncontrollable-climate-change-global-level">several
possible tipping points in global heating</a> that the current rapid
Arctic melting may trigger in the next few years.


feed_id: 562a386edb2e81ba688ebab4decadf23
title: US naval defenses vulnerable
uri: US-naval-defenses-vulnerable
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#29_November_2016_%28US_naval_defenses_vulnerable%29
content:
<p>
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/jun/10/climate-change-has-left-us-exposed-in-arctic-say-military-experts">Global
heating</a> has made the US naval defenses vulnerable.
<p>
Of course, this is small potatoes compared with the danger of global
heating itself.  But it might get through the think heads of some
denialists.


feed_id: b86446d3ebc04a9302bd766876344364
title: "Renewable" wood from protected forests
uri: Renewable-wood-from-protected-forests
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#29_November_2016_%28Renewable_wood_from_protected_forests%29

content:
<p>
Much of the "renewable" wood burned in Europe is
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/nov/24/protected-forests-in-europe-felled-to-meet-eu-renewable-targets-report">chopped
down illegally from protected forests</a>.


feed_id: 98056e91e3b959b1981658613d0b724d
title: Urgent: Support vote audit
uri: Urgent-Support-vote-audit
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#28_November_2016_%28Urgent%3A_Support_vote_audit%29
content:
<p>
Everyone: call for auditing the vote in
<a href="http://pac.petitions.moveon.org/sign/audit-or-hand-recount">Wisconsin,
Pennsylvania, and Michigan</a>.  This is to double-check that the
computers were not rigged.


feed_id: d7270cf0b2f03982f18b36bdcbf963a1
title: Urgent: Stop the Dakota Access pipeline
uri: Urgent-Stop-the-Dakota-Access-pipeline
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#28_November_2016_%28Urgent%3A_Stop_the_Dakota_Access_pipeline%29

content:
<p>
US citizens: phone the Army Corps of Engineers to ask it
to stop the Dakota Access pipeline.
<p>
phone numbers:<br/>
Main: 202-761-0011, press 9<br/>
Regulatory (permits) office: 202-761-5903<br/>
<p>
Hello, my name is ________. I'm calling from {city, state, county}. It
is your duty to pull the permits for the Dakota Access pipeline
immediately. Police are violently attacking peaceful water protectors,
putting their lives in danger by blasting them with water cannons in
freezing cold weather. You must stop this pipeline now. It is
dangerous in the long term, but right now, this very second it is a
threat to the lives at Standing Rock.


feed_id: c134d8f5b35cd80decac696fc435d038
title: Putinism
uri: Putinism
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#28_November_2016_%28Putinism%29
content:
<p>
Putinism means considering nationalist legends so important that
they should not be "besmirched" by
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/nov/23/russian-war-film-set-to-open-against-controversy-over-accuracy-of-events">historical
facts</a>.
<p>
I expect that many soldiers in Panfilov's division fought heroically.
After all, they stopped the German advance on Moscow, and that could
not have been easy.  Does this need to be exaggerated?  Isn't that
victory good enough?


feed_id: 8a1d9976e2ec70e3bb523434f296d8eb
title: Trump's conflicts of interest
uri: Trump-s-conflicts-of-interest
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#28_November_2016_%28Trumps_conflicts_of_interest%29
content:
<p>
Trump's foreign policy
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/views/2016/11/22/turning-white-house-new-headquarters-trump-university">will
affect his business interests</a>.  Will those conflicts of interest
influence his decisions?


feed_id: 9b79f54f3022876018416258e4a8c1c7
title: Mainstream media hides thug violence
uri: Mainstream-media-hides-thug-violence
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#28_November_2016_%28Mainstream_media_hides_thug_violence%29

content:
<p>
Mainstream media headlines hide the
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/views/2016/11/22/nothing-see-here-headlines-conceal-police-violence-dakota-access">violence
of thugs against pipeline protesters</a>.


feed_id: b06d4f0dbbd7174434bd8253c998d134
title: Attack on Palestinians stuck in cars
uri: Attack-on-Palestinians-stuck-in-cars
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#28_November_2016_%28Attack_on_Palestinians_stuck_in_cars%29

content:
<p>
Israeli soldiers
<a href="http://www.kibush.co.il/show_file.asp?num=74187">watched
passively</a> as fanatical Israelis attacked Palestinians stuck in
their cars while stuck at the soldiers' checkpoint.  The violence
could easily have killed some Palestinians.


feed_id: a42f2777e7fb38094b5341d481deb43b
title: Cryin'air
uri: 2016-12-03-Cryin-air
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#28_November_2016_%28Cryinair%29
content:
<p>
Cryin'air is heading towards
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/nov/22/ryanair-flights-free-michael-oleary-airports">air
fares of zero</a>.
<p>
It could be very convenient for those who can afford to take time off
work at all — if we ignore what the CO<sub>2</sub> from those
planes will do.


feed_id: 9b1d029f318bbdb084713498661ddc23
title: The Democratic Party
uri: 2016-12-03-The-Democratic-Party
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#28_November_2016_%28The_Democratic_Party%29
content:
<p>
Yes, the Democratic Party
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/views/2016/11/23/yes-democratic-party-did-abandon-working-class">Did
Abandon the Working Class</a>.


feed_id: 2705529cb90ae02dae3415680b00a638
title: Registered sex offender
uri: Registered-sex-offender
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#28_November_2016_%28Registered_sex_offender%29
content:
<p>
A registered sex offender is dying of Alzheimer's disease in a
hospice, but he has been
<a href="http://reason.com/blog/2016/11/22/dying-wheelchair-bound-sex-offender-must">ordered
to leave</a> because it is too close to a facility for children.
<p>
The offender's crime, 30 years ago, did not involve children.


feed_id: 57a9dff067df73dee33c02a6787e1d41
title: Protests across Canada against pipeline
uri: Protests-across-Canada-against-pipeline
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#28_November_2016_%28Protests_across_Canada_against_pipeline%29

content:
<p>
There were protests across Canada against a
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2016/11/22/thousands-gather-50-vigils-opposing-kinder-morgan-pipeline">proposed
new pipeline</a>.
<p>
The Canadian government isn't as delusionist as Trump, but it is
trying to keep the CO<sub>2</sub> flowing as much as it can.


feed_id: 37c350f0f24ec26f67ac290aecdff40d
title: Urgent: Oppose 21st Century Curse bill
uri: Urgent-Oppose-21st-Century-Curse-bill
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#4_December_2016_%28Urgent%3A_Oppose_21st_Century_Curse_bill%29

content:
<p>
US citizens:
<a href="https://act.credoaction.com/sign/big_pharma_giveaway">call on
Senate Democrats</a> to oppose the 21st Century Cures bill.
<p>
It was written to improve health care, but corporate lobbyists
hijacked it and converted it (in substance) into the "21st Century
Curse Act".
<p>
Some details are in 
<a href="https://theintercept.com/2016/12/01/new-report-exposes-patient-advocacy-groups-as-a-big-pharma-scam/">this
article</a> whose main point is how US "patient advocacy" groups have
been paid by big pharma to lobby for that hijacking.
<p>
The 21st Century Curse Act would allow drug companies to make 
<a href="https://www.propublica.org/article/medical-innovation-bill-water-down-disclosure-industry-payments-doctors">secret
payments to doctors</a>.
<p>
Drug companies have gone to great lengths to corrupt the medical
system, even going to the point of 
<a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2009-may-aug.html#9%20August%202009%20(Corrupt%20pharmaceutical%20industry%20practices)">making
phony "scientific journals" to publish resmercials that praise their
products</a>.  It is not a mere possibility that these secret payments
would be in exchange for prescribing their drugs.


feed_id: 9df4d17c0b4c1e0043664a9e795fde78
title: Haitians protest election rigging
uri: Haitians-protest-election-rigging
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#4_December_2016_%28Haitians_protest_election_rigging%29

content:
<p>
Haitians 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/nov/29/haiti-presidential-election-result-protest-jovenel-moise">protested
massively</a>, claiming the presidential election was rigged.
<p>
With just a million people voting out of a population of 10 million,
the election was surely no good.
<p>
The previous "president" Martelly was imposed by the US, not honestly
elected.  I would guess that Moïse was also imposed by the US.


feed_id: a04ab7b71cb265e3fc549ecdca433da5
title: Racist incidents after the US election
uri: Racist-incidents-after-the-US-election
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#4_December_2016_%28Racist_incidents_after_the_US_election%29

content:
<p>
In the 10 days after the election the US had a 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/nov/29/trump-related-hate-crimes-report-southern-poverty-law-center">high
rate of racist incidents</a>.
<p>
It's clear that the bulk of them were inspired by Trump.


feed_id: 7d76d356e57c215d5b2a4a1cc40fefe4
title: Thug departments sued for wanton violence
uri: Thug-departments-sued-for-wanton-violence
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#4_December_2016_%28Thug_departments_sued_for_wanton_violence%29

content:
<p>
Pipeline protesters have sued various thug departments for 
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/news/2016/11/29/water-protectors-sue-over-deliberate-and-punitive-police-brutality">wanton,
dangerous and unjustified violence</a> that threatens people's lives.
<p>
Thugs also 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/nov/30/north-dakota-access-pipeline-standing-rock-legal-fine-threats">systematically
fabricate false charges</a> against them.
<p>
I bet most of those thugs call themselves Christians.  Have they ever
heard of the commandment, "Thou shalt not bear false witness"?  That
refers to making false charges against others.


feed_id: 396e164046e658f814ce446b7e978481
title: Fake news
uri: Fake-news
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#4_December_2016_%28Fake_news%29
content:
<p>
Fake News and the Internet Shell Game: the dishonest need not convince
people of specific falsehoods; it is enough to 
<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/28/opinion/fake-news-and-the-internet-shell-game.html?_r=0">make
it too difficult to identify truth among the many conflicting
claims</a>.
<p>
Putin has developed a state propaganda arm that spews a 
<a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2014-jul-oct.html#18_September_2014_(Russian_writer_Mikhail_Shishkin)">constant
political bullshit stream</a>.


feed_id: 1479a0fc8affee2b52222bad8df5493b
title: Trump's history of public racism
uri: Trump-s-history-of-public-racism
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#4_December_2016_%28Trumps_history_of_public_racism%29

content:
<p>
Trump's history of public racism 
<a href="http://www.vox.com/2016/7/25/12270880/donald-trump-racism-history">goes
back to the 1970s</a>.


feed_id: e6b879011b4247b92971d84d59cd65f3
title: Snowden
uri: 2016-12-05-Snowden
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#4_December_2016_%28Snowden%29
content:
<p>
Former congressional staff, participants in the Church Committee's
investigation of CIA crimes, 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/nov/29/edward-snowden-exile-church-committee-letter-obama-cia">called
on Obama</a> to make a deal for Snowden to return to the US.


feed_id: 9fad24b8ae0b9807586e328b95901eef
title: Trump in bed with disinformation campaigners
uri: Trump-in-bed-with-disinformation-campaigners
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#4_December_2016_%28Trump_in_bed_with_disinformation_campaigners%29

content:
<p>
Trump is 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/nov/30/donald-trump-george-monbiot-misinformation">in
bed with people that have led funded disinformation campaigns</a> for
many years</a>.


feed_id: 02d47480ff13e2635519a5c92b68ae7e
title: Trudeau approves additional pipeline
uri: Trudeau-approves-additional-pipeline
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#4_December_2016_%28Trudeau_approves_additional_pipeline%29

content:
<p>
Trudeau has
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/nov/29/canada-approves-kinder-morgan-oil-pipeline-justin-trudeau">approved
an additional pipeline</a> to transport tar sands oil to the Pacific
coast for export.
<p>
Once new fossil fuel supply infrastructure is built, it makes
reduction of fossil fuel use much harder.  The pipeline owners always
pressure for it to continue to be used.  "We have a right to return
on our investment", they say.
<p>
Not at the cost of millions of lives, they don't!
<p>
Note how Trudeau justifies his decision based on assuming that oil
extraction in Canada will increase.  In other — in other words,
assuming that we won't avoid disaster.  That's defeatism.


feed_id: 2c048d463dfedb13ed680f7646659268
title: US workers strike
uri: US-workers-strike
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#4_December_2016_%28US_workers_strike%29
content:
<p>
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/nov/29/fight-for-15-protest-minimum-wage-fast-food-airport-workers">Thousands
of low-paid workers</a> went on strike Tuesday in 340 US cities.
<p>
Hundreds of them were
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/news/2016/11/29/despite-hundreds-arrests-striking-workers-remain-undaunted-fight-15">arrested</a>.


feed_id: 1256e31ea22bb36d69426acf9c798937
title: The nuclear agreement with Iran
uri: The-nuclear-agreement-with-Iran
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#4_December_2016_%28The_nuclear_agreement_with_Iran%29

content:
<p>
Brennan, head of the CIA,
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/nov/30/john-brennan-tearing-up-us-deal-with-iran-would-be-disastrous-says-cia-chief">warned
Trump</a> that cancelling the nuclear agreement with Iran would be
disastrous.


feed_id: e247f7f8f1b5a2b7d94f26f34309e1b1
title: US Export-Import Bank fossil fuel investment
uri: US-Export-Import-Bank-fossil-fuel-investment
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#4_December_2016_%28US_Export-Import_Bank_fossil_fuel_investment%29

content:
<p>
The US Export-Import Bank has put
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/nov/30/us-fossil-fuel-investment-obama-climate-change-legacy">over
30 billion dollars into construction of fossil fuel infrastructure</a>
that will continue pushing the world towards disaster.


feed_id: 196c475641f236506be2ed41821fea83
title: Trump's proposed secretary of education
uri: Trump-s-proposed-secretary-of-education
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#4_December_2016_%28Trumps_proposed_secretary_of_education%29

content:
<p>
Trump and his proposed secretary of education
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/nov/30/public-school-system-trump-administration-betsy-devos">wish
to undermine and destroy public education</a>.
<p>
The result would be great for the private owners that squeeze money
out of cheap private schools at the expense of children and teachers.


feed_id: 94cf15d6413dbe87dd9be69f8238dc24
title: Nazism gaining support
uri: Nazism-gaining-support
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#4_December_2016_%28Nazism_gaining_support%29
content:
<p>
Nazism and comparable right-wing parties are
<a href="https://theintercept.com/2016/11/30/growing-far-right-nationalistic-movements-are-dangerously-anti-muslim-and-pro-israel/">gaining
support</a> in various European countries.


feed_id: 7cab8c96027c07298b5bd6a337b35cb7
title: Carrier to keep 1000 jobs in Indiana
uri: Carrier-to-keep-1000-jobs-in-Indiana
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#4_December_2016_%28Carrier_to_keep_1000_jobs_in_Indiana%29

content:
<p>
Trump convinced Carrier to keep 1000 jobs in Indiana.  It
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/nov/29/donald-trump-indiana-factory-jobs-carrier-mexico">will
move 1000 other jobs to Mexico as planned</a>.
<p>
He has done some good, but I doubt it will last more than a couple of
years.  Once people forget, the company could move the jobs just as
they planned.


feed_id: 88e3b1a48eff1c620138ae0ce48b2760
title: Child-labor palm oil
uri: Child-labor-palm-oil
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#4_December_2016_%28Child-labor_palm_oil%29
content:
<p>
Firms Such As Kellogg's, Unilever And Nestlé "Use
<a href='https://www.theguardian.com/law/2016/nov/30/kelloggs-unilever-nestle-child-labour-palm-oil-wilmar-amnesty'>Child-Labor
Palm Oil</a>".


feed_id: 3ae36447ba3fbe165c0530dce928fbdf
title: UK prison budget cuts
uri: 2016-12-05-UK-prison-budget-cuts
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#4_December_2016_%28UK_prison_budget_cuts%29
content:
<p>
Budget cuts have made UK prisons
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/nov/30/warned-prisoners-could-riot-minister-didnt-listen">drug-ridden,
spirit-crushing and violent</a>.


feed_id: a15a28f8ad455ed22eb1cf17fdffd9eb
title: Urgent: Stop the Dakota Access Pipeline
uri: Urgent-Stop-the-Dakota-Access-Pipeline
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#4_December_2016_%28Urgent%3A_Stop_the_Dakota_Access_Pipeline%29

content:
<p>
US citizens: phone Obama and call on him to
<a href="http://act.credoaction.com/call/call_obama_dapl/">stop the
Dakota Access Pipeline</a>.
<p>
The White House comments line is 202-456-1111.


feed_id: 72d8815b70ea53495cb438a3947b2933
title: Urgent: Respect Medicare
uri: Urgent-Respect-Medicare
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#4_December_2016_%28Urgent%3A_Respect_Medicare%29
content:
<p>
US citizens:
<a href="https://act.credoaction.com/sign/medicare_killers">Call on
Republicans</a> to respect Medicare.


feed_id: 0d907189b40decdfafb62f9211cfa55b
title: Urgent: Investigate conflicts of interest
uri: Urgent-Investigate-conflicts-of-interest
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#4_December_2016_%28Urgent%3A_Investigate_conflicts_of_interest%29

content:
<p>
US citizens:
<a href="http://act.credoaction.com/sign/trump_cummings_corruption_dems/">call
on Congress</a> to investigate any possible conflict of interest that
Trump has.


feed_id: 0abcada9d915b3669d3f4357e1c7d1f8
title: Urgent: Stalling Mass Damaging Hacking Act
uri: Urgent-Stalling-Mass-Damaging-Hacking-Act
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#4_December_2016_%28Urgent%3A_Stalling_Mass_Damaging_Hacking_Act%29

content:
<p>
US citizens: phone your senators to support the
<a href="https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2016/11/support-smdh-act-and-give-congress-time-debate-new-government-hacking-powers">Stalling
Mass Damaging Hacking Act</a>.
<p>
The Capitol Switchboard numbers are 202-224-3121, 888-818-6641
and 888-355-3588.


feed_id: b1068a51b062547ea95f39b21d64145b
title: Romney gives Trump effusive praise
uri: Romney-gives-Trump-effusive-praise
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#4_December_2016_%28Romney_gives_Trump_effusive_praise%29

content:
<p>
Is there anything Mitt Romney won't do, to get appointed Secretary of
State?  Apparently not much; he has just given Trump
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/nov/30/mitt-romney-praises-donald-trump-dinner-twitter">effusive
praise</a>.
<p>
One of the worst effects that Trump has is to normalize the practice
of sucking up to him and denying his faults.  People do this for
various reasons, but none of them can excuse it.


feed_id: 8525af423a14eef980c26c2b6e238701
title: China arrests human rights web site publisher
uri: China-arrests-human-rights-web-site-publisher
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#4_December_2016_%28China_arrests_human_rights_web_site_publisher%29

content:
<p>
China has
<a href="https://cpj.org/2016/11/china-detains-publisher-of-human-rights-news-websi.php">arrested</a>
the publisher of an important human rights web site.


feed_id: 4a3149bac81aff5a2d3df48f1a2eac35
title: Dealing with a bullshitter president
uri: Dealing-with-a-bullshitter-president
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#4_December_2016_%28Dealing_with_a_bullshitter_president%29

content:
<p>
How journalism should
<a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/notes/2016/11/a-reflexive-liar-in-command-guidelines-for-the-media/508832/">deal
with a bullshitter as president</a>.


feed_id: 4876487ceb608bd899d492fb267faf78
title: Phone snubbing
uri: 2016-12-05-Phone-snubbing
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#1_December_2016_%28Phone_snubbing%29
content:
<p>
Using a smartphone is
<a href="https://theconversation.com/she-phubbs-me-she-phubbs-me-not-smartphones-could-be-ruining-your-love-life-68463">bad
for your romantic relationships</a>.


feed_id: 5ec70814c62cf4fa8bbcb681916f1fb7
title: Blue Lies Matter
uri: 2016-12-05-Blue-Lies-Matter
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#1_December_2016_%28Blue_Lies_Matter%29
content:
<p>
The thugs that attacked pipeline protesters subsequently
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/nov/29/standing-rock-protest-north-dakota-shutdown-evacuation">lied
about what they had done</a>.
<p>
If we are ever to be safe, we have to make those bullies pay for their
lies.  Blue Lies Matter!


feed_id: 93738054f98283212d536b1c7945045c
title: Strike in US
uri: 2016-12-05-Strike-in-US
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#1_December_2016_%28Strike_in_US%29
content:
<p>
US airport workers and fast food workers
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/nov/29/us-economy-rigged-strike-fight-for-15">will
strike on Dec 1</a>.


feed_id: 0bacad9317aa369a96ac9e71bac050bd
title: Videos altered by thugs
uri: 2016-12-05-Videos-altered-by-thugs
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#1_December_2016_%28Videos_altered_by_thugs%29
content:
<p>
Albuquerque thugs don't just cover up videos of their killings, 
<a href="https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20161121/11372836101/albuquerque-police-officers-supervisors-accused-deleting-altering-video-use-force-incidents.shtml">they
alter it too</a>.


feed_id: f44d0072987e066fcccc61cdc2be1b25
title: High Medicare co-pays
uri: 2016-12-05-High-Medicare-co-pays
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#1_December_2016_%28High_Medicare_co-pays%29
content:
<p>
<a href="http://www.futurity.org/medicare-cancer-health-care-costs-1304452-2/">Medicare
covers only part of the costs of treating cancer</a>, leaving old
Americans with bills they may not survive.


feed_id: 2ae3b93daa8666f34b11291d0959bbe5
title: Assange questioned
uri: 2016-12-05-Assange-questioned
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#1_December_2016_%28Assange_questioned%29
content:
<p>
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/2016/nov/29/julian-assange-ecuador-says-no-no-quick-way-out-of-embassy-impasse">Assange
has been questioned in the Ecuadorian embassy</a>.
<p>
If Swedish prosecutors really want to prosecute Assange in Sweden,
they will be able to do so with little further ado provided they give
the formal assurances they won't send him to the US.  Their refusal to
do so shows that they are not really interested in the crimes alleged
against him, and only interested in an excuse to send him to the US.
<p>
Soon we will see what the Swedish prosecutors' next maneuver is.


feed_id: 5111b1cdd37bc1ad601deb56b3d6b6bd
title: Begging ban
uri: 2016-12-05-Begging-ban
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#1_December_2016_%28Begging_ban%29
content:
<p>
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/nov/29/nigeria-crackdown-begging-raises-fears-over-human-rights-violations">Begging
is banned in Lagos</a>, and tens of thousands of people, most of them
disabled or mentally ill, have been jailed in horrible conditions
without trial.
<p>
Around the world, cities either are
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2016/nov/29/how-should-cities-deal-with-street-begging-homelessness">harsh
toward beggars or try to give them help and treatment.
</a>


feed_id: 6b430879078b5c23f71a526bfba61339
title: Economic reforms in Cuba
uri: 2016-12-05-Economic-reforms-in-Cuba
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#1_December_2016_%28Economic_reforms_in_Cuba%29
content:
<p>
Raúl Castro has made some economic reforms in
Cuba<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/nov/28/raul-castro-fidel-brother-successor-cuba-what-next">
but has not increased human rights</a>.
<p>
I think Cuba deserves human rights, but must be careful about how far
to permit private business.
<p>
Cubans deserve democracy but have no experience in running democracy.
They could easily fall into the plutocrats' trap.  Even US voters,
with much more experience have made the mistake of electing
politicians such as Clinton, Dubya and Obama that have
<a href="/business-supremacy-treaties.html">
surrendered their countries to global business</a>.  How, then, to
lead Cuba to a democracy that won't allow multinationals to take
power?
<br>
As long as businesses are small, and have no political power, they are
safe and useful -- though it is necessary to police them carefully so
that they don't think they can
<a href="2013-may-aug.html#29_June_2013_(Fast_food_workers_accuse_employers_of_stealing_pay_and_obscuring_it)">get
away with stealing workers' pay</a> and other abuses.
<p>
Perhaps the Cuban constitution should prohibit in a broad way the
operation of foreign companies <em>in</em> the country.  Buying and
selling foreign goods, ok; letting a large multinational actually
operate in the country, no.


feed_id: d2287ce4c2878b38591cc966a55771ca
title: Chiquita pled guilty
uri: Chiquita-pled-guilty
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#6_December_2016_%28Chiquita_pled_guilty%29
content:
<p>
Chiquita, the fruit company,
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2016/11/30/human-rights-claims-against-chiquita-funding-colombian-paramilitaries-will">
pled guilty to supporting a terrorist organization
</a>
(the paramilitares of Colombia). Now the paramilitares' victims
are suing Chiquita in the US.


feed_id: e02371b22447c7b3eff47ad44d4e6c88
title: Fracking
uri: 2016-12-07-Fracking
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#6_December_2016_%28Fracking%29
content:
<p>
High officials directly
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2016/11/30/administration-must-admit-political-meddling-fracking-contamination-report">
altered an EPA report
</a>
about how fracking can
poison water supplies.
<p>
The report was written by scientists who said that the danger is real,
but was altered to deny the danger.


feed_id: 8b596a77b49ea867ebe35da5fea91b17
title: Message of hate
uri: Message-of-hate
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#6_December_2016_%28Message_of_hate%29
content:
<p>
Boys and young men seem
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/news/2016/11/29/trump-called-forcefully-denounce-post-election-outbreak-hate">
especially susceptible
</a>
to Trump's message of
hate and bullying.


feed_id: dfa3b06746599d146ffcf836f617dcba
title: Trump announcement
uri: Trump-announcement
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#6_December_2016_%28Trump_announcement%29
content:
<p>
Trump made
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/nov/30/donald-trump-leaving-business-interests">
a splashy announcement
</a>
that on Dec 15 he will announce some
way of distancing himself from his business.
<p>
Why tell us only that he will tell us later? This media manipulation
leads me to suppose he will announce some inadequate step, such as
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/nov/30/donald-trump-conflicts-of-interest-business-ethics-presidentletting">
his children run it for him.
</a>


feed_id: cc9ed36c2ab6f6d9f0af1eef543db130
title: Recognize Palestine
uri: Recognize-Palestine
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#6_December_2016_%28Recognize_Palestine%29
content:
<p>
Jimmy Carter:
<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/28/opinion/jimmy-carter-america-must-recognize-palestine.html?_r=1">
America Must Recognize Palestine.
</a>


feed_id: a096d6b2b59a8381e1075d482d97c7a4
title: New York Times obituary
uri: New-York-Times-obituary
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#6_December_2016_%28New_York_Times_obituary%29
content:
<p>
A private meeting with the heads of the New York Times,
<a href="http://www.unz.com/article/an-obituary-of-the-new-york-times/">
who described                                                                                         
making deals with US and foreign politicians
</a>
about how their coverage                                                                                         
would read.                                                                                                                                                   


feed_id: 0a48e2394819c1d1c5d80ff18d62a694
title: White-supremacists
uri: White-supremacists
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#6_December_2016_%28White-supremacists%29
content:
<p>
The Associated Press has decided to
<a href="https://blog.ap.org/behind-the-news/writing-about-the-alt-right">
explicitly identify US                                                                                                    
white-supremacists as such,
</a>
rather than let them use "alt-right" as a                                                                                         
mask.                                                                                                                                                         


feed_id: d01c7fe0f305c2cf7ed158d011112f32
title: Secret interrogations
uri: Secret-interrogations
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#6_December_2016_%28Secret_interrogations%29
content:
<p>
Israel will
<a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/israel-palestine-suspected-terrorist-interrogations-remain-secret-new-law-a7434721.html">
keep interrogations of accused terrorists secret,
</a>
which means                                                                                     
the thugs can get away with doing anything whatever to the accused.                                                                                           


feed_id: f3062b6ec6e718f4619aef65139a5e9a
title: Schoolyard settlers
uri: Schoolyard-settlers
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#6_December_2016_%28Schoolyard_settlers%29
content:
<p>
Israelis that have taken houses in Hebron
<a href="http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=774081">
have now started building in                                                                                        
a Palestinian school's yard.                                                                                                                                  
</a>
<br>
If they keep going, they will eventually force all the Palestinian students                                                                                   
to leave the school, on the grounds that some of them might someday attack                                                                                    
Israeli colonists.  


feed_id: 7f05de24f5b5c87562fdd8ba44012e5a
title: Misunderstandings
uri: Misunderstandings
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#6_December_2016_%28Misunderstandings%29
content:
<p>
Arabs in Israel can be prosecuted for sarcastically condemning crimes                                                                                         
such as arson,
<a href="http://972mag.com/if-youre-palestinian-in-israel-sarcasm-can-land-you-in-jail/123380/">
"because someone might misunderstand".                                                                                                         
</a>
<br>
Yes, there is a chance someone might misunderstand.  I've sometimes                                                                                           
asked people to rewrite certain statements to avoid the risk that                                                                                             
someone will misunderstand them and draw a meaning that is the opposite                                                                                       
of what was intended.  I've also occasionally written statements that                                                                                         
some people have misunderstood, because I didn't make them clear enough.                                                                                      
<br>
Suggesting clarification is one thing; prosecution is another. 


feed_id: 1a83eb486abfcaf60889675b3d4d4c0e
title: University in Occupied Territory
uri: University-in-Occupied-Territory
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#6_December_2016_%28University_in_Occupied_Territory%29

content:
<p>
A university in an Israeli colony in Palestinian territory invited                                                                                            
foreign speakers
<a href="http://zope.gush-shalom.org/home/en/events/1464389870">
on the false pretense that it is located in Israel.                                                                                          
</a>
Gush Shalom informed the speakers of the error, and at least one                                                                                              
cancelled participation.                                                                                                                                      


feed_id: 0ebe957f5226bdd49420edf3cddad5ec
title: Fake News
uri: Fake-News
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#6_December_2016_%28Fake_News%29
content:
<p>
Right-wing fake news is sometimes
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/dec/04/elon-musk-trolling-us-conservatives-green-tech">attributed to fake journalists</a>.
<p>
No lie is too sleazy for the US right wing today.


feed_id: a30baa52a60c0b657cdfc1a2be5659f6
title: Drought in Israel
uri: Drought-in-Israel
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#6_December_2016_%28Drought_in_Israel%29
content:
<p>
Uri Avnery
<a href="http://zope.gush-shalom.org/home/en/channels/avnery/1480687505/">reports how drought in Israel led to a wave of forest
fires</a>; right-wing politicians found an opportunity to blame Arabs for
the inevitable effects of planting trees in a drought-prone land.


feed_id: 5dc3b85eb68d7fe435d9d005930876d6
title: Conspiracy Theory
uri: Conspiracy-Theory
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#6_December_2016_%28Conspiracy_Theory%29
content:
<p>
The
<a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-38156985">history of a politically motivated conspiracy theory</a> invented by a mob.


feed_id: b128489ffd28397b697d63f55f8d7e17
title: Boycott of Fyffes melons
uri: Boycott-of-Fyffes-melons
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#8_December_2016_%28Boycott_of_Fyffes_melons%29
content:
<p>
Melon pickers in Honduras ask people to boycott Fyffes melons because
the company 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2016/nov/29/fyffes-melons-labour-abuse-claims-honduras-workers">blacklists
those that join a union</a>.


feed_id: cd5081f320d1d7ecd1a9a10a3e392474
title: Torture of suspects by Fiji thugs
uri: Torture-of-suspects-by-Fiji-thugs
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#8_December_2016_%28Torture_of_suspects_by_Fiji_thugs%29

content:
<p>
Amnesty International says 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/dec/05/fijis-police-and-military-using-torture-against-suspected-criminals-amnesty-says">Fiji's
thugs torture suspects</a>, even kill them.


feed_id: bcee7337df3e0b17f5e45a16b355d66e
title: Relations between US and UN strained
uri: Relations-between-US-and-UN-strained
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#8_December_2016_%28Relations_between_US_and_UN_strained%29

content:
<p>
Relations Between US And UN Strained over 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/dec/04/us-military-un-relations-strained-afghanistan-war-reports-disagreements">Afghanistan
War Reports</a>.


feed_id: 3031cff0942b8bf05e2a3499a133afe6
title: Europe's repressive right-wing candidates
uri: Europe-s-repressive-right-wing-candidates
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#8_December_2016_%28Europes_repressive_right-wing_candidates%29

content:
<p>
Europe is in danger of choosing the 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/nov/28/francois-fillon-threat-liberal-values-marine-le-pen-france">not-quite-extreme
repressive right wing</a> as a lesser evil than the extreme repressive
right wing.
<p>
Both of them, like Trump, scapegoat immigrants for economic setbacks
that most people experience as a consequence of concentration of
wealth, and neither one proposes to end that concentration process.


feed_id: 4778629ebe9c8667e841cfdfdca8a0da
title: Bank pulls investments out of DAPL
uri: Bank-pulls-investments-out-of-DAPL
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#8_December_2016_%28Bank_pulls_investments_out_of_DAPL%29

content:
<p>
Indigenous Sámi activists in Norway 
<a href="http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/38499-how-indigenous-activists-in-norway-got-the-first-bank-to-pull-out-of-the-dakota-access-pipeline">convinced
Norway's largest bank</a> to pull its investments out of the Dakota
Access Pipeline.


feed_id: 0e8ea4f269345c14fafa73fe975ad0d6
title: Taxing large companies
uri: Taxing-large-companies
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#8_December_2016_%28Taxing_large_companies%29
content:
<p>
Trump threatens an 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/dec/04/donald-trump-tax-threat-company-jobs-factories">extra
tax on products imported from companies that moved manufacturing out
of the US</a>.
<p>
It might be a positive step, but companies will easily find ways
to game the rule.
<p>
The crucial thing is to make large companies in general (and rich
people) pay more tax, and Trump 
<a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#25_November_2016_(Trumps_tax_plan)">seems
to be planning the opposite</a>.


feed_id: fcb16a0cca8a1aa8ad30a9759fd2749d
title: Australia considers subsidizing coal mine
uri: Australia-considers-subsidizing-coal-mine
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#8_December_2016_%28Australia_considers_subsidizing_coal_mine%29

content:
<p>
Australia is considering a government subsidy to a 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/dec/03/adani-coal-mine-green-groups-fume-over-plan-for-1b-federal-loan">giant
proposed coal mine</a>.
<p>
How suicidal can humans get?


feed_id: aa0b964fa2ddfe4ed56846b00d74fa31
title: How media iced out Bernie Sanders
uri: How-media-iced-out-Bernie-Sanders
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#8_December_2016_%28How_media_iced_out_Bernie_Sanders%29

content:
<p>
How the Media 
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/views/2016/12/03/how-media-iced-out-bernie-sanders-helped-donald-trump-win">Iced
Out Bernie Sanders</a> & Helped Donald Trump Win.


feed_id: 64db1237d3221b231cb41827c1f00189
title: Eliminating land-based nuclear missiles
uri: Eliminating-land-based-nuclear-missiles
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#8_December_2016_%28Eliminating_land-based_nuclear_missiles%29

content:
<p>
Mattis has suggested 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/dec/04/james-mattis-defense-secretary-nuclear-missiles-trump">eliminating
land-based nuclear missiles</a>.  This could be a good idea, since it
would reduce the hair-trigger readiness as well as saving lots of
money.


feed_id: 5a2930027c97ff1d4bccd91bc5d26221
title: Need for humanitarian aid growing
uri: Need-for-humanitarian-aid-growing
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#8_December_2016_%28Need_for_humanitarian_aid_growing%29

content:
<p>
As the need for humanitarian aid around the world 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/dec/04/un-biggest-aid-appeal-fears-of-compassion-fatigue">keeps
growing</a>, wealthy countries' governments have ceased donating what
is needed.
<p>
The need increases because of global heating effects, population
growth and degraded natural systems.  The reason governments no longer
donate what is needed is that neoliberal policies have cut taxes on
the rich and on business.
<p>
These are the things we need to change.


feed_id: 827c7b72cb5d23f01aa423c92564e7b4
title: Rockefeller to divest from fossil fuels
uri: Rockefeller-to-divest-from-fossil-fuels
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#8_December_2016_%28Rockefeller_to_divest_from_fossil_fuels%29

content:
<p>
The Rockefeller family foundation will divest 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/mar/23/rockefeller-fund-divestment-fossil-fuel-companies-oil-coal-climate-change">entirely</a>
from fossil fuels.


feed_id: 921369647454afbdd391e7dec282559e
title: Trump's choice for US treasury
uri: Trump-s-choice-for-US-treasury
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#8_December_2016_%28Trumps_choice_for_US_treasury%29
content:
<p>
Elizabeth Warren called Steven Mnuchin, Trump's choice for the US
treasury
"<a href='http://www.commondreams.org/news/2016/11/30/trumps-pick-head-nations-economic-policy-self-dealing-wall-street-tool'>a
self-dealing, Wall Street tool</a>."
<p>
Trump attacked hedge fund managers in his campaign, but now he's
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/views/2016/11/30/steve-mnuchin-evictor-forecloser-and-our-new-treasury-secretary">selling
out to them totally</a>.
<p>
Trump's "cleaning up the swamp" was pure bullshit — he's 
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/views/2016/11/29/what-populism-trumps-america-party-time-corporate-elite">filling
it up with alligators</a>.
<p>
Howard Dean, who seeks leadership of the Democratic Party, is
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/news/2016/11/30/vying-dnc-chair-howard-dean-praises-wall-street-bailout-architect">similarly
bad</a>.
<p>
Obama has been pretty 
<a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2008-nov-feb.html#23%20January%202009%20(Obama%27s%20economic%20team)">lousy</a>
in that area, too.


feed_id: 6c88de35bad65e37dd00e2611bc71f1a
title: Clinton wanted people jailed for flag burning
uri: Clinton-wanted-people-jailed-for-flag-burning
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#7_December_2016_%28Clinton_wanted_people_jailed_for_flag_burning%29

content:
<p>
Clinton, like Trump, 
<a href="http://reason.com/blog/2016/11/29/on-flag-burning-trump-differs-with-scali">wanted
to jail people</a> for burning the US flag.


feed_id: e0ffb1d71218bf7632725e8d40ceeaf0
title: Making the Internet useless for dissent
uri: Making-the-Internet-useless-for-dissent
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#7_December_2016_%28Making_the_Internet_useless_for_dissent%29

content:
<p>
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/nov/29/putin-china-internet-great-firewall-russia-cybersecurity-pact">Russia
is copying China's system</a> of making the Internet effectively
useless for dissent or criticism of the state.


feed_id: 1e8b45e5e4b64fa5cf6e0b54037d41c6
title: Tradition of burning the American flag
uri: Tradition-of-burning-the-American-flag
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#7_December_2016_%28Tradition_of_burning_the_American_flag%29

content:
<p>
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/nov/30/blaze-of-glory-the-grand-tradition-of-burning-the-american-flag">The
Grand Tradition of Burning the American Flag</a>.  It's part of
America's even grander tradition of respecting freedom of expression.


feed_id: f97076c65f73df0b11ccae4a2f59b2b0
title: Mental health diagnoses
uri: Mental-health-diagnoses
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#7_December_2016_%28Mental_health_diagnoses%29
content:
<p>
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/nov/30/diagnosed-donald-trump-goldwater-rule-mental-health">No
One Should Be Diagnosed at a Distance</a> — Even Donald Trump.


feed_id: fb6a443bde948af3c0fd9c8ae0b6e6bc
title: Antibiotics and drug-resistant infections
uri: Antibiotics-and-drug-resistant-infections
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#7_December_2016_%28Antibiotics_and_drug-resistant_infections%29

content:
<p>
Using antibiotics 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/nov/30/antibiotics-leave-children-more-likely-to-contract-drug-resistant-infections">makes
a subsequent drug-resistant infection much more likely</a> for at
least the next few months.


feed_id: 21e654a562495bde7ab1da9cc43e0901
title: Trump's cronies involved with ALEC
uri: Trump-s-cronies-involved-with-ALEC
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#7_December_2016_%28Trumps_cronies_involved_with_ALEC%29

content:
<p>
Many of Trump's cronies are 
<a href="http://www.prwatch.org/news/2016/11/13181/hypocrisy-trumpism-agenda-alec-meets-washington-dc-week">involved
with ALEC</a>.


feed_id: 26191453e7245ccfbd8344ef2376d880
title: Canadian journalist barred by US
uri: Canadian-journalist-barred-by-US
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#7_December_2016_%28Canadian_journalist_barred_by_US%29

content:
<p>
A respected Canadian journalist was 
<a href="https://www.aclu.org/blog/speak-freely/does-what-happened-journalist-us-canada-border-herald-darker-trend">barred
from entering the US to cover the pipeline protests at Standing
Rock</a>.
<p>
The US immigration agents took his phones and copied their contents
before refusing to let him in.


feed_id: 12cbc66e44d47c484e369cf374ae6109
title: Punishing unemployed people in the UK
uri: Punishing-unemployed-people-in-the-UK
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#7_December_2016_%28Punishing_unemployed_people_in_the_UK%29

content:
<p>
A former UK "job adviser" says the purpose of her job was to 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/nov/30/cruel-benefits-sanctions-dwp-job-advisers-evidence-work">find
opportunities to punish unemployed people</a> for any failure to go
through the all the required steps.
<p>
Even being in the hospital was not accepted as an excuse.


feed_id: f0b1c167c07d4401ec8f0804c7b26856
title: Foreclosed over 27 cents
uri: Foreclosed-over-27-cents
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#7_December_2016_%28Foreclosed_over_27_cents%29
content:
<p>
Steven Mnuchin's bank foreclosed on an old woman's house because
of a
<a href="http://boingboing.net/2016/12/02/trumps-pick-to-lead-treasury.html">

27-cent error
</a>
in her mortgage payments.


feed_id: e471f3e8ab3b0b2672dceb93d3625704
title: Punitive Medicaid plan
uri: Punitive-Medicaid-plan
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#7_December_2016_%28Punitive_Medicaid_plan%29
content:
<p>
Trump's choice to administer Medicare and Medicaid
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/dec/04/seema-verma-trump-centers-medicare-medicaid-cms">
designed Indiana's
Medicaid plan,
</a>
which was intended to shaft poor people.


feed_id: a46c936f06c7bf242be786618fd9fb1d
title: Google search completion
uri: Google-search-completion
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#7_December_2016_%28Google_search_completion%29
content:
<p>
Bigots have tricked Google search completion into
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/dec/04/google-democracy-truth-internet-search-facebook">
promoting bigotry
sites that attack women and Jews.
</a>


feed_id: c7a47d4440aee7f481cbadbdc6bb309f
title: Dangerous drivers who kill
uri: Dangerous-drivers-who-kill
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#7_December_2016_%28Dangerous_drivers_who_kill%29
content:
<p>
Australia plans to
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/dec/04/dangerous-drivers-who-kill-face-life-sentences">
sentence drivers to life in prison
</a>
if they kill someone
by driving while speeding or holding a phone, or while drunk, etc.
<br>
If the goal is to discourage drivers from doing those dangerous
things, this approach is big on harshness but low on effectiveness.
Only a tiny fraction of people that today drive speeding, holding a
phone, or drunk, will cause actual harm and be punished for it.  The
rest tell themselves, "Nothing will go wrong", so they don't worry
about what the penalty would be if something did go wrong.
<br>
The the effective way to discourage those dangerous behaviors is to
apply a small punishment more often.  If 10% of the people who did one
of these things on any given day were sentenced to one night in jail,
almost all of them would soon learn not to do it any more.  Even 1%
might be enough, since everyone would know people who were caught.


feed_id: 7149892be20861ab890647e25c97631e
title: Urgent: Oppose Exxon CEO as secretary of state
uri: Urgent-Oppose-Exxon-CEO-as-secretary-of-state
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#7_December_2016_%28Urgent%3A_Oppose_Exxon_CEO_as_secretary_of_state%29

content:
<p>
US citizens:
<a href="https://act.350.org/sign/exxon-ceo-secretary-state/">
oppose putting Exxon in charge of US diplomacy.
</a>


feed_id: 957ef72a59384850b56375cb56ff6956
title: Urgent: Stop condemnation of criticism of Israeli colonization
uri: Urgent-Stop-condemnation-of-criticism-of-Israeli-colonization
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#7_December_2016_%28Urgent%3A_Stop_condemnation_of_criticism_of_Israeli_colonization%29

content:
<p>
Everyone: call on the Anti-Defamation League to
<a href="http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/adl_national-disentangle">
stop condemning
criticism of Israeli colonization in Palestine,
</a>
and focus on
its proper mission, fighting against antisemitism and other bigotry.


feed_id: 2cbfe40234da44f141e69aea4f00716b
title: Veterans protecting protesters
uri: Veterans-protecting-protesters
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#7_December_2016_%28Veterans_protecting_protesters%29

content:
<p>
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/news/2016/12/02/veterans-arrive-standing-rock-act-human-shields-water-protectors">
2000 unarmed US military veterans
</a>
are headed for Standing Rock
to act as human shields for the pipeline protesters.


feed_id: 8a56cde8ff103098202760edb2a0bf02
title: Jill Stein's recount efforts
uri: Jill-Stein-s-recount-efforts
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#7_December_2016_%28Jill_Stein%27s_recount_efforts%29

content:
<p>
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/news/2016/12/02/trump-allies-battleground-states-rush-stop-jill-steins-recount-efforts">
Trump Allies in Battleground States Rush to Stop Jill Stein's Recount Efforts.
</a>
<br>
There is no possible legitimate reason to oppose a more careful count
of the ballots.  The reasons they give are trivial.  We know what
the unstated motive is: "If there's a mistake in our favor, we
don't want you to find it!"


feed_id: 6b67870b84951c82d8edcde10f1a3b1f
title: Urgent: Reject palm oil from deforestation
uri: Urgent-Reject-palm-oil-from-deforestation
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#7_December_2016_%28Urgent%3A_Reject_palm_oil_from_deforestation%29

content:
<p>
Everyone: call on TIAA to
<a href="https://secure3.convio.net/ucs/site/Advocacy?pagename=homepage&page=UserAction&id=5483">
reject palm oil from deforestation.
</a>


feed_id: 8073b2a451bf7ff5fb493975ae4f448e
title: Urgent: Protect bluefin tuna
uri: Urgent-Protect-bluefin-tuna
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#7_December_2016_%28Urgent%3A_Protect_bluefin_tuna%29

content:
<p>
US citizens: call for
<a href="https://secure.earthjustice.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=1919">
endangered species protection for bluefin tuna.
</a>


feed_id: f47e2c1f33b273d0595095bcb3cc1903
title: Urgent: Investigate Trump's conflicts of interest
uri: Urgent-Investigate-Trump-s-conflicts-of-interest
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#7_December_2016_%28Urgent%3A_Investigate_Trump%27s_conflicts_of_interest%29

content:
<p>
US citizens: call on Rep. Chaffetz to
<a href="http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/rep-jason-chaffetz-probe">
investigate Trump's conflicts of
interest, as he said he would.
</a>


feed_id: 2ad1f522ba3cee05e0e0a15b01606dc6
title: Urgent: Reject the term "alt-right"
uri: Urgent-Reject-the-term-alt-right
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#7_December_2016_%28Urgent%3A_Reject_the_term_alt-right%29

content:
<p>
Everyone: call on journalists
<a href="http://act.freepress.net/sign/journ_media_alt_right/">
not to disguise racism behind the
innocent-sounding term "alt-right".
</a>


feed_id: a5d924d88b6ef3b6256648f8754ef692
title: Urgent: Stop siege of protesters
uri: Urgent-Stop-siege-of-protesters
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#7_December_2016_%28Urgent%3A_Stop_siege_of_protesters%29

content:
<p>
US citizens: phone the White House at (202) 456-1111 and call on Obama
to stop the siege of pipeline protesters.  Thugs are cutting off
supplies and ambulances; if the thugs attack again and injure more
protesters, they could lose organs or die due to this.


feed_id: ba7ec5bdd3703a9d836b8198e03ce95c
title: Urgent: Oppose science-denying bills
uri: Urgent-Oppose-science-denying-bills
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#7_December_2016_%28Urgent%3A_Oppose_science-denying_bills%29

content:
<p>
US citizens: call on your senators to
<a href="https://secure3.convio.net/ucs/site/Advocacy?pagename=homepage&page=UserAction&id=5489">oppose
bills that undermine science and science-based policies.
</a>


feed_id: cc2de30c0470c18941260c35cbc7cbea
title: Concealed guns
uri: Concealed-guns
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#7_December_2016_%28Concealed_guns%29
content:
<p>
Trump wants to pass a law
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/nov/14/gun-control-donald-trump-congress-concealed-carry-law">
allowing people to carry concealed guns
anywhere in the US
</a>
if they get approval in some (any) state.
<br>
If all states had strict standards, this might be ok.


feed_id: 5a298889e789f78120e316363c7fddd9
title: Brazil's graft scandal
uri: Brazil-s-graft-scandal
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#7_December_2016_%28Brazil%27s_graft_scandal%29
content:
<p>
Brazil's lower house used the plane crash of a football team
as cover for passing a bill to
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/nov/30/brazil-graft-scandal-anti-corruption-bill-congress">
eliminate penalties for corruption
of officials.
</a>
<br>
Of the 513 members of the lower house, 450 voted for this.


feed_id: 3ba9331d9bf190d233efff8df3344053
title: White-supremacists Trump supporters
uri: White-supremacists-Trump-supporters
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#7_December_2016_%28White-supremacists_Trump_supporters%29

content:
<p>
US white-supremacists are supporting Trump, but also using Trump to
<a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/gist/2016/11/ben_shapiro_on_steve_bannon_the_alt_right_and_why_the_left_needs_to_turn.html">
make people think that all Trump's supporters support them too.
</a>


feed_id: 898215eacc5bc24a36717890b52d3c64
title: Global heating denialism
uri: 2016-12-08-Global-heating-denialism
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#7_December_2016_%28Global_heating_denialism%29
content:
<p>
The denialist-controlled House Science Committee
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/dec/03/climate-change-scientists-house-panel-global-temperatures-misleading">
claimed that world
temperatures are decreasing.
</a>
<br>
They are paid to repeat that message; they feel no shame about its
obvious falsehood.


feed_id: 4bad0f7902d7583235f75b5890894c33
title: Online gambling
uri: Online-gambling
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#7_December_2016_%28Online_gambling%29
content:
<p>
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/dec/01/children-online-gambling-addiction-digital">
The habit of online gambling
</a>
affects more teenage boys in the UK than
drugs or alcohol.
<br>
If they need it to unwind, could a game which doesn't cost money give
them the same sensation?  For me, it could.


feed_id: f5693c5f2fc7eec0aceb23ec392d7f9b
title: East Aleppo captured by Assad
uri: East-Aleppo-captured-by-Assad
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#7_December_2016_%28East_Aleppo_captured_by_Assad%29
content:
<p>
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/dec/03/syrian-forces-seize-control-of-more-than-half-of-aleppo">
Assad's forces have captured half of east Aleppo
</a>
and might capture all
within a few weeks.


feed_id: cb3c90a2a498c4be92cdb494edf98e89
title: US sanctions on Iran
uri: US-sanctions-on-Iran
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#7_December_2016_%28US_sanctions_on_Iran%29
content:
<p>
The US Senate voted to
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/dec/03/iran-sanctions-nuclear-deal-us-senate">
continue sanctions on Iran.
</a>
<br>
Iran says this violates the nuclear agreement.  Can anyone find an expert
analysis of whether that is true?  I can't take either side's word                                                                                             about the matter.


feed_id: 7485897eabf30d8a9b6a40022212c274
title: Immigrant detainees
uri: Immigrant-detainees
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#7_December_2016_%28Immigrant_detainees%29
content:
<p>
Why Is the Obama Administration
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/dec/02/obama-administration-opposing-rights-for-immigrant-detainees">
Opposing Rights for Immigrant Detainees?
</a>
<br>
Some will have a good case, and some will have a bad one, but each immigrant                                                                                   should have the chance to present the case to a judge.


feed_id: 1703785eb2857698289d3d56005dcc5e
title: Back doors in encryption
uri: 2016-12-08-Back-doors-in-encryption
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#7_December_2016_%28Back_doors_in_encryption%29
content:
<p>
The UK's new law authorizing massive surveillance also
<a href="http://reason.com/blog/2016/11/30/you-dont-have-to-be-british-to-be-extrem">
requires back doors
in encryption.
</a>
<br>
It is a
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/higher-education-network/2016/dec/01/the-snoopers-charter-is-a-threat-to-academic-freedom">
threat to academic freedom and to the subjects of academic research.
</a>


feed_id: a1e8b99582c3f2968ef0ebe416e5d93a
title: Scandalous announcements
uri: Scandalous-announcements
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#7_December_2016_%28Scandalous_announcements%29
content:
<p>
Trump cleverly makes scandalous announcements to
<a href="https://www.commentarymagazine.com/politics-ideas/stray-voltage-donald-trump-conflicts/">
distract attention
from the scandals of substance.
</a>


feed_id: 87187ed86862755a0a8819c2bf8fa42e
title: Sexism and racism
uri: Sexism-and-racism
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#7_December_2016_%28Sexism_and_racism%29
content:
<p>
Women the World Over Have Shown the US
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2016/dec/02/women-us-how-to-deal-with-sexism-racism-yifat-susskind">
How to Deal with Sexism And Racism.
</a>


feed_id: 918aadf54c92bbbca865879f44ad0223
title: Australia's offshore drilling
uri: Australia-s-offshore-drilling
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#7_December_2016_%28Australia%27s_offshore_drilling%29

content:
<p>
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/dec/02/great-australian-bight-oil-drilling-plans-too-technical-for-foi-release-says-regulator">
Australia rejected Greenpeace's freedom of information request
</a>
for
details of offshore drilling plans based on a laughable excuse -- that
Greenpeace might use the information to oppose the plans.


feed_id: af1be5db61bd788e6a034d6d6a464d4c
title: Hiring immigrants illegally
uri: Hiring-immigrants-illegally
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#7_December_2016_%28Hiring_immigrants_illegally%29
content:
<p>
If the US really wanted to reduce illegal immigration, then rather
than building walls or imprisoning deporting people, it would only
need to
<a href="http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2016/11/forget-wall-if-you-want-less-illegal-immigration-go-after-employers">
punish employers that hire immigrants illegally.
</a>
<br>
I am not strongly concerned about the number of unauthorized
immigrants.  As a US citizen, though, I object to the requirement for
employees who are US citizens to prove they are.  I would have no
difficulty proving it, but I resent being required to do so.


feed_id: 369014c7ee987bc5a6d61169599c13a1
title: Gender-neutral toilets
uri: Gender-neutral-toilets
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#7_December_2016_%28Gender-neutral_toilets%29
content:
<p>
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/dec/02/fears-gender-neutral-toilets-women-trans-people-violence">
"Fears around gender-neutral toilets are all in the mind".
</a>
Men can
attack women anywhere, if they are minded to do that sort of thing,
but trans people face real danger.


feed_id: adf8eebc51983ae690a3ba4ed63bb8bb
title: Barrett Brown released
uri: Barrett-Brown-released
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#7_December_2016_%28Barrett_Brown_released%29
content:
<p>
<a href="http://www.dailydot.com/layer8/barrett-brown-free/">
Barrett Brown has been released from prison.
</a>
  The court convicted him for Anonymous's cracking of Stratfor's
systems.
<br>
It now appears that the US government suppressed evidence that
he was reporting on the cracking but not participating.


feed_id: c9bd47fee7d442dd76be43359e74f633
title: Suppressing journalism
uri: Suppressing-journalism
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#7_December_2016_%28Suppressing_journalism%29
content:
<p>
<a href="http://motherboard.vice.com/read/the-government-is-using-a-no-fly-zone-to-suppress-journalism-at-standing-rock">
Banning drones at pipeline protests
</a>
is a way of suppressing journalism
that can expose the violence of the thugs.


feed_id: 75809c870ff48c7b655a15e3c0c01543
title: Trump's call to Ing-wen
uri: Trump-s-call-to-Ing-wen
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#7_December_2016_%28Trump%27s_call_to_Ing-wen%29
content:
<p>
Before Trump phoned the president of Taiwan, a representative of his
hotel business called to
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/dec/03/trumps-taiwan-phone-call-preceded-by-hotel-development-inquiry">
discuss a hotel investment there.
</a>


feed_id: 0f94ea563639e4ccf2e876092c56552d
title: Partial blindness
uri: Partial-blindness
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#7_December_2016_%28Partial_blindness%29
content:
<p>
People who are
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2016/nov/14/the-way-i-see-it-living-with-partial-blindness-rp">
almost blind, but not 100%,
</a>
face a lot of misunderstandings.
<br>
The right-wing theocratic rule that limited use of embryonic stem
cells impeded research into treating retinitis pigmentosa with stem
cells to restore people's sight.  Their objection was based entirely
on religious irrationality.  Obama eliminated this restriction; will
Trump impose it again?


feed_id: c1bbed396f97a5f9bc6c915e0c3a3dd5
title: Trump's subsidy misuse
uri: Trump-s-subsidy-misuse
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#7_December_2016_%28Trump%27s_subsidy_misuse%29
content:
<p>
The Trump building across the Hudson from Manhattan was built using
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/dec/03/trump-bay-street-new-jersey-relied-on-immigrant-visa-funds">
a government subsidy for visas for foreign workers.
</a>


feed_id: b6389ede89b6dabfb907025923798548
title: New oil pipeline
uri: New-oil-pipeline
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#7_December_2016_%28New_oil_pipeline%29
content:
<p>
The Canadian government has
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/dec/03/canada-kinder-morgan-pipeline-expansion-protest">
approved a new oil pipeline,
</a>
to be built
by the company we could call Unkind Warmin', but Canadians are
determined to stop it anyway.


feed_id: 69a8a42fb0a2ed850ed1094036d99897
title: Returning to Jalawla
uri: Returning-to-Jalawla
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#7_December_2016_%28Returning_to_Jalawla%29
content:
<p>
Most of the inhabitants have
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/dec/03/iraq-after-isis-occupation-families-returning-home-sally-williams">
returned to the town of Jalawla,
</a>
liberated from PISSI in February, but there is no money
to rebuild what was destroyed.
<br>
Meanwhile, the Kurds and the Iraqi government dispute control of the
town.


feed_id: d622435c1c5174148f8f9ecda96bb199
title: Speed at the expense of depth
uri: Speed-at-the-expense-of-depth
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#7_December_2016_%28Speed_at_the_expense_of_depth%29
content:
<p>
How people learn to prefer
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/dec/03/jonathan-safran-foer-technology-diminishing-us">
new technically advanced diminished substitutes
</a>
for direct conversation.


feed_id: 0c296edf6ea029c623bdd7a838062a8f
title: Supporting the pipeline protesters
uri: Supporting-the-pipeline-protesters
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#7_December_2016_%28Supporting_the_pipeline_protesters%29

content:
<p>
Here are suggested ways to
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/views/2016/12/02/many-ways-help-standing-rock">
support the pipeline protesters in North Dakota.
</a>


feed_id: fd8189f2a7ed2fc37bf10ea0b2f0369b
title: Was 11/8 a new 9/11?
uri: Was-11-8-a-new-9-11
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#7_December_2016_%28Was_11%2F8_a_new_9%2F11%3F%29
content:
<p>
The election stolen by Trump,
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/views/2016/12/01/was-118-new-911">
like the attacks of September 2001,
</a>
are blow-back from years of dangerous actions.


feed_id: e8552454e6ec15d825acfed5240f9ff5
title: Trump's luxury hotel conflict
uri: Trump-s-luxury-hotel-conflict
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#7_December_2016_%28Trump%27s_luxury_hotel_conflict%29

content:
<p>
Warren Refuses to Let
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/news/2016/12/01/warren-refuses-let-trumps-luxury-hotel-conflict-slide">
Trump's Luxury Hotel Conflict
</a>
Slide.


feed_id: ff05b924cc581d687d0cdc811360a25e
title: Peace with FARC
uri: Peace-with-FARC
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#7_December_2016_%28Peace_with_FARC%29
content:
<p>
Peace with the FARC could be
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2016/12/01/colombia-peace-agreement-must-open-door-justice">
an opportunity for Colombia to have peace,
</a>
but that won't follow automatically.


feed_id: 9e2bef488c29c59e5f21acd6958b060b
title: Jailed for loitering
uri: Jailed-for-loitering
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#7_December_2016_%28Jailed_for_loitering%29
content:
<p>
One of the ways the US legal system systematically squeezes the poor
is
<a href="http://reason.com/blog/2016/12/01/50-days-in-jail-for-waiting-for-a-ride">
jailing women because a thug suspects they are prostitutes.
</a>
<br>
As far as I can tell, the only motive for prohibiting prostitution is
that some people find the idea disgusting.  What kind of justification
is that?


feed_id: 316db36d6b6638d45f3c71b84fceef81
title: On comparing fascism to Trumpism
uri: On-comparing-fascism-to-Trumpism
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#7_December_2016_%28On_comparing_fascism_to_Trumpism%29

content:
<p>
Historians discuss the similarities and differences
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/dec/01/comparing-fascism-donald-trump-historians-trumpism">
between Trump and
20th century fascism.
</a>


feed_id: bdd59bbbf1afc2e00cefcd681b1503d6
title: Investors in the Dakota Pipeline
uri: Investors-in-the-Dakota-Pipeline
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#7_December_2016_%28Investors_in_the_Dakota_Pipeline%29

content:
<p>
Activists are protesting against
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/news/2016/12/01/activists-around-world-take-nodapl-fight-banks">
the banks that have invested in
the Dakota Access Pipeline.
</a>


feed_id: 335bc03e3a5fe2f8a2eeb2df8a2d4a1d
title: Gleeful hedge fund managers
uri: Gleeful-hedge-fund-managers
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#7_December_2016_%28Gleeful_hedge_fund_managers%29
content:
<p>
A hedge fund manager says he feels
<a href="http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/11/30/1605694/-Hedge-fund-manager-takes-glee-over-how-Donald-Trump-conned-his-voters">
"glee" that Trump has "conned the voters"
</a>
by promising to curb hedge fund profits and now, when elected, heading in
the opposite direction.


feed_id: 8336c536f538a7f79182555c354cee6e
title: Loss of US grassland
uri: Loss-of-US-grassland
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#7_December_2016_%28Loss_of_US_grassland%29
content:
<p>
US grassland is being
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/news/2016/11/30/goodbye-grasslands-goodbye-birds-goodbye-carbon-sink">
rapidly converted to farmland.
</a>
This releases
lots of carbon that grasslands store up.


feed_id: acb6710f52e24a58207e2c8e8a22ef59
title: Right-wing blacklist
uri: Right-wing-blacklist
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#7_December_2016_%28Right-wing_blacklist%29
content:
<p>
A right-wing blacklist,
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/views/2016/11/30/why-professor-watchlist-gets-my-teaching-values-completely-wrong">
the "professor watchlist",
</a>
labels
professors as "anti-American" and falsely accuses them of
"discrimination against conservative students", because they do things
such as teach a feminist approach to things such as Trump's attitude
towards women.
<br>
The real point of that activity is
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/dec/02/us-universities-professor-watchlist-free-speech">
harassment and intimidation.
</a>
<br>
This is one of many examples of where right-wingers systematically and falsely accuse others of the sort of wrongs they actually do.  Others include
Trump's accusations of
<a href="2016-may-aug.html#6_August_2016_(Trump_claims_election_is_rigged)">
election rigging
</a>
on the Democratic side
<a href="#12_November_2016_(The_election_was_stolen)">
  (when actually the Republicans are the ones that do this)
</a>
  are another example.


feed_id: eedd3fec31be26522995784534303ea7
title: Foreclosures
uri: Foreclosures
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#7_December_2016_%28Foreclosures%29
content:
<p>
Steve Mnuchin,
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/dec/02/steve-mnuchin-profile-donald-trump-treasury">
the foreclosure king.
</a>
<br>
Several big US banks were
<a href="2015-nov-feb.html#09_February_2016_(HSBC_fined_for_fraudulent_foreclosures)">
guilty of fraudulent foreclosures during
several years after the financial crisis.
</a>
<br>
  It seems that Mnuchin's bank took that one step worse, buying up old
mortgages in order to foreclose houses based on similar invalid
justifications.


feed_id: ccecfeee8370cd7bcb2e1feb6a95af6e
title: Renouncing banking secrecy
uri: Renouncing-banking-secrecy
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#7_December_2016_%28Renouncing_banking_secrecy%29
content:
<p>
Andorra has yielded to pressure and
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/dec/02/andorra-to-renounce-banking-secrecy-as-it-sheds-tax-haven-status">
ceased maintaining banking secrecy
for EU citizens.
</a>
<br>
It may still be a tax haven for rich Americans.


feed_id: 09f05408b9177354373e531ab57bff72
title: Keeping jobs in the US
uri: Keeping-jobs-in-the-US
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#7_December_2016_%28Keeping_jobs_in_the_US%29
content:
<p>
Trump's method of
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/dec/01/donald-trump-carrier-deal-manufacturing-jobs-mexico">
"keeping Carrier's jobs in the US"
</a>
was to offer the company
a tax subsidy.
<br>
As Sanders put it, the company
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/views/2016/12/01/carrier-just-showed-corporations-how-beat-donald-trump">
"took Trump hostage and won"
</a>
-- a
victory over the US government.
<br>
We can't afford to pay thousands of companies to keep jobs in the US.
We can afford to make them pay to move jobs out of the US.


feed_id: 18fddf4c242ef0520f27be2277a92ca6
title: Trump suing to prevent recount
uri: Trump-suing-to-prevent-recount
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#7_December_2016_%28Trump_suing_to_prevent_recount%29

content:
<p>
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/dec/01/donald-trump-michigan-recount-objection">
Trump has sued to prevent the recount in Michigan.
</a>
<br>
Trump is now the avowed enemy of free and fair elections.


feed_id: 636223c543863b40a77760b1d1f9a7fc
title: FBI gag orders
uri: FBI-gag-orders
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#7_December_2016_%28FBI_gag_orders%29
content:
<p>
A series of court decisions have made "national security letter"
secret subpoenas
<a href="https://theintercept.com/2016/12/01/internet-archive-fends-off-secret-fbi-order-in-latest-victory-against-nsls/">
less secret and easier to challenge.
</a>
<br>
We need to give the state power to subpoena specific information with
specific grounds.  To keep them from becoming oppressive, we must
insist on narrow and specific subpoenas only, with concrete
justification each time.


feed_id: 0838b3537925ed00cbc155d6eca2c769
title: Science-denier on NASA
uri: Science-denier-on-NASA
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#7_December_2016_%28Science-denier_on_NASA%29
content:
<p>
Trump appointed
<a href="https://theintercept.com/2016/12/01/global-warming-research-in-danger-as-trump-appoints-climate-skeptic-to-nasa-team/">
a science-denier
</a>
to take charge of NASA.


feed_id: 933414c7ad02526a099683229262e8cc
title: Eastern Aleppo out of food
uri: Eastern-Aleppo-out-of-food
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#7_December_2016_%28Eastern_Aleppo_out_of_food%29
content:
<p>
Russians Talk with Syrian Rebels as
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/dec/01/russians-talk-with-syrian-rebels-as-eastern-aleppo-runs-out-of-food">
Eastern Aleppo Runs Out of Food.
</a>


feed_id: 37726c66b21b46a5732c691e92a5b614
title: A month of hunger strike
uri: A-month-of-hunger-strike
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#7_December_2016_%28A_month_of_hunger_strike%29
content:
<p>
Imprisoned Iranian musician Mehdi Rajabian has been hospitalized
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/iran-blog/2016/dec/01/iranian-musician-hospitalised-after-one-month-hunger-strike">
after
a month of hunger strike.
</a>


feed_id: 3658177629fd7357067995a312f23c00
title: Hawking on inequality
uri: Hawking-on-inequality
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#7_December_2016_%28Hawking_on_inequality%29
content:
<p>
Stephen Hawking: politicians
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/dec/01/stephen-hawking-dangerous-time-planet-inequality">
must reduce inequality
</a>
if humanity
is to work together to deal with the global challenges that endanger
the survival of civilization.


feed_id: c7e4b66299586d5cbb605ae81a4205e3
title: Saving Great Barrier Reef
uri: Saving-Great-Barrier-Reef
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#7_December_2016_%28Saving_Great_Barrier_Reef%29
content:
<p>
Australians have grasped that they must reduce chemical pollution
in order to
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/dec/02/two-thirds-of-australians-think-reef-crisis-is-national-emergency-poll">
save the Great Barrier Reef.
</a>
<br>
Will they recognize that this also requires capping the level of CO2
in the atmosphere?
<a href="2015-jul-oct.html#15_September_2015_(Extreme_bleaching_event_in_Hawaii)">
Excessive heat of the water kills corals,
</a>
and so does
<a href="2016-jan-apr.html#30_March_2016_(Biggest_threat_to_Great_Barrier_Reef)">
the acidity that will result from additional CO2 dissolved in the water.
</a>


feed_id: 2b272a35f651d5457aeb4e547031e27f
title: UN admits cholera responsibility
uri: UN-admits-cholera-responsibility
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#7_December_2016_%28UN_admits_cholera_responsibility%29

content:
<p>
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2016/dec/01/haiti-cholera-outbreak-stain-on-reputation-un-says">
The UN admitted responsibility for introducing cholera to Haiti
</a>
and has stated long-term plans to eradicate it.


feed_id: c7e41d72489ca0cf902bbe6a8c793e52
title: Netanyahu rants
uri: Netanyahu-rants
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#7_December_2016_%28Netanyahu_rants%29
content:
<p>
Netanyahu accused a critical journalist of
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/dec/01/raviv-drucker-the-israeli-journalist-incurring-the-wrath-of-netanyahu">
"brainwashing" the Israeli
people
</a>
for publishing stories about possibly corrupt activities in his
family.


feed_id: 1078acc38be31b84da83629404ad5815
title: Sexting
uri: 2016-12-08-Sexting
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#7_December_2016_%28Sexting%29
content:
<p>
Want to Know Why Young People Are Sexting?
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/dec/01/jeremy-hunt-sexting-lesson-protect-teens-ban">
Try Asking Them.
</a>


feed_id: 0b560a40a55a9f43d32ddada1625b95f
title: Property guardianship
uri: Property-guardianship
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#7_December_2016_%28Property_guardianship%29
content:
<p>
London:
Squatters Evicted from
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/dec/01/squatters-evicted-from-building-of-company-that-works-to-stop-squatting">
Building of Company That Works to Stop Squatting.
</a>


feed_id: a09d3e649a49e873a6721588ec1003c7
title: Civil liberties in Cuba
uri: Civil-liberties-in-Cuba
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#7_December_2016_%28Civil_liberties_in_Cuba%29
content:
<p>
We Cubans Will Restore Civil Liberties --
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/dec/01/cubans-civil-liberties-donald-trump">
Without Help from Donald Trump.
</a>


feed_id: 335bf815c0538677004e8ed37fb27cd0
title: Texas fetus burials
uri: Texas-fetus-burials
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#7_December_2016_%28Texas_fetus_burials%29
content:
<p>
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/news/2016/11/29/texas-finalizes-callous-rule-burial-or-cremation-fetal-remains">
The Texas requirement to bury or cremate fetuses
</a>
as if they were human
beings is extremely cruel to women who have abortions -- or miscarriages.
<br>
And if the women have to pay for this sick ceremony, it will put some of them
out on the street.
<br>
Perhaps hospitals and abortion clinics can arrange to bury 100 fetuses
at a time -- at least that way it won't cost much, and the women won't
be required to come and dwell on the situation.


feed_id: aad08eae0ee354cc1e4b13a4e852ba74
title: Zero tolerance in schools
uri: Zero-tolerance-in-schools
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#7_December_2016_%28Zero_tolerance_in_schools%29
content:
<p>
Sexual harassment and even assault are widespread in schools in the UK.
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/education/2016/nov/30/government-must-take-zero-tolerance-approach-to-school-sexual-harassment">
Teachers want action to protect students.
</a>
<br>
I support that demand, but
<a href="2015-jan-apr.html#02_January_2015_(Zero_tolerance_in_US_schools)">
adopting a policy of "zero tolerance" in a
school
</a>
is asking for trouble no matter what issue it's about.  We
don't want children to bring weapons to school, but "zero tolerance"
for weapons leads to things like kicking children out for pictures of
guns.


feed_id: 9a00cda790abdca203fce5625576fcfc
title: Why recounts are essential
uri: Why-recounts-are-essential
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#7_December_2016_%28Why_recounts_are_essential%29
content:
<p>
Greg Palast explains why the recounts are essential:
<a href="http://us4.campaign-archive2.com/?u=33e4ec877eed6a43863a4a92e&id=c55d95f200&e=8283eff9b8">
so many ways that ballots can be counted wrong, or rejected entirely.
</a>


feed_id: 8b7c142a99fc687c0f715391c6b086c4
title: Trump's army of bullies
uri: Trump-s-army-of-bullies
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#7_December_2016_%28Trump%27s_army_of_bullies%29
content:
<p>
Gamergate, in 2014, was the
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/dec/01/gamergate-alt-right-hate-trump">
training campaign for Trump's army of
bullies.
</a>
<br>
The other Trump supporters provide a sea of people in which the
bullies can swim.  They disapprove of the bullying, but they never go
so far as to make the bullies go away.


feed_id: 37dd26eb3e60ddb08780c48bc160b734
title: FARC peace deal
uri: FARC-peace-deal
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#7_December_2016_%28FARC_peace_deal%29
content:
<p>
Colombia has
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/dec/01/colombias-government-formally-ratifies-revised-farc-peace-deal">
signed a revised peace deal with the FARC.
</a>
<br>
This time, without a referendum.  I hope the people accept the peace.


feed_id: aabbe5a66a0dc8098c64fda1bdffa121
title: Video blackmail
uri: Video-blackmail
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#7_December_2016_%28Video_blackmail%29
content:
<p>
Adolescents and adults fall victim to manipulative strangers that pressure
them to make nude videos, and then
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/nov/29/sextortion-young-men-blackmailed-over-videos-sex-acts-online-national-crime-agency">
threaten to post those videos on the
net
</a>
unless the victims pay.
<br>
The blackmailers are doing something very nasty, and I'm glad if they
are imprisoned for their crime.  However, what enables them to get
money this way is the prudish prejudice of the victims' friends,
family and actual or potential colleagues.  If not for this, the
victims would only laugh at the demand for money.


feed_id: 0e444807944ef88b23b5956dd088be18
title: Pollinating insects
uri: Pollinating-insects
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#7_December_2016_%28Pollinating_insects%29
content:
<p>
Scientists that study pollinating insects say we urgently need to
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2016/11/29/new-landmark-study-tighter-pesticide-regulations-key-reversing-pollinator">
restrict pesticide use to save the pollinators.
</a>


feed_id: 7d1755d1746d160ba2c549d47cc8ac94
title: "Sustainable" palm oil
uri: Sustainable-palm-oil
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#7_December_2016_%28Sustainable_palm_oil%29
content:
<p>
Large companies use palm oil made systematically with child labor,
and
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/news/2016/11/30/corporate-giants-sustainable-palm-oil-revealed-sham">
on their labels claim that it is "sustainable".
</a>


feed_id: 1a6f1834a07e3ceb50c95ca1de068a6b
title: Warning against torture
uri: Warning-against-torture
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#7_December_2016_%28Warning_against_torture%29
content:
<p>
CIA Chief
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2016/11/30/cia-chief-warns-trump-against-torture-reprieve-comment">
Warns Trump Against Torture.
</a>


feed_id: 7a08848abedf4ce8e5ee85ddfb4147ab
title: Republicans not in majority
uri: Republicans-not-in-majority
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#7_December_2016_%28Republicans_not_in_majority%29
content:
<p>
Elizabeth Warren reminds us that Republicans
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/views/2016/11/30/elizabeth-warren-proposes-strengthen-democratic-spines-powerful-new-tool-math">
do not have majority
support
</a>
in the US.


feed_id: fb5d93ab7dc8b830022560f87d244cdb
title: Taking away medical care
uri: Taking-away-medical-care
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#7_December_2016_%28Taking_away_medical_care%29
content:
<p>
Trump's choice for Health and Human Services (Tom Price) would like to
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2016/11/30/health-and-human-services-appointee-underscores-trumps-allegiance-profits-and">
take away non-wealthy people's medical care.
</a>
Trump will offer them
small tax credits as a partial substitute.
<br>
Price aims to
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/views/2016/11/30/trump-hire-hazardous-your-health-and-not-just-your-medicare">
enrich those who get rich from medical care.
</a>
<br>
He is also a
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/news/2016/11/29/extremist-tom-price-helm-war-women-has-reached-hhs">
fanatical activist against women's rights,
</a>
including
birth control, and opposed a law to help protect women from domestic
violence.
<br>
Poor rural citizens of Kentucky, who voted for Trump,
<a href="http://www.dailykos.com/stories/2016/11/29/1605167/-Morons-who-voted-for-Republicans-now-worry-they-will-take-away-their-health-care-as-promised">
are now afraid
of what he will do
</a>
to the health insurance that Obama gave them.
<br>
The article uses the word "moron", but I think that is uncalled for.                                                                                          It's not that these people are stupid, but that they asked to be
fooled.  What they lack is sense.


feed_id: 4d3ff1dd45bc70d8b4091d6fa762e6d2
title: Tracking of users' movements by Uber
uri: Tracking-of-users-movements-by-Uber
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#7_December_2016_%28Tracking_of_users_movements_by_Uber%29

content:
<p>
Uber has started tracking users' movements
<a href="https://techcrunch.com/2016/11/28/uber-background-location-data-collection/">before
and after rides</a>.
<p>
It is unacceptable for a ride service to localize identified people
<em>ever</em>.  The fact that Uber knows passengers' names is already
inexcusable.


feed_id: 7b6d9d2d1c97417b85551ebb20a4cdaf
title: Internet Archive to make backup in Canada
uri: Internet-Archive-to-make-backup-in-Canada
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#7_December_2016_%28Internet_Archive_to_make_backup_in_Canada%29

content:
<p>
The Internet Archive will create a backup copy in Canada as
<a href="http://motherboard.vice.com/read/the-entire-internet-will-be-archived-in-canada-to-protect-it-from-trump">protection
against the danger of being trumped by censorship</a>.


feed_id: 978c3fbb0d2ed786d49d99df7777d789
title: North Korea faces new sanctions
uri: North-Korea-faces-new-sanctions
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#7_December_2016_%28North_Korea_faces_new_sanctions%29

content:
<p>
North Korea faces new sanctions, supported by China,
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/nov/30/un-north-korea-sanctions-nuclear-test">in
response to its nuclear test in September</a>.


feed_id: 06cf0cb6ec320ad85b3ce0a0791f7bc7
title: Our low expectations of airlines
uri: Our-low-expectations-of-airlines
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#7_December_2016_%28Our_low_expectations_of_airlines%29

content:
<p>
We don't expect airlines to behave decently, so it is
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/nov/30/donald-trump-delta-tantrum">news
when one does</a>.
<p>
Airlines' reduction of seat space tends to provoke air rage, and that
it follows that airlines share the culpability for it.  Most people
take for granted, in such cases, that the culpability must fall on one
or the other; that assumption means letting one or the other off the
hook.


feed_id: dd0006decae9148105f1207931b6baa4
title: Castro
uri: Castro
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#7_December_2016_%28Castro%29
content:
<p>
Castro sent troops to Africa to fight colonial regimes, and
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/nov/30/africa-fidel-castro-nelson-mandela-cuba">sent
doctors to countries when the US ignored them</a>.


feed_id: ec18222eaa53fc992b55cf6071afb07e
title: UK military on global heating
uri: UK-military-on-global-heating
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#7_December_2016_%28UK_military_on_global_heating%29
content:
<p>
[Global heating] will stir
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/dec/01/climate-change-trigger-unimaginable-refugee-crisis-senior-military">'unimaginable'
refugee crisis</a>, says [UK] military.


feed_id: a39e72e512a7dff67d3ec32633c78788
title: Psilocybin for treating depression
uri: Psilocybin-for-treating-depression
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#7_December_2016_%28Psilocybin_for_treating_depression%29

content:
<p>
Psilocybin has been
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/dec/01/magic-mushroom-ingredient-psilocybin-can-lift-depression-studies-show">effective
for treating depression</a>.


feed_id: ae42076ba38adf52b9fd29f63473190e
title: Right-wing "political correctness"
uri: Right-wing-political-correctness
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#7_December_2016_%28Right-wing_political_correctness%29

content:
<p>
Right-wing bullies stretch the term "political correctness" to
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/nov/30/political-correctness-how-the-right-invented-phantom-enemy-donald-trump">present
any disapproval as mere narrowminded ideology</a>.
<p>
The pressures criticized as "political correctness" do exist.  The
term "trigger warnings" is used by people who ask for them, even
demand them.  "Microaggressions" and "cultural appropriation" derive
from schools of thought that use them for actions that they disapprove
of.  They are meant to criticize acts seen as mistreatment of those
who are weak or hurt.
<p>
I agree with them on some issues, but on some points I think they go
too far.  For instance, telling people to say "black" instead of
"negro" (which was not a pejorative word), then to say
"African-American" instead of "black", then to say "people of color"
instead of "African-American", led me to decline to follow them.  ("Of
color" is so clumsy that using it strikes me as conspicuous
subservience.)  I stuck with "blacks".  (Then I learned Spanish, in
which they are called "los negros", which means "the blacks".)  I feel
vindicated now that blacks have come around to using the term "black"
again.
<p>
What right-wingers have done is apply the label of "political
correctness" to any disapproval of anything — even
<em>substantive</em> condemnation of a nasty <em>actions</em>.
<p>
Trump uses this distortion (see examples in the first article) when he
bullies the weak, to imply that disapproval of bullying is mere
"political correctness".


feed_id: 8c34eccd6faf30662a4eff10a56682e5
title: Neurobiology
uri: Neurobiology
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#7_December_2016_%28Neurobiology%29
content:
<p>
Some neurobiological support for the maxim
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/2016/nov/29/never-go-to-bed-angry-study-finds-evidence-for-age-old-advice">not
to go to bed angry</a>.


feed_id: a500de9713196d75b10a4596546b2190
title: The Democratic Party
uri: 2016-12-08-The-Democratic-Party
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#7_December_2016_%28The_Democratic_Party%29
content:
<p>
Finally, A
<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rj-eskow/finally-a-chance-to-remak_b_13046876.html">Chance
To Remake</a> The Democratic Party.


feed_id: e87e187f54d1a76043cb76ff84d1e62d
title: Wildfire in Tennessee
uri: Wildfire-in-Tennessee
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#7_December_2016_%28Wildfire_in_Tennessee%29
content:
<p>
A
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/nov/29/tennessee-wildfires-gatlinburg-dollywood-pigeon-forge">wildfire
in Tennessee</a> entered the city of Gatlinburg and destroyed
buildings.
<p>
For wildfires to be dangerous almost at the start of winter is
shocking.  Part of the cause was drought.  That this is the hottest
year humans have ever experienced is probably pertinent.


feed_id: 383c91ee1ca7d3305412f193c8b5dde5
title: Syrian army soldiers bombed by mistake
uri: Syrian-army-soldiers-bombed-by-mistake
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#7_December_2016_%28Syrian_army_soldiers_bombed_by_mistake%29

content:
<p>
The Pentagon
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/nov/29/us-military-airstrikes-mistake-syria-assad-deir-ez-zor">recognizes</a>
it bombed Syrian army soldiers in September by mistake.


feed_id: a43e01ea77e7e9cf7fd1b6ccbc98daee
title: Punishing unemployed people
uri: Punishing-unemployed-people
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#7_December_2016_%28Punishing_unemployed_people%29
content:
<p>
The Tories have
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/nov/30/benefits-sanctions-a-policy-based-on-zeal-not-evidence">never
tried to verify</a> whether punishing unemployed people for every
failure to carry out the job search dance really led to more of them
in employment.
<p>
I'm not surprised that the Tories have not tried to measure the
"effectiveness" of these punishments in achieving their supposed
goals, because the goals don't make sense anyway, and I don't think
the Tories were honest about their goals.
<p>
I think the Tories' real motive for these punishments is to demonize
the unemployed and the disabled (often labeled as capable of working,
through a carefully arranged system of excuses to disregard their
medical evaluations) and to
<a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2016-may-aug.html#11_May_2016_(Cruelty_towards_welfare_recipients)">make
it seem they don't deserve any help</a>, which in the long term serves
as an
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/nov/30/benefits-sanctions-imposed-proof-work-welfare-nao-jobcentres">excuse
for ceasing to help them</a>.  That will "save" money, making it
possible to further cut taxes or increase welfare payments for the
rich.
<p>
As for the non-rich unemployed and disabled, with no state help they
won't live many more years, and the Tories will say, "Mission
accomplished."
<p>
"The Tories are lower than vermin" — Aneurin Bevan.


feed_id: f2355a709fd3d6b86a31f940684c1e4a
title: EU's plan to cut energy use
uri: EU-s-plan-to-cut-energy-use
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#7_December_2016_%28EUs_plan_to_cut_energy_use%29
content:
<p>
The EU has a plan to cut energy use and stop subsidizing coal
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/nov/30/eu-declares-war-on-energy-waste-and-coal-subsidies-in-new-climate-package">by
2030</a>.
<p>
Clearly these officials do not understand the gravity of the problem.
They should have eliminated coal subsidies 10 years ago, but since
they didn't, they should eliminate the subsidies tomorrow.


feed_id: 45e4518769c6489ccfa1fbff9d0ba1cd
title: Social Security and Medicare under Trump
uri: Social-Security-and-Medicare-under-Trump
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#6_December_2016_%28Social_Security_and_Medicare_under_Trump%29

content:
<p>
Trump said he would protect Social Security and Medicare, but seems to
be
<a href="https://theintercept.com/2016/11/29/donald-trump-campaigned-on-protecting-medicare-but-his-health-secretary-pick-wants-to-privatize-it/">choosing
officials and allies that want to privatize them</a>.


feed_id: 1dcf9d58b13fa83b28dfacdebf708c20
title: New York Times obituary
uri: 2016-12-08-New-York-Times-obituary
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#6_December_2016_%28New_York_Times_obituary%29
content:
<p>
A private meeting with the heads of the New York Times,
<a href="http://www.unz.com/article/an-obituary-of-the-new-york-times/">
who described
making deals with US and foreign politicians
</a>
about how their coverage
would read.


feed_id: ac9973dfee87dfb29917e8319abec131
title: White-supremacists
uri: 2016-12-08-White-supremacists
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#6_December_2016_%28White-supremacists%29
content:
<p>
The Associated Press has decided to
<a href="https://blog.ap.org/behind-the-news/writing-about-the-alt-right">
explicitly identify US
white-supremacists as such,
</a>
rather than let them use "alt-right" as a
mask.


feed_id: ac14a55c6b3606ea6043a7218c341689
title: Secret interrogations
uri: 2016-12-08-Secret-interrogations
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#6_December_2016_%28Secret_interrogations%29
content:
<p>
Israel will
<a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/israel-palestine-suspected-terrorist-interrogations-remain-secret-new-law-a7434721.html">
keep interrogations of accused terrorists secret,
</a>
which means
the thugs can get away with doing anything whatever to the accused.


feed_id: 6e8e292a0c1b122890f9183e3041e2ef
title: Schoolyard settlers
uri: 2016-12-08-Schoolyard-settlers
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#6_December_2016_%28Schoolyard_settlers%29
content:
<p>
Israelis that have taken houses in Hebron
<a href="http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=774081">
have now started building in
a Palestinian school's yard.
</a>
<br>
If they keep going, they will eventually force all the Palestinian students
to leave the school, on the grounds that some of them might someday attack
Israeli colonists.


feed_id: 6f7838e74bba946c07d875fdfd989d12
title: Misunderstandings
uri: 2016-12-08-Misunderstandings
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#6_December_2016_%28Misunderstandings%29
content:
<p>
Arabs in Israel can be prosecuted for sarcastically condemning crimes
such as arson,
<a href="http://972mag.com/if-youre-palestinian-in-israel-sarcasm-can-land-you-in-jail/123380/">
"because someone might misunderstand".
</a>
<br>
Yes, there is a chance someone might misunderstand.  I've sometimes
asked people to rewrite certain statements to avoid the risk that
someone will misunderstand them and draw a meaning that is the opposite
of what was intended.  I've also occasionally written statements that
some people have misunderstood, because I didn't make them clear enough.
<br>
Suggesting clarification is one thing; prosecution is another.


feed_id: 348fe15bc9e1d0b39fd732f656ed1712
title: University in Occupied Territory
uri: 2016-12-08-University-in-Occupied-Territory
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#6_December_2016_%28University_in_Occupied_Territory%29

content:
<p>
A university in an Israeli colony in Palestinian territory invited
foreign speakers
<a href="http://zope.gush-shalom.org/home/en/events/1464389870">
on the false pretense that it is located in Israel.
</a>
Gush Shalom informed the speakers of the error, and at least one
cancelled participation.


feed_id: 2450c1f05f41f38e6f3f39e0c3aff882
title: Urgent: Oppose 21st Century Curse bill
uri: 2016-12-08-Urgent-Oppose-21st-Century-Curse-bill
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#4_December_2016_%28Urgent%3A_Oppose_21st_Century_Curse_bill%29

content:
<p>
US citizens:
<a href="https://act.credoaction.com/sign/big_pharma_giveaway">call on
Senate Democrats</a> to oppose the 21st Century Cures bill.
<p>
It was written to improve health care, but corporate lobbyists
hijacked it and converted it (in substance) into the "21st Century
Curse Act".
<p>
Some details are in
<a href="https://theintercept.com/2016/12/01/new-report-exposes-patient-advocacy-groups-as-a-big-pharma-scam/">this
article</a> whose main point is how US "patient advocacy" groups have
been paid by big pharma to lobby for that hijacking.
<p>
The 21st Century Curse Act would allow drug companies to make
<a href="https://www.propublica.org/article/medical-innovation-bill-water-down-disclosure-industry-payments-doctors">secret
payments to doctors</a>.
<p>
Drug companies have gone to great lengths to corrupt the medical
system, even going to the point of
<a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2009-may-aug.html#9%20August%202009%20(Corrupt%20pharmaceutical%20industry%20practices)">making
phony "scientific journals" to publish resmercials that praise their
products</a>.  It is not a mere possibility that these secret payments
would be in exchange for prescribing their drugs.


feed_id: 02a0a978ac204e18f33c99e36277671f
title: Haitians protest election rigging
uri: 2016-12-08-Haitians-protest-election-rigging
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#4_December_2016_%28Haitians_protest_election_rigging%29

content:
<p>
Haitians
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/nov/29/haiti-presidential-election-result-protest-jovenel-moise">protested
massively</a>, claiming the presidential election was rigged.
<p>
With just a million people voting out of a population of 10 million,
the election was surely no good.
<p>
The previous "president" Martelly was imposed by the US, not honestly
elected.  I would guess that Moïse was also imposed by the US.


feed_id: 47eb02681f22035cd6b334b901777224
title: Racist incidents after the US election
uri: 2016-12-08-Racist-incidents-after-the-US-election
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#4_December_2016_%28Racist_incidents_after_the_US_election%29

content:
<p>
In the 10 days after the election the US had a
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/nov/29/trump-related-hate-crimes-report-southern-poverty-law-center">high
rate of racist incidents</a>.
<p>
It's clear that the bulk of them were inspired by Trump.


feed_id: 04dba0ecd79f51f7620ee122883ec3e0
title: Thug departments sued for wanton violence
uri: 2016-12-08-Thug-departments-sued-for-wanton-violence
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#4_December_2016_%28Thug_departments_sued_for_wanton_violence%29

content:
<p>
Pipeline protesters have sued various thug departments for
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/news/2016/11/29/water-protectors-sue-over-deliberate-and-punitive-police-brutality">wanton,
dangerous and unjustified violence</a> that threatens people's lives.
<p>
Thugs also
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/nov/30/north-dakota-access-pipeline-standing-rock-legal-fine-threats">systematically
fabricate false charges</a> against them.
<p>
I bet most of those thugs call themselves Christians.  Have they ever
heard of the commandment, "Thou shalt not bear false witness"?  That
refers to making false charges against others.


feed_id: 2e33aaab4d31d4b1977d971fa298eda9
title: Fake news
uri: 2016-12-08-Fake-news
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#4_December_2016_%28Fake_news%29
content:
<p>
Fake News and the Internet Shell Game: the dishonest need not convince
people of specific falsehoods; it is enough to
<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/28/opinion/fake-news-and-the-internet-shell-game.html?_r=0">make
it too difficult to identify truth among the many conflicting
claims</a>.
<p>
Putin has developed a state propaganda arm that spews a
<a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2014-jul-oct.html#18_September_2014_(Russian_writer_Mikhail_Shishkin)">constant
political bullshit stream</a>.


feed_id: bcafcba1059a58bc2a714503dd51bc25
title: Trump's history of public racism
uri: 2016-12-08-Trump-s-history-of-public-racism
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#4_December_2016_%28Trumps_history_of_public_racism%29

content:
<p>
Trump's history of public racism
<a href="http://www.vox.com/2016/7/25/12270880/donald-trump-racism-history">goes
back to the 1970s</a>.


feed_id: 0c5b21a029d0f5916104fec0eca811ab
title: Snowden
uri: 2016-12-08-Snowden
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#4_December_2016_%28Snowden%29
content:
<p>
Former congressional staff, participants in the Church Committee's
investigation of CIA crimes,
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/nov/29/edward-snowden-exile-church-committee-letter-obama-cia">called
on Obama</a> to make a deal for Snowden to return to the US.


feed_id: 19b9793e17119c1ca2f63b81920db1b7
title: Trump in bed with disinformation campaigners
uri: 2016-12-08-Trump-in-bed-with-disinformation-campaigners
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#4_December_2016_%28Trump_in_bed_with_disinformation_campaigners%29

content:
<p>
Trump is
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/nov/30/donald-trump-george-monbiot-misinformation">in
bed with people that have led funded disinformation campaigns</a> for
many years</a>.


feed_id: cb19db1cc6a101a1927d7fa2a19cbd33
title: Urgent: Block AT&T-Time Warner merger
uri: Urgent-Block-AT-T-Time-Warner-merger
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#9_December_2016_%28Urgent%3A_Block_ATT-Time_Warner_merger%29

content:
<p>
US citizens:
<a href="https://act.openmedia.org/stopthegoliath">call on the
Senate</a> to block the AT&T - Time Warner merger.
<p>
The
<a href="http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2016/12/att-confident-on-time-warner-merger-after-talking-to-trump-team/">danger</a>
is that Trump will approve it.


feed_id: 1b9d2f38512f836b3dfc47ed306444f1
title: Urgent: Reject Mnuchin
uri: Urgent-Reject-Mnuchin
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#9_December_2016_%28Urgent%3A_Reject_Mnuchin%29
content:
<p>
US citizens:
<a href="http://act.boldprogressives.org/survey/reject_steven_mnuchin/">call
on the Senate</a> to reject Mnuchin.


feed_id: f927b1117d81b105e387879c9f01b251
title: Uber's price covers only 40% of its cost
uri: Uber-s-price-covers-only-40-of-its-cost
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#9_December_2016_%28Ubers_price_covers_only_40%2525_of_its_cost%29

content:
<p>
The
<a href="http://motherboard.vice.com/read/uber-true-cost-uh-oh">price
of an Uber ride is only around 40% of its cost</a>.  This shows how
intensely much the company is running at a loss.
<p>
The only way this can be rational is if Uber plans to greatly increase
its fees (perhaps after destroying its competitors) or else greatly
reduce costs (by getting rid of drivers).
<p>
Either way, let's not help Uber bring that future about.


feed_id: 1edcd51cf72c0b4a8af473e3936c0271
title: Cognitive ability and time spent with mother
uri: Cognitive-ability-and-time-spent-with-mother
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#9_December_2016_%28Cognitive_ability_and_time_spent_with_mother%29

content:
<p>
A study has found that a child's cognitive ability correlates with how
much time they spend with their mothers
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2016/dec/03/childs-cognitive-skills-linked-time-with-mother">in
ages 3-7</a>.
<p>
This may or may not be true for fathers too; the study did not get
much data about fathers.
<p>
In other words, pushing parents back into full-time work could impose
a lasting handicap on their children.


feed_id: 838f911d10cfc6955b83c29fd62f7ece
title: Thug violence against Native Americans
uri: Thug-violence-against-Native-Americans
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#9_December_2016_%28Thug_violence_against_Native_Americans%29

content:
<p>
Police Violence Against Native Americans
<a href="http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/police-violence-against-native-americans-goes-far-beyond-standing-rock/">Goes
Far Beyond Standing Rock</a>.


feed_id: a5e15af3538b6ace6b311f2923961d6b
title: Illegal mistreatment in Chinese factories
uri: Illegal-mistreatment-in-Chinese-factories
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#9_December_2016_%28Illegal_mistreatment_in_Chinese_factories%29

content:
<p>
Illegal mistreatment of workers is
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/dec/04/the-grim-truth-of-chinese-factories-producing-the-wests-christmas-toys">the
norm in Chinese factories</a> (in this case, making cheap toys for
westerners).


feed_id: f192b1337baa3c9f344ad6c31fbd3c35
title: Australia using up carbon budget
uri: Australia-using-up-carbon-budget
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#9_December_2016_%28Australia_using_up_carbon_budget%29

content:
<p>
Australia is
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/dec/05/australia-is-blowing-its-carbon-budget-projections-reveal">racing
through its carbon budget</a> from now to 2050.  At this rate, it will
use all of that up by 2032.


feed_id: da5a3ba43fe123294852434596dda14e
title: Trump and His Betraying Makeover
uri: Trump-and-His-Betraying-Makeover
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#8_December_2016_%28Trump_and_His_Betraying_Makeover%29

content:
<p>
Ralph Nader:
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/views/2016/12/04/trump-and-his-betraying-makeover">Trump
and His Betraying Makeover</a>.


feed_id: 0c6f506a58cb877965f44e013f0cf293
title: Score runoff voting
uri: Score-runoff-voting
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#8_December_2016_%28Score_runoff_voting%29
content:
<p>
I support the campaign to move Oregon to
<a href="http://www.equal.vote/">score runoff voting</a>, also known
as
<a href="http://rangevoting.org/">range voting</a>.


feed_id: b46d6de2c97bd0919b754b468af7347f
title: Trump's association with antisemitism
uri: Trump-s-association-with-antisemitism
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#8_December_2016_%28Trumps_association_with_antisemitism%29

content:
<p>
Jews in New York
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/views/2016/12/04/ifnotnow-leads-jewish-day-resistance-against-trump-and-appointees">protested</a>
against Trump's association with antisemitism, and against
pro-occupation Jewish organizations that cozy up to Trump by turning a
blind eye to antisemitism.


feed_id: b3a7728450040969ae304e8da668f396
title: Sea Shepherd
uri: Sea-Shepherd
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#8_December_2016_%28Sea_Shepherd%29
content:
<p>
Sea Shepherd faces credible accusations of lying about the sinking of
the Ady Gil.  However, it has been
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/jun/05/sea-shepherd-whale-wars-animal-planet">very
effective</a>, first against whaling and second against illegal
fishing.


feed_id: a72b40a2b322a553c45f944bd7467334
title: Today's right-wing trumpery
uri: Today-s-right-wing-trumpery
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#8_December_2016_%28Todays_right-wing_trumpery%29
content:
<p>
Recommending
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/dec/05/reaching-for-perspective-books-to-make-sense-of-the-new-world-order">books
that shed light</a> on today's right-wing trumpery, and on why
America's working poor are so mind-numbed by their lives that they
don't try to organize politically to make it better.


feed_id: 536cbc3c055b28fdd34982d0d0d82f43
title: Tories advocate surrender to business
uri: Tories-advocate-surrender-to-business
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#8_December_2016_%28Tories_advocate_surrender_to_business%29

content:
<p>
Tories say that leaving the EU is an opportunity for more
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/dec/05/liberalism-tories-morality-post-brexit-decency">"free
trade" in Britain</a>.  In other words, they advocate face-planting
surrender to business, this time supported by Britain's remaining
naval power.  Plus selling arms to regimes that don't deserve support.
<p>
The main problem with the EU is that it surrenders to business.  There
is no sense leaving the EU except to <em>stop</em> surrendering to
business.


feed_id: 3166e0cd1c27d8dcd8e3bd76fb975cbe
title: Giant avalanches in Tibet
uri: Giant-avalanches-in-Tibet
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#8_December_2016_%28Giant_avalanches_in_Tibet%29
content:
<p>
Giant avalanches in Tibet are
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/dec/04/climate-change-likely-cause-freak-tibet-avalanches-terrawatch">probably
due to global heating</a>.


feed_id: 900eed710288f7690a9f4d955056074a
title: Permission for current DAPL route denied
uri: Permission-for-current-DAPL-route-denied
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#8_December_2016_%28Permission_for_current_DAPL_route_denied%29

content:
<p>
The US Army
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/dec/04/dakota-access-pipeline-permit-denied-standing-rock">denied
permission to finish the Dakota Access pipeline on its current planned
route</a>, and will consider rerouting it.
<p>
This could be a victory for protecting the local water.  But if the
pipeline crosses the Missouri somewhere else, it will only move the
threat to a different backyard.  Meanwhile, its contribution to
increased global heating will be unaffected by changes in its route.
<p>
The only real victory would be to stop the pipeline completely.
<p>
The decision about the route also requires a proper environmental
impact statement.  Maybe that will provide an opportunity to stop it
completely.


feed_id: a864e6525a5a571c0feb4731e0363cb0
title: Dangerous drivers who kill
uri: 2016-12-09-Dangerous-drivers-who-kill
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#7_December_2016_%28Dangerous_drivers_who_kill%29
content:
<p>
The United Kingdom plans to
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/dec/04/dangerous-drivers-who-kill-face-life-sentences">
sentence drivers to life in prison
</a>
if they kill someone
by driving while speeding or holding a phone, or while drunk, etc.
<p>
If the goal is to discourage drivers from doing those dangerous
things, this approach is big on harshness but low on effectiveness.
Only a tiny fraction of people that today drive speeding, holding a
phone, or drunk, will cause actual harm and be punished for it.  The
rest tell themselves, "Nothing will go wrong", so they don't worry
about what the penalty would be if something did go wrong.
<br>
The effective way to discourage those dangerous behaviors is to
apply a small punishment more often.  If 10% of the people who did one
of these things on any given day were sentenced to one night in jail,
almost all of them would soon learn not to do it any more.  Even 1%
might be enough, since everyone would know people who were caught.


feed_id: dd7c1030122d915d88dbc5577204423a
title: Urgent: Reject payments from Bahrain
uri: Urgent-Reject-payments-from-Bahrain
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#10_December_2016_%28Urgent%3A_Reject_payments_from_Bahrain%29

content:
<p>
US citizens:
<a href="http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/realdonaldtrump-reject">call
on Trump</a> to reject Bahraini government payments to his hotel.
<p>
Here's part of
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/dec/06/theresa-may-save-mohammed-ramadan-execution-bahrain">why
it's bad for the president to legitimize Bahrain</a>.


feed_id: 3bd861806bc16d2ad9d5b5e9685c77d3
title: Snowden deserves to be treated better than Petraeus
uri: Snowden-deserves-to-be-treated-better-than-Petraeus
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#10_December_2016_%28Snowden_deserves_to_be_treated_better_than_Petraeus%29

content:
<p>
General Petraeus leaked more sensitive secrets than Snowden, and did
so for his own personal benefit.  He got a slap on the wrist and now
is considered for cabinet positions.
<p>
Snowden, who risked imprisonment go give the public vital information,
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/news/2016/12/05/snowden-petraeus-leaked-far-more-highly-classified-info-i-did">ought
to be treated better than Petraeus</a>.


feed_id: 962c20623b6ccdd15a27510c795afe53
title: Unions
uri: 2016-12-10-Unions
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#10_December_2016_%28Unions%29
content:
<p>
What workers need, for a better life, is a union.  Politicians that
are sincere about helping working people will support laws making
unions stronger and
<a href="https://www.thenation.com/article/workers-dont-need-trump-to-give-them-a-voice-they-need-unions/">helping
workers form unions and remain in them</a>.


feed_id: 8c0ac01f2ae30876905dd4bd9c261d4e
title: Virtual distance-midwives
uri: Virtual-distance-midwives
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#10_December_2016_%28Virtual_distance-midwives%29
content:
<p>
A virtual distance-midwife
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/dec/06/a-cellphone-is-no-substitute-for-a-midwife-african-tech-prodigy-warns">can't
do the job of a real midwife</a>.


feed_id: 6545c5ebaa7038e46f65a5287fbdf633
title: China torturing "corruption" suspects
uri: China-torturing-corruption-suspects
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#10_December_2016_%28China_torturing_corruption_suspects%29

content:
<p>
China
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/law/2016/dec/06/china-torturing-suspects-in-war-on-corruption-says-human-rights-watch">Torturing
Suspects in 'War on Corruption'</a>, Says Human Rights Watch.
<p>
Does Trump want the US to follow China's example?


feed_id: fd1178f692d4b2fc3f43f8fe70700c50
title: Helping poor people become self-supporting
uri: Helping-poor-people-become-self-supporting
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#10_December_2016_%28Helping_poor_people_become_self-supporting%29

content:
<p>
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2016/dec/06/has-bangladesh-charity-found-way-to-banish-extreme-poverty">"Poverty
graduation"</a> enables poor people in Bangladesh to become
permanently self-supporting for years.  It costs $100 per family.


feed_id: 71807379a3643344f766b147f9f684c4
title: Another Brazilian politician indicted
uri: Another-Brazilian-politician-indicted
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#10_December_2016_%28Another_Brazilian_politician_indicted%29

content:
<p>
Another important Brazilian politician, the president of the Senate,
has been
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/dec/06/brazil-senate-president-ousted-embezzlement-renan-calheiros">indicted
for corruption</a>.


feed_id: affdee680710704eb73ddbb12a362ae4
title: Taxing companies with higher-paid CEOs
uri: Taxing-companies-with-higher-paid-CEOs
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#10_December_2016_%28Taxing_companies_with_higher-paid_CEOs%29

content:
<p>
Portland, Oregon, is considering an
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/dec/05/portland-ceo-salary-tax-vote-wealth-inequality">extra
tax on companies whose CEOs are paid more than the median salary of
workers</a>.
<p>
I hope this takes into account workers that are hired through
temporary agencies or obligated to act as "independent contractors".
<p>
I also hope it is not limited to companies whose headquarters are in
Portland.  It needs to include all companies that have any business
activity located there.


feed_id: ae4be5a0d8589133c34aa1ce044efb68
title: Coal vs the Great Barrier Reef
uri: Coal-vs-the-Great-Barrier-Reef
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#10_December_2016_%28Coal_vs_the_Great_Barrier_Reef%29

content:
<p>
"Australia
<a href='https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/dec/06/australia-must-choose-between-coal-and-coral-the-great-barrier-reef-depends-on-it'>must
choose between coal and coral</a> — the Great Barrier Reef
depends on it."
<p>
Fortunately, Australians
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/dec/06/1bn-for-the-adani-coal-mine-ordinary-australians-understand-economics-better-than-turnbull">strongly
oppose providing subsidies to the proposed giant coal mine's railroad
link</a>.


feed_id: e1bd9f66cee0876d19b215a57ae780ba
title: Israel legalizes theft of private Palestinian land
uri: Israel-legalizes-theft-of-private-Palestinian-land
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#10_December_2016_%28Israel_legalizes_theft_of_private_Palestinian_land%29

content:
<p>
Israel's parliament has voted for a bill to
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/dec/05/israel-votes-to-authorise-illegal-settler-homes-in-palestine">retroactively
legalize the theft of private Palestinian land for unauthorized
Israeli colonies in the West Bank</a>.
<p>
All the Israeli colonies in the West Bank
<a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2009-may-aug.html#25%20June%202009%20(Israel%20colonies)">violate
international law</a>.  These colonies were built in violation of
Israeli law.


feed_id: 3eb8cde9a82b671b01df3f7eed9c946d
title: Attack on Washington DC pizzeria
uri: Attack-on-Washington-DC-pizzeria
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#10_December_2016_%28Attack_on_Washington_DC_pizzeria%29

content:
<p>
An armed man 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/dec/05/washington-pizza-child-sex-ring-fake-news-man-charged">attacked
a pizzeria</a> in Washington DC to "investigate" fabricated stories
that it Hillary Clinton was holding "child sex slaves" there.


feed_id: 90fbd2cc60e4a50bae4a56567b996398
title: Private prisons
uri: 2016-12-10-Private-prisons
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#10_December_2016_%28Private_prisons%29
content:
<p>
Private Prisons Are Really Bad, But Good Enough for Immigrants,
Concludes 
<a href="https://theintercept.com/2016/12/05/private-prisons-are-really-bad-but-good-enough-for-immigrants-concludes-homeland-security-report/">Homeland
Security Report</a>.


feed_id: 5b8e604f05423b56d7c75492e11d2216
title: Gambia's new president frees opposition leaders
uri: Gambia-s-new-president-frees-opposition-leaders
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#10_December_2016_%28Gambias_new_president_frees_opposition_leaders%29

content:
<p>
The new, democratically elected president of Gambia has 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/dec/05/ousainou-darboe-gambian-opposition-freed-from-prison-president-jammeh">freed
the opposition leaders that were imprisoned in protests in April</a>.
<p>
The US could take a lesson from Gambia.


feed_id: eba61a2c1b26bd8355d7c5360a9cb2cc
title: UN peacekeepers suspected of sexual abuse
uri: UN-peacekeepers-suspected-of-sexual-abuse
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#10_December_2016_%28UN_peacekeepers_suspected_of_sexual_abuse%29

content:
<p>
The UN has 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/dec/05/un-inquiry-into-car-abuse-claims-identifies-41-troops-as-suspects">identified
41 peacekeepers</a> active in the Central African Republic as suspects
for sexual abuse.


feed_id: 8e95100e7cdb01bfdc3a4993ccc845b0
title: 40 marine species eliminated
uri: 40-marine-species-eliminated
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#10_December_2016_%2840_marine_species_eliminated%29
content:
<p>
Rising temperatures have eliminated 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/dec/05/ancient-shellfish-red-mouthed-rock-shell-purple-dye-vanishes-eastern-med">at
least 40 marine species</a> from the eastern Mediterranean coast.


feed_id: bb9072b07cde6dd9c00ee51ed38a87c6
title: Land rights for indigenous peoples
uri: Land-rights-for-indigenous-peoples
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#10_December_2016_%28Land_rights_for_indigenous_peoples%29

content:
<p>
Why Land Rights for Indigenous Peoples 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/nov/29/land-rights-indigenous-peoples-climate-change-deforestation-amazon">Could
Be the Answer to [global heating]</a>.
<p>
I quibble with one point in the article, where it asks, "How do you
compensate industries reliant on the agriculture that entails
deforestation?"  Why should they get compensation, rather than
punishment?


feed_id: bc817bcea6e646d4c880510a6cba8da7
title: Chinese-style censorship in Russia
uri: Chinese-style-censorship-in-Russia
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#10_December_2016_%28Chinese-style_censorship_in_Russia%29

content:
<p>
Russia is imposing Chinese-style
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/nov/29/putin-china-internet-great-firewall-russia-cybersecurity-pact">censorship
and control</a> over the internet.


feed_id: eb8f0c31c17388d852e3bf7d362a1402
title: Urgent: Eliminate conflict of interest
uri: Urgent-Eliminate-conflict-of-interest
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#10_December_2016_%28Urgent%3A_Eliminate_conflict_of_interest%29

content:
<p>
US citizens: 
<a href="http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/president-elect-trump-15">call
on Trump</a> to sell his businesses and eliminate his conflict of
interest.


feed_id: 45eda477ea54edbfeb613e0766311477
title: CETA
uri: 2016-12-10-CETA
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#10_December_2016_%28CETA%29
content:
<p>
The European Parliament will have to 
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/views/2016/12/02/ceta-vote-will-european-parliament-learn-brexit-and-trump">vote
on CETA</a>.  If it does not reject that business-supremacy treaty, it
will strengthen the right-wing "populist" parties.


feed_id: 05923a5227241a29153dcf07df1a16f8
title: Shell's repeated oil spills in Nigeria
uri: Shell-s-repeated-oil-spills-in-Nigeria
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#10_December_2016_%28Shells_repeated_oil_spills_in_Nigeria%29

content:
<p>
The Ogoni people of Nigeria want to sue Shell in the UK for
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/dec/03/ogoni-king-shell-oil-is-killing-my-people">polluting
their land and groundwater</a> through repeated oil spills.


feed_id: 182ff9648effc5549d9020b0e2778653
title: Rulers in Brazil push for austerity until 2037
uri: Rulers-in-Brazil-push-for-austerity-until-2037
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#10_December_2016_%28Rulers_in_Brazil_push_for_austerity_until_2037%29

content:
<p>
The corrupt politicians that rule Brazil are 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/dec/02/brazil-20-years-austerity-michel-temer">pushing
a constitutional amendment to impose austerity until 2037</a>.


feed_id: e131c715cb98d84a80e6b1c7d67c63ba
title: Repealing Obama's medical care extension
uri: Repealing-Obama-s-medical-care-extension
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#12_December_2016_%28Repealing_Obamas_medical_care_extension%29

content:
<p>
Repealing Obama's medical care extension 
<a href="https://thinkprogress.org/heres-how-many-people-could-die-every-year-if-obamacare-is-repealed-ae4bf3e100a2">would
cause between 27000 and 36000 deaths per year</a>.
<p>
That's more or less 
<a href="http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/38629-gop-s-health-reform-strategy-amounts-to-repeal-without-replacement">what
SCROTUS plan to do</a>.


feed_id: ee78fc68f651af62f0437b9b72e46740
title: Low pay and precarious jobs in the UK
uri: Low-pay-and-precarious-jobs-in-the-UK
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#12_December_2016_%28Low_pay_and_precarious_jobs_in_the_UK%29

content:
<p>
Unemployment in the UK has gone down, but most people 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/dec/08/work-route-better-life-pay-properly-poverty-housing">can
barely live on the pay of their precarious jobs</a>, and they have no
career path to a better job.
<p>
It's easy to get full employment by letting employers pay people too
little to live on.  That is not enough to qualify as successful
management of the economy.
<p>
I think the answer to their needs is 
<a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2016-jul-oct.html#07_August_2016_(Corbyns_plan)">Corbyn</a>
and his supporters, who want to make the Labour Party a real Labour
Party again.


feed_id: 3a52ed1fc348ae885705173497cc6369
title: Strawberry export from Gaza to Europe
uri: Strawberry-export-from-Gaza-to-Europe
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#12_December_2016_%28Strawberry_export_from_Gaza_to_Europe%29

content:
<p>
Israel has 
<a href="https://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=774212">permitted
Gaza</a> to export strawberries to Europe.


feed_id: 263fa6b67e71302578e3aee751af7329
title: Americans' recognition of Palestine
uri: Americans-recognition-of-Palestine
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#12_December_2016_%28Americans_recognition_of_Palestine%29

content:
<p>
Americans have come to accept 
<a href="http://mondoweiss.net/2016/12/overwhelming-establishment-palestinian/">recognition
of Palestine and opposition to Israel's colonies in Palestinian
territory</a>.  Especially Democrats.
<p>
US Jews 
<a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2013-may-aug.html#16_May_2013_(Norman_Finkelstein)">will
mostly go along with this</a> too.
<p>
The reason US politicians don't generally condemn the occupation is
the money offered by some donors for not doing so.


feed_id: e844a4788f258a1cabc407ab996f93e2
title: Urgent: Take a stand for freedoms
uri: Urgent-Take-a-stand-for-freedoms
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#11_December_2016_%28Urgent%3A_Take_a_stand_for_freedoms%29

content:
<p>
US citizens: 
<a href="https://www.signherenow.org/petition/defend-first-amendment/cpd/">take
a stand</a> for freedom of the press and freedom to dissent, and
against bigotry.


feed_id: d15e63591a819bb8f4b6ebe11d736444
title: "Expectation of privacy"
uri: Expectation-of-privacy
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#11_December_2016_%28Expectation_of_privacy%29
content:
<p>
US privacy law is based on whether a person has an "expectation of
privacy", and this gives a bad result with 
<a href="http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2016/12/court-license-plates-arent-personal-info-so-ok-for-cops-to-scan/">license
plate tracking</a>.
<p>
States should pass laws 
<a href="http://gnu.org/philosophy/surveillance-vs-democracy.html">limiting
the data that license plate cameras can save</a>.


feed_id: 4bc392c008a17ccaff6d3c0fd0ecb788
title: NYC Thug layers prosecute protesters
uri: NYC-Thug-layers-prosecute-protesters
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#11_December_2016_%28NYC_Thug_layers_prosecute_protesters%29

content:
<p>
New York City Thug Department lawyers 
<a href="https://www.aclu.org/blog/speak-freely/nyclu-will-continue-watch-nypd-so-its-lawyers-dont-institutionalize-protester">specially
prosecute protesters</a>, to pressure them to make deals that include
admissions such that would stop them from suing the city for their
false arrests.


feed_id: 6c233fd8244b98d73e5e8d8b2cc90f53
title: Murderous, violent men
uri: Murderous-violent-men
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#11_December_2016_%28Murderous%2C_violent_men%29
content:
<p>
Why Does a Woman Stay with a Violent Man?  
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/dec/07/femicide-census-violence-against-women">Sometimes,
to Save Her Life</a>.  Women are most likely to be murdered by men
just after leaving them.


feed_id: 641dbb51518f7154146753f21fdea723
title: Export-Import Bank
uri: Export-Import-Bank
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#11_December_2016_%28Export-Import_Bank%29
content:
<p>
The US congress protected many ecosystems by refusing to resuscitate
the 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/dec/07/export-import-bank-fossil-fuel-plants-vietnam-mozambique">Export-Import
Bank</a>.
<p>
The Export-Import Bank has 
<a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#4_December_2016_(US_Export-Import_Bank_fossil_fuel_investment)">funded
lots of fossil fuel projects</a> and getting rid of it is substantial
progress.
<p>
The danger is that Trump will bring it back next year.


feed_id: c1aaac83aece30411dad4a02c06a49a8
title: EU wildlife protection directives
uri: EU-wildlife-protection-directives
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#11_December_2016_%28EU_wildlife_protection_directives%29

content:
<p>
A 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/dec/07/eu-nature-directives-birds-habitats-directives">public
campaign</a> forced the EU's plutocratist president to give up on a
plan to "reform" wildlife protection directives to serve business.


feed_id: 7adc2cf34f4cd233c50944e5b877dc37
title: Egyptian women's rights activist arrested
uri: Egyptian-women-s-rights-activist-arrested
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#11_December_2016_%28Egyptian_womens_rights_activist_arrested%29

content:
<p>
Azza Soliman, Egyptian women's rights activist, has been 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/dec/07/womens-rights-activist-azza-soliman-arrested-in-egypt">arrested,
and her NGO shut down</a>.
<p>
"Detained" is a fashionable euphemism for "arrested".  I never use it,
because I think we should call an arrest an arrest.


feed_id: 09667bc33a062682a732d4e2e2e40cc3
title: Thousands of geese dead in Montana
uri: Thousands-of-geese-dead-in-Montana
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#11_December_2016_%28Thousands_of_geese_dead_in_Montana%29

content:
<p>
Acid water in an
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/dec/07/thousands-of-snow-geese-die-in-montana-after-landing-on-contaminated-water">old
open pit mine in Montana</a> killed thousands of migrating geese that
found no other place in the area to stop in.
<p>
It goes to show that we need to clean up old mines — putting up
"danger" signs is does not make them safe.  Cleaning up the mine has
to be treated as part of running the mine.  Indeed, starting to
operate a mine should require posting a bond for the expected costs of
cleanup.


feed_id: 70a07044d8b941bd239ad58b76259c4f
title: Assad's troops capture old city of Aleppo
uri: Assad-s-troops-capture-old-city-of-Aleppo
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#11_December_2016_%28Assads_troops_capture_old_city_of_Aleppo%29

content:
<p>
Assad's troops have captured the old city of Aleppo
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/dec/07/syrian-troops-in-control-of-aleppo-old-city-after-rebels-withdraw">and
most of the former rebel areas</a>.


feed_id: 367cb7c21a252d9dd8fc6343903ee1e1
title: Australia lobbying for coal and nuclear
uri: Australia-lobbying-for-coal-and-nuclear
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#11_December_2016_%28Australia_lobbying_for_coal_and_nuclear%29

content:
<p>
Australia is
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/dec/06/australia-lobbies-infrastructure-bank-to-invest-in-coal-and-nuclear-power">lobbying
the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank</a> to support coal and
nuclear projects rather than renewables.


feed_id: 24b6a7526de92984af8883cd350c0349
title: Trump fires crony's son
uri: Trump-fires-crony-s-son
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#11_December_2016_%28Trump_fires_cronys_son%29
content:
<p>
One small positive step: Trump
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/dec/07/trump-adviser-son-michael-flynn-sacked-pizzagate-comet-ping-pong-restaurant">fired
a crony's son</a> for spreading the false "Pizzagate" accusations
against Clinton.
<p>
This in itself isn't much, but just maybe it will develop into
something more.
<p>
We will see.


feed_id: 54c949ee3f3a2a24664d65ea2f0acc54
title: Koch brothers' links to Trump
uri: Koch-brothers-links-to-Trump
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#11_December_2016_%28Koch_brothers_links_to_Trump%29
content:
<p>
Many of Trump's
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/dec/07/donald-trump-koch-brothers-cabinet-transition-power">choices
for cabinet offices</a> are closely linked with the Koch brothers.


feed_id: c09de0f32383cb4d030a3e8bd8669284
title: Assange answers Swedish prosecutor
uri: Assange-answers-Swedish-prosecutor
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#11_December_2016_%28Assange_answers_Swedish_prosecutor%29

content:
<p>
Julian Assange has
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/2016/dec/07/julian-assange-defies-swedish-prosecutors-by-releasing-statement">published
his answers to the Swedish prosecutor's questions</a>, in effect
daring the prosecutor to either charge him for real or let the issue
drop so he can leave the Ecuadorian embassy.
<p>
Assange says they can't actually charge him because the evidence
offers no legal grounds to do so.
<p>
I don't know what went on between Assange and the woman, but I do see
that the prosecutors are using the charges as an excuse rather than
really concerned about them.  If they were serious about the alleged
sex crime, they would have made the formal commitment not to send
Assange to the US, and he would have gone to Sweden to face the legal
proceedings.


feed_id: 032ad89099dbfaea7bff2590283a7930
title: Democrats
uri: 2016-12-12-Democrats
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#11_December_2016_%28Democrats%29
content:
<p>
"Democrats must
<a href='http://www.commondreams.org/views/2016/12/06/democrats-need-embrace-progressivism-or-else-move-out-way'>become
progressive or get out of the way</a>."
<p>
I disagree with one background point: Trump did not win the election.
Rather the Republican Party stole the election through
voter-suppression.  The
<a href="http://www.gregpalast.com/election-stolen-heres/">Crosscheck
scheme</a> denied a million Americans the right to vote.
<p>
With this unjust advantage, Trump didn't need to actually win; it was
sufficient for him to get within stealing range.  He did that against
Clinton because of her nonprogressive policies.
<p>
Sanders might have won by a bigger margin, beyond stealing range.


feed_id: 90e792a5565598a70e710d1a17c8242a
title: Rep. Ellison faces smear campaign
uri: Rep-Ellison-faces-smear-campaign
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#11_December_2016_%28Rep._Ellison_faces_smear_campaign%29

content:
<p>
Rep. Ellison faces a smear campaign for
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/views/2016/12/06/smear-campaign-against-keith-ellison-repugnant-reveals-much-about-washington">insisting
that Israel should make peace with Palestine</a>.


feed_id: 26159bbb07ed6830ff2e5282e1dc2a76
title: Facebook Presence
uri: Facebook-Presence
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#11_December_2016_%28Facebook_Presence%29
content:
<p>
If you feel your organization needs
a <a href="https://stallman.org/facebook-presence.html">"presence" in
Facebook</a>.
</p>


feed_id: 736acf7c821fc41ed7fe6ca39e93ba05
title: Boycott of Israel
uri: Boycott-of-Israel
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#11_December_2016_%28Boycott_of_Israel%29
content:
<p>
Eran Cohen, running to lead Britain's Union of Jewish Students,
supports
<a href="http://normanfinkelstein.com/2016/12/05/this-guys-got-my-vote-the-one-i-didnt-cast-in-the-us-presidential-election/">
the Boycott, Divestments and Sanctions movement against
Israel
</a>
where he was born.
<p>
<a href="http://972mag.com/why-a-settlement-boycott-is-so-scary-for-israel/123394/">
Israel fears boycott of products of its colonies
</a>
because that could easily
extend to a broader boycott of companies that operate there.


feed_id: 8924249f245612c770f4fe315cb2701c
title: Shuafat refugee camp
uri: Shuafat-refugee-camp
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#11_December_2016_%28Shuafat_refugee_camp%29
content:
<p>
<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/01/magazine/we-are-orphans-here.html?_r=1">
Israel calls Shuafat refugee camp a part of Jerusalem,
</a>
but it is
surrounded by walls and some residents are in effect imprisoned by
them.
<p>
They have to pay taxes for city services that they never get.
Israeli thugs enter only to arrest people or demolish buildings.
Aside from that, they protect the drug dealers that operate near
a checkpoint in the walls.
<p>
Residents estimate that 1/3 of the people are addicts of this drug,
which leads some of its users to suicidally attack Israelis with
knives.  This gives Israeli thugs an excuse for
illegal collective punishment:
<a href="2015-sep-dec.html#22_November_2015_(Collective_punishment)">
blowing up the family's house.
</a>


feed_id: 78e119cf12149b76a8ac384826fa7553
title: Urgent: Support Ellison
uri: Urgent-Support-Ellison
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#11_December_2016_%28Urgent%3A_Support_Ellison%29
content:
<p>
US citizens:
<a href="http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/stand-with-keith-and?">
support Keith Ellison for chair of the Democratic
National Committee.
</a>


feed_id: ce08e4c02d9f481ed9542dfcc0d1268a
title: Disinformation
uri: Disinformation
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#11_December_2016_%28Disinformation%29
content:
<p>
Disinformation, Not Fake News,
<a href="https://theintercept.com/2016/12/06/disinformation-not-fake-news-got-trump-elected/">
Got Trump Elected,
</a>
and It Won't Go Away.


feed_id: 24912508a3d09ab39c11f361a2a43ec9
title: Censorship
uri: Censorship
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#11_December_2016_%28Censorship%29
content:
<p>
Replacing printed newspapers with digital distribution turns out to
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/greenslade/2016/dec/07/how-the-loss-of-newsprint-threatens-our-democracy-and-liberty">
make censorship easier.
</a>
<p>
For a while it was the opposite, but that was before states began trying
in earnest to censor.


feed_id: cd024dd0c2986701848982e22245b675
title: Dictator Maduro
uri: Dictator-Maduro
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#11_December_2016_%28Dictator_Maduro%29
content:
<p>
Accusing Venezuela's president Maduro of
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/nov/17/venezuela-nicolas-maduro-dictatorship-elections-jeremy-corbyn">
becoming a dictator.
</a>
<p>
It seems pretty much true to me.  Chavez held real elections, and
really won them. Maduro doesn't do that.
<p>
While it is true that Chavez started some of the policies that are
today causing economic problems, he did so to correct other economic
problems (poor people had trouble buying necessities of life).  I
think he would have corrected the details of those policies if they
had caused big problems while he was president.


feed_id: 23e9415080b9442a029ff04383aad947
title: Jihadis welcoming Trump
uri: Jihadis-welcoming-Trump
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#11_December_2016_%28Jihadis_welcoming_Trump%29
content:
<p>
Jihadis boast that Trump will play into their hands, by spreading
bigotry and thus
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/nov/10/islamic-extremists-welcome-donald-trump-victory">
provoking hatred from other Muslims.
</a>

I fear it may be true.


feed_id: c4754d90738247a28b74c416a78f6b2b
title: Neonicotinoids
uri: 2016-12-12-Neonicotinoids
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#10_December_2016_%28Neonicotinoids%29
content:
<p>
When neonicotinoid pesticides were banned in Europe,
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2016/12/06/new-report-confirms-bee-killing-pesticides-cause-other-widespread-environmental">
farm yields have
not decreased.
</a>
There is no reason to hesitate about banning them to
save the bees.


feed_id: b98c9188861992639d17cd507d40ce92
title: Airline pricing
uri: Airline-pricing
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#10_December_2016_%28Airline_pricing%29
content:
<p>
<a href="https://verdict.justia.com/2015/05/13/personalized-pricing-in-the-air-why-consumers-should-be-wary-of-a-new-airline-pricing-proposal">
Personalized Pricing in the Air?
</a>
Why Consumers Should Be Wary of a New
Airline Pricing Proposal.


feed_id: c6645593fa539a5af316f0eac4d82ac1
title: We Sue an Artist
uri: We-Sue-an-Artist
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#10_December_2016_%28We_Sue_an_Artist%29
content:
<p>
About the book,
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/oct/14/dung-beetle-spoofs-ladybird-after-books-copyright-row">
We Sue an Artist
</a>
— by an artist that was sued.


feed_id: 137cc9172209ab2c4f7026484e7385ba
title: Discrediting Trump
uri: Discrediting-Trump
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#10_December_2016_%28Discrediting_Trump%29
content:
<p>
Want to Discredit Donald Trump?
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/dec/07/how-to-discredit-donald-trump-part-of-the-elite">
Show His Base He's Part of the Elite.
</a>


feed_id: 886b18856a4982b19ba8af64ec058f4e
title: Risk management
uri: Risk-management
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#10_December_2016_%28Risk_management%29
content:
<p>
[Global heating] Threatens
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/dec/07/climate-change-threatens-ability-insurers-manage-risk">
Ability of Insurers to Manage Risk.
</a>
<p>
This is a consequence of increases in extreme weather of various kinds.
Each instance of extreme weather has some chance of causing lots of damage.


feed_id: 52ba74aaf1252e5f08b3357d521e0e65
title: Not a pipeline war
uri: Not-a-pipeline-war
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#10_December_2016_%28Not_a_pipeline_war%29
content:
<p>
The US opposition to Assad is
<a href="http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/37685-the-war-against-the-assad-regime-is-not-a-pipeline-war">
not about an oil pipeline,
</a>
as some claim.


feed_id: 8c28ce5b11c175241705c52edc1a7bcf
title: Oil spills
uri: Oil-spills
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#10_December_2016_%28Oil_spills%29
content:
<p>
North Dakota has around
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2016/12/06/analysis-north-dakota-pipelines-average-four-spills-year-3-million-gallons">
4 oil spills each year
</a>
from existing pipelines.


feed_id: b1af018bbd35b25cf74cb4573e391660
title: Sea ice in decline
uri: Sea-ice-in-decline
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#10_December_2016_%28Sea_ice_in_decline%29
content:
<p>
In November the Arctic set a record for the
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/dec/06/arctic-antarctic-ice-melt-november-record">
least sea ice ever observed.
</a>


feed_id: 9b7c0566d43f5bbfbf1354b8add16d7a
title: Government waste
uri: Government-waste
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#10_December_2016_%28Government_waste%29
content:
<p>
If Republicans Want to "Cut Fat",
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/dec/06/if-republicans-want-to-cut-fat-start-at-the-pentagon">
They Might Start at the Pentagon.
</a>
<p>
For plutocratist politicians, "cut fat from the budget" means "cut
spending that goes to the non-rich."  Paying businesses to build arms
or run prisons never counts as "fat."


feed_id: 68e66998d2ab09e128234dd1d906f0e2
title: Distrusting the net
uri: Distrusting-the-net
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#10_December_2016_%28Distrusting_the_net%29
content:
<p>
It suits Russia to
<a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/future_tense/2016/12/why_russia_is_using_the_internet_to_undermine_western_democracy.html">
make the West distrust the internet,
</a>
because Russian elites
already did.


feed_id: 5143370fbd65d3bdd1b8ce71550e1be5
title: Privatizing native lands
uri: Privatizing-native-lands
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#10_December_2016_%28Privatizing_native_lands%29
content:
<p>
Trump's advisors want to
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/news/2016/12/05/trumps-advisers-want-privatize-native-lands-big-energy-reuters">
privatize indigenous peoples' land
</a>
in order
to deregulate drilling for fossil fuels.
<p>
Privatization of tribal lands has been used in the US as a means to
take it away.  Once an individual, rather than the tribe, can sell the
land, desperate poverty is likely to make that happen.  The result is
that the tribe's members end up just as poor, and without land.
And in some cases poisoned by toxic releases from the wells.


feed_id: 0f15dafd1458c587e0c56b53be00d657
title: Rule of the ultra-elite
uri: Rule-of-the-ultra-elite
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#10_December_2016_%28Rule_of_the_ultra-elite%29
content:
<p>
How Trump's Grift Gave Government to
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/views/2016/12/05/how-trumps-grift-gave-government-001-percent">
the 0.01 Percent.
</a>


feed_id: 1f45074cbe5ecd178586ce68d9f633c9
title: Automation of jobs
uri: Automation-of-jobs
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#10_December_2016_%28Automation_of_jobs%29
content:
<p>
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/views/2016/12/05/what-robots-are-doing-middle-class">
What the Robots Are Doing to the Middle Class.
</a>
  The new middle class is smaller and requires a higher level of training.


feed_id: 5665862bc212ba0f587e217e941ef29e
title: Presidential war powers
uri: Presidential-war-powers
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#10_December_2016_%28Presidential_war_powers%29
content:
<p>
Obama's latest report says that terrorist suspects must have
<a href="https://theintercept.com/2016/12/06/after-8-years-of-expanding-them-obama-insists-that-presidential-war-powers-are-limited/">
proper
trials in real courts,
</a>
and that that the Authorization for Use of
Military Force does not permit attacking any and all suspects of
terrorism no matter where they are.
<p>
Publishing a good policy so late in Obama's term of office is unlikely
to restrain Trump very much.
<p>
If he had published these decisions in 2008, and put them fully into
effect, the US would be more respectable and more respected today, and
it would be politically harder for a subsequent president to go
against them.


feed_id: 511101b2673d46d8f79a86f4c31adf2e
title: Child soldiers
uri: Child-soldiers
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#10_December_2016_%28Child_soldiers%29
content:
<p>
Dominic Ongwen was kidnaped at age 10 by the Lords Resistance Army and
forced to be a soldier, then became a brutal leader.
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/dec/06/dominic-ongwen-the-hague-trial-war-crimes-lra-uganda">
Was he a victim,
or a war criminal?
</a>
<p>
Clearly he started out as a victim; the question is to what extent he
later became culpable.
<p>
When children are forced to become soldiers, we can't hold them
responsible for what they are forced to do.  No 10-year-old can be
expected to have the force of will needed to stand up to such
pressure; few adults could do it.
<p>
If the same person continues to do similar crimes when older, in a
predatory army that punishes soldiers for not doing them, I think it
is still senseless to put that person individually on trial.
<p>
However, when a solider becomes a leader, and orders others to commit
crimes, at that point I think person becomes responsible for them
and cannot plead coercion.


feed_id: b26bb82cb8c360cd20c6c3ab6f58c1b3
title: Debtors' prison
uri: Debtors-prison
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#10_December_2016_%28Debtors%27_prison%29
content:
<p>
Nicole Bolden is suing officials in the St Louis region
for
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/dec/06/missouri-woman-jailed-for-being-too-poor-lawsuit">
jailing her for being too poor to pay fines.
</a>


feed_id: 6e4fbf2f23bf22975fc351a40336e900
title: Personalized pricing
uri: Personalized-pricing
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#10_December_2016_%28Personalized_pricing%29
content:
<p>
Online sales, with tracking and surveillance of customers, enables
businesses to
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/dec/06/cookie-monsters-why-your-browsing-history-could-mean-rip-off-prices">
show different people different prices.
</a>
<p>
I protect myself from tracking and surveillance by paying cash in
stores.


feed_id: 5ad710bf2a95cac534e2f27e44362fe7
title: Urgent: Preserve Medicare
uri: Urgent-Preserve-Medicare
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#10_December_2016_%28Urgent%3A_Preserve_Medicare%29
content:
<p>
US citizens:
<a href="https://stallman.org/petitions/petition-medicare/">call on
Congress</a> to resist Trump and Ryan by preserving Medicare.


feed_id: 0940742d7b78d3b7597d16874888842b
title: Book of satire withdrawn
uri: Book-of-satire-withdrawn
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#10_December_2016_%28Book_of_satire_withdrawn%29
content:
<p>
A book of satire, meant to expose and mock racism, has been withdrawn
in response to
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/dec/06/bad-little-childrens-books-satire-pulled-following-racism-accusations">condemnation
from people who thought it was serious</a>.


feed_id: 03493eb2f4924924b9d77426e02d389b
title: Agents that murdered an exile in the US
uri: Agents-that-murdered-an-exile-in-the-US
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#10_December_2016_%28Agents_that_murdered_an_exile_in_the_US%29

content:
<p>
The Chilean agents that murdered exile Orlando Letelier in the US in
1976 have been living safely in the US since then.  Now Chile
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/dec/06/chile-bombing-extradition-michael-townley-armando-fernandez-larios">will
try to extradite them</a>.


feed_id: ce996d7bb34fcd2173084b4ca984e534
title: Countries with McDonald's
uri: Countries-with-McDonald-s
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#10_December_2016_%28Countries_with_McDonalds%29
content:
<p>
George Monbiot:
"<a href='http://www.monbiot.com/2016/12/10/the-golden-arches-theory-of-decline/'>No
country with a McDonald's can remain a democracy.</a>" McDonald's,
here, stands for the multinational companies that atomize and dominate
society in each place.


feed_id: 221d1367d1cb48a3158f5148641d2259
title: Human rights lawyer missing in China
uri: Human-rights-lawyer-missing-in-China
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#10_December_2016_%28Human_rights_lawyer_missing_in_China%29

content:
<p>
UN Human Rights Experts Demand Answers from China over
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/dec/06/un-human-rights-china-missing-lawyer-jiang-tianyong">Missing
Lawyer</a>.  Reportedly they suspect he was imprisoned for meeting
with someone from the US.


feed_id: 325e90755327ca36d76e34f0b6f0711c
title: Israel excludes people for peaceful criticism
uri: Israel-excludes-people-for-peaceful-criticism
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#10_December_2016_%28Israel_excludes_people_for_peaceful_criticism%29

content:
<p>
Israel
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/dec/06/isabel-phiri-israel-refuses-visa-theologian-bds-boycott">denied
entry to the general secretary of the World Council of Churches</a>
because she advocates boycott and divestment of Israel.
<p>
A state that excludes people for peaceful criticism is moving towards
tyranny.  Israel calls itself the "only democracy in the Middle East",
but it is getting too repressive to qualify any more.


feed_id: 6c42dd9ced89e0fbffe712431a09a77e
title: Extreme rains
uri: Extreme-rains
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#10_December_2016_%28Extreme_rains%29
content:
<p>
Extreme rains (and flooding) in the US
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/dec/06/us-extreme-rains-increase-400-end-of-century-global-warming">could
increase 400% by the end of this century</a>.
<p>
These strong rains will destroy crops.


feed_id: b08506b4d30a686a7925f1274d2b6cee
title: Registered sex offenders
uri: 2016-12-12-Registered-sex-offenders
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#10_December_2016_%28Registered_sex_offenders%29
content:
<p>
Courts in three US states have ruled that broad restrictions on the
lives of registered sex offenders are
<a href="http://reason.com/blog/2016/12/05/two-federal-courts-call-bs-on-banning-se">unconstitutional</a>.
<p>
There may be some convicted sex criminals that are so dangerous to
children (or, in some cases, to adults) that we need to prevent them
from having a chance to attack anyone.  But it's absurd to do this by
telling putting most work, most education, and many civic activities
off limits for them based on broad and dumb criteria.
<p>
Surely there are smarter ways to achieve the goal — perhaps
achieve it more completely — without forbidding them from
walking around town.
<p>
It would be better to sentence a few who are likely to commit more
crimes to lifelong prison or parole, rather than impose such
restrictions on a far larger number of people.


feed_id: 518e91101c793a3022719e738f1aa4cb
title: Presumption of guilt for black men
uri: Presumption-of-guilt-for-black-men
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#10_December_2016_%28Presumption_of_guilt_for_black_men%29

content:
<p>
The thug that killed Walter Scott had a
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/news/2016/12/05/abomination-justice-mistrial-declared-over-police-shooting-walter-scott">mistrial</a>,
because at least one juror refused to consider a guilty verdict.
<p>
This article argues that the US has a
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/dec/06/walter-scott-mistrial-shot-on-camera-justice">presumption
of guilt for black men</a>.


feed_id: 9f86aad02c2a64c6fde67c8ce2c55835
title: Carbapenem-resistant bacteria found in farm
uri: Carbapenem-resistant-bacteria-found-in-farm
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#10_December_2016_%28Carbapenem-resistant_bacteria_found_in_farm%29

content:
<p>
Bacteria resistant to carbapenem antibiotics have been found
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/news/2016/12/05/has-last-shoe-dropped-fight-against-superbugs">in
pigs in a US farm</a>.  When this resistance spreads to human
environments, we will be left with no antibiotics that bacteria can't
resist.
<p>
Thanks to the practice of giving regular doses of antibiotics to all
pigs, you'll be able to buy cheaper pork, and you'll die if you get an
infection.


feed_id: 2127707ec12c5a76c2b7b04132aa3b93
title: Attack on Washington DC pizzeria
uri: 2016-12-12-Attack-on-Washington-DC-pizzeria
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#10_December_2016_%28Attack_on_Washington_DC_pizzeria%29

content:
<p>
An armed man
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/dec/05/washington-pizza-child-sex-ring-fake-news-man-charged">attacked
a pizzeria</a> in Washington DC to "investigate" fabricated stories
that it Hillary Clinton was holding "child sex slaves" there.


feed_id: 0deb929ad2eed6535bdbde118e0032b9
title: Private prisons
uri: 2016-12-12-Private-prisons
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#10_December_2016_%28Private_prisons%29
content:
<p>
Private Prisons Are Really Bad, But Good Enough for Immigrants,
Concludes
<a href="https://theintercept.com/2016/12/05/private-prisons-are-really-bad-but-good-enough-for-immigrants-concludes-homeland-security-report/">Homeland
Security Report</a>.


feed_id: 12204a14e7242b29dd2ad857b77a86a7
title: Gambia's new president frees opposition leaders
uri: 2016-12-12-Gambia-s-new-president-frees-opposition-leaders
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#10_December_2016_%28Gambias_new_president_frees_opposition_leaders%29

content:
<p>
The new, democratically elected president of Gambia has
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/dec/05/ousainou-darboe-gambian-opposition-freed-from-prison-president-jammeh">freed
the opposition leaders that were imprisoned in protests in April</a>.
<p>
The US could take a lesson from Gambia.


feed_id: ec5aa73e0da556564b3daf74966f14a8
title: UN peacekeepers suspected of sexual abuse
uri: 2016-12-12-UN-peacekeepers-suspected-of-sexual-abuse
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#10_December_2016_%28UN_peacekeepers_suspected_of_sexual_abuse%29

content:
<p>
The UN has
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/dec/05/un-inquiry-into-car-abuse-claims-identifies-41-troops-as-suspects">identified
41 peacekeepers</a> active in the Central African Republic as suspects
for sexual abuse.


feed_id: a1509db6ca8dfb6d40d37cb9c94ff85f
title: 40 marine species eliminated
uri: 2016-12-12-40-marine-species-eliminated
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#10_December_2016_%2840_marine_species_eliminated%29
content:
<p>
Rising temperatures have eliminated
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/dec/05/ancient-shellfish-red-mouthed-rock-shell-purple-dye-vanishes-eastern-med">at
least 40 marine species</a> from the eastern Mediterranean coast.


feed_id: 85ce80794c1bed0126eeb4a5881e798c
title: Land rights for indigenous peoples
uri: 2016-12-12-Land-rights-for-indigenous-peoples
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#10_December_2016_%28Land_rights_for_indigenous_peoples%29

content:
<p>
Why Land Rights for Indigenous Peoples
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/nov/29/land-rights-indigenous-peoples-climate-change-deforestation-amazon">Could
Be the Answer to [global heating]</a>.
<p>
I quibble with one point in the article, where it asks, "How do you
compensate industries reliant on the agriculture that entails
deforestation?"  Why should they get compensation, rather than
punishment?


feed_id: 455b6348239950625a01227408c852b8
title: Urgent: Eliminate conflict of interest
uri: 2016-12-12-Urgent-Eliminate-conflict-of-interest
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#10_December_2016_%28Urgent%3A_Eliminate_conflict_of_interest%29

content:
<p>
US citizens:
<a href="http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/president-elect-trump-15">call
on Trump</a> to sell his businesses and eliminate his conflict of
interest.


feed_id: b870af3d05f8bc8890e34b3eb9f99e90
title: CETA
uri: 2016-12-12-CETA
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#10_December_2016_%28CETA%29
content:
<p>
The European Parliament will have to
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/views/2016/12/02/ceta-vote-will-european-parliament-learn-brexit-and-trump">vote
on CETA</a>.  If it does not reject that business-supremacy treaty, it
will strengthen the right-wing "populist" parties.


feed_id: ceffcd78c3754a989b7a0fdf73ffaf9c
title: Rulers in Brazil push for austerity until 2037
uri: 2016-12-12-Rulers-in-Brazil-push-for-austerity-until-2037
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#10_December_2016_%28Rulers_in_Brazil_push_for_austerity_until_2037%29

content:
<p>
The corrupt politicians that rule Brazil are
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/dec/02/brazil-20-years-austerity-michel-temer">pushing
a constitutional amendment to impose austerity until 2037</a>.


feed_id: e4acd0f4b5bb1ab96d333a730d7d92b9
title: Boycott of Fyffes melons
uri: 2016-12-12-Boycott-of-Fyffes-melons
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#8_December_2016_%28Boycott_of_Fyffes_melons%29
content:
<p>
Melon pickers in Honduras ask people to boycott Fyffes melons because
the company
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2016/nov/29/fyffes-melons-labour-abuse-claims-honduras-workers">blacklists
those that join a union</a>.


feed_id: 509354217eaf44f382b3a1a8123b507f
title: Torture of suspects by Fiji thugs
uri: 2016-12-12-Torture-of-suspects-by-Fiji-thugs
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#8_December_2016_%28Torture_of_suspects_by_Fiji_thugs%29

content:
<p>
Amnesty International says
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/dec/05/fijis-police-and-military-using-torture-against-suspected-criminals-amnesty-says">Fiji's
thugs torture suspects</a>, even kill them.


feed_id: 50735ae1f414827766a924ddec9aa440
title: Relations between US and UN strained
uri: 2016-12-12-Relations-between-US-and-UN-strained
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#8_December_2016_%28Relations_between_US_and_UN_strained%29

content:
<p>
Relations Between US And UN Strained over
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/dec/04/us-military-un-relations-strained-afghanistan-war-reports-disagreements">Afghanistan
War Reports</a>.


feed_id: b71e9d4e961d1e606b3bb9c75dd73043
title: Europe's repressive right-wing candidates
uri: 2016-12-12-Europe-s-repressive-right-wing-candidates
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#8_December_2016_%28Europes_repressive_right-wing_candidates%29

content:
<p>
Europe is in danger of choosing the
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/nov/28/francois-fillon-threat-liberal-values-marine-le-pen-france">not-quite-extreme
repressive right wing</a> as a lesser evil than the extreme repressive
right wing.
<p>
Both of them, like Trump, scapegoat immigrants for economic setbacks
that most people experience as a consequence of concentration of
wealth, and neither one proposes to end that concentration process.


feed_id: b89715f70985f739af425a033f09de37
title: Bank pulls investments out of DAPL
uri: 2016-12-12-Bank-pulls-investments-out-of-DAPL
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#8_December_2016_%28Bank_pulls_investments_out_of_DAPL%29

content:
<p>
Indigenous Sámi activists in Norway
<a href="http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/38499-how-indigenous-activists-in-norway-got-the-first-bank-to-pull-out-of-the-dakota-access-pipeline">convinced
Norway's largest bank</a> to pull its investments out of the Dakota
Access Pipeline.


feed_id: 3f794339b6ee15561fb4b70a801d78e4
title: Taxing large companies
uri: 2016-12-12-Taxing-large-companies
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#8_December_2016_%28Taxing_large_companies%29
content:
<p>
Trump threatens an
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/dec/04/donald-trump-tax-threat-company-jobs-factories">extra
tax on products imported from companies that moved manufacturing out
of the US</a>.
<p>
It might be a positive step, but companies will easily find ways
to game the rule.
<p>
The crucial thing is to make large companies in general (and rich
people) pay more tax, and Trump
<a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#25_November_2016_(Trumps_tax_plan)">seems
to be planning the opposite</a>.


feed_id: 4548b800e1cb36e71eb47f240f45d970
title: Australia considers subsidizing coal mine
uri: 2016-12-12-Australia-considers-subsidizing-coal-mine
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#8_December_2016_%28Australia_considers_subsidizing_coal_mine%29

content:
<p>
Australia is considering a government subsidy to a
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/dec/03/adani-coal-mine-green-groups-fume-over-plan-for-1b-federal-loan">giant
proposed coal mine</a>.
<p>
How suicidal can humans get?


feed_id: 251ce5ab0c176becd56ea680bb6c4d8d
title: How media iced out Bernie Sanders
uri: 2016-12-12-How-media-iced-out-Bernie-Sanders
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#8_December_2016_%28How_media_iced_out_Bernie_Sanders%29

content:
<p>
How the Media
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/views/2016/12/03/how-media-iced-out-bernie-sanders-helped-donald-trump-win">Iced
Out Bernie Sanders</a> & Helped Donald Trump Win.


feed_id: d2aaa57a63e9f6b3b349d67b841100a9
title: Eliminating land-based nuclear missiles
uri: 2016-12-12-Eliminating-land-based-nuclear-missiles
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#8_December_2016_%28Eliminating_land-based_nuclear_missiles%29

content:
<p>
Mattis has suggested
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/dec/04/james-mattis-defense-secretary-nuclear-missiles-trump">eliminating
land-based nuclear missiles</a>.  This could be a good idea, since it
would reduce the hair-trigger readiness as well as saving lots of
money.


feed_id: 5f6e3a0202056288ee10b46faf4fccc5
title: Need for humanitarian aid growing
uri: 2016-12-12-Need-for-humanitarian-aid-growing
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#8_December_2016_%28Need_for_humanitarian_aid_growing%29

content:
<p>
As the need for humanitarian aid around the world
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/dec/04/un-biggest-aid-appeal-fears-of-compassion-fatigue">keeps
growing</a>, wealthy countries' governments have ceased donating what
is needed.
<p>
The need increases because of global heating effects, population
growth and degraded natural systems.  The reason governments no longer
donate what is needed is that neoliberal policies have cut taxes on
the rich and on business.
<p>
These are the things we need to change.


feed_id: f6cc46e7f104a1e6cad23d68a4ef109d
title: Rockefeller to divest from fossil fuels
uri: 2016-12-12-Rockefeller-to-divest-from-fossil-fuels
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#8_December_2016_%28Rockefeller_to_divest_from_fossil_fuels%29

content:
<p>
The Rockefeller family foundation will divest
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/mar/23/rockefeller-fund-divestment-fossil-fuel-companies-oil-coal-climate-change">entirely</a>
from fossil fuels.


feed_id: 1fe18051572d89b39a515cbd8b9f42e7
title: Trump's choice for US treasury
uri: 2016-12-12-Trump-s-choice-for-US-treasury
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#8_December_2016_%28Trumps_choice_for_US_treasury%29
content:
<p>
Elizabeth Warren called Steven Mnuchin, Trump's choice for the US
treasury
"<a href='http://www.commondreams.org/news/2016/11/30/trumps-pick-head-nations-economic-policy-self-dealing-wall-street-tool'>a
self-dealing, Wall Street tool</a>."
<p>
Trump attacked hedge fund managers in his campaign, but now he's
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/views/2016/11/30/steve-mnuchin-evictor-forecloser-and-our-new-treasury-secretary">selling
out to them totally</a>.
<p>
Trump's "cleaning up the swamp" was pure bullshit — he's
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/views/2016/11/29/what-populism-trumps-america-party-time-corporate-elite">filling
it up with alligators</a>.
<p>
Howard Dean, who seeks leadership of the Democratic Party, is
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/news/2016/11/30/vying-dnc-chair-howard-dean-praises-wall-street-bailout-architect">similarly
bad</a>.
<p>
Obama has been pretty
<a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2008-nov-feb.html#23%20January%202009%20(Obama%27s%20economic%20team)">lousy</a>
in that area, too.


feed_id: ac8991ad66c52ac2931cdff17c71959e
title: Volunteer
uri: 2016-12-13-Volunteer
url: https://stallman.org/index.html#volunteerListAnc
content:
<p>I am looking for people to (in Goa (India)) make and
	 sell buttons that say, "DON'T BE TRACKED  PAY CASH", to
	 resist the state's campaign against cash.</p>


feed_id: 905203fa0ae1eb0bab0778a803334087
title: Obedience indoctrination in China
uri: Obedience-indoctrination-in-China
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#15_December_2016_%28Obedience_indoctrination_in_China%29

content:
<p>
China will require universities to 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/dec/09/china-universities-must-become-communist-party-strongholds-says-xi-jinping">indoctrinate
obedience to the dictatorship</a>.  All teachers will be required to
indoctrinate.


feed_id: 772d8c3218c5ae0c46da361d83687c32
title: The Great Barrier Reef
uri: 2016-12-16-The-Great-Barrier-Reef
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#15_December_2016_%28The_Great_Barrier_Reef%29
content:
<p>
The Great Barrier Reef 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/dec/09/great-barrier-reef-not-likely-to-survive-if-warming-trend-continues-says-report">will
not exist in 2050 if heating continues</a>.


feed_id: 82f95bd8910b2a42147cb80be2e0c671
title: Working Britons in permanent poverty
uri: Working-Britons-in-permanent-poverty
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#15_December_2016_%28Working_Britons_in_permanent_poverty%29

content:
<p>
Low wages and cuts in welfare benefits have squeezed working Britons
against the high rents, so many of them live in 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/housing-network/2016/dec/09/housing-poverty-trap-work-doesnt-pay">permanent
poverty</a>.
<p>
The 
<a href="media/62a79bb0.anuran-bevan.jpg" data-original-source="https://stallman.org/images/anuran-bevan.jpg">Tories</a> made
all three jaws of this vice, with help from New Labor.


feed_id: 16f31681c3729af2abb1c1c714296859
title: Economic warfare in Yemen
uri: Economic-warfare-in-Yemen
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#15_December_2016_%28Economic_warfare_in_Yemen%29
content:
<p>
Along with the Salafi-US bombardment, Yemen is afflicted by 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/dec/09/everything-is-over-now-the-last-survivors-in-yemens-ground-zero">economic
warfare</a>.


feed_id: bb6fa38e7a298e275742abca14b342c5
title: Amazon's new grocery stores
uri: Amazon-s-new-grocery-stores
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#15_December_2016_%28Amazons_new_grocery_stores%29
content:
<p>
Amazon's new grocery stores do not accept cash.  They
<a href="http://motherboard.vice.com/read/amazon-go-isnt-trying-to-kill-cashier-jobs-its-after-something-bigger">impose
the same surveillance as ordering online from Amazon</a>.
<p>
In addition, success of this would mean the
<a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2011-mar-jun.html#21_April_2011_(Technology_Cuts_Jobs)">loss
of thousands of jobs</a>.
<p>
I refuse absolutely to use automatic checkout machines in stores: I
insist on going to the human sales agent, not because I desire a
conversation, but specifically to defend their jobs.
<p>
What's more, I often shout out loud, "If you use these machines,
you're putting Americans out of work," once when I enter and once when
I leave.  Please join this movement!
<p>
Technological "advance" is not an imperative, and it is not always an
advance.  It is for us to judge whether a technological change is an
advance for society.  Then society can <em>decide</em> which
technologies to use.  We can reject harmful technology if we dare to
try.


feed_id: dd7d8775c85a489c219806e127d512c5
title: Urgent: Block coal mining in Colorado
uri: Urgent-Block-coal-mining-in-Colorado
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#14_December_2016_%28Urgent%3A_Block_coal_mining_in_Colorado%29

content:
<p>
US citizens: 
<a href="https://secure.earthjustice.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=1920">call
on Obama</a> not to let Arch Coal do mining in roadless Colorado
forest.


feed_id: 18f3fd0ca857ac5e473e2defd963b904
title: Urgent: Free Fomusoh Ivo Feh
uri: Urgent-Free-Fomusoh-Ivo-Feh
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#14_December_2016_%28Urgent%3A_Free_Fomusoh_Ivo_Feh%29

content:
<p>
Everyone: 
<a href="https://act.amnestyusa.org/ea-action/action?ea.client.id=1839&ea.campaign.id=55822">call
on Cameroon</a> to free Fomusoh Ivo Feh, who has been imprisoned for
sending a joke mocking Boko Haram via SMS message.
<p>
What makes the joke so funny is the idea that Boko Haram would want
recruits to have western education (i.e., to study from the "boko",
books, that it calls "haram", anathema).


feed_id: 56e90996b3ba0edbdc45a9873e63c087
title: Urgent: Dismantle NSEERS program
uri: Urgent-Dismantle-NSEERS-program
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#14_December_2016_%28Urgent%3A_Dismantle_NSEERS_program%29

content:
<p>
US citizens: 
<a href="https://act.credoaction.com/sign/Obama_NSEERS">call on
Obama</a> to dismantle the NSEERS program so that Trump can't use it
to register all Muslim visitors.


feed_id: 9ed4e7f207df9943ab9b75b9115a55e6
title: Second-hand goods for holiday giving
uri: Second-hand-goods-for-holiday-giving
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#14_December_2016_%28Second-hand_goods_for_holiday_giving%29

content:
<p>
If your family chooses to participate in obligatory holiday
purchasing, try adopting this rule: 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/dec/09/peak-stuff-christmas-shopping">buy
only second-hand goods, with a stated maximum price</a>.
<p>
The article suggests that books and music ought to "go digital" --
meaning, using internet distribution.  Beware of that!  Don't "buy"
DRM-restricted copies or copies with End-User License Agreements.
Insist on paying anonymously.
<p>
For books and music from major publishers, the only digital copies
that do not oppress their users are the unauthorized ones.


feed_id: 981f1b3e68e7ff4fa21c62719d8182c6
title: Moving Italy away from the euro
uri: Moving-Italy-away-from-the-euro
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#14_December_2016_%28Moving_Italy_away_from_the_euro%29

content:
<p>
The Five Stars party in Italy 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/dec/08/top-official-in-italys-m5s-increases-calls-for-referendum-on-euro">wants
a referendum</a> on moving Italy away from the euro.
<p>
Spain and Greece would also benefit from leaving the euro zone.


feed_id: 842487261965dbf39a2969ee33400c44
title: The EPA
uri: The-EPA
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#14_December_2016_%28The_EPA%29
content:
<p>
Senate Democrats 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/dec/08/epa-scott-pruitt-disaster-environment-senate-democrats">hope
some Republicans will join them to block saboteur Scott Pruitt</a>
from becoming head of the EPA.


feed_id: 0eca0ad02eef1ee499bb5b396624b35b
title: Exxon trying to harass activists
uri: Exxon-trying-to-harass-activists
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#14_December_2016_%28Exxon_trying_to_harass_activists%29

content:
<p>
Exxon is trying to harass the activists investigating its climate
deception through 
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/news/2016/12/07/green-groups-subpoenaed-exxon-say-they-must-be-doing-something-right">subpoenas
meant to burden them with lots of work and lead to a fishing
expedition</a>.
<p>
Exxon's lies are known because of 
<a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2015-may-aug.html#13_July_2015_(27_years_of_global_heating_denial_funded_by_Exxon)">internal
documents from Exxon</a>, which showed that Exxon was publicly denying
global heating while its own research demonstrated the reality of the
danger.
<p>
Remember, the name "Exxon" is 
<a href="https://stallman.org/glossary.html#exxon">not pronounced
"Ekson"</a>.


feed_id: 80715800b982cc32b57b51423d5b5052
title: Uber trying to force arbitration
uri: Uber-trying-to-force-arbitration
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#14_December_2016_%28Uber_trying_to_force_arbitration%29

content:
<p>
Uber is trying again to force all customers to agree to 
<a href="http://www.newyorkpersonalinjuryattorneyblog.com/2016/12/opting-out-of-ubers-forced-arbitration-the-clock-is-ticking.html">arbitration
of disputes — rather than lawsuits</a>.


feed_id: 52051061fc97416739aef709bdf8c410
title: New Florida prosecutor Melissa Nelson
uri: New-Florida-prosecutor-Melissa-Nelson
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#14_December_2016_%28New_Florida_prosecutor_Melissa_Nelson%29

content:
<p>
Newly elected Florida prosecutor Melissa Nelson wants to reform
prosecution so that the goal is to 
<a href="http://reason.com/blog/2016/12/07/this-republican-florida-prosecutor-wants">do
justice, rather than to convict people whether they deserve it or
not</a>.


feed_id: 6b5f946176989b584b4aeefa03167971
title: "Fake news"
uri: 2016-12-16-Fake-news
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#14_December_2016_%28Fake_news%29
content:
<p>
Consortiumnews.com is 
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/views/2016/12/07/how-war-propaganda-keeps-killing">concerned
that it will be labeled as "fake news" for disagreeing with the
official line</a>.
<p>
ISTR seeing articles from Consortiumnews that were biased and
one-sided — for instance, they denied that Russia's takeover of
Crimea was a military conquest, and appealed to the subsequent
Putin-organized plebiscite in the Crimea as proving something about
what the inhabitants wanted.
<p>
I have not seen in Consortiumnews any fabricated factual claims such
as we call "fake news".  If the labeling system is run honestly, I
think Consortiumnews has nothing to worry about.  But can we trust it
will be run honestly?


feed_id: 53fa146fc4920372447d74aa834eb87c
title: Federally funded water pipes
uri: Federally-funded-water-pipes
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#14_December_2016_%28Federally_funded_water_pipes%29
content:
<p>
SCROTUS are 
<a href="http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/12/07/1608305/-Congressional-Republicans-sucker-punch-American-steel-workers-scrapping-Buy-America-provision">trying
to eliminate the requirement to buy US-made steel</a> for Federally
funded water pipes.


feed_id: d18392e7664512a619e81ca1b27700a1
title: The "deform" of public schools
uri: The-deform-of-public-schools
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#14_December_2016_%28The_deform_of_public_schools%29
content:
<p>
The next step in the "deform" of public schools is to eliminate
schools of education and 
<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alan-singer/obamatrump-education-defo_b_13509888.html">replace
teachers with customer service workers</a>.


feed_id: e74aa0fcc13168a634210921c8f90111
title: Judge cancels recount in Michigan
uri: Judge-cancels-recount-in-Michigan
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#14_December_2016_%28Judge_cancels_recount_in_Michigan%29

content:
<p>
Jill Stein's recount in Michigan was 
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/news/2016/12/08/michigan-recount-halted-judge-gives-trump-and-state-gop">cancelled
by the judge</a>.


feed_id: 0ba84b7f53d36b64e5c2118259ee8207
title: Digital tracking of seafood
uri: Digital-tracking-of-seafood
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#14_December_2016_%28Digital_tracking_of_seafood%29
content:
<p>
Seafood in the US will require digital tracking to 
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2016/12/08/obama-administration-announces-final-rule-address-illegal-fishing-and-seafood">identify
where it was caught or grown, and what species it is</a>.
<p>
I'm in favor of this system, because it it doesn't track human beings.
I don't think live fish have a right to privacy, let alone dead fish.


feed_id: 54ad4af689d0a505df587ee953af4238
title: War on Drugs in Mexico
uri: War-on-Drugs-in-Mexico
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#14_December_2016_%28War_on_Drugs_in_Mexico%29
content:
<p>
The War on Drugs is 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/news/2016/dec/08/mexico-war-on-drugs-cost-achievements-us-billions">even
more blitzed in Mexico than in the US</a>.


feed_id: 6489ac604faa6b93e179404f4f5a8c6a
title: Perjury and destruction of evidence by thugs
uri: Perjury-and-destruction-of-evidence-by-thugs
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#14_December_2016_%28Perjury_and_destruction_of_evidence_by_thugs%29

content:
<p>
Court documents show some California thugs 
<a href="https://theintercept.com/2016/12/08/new-evidence-deputies-committed-perjury-in-orange-county-snitch-scandal/">committed
perjury and destroyed evidence</a>.
<p>
Will they be prosecuted?  Blue Lies Matter!


feed_id: d1c7c961567eb0a62215b8f2d4e3154e
title: Campaign of bull-headed prudery
uri: Campaign-of-bull-headed-prudery
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#14_December_2016_%28Campaign_of_bull-headed_prudery%29

content:
<p>
A national campaign 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/dec/08/ohio-bestiality-bill-animal-cruelty-humane-society">seeks
to make all US states prohibit sex between humans and nonhuman
animals</a>.
<p>
This campaign seems to be sheer bull-headed prudery, using the
perverse assumption that sex between a human and an animal hurts the
animal.  That's true for some ways of having sex, and false for
others.
<p>
For instance, I've heard that some women get dogs to lick them off.
That doesn't hurt the dog at all.  Why should it be prohibited?
<p>
When male dolphins have sex with people, that doesn't hurt the
dolphins.  Quite the contrary, they like it very much.  Why should it
be prohibited?
<p>
I've also read that female gorillas sometimes express desire for sex
with men.  If they both like it, who is harmed?  Why should this be
prohibited?
<p>
The proponents of this law claim that any kind of sex between humans
and other species implies that the human is a "predator" that we need
to lock up.  That's clearly false, for the cases listed above.  Making
a prohibition based on prejudice, writing it in an overbroad way, is
what prissy governments tend to do where sex is concerned.  The next
step is to interpret it too strongly with 
<a href="https://www.stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#28_November_2016_(Registered_sex_offender)">"zero
tolerance"</a>.
<p>
Will people convicted of having dogs lick them off
be required to live at least 1000 feet from any dogs?
<p>
This law should be changed to prohibit only acts in which the animal
is physically forced to have sex, or physically injured.


feed_id: 2bb889e29114beace149c6a27d9006eb
title: Georgetown clothing contract with Nike
uri: Georgetown-clothing-contract-with-Nike
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#14_December_2016_%28Georgetown_clothing_contract_with_Nike%29

content:
<p>
Students at Georgetown University
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/dec/08/georgetown-nike-student-protests-president-office">demand
the school end a clothing contract with Nike</a> because of the cruel
conditions in Nike's factory in Vietnam.


feed_id: 7ed0814e742cc4df14d81360b95bc9ce
title: E-cigarettes
uri: 2016-12-16-E-cigarettes
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#14_December_2016_%28E-cigarettes%29
content:
<p>
E-cigarettes 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/dec/08/e-cigarettes-young-people-health-impact-warning-report">get
young people addicted to nicotine</a>, and tobacco companies market
them towards young people.


feed_id: c518e93ea4117e9d8397c8e83f773734
title: Trump's phone call to Taiwan's president
uri: Trump-s-phone-call-to-Taiwan-s-president
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#14_December_2016_%28Trumps_phone_call_to_Taiwans_president%29

content:
<p>
Trump's phone call to Taiwan's president was no gaffe.  It was a
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/dec/08/donald-trump-plays-dumb-dangerous-act">calculated
measure, prearranged with lobbyists</a>, probably aimed at profit for
his business.
<p>
Aside from demonstrating once more that Trump is a liar, and that he
views the presidency as an opportunity for profit for himself and
billionaire cronies, it shows us that Bob Dole has sold out his
country by working for a foreign government.
<p>
Taiwan is a democracy.  The US properly treats it as a friend and
ally.  However, a former US official that represents a foreign
government has sold out his country even if that foreign government is
a friend and ally.  Friendly countries often have different interests,
and disagreements.  Dole has given his loyalty to Taiwan before the US
on those disagreements; that's not what a patriot does.


feed_id: d426b6a2da0cd544736df72617200fb5
title: UK thugs accused of sexual abuse
uri: UK-thugs-accused-of-sexual-abuse
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#14_December_2016_%28UK_thugs_accused_of_sexual_abuse%29

content:
<p>
Hundreds of UK thugs face accusations of 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/dec/08/police-sexually-abuse-victims-zero-tolerance">sexual
abuse of criminal suspects and victims of crime</a>.
<p>
I would guess that most of the suspects that were abused were
suspected of some "crime" related to prostitution.  One of the reasons
those things should not be criminalized is to avoid putting
prostitutes and their associates at the mercy of abusive thugs.


feed_id: 27011fdb909fa19bdef943019e3f664f
title: UK's spying
uri: UK-s-spying
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#14_December_2016_%28UKs_spying%29
content:
<p>
Snowden files show that the UK 
<a href="https://theintercept.com/2016/12/08/gchq-africa-wto-corporations-surveillance/">spied
on the head of the World Trade Organization as well as many companies
and heads of state</a>.


feed_id: 2cd0f71f923018591aaf9b789da19d25
title: Wells Fargo
uri: 2016-12-16-Wells-Fargo
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#14_December_2016_%28Wells_Fargo%29
content:
<p>
Another reason not to keep your money in Wells Fargo bank:
it 
<a href="http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/12/06/1607895/-Remember-how-Wells-Fargo-was-going-to-make-things-right-with-customers-defrauded-About-that">forces
its customers into arbitration</a>, which is biased against them.
<p>
I suggest moving your money out of any of the large US banks.


feed_id: 41596202292ce55b8c7ddf6d07645492
title: Punishing people for being suspect
uri: Punishing-people-for-being-suspect
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#14_December_2016_%28Punishing_people_for_being_suspect%29

content:
<p>
French law makes it a 
<a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4001332">crime to
repeatedly view publications of PISSI</a>.
<p>
That activity is grounds for suspicion, and might persuade a court to
order an investigation, but it is an injustice to punish people for
being suspect.
<p>
The UK does that, too, and it is 
<a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2004-nov-feb.html#10%20January%202005%20(Evidence%20used%20to%20imprison%207%20people%20without%20trial)">unjust
there too</a>.


feed_id: 26eef63cbb2e5bbf10b2b5d609709309
title: Urgent: Retract altered EPA report
uri: Urgent-Retract-altered-EPA-report
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#14_December_2016_%28Urgent%3A_Retract_altered_EPA_report%29

content:
<p>
US citizens:
<a href="http://petitions.signforgood.com/EPAFracking">call on the EPA
to retract</a> its forcibly altered report that said fracking was
safe.


feed_id: 734363515e7f2d7aa2ddea13f1c52c6f
title: Increased travel by car and plane
uri: Increased-travel-by-car-and-plane
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#14_December_2016_%28Increased_travel_by_car_and_plane%29

content:
<p>
The low oil price has
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/dec/07/stagecoach-cheap-fuel-travel-car-bus-rail">led
more people to travel by car or plane</a>, rather than more efficient
buses.
<p>
I
<a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2016-jan-apr.html#22_January_2016_(The_low_price_of_oil)">warned
this would happen</a>.


feed_id: 9363b9444928ccea481c17df531fa082
title: Nobel laureates for divestment from fossil fuels
uri: Nobel-laureates-for-divestment-from-fossil-fuels
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#14_December_2016_%28Nobel_laureates_for_divestment_from_fossil_fuels%29

content:
<p>
Nobel laureates
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2016/12/07/scientists-and-laureates-urge-nobel-prize-divest-fossil-fuels">call
on the Nobel Foundation</a> to divest from fossil fuels.


feed_id: f411664f59f4b3ae931b24b617debd0e
title: Registered sex offender forced into the woods
uri: Registered-sex-offender-forced-into-the-woods
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#14_December_2016_%28Registered_sex_offender_forced_into_the_woods%29

content:
<p>
Registered sex offender Steven Folster was
<a href="http://reason.com/blog/2016/12/06/sex-offender-on-oxygen-forced-to-move-in">forced
to move into a tent in the woods</a>, or be imprisoned.  Either one
could kill him, since he is supposed to spend 8 hours a day on an
oxygen tank.
<p>
I don't see how someone in such bad health is likely to be a danger to
children, but if he were, living in a tent in the woods would not
prevent it.
<p>
Telling him that his new house was a permissible place for him to
live, then deciding the opposite after he had spent the money to move,
was a dirty trick.


feed_id: 861d300a504c4f774b592b2e13a96829
title: Urgent: Oppose appointment of Tillerson
uri: Urgent-Oppose-appointment-of-Tillerson
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#14_December_2016_%28Urgent%3A_Oppose_appointment_of_Tillerson%29

content:
<p>
US citizens:
<a href="https://act.climatetruth.org/sign/exxon-secretary-of-state/">call
on Trump</a> not to appoint Tillerson as Secretary of State.


feed_id: 435e86a9fd8fd21abbf4af612292d014
title: Court orders removal of page from searches
uri: Court-orders-removal-of-page-from-searches
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#14_December_2016_%28Court_orders_removal_of_page_from_searches%29

content:
<p>
A Canadian court has ordered Google to remove a page from searches
<a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/google-eff-human-rights-supreme-court-canada-equustek-1.3882350">world-wide</a>,
triggering an appeal on a question of world-wide importance.
<p>
The article spreads gratuitous confusion by calling this trade secret case
an
<a href="http://gnu.org/philosophy/not-ipr.html">"intellectual
property" case</a>.  Other so-called "intellectual property" laws are
totally different from trade secret law, so associating this case with
them can only spread misunderstanding.


feed_id: 5ffb8d752c686a79dfde94dcb8a3a82e
title: US citizens' emails
uri: US-citizens-emails
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#14_December_2016_%28US_citizens_emails%29
content:
<p>
The US government
<a href="https://theintercept.com/2016/12/07/americans-have-fewer-privacy-rights-when-emailing-people-overseas-court-rules/">can
collect US citizens' emails "accidentally on purpose"</a> as part of
its massive searches for everything else in the world.


feed_id: 9d9f5607f4a8c5e4b070d1f615c83d87
title: Trump proposes global heating denialists for EPA
uri: Trump-proposes-global-heating-denialists-for-EPA
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#14_December_2016_%28Trump_proposes_global_heating_denialists_for_EPA%29

content:
<p>
Donald Slump
<a href="https://theintercept.com/2016/12/07/donald-trumps-epa-team-will-be-run-by-fossil-fuel-industry-advocates/">proposes
to put global heating denialist Scott Pruitt and other denialists in
charge of the EPA</a>.
<p>
Meanwhile, the national chicken coop will be monitored by Fox News.


feed_id: e6391c1f5b846003f18e28c26f55c9c0
title: Global heating wiping out seabird species
uri: Global-heating-wiping-out-seabird-species
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#14_December_2016_%28Global_heating_wiping_out_seabird_species%29

content:
<p>
Global heating is
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/dec/04/climate-change-threatening-puffins-kittiwakes-seabirds-st-kilda-scotland">wiping
out some species of seabirds on St Kilda island</a> in Scotland.
<p>
If the sea life they eat moves north, it is moving away from land.
These birds won't find many places to breed up north.
<p>
Maybe we could save them by creating artificial islands, or floating
breeding platforms.  But with so many kinds of damage being caused by
our CO2 emissions, the only feasible way to stop all the damage is to
stop increasing the atmospheric greenhouse gas level.


feed_id: f6401e5fe444ccaad816be4927ca1411
title: How farms treat animals
uri: How-farms-treat-animals
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#14_December_2016_%28How_farms_treat_animals%29
content:
<p>
Australian politicians are seeking
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2016/dec/08/barnaby-joyce-and-nsw-ministers-target-charity-status-of-animal-rights-groups">legalistic
excuses for preventing public exposure</a> of how farms treat animals.
<p>
Some US states have already done this with
<a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2013-may-aug.html#01_May_2013_(Ag-Gag_prosecution)">Ag-gag
laws</a>.
<p>
Farmers have two legitimate choices: either treat animals in ways the
public finds acceptable, or convince the public to accept more.
Finding excuses to stop the public from finding out about farm
practices is not legitimate.
<p>
Now, if only the campaign could convince the public that farms'
treatment of animals is a kind of sex…


feed_id: ad6b475776b2fa1e658572e61577545a
title: Total tracking of employees
uri: Total-tracking-of-employees
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#14_December_2016_%28Total_tracking_of_employees%29
content:
<p>
A Rio Tinto mine
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/dec/08/revealedrio-tinto-surveillance-station-plans-to-use-drones-to-monitors-staffs-private-lives">plans
to track employees totally</a>, even when they are off duty, using
sensors on lampposts as well as drones.
<p>
Tracking people this much should be prohibited by law, even employees
on duty.


feed_id: 9f1bb118785bfb93b6d1d98b19ba2c00
title: Eviction of poor people and art centers
uri: Eviction-of-poor-people-and-art-centers
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#14_December_2016_%28Eviction_of_poor_people_and_art_centers%29

content:
<p>
The
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/dec/07/oakland-fire-ghost-ship-artist-evictions-baltimore-bell-foundry">response
to the Oakland fire</a> is eviction of many poor people and art
centers.


feed_id: 14ecb430b3379a49929a2a486ed9910a
title: Electric cars
uri: Electric-cars
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#14_December_2016_%28Electric_cars%29
content:
<p>
Are electric cars really zero-emissions vehicles?  That depends on
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/dec/08/electric-car-emissions-climate-change">whether
the electricity is generated from fossil fuels</a>.
<p>
This doubt is for the short term.  In the long run, electric cars are
a step forward because we can generate all our electricity renewably
just by ramping up existing technology.  The car batteries can serve
as load buffers.
<p>
We have to make sure that recharging electric cars is anonymous.


feed_id: ac91cd306e768e31463fb088dba8e0ad
title: Giraffe population down 40% in 3 decades
uri: Giraffe-population-down-40-in-3-decades
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#14_December_2016_%28Giraffe_population_down_40%2525_in_3_decades%29

content:
<p>
Giraffes are listed as "vulnerable" after their population has
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/dec/08/giraffe-red-list-vulnerable-species-extinction">fallen
40% in a 3 decades</a>.
<p>
We can still
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global/commentisfree/2016/dec/08/giraffes-decline-vulnerable-species">save
them</a>.


feed_id: 43c3305019a014ad148235875d089d94
title: Effect of austerity on UK libraries
uri: Effect-of-austerity-on-UK-libraries
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#14_December_2016_%28Effect_of_austerity_on_UK_libraries%29

content:
<p>
Libraries in the UK are
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/dec/08/uk-library-budgets-fall-by-25m-in-a-year">hit
hard</a> by the effect of austerity on local governments.


feed_id: d25084744baccdb841b4899a7dc5feef
title: Dictatorship and poverty in Central Asia
uri: Dictatorship-and-poverty-in-Central-Asia
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#14_December_2016_%28Dictatorship_and_poverty_in_Central_Asia%29

content:
<p>
Democracy in Central Asia has turned out to mean
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/dec/08/central-asia-tajikistan-kazakhstan-kyrgyzstan-uzbekistan-turkmenistan">dictatorship
and poverty</a>.  Most people there wish they could have the Soviet
Union back.


feed_id: 3cd2882eca52cc2290a86cb900749299
title: Customer reviews
uri: Customer-reviews
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#13_December_2016_%28Customer_reviews%29
content:
<p>
A new US law
<a href="https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20161206/07004036204/law-passed-to-protect-customers-non-disparagement-clauses-other-ridiculous-restrictions.shtml">prohibits
companies from restricting</a> how their customers post reviews of the
company's products or services.
<p>
The article ends with a fatuous statement that companies "should
protect" their "intellectual property".  That term is
<a href="http://gnu.org/philosophy/not-ipr.html">so broad</a> that it
is fatuous to say that people "should" (or "shouldn't") do
<em>any</em> particular thing with it.
<p>
If we make the subject narrower and concrete by replacing
"intellectual property" with something specific, such as copyrights,
then it becomes mistake.  It is wrong to endorse in a blanket way all
the things that companies do to enforce copyrights.  Some are
legitimate, and
<a href="http://gnu.org/philosophy/copyright-vs-community.html">some
are not</a>.


feed_id: 63ab6ccae5dfab00520522bea3ad917b
title: Urgent: Prosecute American war criminals
uri: Urgent-Prosecute-American-war-criminals
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#20_December_2016_%28Urgent%3A_Prosecute_American_war_criminals%29

content:
<p>
Everyone: 
<a href="https://diy.rootsaction.org/petitions/people-of-the-u-s-and-world-ask-icc-to-prosecute-u-s-war-crimes">call
on the International Criminal court</a> to prosecute American war
criminals too.


feed_id: 6e6447987f3297fa40315436de0398f7
title: PISSI recaptures Palmyra
uri: PISSI-recaptures-Palmyra
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#20_December_2016_%28PISSI_recaptures_Palmyra%29
content:
<p>
PISSI has 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/dec/11/islamic-state-retakes-palmyra-syria">recaptured
Palmyra</a>, defeating Assad's forces despite Russian air support.


feed_id: 34e778edd2113d39b88daf2e5b5aca5d
title: Exxon oilman for Secretary of State
uri: Exxon-oilman-for-Secretary-of-State
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#20_December_2016_%28Exxon_oilman_for_Secretary_of_State%29

content:
<p>
The Exxon oilman, Tillerson, that Trump proposes for Secretary of
State has a 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/dec/11/rex-tillerson-secretary-of-state-trump-russia-putin">long
history of making deals with Putin's men</a>.


feed_id: 2fee2f94267faecd41ac338b71de07a0
title: Convicted of "inciting discrimination"
uri: Convicted-of-inciting-discrimination
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#20_December_2016_%28Convicted_of_inciting_discrimination%29

content:
<p>
Geert Wilders, a Dutch populist, was convicted of "inciting
discrimination" for 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/dec/10/netherlands-geert-wilders-politics-far-right">suggesting
it would be desirable to have "fewer Moroccans" in the
Netherlands</a>.
<p>
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".
<p>
However, some points in 
<a href="https://medium.com/@flaviadzodan/be-afraid-geert-wilders-released-his-platform-for-next-years-election-a1ac453a0fff">Wilders'
party platform</a> 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.
<p>
Cutting foreign aid is cruel.  Cutting public broadcasting won't save
much money and seems foolish.  Not supporting research is certainly
foolish.
<p>
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.
<p>
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?
<p>
How will rents be lowered?  Building more housing would do the job
well, but they might try some other less healthy method.
<p>
Cutting taxes for owning a car is a way of subsidizing fossil fuels.
Do they want the sea to overflow their dikes?


feed_id: 733c08e9dfcb5cd3e572f23acfc42c33
title: US prisoners
uri: 2016-12-21-US-prisoners
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#20_December_2016_%28US_prisoners%29
content:
<p>
An estimated 1/4 of US prisoners were imprisoned in the 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/dec/11/prison-inmates-us-public-safety-incarceration">absence
of any public interest</a> in keeping them in prison.


feed_id: 789dbbd5cab70d105b01f1f3970e5375
title: Opposition to kindness
uri: Opposition-to-kindness
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#20_December_2016_%28Opposition_to_kindness%29
content:
<p>
Nuns that feed the homeless in San Francisco got money to buy a
permanent base, but the other residents 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/dec/11/san-francisco-fraternite-notre-dame-soup-kitchen">don't
want any kindness in their building</a>.


feed_id: 2e441cf8b8616a634022fcf224e76a17
title: Urgent: Divestment from DAPL
uri: Urgent-Divestment-from-DAPL
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#20_December_2016_%28Urgent%3A_Divestment_from_DAPL%29

content:
<p>
Everyone: 
<a href="http://act.climatehawksvote.com/calpers_divest_from_dapl">call
on two large California retirement funds</a> to divest from the Dakota
Access Pipeline.
<p>
They should be required by law not to invest in any fossil fuels
or fossil fuel infrastructure.


feed_id: 24d7fc2f0a0e249a7dda49ee04740447
title: Professor Watchlist
uri: Professor-Watchlist
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#20_December_2016_%28Professor_Watchlist%29
content:
<p>
Students suggest names to add to the 
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/further/2016/12/08/sort-company-we-wish-keep-saying-shame-shame-shame">Professor
Watchlist</a>.


feed_id: a511f9c183bcedcb7f1d6e228dc7c66d
title: Urgent: Support the First Amendment
uri: Urgent-Support-the-First-Amendment
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#20_December_2016_%28Urgent%3A_Support_the_First_Amendment%29

content:
<p>
US citizens: 
<a href="https://www.signherenow.org/petition/defend-first-amendment/cpd/">stand
in support</a> of the First Amendment.
<p>
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/dec/05/hungary-right-trend-us-viktor-orban-donald-trump">Repressive
Hungary</a> warns us of what Trump and the Trumpets might try to do.


feed_id: 344cf9d88c7a3458faad1cf650648c7f
title: Resistance to trumpery
uri: Resistance-to-trumpery
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#20_December_2016_%28Resistance_to_trumpery%29
content:
<p>
Why we must keep the resistance to trumpery 
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/views/2016/12/10/violence-brought-us-trump-its-not-how-we-will-stop-him">nonviolent</a>.


feed_id: 98426de755889384da2170f99ce978d9
title: CIA-cocaine scandal of the 1980s
uri: CIA-cocaine-scandal-of-the-1980s
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#20_December_2016_%28CIA-cocaine_scandal_of_the_1980s%29

content:
<p>
The coverup of the CIA-cocaine scandal of the 1980s shows we 
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/views/2016/12/10/big-medias-contra-cocaine-cover">can't
trust the major newspapers to separate truth from falsehood</a>.
<p>
However, the situation today, where hate groups and political
manipulators fabricate a dozen fake stories a day and supporters take
them as truth, is 
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/views/2016/12/10/beyond-post-truth-society">even
worse</a>.
<p>
I think it is an important insight that this is not a matter of
ceasing to care about the truth, but active rejection of unpleasant
truths.
<p>
As for those that invent and post fake news, they don't believe it.
They are lying and they don't care, because they 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/dec/05/pizzagate-lie-what-it-says-about-society-real">want
to win by hook or by crook</a>.
<p>
Did you know that, when Trump is inaugurated, he will give everyone
that voted for him the ability to fly by holding their arms out to the
side?  It will be easy for them to try this: just step out the nearest
window.


feed_id: f323b246ad8e2a33c7be93ee45b49524
title: People misinformed by right-wing noise
uri: People-misinformed-by-right-wing-noise
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#20_December_2016_%28People_misinformed_by_right-wing_noise%29

content:
<p>
Trump voters are 
<a href="http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/12/9/1609016/-Rachel-Maddow-Poll-reveals-Trump-voters-live-in-alternate-state-of-reality">factually
mistaken</a> about what happened under Obama.
<p>
This shows how effective the right-wing noise machine is at
misinforming people.


feed_id: 6786eff53605b7dd59acdc82eee066b5
title: Global heating positive feedback
uri: 2016-12-21-Global-heating-positive-feedback
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#20_December_2016_%28Global_heating_positive_feedback%29

content:
<p>
Global heating positive feedback: it will 
<a href="http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/12/7/1608385/-The-Earth-Itself-Is-Now-Accelerating-The-Demise-Of-The-Human-Species">speed
up the action of soil bacteria</a> that metabolize carbon and release
greenhouse gas.
<p>
The effect is huge — like "adding another United States" to the
world's climate cycle.
<p>
I don't think global heating is likely to cause the extinction of
humans.  That would be almost as hard as making cockroaches extinct.
But it could destroy technological society and kill most of the humans
alive at the time.  If you're young today, you could live to see this
happen.


feed_id: 5fc07cc03757050f50ffaf737b880ec3
title: Trump seems to be planning witch hunt
uri: Trump-seems-to-be-planning-witch-hunt
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#20_December_2016_%28Trump_seems_to_be_planning_witch_hunt%29

content:
<p>
Trump seems to be planning a witch hunt 
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/news/2016/12/09/internal-memo-sparks-fears-climate-witch-hunt-under-president-trump">against
government employees that did any work related to global heating</a>.


feed_id: 542deb3bbbea3fd5693fd34efc4e9c43
title: Urgent: Commute Chelsea Manning's sentence
uri: Urgent-Commute-Chelsea-Manning-s-sentence
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#20_December_2016_%28Urgent%3A_Commute_Chelsea_Mannings_sentence%29

content:
<p>
Everyone: 
<a href="https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/commute-chelsea-mannings-sentence-time-served-1">call
on Obama</a> to commute Chelsea Manning's sentence.


feed_id: 781011c121253fb219ad20350df25f47
title: Batteries for nighttime and peak power in UK
uri: Batteries-for-nighttime-and-peak-power-in-UK
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#20_December_2016_%28Batteries_for_nighttime_and_peak_power_in_UK%29

content:
<p>
Batteries 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/dec/09/new-battery-plants-scheduled-to-keep-uk-lights-on">won
a substantial fraction of the auction</a> to provide nighttime and
peak power in the UK.
<p>
Some existing coal plants also won, but no new large gas plants.
<p>
The article refers to some who inexplicably think it would be better
to burn gas rather than charge batteries from windfarms.  I can't
imagine a rational argument for that.


feed_id: 00aa6b4fab5ae5f4a8c69be452c14051
title: Bigotry/hate groups play SEO game
uri: Bigotry-hate-groups-play-SEO-game
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#20_December_2016_%28Bigotry%252Fhate_groups_play_SEO_game%29

content:
<p>
Bigotry/hate groups have 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/dec/11/google-frames-shapes-and-distorts-how-we-see-world">figured
out how to SEO Google's page rank algorithm</a>, so that sites saying
"Jews are evil", and falsehoods such as denial of the holocaust, come
up at the top of search questions.
<p>
It isn't clear how to defend against this.  If Google chooses the
results of specific searches, it will become legally responsible
for its choices, which currently it is not.
<p>
Maybe opponents of bigotry need to play the SEO game against the hate
groups.


feed_id: 362d5235cabc76f4a95a0933c6c399b2
title: Use of leaded gas in the Middle East
uri: Use-of-leaded-gas-in-the-Middle-East
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#20_December_2016_%28Use_of_leaded_gas_in_the_Middle_East%29

content:
<p>
The Middle East 
<a href="http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2016/12/prediction-terrorism-middle-east-will-decline-half-between-2020-and-2040">still
used leaded gas until 10-20 years ago</a>.  The effects might include
today's level of terrorist violence there.
<p>
If so, the level of terrorism there might decrease in 5-10 years.


feed_id: ab8260553b0b9749125bf8732691ab6b
title: Denying the homeless a place to sleep
uri: Denying-the-homeless-a-place-to-sleep
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#20_December_2016_%28Denying_the_homeless_a_place_to_sleep%29

content:
<p>
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/dec/11/rough-sleepers-homeless-charity-architecture">Spikes
and railings</a> are increasingly used in the UK to deny the homeless
any place they can sleep.  When they do find a place, people are hired
to spray them with hoses.
<p>
Loud music prevents sleeping in public space.  Park benches are
designed with bars so people can't sleep on them or under them.  This
suggests that one way to help the homeless would be to saw off those
bars, or deactivate the speakers.
<p>
Government programs in the US are
<a href="http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2016/12/trump-effect-efforts-combat-homelessness">gradually
reducing homelessness</a>.  Trump's spending cuts could put an end to
that.


feed_id: cd5f2b4e1913890d6f01a8dca73c3f0c
title: Demolition of Israeli Colony in West Bank
uri: Demolition-of-Israeli-Colony-in-West-Bank
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#20_December_2016_%28Demolition_of_Israeli_Colony_in_West_Bank%29

content:
<p>
The occupants of just one non-state-authorized Israeli colony
in the West Bank 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/dec/11/israel-amona-benjamin-netanyahu-palestine-west-bank">face
demolition of their houses</a>, much as thousands of Palestinians
have.
<p>
The inhabitants of Amona have a lot of warning, and won't have to pay
for the demolition.  They won't find it impossible to get a building
permit anywhere else.  And they, unlike most of those Palestinians,
did something to deserve this -- stealing Palestinians' land.
<p>
Perhaps the US should convert its aid to Israel into purchase of the
housing in these Israeli colonies, which it could then turn over to
Palestinians.


feed_id: 24f867e44e58f99d2765bd7527953cc9
title: Digital payments
uri: Digital-payments
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#20_December_2016_%28Digital_payments%29
content:
<p>
The Indian state of Goa is 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/dec/11/goa-bid-to-ditch-cash-traders-india-narendra-modi">trying
to require all merchants</a>, even in the market, to accept digital
payments.
<p>
Present-day digital payments for purchases disrespect the purchaser's
freedom because they are not anonymous.  When governments pressure
people to identify themselves when they buy, we should not rely on
their pressure to be defeated by natural resistance.  We should push
back, and hard.
<p>
That's why I don't use my bank card to buy anything but airline
tickets.


feed_id: 1fb0baba2758a003530eded55331818d
title: The DNC
uri: The-DNC
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#19_December_2016_%28The_DNC%29
content:
<p>
Senator Reid 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/dec/10/fbi-russia-trump-election-harry-reid-james-comey-wikileaks">accuses
FBI chief Comey of suppressing evidence</a> that Russia was
responsible for cracking the Democratic National Committee.
<p>
We 
<a href="https://theintercept.com/2016/12/10/anonymous-leaks-to-the-washpost-about-the-cias-russia-beliefs-are-no-substitute-for-evidence/">don't
actually know whether Russia was responsible</a>, though I would
not be shocked if it were.  Whether or not Putin was responsible for
this, he has done nastier things already.
<p>
More importantly, we should not let the proof that the DNC corruptly
favored Clinton over Sanders be eclipsed by the question of who
obtained and released that information.  If the DNC had not 
<a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2016-jul-oct.html#3_August_2016_(Democratic_Convention)">rigged
the primary election for Clinton</a> then Trump would not have come
close enough to winning for Republican officials to
<a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#11_December_2016_(Democrats)">steal
the rest of the way</a>.


feed_id: 8bbd013cfd0b762709dd4c3081a9986b
title: Fracked gas pipeline in Florida
uri: Fracked-gas-pipeline-in-Florida
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#19_December_2016_%28Fracked_gas_pipeline_in_Florida%29

content:
<p>
A fracked gas pipeline is being built across Florida, and the public
is
<a href="http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/38655-critics-call-3-billion-sabal-trail-pipeline-florida-s-dakota-access-pipeline">only
beginning to notice it</a>.


feed_id: 38f8cb7f37cbed3143d97d226c10f8cc
title: US farmers losing money
uri: US-farmers-losing-money
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#19_December_2016_%28US_farmers_losing_money%29
content:
<p>
US farmers are losing money (on the average) each year because 
<a href="http://www.alternet.org/food/many-american-farmers-these-are-economically-tragic-times">big
food corporations are taking all the profit in the system</a>.
<p>
The long-term effect is that 
<a href="/doggerel.html#OldMacDonald">farmers lose their land</a>, and
it can be taken over by a big corporation.


feed_id: dd0bf5d347a5f9c1bdfb6e1041b83bee
title: Charges against Backpage.com dropped
uri: Charges-against-Backpage-com-dropped
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#19_December_2016_%28Charges_against_Backpage.com_dropped%29

content:
<p>
Charges against Backpage.com and its owners, because prostitutes
advertise there in coded ways, have been 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/dec/10/backpage-com-california-pimping-free-speech-kamala-harris">dropped</a>.
Long live the First Amendment.
<p>
<a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2013-nov-feb.html#30_December_2013_(Regulating_prostitution_to_make_prostitutes_safer)">Prostitution
should be legalized, too</a>, and regulated to protect the rights and
safety of prostitutes.


feed_id: 50dc074d51008c9b853883c44b9957c3
title: Trumpery
uri: 2016-12-21-Trumpery
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#19_December_2016_%28Trumpery%29
content:
<p>
Trump says he won't actually work on Celebrity Apprentice, just get 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/dec/10/trump-celebrity-apprentice-cnn-fake-news">credit</a>.
<p>
A typical piece of trumpery, because the question is not whether he
does work, but whether he gets paid.


feed_id: 39ffe99382497b07fd666dbdbab94267
title: US Border Patrol
uri: 2016-12-21-US-Border-Patrol
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#19_December_2016_%28US_Border_Patrol%29
content:
<p>
The US Border Patrol chases border crossers on the Mexican border into
harsh terrain, as a 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/dec/07/report-us-border-patrol-desert-weapon-immigrants-mexico">tactic
to kill lots of them</a>.


feed_id: e1ddf4d26572e986713bd2d2022d8cfb
title: Trump energy plan
uri: Trump-energy-plan
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#19_December_2016_%28Trump_energy_plan%29
content:
<p>
The Trump energy plan: 
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/views/2016/12/06/revealed-trump-administrations-energy-plan">going
all-out to boost greenhouse gas emissions</a>.


feed_id: f74ec8308fb88d9877d9ade6aa8e5157
title: Labels for products of Israeli colonies
uri: Labels-for-products-of-Israeli-colonies
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#19_December_2016_%28Labels_for_products_of_Israeli_colonies%29

content:
<p>
France 
<a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/france-becomes-first-european-country-to-label-items-from-israeli-settlements-a7444031.html">requires</a>
products of Israeli colonies in the West Bank to be labeled explicitly
as such.


feed_id: 45836d13b37991f37d1ad20e7b41f7de
title: US government photo data base
uri: US-government-photo-data-base
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#19_December_2016_%28US_government_photo_data_base%29

content:
<p>
The US government makes its photo data base 
<a href="http://reason.com/blog/2016/12/06/facial-recognition-app-from-biometrica">available
for stores to recognize people</a>.
<p>
The announcement says that only criminal's photos are offered for
matching.  But we know that the US government has photos of millions
of other Americans.  Does it secretly match the photos companies send
against all of them, too, and make a private tracking list?


feed_id: fcd537a841cadcd781f3c7f03df1968f
title: Trump's choice for Labor department
uri: Trump-s-choice-for-Labor-department
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#19_December_2016_%28Trumps_choice_for_Labor_department%29

content:
<p>
Trump's choice to head the Labor department 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/dec/08/andy-puzder-labor-department-hardees-trump-cabinet">wants
the minimum wage to be low</a>.


feed_id: 43cf5cc9fc6d7e3199bd489b8f8d9857
title: Trump intimidates book publishers
uri: Trump-intimidates-book-publishers
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#19_December_2016_%28Trump_intimidates_book_publishers%29

content:
<p>
Due to Trump's intimidation, 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2016/dec/08/artist-alison-jackson-self-publishes-spoof-trump-photos-despite-fear-of-being-sued">no
US book publisher dares to publish a book of spoof Trump photos</a>
made using lookalikes.


feed_id: 30c7b08109d583ed68f621ebe329c459
title: Fair use
uri: Fair-use
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#19_December_2016_%28Fair_use%29
content:
<p>
The newspaper lobby 
<a href="http://www.niemanlab.org/2016/12/pushing-to-kill-regulations-and-weaken-fair-use-the-newspaper-lobby-is-asking-trump-for-change/">wants
to reduce fair use</a>.
<p>
I would not oppose very narrow laws to make very large companies such
as Facebook and Google pay more money to newspapers when their
articles are read through those sites.


feed_id: 173da149f134eaa21c9f284d535f92f6
title: State surveillance in Europe
uri: State-surveillance-in-Europe
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#19_December_2016_%28State_surveillance_in_Europe%29
content:
<p>
The state of the 
<a href="https://www.accessnow.org/mixed-messages-crypto-closed-door-conversations-eu/">political
battle</a> in Europe over state surveillance and the right to use
encryption.


feed_id: 44c8d1fdc030c7010f4b4e42f16cb4ad
title: Protection of human rights defenders
uri: Protection-of-human-rights-defenders
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#19_December_2016_%28Protection_of_human_rights_defenders%29

content:
<p>
We 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/2016/dec/10/human-rights-defenders-un-declaration-new-ways-protect">Must
Find New Ways</a> to Protect Human Rights Defenders.
<p>
One aspect that the article does not cover is that the US cooperated
in establishing some of the regimes that crush human rights defenders
— for instance, the one in 
<a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2016-jul-oct.html#17_July_2016_(Another_activist_murdered_in_Honduras)">Honduras</a>.


feed_id: ba96afec77950b5b92607783d53bce4a
title: Facebook trance
uri: Facebook-trance
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#19_December_2016_%28Facebook_trance%29
content:
<p>
Facebook tends to lead its useds into a sort of trance in which 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/dec/10/google-facebook-critical-thinking-computers">they
believe, more or less, whatever comes up in the feed</a>.


feed_id: cb99a3ba318ecdcbdae343b7ee39a82c
title: Greece gives pensioners Christmas bonus
uri: Greece-gives-pensioners-Christmas-bonus
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#19_December_2016_%28Greece_gives_pensioners_Christmas_bonus%29

content:
<p>
In a small act of defiance, Greece gave pensioners a Christmas bonus.
The euro-banksters are 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/dec/09/greece-under-fire-over-christmas-bonus-for-low-income-pensioners">outraged</a>
that their crushing cruelty was diminished even a little.
<p>
They demand that Greece be totally obedient and treat the Greek people
with total contempt.
<p>
I still believe that Greece should leave the euro zone.


feed_id: e76fa1539add0ba841bf3e31d6781882
title: Israelis that want peace with Palestine
uri: Israelis-that-want-peace-with-Palestine
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#19_December_2016_%28Israelis_that_want_peace_with_Palestine%29

content:
<p>
Uri Avnery: Israelis that want to make peace with Palestine
are the 
<a href="http://zope.gush-shalom.org/home/en/channels/avnery/1481289470/">true
and sincere Israeli nationalists</a>.


feed_id: a91dd83d13c4dd0526770c6dc5ef182d
title: Bringing refugees to Australia
uri: Bringing-refugees-to-Australia
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#19_December_2016_%28Bringing_refugees_to_Australia%29

content:
<p>
The case of Hamid Kehazaei, imprisoned by Australia on Manus Island,
shows how Australia set up a system with 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2016/dec/10/hamid-kehazaei-inquest-exposes-failures-of-australias-secretive-immigration-regime">multiple
levels of bureaucratic hurdles</a> against bringing any refugee to
Australia, and run by functionaries who put all rules above human
life.


feed_id: e94c4f26551eefff57598b4d11e8babb
title: Gambian president won't let go of power
uri: Gambian-president-won-t-let-go-of-power
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#19_December_2016_%28Gambian_president_wont_let_go_of_power%29

content:
<p>
Gambian president Yahya Jammeh conceded the election, but now has
changed his mind and says he 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/dec/10/gambian-president-rejects-election-results-yahya-jammeh-adama-barrow">will
not let go of power</a>.


feed_id: 1a37860bdab92f61ba8319408a65dd67
title: Imprisoned writers in China
uri: Imprisoned-writers-in-China
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#19_December_2016_%28Imprisoned_writers_in_China%29
content:
<p>
On World Human Rights Day, many writers and officials of PEN 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/dec/10/time-for-china-to-release-writers-journalists-and-activists">called
on China to release imprisoned writers</a>.
<p>
The US and EU also 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/law/2016/dec/10/human-rights-day-us-and-eu-call-on-china-to-release-political-prisoners">said
something similar</a>.  In the case of the US, the moral weight of its
statements is limited by the fact that its holding of prisoners
without trial in Guantanamo, and its association with cruel buffoon
Trump.


feed_id: ea41527f483e099765ae8bfb5d48fa95
title: Trump and Goldman Sachs
uri: Trump-and-Goldman-Sachs
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#19_December_2016_%28Trump_and_Goldman_Sachs%29
content:
<p>
<a href="https://theintercept.com/2016/12/09/trump-makes-america-goldmans-again-maga/">Trump
Makes America Goldmanâs Again!</a>  No better than Clinton —
indeed, perhaps even worse, because Trump doesn't try to hide it.


feed_id: 412dc2f219a1bf7ea86a0316a2bf61f8
title: Urgent: Oppose trying to "work with" Trump
uri: Urgent-Oppose-trying-to-work-with-Trump
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#18_December_2016_%28Urgent%3A_Oppose_trying_to_work_with_Trump%29

content:
<p>
US citizens: 
<a href="http://act.credoaction.com/call/Dems_Oppose_Trump/">phone
Democratic senators</a> and urge them not to try to "work with" Trump.


feed_id: c0916964226830138e99594647b61bcd
title: Urgent: Head of EPA
uri: Urgent-Head-of-EPA
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#18_December_2016_%28Urgent%3A_Head_of_EPA%29
content:
<p>
US citizens: 
<a href="https://secure.nrdconline.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=4125">call
on the senate to think carefully</a> about whether to approve Scott
Pruitt to head the EPA.


feed_id: aae9b660babc3ddf23694c6c4af0f636
title: Urgent: Veto Ohio anti-abortion bills
uri: Urgent-Veto-Ohio-anti-abortion-bills
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#18_December_2016_%28Urgent%3A_Veto_Ohio_anti-abortion_bills%29

content:
<p>
Everyone: 
<a href="https://action.aclu.org/secure/OHabortionbans">call on Ohio
Governor Kasich</a> to veto the Ohio bills that would more or less ban
abortion.


feed_id: 60da3fb3c1c4e0a9f13c6773baa15f12
title: Urgent: Oppose corrupt and racist appointees
uri: Urgent-Oppose-corrupt-and-racist-appointees
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#18_December_2016_%28Urgent%3A_Oppose_corrupt_and_racist_appointees%29

content:
<p>
US citizens: 
<a href="http://act.credoaction.com/call/Republicans_Oppose_Trump/">phone
Senate Republicans</a> to urge them to oppose Trump's corrupt and
racist appointees.


feed_id: 0b77c40a4227e379db8154924862f1de
title: Obama's medical insurance law
uri: Obama-s-medical-insurance-law
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#18_December_2016_%28Obamas_medical_insurance_law%29
content:
<p>
If the Republicans cancel Obama's medical insurance law, 
<a href="http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/12/08/1608547/-Take-a-wild-guess-who-the-largest-victims-of-repealing-Obamacare-may-be">millions
of Trump voters</a> will lose their coverage.
<p>
Obama's system was a step forward but with serious flaws.  It was
designed to give people coverage, not to reduce costs, so 
<a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2016-jul-oct.html#16_September_2016_(30_million_without_medical_insurance)">coverage
costs too much</a>.  If we want to save money and give all Americans
good medical care, we should set up a National Health Service like the
one that works well in Canada.


feed_id: 7972b65ba3a2551c8c2bd108b37717d2
title: Ridiculing Trump
uri: Ridiculing-Trump
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#18_December_2016_%28Ridiculing_Trump%29
content:
<p>
It is important to ridicule Trump, because 
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/views/2016/12/09/donald-trump-deserves-be-ridiculed-its-one-thing-terrifies-him">he
has trouble handling it</a>.


feed_id: 59cf8ceed308070f302c3d7b7c3932e9
title: Business supremacy
uri: 2016-12-21-Business-supremacy
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#18_December_2016_%28Business_supremacy%29
content:
<p>
The US government, and US states, are paying 
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/views/2016/12/09/hypocrisy-corporate-welfare-its-bigger-trump">almost
100 billion</a> in ransoms to companies so that they won't move jobs
to other states or other countries.
<p>
The states can put a stop to companies' practice of playing one
against the other, by forming a union against the companies.
I've suggested calling it the 
<a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2007-jul-oct.html#23%20July%202007%20(Companies%20playing%20one%20state%20against%20another)">United
States of America</a>.
<p>
Stopping this sort of competition with other countries would require a
treaty — the Make Companies Pay Taxes treaty.  It would be a
treaty to assure state supremacy over business, the opposite of a
business supremacy treaty.


feed_id: f58cf3bef245339787eee3f9ebcb8fd3
title: Criticism of Salafi Arabia
uri: Criticism-of-Salafi-Arabia
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#18_December_2016_%28Criticism_of_Salafi_Arabia%29
content:
<p>
The UK foreign minister, Boris Johnson, is considered a semi-Trump
buffoon, but he was right on target when 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/dec/09/boris-johnson-refuses-to-apologise-for-saudi-arabia-comments">criticizing
Salafi Arabia</a>.


feed_id: 7dbb6763fd274b2a204d1b76e1e7ec14
title: Union president Chuck Jones
uri: Union-president-Chuck-Jones
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#18_December_2016_%28Union_president_Chuck_Jones%29
content:
<p>
[Union president] 
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/views/2016/12/08/chuck-jones-better-president-donald-trump-will-ever-be">Chuck
Jones</a> Is a Better President Than Donald Trump Will Ever Be.
<p>
Jones is 
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/views/2016/12/09/trumps-anti-worker-punch-down-strategy">receiving
death threats from Trump's attack dogs</a>, who he trained in the
campaign to attack whoever Trump insults.
<p>
This seems to indicate that Trump aims to destroy unions.
Unions are workers' principal <em>real</em> defense.


feed_id: 62842a8fcce1dffa87f20decb100ac59
title: Brazilians protest against austerity
uri: Brazilians-protest-against-austerity
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#18_December_2016_%28Brazilians_protest_against_austerity%29

content:
<p>
Thousands of Brazilians 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/dec/09/brazil-austerity-cuts-un-official">protested
outside Congress</a>, which is busy ignoring them to amend the
constitution for crushing austerity.
<p>
Big cuts in state spending tend to lead to economic collapse.  Maybe
that will inspire the political changes needed to reverse austerity.


feed_id: a8ca45c058e443a83432f0ee648689ad
title: Law against homosexuality in Morocco
uri: Law-against-homosexuality-in-Morocco
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#18_December_2016_%28Law_against_homosexuality_in_Morocco%29

content:
<p>
Two Moroccan girls who faced years in prison for charges of
homosexuality were acquitted, but 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/dec/09/morocco-acquits-teenage-girls-trial-homosexuality">the
law that threatened them</a> is still there.


feed_id: 2e017ca2539c9927709514e46f881dc5
title: Trump may threaten sanctuary cities
uri: Trump-may-threaten-sanctuary-cities
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#18_December_2016_%28Trump_may_threaten_sanctuary_cities%29

content:
<p>
Trump may threaten sanctuary cities with 
<a href="https://theintercept.com/2016/12/09/local-police-worry-trump-will-punish-sanctuary-cities-by-cutting-drug-war-funding/">cutoff
of federal funds</a>.
<p>
If they cut off a city's funds for the War on Drugs, the obvious
response is to pull out of that crazy war.  While I have no sympathy
for the members of gangs that sell drugs, who may well commit violent
crimes too, the War on Drugs does more harm than good overall and we
should seize any excuse to drop it.


feed_id: 4d97b791e2f78de2a97f7221a4557209
title: Trump plans to keep conflict of interest
uri: Trump-plans-to-keep-conflict-of-interest
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#18_December_2016_%28Trump_plans_to_keep_conflict_of_interest%29

content:
<p>
Trump plans to keep his conflict of interest in the TV program,
<a href="https://thinkprogress.org/trump-to-be-part-time-president-keep-lucrative-job-with-celebrity-apprentice-74bbb4c47e8a">Celebrity
Apprentice</a>.


feed_id: 55560f788112da5d6ffbeea26ef776b6
title: Boston thugs to monitor "social media"
uri: Boston-thugs-to-monitor-social-media
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#18_December_2016_%28Boston_thugs_to_monitor_social_media%29

content:
<p>
The Boston thug department plans to monitor all "social media" posts
<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/boston-police-social-media-monitoring-plan-endangers_us_58480bf6e4b0ca53e4b9c1ec">for
opportunities to arrest someone</a>.


feed_id: ef2b44a15d930bcc828c1b90f3630176
title: Trump appoints professional harasser
uri: Trump-appoints-professional-harasser
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#18_December_2016_%28Trump_appoints_professional_harasser%29

content:
<p>
Trump has appointed a 
<a href="https://theintercept.com/2016/12/09/david-schnare-trump/">professional
harasser of climate scientists</a>, David Schnare, to tie up the EPA.


feed_id: c8346e59b45170ea01e230d43d3512a0
title: Trump screws over white working class
uri: Trump-screws-over-white-working-class
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#18_December_2016_%28Trump_screws_over_white_working_class%29

content:
<p>
Hey, White Working Class, Donald Trump Is 
<a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/12/09/hey-white-working-class-donald-trump-is-already-screwing-you-over.html">Already
Screwing You Over</a>.


feed_id: e081bb0938aaf99d657e13f98fba71dd
title: Volunteer
uri: 2016-12-21-Volunteer
url: https://stallman.org/index.html#volunteerListAnc
content:
<p>I am looking for people to I am looking for a few more volunteers to do searches to help me
      update this site.  If you'd like to help me in this way, please
      write to rms at gnu period org.</p>


feed_id: c84d6f7356db49e8eafefd84186ff88d
title: 800 "saved" Carrier jobs going to robots
uri: 800-saved-Carrier-jobs-going-to-robots
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#17_December_2016_%28800_saved_Carrier_jobs_going_to_robots%29

content:
<p>
The 800 Carrier jobs that Trump "saved" from going to Mexico 
<a href="https://thinkprogress.org/carrier-automation-trump-deal-more-layoffs-db2554f46297">will
be replaced by robots</a> instead.


feed_id: c0892cc7ce8147296e51d1bceeaeb26d
title: Indigenous people in Peru to block oil drilling
uri: Indigenous-people-in-Peru-to-block-oil-drilling
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#17_December_2016_%28Indigenous_people_in_Peru_to_block_oil_drilling%29

content:
<p>
Indigenous people in Peru 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/dec/09/peru-amazon-oil-indigenous-achuar-geopark-petroperu">vow
to block oil drilling in their land</a>, imposed by the central
government.


feed_id: 5f38687c8d26dce2c410204cded10a94
title: Grav-Mass Card
uri: Grav-Mass-Card
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#22_December_2016_%28Grav-Mass_Card%29
content:
<p>
Merry <a href="media/0c89e6ab.gravmass-card.svg" data-original-source="https://stallman.org/images/grav-mass/gravmass-card.svg">Grav-Mass</a>!


feed_id: e453347685abca9264f14cad5b2d40c3
title: Trump nominates another arsonist
uri: Trump-nominates-another-arsonist
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#22_December_2016_%28Trump_nominates_another_arsonist%29

content:
<p>
Trump has nominated 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/dec/09/cathy-mcmorris-rodgers-department-interior-trump">another
arsonist official</a>: a global heating denialist who would ruin
federally managed land pulling out fossil fuels and burning them.


feed_id: 3356b090229237d79e34f94c7d37c7e2
title: Goober drivers
uri: 2016-12-23-Goober-drivers
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#22_December_2016_%28Goober_drivers%29
content:
<p>
Uber claims its drivers are independent contractors, but not very
independent, since they are
<a href="http://www.recode.net/2016/11/28/13768756/uber-driver-deactivation-juno-advertising-new-york">not
allowed to contract for other ride companies</a>.
<p>
By the way, it is clear that Juno has the same basic injustice as
Uber: customers must run nonfree software and identify themselves.
Uber is more nasty and arrogant, but both of them are enemies of our
freedom.  We should should reject both of them completely.


feed_id: 621b857f38bb459298b611ea34b4980f
title: Censorship on WeChat
uri: Censorship-on-WeChat
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#22_December_2016_%28Censorship_on_WeChat%29
content:
<p>
Censorship on WeChat for Chinese people is now deceptive: you 
<a href="https://citizenlab.org/2016/11/wechat-china-censorship-one-app-two-systems/">can't
tell that your message was blocked</a>.


feed_id: c5cdbe0b4231c9dc3436cc71b6f31a7d
title: The evil side of Americans
uri: The-evil-side-of-Americans
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#22_December_2016_%28The_evil_side_of_Americans%29
content:
<p>
A poll found that 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/dec/05/torture-survey-red-cross-people-on-war-poll">more
Americans endorse torture than oppose it</a>.  Apparently Trump was
right about how to exploit the evil side of Americans.


feed_id: ac4054fd6ac996a439365395ab853a66
title: Thousands of civilians flee east Aleppo
uri: Thousands-of-civilians-flee-east-Aleppo
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#22_December_2016_%28Thousands_of_civilians_flee_east_Aleppo%29

content:
<p>
Thousands of civilians have fled east Aleppo, and report that the
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/dec/10/aleppos-terrified-residents-tell-of-death-and-hunger-as-flee-rebel-districts">rebels
shoot at civilians that try to leave</a>.


feed_id: 80690f84aa74b39956be3bdbd9e5295b
title: Russia and Syria overturn Geneva conventions
uri: Russia-and-Syria-overturn-Geneva-conventions
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#22_December_2016_%28Russia_and_Syria_overturn_Geneva_conventions%29

content:
<p>
Russia and Syria, encouraged by the example of Guantanamo and CIA
torture, have 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/dec/11/aleppo-war-horrors-bombing-hospitals-geneva-conventions">overturned
the Geneva conventions</a>.  They have established that no atrocity is
beneath them.
<p>
I am not convinced that a victorious Assad would make Syria into an
"Iranian-led Shia protectorate".  (Assad would surely continue a
friendly relationship with Iran, but that's not the same thing.)  But
if it does, I don't see that it would be as bad for the world as
<a href="https://www.stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#4_November_2016_(Iran_perhaps_sending_arms)">Salafi
Arabia already is</a>.
<p>
Nonetheless, I agree with the article overall.  The US must stop its
imprisonment without trial.


feed_id: 4f2c674cf721b47638bc198eca45ce53
title: Keeping jobs in the US
uri: 2016-12-23-Keeping-jobs-in-the-US
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#22_December_2016_%28Keeping_jobs_in_the_US%29
content:
<p>
Obama proposed measures to 
<a href="http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2016/12/republicans-dont-care-about-keeping-jobs-america">punish
US companies that moved jobs out of the US</a>.  Republicans defeated
them.
<p>
Obama also proposed foolish measures to "reward" companies for not
doing so.  Imagine offering each millionaire a government subsidy for
each day he didn't do some antisocial thing.
<p>
Why is it that our government tries to influence the poor by
punishing them, and to influence the rich by making them richer?


feed_id: ccb9c0489c28ef10d29af969dbc73f07
title: Fentanyl and prohibition of opioids
uri: Fentanyl-and-prohibition-of-opioids
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#22_December_2016_%28Fentanyl_and_prohibition_of_opioids%29

content:
<p>
A small quantity of fentanyl can be an overdose, and due to
prohibition of opioids, it is being 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global/2016/dec/11/pills-that-kill-why-are-thousands-dying-from-fentanyl-abuse-">included
in varying concentrations in pills labeled as other opioids</a>.
<p>
A 
<a href="http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2016/12/opioid-treatment-clinic-buprenorphine-san-francisco-homeless">new
treatment for opioid addiction</a> is on the way.


feed_id: 0eedf1603ab2518b486f5c79075a20ca
title: Intentional bombing of Iraqi hospital
uri: Intentional-bombing-of-Iraqi-hospital
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#22_December_2016_%28Intentional_bombing_of_Iraqi_hospital%29

content:
<p>
The Pentagon 
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/news/2016/12/09/us-military-we-deliberately-bombed-hospital">reports
intentionally bombing a building in an Iraqi hospital</a>, saying that
PISSI fighters were firing from it.
<p>
If this is what really took place, it might have been justified.
To find out what really took place, we need another Chelsea Manning.


feed_id: 457d7e3ef736013bbc5fd04c3d3f45fa
title: Urgent: Stop funding DAPL
uri: Urgent-Stop-funding-DAPL
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#29_December_2016_%28Urgent%3A_Stop_funding_DAPL%29
content:
<p>
Everyone: 
<a href="http://petitions.signforgood.com/NoDAPLbanks">tell some big
banks</a> to stop funding the Dakota Access Pipeline.


feed_id: 51cd63d3d545faf8706a197be40aab56
title: IHRA redefinition of "antisemitism"
uri: IHRA-redefinition-of-antisemitism
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#29_December_2016_%28IHRA_redefinition_of_antisemitism%29

content:
<p>
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/dec/16/new-antisemitism-definition-silences-israels-critics">Condemning</a>
the IHRA redefinition of "antisemitism".


feed_id: b1f415c722aef214f609852a094ce687
title: Another conflict of interest
uri: Another-conflict-of-interest
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#29_December_2016_%28Another_conflict_of_interest%29
content:
<p>
Another conflict of interest for the troll: he 
<a href="https://theintercept.com/2016/12/16/wells-fargo-is-on-a-losing-streak-but-still-has-some-trump-cards/">owes
Wells Fargo Bank a lot of money</a>, and he could let it off the
punishment for its crimes and dishonesty.


feed_id: 73a5a082525cb9c03fcaa60a1c0774dd
title: Israel seizes medical van
uri: Israel-seizes-medical-van
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#29_December_2016_%28Israel_seizes_medical_van%29
content:
<p>
Israel seized a 
<a href="http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=774401">medical van
that Italy gave to Palestinians</a>.  This is part of the decade-long
campaign to exile all Palestinians from that area.


feed_id: cec3710488569929e298ec1e78cb9ebb
title: Democratic politicians and Wall Street
uri: Democratic-politicians-and-Wall-Street
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#29_December_2016_%28Democratic_politicians_and_Wall_Street%29

content:
<p>
Powerful Democratic politicians 
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/views/2016/12/15/burning-down-house-democracy-and-post-trump-democrats">still
want to serve Wall Street</a>.


feed_id: 458b16410afceb80de7f242178fb75ad
title: Conspiracy theories about the Middle East
uri: Conspiracy-theories-about-the-Middle-East
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#29_December_2016_%28Conspiracy_theories_about_the_Middle_East%29

content:
<p>
Refuting
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/views/2016/12/15/six-most-common-middle-east-conspiracy-theories">six
common conspiracy theories</a> about the Middle East.


feed_id: 91a81ac33d8cd54c7f6cc3828dff4ccc
title: The war in Syria
uri: The-war-in-Syria
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#29_December_2016_%28The_war_in_Syria%29
content:
<p>
With various sides 
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/views/2016/12/15/navigating-war-has-war-syria-also-destroyed-journalism">eager
to lie, and willing to kill journalists</a>, the war in Syria is
endangering our ability to find out the truth about the events of war.


feed_id: 55c30fab840e08bc2c46c0afadef505c
title: Slaves on Thai fishing boats
uri: Slaves-on-Thai-fishing-boats
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#29_December_2016_%28Slaves_on_Thai_fishing_boats%29
content:
<p>
Thai fishing boats operated by slave labor now 
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2016/12/15/investigation-finds-thai-fishing-fleet-moving-indian-ocean-avoid-regulation">operate
for long periods far in the ocean</a>, transferring their catch to
other ships to be ferried to land.  This way, the fishing boats escape
from all laws, and slaves can never escape.
<p>
Greenpeace reports that this provides an entry path for
tainted seafood, and urges prohibition of the practice
of transferring caught fish to transport ships.
<p>
Technology has made fishing ever more efficient, and the result
is overfishing, as well as idleness for many fishing boats.
More efficiency in fishing is the last thing we need.


feed_id: e5062b80f566741c83fde7a72adfb50d
title: UK tracking children of illegal immigrants
uri: UK-tracking-children-of-illegal-immigrants
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#29_December_2016_%28UK_tracking_children_of_illegal_immigrants%29

content:
<p>
The UK government has 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/dec/15/pupil-data-shared-with-home-office-to-identify-illegal-migrants">converted
public schooling into a system for tracking children</a> of illegal
immigrants.
<p>
The express purpose of this is to 
<a href="http://arstechnica.co.uk/tech-policy/2016/12/uk-schoolkid-data-shared-create-hostility-against-illegal-migrants/">"create
hostility"</a> in the school system.
<p>
They will respond by keeping their children out of school.


feed_id: da01d8625191396944fa0b42935cc82e
title: The troll's national security advisor
uri: The-troll-s-national-security-advisor
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#28_December_2016_%28The_trolls_national_security_advisor%29

content:
<p>
The right-wing double standard at work: Flynn, the troll's national
security advisor, was 
<a href="http://www.dailykos.com/stories/2016/12/14/1610932/-Trump-s-National-Security-Adviser-gave-secret-information-to-foreign-military-leaders">rebuked
twice for revealing secrets to foreign officers</a>.


feed_id: cb6190384dd98d2068da139d51d2d7fe
title: NSA inspector general faces punishment
uri: NSA-inspector-general-faces-punishment
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#28_December_2016_%28NSA_inspector_general_faces_punishment%29

content:
<p>
The inspector general of the NSA condemned Snowden for releasing
information to the public instead of "going through channels" to
report abuses internally in the NSA.
<p>
Reportedly the same inspector general 
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/news/2016/12/15/nsa-inspector-who-criticized-snowden-not-using-official-channels-found-guilty">retaliated
against another NSA staffer who did exactly that</a>, and he faces
punishment for it.
<p>
As this example shows, reporting some illegality internally would be
inadequate even if it were safe.  We can't rely on internal reports to
make the NSA obey laws, let alone to make it respect our freedom.


feed_id: d719e810bdbbc8e5a2754192d0d3c82a
title: Bigotry
uri: 2016-12-30-Bigotry
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#28_December_2016_%28Bigotry%29
content:
<p>
In Reed College, radical students 
<a href="http://reason.com/blog/2016/12/13/reed-college-professor-on-social-justice">intimidate
teachers based on their "identity"</a>.  This sort of bigotry becomes
ludicrous when, as in Reed College, the students are factually
mistaken about the people they label.  But it's equally wrong when the
labels are accurate.  This form of bigotry is a part of the "political
correctness" that some right-wing Americans resent.
<p>
There are much bigger patterns of bigotry in our society.  Many
studies have shown that 
<a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2016-jul-oct.html#1_August_2016_(Black_and_Whites_Study)">blacks</a> and 
<a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2016-jul-oct.html#25_August_2016_(Developers_prejudiced_against_women)">women</a>
are systematically judged by a harsher standard than while males.  To
measure this bigotry, we have to classify people as bigotry does.
Then we can institute measures to change the bigoted judgments.
<p>
That's where the classification should stop.  To condemn speakers, to
say their views should not be heard, because of labeling them is an
injustice (which, as it happens, plays into the hands of right-wing
bigots).


feed_id: e2d7edaee9e243c31f42de5617a1fe07
title: Use of bitcoin in Venezuela
uri: Use-of-bitcoin-in-Venezuela
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#28_December_2016_%28Use_of_bitcoin_in_Venezuela%29
content:
<p>
Thousands in Venezuela are using bitcoin to 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/dec/16/venezuela-bitcoin-economy-digital-currency-bolivars">get
away from the inflation of the national currency</a>.


feed_id: 11dc2ee9a37e995e7d9291977bb5d356
title: Protests against the troll's rule
uri: Protests-against-the-troll-s-rule
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#28_December_2016_%28Protests_against_the_trolls_rule%29

content:
<p>
Protests against the troll's rule 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/dec/16/trump-protest-strategy-march-washington">need
to focus strategically on undermining his power base</a>.


feed_id: e178bf895c532ccd7fc71b1db79ba90d
title: Fake news
uri: 2016-12-30-Fake-news
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#28_December_2016_%28Fake_news%29
content:
<p>
How fake news 
<a href="http://www.npr.org/2016/12/14/505547295/fake-news-expert-on-how-false-stories-spread-and-why-people-believe-them">succeeds
in perverting the systems of Facebook and Google</a>.
<p>
Some of the promoters of fake news are only in it for the money.  They
promoted mainly anti-Clinton fake news once they saw that Clinton's
supporters were not as easy to fool as supporters of the troll.
<p>
Russia had 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/dec/16/russia-internet-lies-google-facebook">little
to do with the fake news problem</a>.


feed_id: fc80e32471d7ec0d35e72feb46f69bb4
title: Contempt for truth in Turkey
uri: Contempt-for-truth-in-Turkey
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#28_December_2016_%28Contempt_for_truth_in_Turkey%29
content:
<p>
In Turkey, the politics of contempt for truth led to a tyranny in
which people are
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/dec/15/truth-lost-game-turkey-europe-america-facts-values">attacked
unless they repeat lies</a>.


feed_id: 29bef1c26cdb40abe738f88e23f4042a
title: Lack of drug treatment for released prisoners
uri: Lack-of-drug-treatment-for-released-prisoners
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#28_December_2016_%28Lack_of_drug_treatment_for_released_prisoners%29

content:
<p>
California has released many prisoners, but they can't find drug
treatment and
<a href="http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2016/12/california-proposition-47-former-prisoners-drug-rehab-addiction-investigation">many
have trouble finding a way to live without crime</a>.
<p>
This is a general problem in the US.  50 years ago, there were many
jobs you could get after being released from prison, and you could
live on one.  Nowadays that is difficult.


feed_id: e1fcf16852aea9e7be280d8637edfe06
title: Debtors prison in Jennings, Missouri
uri: Debtors-prison-in-Jennings-Missouri
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#28_December_2016_%28Debtors_prison_in_Jennings%2C_Missouri%29

content:
<p>
Jennings, Missouri, a suburb of St Louis comparable to Ferguson,
jailed 2000 people for not paying fines.  In 2014 it issued 
<a href="http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2016/12/st-louis-jennings-ferguson-debtors-prison-lawsuit">more
arrest warrants than it had adult residents</a>.
<p>
Basically, it set up a scheme to fund the city by squeezing money out
of the poor and weak.


feed_id: aa299675cf3a6227021936b9906f5703
title: Persecution of the homeless
uri: Persecution-of-the-homeless
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#28_December_2016_%28Persecution_of_the_homeless%29
content:
<p>
1/3 of US cities prohibit homeless people (and others) from "camping"
on sidewalks, and use this as an
<a href="http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2016/12/denver-homeless-survival-gear-seizures">excuse
to steal their possessions</a>.
<p>
When business owners and rich people demand that the city persecute
the homeless, the response they deserve is, "How would you like to be
homeless?"


feed_id: 9d6d4d902dc81385328dae575927e494
title: 500 climate scientists join rally
uri: 500-climate-scientists-join-rally
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#28_December_2016_%28500_climate_scientists_join_rally%29

content:
<p>
500 climate scientists joined a 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/climate-consensus-97-per-cent/2016/dec/16/this-is-not-normal-climate-researchers-take-to-the-streets-to-protect-science">"stand
up for science" rally</a>.


feed_id: e68d7ac5176048ee6f36e500bc961632
title: Uber's autonomous cars
uri: Uber-s-autonomous-cars
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#28_December_2016_%28Ubers_autonomous_cars%29
content:
<p>
Uber's autonomous cars 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/dec/16/uber-self-driving-cars-california-illegal-unethical-tactics">frequently
violate traffic laws</a>.
<p>
Uber 
<a href="https://www.cnet.com/news/uber-we-dont-need-a-permit-for-self-driving-cars/">tries
to put the blame on human safety monitors</a>, who could in principle
intervene to stop this.
<p>
That's the general Uber attitude: profits to the company, burdens to
the drivers.
<p>
I would guess that the safety monitors would be hard-pressed to react
fast enough to prevent these maneuvers -- which would mean that they
are an excuse and a scapegoat, not a real safety system.


feed_id: fe6c5825eb0047ed6a8c422e9e3db676
title: Education for girls in Cameroon
uri: Education-for-girls-in-Cameroon
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#28_December_2016_%28Education_for_girls_in_Cameroon%29

content:
<p>
Mosques in Cameroon are 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/dec/16/cameroon-mosques-offer-free-education-girls-fight-radicalisation-boko-haram">starting
education for girls</a> as a campaign to turn the social climate
against Boko Haram.


feed_id: bfdf69a2bd71280a7529463d178d3c44
title: Teenager sends radio commands to pilots
uri: Teenager-sends-radio-commands-to-pilots
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#28_December_2016_%28Teenager_sends_radio_commands_to_pilots%29

content:
<p>
An autistic teenager in Australia gave radio commands to pilots,
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2016/dec/16/teenager-accused-of-hoax-transmissions-is-obsessed-with-aircraft-court-told">pretending
to be speaking from the control tower</a>.
<p>
This kind of hack is very dangerous.  I hope he can learn to
understand why he should not do it.


feed_id: f595cbeba3187c97d9c884309a32f375
title: Evacuations from Aleppo
uri: Evacuations-from-Aleppo
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#28_December_2016_%28Evacuations_from_Aleppo%29
content:
<p>
Many civilians were evacuated from Aleppo, but 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/dec/16/syria-aleppo-civilians-uncertain-future-freezing-war-zone">no
places have been prepared for them to shelter</a>.
<p>
Then the cease-fire was broken after rebels 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/dec/16/aleppo-evacuation-suspended-as-blasts-heard-at-departure-point">refused
to allow evacuation of civilians from villages they have besieged</a>.
<p>
We must condemn 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/dec/14/mps-aleppo-british-bombs-aleppo-syria-2013">Russian
atrocities</a> just as we condemn 
<a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2014-mar-jun.html#15_June_2014_(Blaming_the_disintegration_of_Iraq_on_Obama)">US</a> 
<a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#4_November_2016_(US_war_crimes_in_Yemen)">atrocities</a>.
But the existence of Russian atrocities doesn't mean western
intervention is the solution.


feed_id: 581f6e4253734cde45f92bcfc190c070
title: The cracking of the DNC
uri: The-cracking-of-the-DNC
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#28_December_2016_%28The_cracking_of_the_DNC%29
content:
<p>
The evidence does not clearly link the cracking of the DNC to Russia.
It is only suggestive, 
<a href="https://theintercept.com/2016/12/14/heres-the-public-evidence-russia-hacked-the-dnc-its-not-enough/">not
conclusive</a>.
<p>
I wouldn't be shocked if Putin ordered this.  He has a penchant
for dirty tricks and for rigging elections (primarily in Russia).
But I also wouldn't be shocked if Putin had nothing to do with it.


