# articles

feed_id: 31e20ee0584292fae8aa3bb27d9d207f
title: NIH official Rick Bright
uri: NIH-official-Rick-Bright
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-jan-apr.html#29_April_2020_%28NIH_official_Rick_Bright%29
content:
<p>

NIH official Rick Bright says he believes he was <a href="https://boingboing.net/2020/04/22/rick-bright-hhs-official-say.html">taken out of his official role because he defended making government decisions based on science.</a>  In particular, he rejected the unsubstantiated use of chloroquine to treat Covid-19.
<p>
The <a href="https://stallman.org/glossary.html#saboteur">saboteur</a> in chief is against science because he can't bribe it.


feed_id: bc9aed1939ed1283cff8d73d80b014b7
title: Food Security
uri: Food-Security
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-jan-apr.html#29_April_2020_%28Food_Security%29
content:
<p>

<a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2020/04/26/corporate-food-system-making-coronavirus-crisis-worse?cd-origin=rss">*COVID-19 is so dangerous to food security</a> because the global supply chain was insecure to begin with.*
<p>
<a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2020/04/26/covid-19-sweeping-through-ranks-us-immigrant-farmworkers-and-meatpackers">*COVID-19 Sweeping Through Ranks of US Immigrant Farmworkers and Meatpackers.*</a>


feed_id: 0b965c19378a8e65fe73dd2d7961b9de
title: Texas abortion ban
uri: Texas-abortion-ban
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-jan-apr.html#29_April_2020_%28Texas_abortion_ban%29
content:
<p>

<a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/texas-abortion-ban-over/">Texas has backed down on its scheme to ban abortion</a> by calling it a "nonessential" procedure.

I hope the women who were blocked from getting abortions can get it done now, but some of them might have been pushed past the 3-month limit, up to which they don't need to offer justification.


feed_id: a557b28b56cbab10c9fb3e3a51298898
title: Surplus Produce
uri: Surplus-Produce
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-jan-apr.html#29_April_2020_%28Surplus_Produce%29
content:
<p>

The US Department of Agriculture <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/04/27/grotesque-deadly-failure-trump-usda-under-fire-allowing-millions-pounds-produce-rot">dawdled for a month before buying surplus produce</a>.  Farmers were ruined along with vegetables while the agency disregarded its mission.


feed_id: b72f9754b7aa3a1fece9961375cccb93
title: Suspiciously large small business loan
uri: Suspiciously-large-small-business-loan
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-jan-apr.html#29_April_2020_%28Suspiciously_large_small_business_loan%29

content:
<p>

A small company that does data collection for the conman's campaign got a <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/phunware-data-collection-trump-campaign-coronavirus-small-business-loans/">suspiciously large small business loan, suspiciously fast.</a>


feed_id: 1967900968ea96b1d848b49cf25312f1
title: New Zealand has nearly eliminated Covid-19
uri: New-Zealand-has-nearly-eliminated-Covid-19
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-jan-apr.html#29_April_2020_%28New_Zealand_has_nearly_eliminated_Covid-19%29

content:
<p>

<a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/04/27/coronavirus-effectively-eliminated-new-zealand-following-comprehensive-approach">New Zealand has nearly eliminated Covid-19</a> and will start gradually reopening many kinds of businesses.
<p>
The lesson here is that a lockdown can be effective, if it is complete enough to stop nearly all transmission and thus eliminate the need for the lockdown.


feed_id: 42eed42652ceff2fcc2e53d2ff918b6d
title: New York City will exclude cars from many streets.
uri: New-York-City-will-exclude-cars-from-many-streets
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-jan-apr.html#29_April_2020_%28New_York_City_will_exclude_cars_from_many_streets.%29

content:
<p>

<a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/04/27/environmentally-just-move-will-open-100-miles-nyc-streets-pedestrians-social">New York City will exclude cars from many streets.</a>
<p>
I am eager to see which streets I am familiar with will be included.


feed_id: bc4240f5e3a0c546863feb150847d441
title: Fracking project close to cancellation
uri: Fracking-project-close-to-cancellation
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-jan-apr.html#30_April_2020_%28Fracking_project_close_to_cancellation%29

content:
<p>
A giant fracking project in Argentina is close to cancellation.
Argentina has promised large subsidies for drilling there, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/apr/29/fate-of-vaca-muerta-oil-and-gas-fields-may-point-way-forward-on-fossil-fuels-after-coronavirus">which means
that most of the profit would go to the companies</a>
   and little to Argentina
or Argentines.


feed_id: 1c4a599b4abec0ba2fd2c12fc4f4fe58
title: Exploiting Covid-19 to make more people homeless
uri: Exploiting-Covid-19-to-make-more-people-homeless
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-jan-apr.html#30_April_2020_%28Exploiting_Covid-19_to_make_more_people_homeless%29

content:
<p>
Some countries are making big efforts to help the homeless; others are
punishing them for being homeless.  Meanwhile, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/apr/29/how-can-billions-of-people-stay-home-to-beat-covid-19-without-a-safe-place-to-live">businesses are
exploiting Covid-19 to make more people homeless</a>.

<p>
Fundamentally, the large number of people with no home, or a cramped
home, is due to the combination of inequality (and its consequent
poverty), urbanization, and population growth.  Urbanization is itself
the result of economic causes related to inequality.


feed_id: cde7b1a1b87743cfaad3876644a110a9
title: Toxic firefighting wastes
uri: Toxic-firefighting-wastes
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-jan-apr.html#30_April_2020_%28Toxic_firefighting_wastes%29
content:
<p>
An incinerator that is burning firefighting foam that contains PFAs is
not burning 100% of those chemicals.  <a href="https://theintercept.com/2020/04/28/toxic-pfas-afff-upstate-new-york/">Some have been find in soil and
water in the vicinity of the incinerator</a>.

<p>
This is a matter of concern even for small quantities, since they don't
naturally decay at all.


feed_id: cffd8c1589f9fcc74c1628ee7130d40f
title: Listed by commission on international religious freedom
uri: Listed-by-commission-on-international-religious-freedom
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-jan-apr.html#30_April_2020_%28Listed_by_commission_on_international_religious_freedom%29

content:
<p>
The US commission on international religious freedom asked to list India
as one of the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/28/india-religious-freedom-narendra-modi-us">"countries of particular concern"</a> 
  due to <a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2019-sep-dec.html#26_December_2019_(Discrimination_against_Muslims)">Modi's repression
of Muslims</a>.


feed_id: 3d93af3bd8ec13d8184f463f1d360188
title: Overload of NHS
uri: Overload-of-NHS
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-jan-apr.html#30_April_2020_%28Overload_of_NHS%29
content:
<p>
The overload of the NHS, and other secondary effects, could cause <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2020/apr/28/gmb-boss-tim-roache-resigns-suddenly-with-health-issues-cited">around 18,000
additional deaths from cancer in the UK over the next 12 months</a>.

<p>
These are people who have cancer anyway, but the situation will impede their
treatment.


feed_id: b757d5ef76e7ebfdc4b649fccba97848
title: Handouts to CEOs
uri: Handouts-to-CEOs
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-jan-apr.html#30_April_2020_%28Handouts_to_CEOs%29
content:
<p>
The new US government program of handouts for the biggest companies
has no conditions of honesty or decency.  Nothing would stop them from
handing the money straight to the CEO, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/04/28/federal-reserve-bond-corporations/">except that the other
stockholders might demand a cut</a>.


feed_id: ca00b31ce7b61ad8e5098bdd3e3c24ea
title: One time terrorists
uri: One-time-terrorists
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-jan-apr.html#30_April_2020_%28One_time_terrorists%29
content:
<p>
Only 5% of people imprisoned for crimes described as terrorist
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/apr/28/convicted-terrorists-less-likely-to-reoffend-than-other-criminals-study">commit another such crime afterward</a>.

<p>
This suggests to me that it is safe to release most of them so they
don't catch and spread Covid-19 in prison.  But also that a special
kind of sentence might be invented that would serve in place of prison
and achieve the same results.


feed_id: 6fe32196f8f342d4d8a1031a297181f2
title: Antibiotics during Covid-19
uri: Antibiotics-during-Covid-19
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-jan-apr.html#30_April_2020_%28Antibiotics_during_Covid-19%29
content:
<p>
In reaction to Covid-19<a href="https://www.wired.com/story/covid-19-may-worsen-the-antibiotic-resistance-crisis/">, hospitals and individuals are taking a lot more
antibiotics</a>.

<p>
This will build resistance, and few new antibiotics are being
developed.  Our neoliberal governments have left the decisions in the
hands of business, which mostly considers antibiotics not profitable.


feed_id: dee770d32cc696a798676ea857898978
title: No mask during hospital visit
uri: No-mask-during-hospital-visit
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-jan-apr.html#30_April_2020_%28No_mask_during_hospital_visit%29
content:
<p>
The Mayo Clinic allowed Pence <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/04/28/coronavirus-mike-pence-tours-mayo-clinic-without-mask.html">to visit and even meet with a patient
without as mask</a>.

<p>
His argument, that he is tested "regularly" for the coronavirus and
therefore knows he can't transmit virus to anyone else, is not absurd.
However, we don't know how frequently "regularly" is.  If it is once a
week, he might become infected and start transmitting virus between
tests.

<p>
In any case, there was no reason for the hospital to make an exception
for him.  I expect the hospital management were afraid of reprisals
if they did not.


feed_id: e188613435eb57293c81ca0fc5ad2410
title: Parole monitoring
uri: Parole-monitoring
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-jan-apr.html#30_April_2020_%28Parole_monitoring%29
content:
<p>
An app for parole monitoring is so buggy that it is very hard for
people to keep the requirements.  They live in fear of being
imprisoned again because something did not work.  It needlessly drains
the battery, and when the battery runs dry at the wrong time, the user
can be imprisoned for that.  In addition, <a href="https://gizmodo.com/when-your-freedom-depends-on-an-app-1843109198">it can listen through the
phone at any time</a>.

<p>
I'd choose an ankle bracelet if I had the choice.  However, those
don't work in the smooth way you might imagine.  Parolees using ankle
monitors <a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#27_September_2015_(Gouging_the_poor_in_the_US)">have to pay for them</a>, also,
  thought they
don't also have to pay hundreds of dollars at the start to buy one.
And ankle bracelets too are unreliable, and run out of charge too often,
which puts the user in danger of being imprisoned or missing work.

<p>
<em>Every</em> portable phone, whether smart of not, can be converted into a
full-time listening device.  Let's learn to think of <em>every</em> portable
phone as a form of virtual prison.


feed_id: 03e7bb12d52f6625df8cff41a3ab23a2
title: China plague in 1911
uri: China-plague-in-1911
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-jan-apr.html#30_April_2020_%28China_plague_in_1911%29
content:
<p>

How China, with foreign cooperation, quashed an outbreak of <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2020/04/18/china/great-manchurian-plague-china-hnk-intl/index.html">plague in 1911</a>.
<p>
Then doctors from around the world met to study which methods were effective.


feed_id: d12bd44073b8e96038af1409bb96609b
title: Blocked or discouraged from unemployment insurance
uri: Blocked-or-discouraged-from-unemployment-insurance
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-jan-apr.html#30_April_2020_%28Blocked_or_discouraged_from_unemployment_insurance%29

content:
<p>

Around 20 million Americans have filed for unemployment insurance, but a <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/04/28/thanks-system-set-fail-study-shows-number-unemployed-us-likely-far-higher-reported">study suggests</a> roughly 50% more are unemployed but have been blocked or discouraged from doing this.


feed_id: a2bd32b08a342ae449d6feea8e6a2b36
title: Proposal to halt mergers and acquisitions during the coronavirus pandemic.
uri: Proposal-to-halt-mergers-and-acquisitions-during-the-coronavirus-pande
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-jan-apr.html#30_April_2020_%28Proposal_to_halt_mergers_and_acquisitions_during_the_coronavirus_pandemic.%29

content:
<p>

*Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, (D-N.Y.) announced <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/04/28/curb-oligarchic-power-warren-and-ocasio-cortez-call-halt-corporate-mergers-during">a new joint proposal on Tuesday to halt mergers and acquisitions during the coronavirus pandemic</a>.*
<p>
I agree, but why allow them again afterwards?


feed_id: 2fd393a33539b2070bfe12dd5483cf5f
title: Republicans want to give businesses immunity
uri: Republicans-want-to-give-businesses-immunity
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-jan-apr.html#30_April_2020_%28Republicans_want_to_give_businesses_immunity%29

content:
<p>

Republicans want to give businesses <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/04/28/no-consequences-negligence-kills-mcconnell-wants-corporate-immunity-covid-19">complete immunity</a> for imposing working conditions that favor transmission of Covid-19.
<p>
This goes with a plan to <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2020/04/28/trump-sacrifices-americas-meat-workers-covid-19-and-sets-our-food-supply">keep meat-packing plants open without giving the workers protective gear</a>.
<p>
It would be unreasonable, perhaps even harmful, to demand too much. If not enough protective gear is available made, when medical personnel have trouble getting them, we must not blame an employer for not getting some -- or insist it outbid the hospitals for them.  Some companies might get gear by bribing the conman, and medical personnel might get sick as a result.
<p>
However, it would be a mistake to jump to the opposite extreme.  For instance, if unsophisticated masks will prevent most transmission in the work place, companies must get them and provide them.  There is no sense in giving businesses license to be totally careless with employees' health.


feed_id: bfb121e6bf5518e76920badca22bb666
title: US unions attack the business bailouts
uri: US-unions-attack-the-business-bailouts
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-jan-apr.html#30_April_2020_%28US_unions_attack_the_business_bailouts%29

content:
<p>

US unions attack the business bailouts for supporting businesses as <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/04/28/top-unions-accuse-trump-exploiting-loopholes-covid-19-stimulus-enrich-corporate">those businesses shaft workers.</a>


feed_id: e7651752d3d98a6d78c66c659a91ae30
title: Data caps
uri: Data-caps
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#2_May_2020_%28Data_caps%29
content:
<p>
US internet access companies have eliminated the data caps that they
claimed were necessary to keep their networks from crashing due to
heavy load.  However, <a href="https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20200420/06583844328/fancy-that-comcasts-network-holding-up-fine-without-usage-caps.shtml">no such problem has occurred</a>.

<p>
Perhaps that was just a fabricated excuse to charge more.


feed_id: 77f55f1eec6aeb356318df616cfd7d98
title: Ventilator repair manuals
uri: Ventilator-repair-manuals
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#2_May_2020_%28Ventilator_repair_manuals%29
content:
<p>
Some ventilator manufacturers <a href="https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/884zvx/ventilator-companies-finally-make-the-life-saving-devices-easier-to-repair">have been pressured into publishing
their repair manuals</a>.

<p>
We should not have to depend on companies to make concessions.  To
reduce plastic waste, we need laws to require that manufacturers
design products to be repairable (and recyclable) &mdash; and to cooperate
in all ways with that repair and recycling.


feed_id: 15c5e1aefb37f426cfc04563844d36d6
title: Ignoring own safety rules
uri: Ignoring-own-safety-rules
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#2_May_2020_%28Ignoring_own_safety_rules%29
content:
<p>
The Mayo Clinic set an example of cowardice when it bowed down
to Pence and <a href="https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2020-04-28/mayo-clinic-pence">did not enforce its own safety rules</a>.


feed_id: 1f533e4aacad3990161d172d0806520c
title: Violence in control
uri: Violence-in-control
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#2_May_2020_%28Violence_in_control%29
content:
<p>
The RSS, a violent organization for repression of non-Hindus,
<a href="http://www.ofmi.org/indias-lockdown-rss-cadres-enforce-checkpoints/">is now being allowed to run checkpoints on the streets of India</a>.

<p>
This puts them in an excellent position to launch more pogroms against
Muslims and other religious minorities.  Naturally, Modi would be in
favor.


feed_id: 22ea9460bec63b4869341ec566593182
title: Colonization and killing
uri: Colonization-and-killing
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#2_May_2020_%28Colonization_and_killing%29
content:
<p>
The Misquito tribe accuses Nicaragua's government <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/29/nicaragua-illegal-land-grabs-indigenous-territories-report">of supporting colonists
who seize areas of their lands, and kill them</a>.

<p>
The colonists practice illegal logging and mining, as well as deforestation
to run cattle.

<p>
It sounds much like the US in the 1800s.


feed_id: 7c88d2c0abd71b23293313476c0a0a6a
title: Murder of politician
uri: Murder-of-politician
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#2_May_2020_%28Murder_of_politician%29
content:
<p>
*German prosecutors charge Neo-Nazi <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/29/german-prosecutors-charge-neo-nazi-with-of-politician">with murder of politician</a>.*


feed_id: 34f9b149f7c56f2676eb3966840c9a92
title: Avoiding possible causes
uri: Avoiding-possible-causes
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#2_May_2020_%28Avoiding_possible_causes%29
content:
<p>
The Tories have decided that inquests into the deaths of doctors
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/apr/29/inquests-nhs-staff-deaths-ppe-shortages">should not consider whether lack of protective equipment was a factor
in causing the deaths</a>.

<p>
That reason appears plausible, but is based on an error.  Indeed, an
inquest is not the place to judge a government policy as wise or
unwise, but investigating whether that policy played a role in causing
a particular death is part of the purpose of an inquest.


feed_id: 599d288f11a5b3b4b5519b71f78d5072
title: Suing spying crackers
uri: Suing-spying-crackers
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#2_May_2020_%28Suing_spying_crackers%29
content:
<p>
Facebook is suing a surveillance company that has cracked the WhatsApp
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/29/whatsapp-israeli-firm-deeply-involved-in-hacking-our-users">to spy on people including journalists and government officials</a>.

<p>
It is laudable that Facebook works to stop others from snooping on its useds,
but that won't convince me <a href="https://stallman.org/facebook.html">to let Facebook snoop on me</a>.


feed_id: bf378229b08e1b403680550848728d23
title: Survival package
uri: Survival-package
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#2_May_2020_%28Survival_package%29
content:
<p>
George Monbiot: we need a survival package, not a "stimulus package".
Governments must take control <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/apr/29/airlines-oil-giants-government-economy">and manage polluting businesses to
reduce how much business they do</a>.

<p>
*UN chief: don't use taxpayer money <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/apr/28/un-chief-dont-use-taxpayer-money-to-save-polluting-industries">to save polluting industries</a>.*


feed_id: 56304d1631cbef29a6ee95adc883216b
title: Plastic debris and hermit crabs
uri: Plastic-debris-and-hermit-crabs
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#2_May_2020_%28Plastic_debris_and_hermit_crabs%29
content:
<p>
Plastic debris in the ocean interferes with hermit crabs' <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/apr/29/microplastics-disrupt-hermit-crabs-ability-to-choose-shell-study-suggests">thinking about
choosing the better shell clothe itself in</a>.

<p>
Presumably this is because of chemicals it releases into the water.


feed_id: 3bcbae8871a69dfe9daed827f0887487
title: Data leak on British car trips, recorded by government spy cameras
uri: Data-leak-on-British-car-trips-recorded-by-government-spy-cameras
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#3_May_2020_%28Data_leak_on_british_car_trips%2C_recorded_by_government_spy_cameras%29

content:
<p>

A <a href="https://www.theregister.co.uk/2020/04/28/anpr_sheffield_council/">data leak released data describing millions of car trips taken by Britons</a> and recorded by government spy cameras.
<p>
This leak added a secondary danger (other parties know where you travel) to the primary danger (the state knows where you travel).


feed_id: 473c0a6e3c08c8b01dc09dc1beff6a2f
title: Arrests in China
uri: Arrests-in-China
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#3_May_2020_%28Arrests_in_China%29
content:
<p>

People in China who published copies of things Chinese people posted about Covid-19 earlier this year <a href="https://qz.com/1846277/china-arrests-users-behind-github-coronavirus-memories-page/">have been arrested</a>.
<p>
I'm sure US Republicans would like to arrest scientists who preserved information about <a href="https://stallman.org/glossary.html#global heating">global heating</a> research a couple of years ago.


feed_id: 16c18486400abf98842f1b6a113b331d
title: Health workers with raised risk of dying from COVID-19
uri: Health-workers-with-raised-risk-of-dying-from-COVID-19
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#3_May_2020_%28Health_workers_with_raised_risk_of_dying_from_COVID-19%29

content:
<p>

*Study: 3.7 Million Frontline Health Workers Have Medical Problems That <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2020/04/28/study-37-million-frontline-health-workers-have-medical-problems-raise-their-risk">Raise Their Risk of Dying From COVID-19</a>.*


feed_id: 60ed9fc3ddb435ba5fbbde4c86c56ffb
title: Cover uninsured Americans with Medicare for length of epidemic
uri: Cover-uninsured-Americans-with-Medicare-for-length-of-epidemic
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#3_May_2020_%28Cover_uninsured_Americans_with_Medicare_for_length_of_epidemic%29

content:
<p>

Sanders proposes to <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2020/04/28/heres-how-cover-uninsured-americans-during-pandemic">cover all uninsured Americans with Medicare</a> for the length of the the epidemic.


feed_id: b03c02942e1102b570900ed8cb7fe47b
title: Humanitarian aid in Yemen
uri: Humanitarian-aid-in-Yemen
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#3_May_2020_%28Humanitarian_aid_in_Yemen%29
content:
<p>

The bully's blockage of funds for the WHO will cause an <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/04/28/after-us-suspension-funding-who-expected-cut-80-humanitarian-aid-war-torn-yemen">80% cut in support to hospitals</a> there.
<p>
The suffering in Yemen is mainly due to the civil war, which the <a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2017-may-aug.html#25_August_2017_(Bombing_Yemen)">US prolongs by supporting the bombardment</a> by Salafi Arabia.


feed_id: 00c389a7a9446c1cd8dced4a8917ccc5
title: AOC points out need to increase workers' pay
uri: AOC-points-out-need-to-increase-workers-pay
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#3_May_2020_%28AOC_points_out_need_to_increase_workers%27_pay%29

content:
<p>

AOC says, the fact that some US workers are paid less than unemployment benefits shows the <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/04/28/maybe-pay-people-more-says-aoc-data-shows-half-us-workers-could-make-more">need to increase workers' pay</a>.
<p>
If the US increased the minimum wage to match (taking account of inflation) its previous level, it would surely exceed their unemployment benefits.


feed_id: 3783158e963f136345ef90cdec738155
title: Economists Call on Congress
uri: Economists-Call-on-Congress
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#3_May_2020_%28Economists_Call_on_Congress%29
content:
<p>

*Over 100 Economists Call on Congress to <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2020/04/29/over-100-economists-call-congress-take-bold-action-stop-mass-layoffs">Take Bold Action to Stop Mass Layoffs<a/>.*


feed_id: 1c7135657b0c44e01283223630a2dd8e
title: Anti-lockdown protesters deceive public
uri: Anti-lockdown-protesters-deceive-public
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#3_May_2020_%28Anti-lockdown_protesters_dececeive_public%29

content:
<p>

The head of the Arizona Republican Party called on anti-lockdown protesters to <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/28/politics/arizona-kelli-ward-coronavirus-protests/index.html">deceive the public by dressing up as medical workers</a>.
<p>
For the Republican Party, truth is target 1.


feed_id: 8a67aeb751dd074fcb54f789e9dd2815
title: Supreme Court Affirms That No One Owns the Law
uri: Supreme-Court-Affirms-That-No-One-Owns-the-Law
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#3_May_2020_%28Supreme_Court_Affirms_That_No_ONe_Owns_the_Law%29

content:
<p>

*<a href="https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2020/04/supreme-court-affirms-no-one-owns-law">Supreme Court Affirms That No One Owns the Law</a>.*  And this includes annotations made by officials about how to interpret the law.


feed_id: 4cbeacf610326efe3b2c5796e0217f52
title: Studying DRM (Digital Restrictions Management
uri: Studying-DRM-(Digital-Restrictions-Management
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#3_May_2020_%28Studying_DRM_%28Digital_Restrictions_Management%29

content:
<p>

<a href="https://medium.com/cuinfoscience/dmca-anti-circumvention-and-the-policy-problem-in-hci-3158dd8a27d0">Studying DRM (Digital Restrictions Management)</a> as a matter of forcing bad user interfaces, by looking at how users have complained about it.
<p>
The article's basic stance is to oppose DRM.  Yet it is full of pro-DRM propaganda tropes, such as "Digital Rights Management" and the claim that it "protects copyrighted works", and that defeating it is "circumvention".  Why repeat the propaganda for what you are trying to oppose?
<p>
I suppose the author used those terms bowing to the widespread perception that they are the "correct" terminology, and that other terminology would be seen as "incorrect".  What a deep and broad advantage that gives to the perpetrators of DRM!  To take away the power of this supposed rule of correct speech, we must refuse to follow it.
<p>
The paywalled paper that the author published studied the public's responses to the triennial invitation to argue for exceptions to part of the DMCA.  These exceptions, when granted, are temporary (they last only three years) and incomplete (they legalize certain copying but don't legalize the device needed to do it), so this invitation is not a real opportunity to push for substantive change.  It is simply a distraction.
<p>
Don't be distracted!  Join the FSF in condemning DRM, and calling for <em>repeal</em> of the part of the DMCA that prohibits devices to break DRM. Why not phone your congresscritter's office now?
<p>
To fully eliminate the injustice of DRM, let's make DRM a felony.


feed_id: 4eca2175f7c4f248b87aa9614790b8e1
title: Vietnam eradicated Covid-19
uri: Vietnam-eradicated-Covid-19
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#3_May_2020_%28Vietnam_eradicated_Covid-19%29
content:
<p>
  Vietnam eradicated Covid-19 by <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/may/01/testing-vietnam-contained-coronavirus">lots of testing, careful contact-tracing, and
  strict quaranteen</a>.
<p>
  As to the controversy about travel bans: if a country has few cases
  and is working hard to block transmission, a ban on entering the
  country makes sense because that pathway could bring in more casss
  than local transmission.
<p>
  However, for a country in with many cases, and the majority come from
  local transmission, to ban on entering the country is gratuitous
  suffering.
  


feed_id: ea3767b08c36e8c2619de35a051b48b4
title: Canada has banned some kinds of semiautomatic rifles
uri: Canada-has-banned-some-kinds-of-semiautomatic-rifles
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#3_May_2020_%28Canada_has_banned_some_kinds_of_semiautomatic_rifles%29

content:
<p>
  Canada has banned some kinds of semiautomatic rifles
  <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/01/canada-assault-weapons-ban-trudeau-nova-scotia-shooting">after an American-style massacre</a> in which the killer used one.


feed_id: 35c82fc2975e3954bbbd9854cea69e41
title: Coronavirus's effect on Mexico's Workers
uri: Coronavirus-s-effect-on-Mexico-s-Workers
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#3_May_2020_%28Coronavirus%27s_effect_on_Mexico%27s_Workers%29

content:
<p>
  *Coronavirus Has Mexico's Workers Pinned Between <a href="https://theintercept.com/2020/05/01/mexico-coronavirus-us-relationship/">U.S. Business
  Interests and Their President's Obsessive Austerity</a>.*


feed_id: 1d0ddbb7eb1de08ebac33b2df06bbb91
title: Federal Jail Intentionally Destroying Medical Records
uri: Federal-Jail-Intentionally-Destroying-Medical-Records
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#3_May_2020_%28Federal_Jail_Intentionally_Destroying_Medical_Records%29

content:
<p>
  *Medical Expert: Federal Jail <a href="https://theintercept.com/2020/05/01/mdc-brooklyn-jail-coronavirus-medical-records/">Intentionally Destroying</a> Medical Records and
  Hiding Extent of Coronavirus Behind Bars.*


feed_id: faeb841eabeaaadf61139bfeef21dd19
title: IEA predicts use of fossil fuels for electricity will soon end
uri: IEA-predicts-use-of-fossil-fuels-for-electricity-will-soon-end
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#3_May_2020_%28IEA_predicts_use_of_fossil_fuels_for_electricity_will_soon_end%29

content:
<p>
  The International Energy Agency, normally a friend to fossil fuels,
  predicts that use of fossil fuels for making electricity <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/apr/30/covid-19-crisis-demand-fossil-fuels-iea-renewable-electricity">will soon
  end permanently</a>.
<p>
  Hooray!  But we still need to reduce emissions from transport (lots more
  mass transit) and agriculture (eat less meat).
  


feed_id: a033a367b3d4c919c8700ce4a377a9bc
title: ICANN blocked the sale of the .org domain to a company
uri: ICANN-blocked-the-sale-of-the-org-domain-to-a-company
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#3_May_2020_%28ICANN_blocked_the_sale_of_the_.org_domain_to_a_company%29

content:
<p>
  ICANN's board <a href="https://www.icann.org/news/blog/icann-board-withholds-consent-for-a-change-of-control-of-the-public-interest-registry-pir">blocked the sale</a> of the .org top level domain to a
  company.  If the sale had proceeded, the company would have been able
  to gouge the domain owners without limit for renewal of their domains.
<p>
  Many of these domain names might have disappeared, including this one.
<p>
  The comments raise the good question: what allowed such a proposal
  to come this close to being accepted, and how should ICANN change to
  prevent it?
  


feed_id: 24402657dd4f734bbc53b151134ddb11
title: Affordable housing crises
uri: Affordable-housing-crises
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#3_May_2020_%28Affordable_housing_crises%29
content:
<p>
  *We must recognize that there was an
  affordable housing crisis before the pandemic and <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2020/05/01/coronavirus-housing-crisis-heres-how-we-fix-it">there will be one
  after</a>.*


feed_id: 547694694723e5bd86fc17c81b37a235
title: Xiaomi phones report many actions the user takes
uri: Xiaomi-phones-report-many-actions-the-user-takes
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#3_May_2020_%28Xiaomi_phones_report_many_actions_the_user_takes%29

content:
<p>
  Xiaomi phones report many actions the user takes &mdash; starting an app,
  looking at a folder, visiting a web site, listening to a song.  <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/thomasbrewster/2020/04/30/exclusive-warning-over-chinese-mobile-giant-xiaomi-recording-millions-of-peoples-private-web-and-phone-use/">They
  send identifying information too</a>.

<p>
  You are probably aware that lots of other nonfree programs and
  disservices snoop on users.  For instance, Spotify and other streaming
  dis-services make a dossier about each user, and they make users
  identify themselves to pay.  Out, out, damned Spotify!
<p>
  It is peculiar that Forbes exonerates the same wrongs when the
  culprits are not Chinese &mdash; but we shouldn't make that mistake.
  


feed_id: 67f8f8539bc8f9deb2ac21a26a9a6cd1
title: Vice President Pence’s office threatened to retaliate against a reporter
uri: Vice-President-Pence-s-office-threatened-to-retaliate-against-a-repo
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#3_May_2020_%28Vice_President_Pence%C3%A2%C2%80%C2%99s_office_threatened_to_retaliate_against_a_reporter%29

content:
<p>
  *Vice President Pence’s office threatened to retaliate <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/media/pence-staff-threatens-action-against-reporter-who-tweeted-about-visit-to-clinic-without-surgical-mask/2020/04/30/27c63056-8b0a-11ea-9dfd-990f9dcc71fc_story.html">against a
  reporter</a> who revealed that Pence’s office had told journalists they
  would need masks for Pence’s visit to the Mayo Clinic&hellip;*
<p>
  The Republican rule is, "You have no right to show the world what
  we really do."
  


feed_id: 675c619d4e929ca9609c936b219bf351
title: ALEC organizing pressure to compel low-wage workers to return to work
uri: ALEC-organizing-pressure-to-compel-low-wage-workers-to-return-to-work
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#3_May_2020_%28ALEC_organizing_pressure_to_compel_low-wage_workers_to_return_to_work%29

content:
<p>
  <a href="https://www.exposedbycmd.org/2020/04/30/alec-leading-right-wing-campaign-to-reopen-the-economy-despite-covid-19/">ALEC is organizing pressure</a> for states to compel low-wage workers to
  return to work.
<p>
  Republicans are also organizing to make sure that, if they get sick, they
  will get no treatent and their families will get no income.
  


feed_id: 21a8e0a7edd0c63e1943162bddf735bb
title: US cities removing protections against corruption of public schools
uri: US-cities-removing-protections-against-corruption-of-public-schools
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#3_May_2020_%28US_cities_removing_protections_against_corruption_of_public_schools%29

content:
<p>
  Around the US, cities are removing the protections <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2020/04/29/coronavirus-capitalism-coming-public-schools">against corruption
  and privatization of public schools</a>.


feed_id: 0a5fb65e9908e2ebf04aab7df5441c80
title: US banks asking for permission to harass debtors on the phone
uri: US-banks-asking-for-permission-to-harass-debtors-on-the-phone
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#3_May_2020_%28US_banks_asking_for_permission_to_harass_debtors_on_the_phone%29

content:
<p>
  US banks are asking for permission <a href="https://theintercept.com/2020/04/30/robocalls-fcc-banks">to harass debtors</a> on the phone.
<p>
  With an FCC now on the side against human beings, they might get
  permission.
  


feed_id: 186b13089310ce5f70b2b371dd90bc31
title: 2020 Presidential accusations
uri: 2020-Presidential-accusations
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#3_May_2020_%282020_Presidential_accusations%29
content:
<p>
  The groping accusation against Biden, contrasted with the rape and
  groping accusations against the bully, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/may/02/joe-biden-tara-reade-sexual-assault-claim-donald-trump">lead to ironic responses from
  Democrats and Republicans</a>.
<p>
  Each of the two men has done other things that are harmful on a mass
  scale, far bigger than crimes against a few individuals.  And will
  probably do more of them if elected.  But the Democratic Party, at
  least, maybe still has a chance to nominate someone other than Biden.
<p>
  Alas, I fear it would choose Bloomberg, who is basically still a
  Republican.
  


feed_id: 34451c7a01c600771ec146170ec1d665
title: Uber and Deliveroo are designed to operate like fast-growing weeds
uri: Uber-and-Deliveroo-are-designed-to-operate-like-fast-growing-weeds
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#3_May_2020_%28Uber_and_Deliveroo_are_designed_to_operate_like_fast-growing_weeds%29

content:
<p>
  Uber and Deliveroo are designed to operate like fast-growing weeds,
  <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/may/02/deliveroo-venture-capitalism-food-delivery-business-model">choking whatever sector they operate in</a>, exploiting their workers, and
  getting their payoffs from the last wave of investors before they go
  pop.
<p>
  For the sake of economic stability alone, I think it would be wise to
  have regulations to hamper this sort of disruption scheme.
<p>
  However, there's another nasty aspect to these businesses that the
  article does not mention: surveillance.  I don't need to decide
  whether to boycott Uber (or Deliveroo), because before I reach that
  point, I balk at handing over my name and address and at paying with
  something other than cash.
  


feed_id: fadc2c1713e8656f7248a542137d353d
title: US healthcare crisis
uri: US-healthcare-crisis
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#3_May_2020_%28US_healthcare_crisis%29
content:
<p>
  Bernie Sanders and Pramila Jayapal: *The pandemic has made the US
  healthcare crisis far more dire. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/may/02/us-healthcare-system-coronavirus-pandemic-bernie-sanders-pramila-jayapal">We must fix the system</a>.*


feed_id: 6aa879fe45b84ae763c333ca3a6df15a
title: PISSI is rebuilding its forces in Iraq
uri: PISSI-is-rebuilding-its-forces-in-Iraq
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#3_May_2020_%28PISSI_is_rebuilding_its_forces_in_Iraq%29

content:
<p>
  PISSI is rebuilding its forces in Iraq, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/02/isis-mount-deadly-assault-on-iraqi-militia-members-near-samarra">and is launching guerrilla attacks</a>.
<p>
  The numskull is directly responsible for this.  If he had kept supporting
  the Syrian Kurds of Rojava, they could have rooted out <a href="https://stallman.org/glossary.html#pissi">PISSI</a>.
<p>
  I think the numskull didn't want a full victory over <a href="https://stallman.org/glossary.html#pissi">PISSI</a>.  The
  fight, for him, was an opportunity to tell a superhero story for
  political ends.  In superhero comics, a villain that dies is no use
  any more.  So they keep allowing villains to make comebacks.  In the
  same way, the numskull saved <a href="https://stallman.org/glossary.html#pissi">PISSI</a> at the last minute so it could make
  a comeback and give him a chance to tell more stories.
  


feed_id: d15425fbf5b6da0cd8444fc53217f86c
title: US and Iran need a military hotline
uri: US-and-Iran-need-a-military-hotline
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#3_May_2020_%28US_and_Iran_need_a_military_hotline%29

content:
<p>
  *<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/may/02/us-iran-military-hotline-covid-19-pandemic">At this perilous moment</a>, the US and Iran need a military hotline more
  than ever.*
<p>
  <a href="https://stallman.org/glossary.html#bully">The bully</a> doesn't seek good relations with Iran, nor specific rational
  concessions.  And the same may be true of the Iranian extremists.
  


feed_id: 4594d2d0188656b0131b3b2699592244
title: Vietnam eradicated Covid-19
uri: 2020-05-04-Vietnam-eradicated-Covid-19
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#3_May_2020_%28Vietnam_eradicated_Covid-19%29
content:
<p>
  Vietnam eradicated Covid-19 by <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/may/01/testing-vietnam-contained-coronavirus">lots of testing, careful contact-tracing, and
  strict quarantine</a>.
<p>
  As to the controversy about travel bans: if a country has few cases
  and is working hard to block transmission, a ban on entering the
  country makes sense because that pathway could bring in more cuss
  than local transmission.
<p>
  However, for a country in with many cases, and the majority come from
  local transmission, to ban on entering the country is gratuitous
  suffering.
  


feed_id: aca227f8f152b7e41bbbf487883bb7e3
title: ALEC organizing pressure to compel low-wage workers to return to work
uri: 2020-05-04-ALEC-organizing-pressure-to-compel-low-wage-workers-to-return-to-work
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#3_May_2020_%28ALEC_organizing_pressure_to_compel_low-wage_workers_to_return_to_work%29

content:
<p>
  <a href="https://www.exposedbycmd.org/2020/04/30/alec-leading-right-wing-campaign-to-reopen-the-economy-despite-covid-19/">ALEC is organizing pressure</a> for states to compel low-wage workers to
  return to work.
<p>
  Republicans are also organizing to make sure that, if they get sick, they
  will get no treatment and their families will get no income.
  


feed_id: a17d8ffd9b53f2b0061d365ee7f43bb7
title: US media when officials say absurd things
uri: US-media-when-officials-say-absurd-things
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#3_May_2020_%28US_media_when_officials_say_absurd_things%29

content:
<p>

No matter how absurd a thing an important official might say, <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2020/04/29/both-sides-ing-bleach-injection-media-era-incompetent-president">US media are obliged to pretend there is some possibility it is valid</a>.


feed_id: ec4a410d49ade174aed62a26cac30a95
title: Cost fears of Covid-19
uri: Cost-fears-of-Covid-19
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#3_May_2020_%28Cost_fears_of_Covid-19%29
content:
<p>

Poll Shows <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/04/29/poll-shows-tens-millions-americans-would-avoid-covid-19-treatment-over-cost-fears">Tens of Millions of Americans Would Avoid Covid-19 Treatment Over Cost Fears</a>.
<p>
I would too, if I had no insurance, or employer-provided junk insurance.  If you let Covid-19 go untreated, there is a chance you will die from it; but if you get medical treatment that puts you in penury, your life will be ruined.


feed_id: a71fee2e449036e44e50cba551ce257f
title: Aim to eliminate coronavirus world-wide
uri: Aim-to-eliminate-coronavirus-world-wide
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#3_May_2020_%28Aim_to_eliminate_coronavirus_world-wide%29

content:
<p>

<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/may/01/cholera-and-coronavirus-why-we-must-not-repeat-the-same-mistakes">We should aim to eliminate coronavirus world-wide</a>, not just in wealthy countries.


feed_id: e9b85d7769fcaca88d89bf17d9ec2ddf
title: Rich in support of Biden want a non-progressive woman as his running mate
uri: Rich-in-support-of-Biden-want-a-non-progressive-woman-as-his-running-m
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#3_May_2020_%28Rich_in_support_of_Biden_want_a_non-progressive_woman_as_his_running_mate%29

content:
<p>

It Looks like the rich people that support Biden <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/04/30/anyone-elizabeth-bernie-out-big-dollar-biden-donors-aim-nix-warren-vp-choice">want him to choose a non-progressive woman</a> as his running mate.
<p>
I don't expect him to disobey them.  They are the master and he has never questioned that.


feed_id: 503c4c3440eea4ca126eac235f0e70df
title: Risk of Livelihoods Destroyed by Pandemic
uri: Risk-of-Livelihoods-Destroyed-by-Pandemic
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#3_May_2020_%28Risk_of_Livelihoods_Destroyed_by_Pandemic%29

content:
<p>

*UN Labor Agency Warns 1.6 Billion Workers at Risk of Having Their <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/04/29/un-labor-agency-warns-16-billion-workers-risk-having-their-livelihoods-destroyed">'Livelihoods Destroyed' by Pandemic</a>.*


feed_id: 09e46c17bd0e2d17ba3fc6e5b7dc52b1
title: Clearview AI wants to use Covid-19 to legitimize tracking
uri: Clearview-AI-wants-to-use-Covid-19-to-legitimize-tracking
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#3_May_2020_%28Clearview_AI_wants_to_use_Covid-19_to_legitimize_tracking%29

content:
<p>

Clearview AI, whose business consists of using lots of cameras to track a large fraction of US residents on the street, <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/04/29/unscrupulous-tech-company-rebuked-pushing-facial-recognition-tool-authorites-track">wants to use Covid-19 to legitimize this</a>.
<p>
I think that what Clearview AI does now ought to be a crime.  We should poss a law to make it a felony, so that the management of that company or any other company will go to prison if they do it.
<p>
Specifically, operation of a system capable of systematic face recognition in places where the public is allowed to go (including the parts of stores that are open to the public) should be prohibited, outside of very narrow limits on where it can operate and how.


feed_id: a7c8d535624ad1026805ea263d2c93ab
title: Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp
uri: Georgia-Gov-Brian-Kemp
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#3_May_2020_%28Georgia_Gov._Brian_Kemp%29
content:
<p>

*Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp: <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2020/04/29/georgia-gov-brian-kemp-stupid-or-pseudostupid">Stupid or Pseudostupid?</a>*


feed_id: e49012d4f0fb694971192523e331ec2f
title: Mafia giving food and recruiting in the poorest areas of Italy
uri: Mafia-giving-food-and-recruiting-in-the-poorest-areas-of-Italy
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#3_May_2020_%28Mafia_giving_food_and_recruiting_in_the_poorest_areas_of_Italy%29

content:
<p>

1/4 of Italians are threatened with extreme poverty due to the Covid-19 shutdown.  In the poorest areas, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/30/the-days-never-end-life-under-lockdown-in-one-of-italys-poorest-communities">the mafia is giving them food</a> and recruiting their support.
  


feed_id: 945119a547ccb9e86c0378255d9a2166
title: Reduced vehicle traffic in Europe
uri: Reduced-vehicle-traffic-in-Europe
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#3_May_2020_%28Reduced_vehicle_traffic_in_Europe%29
content:
<p>

Modeling suggests that <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/apr/30/clean-air-in-europe-during-lockdown-leads-to-11000-fewer-deaths">reduced vehicle traffic in Europe has avoided over 10,000 deaths in the past month</a>, as well as a lot of sickness.
<p>
That is nowhere near as many deaths as were caused by Covid-19 in the same period.


feed_id: f81d8dd1e61d49e2b910517d63b4ad5d
title: UK prison thugs punching prisoners
uri: UK-prison-thugs-punching-prisoners
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#3_May_2020_%28UK_prison_thugs_punching_prisoners%29
content:
<p>

UK prison thugs have a practice of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/apr/30/uk-prison-officers-punching-inmates">punching prisoners</a> for no reason except to intimidate them.


feed_id: 187a18d38fd8ef5911eeeda818d2a161
title: Extradition hearing postponed
uri: Extradition-hearing-postponed
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#4_May_2020_%28Extradition_hearing_postponed%29
content:
<p>
The judge presiding over Julian Assange's extradition hearing very reluctantly agreed to postpone it, because under current conditions <a href="https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/04/28/assa-a28.html">there was no way he could meet with his lawyers to make his case</a>.


feed_id: 7f76f6096cf91158e670f1bc7e7eb890
title: Bail system
uri: 2020-05-04-Bail-system
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#4_May_2020_%28Bail_system%29
content:
<p>
California has reduced bail to 0 on many crimes, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/apr/29/california-bail-jails-coronavirus-criminal-justice">so that defendants don't
have to be in jail and get sick</a>.
  In November, Californians will vote on whether to permanently
eliminate the bail system.


feed_id: b403e3b72dd740de79a69d35b097df21
title: No market for corn
uri: No-market-for-corn
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#4_May_2020_%28No_market_for_corn%29
content:
<p>
There is suddenly no market for the corn that the US grows <a href="https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2020/04/29/Markets-for-corn-evaporate-during-coronavirus-pandemic/1411588110297/">to
feed to cattle or produce ethanol</a>.

<p>
Growing food plants to make fuel is a tremendous waste and is done only because
of foolish government subsidies.
   We needs to eliminate those subsidies, as I've said for many years.

<p>
We should go back to the systems we used for decades after the New Deal,
which were designed to keep small farms going 

<p>
Meanwhile, Americans need to eat less meat, for their own health
and the Earth's health.

<p>
There is less demand for the cattle, too &mdash; partly because meat plants
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/09/us-coronavirus-outbreak-agriculture-food-supply-waste">are closing because many of their staff are sick</a>.

<p>
If the mountain of corn cannot be used, that waste will be small
compared to the waste of growing too much corn each year.


feed_id: 2e627469f0aca486eccb9b6413062918
title: Military operations
uri: Military-operations
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#4_May_2020_%28Military_operations%29
content:
<p>
*All military operations across Libya have stopped [for Ramadan] <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/29/eastern-libyan-forces-have-agreed-a-ceasefire-during-ramadan">in response to
   international appeals</a>.*


feed_id: 49643c39662f132d2a49eea90c8a0e33
title: Not so anonymous contact-tracing
uri: Not-so-anonymous-contact-tracing
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#4_May_2020_%28Not_so_anonymous_contact-tracing%29
content:
<p>
Australia's contact-tracing app sends quite a bit of personal data to
a centralized Amazon server.  It lets users enter a pseudonym but demands
their real phone numbers, so in effect <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/apr/30/covid-safe-app-faq-review-how-to-download-australian-government-covidsafe-tracing-download-install-ios-app-store-iphone-phone-number-google-play-android-australia-coronavirus-tracking">the centralized server will
know the identity of each user</a>.

<p>
The description of the anonymous IDs that phones will exchange
is not clear to me.  I can't tell whether this really protects users'
privacy or not.  I would appreciate a pointer to a report by someone
who has studied the real details.


feed_id: 336cee8b59b8b13d6393238b625684c8
title: President of the Humanist Association seized and deported
uri: President-of-the-Humanist-Association-seized-and-deported
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#4_May_2020_%28President_of_the_Humanist_Association_seized_and_deported%29

content:
<p>
Mubarak Bala, president of the Humanist Association of Nigeria, was
seized (kidnapped?) and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/01/fears-for-nigerian-humanist-held-for-blasphemy-in-sharia-law-state">taken to a state in Nigeria ruled by
Islamist extremists who have imposed Islamic law</a>.
    He was arrested there, and is likely to be killed there &mdash; either
executed for "blasphemy" or simply murdered.

<p>
Islamic law is unjust and vicious, <a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2014-may-aug.html#04_July_2014_(Nigerian_Atheist_receives_death_threats)">trampling many human rights</a>.

<p>
We in the US are not in danger of having Islamic law imposed on us.
The threat here comes from unjust and vicious Christian law.  A
Christian extremist cult <a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2004-jan-apr.html#23 February 2004 (South Dakota Abortion Law)">has taken over the Republican Party and
is attacking our human rights</a>
  even as you read this.  <a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2020-jan-apr.html#21_April_2020_(*The_GOP_Has_Become_a_Death_Cult.*)">It threatens our lives, too</a>.


feed_id: b31b13043aebd67c6b5379d188131cdd
title: Windrush scandal
uri: Windrush-scandal
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#4_May_2020_%28Windrush_scandal%29
content:
<p>
The UK has a backlog of almost 4000 people who it deported, or threatened to deport, because they can't prove that their parents <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/apr/30/windrush-case-backlog-remains-at-3700-home-office-reveals">had a right to bring them to the UK as citizens before 1973</a>.

<p>
This is referred to as the "Windrush scandal" in reference to the
Jamaicans who were invited to move to the UK to work, starting in 1948
on the HMT Windrush.

<p>
The UK government's attitude from the beginning has been, "We will
deport you unless you prove we can't."  This despite having deleted
the database 
    that many of them would have needed to cite in order to prove that.

<p>
After mistreating people so much, the UK has an obligation to take a
forgiving attitude: if a person's case seems valid to the extent it
can be checked, say yes.


feed_id: 7e7032e602de872d29c393c5c4d706c6
title: Intimidating opposition with rifles
uri: Intimidating-opposition-with-rifles
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#4_May_2020_%28Intimidating_opposition_with_rifles%29

content:
<p>
Right-wing protesters brought rifles to the Michigan state house
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/may/01/trump-michigan-protesters-gretchen-whitmer">to intimidate opposition</a>.

<p>
They were egged on by the numskull, and funded by
right-wing billionaires.

<p>
Keep in mind that the Michigan legislature is not democratically elected.
Republicans there <a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2019-sep-dec.html#30_November_2019_(Gerrymandering)">practice gerrymandering and voter suppression so as to
"win" elections in despite of the voters</a>.


feed_id: 8b0e75463fc26f42d30c0359360bd163
title: Department of Belabor
uri: Department-of-Belabor
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#4_May_2020_%28Department_of_Belabor%29
content:
<p>
The Department of Labor becomes the Department of Belabor, and
proposes to defend meat-packing businesses <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/04/29/trump-labor-department-says-it-may-actively-defend-meatpacking-companies-over">if they are sued because
employees caught Covid-19 at work</a>.

<p>
The issue raises many subtle points.  For instance, it is absurd to
demand the impossible, or the unknown.  The most any business (or
person) can be expected to do is to make a sincere effort to protect
workers, based on what is known.  If that is the best the employer can
do, to sue because it didn't do the impossible is unfair.

<p>
On the other hand, businesses are likely to try to twist the standards
to pass off cheaper, inadequate protection as enough.  Republican
officials, seeking opportunities to help <a href="https://stallman.org/glossary.html#doohnibor">dooH niboR</a>, may be eager to
validate such a sham.

<p>
If "the best we can do" is clearly insufficient, what then?  Perhaps
the business should stay closed.  Or perhaps those who are likely to
be at particular risk if they catch Covid-19 should stay home.
However, they can't just stay home if that implies penury.  So I'd say
the government has these responsibilities.

<ul>
<li>
Make sure copious protection equipment is available as soon as possible.

<li>
Set the firmest practical standard of "the best we can do", and make
sure companies carry it out.  Update this standard promptly whenever
supply permits doing better.

<li>
Support workers so that anyone who is sick can afford to stay home,
and use frequent testing to identify them and tell them to go home.

<li>
Support workers who are extra vulnerable so that they can afford to stay
home and not get sick.
</ul>


feed_id: a53256b2f98a14dbf657f53834277396
title: Exploiting Covid-19
uri: Exploiting-Covid-19
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#4_May_2020_%28Exploiting_Covid-19%29
content:
<p>
PISSI is trying to exploit Covid-19 <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/16/opportunity-or-threat-how-islamic-extremists-reacting-coronavirus">to attack and destabilize</a>.
  Much like <a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2020-jan-apr.html#15_April_2020_(Useful_Covid-19)">right-wing extremists</a>
  and <a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2020-jan-apr.html#9_April_2020_(Millions_of_Indians_stuck_on_the_street)">Hinduismists</a>.

<p>
It seems to be a tendency of violent extremists to dehumanize people,
even many of their supporters.  And not all their killings are done
with arms.


feed_id: 771a9bd2cd66e89964ea8aa06ac24ced
title: Germs on public toilet surfaces
uri: Germs-on-public-toilet-surfaces
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#5_May_2020_%28Germs_on_public_toilet_surfaces%29
content:
<p>

<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/may/04/sensor-taps-door-handles-covid-19-rethink-public-toilets-bathroom-design">Redesigning public toilets</a> to eliminate the danger of leaving germs on surfaces.
<p>
The article advocates installing "sensor taps" to turn the faucet on and off.  This is a fine idea, if the details are done right. However, I find most sensor-controlled faucets hard to use.  I can't determine exactly where the sensor is looking, so I have trouble turning the water on and off.  The sinks don't bother to <em>show</em> where the sensor points: they expect it to be obvious, and it isn't.
<p>
Washing hands is not the only thing people do with sinks.  For instance, I used to brush my teeth in a certain sink.  When it was refitted with a sensor-controlled faucet, that became almost impossible.


feed_id: f1ffd4ea622b22eb13315761a1dc98d3
title: Inherent flaws in using apps for contact tracing
uri: Inherent-flaws-in-using-apps-for-contact-tracing
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#5_May_2020_%28Inherent_flaws_in_using_apps_for_contact_tracing%29

content:
<p>

Using apps for contact tracing has <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/techstream/inaccurate-and-insecure-why-contact-tracing-apps-could-be-a-disaster">inherent flaws</a>, and may not even be a workable solution.


feed_id: 4fbed1d17ac4140fc993fccdf14ee570
title: Covid-19 antibody test
uri: Covid-19-antibody-test
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#5_May_2020_%28Covid-19_antibody_test%29
content:
<p>

Why we <a href="https://granta.com/how-to-interpret-coronavirus-antibody-tests/">can't count on an antibody test</a> to prove someone is not infected with Covid-19 (unless it is a <em>very, very good</em> antibody test).


feed_id: 0363b443384188b38153fba740e044a4
title: SEC helped Amazon bury shareholder resolution
uri: SEC-helped-Amazon-bury-shareholder-resolution
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#5_May_2020_%28SEC_helped_Amazon_bury_shareholder_resolution%29

content:
<p>

The <a href="https://sirota.substack.com/p/scoop-amazon-and-trump-agency-blocked">SEC helped Amazon bury a shareholder resolution</a> calling for it to provide masks and other protective equipment to its workers.
<p>
With the numskull in charge, SEC now stands for Sucker-Exploiting Corporations.


feed_id: 1c126d190a90fcc12c7b8d9be0e20f58
title: Blame of individual Americans
uri: Blame-of-individual-Americans
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#5_May_2020_%28Blame_of_individual_Americans%29
content:
<p>

An antisocialist <a href="https://thehill.com/opinion/finance/488906-coronavirus-reveals-financial-irresponsibility-of-americans">tries to blame individual Americans</a> for borrowing money beyond what they could pay back.
<p>
It is true that most Americans are acting unwisely, but remember that they are acting under the influence of a system that pressures and lures people to do that.  For decades, banks have systematically sent credit cards to college students without being asked.  Resisting the temptation to use the card calls for strength that they may never have developed.
<p>
So who is responsible for their unwise choice?  Partly, they are, individually.  But the banks have the bigger share of responsibility. The banks' responsibility is morally more grave, because they understand the situation and they choose to lead students into being exploited.
<p>
Meanwhile, it is not a few Americans that find themselves borrowing money for immediate survival.  A just system would never do that to anyone.
<p>
The writer identifies perself as a <a href="https://stallman.org/antiglossary.html#libertarians">"libertarian"</a>, but I think that is a misleading label and I won't use it myself.


feed_id: be4be55186f549d07b73ca7a90df28a9
title: Monopolies controlling our food supply
uri: Monopolies-controlling-our-food-supply
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#5_May_2020_%28Monopolies_controlling_our_food_supply%29

content:
<p>

Letting "efficient" monopolies control our food supply has produced a system so inflexible that <a href="https://washingtonmonthly.com/2020/04/28/why-are-farmers-destroying-food-while-grocery-stores-are-empty/">farms are destroying crops while stores have no food to sell</a>.
<p>
That's not to mention the harm that it does every year, paying farmers too little and helping to force mergers of farms.
<p>
We should not forget that a large part of the present crisis is because farms grow a lot of plants specifically to <a href="https://civileats.com/2020/04/30/op-ed-dont-blame-farmers-who-have-to-euthanize-their-animals-blame-the-companies-they-work-for/">feed to animals</a>.


feed_id: a174373fb14afb5d3bc0622530786c68
title: Fallacies and errors in Michael Moore's film
uri: Fallacies-and-errors-in-Michael-Moore-s-film
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#5_May_2020_%28Fallacies_and_errors_in_Michael_Moore%27s_film%29

content:
<p>

Refuting important <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2020/may/03/once-again-michael-moore-stirs-the-environmental-pot-but-conservationists-turn-up-the-heat-on-him">fallacies and errors</a> in Michael Moore's film that attacks renewable energy.


feed_id: eeb5ad60d93aaaed982ca0b7b1342e54
title: Conman dismissed another inspector general
uri: Conman-dismissed-another-inspector-general
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#5_May_2020_%28Conman_dismissed_another_inspector_general%29

content:
<p>

The conman has <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/05/02/white-house-oust-dhhs-inspector-general-whose-report-drew-trump-fury?cd-origin=rss">dismissed another department's inspector general</a>.
<p>
He has discovered that this is an effective way to get away with corruption.


feed_id: 12a4515d8eb1285a85d2df84b557e908
title: Studios eliminate practice of showing films exclusively in cinemas
uri: Studios-eliminate-practice-of-showing-films-exclusively-in-cinemas
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#5_May_2020_%28Studios_eliminate_practice_of_showing_films_exclusively_in_cinemas%29

content:
<p>

Movie studios are starting to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2020/may/02/studios-bypass-cinemas-with-lucrative-streaming-premieres-the-end">eliminate the practice of showing films exclusively in cinemas</a> for a period of time.  The danger is that, in the future, streaming dis-services may be the only authorized way to watch movies.
<p>
Why does this matter?  Because movie theaters are the only authorized way to watch a film that doesn't oppress those who watch.
<p>
DVDs have DRM that we know how to break, but DVDs are no longer easily available.  Bluray disks have DRM that we cannot break and therefore should never be used.
<p>
Netflix has DRM, and creates a dossier about each customer, as well as imposing an antisocial contract where you promise to be a jerk (by not sharing copies).
<p>
The only way nowadays that you can see a film, that doesn't oppress you, is to get an unauthorized copy.


feed_id: 19b46b486154cb8ce3742bb34195fa7f
title: Corporate looting as "Rescue Plan"
uri: Corporate-looting-as-Rescue-Plan
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#5_May_2020_%28Corporate_looting_as_Rescue_Plan%29
content:
<p>

*Corporate Looting as <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2020/05/03/corporate-looting-rescue-plan-robber-barons-saviors">"Rescue Plan,"</a> Robber Barons as "Saviors."*
<p>
*It’s quite telling who counts as "the economy" and what measures are considered "necessary" or "adequate."*


feed_id: 69d125d727477b0dfb0b76d81f6f1ef8
title: Coal-based electric generation in Australia
uri: Coal-based-electric-generation-in-Australia
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#5_May_2020_%28Coal-based_electric_generation_in_Australia%29

content:
<p>

Coal-based electric generation in Australia <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/may/04/nsw-and-queensland-coal-industry-uses-as-much-water-as-all-sydney-households-report-finds">uses as much water as 5 million people</a>.  Water is scarce in Australia, so it can't afford this.
<p>
Ironically, burning that coal is making water more scare, in Australia and other generally arid areas.


feed_id: c894be64e9d1015398b1f8f919092728
title: Salafi Arabia funded religious propaganda
uri: Salafi-Arabia-funded-religious-propaganda
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#5_May_2020_%28Salafi_Arabia_funded_religious_propaganda%29

content:
<p>

How Salafi Arabia funded religious propaganda that <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/news/2020/apr/16/how-saudi-arabia-religious-project-transformed-indonesia-islam">converted Indonesian Muslims into an intolerant majority</a>.


feed_id: 2edb717424bbb2072941ce779881d377
title: Pretending 'freedom' conquers all
uri: Pretending-freedom-conquers-all
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#5_May_2020_%28Pretending_%27freedom%27_conquers_all%29

content:
<p>

*The president and his allies are hiding the facts and pretending ‘freedom’ conquers all. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/may/03/donald-trump-reopen-us-economy-lethal-robert-reich">As a result, more Americans will die</a>.*


feed_id: b468fa5c09be6499626ac95320fabb7c
title: Maine depends on tourism
uri: Maine-depends-on-tourism
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#5_May_2020_%28Maine_depends_on_tourism%29
content:
<p>

The entire <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/03/maine-tourist-industry-coronavirus-outbreak-us">state of Maine depends on tourism</a>, and everyone in it is likely to be ruined.
<p>
Officially allowing people to visit the hotels and beaches would make no difference, since they wouldn't take the risk.


feed_id: 3175f65acfb333bf765040844921537f
title: UK has an opportunity to cut ties with vicious regime
uri: UK-has-an-opportunity-to-cut-ties-with-vicious-regime
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#5_May_2020_%28UK_has_an_opportunity_to_cut_ties_with_vicious_regime%29

content:
<p>

With the UK importing less oil, and arms sales to Salafi Arabia blocked, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/may/03/the-observer-view-on-britains-relationship-with-saudi-arabia-">the UK has an opportunity to start cutting ties to that vicious regime</a>.


feed_id: 6795a6512dceb083e252fc5b908d4beb
title: Economic sanctions against Israel
uri: Economic-sanctions-against-Israel
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#5_May_2020_%28Economic_sanctions_against_Isreal%29
content:
<p>

A considerable fraction of the UK parliament have called for <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/01/mps-press-for-sanctions-against-israel-over-west-bank-annexations">economic sanctions against Israel</a> if it annexes Palestinian territory, saying it should be treated like Russia after its <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/01/mps-press-for-sanctions-against-israel-over-west-bank-annexations">annexation of the Crimea</a>.


feed_id: 066cfe4f007c6329b515a00ca4c78111
title: Consider a universal basic income to get society running again
uri: Consider-a-universal-basic-income-to-get-society-running-again
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#4_May_2020_%28Consider_a_universal_basic_income_to_get_society_running_again%29

content:
<p>

To get society running as Covid-19 damps down, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/may/03/universal-basic-income-coronavirus-shocks">consider a universal basic income</a>.


feed_id: 17f206dd1bd4993ea89111b229346ff3
title: UK claims other countries are trying to "steal" research data
uri: UK-claims-other-countries-are-trying-to-steal-research-data
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#4_May_2020_%28UK_claims_other_coutries_are_trying_to_steal_research_data%29

content:
<p>

The UK says <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/03/hostile-states-trying-to-steal-coronavirus-research-says-uk-agency">other countries are trying to "steal" research data pertaining to treating Covid-19</a>. What in the world does that mean?
<p>
The article actually says "steal research", but research is an activity; there is no way to "steal" such a thing.  The thing that can be stolen is data.  But why would there be an occasion to do that, in research about Covid-19?  Is the UK keeping the results of its research secret?  That would be unconscionable!
<p>
Publish your data, UK, and then you won't have to worry about anyone's "stealing" it.


feed_id: 7a528cee8b8c49e5708ed4fc3e9cc0f6
title: Egyptian filmmaker dies in Cairo jail
uri: Egyptian-filmmaker-dies-in-Cairo-jail
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#4_May_2020_%28Egyptian_filmaker_dies_in_Cairo_jail%29

content:
<p>

*Egyptian filmmaker who mocked <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/02/egyptian-filmmaker-who-mocked-president-dies-in-cairo-jail">president dies in Cairo jail</a>.*
<p>
Egyptians have been arrested for playing songs that criticize al-Sisi, even in other countries.


feed_id: 276d5f5f4f1d7162dc989bb85188a436
title: Egyptian government uses pandemic to tighten control
uri: Egyptian-government-uses-pandemic-to-tighten-control
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#4_May_2020_%28Egyptian_government_uses_pandemic_to_tighten_control%29

content:
<p>

Amnesty International: <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/03/egypt-has-made-journalism-a-with-crackdown-says-amnesty-international">*Egyptian government using pandemic to tighten control of media and quash dissent.*</a>


feed_id: 2f0094e89eeb015b1ebb27732130c2da
title: Slashing US meat consumption could cut greenhouse gas emissions
uri: Slashing-US-meat-consumption-could-cut-greenhouse-gas-emissions
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#4_May_2020_%28Slashing_US_meat_consumption_could_cut_greenhouse_gas_emissions%29

content:
<p>

*Slashing US Meat Consumption by Half <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/04/30/slashing-us-meat-consumption-half-could-cut-diet-related-greenhouse-gas-emissions-35">Could Cut Diet-Related Greenhouse Gas Emissions by 35%</a>.*


feed_id: a99e75bd17adf22e7dbb938c0513a418
title: Whistleblower protections for revealing lack of protective gear for workers
uri: Whistleblower-protections-for-revealing-lack-of-protective-gear-for-wo
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#4_May_2020_%28Whistleblower_protections_for_revealing_lack_of_protective_gear_for_workers%29

content:
<p>

The <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/05/01/may-day-pro-worker-groups-demand-protections-frontline-whistleblowers-who-expose">US should protect whistleblowers</a> who reveal that businesses are failing to provide workers with protective gear so they don't get sick.


feed_id: 9db49144b0930a749efd5ef161951380
title: Civil society groups call for WTO negotiations to stop negotiating new business-supremacy treaties
uri: Civil-society-groups-call-for-WTO-negotiations-to-stop-negotiating-new
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#4_May_2020_%28Civil_society_groups_call_for_WTO_negotiations_to_stop_negotiating_new_business-supremacy_treaties%29

content:
<p>

Many civil society groups call for WTO negotiations to <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2020/05/01/400-civil-society-groups-call-world-trade-organization-wto-members-stop-all">stop negotiating new business-supremacy treaties</a>.
<p>
What we really need is much more than that.  The basic idea of <a href="https://stallman.org/business-supremacy-treaties.html">business-supremacy treaties</a> is to give businesses power over governments.  That is inherently wrong.


feed_id: fdb77c68cd94d2d5618e97f06ef41b51
title: US should break up the four large meat-packing companies
uri: US-should-break-up-the-four-large-meat-packing-companies
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#4_May_2020_%28US_should_break_up_the_four_large_meat-packing_companies%29

content:
<p>

The US should break up the four large meat-packing companies <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2020/05/01/open-markets-and-allies-demand-antitrust-enforcement-meat-industry-protect">to protect the nation's food supply</a>.
<p>
Plutocratist government has allowed many industries to become too concentrated.  <a href="https://stallman.org/articles/progressive-tax-on-business-gross-income.html">My tax proposal</a> would pressure the large companies to split themselves up without the need for a lawsuit against each one.


feed_id: cf9e37b3abb54399be745e1a461105ab
title: US unemployed, European subsidized payrolls
uri: US-unemployed-European-subsidized-payrolls
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#4_May_2020_%28US_unemployed%2C_European_subsidized_payrolls%29

content:
<p>

Whereas the US has let 30 million workers become unemployed, <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/05/01/covid-19-shoots-us-unemployment-great-depression-levels-europes-worker-safety-net">European countries have subsidized workers' payrolls</a>.


feed_id: abedce05c4b9ec0b625253cf5752dc7a
title: Physical distance requirements
uri: Physical-distance-requirements
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#5_May_2020_%28Physical_distance_requirements%29
content:
<p>
New York thugs, enforcing physical distance requirements, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/04/coronavirus-new-york-police-enforce-social-distancing">treated
whites kindly and treated blacks with violence</a>.

<p>
The mayor, to his credit, did not excuse the violence.


feed_id: b82b610d741a36120643f2535e295500
title: Ruining state governments
uri: Ruining-state-governments
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#5_May_2020_%28Ruining_state_governments%29
content:
<p>
The US government is trying to ruin state governments <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2020/05/03/crushing-states-saving-banks-feds-generous-new-rules">while letting banks
do as they please</a>.
  States need to set up public banks ASAP, so they can save themselves through
those banks.


feed_id: 7697fa0c812f77d2e49852deae547a5b
title: VP quitting because because of how employees are treated
uri: VP-quitting-because-because-of-how-employees-are-treated
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#5_May_2020_%28VP_quitting_because_because_of_how_employees_are_treated%29

content:
<p>
Tim Bray, a vice president at Amazon Web Services, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/may/04/amazon-vp-quits-letter-tim-bray">quit because he could not
stand how Amazon treated its warehouse employees</a>.


feed_id: 700dbc75578b4ddba80e0e6257bcc82d
title: Contact-tracing abuses
uri: Contact-tracing-abuses
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#5_May_2020_%28Contact-tracing_abuses%29
content:
<p>
Australia has proposed a bill that would prohibit many of the abuses
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/may/04/government-releases-draft-legislation-for-covidsafe-tracing-app-to-allay-privacy-concerns">that could make its contact-tracing app a direct threat</a>.

<p>
This is a big step in the right direction.  I think more is needed.

<p>
Also, even very firm prohibition on abuse of the data will not
convince me to install a nonfree program, or to carry a portable
phone.

<p>
India has published a tracking app, and seems to be planning to require
many people to carry it.  It may even impose house arrest <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/04/how-safe-is-it-really-privacy-fears-over-india-coronavirus-app">on anyone that
does not carry it</a>.


feed_id: 24be8692779090561ba9663b9b85d8c2
title: Admitting error would undermine justice
uri: Admitting-error-would-undermine-justice
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#5_May_2020_%28Admitting_error_would_undermine_justice%29

content:
<p>
The chief prosecutor of St Louis found evidence that Lamar Johnson was
not merely innocent of murder; he was framed by officials when a
previous prosecutor tried him.  She calls for him to have a new trial,
but the state attorney general says that <a href="https://theintercept.com/2020/05/04/missouri-attorney-general-lamar-johnson-prison/">admitting the possibility of error
would undermine faith in the "justice" system</a>.

<p>
If the system demonstrates it values truth and justice, it might
inspire some faith.


feed_id: c0072222d500df9f779baa2c4fa24d09
title: Coup d'état
uri: Coup-d-état
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#5_May_2020_%28Coup_d%27%C3%83%C2%A9tat%29
content:
<p>
A former US soldier says that he led a raid against Venezuela on Sunday
whose aim was a coup d'état, and that <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/04/venezuela-jordan-goudreau-raid-maduro">the raid is still going on</a>.

<p>
I suspect the US government organized the raid &mdash; that this was a clandestine
act of shooting war.


feed_id: 3705eab0f58836da5b535d9b1d2101ec
title: Working over the internet
uri: Working-over-the-internet
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#5_May_2020_%28Working_over_the_internet%29
content:
<p>
Now that people are accustomed to working over the internet, you can expect
companies <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/may/04/coronavirus-is-giving-us-a-glimpse-of-the-future-of-work-and-its-a-nightmare">to exploit them through it until forced to stop</a>.


feed_id: 7679a9817f04139f0191e1917e7839ea
title: Attack on antiwar protesters
uri: Attack-on-antiwar-protesters
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#5_May_2020_%28Attack_on_antiwar_protesters%29
content:
<p>
In 1970, construction workers in NYC attacked antiwar protesters, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/may/04/kent-state-massacre-marked-start-of-americas-polarization">and
Nixon egged them on</a>,
  anticipating the conman today.

<p>
Meanwhile, right-wing extremists frequently killed black protesters
marching for equal rights.


feed_id: 337b640f3963cfb37b1635b7e96373e3
title: Built on our blood
uri: Built-on-our-blood
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#5_May_2020_%28Built_on_our_blood%29
content:
<p>
*"It's being built on our blood": <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2020/may/04/its-being-built-on-our-blood-the-true-cost-of-saudi-arabia-5bn-mega-city-neom">the true cost of Saudi Arabia’s $5bn
megacity</a>.*

<p>
As Arabia becomes ever more arid, and importation of food ever more
costly and environment-damaging, people will eventually recognize it
was a dumb idea to build a new city there of all places &mdash; even aside
from the repression involved.


feed_id: abc70a4bdf0033a0c4fe2dcc97040792
title: Go home and rest
uri: Go-home-and-rest
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#6_May_2020_%28Go_home_and_rest%29
content:
<p>
When Deborah Gatewood suspected she had Covid-19, she went to the
emergency room at Beaumont Hospital she went there four times, each
time being told "go home and rest".  <a href="https://www.theroot.com/black-woman-dies-from-coronavirus-after-being-turned-aw-1843091288">Then she died</a>.

<p>
Why did she go to that hospital each time?  Perhaps she assumed that,
as an employee of that hospital, she would get careful treatment.

<p>
Was she given substandard treatment?  We can't tell for certain from the
information available.  There was a shortage of testing capacity,
especially in March.  Perhaps there were so many patients that others
who appeared to be sicker used up the testing capacity.  Or perhaps not.

<p>
Was she the victim of racism?  We can't prove that from the
information available, but I wouldn't be surprised.  One of the ways
racism frequently manifests itself is as bias in making a judgment
call.


feed_id: 96a3687dd6ec3b28eac0ef7f46bcbcba
title: Business-supremacy treaty
uri: 2020-05-06-Business-supremacy-treaty
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#6_May_2020_%28Business-supremacy_treaty%29
content:
<p>
The US and UK <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/05/04/warnings-pro-corporate-agenda-eve-post-brexit-us-and-uk-trade-talks">are starting to negotiate a new business-supremacy treaty</a>.

<p>
With plutocratist liars heading both governments, they will surely aim
to help businesses trample humans and to promote privatization.  The
<a href="https://stallman.org/glossary.html#bully">bully</a> will try to create obstacles to Medicare for All and to weaken
all safety standards.

<p>
After writing that, I found out <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/may/04/uk-government-begins-transatlantic-trade-talks-with-washington">that is already part of the plan</a>.


feed_id: 8c310c55de1d91338d10aec1a4849803
title: Someone to put the blame on
uri: Someone-to-put-the-blame-on
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#6_May_2020_%28Someone_to_put_the_blame_on%29
content:
<p>
(<a href="https://www.theonion.com/trump-blames-china-for-acting-too-late-in-coordinating-1843243502">satire</a>) *[the bullshitter] publicly blamed China Monday for acting too late in coordinating the
   U.S. Covid-19 response.  "China knew our nation was facing a deadly
   threat as early as January, and yet they did nothing to develop a plan
   we could use to slow the spread of the virus."*


feed_id: 6ebca503b01aa3222e3e4ffc7dc9168b
title: Hungry on lockdown
uri: Hungry-on-lockdown
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#6_May_2020_%28Hungry_on_lockdown%29
content:
<p>
*Almost a fifth of UK homes with children <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/may/03/exclusive-fifth-of-uk-homes-children-hungry-lockdown">go hungry in lockdown</a>.*


feed_id: 971c872210f20e417af9ba997e736243
title: Ex-thug and his son shot and killed a black man who was jogging
uri: Ex-thug-and-his-son-shot-and-killed-a-black-man-who-was-jogging
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#7_May_2020_%28Ex-thug_and_his_son_shot_and_killed_a_black_man_who_was_jogging%29

content:
<p>

An ex-thug and his son <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/may/05/georgia-brunswick-shooting-ahmaud-arbery-grand-jury">shot and killed a black man who was jogging</a>, in Georgia.  They made up a story about suspecting him of a burglary, which he clearly had nothing to do with.  Now a prosecutor is opening the possibility of prosecuting them.
<p>
It is rare for a grand jury not to indict when prosecutors want it to. However, if the prosecutor prefers no indictment, he will find that easy to achieve.
<p>
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/may/06/ahmaud-arbery-shooting-georgia">More information.</a>


feed_id: dad5a9130c458e8e5046fe07786e6bfa
title: Neighborhood Songbirds
uri: Neighborhood-Songbirds
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#7_May_2020_%28Neighborhood_Songbirds%29
content:
<p>

Pet cats that go outdoors don't have a large destructive effect on survival of bird species, overall.  But one pet cat <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/episode/new-data-on-killer-house-cats/">can devastate songbirds in its own neighborhood</a>.
<p>
Please allow your neighbors the pleasure of birds around their homes &mdash; keep your cat indoors.


feed_id: c3e17b5eb2569351e391cba363aff73c
title: Permitting medical disinformation about Covid-19
uri: Permitting-medical-disinformation-about-Covid-19
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#7_May_2020_%28Permitting_medical_disinformation_about_Covid-19%29

content:
<p>

The bullshitter has <a href="https://boingboing.net/2020/04/30/social-media-platforms-back-of.html">intimidated Twitter, Youtube and Facebook</a> to permitting medical disinformation about Covid-19 by saying it himself.
<p>
Under the shadow of his special privilege for evil, others get to repeat it.
<p>
To further protect his disinformation, the bullshitter has ordered Dr Fauci and the whole Coronavirus task force <a href="https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2020/05/04/white_house_to_bar_fauci_task_force_from_testifying_in_may_143112.html">not to testify to Congress for the whole month</a>.
<p>
He could repeat this order every month &mdash; why would he hesitate? Every little bit of sabotage helps his goal.


feed_id: 499da6a0b6ab9d70c7268098c2cc4c36
title: Urgent: US citizens call on your senators to oppose reauthorization of part of the PAT RIOT act.
uri: Urgent-US-citizens-call-on-your-senators-to-oppose-reauthorization-of
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#7_May_2020_%28Urgent%3A_US_citizens_call_on_your_senators_to_oppose_reauthorization_of_part_of_the_PAT_RIOT_act.%29

content:
<p>

US citizens: phone your senators and call on them to oppose the attempt to reauthorize part of the PAT RIOT Act.
<p>
They should not only oppose the Republican amendments to increase government snooping, they should vote against reauthorization.
<p>
There are also proposed amendments offered so that the reauthorization would permit somewhat less snooping.  It would be good to vote for those amendments <em>in case the reauthorization passes</em>, then vote against reauthorization.
<p>The Capitol Switchboard numbers are 202-224-3121, 888-818-6641 and 888-355-3588.</p>
<p>If you call please spread the word!</p>


feed_id: bc55694c8ac78c81fe8f02aafa3b9d5e
title: New forms of activism are being invented
uri: New-forms-of-activism-are-being-invented
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#7_May_2020_%28New_forms_of_activism_are_being_invented%29

content:
<p>

<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/apr/20/the-global-pandemic-has-spawned-new-forms-of-activism-and-theyre-flourishing">New forms of activism</a>, for protest and for aid, are being invented.


feed_id: f9578cd52058c44c499f48660cac9a97
title: Voting for Joe Biden to Defeat Trump &mdash; or not
uri: Voting-for-Joe-Biden-to-Defeat-Trump-or-not
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#7_May_2020_%28Voting_for_Joe_Biden_to_Defeat_Trump_%2526mdash%3B_or_not%29

content:
<p>

*The Moral and Strategic Calculus of <a href="https://theintercept.com/2020/04/20/donald-trump-joe-biden-2020-presidential-election-voting/">Voting for Joe Biden to Defeat Trump — or Not</a>.*


feed_id: 9c45ea1048d24d217b1be941da4d335a
title: Protecting mountain gorillas from Covid-19
uri: Protecting-mountain-gorillas-from-Covid-19
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#7_May_2020_%28Protecting_mountain_gorillas_from_Covid-19%29

content:
<p>

Conservationists are trying to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/may/05/conservation-in-crisis-covid-19-could-push-mountain-gorillas-back-to-the-brink-aoe">protect mountain gorillas from catching Covid-19</a>.
<p>
Whether they could be infected, we don't know, but it is best not to chance it.


feed_id: 6dde05190d8724f6624700e4fc2936f2
title: Conservation in crisis
uri: Conservation-in-crisis
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#7_May_2020_%28Conservation_in_crisis%29
content:
<p>

*Conservation in crisis: ecotourism collapse <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/may/05/conservation-in-crisis-covid-19-coronavirus-ecotourism-collapse-threatens-communities-and-wildlife-aoe">threatens communities and wildlife</a>.*
<p>
Long distance tourism helps destroy the global environment and this threatens many species.  It also leads to local population growth, which tends to destroy habitats.  In the long run what we need to do is restrain the human population so that we can let the threatened habitats spread.


feed_id: 61eeeeca8d40996583154ab6502c15a8
title: Poverty kills people
uri: Poverty-kills-people
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#7_May_2020_%28Poverty_kills_people%29
content:
<p>

*Poverty kills people: <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/may/05/poverty-kills-people-coronavirus-life-expectancy-britain">after coronavirus we can no longer ignore it</a>.*


feed_id: 7ccdc2667a669ab1fdc8442c040f2bb9
title: Guards attacked prisoners protesting lack of coronavirus precautions
uri: Guards-attacked-prisoners-protesting-lack-of-coronavirus-precautions
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#7_May_2020_%28Guards_attacked_prisoners_protesting_lack_of_coronavirus_precautions%29

content:
<p>

Prisoners in a US immigration jail protested the Lack of coronavirus precautions &mdash; <a href="https://theintercept.com/2020/05/05/ice-stewart-immigration-detention-coronavirus-protest-pepper-spray/">so the guards attacked them with pepper spray</a>.


feed_id: 3005a5ec023d7d6aef0184276ba89719
title: Brazil's laws make it easy to burn the forest
uri: Brazil-s-laws-make-it-easy-to-burn-the-forest
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#7_May_2020_%28Brazil%27s_laws_make_it_easy_to_burn_the_forest%29

content:
<p>

How <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/may/05/a-deadly-cycle-of-destruction-how-greed-for-land-is-fuelling-amazon-fires">Brazil's laws make it easy to burn the forest</a>.


feed_id: 811371857efa773c9c3693fe87eff162
title: Training replacements before being fired
uri: Training-replacements-before-being-fired
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#6_May_2020_%28Training_replacements_before_being_fired%29

content:
<p>
The Tennessee Valley Authority plans to outsource engineers to foreign
companies, and has ordered the employees it is about to fire
<a href="https://theintercept.com/2020/05/05/tennessee-valley-authority-outsource-jobs-unemployment/">to train the replacements</a>.

<p>
Have some guts &mdash; refuse to train them, at least!


feed_id: 8ffdb890da1dc41275b6e591b2dc9d60
title: Cancelling criticism
uri: Cancelling-criticism
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#6_May_2020_%28Cancelling_criticism%29
content:
<p>
<a href="https://stallman.org/glossary.html#dodirty">President Do-dirty</a> cancelled the broadcast license of the Philippines' main
channel.  <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/05/philippines-main-channel-abs-cbn-forced-off-air-amid-coronavirus-lockdown">It had broadcast criticism of him</a>.


feed_id: 59e635efc7843a8d9a82f6011d3dd483
title: Ballot initiatives
uri: Ballot-initiatives
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#6_May_2020_%28Ballot_initiatives%29
content:
<p>
Physical distance requirements are wiping out ballot initiatives: <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/apr/16/its-a-killer-were-done-covid-19-puts-ballot-initiatives-in-peril">they can't
get signatures to get on the ballot</a>.

<p>
Massachusetts recently permitted digital signatures for ballot
initiatives.


feed_id: 5f4bb037cdf17091b1f7289b6b4c43c0
title: Priorities
uri: Priorities
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#6_May_2020_%28Priorities%29
content:
<p>
The US government prioritizes added money for the military 
<a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2020/05/04/beware-pentagons-pandemic-profiteers">over preventing or curing Covid-19</a>.

<p>
This is because the military-industrial complex is calling the shots.


feed_id: 54fdb3f1f4e209e6d91e6e40df638c07
title: Global ceasefire
uri: 2020-05-07-Global-ceasefire
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#6_May_2020_%28Global_ceasefire%29
content:
<p>
Medea Benjamin: Trump Must Choose Between <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2020/05/04/trump-must-choose-between-global-ceasefire-and-americas-long-lost-wars">a Global Ceasefire and
America's Long Lost Wars</a>.


feed_id: b79e07d3697fcfae6fc90d2f7d18730c
title: Urgent: US citizens call on the Senate to reject Justin Walker as a US judge
uri: Urgent-US-citizens-call-on-the-Senate-to-reject-Justin-Walker-as-a-US
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#8_May_2020_%28Urgent%3A_US_citizens_call_on_the_Senate_to_reject_Justin_Walker_as_a_US_judge%29

content:
<p>

US citizens: call on the Senate to <a href="http://act.pfaw.org/sign/oppose-walker-dc-circuit/">reject Justin Walker as US judge</a>.
<p>The Capitol Switchboard numbers are 202-224-3121, 888-818-6641 and 888-355-3588.</p>
  <p>If you call please spread the word!</p>


feed_id: 12ef9227def847e9ddebd988d150de75
title: Urgent: US citizens call on Faux News to stop spreading disinformation
uri: Urgent-US-citizens-call-on-Faux-News-to-stop-spreading-disinformation
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#8_May_2020_%28Urgent%3A_US_citizens_call_on_Faux_Neews_to_stop_spreading_disinformation%29

content:
<p>

US citizens: call on Faux News to <a href="https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/sign-the-petition-fox-news-must-stop-spreading-covid-19-disinformation">stop spreading COVID-19 disinformation</a>.


feed_id: a416c71c320853a4df3a8ffc49d4dd01
title: Urgent: US citizens call on congress to investigate Jared Kushner
uri: Urgent-US-citizens-call-on-congress-to-investigate-Jared-Kushner
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#8_May_2020_%28Urgent%3A_US_citizens_call_on_congress_to_investigate_Jared_Kushner%29

content:
<p>

US citizens: call on Congress to <a href="https://act.demandprogress.org/sign/kushner-coronavirus/">investigate Jared Kushner's hoard of coronavirus protection supplies</a>.
<p>The Capitol Switchboard numbers are 202-224-3121, 888-818-6641 and 888-355-3588.</p>
<p>If you call please spread the word!</p>


feed_id: d833d979ecc0cd1ba05fab6922ac6085
title: Urgent: US citizens call on congress to pass the Essential Workers Bill of Rights.
uri: Urgent-US-citizens-call-on-congress-to-pass-the-Essential-Workers-Bil
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#8_May_2020_%28Urgent%3A_US_citizens_call_on_congress_to_pass_the_Essential_Workers_Bill_of_Rights.%29

content:
<p>

US citizens: call on your Congresscritter to pass the <a href="https://act.couragecampaign.org/sign/support-the-essential-worker-bill-of-rights/">Essential Workers Bill of Rights</a>.

<p>The Capitol Switchboard numbers are 202-224-3121, 888-818-6641 and 888-355-3588.</p>
<p>If you call please spread the word!</p>


feed_id: 2dbff9cdfdb797487a7a533cc3fbddc4
title: Urgent: US citizens call on elected officials to rebuild with green infrastructure
uri: Urgent-US-citizens-call-on-elected-officials-to-rebuild-with-green-in
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#8_May_2020_%28Urgent%3A_US_citizens_call_on_elected_officals_to_rebuild_with_green_infrastructure%29

content:
<p>

US citizens, call on elected officials:  After the pandemic, we must <a href="https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/green-infrastructure?nowrapper=true&referrer=group-democracy-for-america&source=group-democracy-for-america">rebuild our economy by investing in green and resilient infrastructure</a>.


feed_id: 5722a69edf0826c671c2d15ad055f2a4
uri: Urgent-US-citizens-call-on-the-U-S-Patent-Office-and-the-FDA-to-make
title:
Urgent: US citizens call on the U.S. Patent Office and the FDA to make treatments for COVID-19 immediately free

url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#8_May_2020_%28Urgent%3A_US_citizens_call_on_the_U.S._Patent_Office_and_the_FDA_to_make_treatments_for_COVID-19_immediately_free%29

content:
<p>

US citizens: call on the U.S. Patent Office and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) <a href="https://act.winwithoutwar.org/act/lets-get-straight-to-generic">make treatments for COVID-19 immediately free</a>, accessible, and affordable around the world.


feed_id: 982f863116a0abbde9ecfc62e563f434
title: Secretly report work refusal
uri: Secretly-report-work-refusal
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#7_May_2020_%28Secretly_report_work_refusal%29
content:
<p>
*Ohio Government Invites Employers <a href="https://theintercept.com/2020/05/06/ohio-coronavirus-reopening-unemployment/">to Secretly Report "Work Refusal" Due to
Coronavirus</a>.*


feed_id: a4d5f4aa1a5a08781e12f57c3b1b31ea
title: Finally getting challenged
uri: Finally-getting-challenged
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#7_May_2020_%28Finally_getting_challenged%29
content:
<p>
*New Jersey's Cartoonishly Corrupt Democratic Party <a href="https://theintercept.com/2020/05/06/new-jersey-democratic-primary-albio-sires-hector-oseguera/">Is Finally Getting
 Challenged</a>.*


feed_id: c3f8576e2f5bbe62c73397a496604b25
title: Homeless out of the subway
uri: Homeless-out-of-the-subway
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#7_May_2020_%28Homeless_out_of_the_subway%29
content:
<p>
New York City <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/may/06/new-york-city-subways-closed-homeless-coronavirus">will force homeless people out of the subway at night</a>.

<p>
Since shelters are too dangerous, they will have to stay on the street.


feed_id: e9cc56871d6322a84afdb8a369321507
title: Hotspots
uri: Hotspots
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#7_May_2020_%28Hotspots%29
content:
<p>
US jails, prisons and deportation prisons <a href="https://theintercept.com/2020/05/06/coronavirus-prison-jail-mass-incarceration/">are becoming hotspots for spreading
Covid-19 to surrounding communities</a>.
  The guards and other staff get infected and carry the disease
to the places where they live.

<p>
Mathematical modeling suggests jails could cause 100,000 to 200,000
more cases.  That doesn't count the prisons.


feed_id: 2286ea20340878ab4a3246476fdb956f
title: No time is the right time
uri: No-time-is-the-right-time
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#7_May_2020_%28No_time_is_the_right_time%29
content:
<p>
Bogus Johnson says that no time is the right time to investigate
his inconsistency and incompetence.  <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/may/06/coronavirus-inquiry-uk-evidence">Especially not now</a>.


feed_id: eb1490cee3a08ad913313b7f3faf2917
title: What was to blame
uri: What-was-to-blame
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#7_May_2020_%28What_was_to_blame%29
content:
<p>
What was to blame <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/06/egypt-film-maker-shady-habash-died-after-drinking-hand-sanitiser">for the death of political prisoner Shady Habash in
an Egyptian prison</a>?

<p>
It could have been that he drank hand-sanitizer by mistake.

<p>
It could have been that the <a href="https://stallman.org/glossary.html#thug">thugs</a> did not let a doctor treat him.

<p>
It could have been imprisoning him for criticizing the government.

<p>
I put the blame on the last two, because those were injustices anyway.


feed_id: 58a4ab82ae83e721303889641edff46b
title: Spoke too soon
uri: Spoke-too-soon
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#7_May_2020_%28Spoke_too_soon%29
content:
<p>
Just after Bolsonaro said the epidemic was decreasing, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/06/brazil-coronavirus-deaths-covid-19-bolsonaro">the death rate shot up</a>.


feed_id: 75a3987e92a771bdab97239f642652d9
title: Please trust our contact-tracing app
uri: Please-trust-our-contact-tracing-app
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#7_May_2020_%28Please_trust_our_contact-tracing_app%29

content:
<p>
The UK has released a centralized contact-tracing app <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/05/uk-coronavirus-contact-tracing-app-is-it-safe-and-will-people-use-it">and asks people
to trust it</a>.

<p>
I don't trust what they say about "privacy" and "security" because I
think they are using twisted definitions of those two terms.  I think
that when they say "privacy" they mean "privacy from all parties
except the UK government, and Apple or Google", and when they say
"security" they mean "security against all parties except the UK
government, and Apple or Google".

<p>
The UK government tracks all car travel, and has used this against
suspected nonviolent protesters <a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2009-mar-jun.html#25 May 2009 (Track all car travel)">to stop them from reaching a protest</a>.
  If its standard of "respecting privacy" permits that, 
we must treat whatever it says about "privacy" as worthless.


feed_id: 3ff987b9eb27defbb7c3f94baf1661fa
title: Lobbyists bailout
uri: Lobbyists-bailout
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#7_May_2020_%28Lobbyists_bailout%29
content:
<p>
Lobbyists <a href="https://theintercept.com/2020/05/05/lobbyists-trade-groups-bailout/">are asking for a bailout</a>.


feed_id: b062d100dbd6f01a9a1104a311ed193e
title: Reinstating presidential primary
uri: Reinstating-presidential-primary
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#7_May_2020_%28Reinstating_presidential_primary%29
content:
<p>
*Judge reinstates New York's presidential primary <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/may/05/new-york-presidential-primary-cancelled-judge">after state cancelled it</a>.*

<p>
The primary was going ahead, for other elected offices.
Only the voting for president was cancelled.


feed_id: 30258cf05776c02d19a189cb0a10d4c3
title: Crime of leaving house
uri: Crime-of-leaving-house
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#8_May_2020_%28Crime_of_leaving_house%29
content:
<p>
The Wisconsin Supreme Court is questioning whether a state official
<a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2020/05/06/wisconsin-state-supreme-court-justice-asks-if-safer-home-order-tyranny">has the power to make it a crime to leave your house</a>.

<p>
I am very glad that Massachusetts Governor Baker decided to advise
people to stay home &mdash; and close most businesses &mdash; but not <em>order</em>
people to stay home.  I generally follow that advice, since I don't
want to take unnecessary risks.  However, occasionally I go somewhere,
and I am not threatened with punishment for doing so.

<p>
Most often I go to a supermarket or drugstore, but I also sometimes go
to a restaurant for takeout, or a place that has a printer, or a bank
office.  I go to supermarkets physically to buy food so that I can pay
cash and avoid giving any personal information about me.

<p>
My idea of "being safe" includes freedom and privacy, as well as
health.


feed_id: 56a3bbd604c841abb0e1237242fa2321
title: Crackdown on misinformation
uri: Crackdown-on-misinformation
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#8_May_2020_%28Crackdown_on_misinformation%29
content:
<p>
(<a href="https://www.theonion.com/facebook-cracking-down-on-misinformation-by-warning-use-1843288534">satire</a>) *In an effort to slow the proliferation of fake news,
   tech giant Facebook announced plans Wednesday to crack down on
   misinformation by warning users who share links from Facebook.*


feed_id: b217081c050bba79c27a0c7435bbb8b2
title: Should be considered evil
uri: Should-be-considered-evil
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#8_May_2020_%28Should_be_considered_evil%29
content:
<p>
*The UK government's failure to respond swiftly and effectively to the
pandemic <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2020/05/06/coronavirus-and-banality-evil">can and should be considered evil</a>.*

<p>
Bogus Johnson, like the bullshitter, has been unwilling to take the disease fully seriously &mdash; even despite getting sick himself.


feed_id: b08f749b7aae7fc4db16a332b6319df3
title: Promoting displacement
uri: Promoting-displacement
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#8_May_2020_%28Promoting_displacement%29
content:
<p>
*Anti-Immigrant [Conman] Promotes Burning Fossil Fuels <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2020/05/06/anti-immigrant-trump-promotes-burning-fossil-fuels-will-displace-millions-toward-us">That Will Displace
Millions Toward U.S.</a>*


feed_id: 52a3b3c447d81dc6894177c777207310
title: Abuse of relief money
uri: Abuse-of-relief-money
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#8_May_2020_%28Abuse_of_relief_money%29
content:
<p>
A large hotel chain got around 70 million dollars in relief money
"for small businesses" <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2020/05/06/whats-difference-between-corporate-ceos-and-pigs">by having each hotel apply</a>.


feed_id: 01af310e2e10724259f5a5b3015248ef
title: Reopening economy would spread the virus
uri: Reopening-economy-would-spread-the-virus
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#8_May_2020_%28Reopening_economy_would_spread_the_virus%29

content:
<p>
Mouth-foaming right-wing Governor Abbott of Texas privately admitted
that <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/05/06/leaked-audio-texas-governor-admits-reopening-economy-will-lead-increase-and-spread">"reopening the economy" would spread Covid-19</a>.

<p>
The people who get sick, and the fraction that die, will mainly
consist of poor people, and they don't matter to a Republican except to
stop them from voting.

<p>
<a href="https://stallman.org/glossary.html#bully">The bully</a> publicly admits that this will happen, but says it is ok
<a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/05/06/therell-be-more-death-trump-says-he-willing-sacrifice-lives-reopen-us-businesses">because "people are dying the other way too."</a>

<p>
It is true that poor people are dying from poverty in the US, but
that is something we could easily fix, if only the Republicans
permitted it.


feed_id: 1d2b33e1fd2a0f62da10cb1bac1368a0
title: Denying casualties
uri: Denying-casualties
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#8_May_2020_%28Denying_casualties%29
content:
<p>
The US military continues to deny most of the civilian casualties caused
by its worldwide bombing campaigns.  <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2020/05/06/defense-department-undercounts-civilian-casualties-new-reporting">Even specific instances supported
by eyewitness testimony</a>.

<p>
It takes hardly an effort to rubber-stamp them as "not credible".


feed_id: 1450eb3933211f24532afbd45bae1ada
title: Billionaires to the rescue
uri: Billionaires-to-the-rescue
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#8_May_2020_%28Billionaires_to_the_rescue%29
content:
<p>
Governor Cuomo has asked two software billionaires <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2020/05/06/beware-cuomo-adds-another-billionaire-reimagine-post-pandemic-public-education">to help him
"reimagine" public school</a>.
  One of them got rich from user-subjugating
nonfree software, the other from surveillance capitalism by online
dis-services.

<p>
We can imagine what injustices they will push on New York State public
schools.  And it isn't even a good education.

<p>
In the case of <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/05/06/dangerous-idea-public-school-advocates-denounce-cuomo-gates-plan-seizing-pandemic">Bill Gates</a>,
  we don't need to imagine.  His foundation pressured the US to impose
excruciating high-stakes tests, <a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2013-may-aug.html#20_August_2013_(Education_Standards)">so that the whole school year is
aimed at them</a>.
  He offers so much money as grants for research on education <a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2016-jan-apr.html#25_January_2016_(Gates_Foundation_promotes_plutocracy)">that hardly
anyone in the field dares to express doubts about his stance</a>.


feed_id: 7964188b4385706fffdfab9991ebef1c
title: Assault on Amazon
uri: Assault-on-Amazon
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#8_May_2020_%28Assault_on_Amazon%29
content:
<p>
*Brazil using coronavirus <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/06/brazil-using-coronavirus-to-cover-up-assaults-on-amazon-warn-activists">to cover up assaults on Amazon, warn activists</a>.*


feed_id: 82c36f73cfebd0829a74422f838da3e5
title: Using coronavirus to undermine union election
uri: Using-coronavirus-to-undermine-union-election
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#8_May_2020_%28Using_coronavirus_to_undermine_union_election%29

content:
<p>
*The largest hospital corporation in America, HCA Healthcare, is using
the coronavirus pandemic <a href="https://theintercept.com/2020/05/06/coronavirus-hca-healthcare-nurse-union-busting/">to delay and undermine a union election for
1,600 nurses in North Carolina</a>.*

<p>
We should prohibit for-profit hospitals.  The aim for profit conflicts
with the mission of a hospital.


feed_id: 31457cfbb9d97555143f30e199061bca
title: Drug companies decide whether Brazilians live or die.
uri: Drug-companies-decide-whether-Brazilians-live-or-die
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#8_May_2020_%28Drug_companies_decide_whether_Brazillians_live_or_die.%29

content:
<p>

*<a href="https://theintercept.com/2020/05/07/coronavirus-vaccine-drug-company-monopolies-brazil/">With Patents on Coronavirus Medicines</a>, International Drug Companies Will Decide Whether Brazilians Live or Die.*
<p>
Not just Brazilians &mdash; Americans, too.  US government policies encourage and help pharma companies to gouge, and the only check on them is public condemnation.
<p>
Since important drugs are developed with public funds, there is no need to give businesses an "incentive" to fund such research. <a href="media/1dcfd209.45_1_stallman.pdf" data-original-source="https://www.luc.edu/media/lucedu/law/students/publications/llj/pdfs/45_1_stallman.pdf">We should eliminate patents on medicines and medical treatments.</a>

We may as well <a href="media/1dcfd209.45_1_stallman.pdf" data-original-source="https://www.luc.edu/media/lucedu/law/students/publications/llj/pdfs/45_1_stallman.pdf">eliminate all patents</a>.


feed_id: 149ccdcc573ee2781515c3ef49abfd39
title: Tuberculosis as result of Covid-19 lockdown
uri: Tuberculosis-as-result-of-Covid-19-lockdown
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#8_May_2020_%28Tuberculosis_as_result_of_Covid-19_lockdown%29

content:
<p>

*Millions predicted to develop <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2020/may/06/millions-develop-tuberculosis-tb-covid-19-lockdown">tuberculosis as result of Covid-19 lockdown</a>.*


feed_id: 8df71efb27fac2dc31317ddd2b4a5058
title: George W Bush paved the way for Trump
uri: George-W-Bush-paved-the-way-for-Trump
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#8_May_2020_%28George_W_Bush_paved_the_way_for_Trump%29

content:
<p>

<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/may/06/george-w-bush-paved-the-way-for-trump-to-rehabilitate-him-is-appalling">*George W Bush paved the way for Trump –- to rehabilitate him is appalling.*</a>


feed_id: 4b08ca3b3c0f898193524b7230cff092
title: US union activism surges
uri: US-union-activism-surges
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#8_May_2020_%28US_union_activism_surges%29
content:
<p>

*‘Stop throwing us bare bones’: <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/06/us-union-activism-spikes-amid-coronavirus">US union activism surges amid coronavirus</a>.*


feed_id: aa1e073fb9599ca0c8d198cf85b382b3
title: Reducing US privacy protections
uri: Reducing-US-privacy-protections
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#8_May_2020_%28Reducing_US_privacy_protections%29
content:
<p>

A pretend "privacy bill" is <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/05/05/critics-warn-covid-19-digital-privacy-bill-really-anti-privacy-bill-disguise">designed to reduce existing US privacy protections</a>.


feed_id: be4e76984fbcd7f3657da05f8532fdd6
title: Destroying natural ecosystems
uri: Destroying-natural-ecosystems
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#8_May_2020_%28Destroying_natural_ecosystems%29
content:
<p>

<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/may/07/promiscuous-treatment-of-nature-will-lead-to-more-pandemics-scientists">Destroying natural ecosystems</a> pushes the animals that live in them to live in the spreading human habitats instead.  Naturally we catch their diseases.


feed_id: 1552bdfd8018e4a2fe245be2d3e17881
title: Climate can't take a return to 'business as usual'
uri: Climate-can-t-take-a-return-to-business-as-usual
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#8_May_2020_%28Climate_can%27t_take_a_return_to_%27business_as_usual%27%29

content:
<p>

*First Thing: The <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/may/07/first-thing-the-climate-cant-take-a-return-to-business-as-usual">climate can't take a return to 'business as usual'</a>.*


feed_id: 541d371d6bca468b44445a99548ae7c7
title: UK contact-tracing app
uri: UK-contact-tracing-app
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#8_May_2020_%28UK_contact-tracing_app%29
content:
<p>

*UK contact-tracing app <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/07/uk-coronavirus-contract-tracing-app-could-fall-foul-of-privacy-law-government-told">could fall foul of privacy law</a>, government told.*
<p>
However, the demands mentioned in the article are fundamentally insufficient, because they focus on limiting use of the data once the state collects it.  That is too late in the system for privacy to be protected there.
<p>
<a href="https://gnu.org/philosophy/surveillance-vs-democracy.html">Once data are collected, they <em>will</em> be misused</a>.  The only way to protect privacy is to limit what data is collected, and by what entity.


feed_id: 71a13e0124ddb5f66de51595b71bd58c
title: UK small presses and bookstores
uri: UK-small-presses-and-bookstores
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#8_May_2020_%28UK_small_presses_and_bookstores%29
content:
<p>

The UK's small presses and bookstores <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/may/07/majority-of-small-publishers-fear-closure-in-wake-of-coronavirus">face elimination</a>.


feed_id: c3e4bbc6bb1b2b9dd9bc42aae243cb9e
title: Logging in Australian forests
uri: Logging-in-Australian-forests
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#8_May_2020_%28Logging_in_Australian_forests%29
content:
<p>

Logging in Australian forests has made them <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/may/06/compelling-evidence-logging-native-forests-has-worsened-australian-bushfires-scientists-warn">more susceptible to fire</a>.


feed_id: 24439b68d3b9db49d87377f59992bbbe
title: Urgent: Covid-19 global solidarity manifesto
uri: Urgent-Covid-19-global-solidarity-manifesto
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#11_May_2020_%28Urgent%3A_Covid-19_global_solidarity_manifesto%29

content:
<p>
Everyone: <a href="https://diy.rootsaction.org/petitions/covid-19-global-solidarity-manifesto">support the Covid-19 global solidarity manifesto</a>.


feed_id: 94973d59e472bb12a5a657ad8d53b7f4
title: Urgent: impeach Barr
uri: Urgent-impeach-Barr
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#11_May_2020_%28Urgent%3A_impeach_Barr%29
content:
<p>
US citizens: <a href="https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/impeach-remove-attorney-general-barr?nowrapper=true">call on Congress</a> to impeach Attorney General Barr.


feed_id: e9600dcc7d436e0126cf0488a535f986
title: Urgent: Covid-19 relief to everyone
uri: Urgent-Covid-19-relief-to-everyone
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#11_May_2020_%28Urgent%3A_Covid-19_relief_to_everyone%29

content:
<p>
US citizens: <a href="https://action.aclu.org/send-message/demand-congress-give-covid-19-relief-everyone-living-us-immigrants-included">call on Congress</a> to give Covid-19 relief to everyone living in the US &mdash; immigrants included.


feed_id: 358c48e6f1c4eb4cbf163310d287ebea
title: Urgent: ReWIND Act
uri: Urgent-ReWIND-Act
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#11_May_2020_%28Urgent%3A_ReWIND_Act%29
content:
<p>
US citizens: <a href="https://act.priceofoil.org/sign/ReWIND_Act/">call on your congresscritter</a> to cosponsor the ReWIND Act,
 which would stop handouts to fossil fuel companies.

<p>
Of the points listed, I disagree with one: I think it would be wise to
fill up the strategic petroleum reserve while prices are low. Indeed,
the US should maintain reserves of all sorts of supplies of which a
shortage could cause big trouble.

<p>
But this is less important than the other points, so I still support
the bill.


feed_id: 4b4f7eab101467649f0aa6f835f59d0a
title: Urgent: end water shutoffs
uri: Urgent-end-water-shutoffs
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#11_May_2020_%28Urgent%3A_end_water_shutoffs%29
content:
<p>
US citizens: <a href="https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/sign-now-stop-water-shutoffs-during-covid-19-pandemic-and-restore-water-access-immediately?nowrapper=true">call on American officials at various levels</a> to end water
shutoffs and restore water service to everyone.


feed_id: 3fcfa5353d51f80efeb67a03cc19023d
title: Reducing Covid-19 testing
uri: Reducing-Covid-19-testing
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#11_May_2020_%28Reducing_Covid-19_testing%29
content:
<p>
The lunatic wants to reduce Covid-19 testing in the US <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/05/07/day-after-trump-says-testing-makes-ourselves-look-bad-harvard-researchers-call">so as to hide
the magnitude of the epidemic</a>.

<p>
I suspect he has been working behind the scenes to interfere with
testing.  He wants to reopen the economy <em>without</em> the preparation
needed to stamp out Covid-19.


feed_id: bcf696b9729205abdac9e92857588ad6
title: Spy city cancelled
uri: Spy-city-cancelled
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#11_May_2020_%28Spy_city_cancelled%29
content:
<p>
Google has abandoned its project to turn part of Toronto <a href="https://www.thestar.com/news/city_hall/2020/05/07/sidewalk-labs-pulling-out-of-quayside-project.html">into a
surveillance-pervaded "smart" city</a>.
  For "smart", read "spy".

<p>
It may be possible to develop a way to benefit people with tracking
that does not identify them.  But I would not trust the system not to
track people unless it is developed by people who hate tracking as
much as I do.  If Google did it, I would expect Google to give itself
loopholes so that it could identify and follow people in practice.


feed_id: 45b85eb11eceadc7df4a1ad481a4bed3
title: Foreign spouse or child
uri: Foreign-spouse-or-child
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#11_May_2020_%28Foreign_spouse_or_child%29
content:
<p>
In the UK, only well-paid people are allowed to bring a foreign spouse
or child to live with them.  Many essential workers, including medical
personnel, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/may/07/migrant-key-workers-fear-income-falling-below-home-office-minimum">are not paid enough to bring their spouses</a>.


feed_id: 30b573ded53507b1a05f271b6e275fbc
title: Economic boost
uri: Economic-boost
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#11_May_2020_%28Economic_boost%29
content:
<p>
An article claims that the conman is willing to kill vulnerable Americans
so he can cause an economic boost <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2020/05/07/president-donald-trump-culls-herd">that might help his reelection</a>.

<p>
I suspect it is worse than that: this could be the latest Republican
voter-suppression scheme.

<p>
Vulnerable Americans are old, poor, and from marginalized demographic
groups.  They are likely to vote Democratic.  A Republican with no
scruples whatsoever, a Republican already trying to starve poor
people, would not hesitate to expose them to Covid-19 so some of them
won't vote.


feed_id: fb2ec4434215f24f5e0ed8b00f9f97a2
title: Postal Service
uri: 2020-05-11-Postal-Service
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#11_May_2020_%28Postal_Service%29
content:
<p>
The new head of the US Postal Service has one main qualification:
<a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/05/07/just-straight-cronyism-top-trump-and-gop-donor-picked-lead-us-postal-service-time">donating to the corrupter's campaign</a>.

<p>
The conman wants to destroy the Postal Service, and now he has another
way to do it.


feed_id: aa9bda451f2d20e3f9be778e7e56c5d9
title: Urgent: US citizens support amendment to declare corporations are not entitled to human rights
uri: Urgent-US-citizens-support-amendment-to-declare-corporations-are-not
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#12_May_2020_%28Urgent%3A_US_citizens_support_amendment_to_declare_corporations_are_not_entitled_to_human_rights%29

content:
<p>

US citizens: support the constitutional amendment to declare that corporations are not inherently entitled to human rights.

https://www.movetoamend.org/motion.


feed_id: 756614def2bc4bd6103bc964acd48516
title: Romanticizing Nature
uri: Romanticizing-Nature
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#12_May_2020_%28Romanticising_Nature%29
content:
<p>

<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/may/10/lets-stop-romanticising-nature-so-much-of-our-life-depends-on-defying-it">*Let's stop romanticizing nature. So much of our life depends on defying it.*</a>


feed_id: e0e776dcad97587f60ff17f7fb0fd73c
title: Former mayor of Philadelphia want to apologize
uri: Former-mayor-of-Philadelphia-want-to-apologize
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#12_May_2020_%28Former_mayor_of_Philadelphia_want_to_apologize%29

content:
<p>

The former mayor of Philadelphia <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/may/10/when-i-was-mayor-philadelphia-bombed-civilians-its-time-for-the-city-to-apologise">wants the city to join him in apologizing</a> for dropping bombs on the Move cooperative in 1985.
<p>
That bombing killed 11 people.  No one was prosecuted for it.


feed_id: 522e6aa110870d387e7ee2df3171c478
title: Pakistan hires unemployed to plant trees
uri: Pakistan-hires-unemployed-to-plant-trees
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#12_May_2020_%28Pakistan_hires_unemployed_to_plant_trees%29

content:
<p>

Pakistan has <a href="https://www.upworthy.com/pakistan-hires-63000-people-to-plant-10-billion-trees">hired some unemployed laborers to plant trees</a>.
<p>
This is a sort of miniature Green New Deal.  The agency which is handling this has been planting trees for years, and has specific plans for the trees; this suggests that perhaps the operation has been well planned and the trees might actually grow.
<p>
However, I wonder why it is necessary to plant trees in an area which is already forested.  Shouldn't the existing trees be able to reproduce without human help?  If they can't, what's stopping them?


feed_id: 25e6e5a67f256e0f32d8caa343f33d0e
title: GOP policies aren't "mistaken"
uri: GOP-policies-aren-t-mistaken
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#12_May_2020_%28GOP_policies_aren%27t_mistaken%29
content:
<p>

*GOP policies aren't "mistaken." They're a <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2020/05/08/reopen-economy-republicans-nero-decree">conscious waste of lives for deceitful purposes</a>.*


feed_id: 0ff6aeb10cdb45b3d63358bc24495efa
title: Biden's attachment to the medical industry
uri: Biden-s-attachment-to-the-medical-industry
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#12_May_2020_%28Biden%27s_attachment_to_the_medical_industry%29

content:
<p>

With <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/04/25/poll-show-nearly-90-democratic-support-biden-told-hostility-medicare-all-no-longer">70% of Americans supporting Medicare for All</a>, Biden's opposition to it measures how firmly attached he is to the profits of the medical industry.


feed_id: 3dfac8c21476e4c880d76266b54b85f2
title: Lord of the Flies
uri: Lord-of-the-Flies
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#12_May_2020_%28Lord_of_the_Flies%29
content:
<p>

The Lord of the Flies is fiction, but <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/may/09/the-real-lord-of-the-flies-what-happened-when-six-boys-were-shipwrecked-for-15-months">a real group of 6 boys got shipwrecked on a deserted island</a>.  They cooperated and took good care of each other for over a year, until someone rescued them.


feed_id: 985e21a4a7632b3c07e9bc439f5781e4
title: Reopening US states not prepared for consequences
uri: Reopening-US-states-not-prepared-for-consequences
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#12_May_2020_%28Reopening_US_states_not_prepared_for_consequences%29

content:
<p>

Some US states are reopening businesses but <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/may/09/trump-reopening-america-coronavirus">not prepared to handle the consequences</a>. Nebraska is already seeing an increase in new cases.
<p>
Extreme distancing practices could in principle eliminate transmission, if people follow the practices very carefully until there are no new cases, and a few weeks longer.  But that takes a lot longer than we have practiced them in the US, and we are nowhere near having no new cases.
<p>
What purpose can it serve to strict rules and drop them after two months?  It can buy time to prepare to use another approach.  For instance, to test lots of people and do contact tracing, which need not be automated.  South Korea and Taiwan did it just by talking with people.
<p>
However, the US has failed to use the time by preparing for that.  Or rather, the mass murderer decided not to prepare.  The US is not ready to let normal activity reopen.
<p>
I hope some states are ready.  I hope Massachusetts will be ready soon.


feed_id: c08c862c3b1d18cc736b1aa1bc78eefd
title: Right-wing extremists using the pandemic
uri: Right-wing-extremists-using-the-pandemic
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#12_May_2020_%28Right-wing_extremists_using_the_pandemic%29

content:
<p>

*[Right-wing] extremists are using the pandemic to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/25/far-right-hijack-coronavirus-crisis-to-push-agenda-and-boost-support">promote themselves</a> as supporters of the community and spread fake information.*


feed_id: 4d3c1e947d542bb68c56bd5f69596a4a
title: Bouts of fatal weather
uri: Bouts-of-fatal-weather
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#12_May_2020_%28Bouts_of_fatal_weather%29
content:
<p>

The world has already begun experiencing short, local bouts of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/may/08/climate-change-global-heating-extreme-heat-humidity">fatal weather</a>.
<p>
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/may/08/climate-change-global-heating-extreme-heat-humidity">Fatal weather</a> will kill any unprotected human after a certain time.
<p>
These bouts did not last long enough to kill.  But the frequency of them has doubled since 1979, and eventually they will last long enough to kill.


feed_id: d25a5697f61efdaab9f74475d750052d
title: Study of extinction of native species
uri: Study-of-extinction-of-native-species
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#11_May_2020_%28Study_of_extinction_of_native_species%29

content:
<p>

The Australian government has <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/may/08/australian-government-stops-listing-major-threats-to-species-under-environment-laws">ceased studying threats that could cause extinction of native species</a>.
<p>
That government's general policy is to <a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jan-apr.html#01_April_2015_(Habitat_of_endangered_parrot_species_cut)">help business wipe out species</a>, especially by causing <a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2019-nov-feb.html#28_January_2020_(Not-exactly-natural_disasters)">global heating</a>, so it probably would rather people not notice.
<p>
Australia's government also wants to reform the system to provide investment for "clean energy" so that it can <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/may/08/greens-warn-clean-energy-finance-corporation-overhaul-a-trojan-horse-for-coal-and-gas">invest in fossil fuels</a>.


feed_id: 362a8d5fe5dc0028f29bd77a384d70d7
title: Biden's campaign focuses on showing empathy.
uri: Biden-s-campaign-focuses-on-showing-empathy
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#11_May_2020_%28Biden%27s_campaign_focuses_on_showing_empathy.%29

content:
<p>
  Biden's campaign focuses on <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/may/09/joe-biden-election-2020-online-campaign-trump">showing empathy</a>.
<p>
  For me, empathy is as empathy does.  Does he empathize with Americans
  enough to push for Medicare for all?  Does he empathize with American
  children's future enough to push for the Green New Deal?  If he does,
  he should show us now; then I might vote for him.
  


feed_id: 2ae2050368274e1e7f726f774e7873ed
title: NYC's Lincoln Hospital threatens nurse over criticism of former head nurse
uri: NYC-s-Lincoln-Hospital-threatens-nurse-over-criticism-of-former-head-n
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#11_May_2020_%28NYC%27s_Lincoln_Hospital_threatens_nurse_over_criticsm_of_former_head_nurse%29

content:
<p>
  After nurses at NYC's Lincoln Hospital spoke to a camera about the
  policies and practices they blamed for the death of their former head
  nurse, who died in that hospital.  The hospital is investigating one
  of them for "releasing patient data" about the deceased &mdash; <a href="https://theintercept.com/2020/05/09/coronavirus-nyc-nurse-hospital-hipaa/">thus
  threatening her</a> with possible criminal charges.


feed_id: debc4e454f1ec11adf93cafbdafc81d0
title: A bill to "protect privacy"
uri: A-bill-to-protect-privacy
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#11_May_2020_%28A_bill_to_protect_privacy%29
content:
<p>
  A bill to "protect privacy" <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2020/05/08/republican-contact-tracing-bill-must-do-more-protect-privacy-rights-essential">when businesses use digital technology</a>
  to track workers, visitors and even customers.


feed_id: 1e8bad1d38b5a65d4c5efbb1e474aacb
title: Economically concentrated factory farming mistreats the workers
uri: Economically-concentrated-factory-farming-mistreats-the-workers
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#11_May_2020_%28Economically_concentrated_factory_farming_mistreats_the_workers%29

content:
<p>
  Economically concentrated factory farming <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2020/05/08/system-would-fail-was-entirely-predictable">mistreats the factory
  workers as well as the farmers, and leads to unreliable food supply</a>.
  This article calls on the governor of Wisconsin to change it.
<p>
  The article contains a minor error: it says "loosing", which means
  "letting loose", when it meant "losing".  This doesn't affect the
  article's point; I mention it only to help others avoid it.


feed_id: 0709dfd33ad96a3d366c5029edcc5248
title: *Coronavirus could 'smoulder' in Africa for several years, WHO warns.*
uri: Coronavirus-could-smoulder-in-Africa-for-several-years-WHO-warns
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#11_May_2020_%28%2ACoronavirus_could_%27smoulder%27_in_Africa_for_several_years%2C_WHO_warns.%2A%29

content:
<p>
  *Coronavirus could 'smoulder' in Africa for <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/08/coronavirus-could-smoulder-in-africa-for-several-years-who-warns">several years</a>, WHO warns.*
<p>
  This is if possible vaccines or cures are put off limits by the
  globally centralized medicine production system with its patents,
  facilitated by the WTO.
  


feed_id: 8d333b17ba404c68db7464a5d0135aea
title: Goudreau received a promise from one of Guaidó's lieutenants of a big payoff
uri: Goudreau-received-a-promise-from-one-of-Guaidó-s-lieutenants-of-a-big
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#11_May_2020_%28Goudreau_received_a_promise_from_one_of_Guaid%C3%83%C2%B3%27s_lieutenants_of_a_big_payoff%29

content:
<p>
  Goudreau, the leader of the private commando raid to capture Maduro,
  <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/08/his-head-wasnt-in-the-world-of-reality-how-the-plot-to-invade-venezuela-fell-apart">received a promise from one of Guaidó's lieutenants</a> of a big payoff if
  he succeeded, and working funds in advance.
<p>
  The latter eventually broke off the deal because of doubts about
  Goudreau's competence, but that doesn't alter the fact that Guaidó
  sought to stage a commando raid to capture Maduro and helped to set it
  up.
<p>
  Goudreau and the conman <a href="https://theintercept.com/2020/05/09/venezuela-coup-regime-change/">both say the US had no direct involvement</a>.
  We don't have direct evidence that there was any, but we also don't
  know there wasn't.
<p>
  However, indirect involvement there certainly was.  Goudreau kept on
  with the plan hoping to get a 15-million-dollar bounty from the US
  government for capturing Maduro.  Even without any other support from
  the US, that bounty makes the US co-responsible for the attack.


feed_id: abef898dfe2d50d6be4dc3cd953d6560
title: Tories propose not to protect families who face eviction
uri: Tories-propose-not-to-protect-families-who-face-eviction
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#11_May_2020_%28Tories_propose_not_to_protect_families_who_face_eviction%29

content:
<p>
  Hundreds of thousands of families in Britain face eviction in June.
  <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/may/08/renters-evicted-june-tories-pledge-coronavirus-landlords">The Tories propose not to protect them</a>.
<p>
  Similar problems are developing in many US states, whose temporary protection
  orders may or may not be extended.
  


feed_id: 6ea99e4fb94aa98ae9ac217bf9272683
title: Chile's President appointed a minister who defends his murderous dictatorship
uri: Chile-s-President-appointed-a-minister-who-defends-his-murderous-dicta
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#11_May_2020_%28Chile%27s_President_appointed_a_minister_who_defends_his_murderous_dictatorship%29

content:
<p>
  Chile's right-wing President Piñera has appointed a minister <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/08/pinochet-great-niece-chile-womens-minister">who
  defends Pinochet's murderous dictatorship</a>.


feed_id: d30421fc29715eb97e0c96728324c16b
title: Predicted over one meter of global sea level rise by 2100
uri: Predicted-over-one-meter-of-global-sea-level-rise-by-2100
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#11_May_2020_%28Predicted_over_one_meter_of_global_sea_level_rise_by_2100%29

content:
<p>
  Scientists now predict <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/may/08/sea-levels-could-rise-more-than-a-metre-by-2100-experts-say">over one meter</a> of global sea level rise by
  2100.

<p>
  I expect more because of various not-yet-discovered positive feedbacks.
  Note also on the US Atlantic Coast other factors are adding to the amount
  of rise in sea level.
  


feed_id: 1d82bfee169f91e170c34d1e8175566e
title: Attorney General Barr has dropped the case against Michael Flynn
uri: Attorney-General-Barr-has-dropped-the-case-against-Michael-Flynn
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#11_May_2020_%28Attorney_General_Barr_has_dropped_the_case_against_Michael_Flynn%29

content:
<p>
  Attorney General Barr has dropped the case against Michael Flynn
  <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/may/08/trump-attorney-general-william-barr-flynn-case">even after Flynn pled guilty</a>.
<p>
  Barr prosecute and releases as the corrupter-in-chief orders.
  


feed_id: da1a54e3eb064ab0e8eb4aacdfb90d18
title: Bangladeshi journalist was arrested for posting on the internet
uri: Bangladeshi-journalist-was-arrested-for-posting-on-the-internet
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#11_May_2020_%28Bangladeshi_journalist_was_arrested_for_posting_on_the_internet%29

content:
<p>
  Bangladeshi journalist Shafiqul Islam Kajol was arrested for posting on the
  internet, then held incommunicado for <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2020/may/08/bangladeshi-journalist-is-jailed-after-mysterious-53-day-disappearance">two months by Bangladeshi thugs</a>.
<p>
  They did not kill him, but prison could do so.
  


feed_id: b37bb894e80042d41372dcb0feae3ddd
title: DHS plans to warn states against internet voting
uri: DHS-plans-to-warn-states-against-internet-voting
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#11_May_2020_%28DHS_plans_to_warn_states_against_internet_voting%29

content:
<p>
  The Department of Harassment and Suffering may do something good for a
  change.  It plans to warn states <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/may/08/us-government-internet-voting-department-of-homeland-security">against internet voting</a>.
  


feed_id: 15a15c5c1e3d2bb305a109386105b888
title: Pentagon is claiming that its bombing raids killed no civilians
uri: Pentagon-is-claiming-that-its-bombing-raids-killed-no-civilians
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#11_May_2020_%28Pentagon_is_claiming_that_its_bombing_raids_killed_no_civilians%29

content:
<p>
  The Pentagon is learning from the bullshitter, claiming that its
  bombing raids <a href="https://theintercept.com/2020/05/08/civilian-casualties-us-airstrikes-pentagon/">all around the world</a> killed <u>zero</u> civilians

<p>
  The bullshitter has showed that there is no need to stick to plausible
  lies if you are willing to spit directly on the truth.
  


feed_id: dff405a498df04de2717edff5b74bbbc
title: Republicans Are Using the Coronavirus to Win Long-Desired Bank Deregulation
uri: Republicans-Are-Using-the-Coronavirus-to-Win-Long-Desired-Bank-Deregul
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#11_May_2020_%28Republicans_Are_Using_the_Coronavirus_to_Win_Long-Desired_Bank_Deregulation%29

content:
<p>
  *Republicans Are Using the Coronavirus Crisis to Win Long-Desired Bank
  Deregulation, <a href="https://theintercept.com/2020/05/08/coronavirus-republicans-bank-deregulation-loans/">Raising Potential for Bank Failures</a>.*


feed_id: 2b86588c19480a510cdaca5a24904502
title: Speculating about how Covid-19 will affect transportation
uri: Speculating-about-how-Covid-19-will-affect-transportation
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#11_May_2020_%28Speculating_about_how_Covid-19_will_affect_transportation%29

content:
<p>
  Speculating about how Covid-19 will <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/may/09/transport-after-coronavirus-how-will-we-fly-drive-commute-and-ride">affect transportation</a>.
<p>
  I expect we will eliminate Covid-19 one way or another within a year.
  There is no need to expect that fear will deter use of mass transit
  forever.
  


feed_id: c86d4b2342017e193bb4b67c62634b6b
title: Whistleblower reports on how his boss rejected his plans to cope with Covid-19
uri: Whistleblower-reports-on-how-his-boss-rejected-his-plans-to-cope-with
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#11_May_2020_%28Whistleblower_reports_on_how_his_boss_rejected_his_plans_to_cope_with_Covid-19%29

content:
<p>
  <a href="https://theintercept.com/2020/05/07/coronavirus-whistleblower-hhs-n95-ppe/">Whistleblower Richard Bright reports</a> on how his boss ridiculed and
  rejected his proposed plans to prepare enough masks for the US to
  cope with Covid-19.
<p>
  His whistleblower complaint received <a href="https://theintercept.com/2020/05/08/coronavirus-congress-aoc-interview/">initial approval</a>, which is supposed to
  mean that he gets to stay in his old job.
<p>
  I expect that the corrupter will fire the people in charge of the
  whistleblower office until they change their views.  He aims to make
  every official slavishly follow his orders, no matter how corrupt those
  orders may be.
  


feed_id: 11ff63ce9c7d2433b946f71714cfd4ba
title: Censorship of guides on relaxing stay home orders
uri: Censorship-of-guides-on-relaxing-stay-home-orders
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#11_May_2020_%28Censorship_of_guides_on_relaxing_stay_home_orders%29

content:
<p>
  The CDC developed detailed advice about how to relax stay-home
  guidance step by step.  The saboteur in chief <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/07/trump-buries-cdc-report-coronavirus-reopening">decided to keep it
  secret</a>.

<p>
  The UK government censored parts of a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/08/revealed-uk-scientists-fury-over-attempt-to-censor-covid-19-advice">comparable report</a> made by the
  Sage committee.
  


feed_id: 7d3276c49e931a36d73f7e5b112d7a44
title: Men who killed Ahmaud Arbery have been charged with murder
uri: Men-who-killed-Ahmaud-Arbery-have-been-charged-with-murder
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#11_May_2020_%28Men_who_killed_Ahmaud_Arbery_have_been_charged_with_murder%29

content:
<p>
  The men who killed Ahmaud Arbery <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/may/07/ahmaud-arbery-former-police-officer-and-son-charged-in-shooting-of-black-man">have been charged with murder</a>.
<p>
  I see the prosecutor did not wait for a grand jury.  I had a feeling
  that that was intended to create a way <v>not</u> to press charges.
  


feed_id: 3165db38d783aa09618cb71bd324e87b
title: Armed black citizens escort lawmaker to capitol after rightwing protest
uri: Armed-black-citizens-escort-lawmaker-to-capitol-after-rightwing-protes
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#11_May_2020_%28Armed_black_citizens_escort_lawmaker_to_capitol_after_rightwing_protest%29

content:
<p>
  *Armed black citizens escort Michigan lawmaker to capitol <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/may/07/michigan-lawmaker-armed-escort-rightwing-protest">after volatile
  rightwing protest</a>.*
<p>
  The protesters come from a tradition of murder and they brandished
  guns.  One can hardly count on American racists to hold short of
  actual murder.
  


feed_id: 4dfd43d88376b456af0a0eab98713c7f
title: The lunatic vetoed the don't-attack-Iran resolution again
uri: The-lunatic-vetoed-the-don-t-attack-Iran-resolution-again
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#11_May_2020_%28The_lunatic_vetoed_the_don%27t-attack-Iran_resolution_again%29

content:
<p>
  The lunatic vetoed the don't-attack-Iran resolution <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/05/07/us-and-iran-spark-away-devastating-conflict-trump-vetoes-war-powers-resolution">again</a>.
<p>
  Why does Congress continue to pass these resolutions in the way that
  lets the president veto them?  It seems like an intentional choice to
  posture rather than actually prevent war.
  


feed_id: 9ab3e57a6f377a8b1445d848f6822136
title: Urgent: PAT RIOT Act
uri: Urgent-PAT-RIOT-Act
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#13_May_2020_%28Urgent%3A_PAT_RIOT_Act%29
content:
<p>
US citizens: phone your senators and call on them
not to reauthorize PAT RIOT Act surveillance.
The more surveillance power we eliminate, the better.


feed_id: 3d7ce48e377ef34b45144885293c5035
title: No mask accepted
uri: No-mask-accepted
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#13_May_2020_%28No_mask_accepted%29
content:
<p>
A mask company in the US offered to make millions of high-grade masks
for the government on Jan 23.  The Department of Harm and Human
Suffering, as it is now, <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/05/10/criminal-negligence-trump-officials-ignored-companys-offer-make-7-million-n95-masks">did not accept the offer</a>.


feed_id: 669142401837bb44c9c7cc9bfd4d9d80
title: Export that doesn't release greenhouse gases
uri: Export-that-doesn-t-release-greenhouse-gases
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#13_May_2020_%28Export_that_doesn%27t_release_greenhouse_gases%29

content:
<p>
Exporting hydrogen, or steel made by smelting iron with hydrogen, could give Australia <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/may/11/green-steel-industry-could-secure-jobs-future-for-australias-coalmining-heartland">an export that doesn't release greenhouse gases</a>.


feed_id: 25c93615ed1779512ea820c601e6b806
title: Vulnerable food system
uri: Vulnerable-food-system
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#13_May_2020_%28Vulnerable_food_system%29
content:
<p>
How deregulation and plutocratist policies <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2020/05/09/farmers-are-destroying-mountains-food-heres-what-do-about-it">created today's vulnerable
US food system</a>.

<p>
The New Deal included measures to protect family farms from the market
effects of a bumper harvest.  It doesn't surprise me that a
Republican, Nixon, started getting rid of them.


feed_id: c291e56b5b0570dd873da7a6d2ebeefa
title: Memorial ceremony
uri: Memorial-ceremony
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#13_May_2020_%28Memorial_ceremony%29
content:
<p>
Yacoub Rabi's wife was murdered by Israeli terrorists.  He will join other Palestinians, and Israelis, in a memorial ceremony for her and others <a href="https://www.972mag.com/jewish-terrorists-killed-his-wife-now-he-has-a-message-for-the-world/">who have been
killed by terrorists in Israel and Palestine</a>.


feed_id: 456269bf88c84bc67d94e19c800b52d6
title: Excuse to steal land
uri: Excuse-to-steal-land
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#13_May_2020_%28Excuse_to_steal_land%29
content:
<p>
If Israel "annexes" Palestinian territory where farms are, it will
make that an excuse <a href="https://www.972mag.com/palestinian-land-west-bank-annexation/">to steal many Palestinians' land</a>.

<p>
The reaction to "annexation" could be a disaster for Israel, <a href="https://www.jpost.com/opinion/annexation-of-the-west-bank-will-have-catastrophic-consequences-analysis-626662">just as
the "annexation" itself would be a disaster for Palestine</a>.


feed_id: 53a25b22c369f42fa860ffd550f72efb
title: Universal basic income
uri: 2020-05-14-Universal-basic-income
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#13_May_2020_%28Universal_basic_income%29
content:
<p>
Finland reports that <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/05/06/after-encouraging-results-finnish-ubi-experiment-experts-say-time-such-bold-idea-now">its experiment with a universal basic income</a>
   (for 500 people chosen at random) was a success: it made their
lives better and reduced the frequency of various kinds of problems.
It did not lead people to choose not to work.

<p>
This could be a good way to help people survive the depression now starting
and shorten it.

<p>
With almost 1/5 of American children not getting enough food,
<a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/05/06/new-alarming-research-shows-nearly-1-5-children-us-going-without-enough-food-amid">the US needs this urgently</a>.
  I suppose plutocrats relish the idea of stunting poor people's
children through malnutrition, because the effects will reduce their
capacity, when adults, to oppose plutocracy, and provide an excuse to
dehumanize them.


feed_id: 7dd8684fedc14c05ae05596bb9c36ab3
title: Not slowing the virus
uri: Not-slowing-the-virus
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#13_May_2020_%28Not_slowing_the_virus%29
content:
<p>
Rural states in the US are eliminating the practices meant to slow
the spread of Covid-19, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/may/06/trump-economy-reopen-us-experts-warning">and this is leading to an increase in cases</a>.

<p>
Rural areas in the US have hardly any hospitals left, and the people
there can't afford them anyway.  Those states tend to be controlled by
Republicans, who refuse to help sick poor people (they were supposed
to avoid being poor).  Thus, people there who develop a severe case
are likely to die.


feed_id: 7cf17a157dcbbdf2ad7396422eab65cd
title: European republic
uri: European-republic
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#13_May_2020_%28European_republic%29
content:
<p>
*It is time to create <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/commentisfree/2020/may/10/elites-failed-create-european-republic-pandemic-eu-citizens-democracy-equals">a European republic</a>.*


feed_id: ba2c5b8e34b966ff585d9a10db3d7355
title: Quarantine on people entering the country
uri: Quarantine-on-people-entering-the-country
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#13_May_2020_%28Quarantine_on_people_entering_the_country%29

content:
<p>
The UK is considering imposing a 14-day quarantine <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/10/uk-travel-industry-warns-against-nightmare-of-two-week-quarantine">on people who enter
the country</a>. 
  Businesses object.

<p>
Is such a quarantine useful?

<p>
Imposing quarantine on people entering your country makes
rational sense for reducing the spread of Covid-19 in two situations,
as far as I can see.

<ul>
<li>
They are coming from countries where coronavirus is more prevalent
than it is in your country.  In that case, they might transmit the
virus more than the people who were already in your country.
</li>

<li>
Your country has an effective system of tracing contacts and
quarantining people who get exposed.  Since you can't track the
previous contacts of people who enter, you need to consider they may
have been exposed before they came.
</li>
</ul>

<p>
Outside of these two situations, quarantining people for entering the
country is a pointless nuisance that serves only to help politicians
scapegoat foreigners.  Maybe that is why Bogus Johnson wants to do it.


feed_id: e383cb5806fa2507d4f97f1b629220f5
title: Cancelling defeats
uri: Cancelling-defeats
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#13_May_2020_%28Cancelling_defeats%29
content:
<p>
Erdoğan has canceled last year's local election defeats <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/10/coronavirus-leaves-turkeys-president-with-nobody-else-to-blame">by kicking out
opposition party elected officials and appointing unelected
replacements</a>.

<p>
After crushing opposition with repression, there is no one he can
rationally blame now.  But he will blame Gülen, rational or not.


feed_id: 63d983763167ff2e1d6f7e66fdf519c7
title: Tied in knots
uri: Tied-in-knots
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#13_May_2020_%28Tied_in_knots%29
content:
<p>
How the plutocratist idea of the state set up the US and UK <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/may/10/anglo-american-coronavirus-crisis">to tie
themselves in knots when Covid-19 came along</a>.


feed_id: 6c533d5ca1f9ec5e97a1ff717fb7fdd2
title: Essential workers bill of rights
uri: Essential-workers-bill-of-rights
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#13_May_2020_%28Essential_workers_bill_of_rights%29
content:
<p>
Senator Warren and Rep. Khanna have proposed <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/04/13/warren-and-khannas-essential-workers-bill-rights-cheered-much-needed-protections">an Essential Workers Bill
of Rights</a>.


feed_id: 4b53089b5ce0fd1844030edbbb40156d
title: Highest rates of Covid-19 casualties
uri: Highest-rates-of-Covid-19-casualties
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#13_May_2020_%28Highest_rates_of_Covid-19_casualties%29

content:
<p>
*The highest rates of Covid-19 casualties <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/may/09/the-right-cannot-resist-a-culture-war-against-the-liberal-elite-even-now">are in countries run by
know-nothing populists</a>.*

<p>
The writer cites the US and the UK, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/10/argentina-covid19-brazil-response-bolsonaro-fernandez">but Brazil</a>
and <a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2020-jan-apr.html#9_April_2020_(Millions_of_Indians_stuck_on_the_street)">India</a> also belong on the list.


feed_id: c1cdd8b59e99a04cd0d6d12eb87ef1da
title: Not prosecuting killers
uri: Not-prosecuting-killers
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#13_May_2020_%28Not_prosecuting_killers%29
content:
<p>
Why weren't Ahmaud Arbery's killers arrested and prosecuted promptly?
They lied about what happened, and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/may/09/every-stone-will-be-uncovered-how-georgia-officials-failed-the-ahmaud-arbery-case">officials treated those lies as
a reason to leave them alone</a>.

<p>
Why did the video change this?  <a href="https://theintercept.com/2020/05/09/ahmaud-arbery-video/">This article</a> argues
that the video made Americans recognize Arbery's humanity.

<p>
That may be true, but it did something else as well.  It made
the falsehood of the lies so obvious that even officials who tried to
endorse them couldn't defend them.

<p>
Some of us know that <a href="https://stallman.org/glossary.html#thug">thugs</a> lie, that a strained claim made by a thug
is not to be trusted.  We respond, "Oh, don't give me that rubbish!"
But people with right-wing values
                  bend over backwards to believe <a href="https://stallman.org/glossary.html#thug">thugs</a>.
(That is what enables thugs to get away with "<a href="https://stallman.org/glossary.html#testilying">testilying</a>", as they call it.)

<p>
Dehumanizing blacks can be part of why they do so.


feed_id: 757bbe0e5fd0fd52e9a4c313db321ca1
title: Sacrificing elderly and sick for profit
uri: Sacrificing-elderly-and-sick-for-profit
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#14_May_2020_%28Sacrificing_elderly_and_sick_for_profit%29

content:
<p>

A few weeks ago, a <a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#8_May_2020_(Reopening_economy_would_spread_the_virus)">Texas official called for sacrificing old people and people with medical conditions for the sake of profit</a>. I think Texas Republicans they have quietly decided to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/may/11/texas-reopen-economy-coronavirus-covid-19">>do exactly that</a>.
<p>
There is evidence that nonwhites are much more likely to be killed by Covid-19.  I expect those officials are racist and regard the partially-selective killing of those minorities as a secondary benefit.


feed_id: 93b419547eea1693f8676d485e4ecdda
title: Bully responsible for imprisoned immigrant Covid-19 infection and death
uri: Bully-responsible-for-imprisoned-immigrant-Covid-19-infection-and-deat
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#14_May_2020_%28Bully_responsible_for_imprisoned_immigrant_Covid-19_infection_and_death%29

content:
<p>
The bully's push to imprison unauthorized immigrants just because he can is responsible for <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/may/12/first-ice-detainee-dies-coronavirus-immigration-carlos-ernesto-escobar-mejia">causing many of them to catch Covid-19, and some fraction of them to die</a>.
<p>
The US government is responsible for protecting the health of prisoners, even prisoners who have been convicted of a crime (which most imprisoned unauthorized immigrants have not been).  But, as repeated incidents have shown, prison <a href="https://stallman.org/glossary.html#thug">thugs</a> systematically disregard prisoners' reports of being sick or injured.


feed_id: 6adc534ce85850e308aafe20ca76960f
title: US government plans to buy bonds issues by large corporations
uri: US-government-plans-to-buy-bonds-issues-by-large-corporations
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#13_May_2020_%28US_government_plans_to_buy_bonds_issues_by_large_corporations%29

content:
<p>

The US government plans to buy the bonds issues by large corporations, and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/may/12/us-fossil-fuel-companies-coronavirus-bailout-oil-coal-fracking-giants-bond-scheme">a lot of this benefit will go to planet roasters</a>.


feed_id: 73feb4f6831020d80f18511a6edda273
title: America an obstacle in fight against Covid-19
uri: America-an-obstacle-in-fight-against-Covid-19
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#13_May_2020_%28America_an_obstacle_in_fight_against_Covid-19%29

content:
<p>

<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/may/12/trump-is-making-america-an-obstacle-in-the-global-fight-against-covid-19">*[The slaughterer] is making America an obstacle in the global fight against Covid-19.</a>


feed_id: d65fb2941fae92daf92144f884eff418
title: Labour party proposed inadequate measures to help tenants' lost income
uri: Labour-party-proposed-inadequate-measures-to-help-tenants-lost-income
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#13_May_2020_%28Labour_party_proposed_inadequate_measures_to_help_tenants%27_lost_income%29

content:
<p>

The Labour Party, now without Corbyn as leader, has <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/may/12/uk-freeze-private-rents-homelessness-coronavirus-labour">proposed inadequate measures</a> to help tenants who have lost their income.


feed_id: 0f7f200bd0ba3b4e154b59ebdddf4b36
title: Wuhan found new Covid-19 cases
uri: Wuhan-found-new-Covid-19-cases
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#13_May_2020_%28Wuhan_found_new_Covid-19_cases%29
content:
<p>

Wuhan found some new cases of Covid-19 after around a month of having none.  Now the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/12/wuhan-plans-to-test-all-11-million-residents-for-coronavirus">city plans to test everyone for the virus</a> &mdash; again.


feed_id: 741e3377f5ee1a440a9cc6f48f9c0468
title: Cargo ship sailors press-ganged into keeping trade afloat
uri: Cargo-ship-sailors-press-ganged-into-keeping-trade-afloat
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#13_May_2020_%28Cargo_ship_sailors_press-ganged_into_keeping_trade_afloat%29

content:
<p>

<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global/2020/may/11/cargo-ship-sailors-press-ganged-into-keeping-the-worlds-trade-afloat">*Cargo ship sailors press-ganged into keeping the world's trade afloat.*</a>
<p>
They can't get off the ship, even for emergency medical treatment, and they are forced to keep working though exhausted, which makes them accident-prone.


feed_id: 96308cbd8d6f815e1358d46c25b70575
title: Saboteur-in-chief has destroyed environmental protections
uri: Saboteur-in-chief-has-destroyed-environmental-protections
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#13_May_2020_%28Saboteur-in-chief_has_destroyed_environmental_protections%29

content:
<p>

The saboteur-in-chief has <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/may/10/trump-environmental-blitzkrieg-coronavirus">destroyed environmental protections across the board</a>.  It would take a lot of work to reverse those changes one by one through administrative procedures.
<p>
We can't assume a Democratic president will even try.  I don't expect Biden would try.
<p>
But if we had a government of progressives, they could pass a law to reverse <em>all</em> rule changes made by the saboteurs, and restore all undermined rule making processes to the point at which they were sabotaged.


feed_id: bd212c171eabc83642edada12dbcfe35
title: High drug prices could bar access to coronavirus treatments
uri: High-drug-prices-could-bar-access-to-coronavirus-treatments
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#13_May_2020_%28High_drug_prices_could_bar_access_to_coronavirus_treatments%29

content:
<p>

<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/11/soaring-drug-prices-could-bar-access-to-future-coronavirus-treatments">*Soaring drug prices could bar access to future coronavirus treatments.*</a>
<p>
Most countries won't be as bad as the US.


feed_id: 5401ea21ef97a47c024135a55e5fdb74
title: Hong Kong's repression will extend to modifying education
uri: Hong-Kong-s-repression-will-extend-to-modifying-education
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#13_May_2020_%28Hong_Kong%27s_repression_will_extend_to_modifying_education%29

content:
<p>

Hong Kong's repression will extend to modifying education to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/11/carrie-lam-blames-hong-kong-education-system-for-fuelling-protests">teach submission and cover up history</a>.


feed_id: 00eeb2a44a7a35ff10dba8553d1295bd
title: Illegally operating factory behind deadly gas leak
uri: Illegally-operating-factory-behind-deadly-gas-leak
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#13_May_2020_%28Illegally_operating_factory_behind_deadly_gas_leak%29

content:
<p>

*Indian <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/11/indian-chemical-factory-behind-deadly-gas-leak-was-operating-illegally">chemical factory behind deadly gas leak was operating illegally*</a>, without environmental permits.


feed_id: d2f0b058e105f4d8598522ba202ca0c8
title: New Jersey prisoner, locked in shower dies apparently from Covid-19
uri: New-Jersey-prisoner-locked-in-shower-dies-apparently-from-Covid-19
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#13_May_2020_%28New_Jersey_prisoner%2C_locked_in_shower_dies_apparently_from_Covid-19%29

content:
<p>

New Jersey prison thugs moved a prisoner suffering apparently from Covid-19 from the infirmary to <a href="https://theintercept.com/2020/05/11/new-jersey-prisons-coronavirus-death/">a shower that they locked her into</a>.
<p>
After a little while she passed out, then died.
  


feed_id: f193ddec9694055411a8c19e7701822b
title: Presidential, VP opposition to Covid-19 precautions
uri: Presidential-VP-opposition-to-Covid-19-precautions
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#13_May_2020_%28Presidential%2C_VP_opposition_to_Covid-19_precautions%29

content:
<p>

Pence and the numskull oppose the precautions people take against Covid-19, and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/may/11/mike-pence-quarantine-coronavirus-white-house">people they work with are getting sick</a>.
<p>
Is this misguided courage, or is it idiocy?


feed_id: 37ed45b9a3e418c325bc92447310f248
title: Greg Palast's reports on corruption
uri: Greg-Palast-s-reports-on-corruption
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#13_May_2020_%28Greg_Palast%27s_reports_on_corruption%29

content:
<p>

Greg Palast reports on corruption by Mnuchin, corruption by the Koch brothers, and <a href="https://www.gregpalast.com/palast-david-cay-johnston-how-trump-stole-2020-a-warning/">corruption by the conman</a>, as well as others.


feed_id: 81a2eec12a23e304f54d50076886aac3
title: Medieval towns handling of plague
uri: Medieval-towns-handling-of-plague
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#13_May_2020_%28Medieval_towns_handling_of_plague%29
content:
<p>

*Some <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2020/04/25/some-medieval-towns-handled-plagues-better-trumps-unequal-rundown-america">Medieval Towns Handled Plagues Better Than Trump's Unequal, Rundown America</a>.*


feed_id: 3ad6bdf0c69da23c7dc72e7a77bca63b
title: Immediate support
uri: Immediate-support
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#14_May_2020_%28Immediate_support%29
content:
<p>
Republicans want to give Americans immediate support &mdash; <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/05/11/trump-administrations-monstrous-idea-direct-payments-exchange-cuts-social-security">taken out of their
future Social Security payments</a>.

<p>
For corporations, by contrast, they have offered support at the
treasury's expense.

<p>
Republican Senator Alexander poured out money to corporations and rich
people, but now he says that "there's not enough money" to give
anything to the poor.  Why <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/05/11/gop-senator-who-voted-trump-tax-cuts-and-corporate-slush-fund-says-not-enough-money">didn't he tell the rich people and corporations
that</a>?

<p>
Their actions make sense, if you assume that non-rich human beings are
expendable, while immortal corporations have intrinsic value.


feed_id: 07df1ce7b130fe36955f285ff401638c
title: Living in boats
uri: Living-in-boats
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#14_May_2020_%28Living_in_boats%29
content:
<p>
Individuals and families living in boats, sailing to or in other
countries, are being forced to undertake long ocean voyages which they
and their boats can't do safely, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/may/12/long-journey-home-the-stranded-sailboats-in-a-race-to-beat-the-hurricanes">often lacking food and supplies</a>.

<p>
I am surprised by this knee-jerk rigid cruelty on the part of so many
countries.  I'd expect it from the conman.


feed_id: 4d1c4b6c17c0b8283fe692f8a7c1f69b
title: Certificate of confusion
uri: Certificate-of-confusion
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#14_May_2020_%28Certificate_of_confusion%29
content:
<p>
In March 1993, the FSF received the following letter, <a href="https://stallman.org/articles/destruction-certificate.txt">which I think is
worth sharing, along with the response that I sent</a>.


feed_id: a575388e287aba468bf4c6c8258d979e
title: Sea spray microplastics in soil
uri: Sea-spray-microplastics-in-soil
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#15_May_2020_%28Sea_spray_microplastics_in_soil%29
content:
<p>

<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/may/12/microplastics-discovered-blowing-ashore-in-sea-breezes">Sea spray contains microplastics.</a>  It is possible that large quantities blow from the sea onto the land, and the plastic ends up in the soil.


feed_id: 880c5297a4566b14a848cd5326086273
title: Investigation of district attorneys that failed to challenge killers of Ahmaud Arbery
uri: Investigation-of-district-attorneys-that-failed-to-challenge-killers-o
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#15_May_2020_%28Investigation_of_district_attorneys_that_failed_to_challenge_killers_of_Ahmaud_Arbery%29

content:
<p>

Georgia's attorney general wants an <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/may/12/ahmaud-arbery-georgia-prosecutors-under-investigation">investigation of the district attorneys that failed to charge the killers of Ahmaud Arbery</a>.
<p>
I had a feeling they were still trying to avoid charging him when they talked about asking a grand jury.


feed_id: b979e59a1dbdaaef0c23bd616c8fd4d4
title: Plutocratist Democrats oblige medical insurance companies
uri: Plutocratist-Democrats-oblige-medical-insurance-companies
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#15_May_2020_%28Plutocratist_Democrats_oblige_medical_insurance_companies%29

content:
<p>

Medical insurance companies want the US to pay their exorbitant premiums, rather than extend Medicare.  <a href="https://theintercept.com/2020/05/12/heroes-act-coronavirus-health-insurance-industry/">Plutocratist Democrats were quick to oblige them.</a>
<p>
I predict that Biden will be in favor of it.


feed_id: 488a49110c2a9143d440a121e0c4fd45
title: Insect migrations from Middle East to Western Europe
uri: Insect-migrations-from-Middle-East-to-Western-Europe
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#15_May_2020_%28Insect_migrations_from_Middle_East_to_Western_Europe%29

content:
<p>

<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/may/12/its-like-nothing-else-insect-swarms-on-cyprus-reveal-incredible-journeys-aoe">Trillions of insects migrate long distances across Europe every spring</a>. Some carry pollen from plants in the Middle East to plants in England or Western Europe.


feed_id: 931b8585b40b5a89d3f876cec87cb48c
title: Brazil's innovative domestic violence centre
uri: Brazil-s-innovative-domestic-violence-centre
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#15_May_2020_%28Brazil%27s_innovative_domestic_violence_centre%29

content:
<p>

*Brazil's innovative <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2020/may/12/we-wrap-services-around-women-brazils-innovative-domestic-violence-centre">domestic violence centre</a>.*


feed_id: b818ef04232cf853e42fc5f76b36cbb7
title: Cracking company NSO, shown to be used by governments against critics
uri: Cracking-company-NSO-shown-to-be-used-by-governments-against-critics
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#15_May_2020_%28Cracking_company_NSO%2C_shown_to_be_used_by_governments_against_critics%29

content:
<p>

The cracking company NSO says that its software is used by governments against terrorists and "criminals".  <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/12/cat-and-mouse-game-how-citizen-lab-shone-a-spotlight-on-israeli-spyware-firm-nso">Citizen Lab demonstrates how many governments use it against whoever criticizes them</a>.
<p>
Labeling dissidents as "terrorists" is standard practice &mdash; and many governments define dissent as a crime.


feed_id: fef9afe111304a7e395602b8ae17844f
title: Bully's 'America First' approach slows global search for vaccine
uri: Bully-s-America-First-approach-slows-global-search-for-vaccine
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#15_May_2020_%28Bully%27s_%27America_First%27_approach_slows_global_search_for_vaccine%29

content:
<p>

*The race for a vaccine: <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/12/the-race-for-a-vaccine-how-trumps-america-first-approach-slows-the-global-search">how the bully's 'America First' approach slows the global search</a>.*


feed_id: da7f74926bc9e0cea32348baaf79a211
title: TSA hoarding medical-quality face masks
uri: TSA-hoarding-medical-quality-face-masks
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#15_May_2020_%28TSA_hoarding_medical-quality_face_masks%29

content:
<p>

The <a href="https://www.propublica.org/article/the-tsa-hoarded-1-3-million-n95-masks-even-though-airports-are-empty-and-it-doesnt-need-them">TSA is hoarding medical-quality face masks</a> which it does not even need to use. Meanwhile, medical personnel can't get enough of them.


feed_id: 8d1c5036e7a828bfe7bfde71c8fe49d0
title: EU ruled consent for tracking must be given
uri: EU-ruled-consent-for-tracking-must-be-given
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#15_May_2020_%28EU_ruled_consent_for_tracking_must_be_given%29

content:
<p>

The EU has ruled that consent for tracking (including cookies) has to be given with an unambiguous voluntary assent &mdash; <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2020/05/06/no-cookie-consent-walls-and-no-scrolling-isnt-consent-says-eu-data-protection-body/">"scrolling implies consent" does not qualify</a>.
<p>
This is clearly the right decision about interpreting the GDPR, but it doesn't addresses <a href="https://stallman.org/articles/real-privacy-laws.html">the weak points of the GDPR</a>. Basically, it is too easy for practical pressure to convince people to "voluntarily" accept collection of data that should not be collected at all.


feed_id: 33e0d7c818f8d6a682184c1c3499598a
title: WeChat studying communications with AI
uri: WeChat-studying-communications-with-AI
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#15_May_2020_%28WeChat_studying_communications_with_AI%29

content:
<p>

When non-Chinese use WeChat, it doesn't censor them (yet). But it <a href="https://citizenlab.ca/2020/05/we-chat-they-watch/">studies their communications with AI</a> to learn about how to censor Chinese more thoroughly.


feed_id: 8d69be0ffcc5d24273161e7ccdb3b0b1
title: Advocating job guarantees
uri: Advocating-job-guarantees
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#15_May_2020_%28Advocating_job_guarantees%29
content:
<p>

<a href="https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2020/5/4/21243725/coronavirus-unemployment-cares-act-federal-job-guarantee-green-new-deal-pavlina-tcherneva">Advocating a job guarantee</a> for every person who is fit to work and wants to work.


feed_id: 510086fabf9554101431e7e075f029af
title: Big Tech after Coronavirus
uri: Big-Tech-after-Coronavirus
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#15_May_2020_%28Big_Tech_after_Coronavirus%29
content:
<p>

*<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/01/opinion/tech-companies-coronavirus.html">Big Tech After the Coronavirus</a>: All Power, No Accountability?*
<p>
One way to keep the GAFAM from having power over you is not to allow them to find out who you are.  Don't have accounts on their sites.  If you use them anonymously, block their Javascript (which probably fingerprints browsers to track people, and contact them through Tor.
<p>
But we can't defeat them by protecting ourselves individually. We need to organize to defeat them and take away their power.


feed_id: 6361e0215e8c0c79de46f3b2a6a359ae
title: Crime talking of mother-tongue education in Tibet
uri: Crime-talking-of-mother-tongue-education-in-Tibet
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#15_May_2020_%28Crime_talking_of_mother-tongue_education_in_Tibet%29

content:
<p>

*In Tibet, it’s a <a href="https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2020-04-15/china-tibet-language-schools-persecution">crime to even talk about the value of mother-tongue education</a>.*
<p>
Vicious as the US is sometimes today, China is worse.  It is treating Tibetans now the way the US treated indigenous people before I was born.


feed_id: e839ad33126e595f8d56c0c7263b70db
title: The End of US Empire
uri: The-End-of-US-Empire
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#15_May_2020_%28The_End_of_US_Empire%29
content:
<p>

*The End of US Empire: <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2020/05/11/end-us-empire-covid-19-exposes-once-great-superpower-epic-failure">Covid-19 Exposes Once-Great Superpower as Epic Failure</a>.*


feed_id: 6fc688d637817293a01f8a364b83673d
title: Urgent: Massachusetts voters: Ranked Choice Voting initiative
uri: Urgent-Massachusetts-voters-Ranked-Choice-Voting-initiative
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#15_May_2020_%28Urgent%3A_Massachusetts_voters%3A_Ranked_Choice_Voting_initiative%29

content:
<p>

Massachusetts voters: sign the ballot petition for to put the Ranked Choice Voting initiative on the ballot for November.
<p>
To do this, print a copy of <a href="media/7b854c6f.mass-ranked-choice.pdf" data-original-source="https://stallman.org/mass-ranked-choice.pdf">the ballot petition</a>, fill in the name of your city or town in one of the slots for it, write your signature in one of the signature lines with your address to the right of it, then mail it to

<blockquote>
  Ranked Choice Voting<br/>
  C/O Jim Henderson<br/>
  38 Brandymeade Circle<br/>
  Stow, MA 01175
</blockquote>

The ballot petition can be found in <a href="media/7b854c6f.mass-ranked-choice.pdf" data-original-source="https://stallman.org/mass-ranked-choice.pdf">https://stallman.org/mass-ranked-choice.pdf</a>.
<p>
Your letter needs to arrive there by June 12 in order for them to deliver the petition paper on time.
<p>
Only registered Massachusetts voters can sign.  Multiple people can sign the same petition paper <em>provided</em> they are registered in the same Massachusetts city or town.
<p>
Please forward or repost this announcement in any appropriate place where Massachusetts voters might see it.


feed_id: 41bc620ca88bb1ccad83227dd00f4b88
title: Urgent: no coal-fired power plant
uri: Urgent-no-coal-fired-power-plant
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#15_May_2020_%28Urgent%3A_no_coal-fired_power_plant%29

content:
<p>
US citizens: call on KEPCO not to invest <a href="https://nocoalkepco.com/en/oci/">in a coal-fired power plant in Vietnam</a>.

<p>
Here's the personal message I sent.

<blockquote>
I understand that KEPCO is considering investing in the Vung Ang 2
coal-fired generator.
 
<p>
Viet Nam is far away from South Korea, but the disaster of global
heating will affect just about everywhere on earth. Your country will
not be spared. As a secondary point, coal is likely to be banned in a
decade or two, so your investment will not pay.
 
<p>
So that the people who are young today can have a normal life span, I
implore KEPCO to reject this plan, and all coal-related projects, and
to invest in civilization's future by promoting renewable energy.
 
<p>
Yours sincerely,
</blockquote>


feed_id: 5f19818d5fde6c969b04ea656ca14fd9
title: World nuclear arms spending
uri: World-nuclear-arms-spending
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#15_May_2020_%28World_nuclear_arms_spending%29
content:
<p>
*World nuclear arms spending hit $73bn last year &mdash; <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/13/nuclear-weapons-world-record-spending">half of it by US</a>.*

<p>
This parallels the situation with military spending overall: the US spends as
much as the total of the next 7 biggest spenders.


feed_id: 21a6196c0ed1222adc907b04e0746cac
title: Sacrifice for the common good
uri: Sacrifice-for-the-common-good
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#15_May_2020_%28Sacrifice_for_the_common_good%29
content:
<p>
*Why Are Working People Forced to Sacrifice for the Common Good <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2020/04/26/why-are-working-people-forced-sacrifice-common-good-not-titans-capitalism">But Not the
Titans of Capitalism</a>?*


feed_id: 7207b6bee33e93046a1ca2abf9426d01
title: Tesla factory
uri: Tesla-factory
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#15_May_2020_%28Tesla_factory%29
content:
<p>
Elon Musk is illegally reopening the Tesla factory, and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2020/may/12/tesla-workers-unemployment-benefits-emails">plans to make
legal threats against workers that won't take the risk</a>.

<p>
Will officials have the guts to padlock the doors of the building?


feed_id: 14df836385b187d0dc3f4f65367ba3d4
title: Charges against Michael Flynn
uri: Charges-against-Michael-Flynn
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#15_May_2020_%28Charges_against_Michael_Flynn%29
content:
<p>
The judge in Michael Flynn's case <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/may/12/michael-flynn-case-justice-department-dismiss">not yet agreed to dismiss the
charges against him</a>.


feed_id: e6d001f5953e091e8ab91a6523c65238
title: Failed coup and Guaidó
uri: Failed-coup-and-Guaidó
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#15_May_2020_%28Failed_coup_and_Guaid%C3%83%C2%B3%29
content:
<p>
There are many links between Guaidó and the recent failed coup,
<a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2020/05/11/botched-infiltration-venezuela-leaves-guaido-tainted-beyond-repair">and this has discredited him</a>.


feed_id: e835bd261b2dd140043167aa9c868eef
title: Blood on hands
uri: Blood-on-hands
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#15_May_2020_%28Blood_on_hands%29
content:
<p>
How much blood does the murderer-in-chief have on his hands?
Models suggest at least 40,000 people among those who have already died,
<a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2020/05/12/murderer-chief-donald-trump-and-tens-thousands-coronavirus-dead">which will ultimately mount up to over 200,000 people</a>.


feed_id: 8957b85f0f1a771511158a153fd85b56
title: Contact-tracing
uri: 2020-05-15-Contact-tracing
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#15_May_2020_%28Contact-tracing%29
content:
<p>
Iceland reports that its contact-tracing app made little difference;
<a href="https://www.technologyreview.com/2020/05/11/1001541/iceland-rakning-c19-covid-contact-tracing/">human contact tracers were responsible for licking coronavirus</a>.


feed_id: a040a159d94c5a625ea07f3d192d327d
title: HEROES Act
uri: HEROES-Act
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#15_May_2020_%28HEROES_Act%29
content:
<p>
The so-called "HEROES Act" is named for workers, but it includes
<a href="https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2020/05/12/dont-double-down-failure-vote-no-heroes-act">lots of gush-up to big business</a>.

<p>
It even permits use of aid to corporations <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/05/12/house-democrats-denounced-covid-19-relief-bill-leaves-door-wide-open-fossil-fuel">for fossil fuel development</a>.

<p>
I expect the plutocratist Democrats will present this as a
"compromise" with Republicans, but they will treat it as a starting
point to demand more harmful "compromise".  Therefore, pre-compromise
with them is a recipe getting screwed.

<p>
To deal with them, you must start from strong demands, drive a hard bargain,
always be ready to walk away without a deal, and try to identify in advance
how they will cheat.

<p>
Remember how the conman cheated the contractor that painted his
building?


feed_id: 3b43fc83744098efd9f2194b19e6f866
title: Hiding wealth
uri: Hiding-wealth
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#15_May_2020_%28Hiding_wealth%29
content:
<p>
South Dakota has created a special kind of trust that is ideal for
hiding wealth from anyone &mdash; including tax authorities, creditors, and
spouses.  <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/05/06/how-marie-and-ed-bosarges-divorce-spotlights-south-dakotas-asset-trusts.html">Any kind of cheater can take advantage of them</a>.


feed_id: 31ea9f47c5426cc91c87ef1775adfdd9
title: Mega-dairies
uri: Mega-dairies
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#15_May_2020_%28Mega-dairies%29
content:
<p>
*Oregon's mega-dairies produce mega-pollution. Weak rules have allowed
industrial mega-dairies to push family farmers off the land,
pollute Oregon's environment, and threaten animal welfare, and <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2020/05/12/new-research-shows-alarming-impacts-corporate-dairy-industry-oregon">the
data shows it is only getting worse</a>.*


feed_id: 9710c4b52c6c0897e8763adaa9d4b19f
title: Share Covid-19 vaccine data
uri: Share-Covid-19-vaccine-data
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#15_May_2020_%28Share_Covid-19_vaccine_data%29
content:
<p>
*US Covid-19 Vaccine Data Should Be Shared With the Whole World &mdash; <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2020/05/12/us-covid-19-vaccine-data-should-be-shared-whole-world-not-locked">Not
 Locked Up</a>.*


feed_id: 28d18ec562b45d3a9926794d713de18c
title: Children's hunger
uri: Children-s-hunger
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#15_May_2020_%28Children%27s_hunger%29
content:
<p>
An academic study of nutrition reports that 1/9 of the world's
children suffer from hunger.  Of young children, under 5 years old,
<a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/05/12/pandemic-rattles-global-food-system-report-deems-mass-malnutrition-worlds-top-killer">1/4 are stunted from lack of food</a>.

<p>
The worse figures for younger children make me wonder about the cause.
Do parents feed younger children less?  Is the situation getting worse
as years pass?


feed_id: ba7e7b90e34f12d92d39c284662c8971
title: Basic understanding
uri: Basic-understanding
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#15_May_2020_%28Basic_understanding%29
content:
<p>
George Monbiot: Education must aim to teach everyone the crucial basic
understanding of physical world and the natural world, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/may/12/coronavirus-education-pandemic-natural-world-ecology">at the levels
that make the environment for our lives</a>.


feed_id: 07d51ac3729a01e4402c112cf9ff5ab9
title: Saboteur in chief working hard to sabotage the USPS
uri: Saboteur-in-chief-working-hard-to-sabotage-the-USPS
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#18_May_2020_%28Saboteur_in_cheif_working_hard_to_sabotage_the_USPS%29

content:
<p>

The saboteur in chief is working hard to sabotage the US Postal Service, and has <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/05/13/vote-mail-under-existential-threat-top-us-postal-service-official-reportedly-forced">pushed out the members of its governing board that want to keep it running</a>.
<p>
What could he gain from this?  He could make it impossible to vote by mail.  Any other ideas?
<p>
His <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2020/05/13/real-reason-trump-wants-reopen-economy">reelection strategy</a> (people suspect) is based on forcing people back to work even though many workers and customers will get sick.
<p>
To make sure they have to accept it, he wants to <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2020/05/13/real-reason-trump-wants-reopen-economy">protect the employers totally from liability if they do get sick</a>.
<p>
I suspect that he actually wants a lot of people to get sick, too. Why else strive persistently to keep masks in short supply?  He can't help knowing that many cases will follow, and if he did not want that, he wouldn't be making it happen.


feed_id: b55fbe0f53999e8ef3a37433df0b8712
title: The corrupter fired State Department's inspector general
uri: The-corrupter-fired-State-Department-s-inspector-general
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#18_May_2020_%28The_corrupter_fired_State_Department%27s_inspector_general%29

content:
<p>

[The corrupter] <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/US/trump-fires-ig-investigating-pompeo-involved-impeachment-probe/story?id=70718001">fired the State Department’s inspector general</a>. The immediate occasion may be that he started investigating Secretary of State Pompeo, but the corrupter treats anyone who interferes with corruption as an obstacle.  Now that he is getting away with firing inspectors general, he takes this as an opportunity to displays his contempt for honest government.  He will keep doing it until they cease to do their jobs, and it ceases to shock.  The he will do something even more disgusting.


feed_id: f13334f85abc634bdec9637d7b89a518
title: Paul Manafort moved for protection from Covid-19
uri: Paul-Manafort-moved-for-protection-from-Covid-19
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#18_May_2020_%28Paul_Manafort_moved_for_protection_from_Covid-19%29

content:
<p>

<a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/05/13/manafort-released-insert-name-still-locked-special-treatment-trump-crony-denounced">Paul Manafort was moved from prison to house arrest</a> to protect him from Covid-19.
<p>
Since he does not pose a threat of violence, I think moving him was the right thing to do.  What is wrong is that so many other prisoners in similar situations are still held in prison where they are likely to catch and spread Covid-19.
<p>
When we criticize favoritism, we should advocate being equally harsh to everyone.
<p>
*As Coronavirus Spreads Behind Bars, <a href="https://theintercept.com/2020/05/14/prison-release-coronavirus/">Prisons Release Very Few People</a>.*


feed_id: 58705a89cc20531504f049a336c64a91
title: (satire) Disgusting Bigotry
uri: (satire)-Disgusting-Bigotry
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#18_May_2020_%28%28satire%29_Disgusting_Bigotry%29
content:
<p>

(satire) <a href="https://ogn.theonion.com/disgusting-bigotry-the-media-is-only-blaming-this-bat-1843439981">*Disgusting Bigotry: The Media Is Only Blaming This Bat For Coronavirus Because He’s A Gamer.*</a>


feed_id: 0bc92c33bfb4c659e61f7c613f35c126
title: Elected officials call for canceling of debts of poor countries
uri: Elected-officials-call-for-canceling-of-debts-of-poor-countries
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#18_May_2020_%28Elected_officials_call_for_canceling_of_debts_of_poor_countries%29

content:
<p>

300 elected officials including Bernie Sanders <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/05/13/led-sanders-and-omar-300-global-lawmakers-call-imf-world-bank-cancel-all-debt-poor">called on the World Bank and the IMF to cancel the debts of poor countries</a>.


feed_id: 1ad6d43d79ffb98b00af34d6a89bd43e
title: Big tech plans to profit from pandemic
uri: Big-tech-plans-to-profit-from-pandemic
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#18_May_2020_%28Big_tech_plans_to_profit_from_pandemic%29

content:
<p>

Naomi Klein: <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/news/2020/may/13/naomi-klein-how-big-tech-plans-to-profit-from-coronavirus-pandemic">*How big tech plans to profit from the pandemic.*</a>
<p>
Now that people have to do activities on-line, they are working with governments to pressure people into using unjust forms of computing.


feed_id: d6f632ca1db01c34ff30e9dc4725ffd4
title: Covid-19 hotspots breaking out in US states
uri: Covid-19-hotspots-breaking-out-in-US-states
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#18_May_2020_%28Covid-19_hotspots_breaking_out_in_US_states%29

content:
<p>

<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/13/new-us-coronavirus-hotspots-republican-heartland-areas">Covid-19 hotspots are breaking out in US states controlled by Republicans</a>, resulting from their policy of allowing businesses to open.


feed_id: adbbb2dcd8b7bf80ffc9d06ec7f9c322
title: Several arrested by Hungary for criticism
uri: Several-arrested-by-Hungary-for-criticism
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#18_May_2020_%28Several_arrested_by_Hungary_for_critisism%29

content:
<p>

Hungary has <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/13/hungary-viktor-orban-coronavirus-laws-prompt-new-showdown-with-brussels">arrested several people for criticizing the regime on the internet</a>.


feed_id: 63acaccdf736af37e30c38bad7a4fd10
title: UK's form of federation
uri: UK-s-form-of-federation
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#18_May_2020_%28UK%27s_form_of_federation%29
content:
<p>

The UK's peculiar form of federation seems tailor-made for <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/may/13/boris-johnson-prime-minister-england-coronavirus">provoking separatism</a>.
<p>
The UK is something like a federation of four states: England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.  The last three have their own state governments which decide some significant policies.  England, with a bigger population than the other three put together, does not have its own parliament, but it dominates the UK parliament.
<p>
Perhaps it could eliminate the nationalist tendency by dividing Scotland into two states, and dividing England into 20 states.  The states could have roughly comparable populations, and they would not drive nationalism in Scotland or England.
<p>
To extend this to Northern Ireland might be difficult as it would require more, smaller states.


feed_id: 653c7c17903a38106c7e2f84dd5d155f
title: Knocking down the spread of HIV
uri: Knocking-down-the-spread-of-HIV
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#18_May_2020_%28Knocking_down_the_spread_of_HIV%29
content:
<p>

The response to Covid-19 is causing a big decrease in sexual encounters.  <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/may/13/covid-19-crisis-raises-hopes-of-end-to-uk-transmission-of-hiv">Some countries are taking advantage of this to knock down the spread of HIV.</a>


feed_id: c98faf9003f7c37c0059fee0e6ba4968
title: Poverty of the underclass makes a country more vulnerable to death from Covid-19
uri: Poverty-of-the-underclass-makes-a-country-more-vulnerable-to-death-fro
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#18_May_2020_%28Poverty_of_the_underclass_makes_a_country_more_vulnerable_to_death_from_Covid-19%29

content:
<p>

The <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/may/13/state-collapse-social-order-coronavirus-britain">poverty of the underclass</a> is the preexisting medical condition that makes a country more vulnerable to death from Covid-19.


feed_id: d440011cf64d0a6c0839fc26089369be
title: UAE is no friend of justice or human rights
uri: UAE-is-no-friend-of-justice-or-human-rights
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#18_May_2020_%28UAE_is_no_friend_of_justice_or_human_rights%29

content:
<p>

The UAE may be a "true friend" of the Tories that rule Britain, but <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/13/uae-are-no-true-friends-of-the-uk-mr-raab">it is no friend of justice or human rights</a>.
<p>
The friendship seems to be limited to the UAE's purchase of British arms.


feed_id: fb91003ad2741e471e896f9f485e386b
title: Zero tolerance on own mistakes
uri: Zero-tolerance-on-own-mistakes
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#18_May_2020_%28Zero_tolerance_on_own_mistakes%29
content:
<p>
The UK immigration office displays zero tolerance for its own mistakes:
"<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/may/14/home-office-lost-passport-osman-bash-taqi-battling-to-remain-in-country">Application rejected because we lost your passport</a>."

<p>
The most elementary sense of justice says that you must not hold your
own mistakes against someone that is at your mercy.  The people who
work in that office have been taught to disregard the most elementary
sense of justice; the culture of that office is "say no at any excuse".

<p>
I suggest moving those bureaucrats to the department that provides
environmental approvals for construction and agriculture, and rebooting
the immigration office with entirely new staff.


feed_id: eb1523f5cd4a5fbcc5e3671183f989d6
title: Vote for Sanders
uri: Vote-for-Sanders
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#18_May_2020_%28Vote_for_Sanders%29
content:
<p>
Progressives still need to get out <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2020/05/14/sanders-campaign-was-about-us-not-bernie-remember">the vote for Sanders in state
Democratic primaries</a>.


feed_id: f44b618cd2cf805bca1003e795810e83
title: Stopping the CDC
uri: Stopping-the-CDC
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#18_May_2020_%28Stopping_the_CDC%29
content:
<p>
As the <a href="https://stallman.org/glossary.html#saboteur">saboteur</a> in chief acts to expand the harm that Covid-19 does
to Americans, part of his method is stopping the CDC <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/14/where-is-the-cdc-trump-covid-19-pandemic">from reaching
Americans with rational advice</a>.


feed_id: 9247dd1b7614de46548be593d8603b9f
title: When least privileged get Covid-19
uri: When-least-privileged-get-Covid-19
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#18_May_2020_%28When_least_privileged_get_Covid-19%29

content:
<p>
*No insurance, no savings, no support: what happens <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/may/14/los-angeles-coronavirus-inequality-undocumented-healthcare">when LA's least privileged
get Covid-19</a>.*


feed_id: 7e87eeeacea52f9b3e4f7272f4a6f191
title: Party policy positions
uri: Party-policy-positions
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#18_May_2020_%28Party_policy_positions%29
content:
<p>
Biden and Sanders have agreed to six task forces to decide on
Democratic Party policy positions, <a href="https://theintercept.com/2020/05/14/biden-unity-task-force-ocasio-cortez/">and outspoken progressives are
co-chairs of three of them</a>.

<p>
The article doesn't lay out the structure and domains of all these
panels.   It could be a real opportunity to shift the party left,
but that is not assured.

<p>
One of them is about climate defense; <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/05/13/vowing-be-fully-accountable-movement-ocasio-cortez-joins-bidens-climate-crisis-task">they have appointed Alexandria
Ocasio-Cortez as one of its leaders</a>.


feed_id: 73148099f7389076b40a8c14fe901548
title: Resignation at WTO
uri: Resignation-at-WTO
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#18_May_2020_%28Resignation_at_WTO%29
content:
<p>
The director of the World Trade Organization has resigned, feeling thwarted in his efforts to make the WTO <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/14/roberto-azevedo-quits-as-wto-world-trade-organization-chief-a-year-early">give businesses ever more power over democracy</a>.

<p>
Making <a href="https://stallman.org/glossary.html#business-supremacy">business-supremacy treaties</a> more powerful is part of the
plutocratist agenda.  "Reduce trade barriers to support economic
growth" means "give business more power."


feed_id: 7c44f943ad334f922f13b60d36b99b44
title: Failing to provide to students
uri: Failing-to-provide-to-students
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#18_May_2020_%28Failing_to_provide_to_students%29
content:
<p>
Michigan students won a suit against the state for failing to provide
them with books and teachers and usable school buildings, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/may/14/michigan-lawsuit-right-to-literacy-settled">so they
could learn to read</a>.


feed_id: e6c7617f8c2de69c94203c3a3db16782
title: Talk with mannequins
uri: Talk-with-mannequins
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#18_May_2020_%28Talk_with_mannequins%29
content:
<p>
In Virginia you can eat <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/picture/2020/may/14/steve-bell-on-people-attending-ae-during-covid-19-crisis-cartoon">at a restaurant and talk with mannequins</a>.

<p>
Hold on there!  Everyone else isn't dead yet.


feed_id: 2a47521f7b4ceffef786b7ea59d52c56
title: Wealth and well-being
uri: Wealth-and-well-being
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#18_May_2020_%28Wealth_and_well-being%29
content:
<p>
*Beneath the mixed messages, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/13/mixed-messages-tories-wealth-ahead-wellbeing-coronavirus">the Tories are putting wealth ahead of well-being</a>.*


feed_id: a632cfa773ad32afc0c4a32483c23ad8
title: Special danger in nursing homes
uri: Special-danger-in-nursing-homes
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#18_May_2020_%28Special_danger_in_nursing_homes%29
content:
<p>
UK Tory ministers got a warning two years ago that people living in
nursing homes <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/may/13/ministers-were-warned-two-years-ago-of-care-homes-exposure-to-pandemics">would be in special danger in any epidemic</a>.

<p>
The ministers do not seem to have taken action to protect them.


feed_id: 4aa50682537b1b0d9a5ce9f3f11f7401
title: Strained excuses
uri: Strained-excuses
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#18_May_2020_%28Strained_excuses%29
content:
<p>
The Supreme Court found a strained excuses in 2000 to hand supposed
victory in Florida to Dubya.  <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2020/05/12/they-did-it-once-would-they-do-it-again">It could do the same sort of thing this year</a>.

<p>
It was only later that Greg Palast showed how the Republicans had
stolen the election before election day, by systematically preventing
elegible black voters from voting.


feed_id: 004ae6ccc3b0543e3511faf028d2e0b7
title: Disaster Capitalism
uri: Disaster-Capitalism
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#18_May_2020_%28Disaster_Capitalism%29
content:
<p>
*'Disaster Capitalism at Its Worst': <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/05/12/disaster-capitalism-its-worst-report-details-big-oils-efforts-cash-coronavirus">Report Details Big Oil's Efforts to Cash
In on Coronavirus</a>.*


feed_id: 5c4b0164006317644d662127730e7690
title: Not serving his country
uri: Not-serving-his-country
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#18_May_2020_%28Not_serving_his_country%29
content:
<p>
Afghanistan veteran Erik Edstrom <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2020/05/12/celebrated-death-memorial-day-killing-us">refutes the claim that he was "serving his country" by fighting in that war</a>.

<blockquote>
   Soldiers and veterans don't need priority boarding, 10% discounts at
   gimmicky chain restaurants, or a few crinkled bills stuffed into a
   charity's coffee can. What they need is a nation that can find the
   courage and conviction to stop misusing their service.
</blockquote>

<p>
We must shun the ritual utterances that pretend that what US
soldiers do nowadays is service to their country.


feed_id: 4c5602a45a87c359566dadd1e95d2969
title: Animal farming concentration
uri: Animal-farming-concentration
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#18_May_2020_%28Animal_farming_concentration%29
content:
<p>
A report details how animal farming in the US <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2020/05/12/new-research-shows-alarming-impacts-corporate-agriculture-industry-america">became more concentrated
from 2012 to 2017</a>.

<p>
The price of hamburger meat nearly doubled during the period.
On the one hand, this shows that increased concentration is not
more efficient.  On the other, if it leads people to eat less beef,
that is a change for the better.

<p>
The article does not mention the tendency of corporate farms to breed
antibiotic-resistant bacteria which could someday kill millions of humans.


feed_id: bd74388f393882770f643226ba55a224
title: Prisoner work
uri: Prisoner-work
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#18_May_2020_%28Prisoner_work%29
content:
<p>
Making prisoners work for purposes outside the prison keeps wages down
for free workers.  An especially clear example is happening now in New
Orleans: using prisoners as scabs.  The regular workers went on strike
demanding protective equipment and paid sick leave, <a href="https://paydayreport.com/prison-labor-replaces-striking-garbage-workers-in-new-orleans/">as well as more
pay</a>.

<p>
Using prison labor for anything except running the prison tends generally
to drive down wages.  So the question is what we want: to reduce prison
expenses, or have a prosperous society.


feed_id: d215f726083d4aed8a32db04618e00cf
title: Urgent: call on Senator Burr to resign for insider trading
uri: Urgent-call-on-Senator-Burr-to-resign-for-insider-trading
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#19_May_2020_%28Urgent%3A_call_on_Senator_Burr_to_resign_for_insider_trading%29

content:
<p>

US citizens: <a href="http://act.democracyforamerica.com/sign/senators-burr-must-resign/">call on Senator Burr to resign for insider trading.</a>


feed_id: f84efa3510c06411aa2dbc0f8c513d76
title: Urgent: call on Pelosi to reject extension of PAT RIOT Act provisions
uri: Urgent-call-on-Pelosi-to-reject-extension-of-PAT-RIOT-Act-provisions
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#19_May_2020_%28Urgent%3A_call_on_Pelosi_to_reject_extension_of_PAT_RIOT_Act_provisions%29

content:
<p>

US citizens: call Pelosi's office at 1-202-930-8115 and call on her to reject the attempt to extend some of the surveillance provisions of the PAT RIOT Act.  They were unjust before and they will be unjust if enacted again.


feed_id: fe7f2bb092370be5fbeb31b823cd8481
title: Urgent: call on manufacturers of ventilators to cooperate with repairing them
uri: Urgent-call-on-manufacturers-of-ventilators-to-cooperate-with-repairi
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#19_May_2020_%28Urgent%3A_call_on_manufacturers_of_ventilators_to_cooperate_with_repairing_them%29

content:
<p>

US citizens: <a href="https://act.colorofchange.org/letter/ventilators-letters/">call on manufacturers of ventilators to cooperate with repairing them</a>.


feed_id: 9899499ed274a49040d464649307aef4
title: Urgent: Call on McDonalds to provide paid sick leave
uri: Urgent-Call-on-McDonalds-to-provide-paid-sick-leave
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#19_May_2020_%28Urgent%3A_Call_on_McDonalds_to_provide_paid_sick_leave%29

content:
<p>

US citizens: <a href="https://action.aclu.org/petition/mcdonalds-give-workers-paid-leave-protections-now">call on McDonalds to provide employee with paid sick leave and family leave.</a>
<p>
I am disappointed that the article used the pseudo-word <a href="https://action.aclu.org/petition/mcdonalds-give-workers-paid-leave-protections-now">"Latinx"</a>, but that won't stop me from signing the petition.


feed_id: 78be3193873a7da4690a8c1696d7243c
title: Urgent: Everyone call for firing the thugs that killed Breonna Taylor
uri: Urgent-Everyone-call-for-firing-the-thugs-that-killed-Breonna-Taylor
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#18_May_2020_%28Urgent%3A_Everyone_call_for_firing_the_thugs_that_killed_Breonna_Taylor%29

content:
<p>

Everyone: <a href="https://act.colorofchange.org/sign/justiceforbre-breonna-taylor-officers-fired/?t=1003&akid=42411%2E1242918%2ETWHZ8f">call for firing the thugs that killed Breonna Taylor, and dropping charges against Kenneth Walker.</a>
<p>
When <a href="https://stallman.org/glossary.html#thug">thugs</a> on a raid, don't announce that they are thugs, it should be entirely lawful to treat them as burglars or assassins.


feed_id: 0957bf9b5457d3956c6c0b8d65eb4228
title: Peace negotiations between the US and the Taliban
uri: Peace-negotiations-between-the-US-and-the-Taliban
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#18_May_2020_%28Peace_negotiations_between_the_US_and_the_Taliban%29

content:
<p>

The tentative peace negotiations between the US and the Taliban <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/15/mothers-in-labour-pregnant-women-and-babies-were-kabul-gunmens-target-msf">seem to have broken down</a>.
<p>
Aside from that, a group of totally vicious terrorists invaded a maternity ward and shot the pregnant women.  It is not clear who they were, or why they did this.  The Taliban condemned the atrocity. In general, the Taliban attacks only its enemies.
<p>
A pregnant woman's life is no more and no less important than any other person's.  But it is clear that those women were not combatants. That eliminates the only legitimate reason for anyone to attack them.


feed_id: 5fac49de92446226e1baa1aaf67b0223
title: Wisconsin's supreme court rules on governor's authority to close businesses
uri: Wisconsin-s-supreme-court-rules-on-governor-s-authority-to-close-busin
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#18_May_2020_%28Wisconsin%27s_supreme_court_rules_on_governor%27s_authority_to_close_businesses%29

content:
<p>

Wisconsin's supreme court <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/may/15/wisconsin-bars-coronavirus-stay-at-home-order">ruled that the governor has no authority to unilaterally order closure of bars, restaurants, or other business on a continuing basis</a>.  This requires support of the legislature.
<p>
As far as I can tell, the term "stay-at-home order" is a misnomer. Ordering everyone to stay inside per house would be outrageous. Closing most businesses seems legitimate in places where the danger is legitimate.


feed_id: 58916f088010d90d6b5fcec454676cb6
title: UK Covid-19 tracking app
uri: UK-Covid-19-tracking-app
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#18_May_2020_%28UK_Covid-19_tracking_app%29
content:
<p>

A UK union warns that the government's Covid-19 tracking app <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/may/15/union-warns-care-workers-not-to-use-uk-government-covid-19-app">includes access to private messages about union issues</a>.


feed_id: 3b4a7692342a73aa58906bd39568dd9a
title: Trouble finding food in West Africa
uri: Trouble-finding-food-in-West-Africa
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#18_May_2020_%28Trouble_finding_food_in_West_Africa%29

content:
<p>

42 million people in <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2020/may/15/west-africa-facing-food-crisis-as-coronavirus-spreads">West Africa will soon have trouble finding food</a>.
<p>
This will surely get worse; as the number who need food aid increases, the chance they will receive it will go down.  We need to provide help in reducing births, as well as food for those alive now.


feed_id: 07ba99486aa490673c58d9f635c8f9ed
title: Humans are not resources
uri: Humans-are-not-resources
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#18_May_2020_%28Humans_are_not_resources%29
content:
<p>

*Humans are not resources.*  <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/may/15/humans-resources-coronavirus-democratise-work-health-lives-market">Calling for giving workers more power over how businesses run.</a>


feed_id: 8be06f0705917b9bdd7b1cd9bad976df
title: (satire) Forcing residents back into malls, movie theaters
uri: (satire)-Forcing-residents-back-into-malls-movie-theaters
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#18_May_2020_%28%28satire%29_Forcing_residents_back_into_malls%2C_movie_theaters%29

content:
<p>

(satire) *Florida Governor <a href="https://www.theonion.com/florida-governor-deploys-national-guard-to-force-reside-1843463980">Deploys National Guard To Force Residents Back Into Malls, Movie Theaters.*</a>


feed_id: 8b6ad30b1c5493e272379834ac3b8978
title: US appeals court authorizes lawsuit against the conman
uri: US-appeals-court-authorizes-lawsuit-against-the-conman
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#18_May_2020_%28US_appeals_court_authorizes_lawsuit_against_the_conman%29

content:
<p>

A <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/05/14/reviving-emoluments-case-federal-court-says-trumps-legal-objections-gravely-offend">US appeals court has authorized a lawsuit against the conman</a> for violating the emoluments clause of the Constitution.
<p>
The lawsuit can go to trial unless the Supreme Court invents an excuse to stop it.


feed_id: 916fa95637b7d1de2bf58dbce3d9305a
title: ACLU recognition of danger in programs and dis-services spying
uri: ACLU-recognition-of-danger-in-programs-and-dis-services-spying
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#18_May_2020_%28ACLU_recognition_of_danger_in_programs_and_dis-services_spying%29

content:
<p>

The <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2020/05/14/aclu-demands-student-privacy-protections-equal-remote-learning-access">ACLU has come to recognize the danger</a> of programs and dis-services that spy on their users.
<p>
Alas, it has not yet learned the need to reject the forms of technology which give companies this sort of power over their users: nonfree software, and the use of services that know something their users, such as their names or other personal identifying data.


feed_id: 44b7493db63d70cbd6a5817fba4b9f89
title: Bully wants automatic rejection of asylum requests at border
uri: Bully-wants-automatic-rejection-of-asylum-requests-at-border
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#18_May_2020_%28Bully_wants_automatic_rejection_of_asylum_requests_at_border%29

content:
<p>

The bully wants to <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/05/14/trump-accused-weaponizing-pandemic-administration-weighs-extending-ban-border-asylum">automatically reject all requests for asylum</a> from people arriving on the border, effectively permanently.


feed_id: 76ac7be4242bc3a873167b3f50b513aa
title: Call for gratis future Covid-19 vaccines
uri: Call-for-gratis-future-Covid-19-vaccines
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#18_May_2020_%28Call_for_gratis_future_Covid-19_vaccines%29

content:
<p>

<a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/05/14/140-global-leaders-call-free-peoples-vaccine-put-human-lives-above-corporate-greed">Global luminaries call for future vaccines for Covid-19 to be offered gratis</a> to everyone in the world.
<p>
Meanwhile, the billionaires' today <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/05/14/government-watchdog-sounds-alarm-over-appointment-former-pharma-executive-trumps">appointed a Big Pharma vaccine executive</a> to his Covid-19 vaccine hurry-up committee.
<p>
He may indeed push for ways to speed up the availability of a vaccine by cutting some of the corners.  Perhaps some of these ideas will be well-advised, given the urgency.  But he will also have the bright idea of letting pharma companies gouge people, with the effect of postponing eradication of Covid-19.


feed_id: be90f167bc8df9a23649d8e0ad1046cb
title: Grubhub is gouging restaurants, don't use Grubhub.
uri: Grubhub-is-gouging-restaurants-don-t-use-Grubhub
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#18_May_2020_%28Grubhub_is_gouging_restaurants%2C_don%27t_use_Grubhub.%29

content:
<p>

<a href="https://act.colorofchange.org/sign/grubhub-coronavirus/">Grubhub is gouging restaurants</a>, even as it makes dossiers about customers. Don't use Grubhub.
<p>
Also, correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't using Grubhub require running nonfree software and identifying yourself?
<p>
Get your meal deliveries from local restaurants that will write your address on paper and throw it away after &mdash; and pay them in anonymous cash.


feed_id: e1e7a5a0b5619b948a2eff35d1ebe01f
title: Threat by UK thugs to attack planned lockdown protests
uri: Threat-by-UK-thugs-to-attack-planned-lockdown-protests
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#18_May_2020_%28Threat_by_UK_thugs_to_attack_planned_lockdown_protests%29

content:
<p>

<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/may/14/police-vow-to-break-up-planned-anti-lockdown-protests-in-uk-cities">UK thugs threaten to attack planned protests</a> against lockdown.
<p>
A people denied the right to protest cannot be considered "safe".  We must defend that right, even when we disagree with the stance of the protest.  If the individuals protesting are taking a personal risk, that is not a valid excuse to ban the protest.


feed_id: bf046a49441d8f72a3d8f4395491bb4c
title: (satire) 80% of current FBI operations
uri: (satire)-80-of-current-FBI-operations
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#18_May_2020_%28%28satire%29_80%2525_of_current_FBI_operations%29

content:
<p>

(satire) <a href="https://www.theonion.com/updated-patriot-act-finally-legalizes-80-of-current-fb-1843460080">*Updated Patriot (sic) Act Finally Legalizes 80% Of Current FBI Operations.*</a>


feed_id: c0335fe3da0b3769fa9f2bb9dee7fbb9
title: Racism against nonwhites is deeply ingrained in the US
uri: Racism-against-nonwhites-is-deeply-ingrained-in-the-US
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#18_May_2020_%28Racism_against_nonwhites_is_deeply_ingrained_in_the_US%29

content:
<p>


<a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2020/05/14/racism-and-national-soul">Racism against nonwhites is deeply ingrained in the US</a>, thus effectively it is an unwritten exclusion clause in the social contract.


feed_id: 2b048fdcb4fd94972cb642e63ebaa712
title: Snooping on users is now an inherent functionality of Windows 10
uri: Snooping-on-users-is-now-an-inherent-functionality-of-Windows-10
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#18_May_2020_%28Snooping_on_users_is_now_an_inherent_functionality_of_Windows_10%29

content:
<p>

The only kind of account that Windows 10 Home allows a new user to create nowadays is one that is <a href="https://www.howtogeek.com/442609/confirmed-windows-10-setup-now-prevents-local-account-creation/">linked to Microsoft's servers</a>. Snooping on users is now an inherent functionality of Windows 10.
<p>
The article describes an undocumented way to avoid linking with a server account, but the existence of that is no excuse.


feed_id: 41526c19c927229aef8277aba1e2b229
title: Value of saving lives
uri: Value-of-saving-lives
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#19_May_2020_%28Value_of_saving_lives%29
content:
<p>
The purely economic value of the lives saved by shutting down business
Australia, not counting the noneconomic value of human beings, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/may/17/was-australia-right-to-shut-down-to-slow-coronavirus-the-economists-verdict">is
estimated at more than ten times the economic cost of the artificial
shutdown</a>.

<p>
The estimate distinguishes the cost of the artificial shutdown from
the cost of decrease in activity that happens naturally as a
consequence of illness from Covid-19 or fear of catching it.


feed_id: a0d8f9a878c21f6960d7fb8de3708d5c
title: Discussing with rapists and torturers
uri: Discussing-with-rapists-and-torturers
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#19_May_2020_%28Discussing_with_rapists_and_torturers%29

content:
<p>
*Afghan rivals’ power-sharing deal <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/16/afghan-rivals-power-sharing-deal-would-promote-official-accused-of-and-torture">would promote official accused of rape and
torture</a>.*

<p>
To have any chance of peace, we have to help the actual rulers of
Afghanistan make peace, even if they are torturers and rapists.  The
alternative to working with them would be for the US to impose new
rulers on Afghanistan.  That didn't work well before &mdash; it usually
doesn't.

<p>
If we wanted to help <a href="https://stallman.org/glossary.html#salafi">Salafi Arabia</a> make peace with Iran, or with the
Houthis in Yemen, we'd have to help its actual ruler to do it &mdash;
murderer though he is. Otherwise the peace agreement would not hold.


feed_id: 0244493a369882cdbc64d74d9287df46
title: Electoral college
uri: Electoral-college
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#19_May_2020_%28Electoral_college%29
content:
<p>
The strange history of the electoral college and <a href="https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v42/n10/eric-foner/the-corrupt-bargain">how the US has
elected presidents</a>.

<p>
I was taught, many years ago, that the electoral college was planned
so as to give large states extra per-capita power, to compensate for
the extra per-capita power that small states get by having as many
senators as a large state.  But perhaps that was a rationalization
based on the fact that the electoral college had that effect in the
mid-20th century.

<p>
I support the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact.


feed_id: c88cde77b680ed538a96edee1bb0dea5
title: USPS fees
uri: USPS-fees
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#19_May_2020_%28USPS_fees%29
content:
<p>
The USPS says its package delivery fees for companies such as Amazon
are chosen to maximize its revenue, <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/05/15/us-postal-service-reportedly-considering-price-hikes-trumps-takeover-beloved-agency">but the numskull insists on a big increase</a>.

<p>
If the USPS is right, the immediate effect would be a loss to Amazon, 
but in the longer term Amazon would switch to its own delivery vans.
Instead, all other stores would be disadvantaged.

<p>
Here's a better idea.  Instead of charging Amazon and similar
companies more for deliveries, let's put a substantial tax on all
shipments of products from stores to retail customers.  That would
benefit all local stores.  Alternatively, put a substantial tax on all
retail sales in which the store can identify the purchaser.
That would encourage non-surveillance retail.

<p>
Another idea: make all companies pre-fund the retirement of their
workers, as the Postal Service does now.  Supposing that companies
will pay the retirement funds from the income from their operations
decades from now invites them to cheat their workers.


feed_id: 7a9c6d216c4cdf6ebd38c03ae1cda878
title: Advise on Covid-19
uri: Advise-on-Covid-19
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#19_May_2020_%28Advise_on_Covid-19%29
content:
<p>
An anonymous insider is reported as saying that Kushner advised the
corrupter not to talk much about Covid-19 testing, or production of
ventilators, <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/05/14/150000-americans-sacrificed-stock-market-kushner-reportedly-advised-less-covid-19">lest that cause stock prices to decline</a>.


feed_id: 1a2130f54747596979a3ce57834465ac
title: Vaccination campaign without vaccine
uri: Vaccination-campaign-without-vaccine
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#19_May_2020_%28Vaccination_campaign_without_vaccine%29

content:
<p>
The bullshitter set a target of vaccine for hundreds of millions of
people by January, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2020/05/15/trump-coronavirus-vaccine-january/">whether the vaccine is ready or not</a>.

<p>
January is not long after the election.  Perhaps he intends this plan
to be believed just long enough to get people to vote for him.  If in January
there is no vaccine, he just won't mention it any more.


feed_id: f8ff967af1fc6d6c46935ad2cfa8e705
title: I am a billionaire so I can break laws
uri: I-am-a-billionaire-so-I-can-break-laws
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#19_May_2020_%28I_am_a_billionaire_so_I_can_break_laws%29

content:
<p>
Elon Musk reopened the Tesla factory and compelled workers to return
to it, <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2020/05/16/civil-disobedience-billionaire-style">daring the county to arrest him</a>.

<p>
In effect, he is saying, "I'm a billionaire so I can break laws."

<p>
The state of California should pass a law that workers can get unemployment
compensation if they stay home from an illegally-open business.


feed_id: c36f3a0553582f95adfd782e4438a33d
title: HEROES Act and plutocratists
uri: HEROES-Act-and-plutocratists
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#19_May_2020_%28HEROES_Act_and_plutocratists%29
content:
<p>
Plutocratist Democrats joined Republicans to pass the "HEROES" Act,
which offers an insufficient amount of urgently needed aid for poor
Americans <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/05/16/we-can-and-must-do-better-house-passes-massive-3-trillion-relief-package">as an excuse for another big handout to the rich</a>.

<p>
In effect, plutocratists are using poor Americans as pawns, keeping
them right on the edge of destitution, and saving them at the last minute
so that their next big handout to the rich can't be blocked.

<p>
Rep. Jayapal <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2020/05/15/we-can-and-must-do-better-why-i-will-vote-no-heroes-act">voted against this law</a>.


feed_id: a2d18c2c93529170e4b4f5339c6c2491
title: Can't prove it
uri: Can-t-prove-it
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#19_May_2020_%28Can%27t_prove_it%29
content:
<p>
The "Justice Department" claims that it can't prove Michael Flynn gave
false testimony &mdash; the fact that he said so twice <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2020/05/16/whos-lying-when-it-comes-flynn-case">is not enough proof
to convict a friend of the corrupter</a>.

<p>
It is interesting that, a year ago, the corrupter said that it was.
Today he says it wasn't.  A year ago, his campaign of contempt for truth
was less advanced than it is now.


feed_id: 2e9438b6b4f8c5f67c6c25a8b63d975c
title: Contact tracking
uri: Contact-tracking
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#19_May_2020_%28Contact_tracking%29
content:
<p>
Apple and Google have developed a supposedly anonymous
contact-tracking method which will be part of iOS and Android.  That,
in itself, is not wrong in principle.  However, the implementation
will be a nonfree program, and it will depend on running a nonfree
operating system, in a device whose hardware reports people's
movements and can listen to their conversations all the time.

<p>
<a href="https://www.lightbluetouchpaper.org/2020/04/12/contact-tracing-in-the-real-world/">This article</a>
  describes flaws of this particular system.


feed_id: 9f63db8e5cd3bd29b65bb24c3359f194
title: Breaking up nonviolent protest
uri: Breaking-up-nonviolent-protest
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#19_May_2020_%28Breaking_up_nonviolent_protest%29
content:
<p>
UK thugs broke up a small nonviolent protest <a href="https://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2020/05/civil-liberty-vanishes/">in support of Julian
Assange</a>.

<p>
The protesters were keeping physical distance, which was wise on their
part, but even if they had not it would not excuse crushing a protest.
Hong Kong protesters risk their lives, after all.


feed_id: 0f8986cc657f914c8e7d90bde145b099
title: Arbitrariness of thugs
uri: Arbitrariness-of-thugs
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#19_May_2020_%28Arbitrariness_of_thugs%29
content:
<p>
London <a href="https://stallman.org/glossary.html#thug">thugs</a> searched a very calm and collected black man for no
reason except that he was sitting in a parked car while black.  His
account <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/may/16/london-police-accused-of-racial-profiling-in-coronavirus-lockdown-searches">shows the arbitrariness of their behavior</a>.

<p>
Apparently they do this all day when they have nothing else to do.


feed_id: 31ddc6a25ac34f5e2607296bfd2b43e6
title: Not enough contact tracers
uri: Not-enough-contact-tracers
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#19_May_2020_%28Not_enough_contact_tracers%29
content:
<p>
Most US states don't have enough contact tracers <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/16/us-states-begin-reopening-contact-tracing-programs-scramble">to cope with
reopening businesses</a>.

<p>
Contact tracing needs to be done with a unified national system
because people move around the US a lot.


feed_id: 7b422410d4c39fffd22be5580329567c
title: Stuck in cruise ships
uri: Stuck-in-cruise-ships
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#19_May_2020_%28Stuck_in_cruise_ships%29
content:
<p>
100,000 cruise ship workers are stuck in cruise ships around the world,
unable to go home.  <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/may/14/deaths-and-hunger-strikes-point-to-mental-health-crisis-on-stranded-cruise-ships">One recently committed suicide</a>.

<p>
The cruise lines can't do anything to get them home unless governments
cooperate.


feed_id: 322ece4fdd09dd24dab29f606202e644
title: Compostable and recyclable plastic
uri: Compostable-and-recyclable-plastic
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#19_May_2020_%28Compostable_and_recyclable_plastic%29

content:
<p>
Compostable and recyclable plastic made from plants <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/may/16/the-end-of-plastic-new-plant-based-bottles-will-degrade-in-a-year">may be ready in a
few years</a>.

<p>
Using cardboard for the outer layer of these bottles could avoid the
recycling problems of today's plastics.

<p>
If the plastic is made from edible parts of crops, that production
could still be unsustainable. 


feed_id: abbb2826532d65222e2353b39030dbbb
title: Men more likely to go without face masks.
uri: Men-more-likely-to-go-without-face-masks
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#19_May_2020_%28Men_more_likely_to_go_without_face_masks.%29

content:
<p>

A survey reports are <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/may/16/men-masks-coronavirus-protests-masculinity-kills">men are more likely to go without a face mask than women</a>.
<p>
My personal experience in Boston confirms this.  When I go out, I usually encounter a few men without face masks.  I try to keep far away from them, so they don't transmit coronavirus to me, but on a sidewalk that is sometimes difficult to do.
<p>
Even in the subway, where masks are mandatory, I've seen a few men without masks.  No women.


feed_id: bc977135bfe110772040b70f71707b0b
title: Unspoken truth about capitalism.
uri: Unspoken-truth-about-capitalism
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#19_May_2020_%28Unspoken_truth_about_capitalism.%29
content:
<p>

*&hellip;an unspoken truth about capitalism. For the system to work smoothly, there have always been requirements of human sacrifice &mdash; a certain portion of the population was expected to act not as self-serving homo economicus, but <a href="https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2020/05/americas-chilling-experiment-in-human-sacrifice.html">self-sacrificing [59]homo communis</a>, focused upon what benefits the collective at their own expense. If these people can’t [maintain physical] distance at the workplace, they are expected to show up anyway. If there isn’t enough safety equipment, they are declared essential workers who must put their lives and that of their families at risk for the greater good.*
<p>
The term "human sacrifice" is somewhat of an exaggeration.  What is referred to is sacrifices made by humans, which can occasionally be fatal to some of them.  But that doesn't invalidate the point of the article.
<p>
I think we should encourage working for the benefit of people in general.  More people, not fewer, should do this.  But the rich should not subject us to gratuitous danger as part of the bargain.


feed_id: a3a19ff78d826b7168367687da31ce2e
title: Department of Harm and Human Suffering planned chloroquine use ahead of medical testing.
uri: Department-of-Harm-and-Human-Suffering-planned-chloroquine-use-ahead-o
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#19_May_2020_%28Department_of_Harm_and_Human_Suffering_planned_chloroquine_use_ahead_of_medical_testing.%29

content:
<p>

<a href="https://theintercept.com/2020/05/14/rick-bright-testimony-coronavirus-trump/">Whistleblower Rick Bright revealed</a> how the Department of Harm and Human Suffering planned to arrange for patients to use chloroquine to treat Covid-19, without getting it medically tested first.
<p>
These plans came straight from the office of the head of that department, who must have been eager to please the conman regardless of the harm it would do.
<p>
That is nothing new &mdash; consider the famous <a href="https://theintercept.com/2020/05/14/rick-bright-testimony-coronavirus-trump/">border wall</a>, both pointless and <a href="
">destructive</a>. But the wall was one of the centerpieces of his PR.
<p>
What shocks me now is that this happens for a point that was just a temporary side issue of his PR.  Even a temporary side issue mobilizes his sycophants to act to push it.


feed_id: eee7ccb5bc3aa6dbf7c267bb05aa6ede
title: Australian endangered species may soon lose it's shelter.
uri: Australian-endangered-species-may-soon-lose-it-s-shelter
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#19_May_2020_%28Austrailian_endangered_species_may_soon_lose_it%27s_shelter.%29

content:
<p>

In part of Australia, a remnant forest serves as a shelter for endangered species, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/may/15/nsw-south-coast-residents-battling-to-save-unburnt-bushland-ask-sussan-ley-to-intervene">but maybe it will be cut down soon</a>.


feed_id: 3ce0d31474604d33f29c5c1bedd8d312
title: NHS proposes 14 day quarantine bore non-emergency surgery.
uri: NHS-proposes-14-day-quarantine-bore-non-emergency-surgery
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#19_May_2020_%28NHS_proposes_14_day_quarantine_bore_non-emergency_surgery.%29

content:
<p>

The NHS in England proposes to require each patient to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/may/14/nhs-patients-will-have-to-isolate-for-two-weeks-before-planned-surgery">quarantine for 14 days</a> before non-emergency surgery.
<p>
I think only a fraction of patients (mainly, the wealthy ones) will have a way to do this; most patients would be excluded.
<p>
The news about NHS telemedicine's software is also disheartening.  The article mentions that it sometimes fails to work, but I expect it has a worse failing all the time: making users run nonfree software.
<p>
I wonder, when I need a medical consultation, how I will be able to get one once my doctor's clinic pushes me to run Zoom &mdash; which I will never do.


feed_id: e9eef4ad1db5bf1d8a1c0a97e46fd712
title: Municipal broadband instead of 5G
uri: Municipal-broadband-instead-of-5G
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#19_May_2020_%28Municipal_broadband_instead_of_5G%29
content:
<p>

5G communication technology from the same contemptuous ISP megacorporations <a href="https://cambridge.wickedlocal.com/news/20200513/guest-column-cambridge-needs-digital-equity-not-5g">is not a step forward</a>.  Let's replace them, instead, with municipal broadband.
<p>
To realize the full potential for improvement, municipal broadband should not insist on identifying every user, nor record what internet hosts a user connects to, except under the order of a specific search warrant.
<p>
I support municipal broadband because it could provide a good system for connecting to the internet.  But if we want an internet that is good to connect to, that's a separate issue.  To achieve that, we must eliminate the pervasive injustices of most internet usage: luring or pressuring people into using the nonfree software and online dis-services.


feed_id: e4ffd02929dc9cacdca782a80698ab1d
title: Sanders presses for Covid-19 vaccine to be free.
uri: Sanders-presses-for-Covid-19-vaccine-to-be-free
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#19_May_2020_%28Sanders_presses_for_Covid-19_vaccine_to_be_free.%29

content:
<p>

<a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/05/13/bernie-sanders-calls-guarantee-covid-19-vaccine-be-free-all">Sanders continues to press for any Covid-19 vaccine to be free.</a>


feed_id: d7d8cba1a2243df0cae0bdc66105e057
title: US does not have enough trained contact tracers
uri: US-does-not-have-enough-trained-contact-tracers
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#19_May_2020_%28US_does_not_have_enough_trained_contact_tracers%29

content:
<p>

The <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2020/05/13/re-open-safely-we-need-health-force-disease-detectives">US does not have enough trained contact tracers to cope</a> with the consequences of reopening business.
<p>
Here, I suspect, is where the experience with SARS 20 years ago aided the Asian countries that it hit.  They made sure they had a contact-tracing system ready to activate when the next new disease came.  Business-dominated countries, where the cult of the invisible hand is the established church, decided to spare the expense.


feed_id: 67c16efad572f9206a108a73798f24e7
title: Political denigration of science as the underlying threat.
uri: Political-denigration-of-science-as-the-underlying-threat
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#19_May_2020_%28Political_denigration_of_science_as_the_underlying_threat.%29

content:
<p>

*I have been asked more than once, "How did the Doomsday Clock miss the coronavirus?"  The truth is that it didn’t.* <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2020/05/14/something-coronavirus-exactly-what-doomsday-clock-has-been-warning-about">It identified political denigration of science as the underlying threat.</a>


feed_id: 575aeb5a6876d3e73be9f8b0023d208a
title: Contact tracing for coronavirus
uri: Contact-tracing-for-coronavirus
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#19_May_2020_%28Contact_tracing_for_coronavirus%29
content:
<p>

<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/may/15/epidemiologists-contact-tracing-coronavirus">*As an epidemiologist, I know how well contact tracing could work for coronavirus.*</a>


feed_id: 37aba62d36b355c8d33a4cf5744ae817
title: Right-wing disinformation channels denying counted number of Covid-19 deaths.
uri: Right-wing-disinformation-channels-denying-counted-number-of-Covid-19
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#19_May_2020_%28Right-wing_disinformation_channels_denying_counted_number_of_Covid-19_deaths.%29

content:
<p>

Faux News and other right-wing disinformation channels are <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/15/coronavirus-death-toll-right-denies-figures">now denying the counted number of Covid-19 deaths</a>, claiming that the figures are too high.
<p>
We know that the official counts are too low, because some deaths caused by Covid-19 were not tied to that disease at the time.


feed_id: 996f7d1a6a002a8618e5cf456b35ef75
title: Chance to create fairer UK food supply chain.
uri: Chance-to-create-fairer-UK-food-supply-chain
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#20_May_2020_%28Chance_to_create_fairer_UK_food_supply_chain.%29

content:
<p>

<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/may/18/coronavirus-offers-chance-to-create-fairer-uk-food-supply-chain-say-experts">*Coronavirus offers chance to create fairer UK food supply chain, say experts.*</a>
<p>
The Tories, by contrast, found a way to boost business power by giving 9 large companies total control over food distribution.


feed_id: 7d7cfac2c1c5c8b9dea880f73f7ea887
title: Denialists call themselves "skeptics".
uri: Denialists-call-themselves-skeptics
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#20_May_2020_%28Denialists_call_themselves_skeptics.%29

content:
<p>

Just as global heating denialists called themselves "skeptics", <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/may/18/lockdown-sceptics-coronavirus-brexit">denialists of medical knowledge</a> call themselves "skeptics".
<p>
True skeptics probe the evidence and basis for conclusions, but they do not deny rational thinking, and they don't start their thinking from the conclusion they want to prove.


feed_id: 36333f2e8c261aa10e579c7f96935d4b
title: Dust bowl heat more than twice as likely.
uri: Dust-bowl-heat-more-than-twice-as-likely
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#20_May_2020_%28Dust_bowl_heat_more_than_twice_as_likely.%29

content:
<p>

Global heating has made a repeat of the 1930s <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/may/18/us-dust-bowl-conditions-likely-to-reoccur-great-plains">"dust bowl" heat more than twice as likely</a>.  It is now expected to occur around once in 40 years.


feed_id: 47cf9e7022ab98e9e6fe53657cd95241
title: Congress interested in what Pompeo investigation was about.
uri: Congress-interested-in-what-Pompeo-investigation-was-about
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#20_May_2020_%28Congress_interested_in_what_Pompeo_investigation_was_about.%29

content:
<p>

Pompeo has been using his office to boost his political career.  Now that he has ousted the inspector general believed to have been investigating him, <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2020/05/16/watchdog-dismissal-mike-pompeo-261871">Congress wants to know what the investigation was about</a>.


feed_id: 7e2cb48c1370e4e948193ea4381c2edb
title: Democratize, decommidify and remediate.
uri: Democratize-decommidify-and-remediate
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#20_May_2020_%28Democratize%2C_decommidify_and_remediate.%29

content:
<p>

A <a href="https://crookedtimber.org/2020/05/16/work-democratize-decommodify-remediate/">manifesto</a> to democratize, decommidify and remediate work.


feed_id: 74d34c6c5a5cf33634770409cbb9dddd
title: Possible Facebook antitrust investigation.
uri: Possible-Facebook-antitrust-investigation
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#20_May_2020_%28Possible_Facebook_antitrust_investigatioin.%29

content:
<p>

Facebook <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2020/5/15/21260653/facebook-giphy-acquisition-merger-elizabeth-warren-amy-klobuchar-josh-hawley-senate-antitrust">may face an antitrust investigation</a> for the many companies it has bought, since their surveillance has a wide reach.
<p>
<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/05/15/doj-and-state-ags-likely-to-file-antitrust-lawsuit-against-google-wsj.html">Google is facing an antitrust lawsuit.</a>
<p>
You can make yourself mostly invisible to internet surveillance by (1) not giving your name to web sites, (2) blocking nonfree Javascript code that sites send to you, (3) blocking third-party trackers in web sites, and (4) connecting to sites across Tor so they can't tell your location.


feed_id: 55890c2a0929a5af67c8897bdf88adff
title: Android "advertising ID" lawsuit.
uri: Android-advertising-ID-lawsuit
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#20_May_2020_%28Android_advertising_ID_lawsuit.%29
content:
<p>

An <a href="https://www.theregister.co.uk/2020/05/13/google_android_gdpr_complaint/">activist's lawsuit claims</a> that the Android "advertising ID" is personal identifying information under the GDPR.
<p>
Victory would require Google to get free and informed consent for identifying users that way.
<p>
When Google claims that it "cannot identify a user from per advertising ID", I suspect that what that really means is that Google cannot <em>directly</em> identify a user from per advertising ID <em>alone</em>.  I suspect that correlating databases collected about that user and indexed by the advertising ID with other databases about per, it is possible to associate per advertising ID with per name with a high degree of confidence.


feed_id: dd87ee83ce06369907e36030e522821a
title: Food delivery workers have no opportunity to go to the toilet.
uri: Food-delivery-workers-have-no-opportunity-to-go-to-the-toilet
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#20_May_2020_%28Food_delivery_workers_have_no_opportunity_to_go_to_the_toilet.%29

content:
<p>

Food delivery gig workers have no opportunity to go to the toilet: the restaurants where they pick up food <a href="https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/v7ggz4/gig-workers-say-most-restaurants-have-banned-them-from-using-their-bathrooms">won't let them in</a>.
<p>
These companies also snoop on their customers, so in addition to boycotting them, it makes sense to simply reject them.


feed_id: b90aed742f56ea7c2e934f17d8905738
title: Trump Administration wants Bosses to Snitch.
uri: Trump-Administration-wants-Bosses-to-Snitch
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#20_May_2020_%28Trump_Administration_wants_Bosses_to_Snitch.%29

content:
<p>

<a href="https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/9355a3/trump-administration-wants-bosses-to-snitch-on-people-scared-to-go-to-work">*Trump Administration Wants Bosses to Snitch on People Scared to Go to Work.*</a>


feed_id: 94ecee85a4c2243663a4b515e66b399c
title: The conman's son posted false accusations about Biden.
uri: The-conman-s-son-posted-false-accusations-about-Biden
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#20_May_2020_%28The_conman%27s_son_posted_false_accusations_about_Biden.%29

content:
<p>

The <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/16/us/donald-trump-jr-biden-smear.html">conman's son has posted false accusations</a> to implant an spurious association between Biden and the word "pedophile".
<p>
He calls these accusations "jokes", and admits they are groundless.  I think he expects that to make no difference, because the conman's supporters will believe it eagerly and repeat it fervently.
<p>
The overall goal is to make truth irrelevant against a lie.


feed_id: 34f519ea3d7ab90a535e4088d5c85386
title: Fossil fuel industry abusing CARES Act.
uri: Fossil-fuel-industry-abusing-CARES-Act
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#20_May_2020_%28Fossil_fuel_industry_abusing_CARES_Act.%29

content:
<p>

*<a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/05/16/big-oil-taking-19-billion-cares-act-tax-breaks-aimed-helping-small-businesses">The fossil fuel industry is using tax breaks in the CARES Act</a>, meant to help businesses keep workers employed, to avoid paying millions of dollars in taxes &mdash; and then delivering that money to executives.*


feed_id: 14256560067de7d49d4dd54b603e3fd8
title: Replace the bullshitter with a president that can move toward eradication of Covid-19.
uri: Replace-the-bullshitter-with-a-president-that-can-move-toward-eradicat
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#20_May_2020_%28Replace_the_bullshitter_with_a_president_that_can_move_toward_eradication_of_Covid-19.%29

content:
<p>

<a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/05/15/calling-americans-vote-trump-out-lancet-eviscerates-us-president-over-incoherent">The Lancet called on Americans</a> to replace the bullshitter with a president that will take rational steps to eradicate Covid-19.


feed_id: a07e978b602237f98814813512603441
title: The Bullshitter's "warp speed" vaccine program.
uri: The-Bullshitter-s-warp-speed-vaccine-program
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#20_May_2020_%28The_Bullshitter%27s_warp_speed_vaccine_program.%29

content:
<p>

<a href="https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2020/05/15/six-essential-questions-trumps-warp-speed-vaccine-program">Essential questions</a> the bullshitter's "warp speed" vaccine program must answer to show whether it is a good idea, or merely warped and on speed.


feed_id: 7667ae7ffb75ca9d41f94957f20b048d
title: Disastrous ecosystem collapses.
uri: Disastrous-ecosystem-collapses
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#20_May_2020_%28Disastrous_ecosystem_collapses.%29
content:
<p>

Don't assume that we have decades before disastrous ecosystem collapses.  Scientists have discovered ways that small changes can trigger <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2020/05/11/studies-reveal-climate-tipping-points-could-be-here-much-sooner-we-thought">tipping points</a>.
<p>
Will this really happen?  Don't bet your children's lives that it won't!


feed_id: 55e40d10646efa412f28194b2df3e05b
title: Philippines mistreatment of poor, needy and homeless inhabitants.
uri: Philippines-mistreatment-of-poor-needy-and-homeless-inhabitants
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#20_May_2020_%28Philippines_mistreatment_of_poor%2C_needy_and_homeless_inhabbitants.%29

content:
<p>

The <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2020/05/15/stop-2-billion-arms-sale-philippines">Philippines is arresting, even shooting people who are homeless for "violating quarantine"</a> while demolishing shanty towns to make their inhabitants homeless.  It is arresting people for protesting for food, and others for handing out food to the hungry.  People who merely criticize Do-dirty are arrested too.
<p>
The Muslim fanatics in Mindanao <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2020/05/15/stop-2-billion-arms-sale-philippines">do not deserve support</a>: they take hostages to demand unjust Islamic law. But Do-dirty takes a lot more hostages &mdash; millions of them.
<p>
Naturally, the US offers him a "sale" of arms, which may really be a gift from the American people to the murderous government.


feed_id: 54a5e06de5afc1fe6551c22526d1821e
title: Urgent: Everyone call on Rio Tinto to leave Minerals Council of Australia.
uri: Urgent-Everyone-call-on-Rio-Tinto-to-leave-Minerals-Council-of-Austra
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#20_May_2020_%28Urgent%3A_Everyone_call_on_Rio_Tinto_to_leave_Minerals_Council_of_Australia.%29

content:
<p>

Everyone: call on Rio Tinto to leave the Minerals Council of Australia, a planet-roaster lobbying group.


feed_id: 53c7ab360fef94b639ebd02c44874b88
title: Arbery's killers lied in first report of what happened.
uri: Arbery-s-killers-lied-in-first-report-of-what-happened
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#19_May_2020_%28Arbery%27s_killers_lied_in_first_report_of_what_happened.%29

content:
<p>

Arbery's killers <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2020/05/12/georgia-da-called-ahmaud-arbery-shooting-justifiable-homicide">told easily refutable lies</a> in their first report of what happened when they killed hum.
<p>
It is crucial to prosecute them for these lies, as well as for murder, because we need to teach thugs that what they call "<a href="https://stallman.org/glossary.html#testilying">testilying</a>" is going to be punished.
<p>
Two DAs in succession intervened to protect them.  It is crucial to punish them, too.  If what they did is not a crime, it is a least grounds to fire them.


feed_id: 67bf116143cb4ec23a4d736494390814
title: Threat to public schools.
uri: Threat-to-public-schools
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#19_May_2020_%28Threat_to_public_schools.%29
content:
<p>

<a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2020/05/15/billionaires-are-biggest-threat-public-schools">*Billionaires Are the Biggest Threat to Public Schools.*</a>


feed_id: 23bf9a7e61fdd28c3279d592afcc1ecd
title: Overvalued mortgages on commercial building property.
uri: Overvalued-mortgages-on-commercial-building-property
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#19_May_2020_%28Overvalued_mortgages_on_commercial_building_property.%29

content:
<p>

A whistleblower complaint, filed a year ago, <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/05/15/whistleblower-wall-street-has-engaged-widespread-manipulation-mortgage-funds">shows evidence that banks are allowing overvalued mortgages on commercial building property</a>.
<p>
Banks' loan staff are supposed to detect and stop cheating.  They can't be perfect, but I am sure they know their jobs.  If there is a wave of cheating, the banks must be letting it happen.
<p>
I can't guess why a bank would do that, but I am sure that the intended fall guy will not be the bank.


feed_id: 87301f839fbcca6a76a64ad98b50f241
title: US businesses worried of being sued when customers come down with Covid-19.
uri: US-businesses-worried-of-being-sued-when-customers-come-down-with-Covi
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#19_May_2020_%28US_businesses_worried_of_being_sued_when_customers_come_down_with_Covid-19.%29

content:
<p>

US businesses say they are worried about opening because <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/may/15/reopening-businesses-legal-minefield-coronavirus-claims">workers or customers who come down with Covid-19 might sue them</a>.
<p>
The businesses have a valid point that the uncertainty does no one any good.  But they demand more than they deserve &mdash; to protect them entirely from liability, so that they can do what they like and not worry about the consequences.
<p>
We should make good, clear rules about what businesses must do to protect their workers from Covid-19, then enforce those rules strictly.  That will spare business the uncertainty but not the accountability.


feed_id: 7a25775990a1e4b306eaebf9decf7349
title: CARES act funds toward private schools.
uri: CARES-act-funds-toward-private-schools
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#19_May_2020_%28CARES_act_funds_toward_private_schools.%29

content:
<p>

DeVos is diverting some of the <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/05/15/devoss-channeling-cares-act-funds-seen-boosting-perennial-goal-advancing-voucher">CARES act funds to support private schools</a>.


feed_id: 80972fa73da1bda5b7a4ded65cf7a540
title: USDA deregulated gene edited modified crops.
uri: USDA-deregulated-gene-edited-modified-crops
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#19_May_2020_%28USDA_deregulated_gene_edited_modified_crops.%29

content:
<p>

The <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/05/15/anything-secure-advocates-decry-usda-rule-allowing-big-ag-set-its-own-regulations">USDA has deregulated genetically modified crops</a> made by gene editing.
<p>
This is very risky.  Gene editing is more powerful than the sort of gene-insertion practiced in the 1990s.


feed_id: 563d8717922391c2f93e7b329faa0713
title: Plutocratist claims government couldn't afford to protect jobs.
uri: Plutocratist-claims-government-couldn-t-afford-to-protect-jobs
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#19_May_2020_%28Plutocratist_claims_government_couldn%27t_afford_to_protect_jobs.%29

content:
<p>

Plutocratist Democrat Clayburn, who voted for the latest giant giveaway to businesses, said <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/05/15/why-democrats-lose-elections-clyburn-admits-paycheck-guarantee-best-way-save-jobs">the government couldn't afford to protect people's jobs</a>.


feed_id: e26d5a238868e76490921da42733f127
title: Organ donor by default
uri: Organ-donor-by-default
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#20_May_2020_%28Organ_donor_by_default%29
content:
<p>
In the UK, everyone will be an organ donor by default.  People will
be able <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/may/19/deceased-uk-adults-to-be-deemed-organ-donors-in-opt-out-system">to declare that they are unwilling to donate</a>.


feed_id: 25338ea29f4077ee60e7d690ad10185a
title: Eliminating the forest entirely
uri: Eliminating-the-forest-entirely
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#20_May_2020_%28Eliminating_the_forest_entirely%29
content:
<p>
In parts of Australia, forest fires are now so frequent (due to global
heating) <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/may/19/victoria-should-expect-one-or-two-more-megafires-before-end-of-decade-study-finds">that they will stop new trees from growing and eliminate the
forest entirely</a>.


feed_id: e7aa4cbd1e129fe069c03fcdd3e5c8c5
title: Machine learning
uri: 2020-05-20-Machine-learning
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#20_May_2020_%28Machine_learning%29
content:
<p>
The shallowness of machine learning was exposed when it couldn't make sense
of changed patterns of purchasing when most people stopped travelling
and started working at home.

<p>
This is an inherent consequence of the modern approach to AI,
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/may/16/for-all-its-sophistication-ai-isnt-fit-to-make-life-or-death-decisions-for-us">which abandons all effort to understand anything</a>.


feed_id: 8c5ef82846ecf0e74c9fed100fb4cc9e
title: Tracking car travel
uri: Tracking-car-travel
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#20_May_2020_%28Tracking_car_travel%29
content:
<p>
Israel tracks all car travel <a href="https://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Citizens-movements-stored-in-off-the-books-police-database-report-627356">using license plate cameras</a>.

<p>
The UK does the same thing, and <a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2009-mar-jun.html#25 May 2009 (Track all car travel)">has used it to sabotage protests</a>.
  Democracy in Israel is in danger from the top, and law enforcement
is totally biased, so every surveillance system is likely to be used for repression
of Palestinians, as well as its supposed intended purpose.


feed_id: a151d1beb5d105863e1af8465be08adb
title: Sale of public land
uri: Sale-of-public-land
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#20_May_2020_%28Sale_of_public_land%29
content:
<p>
The saboteur in chief is speeding up sale of public land <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/apr/30/public-lands-sale-trump-coronavirus-environmental-regulations">so that
businesses can despoil more and sooner</a>.


feed_id: b038870a43a6d9e595dac36da0ebba60
title: One hour's notice
uri: One-hour-s-notice
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#20_May_2020_%28One_hour%27s_notice%29
content:
<p>
France ordered web sites to delete anything the state labels as "terrorist"
with just one hour's notice.  This gives no time to discuss <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-52664609">whether
the material really is "terrorist"</a>.

<p>
This adds up to arbitrary censorship power, as well as an excuse to
shut down any web site that can't afford staff to watch for such
requests 24 hours a day.


feed_id: 5a11ed26619202d29f067873113e1b41
title: Leaked name
uri: Leaked-name
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#20_May_2020_%28Leaked_name%29
content:
<p>
The FBI accidentally leaked the name of the Salafi Arabian official
<a href="https://boingboing.net/2020/05/13/fbi-reveals-name-of-saudi-emba.html">it suspected of helping to organize the 11 Sep 2001 attacks on the US</a>.

<p>
<a href="https://stallman.org/glossary.html#dubya">Dubya</a> wanted to blame it on Iraq to have an excuse for the war
he had sought even before.


feed_id: 1a5638df0e3f7afb96b5ed54e15648fc
title: Food stamps
uri: 2020-05-20-Food-stamps
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#20_May_2020_%28Food_stamps%29
content:
<p>
Food giveaways are helpful in the short term, but in the long term
<a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2020/05/18/food-drops-are-not-enough-expand-food-stamps-programs-now">we need to expand food stamps</a>.


feed_id: 433225c5e1b290d2b13b994be0329d75
title: International Life Sciences Institute
uri: International-Life-Sciences-Institute
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#20_May_2020_%28International_Life_Sciences_Institute%29

content:
<p>
The International Life Sciences Institute presents itself as working
for the general good, but records show funnels money from companies
such as Coca Cola <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2020/05/18/ilsi-food-industry-front-group-new-study-suggests">to promote use of ingredients that can damage
health</a>.

<p>
I suppose those companies have dozens of front groups and can use them
in parallel.


feed_id: 27c399b37490761305395951c437c189
title: Smart cities
uri: 2020-05-20-Smart-cities
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#20_May_2020_%28Smart_cities%29
content:
<p>
This article contends that Bloomberg and Bill Gates are collaborating
with other billionaires <a href="https://wrenchinthegears.com/2020/05/17/the-brothers-grim-bill-and-mikes-pandemic-panopticon/">to set up "smart" cities which will use
the Internet of Stings for social control</a>.

<p>
I don't see proof that this is true, but it is a danger worth thinking
about it.  If they are not attempting this now, someone else could.
To resist it, we should oppose all systems that track people in daily
life.  

<p>
Don't be tracked &mdash; Pay cash!


feed_id: 8cc83c1136b76d3c5376ac4751154039
title: Treating truth with contempt
uri: Treating-truth-with-contempt
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#20_May_2020_%28Treating_truth_with_contempt%29
content:
<p>
The Financial Times excoriates the <a href="https://stallman.org/glossary.html#saboteur">saboteur</a>-in-chief for killing tens
of thousands of Americans <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/97dc7de6-940b-11ea-abcd-371e24b679ed">by treating the truth with contempt</a>.

<p>
This is the voice of a 1970s Republican, who wants to increase
business profits but not by mass slaughter.

<p>
It is interesting to compare China's Covid-19 cover-up with America's
Covid-19 cover-up.  China's cover-up was done by low-level officials
who were afraid of being punished because the problem appeared in
their department.  America's cover-up was done by the highest
officials, people who rarely tell the truth about anything.


feed_id: 9d58b40673d02d7cc10d633842a6ad60
title: Now demanding bailouts
uri: Now-demanding-bailouts
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#20_May_2020_%28Now_demanding_bailouts%29
content:
<p>
*Private Hospitals, Now Demanding Bailouts,
Lobbied <a href="https://theintercept.com/2020/04/28/pahcf-for-profit-hospitals-coronavirus-health-insurance/">to Defeat Cost-Saving Health Reform as Coronavirus Crisis Grew</a>.*


feed_id: 3b0b474a3108a22c49790046e173978a
title: Buying a team
uri: Buying-a-team
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#20_May_2020_%28Buying_a_team%29
content:
<p>
The acting king of Salafi Arabia <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/may/18/saudi-regime-newcastle-united-jamal-khashoggi-mohammed-bin-salman">plans to buy
a popular English soccer team</a>.

<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/oct/10/alleged-saudi-hit-squad-linked-to-jamal-khashoggi-disappearance">Crown Prince Bone Saw</a>
              aims to distract people from remembering how his
agents murdered dissident Jamal Khashoggi inside the Salafi Arabian
consulate in Istanbul then chopped up the body to dispose of it, as
well as his intervention in Yemen that has killed thousands of people
who never even criticized him.


feed_id: 108c15e0d0db6facafdbbf7a802f3602
title: Electing a leader without pro-democracy members
uri: Electing-a-leader-without-pro-democracy-members
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#20_May_2020_%28Electing_a_leader_without_pro-democracy_members%29

content:
<p>
Hong Kong's governing council had all pro-democracy members physically
carried out, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/18/hong-kong-activists-back-in-court-amid-more-legislative-chaos">then voted in a new leader</a>.

<p>
Meanwhile, accused organizers of last year's protests are on trial.

<p>
China is like the walls of a room that slowly but steadily shrink down
to zero volume.


feed_id: 3672764d16194e5ebf423fd7f7f22fcd
title: Multiplying deaths
uri: Multiplying-deaths
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#20_May_2020_%28Multiplying_deaths%29
content:
<p>
Bogus Johnson's bad decisions <a href="https://www.medialens.org/2020/an-illusion-of-protection-the-pandemic-the-criminal-government-and-public-distrust-of-the-media/">multiplied the deaths from Covid-19
in the UK</a>.
  This was after right-wing budget cuts and privatization had weakened
the country's ability to protect itself.

<p>
Meanwhile, the mainstream media help cover it up.

<p>
Slightly in Johnson's defense, I have to say that even for an honest
person of good will may hesitate before the enormous step of closing
nearly all businesses and activities.  But Johnson did so for longer
because he opposed the idea on ideological grounds.


feed_id: 185275d3436ab3d7b853d09208a31283
title: Bill to allow broader and more absurd patents
uri: Bill-to-allow-broader-and-more-absurd-patents
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#21_May_2020_%28Bill_to_allow_broader_and_more_absurd_patents%29

content:
<p>
  The greediest of US businesses are <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/may/20/coronavirus-patents-testing-us-senate">pushing a bill</a> to allow broader and
  more absurd patents, even in medicine.

  <p><a href="media/1dcfd209.45_1_stallman.pdf" data-original-source="https://www.luc.edu/media/lucedu/law/students/publications/llj/pdfs/45_1_stallman.pdf">Patents do little good for society</a>, and in some fields a lot of harm.
  They are especially harmful in agriculture, medicine and computing.
  All in all it would be better to eliminate patents entirely.
  


feed_id: d2b1d1aa53c095dd4c6fa51f525947a0
title: Thousands of Californian prisoners have Covid-19
uri: Thousands-of-Californian-prisoners-have-Covid-19
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#21_May_2020_%28Thousands_of_Californian_prisoners_have_Covid-19%29

content:
<p>
  Thousands of prisoners in California <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/may/20/california-prisons-covid-19-outbreak-deaths">have Covid-19</a>, and some are getting
  no medical care.


feed_id: a38681ca2ca151c87128e72e06987562
title: Bureau of Land Management doing the opposite of its job
uri: Bureau-of-Land-Management-doing-the-opposite-of-its-job
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#21_May_2020_%28Bureau_of_Land_Management_doing_the_opposite_of_its_job%29

content:
<p>
  The <a href="https://stallman.org/glossary.html#saboteur">saboteur</a> in charge of the Bureau of Land Management is not only
  ordering it to do the opposite of its job. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/may/20/william-perry-pendley-trump-pick-top-environmental-post-endangered-species"> He is trying to make it
  fall apart.</a>


feed_id: 60c81a3686b8c0df02878421e2bc634c
title: A plan to put an end to Covid-19 in the US
uri: A-plan-to-put-an-end-to-Covid-19-in-the-US
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#21_May_2020_%28A_plan_to_put_an_end_to_Covid-19_in_the_US%29

content:
<p>
  <a href="https://www.sfgate.com/opinion/article/We-could-stop-the-pandemic-by-July-4-if-the-15272803.php">A plan</a> to put an end to Covid-19 in the US, and reopen much of the economy,
  with lots of testing and tracing.


feed_id: 92e9af977e60a39a62b16fa42b068d6d
title: Urgent: reject blanket immunity for businesses about workers that catch Covid-19
uri: Urgent-reject-blanket-immunity-for-businesses-about-workers-that-catc
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#21_May_2020_%28Urgent%3A_reject_blanket_immunity_for_businesses_about_workers_that_catch_Covid-19%29

content:
<p>
US citizens: <a href="http://act.pfaw.org/sign/petition-reject-corporate-immunity">call on the Senate to reject blanket immunity for businesses
  about workers that catch Covid-19.</a>


feed_id: 968a5856e2cae20e525c311dcf2a3e88
title: Lying for half a million dollars
uri: Lying-for-half-a-million-dollars
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#21_May_2020_%28Lying_for_half_a_million_dollars%29
content:
<p>
Jane Roe, plaintiff in the Roe v Wade case, famously recanted her
support for abortion rights.  Just before dying she confessed that her
recantation was a sham &mdash; <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/may/20/jane-roe-abortion-arwa-mahdawi">she lied in exchange for half a million
dollars from Operation Rescue</a>.


feed_id: 14b637cfc87580cea9fb493349fb7faf
title: Lifelong punishments without trial
uri: Lifelong-punishments-without-trial
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#21_May_2020_%28Lifelong_punishments_without_trial%29

content:
<p>
The UK plans once again to impose lifelong punishments on people
accused of terrorism, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2020/may/20/unconvicted-terrorism-suspects-face-indefinite-controls-under-uk-bill">without troubling to give them a trial first</a>.

<p>
This would be on top of the deviously evil UK laws <a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#25_September_2015_(Terrorism_studies)">that make it a
crime to arouse suspicion</a>.


feed_id: 76e68a7b685195b6c763482f389792c6
title: All cooperation cancelled
uri: All-cooperation-cancelled
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#21_May_2020_%28All_cooperation_cancelled%29
content:
<p>
The Palestinian Authority has cancelled all cooperation with Israel,
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/20/palestinian-leader-mahmoud-abbas-ends-security-agreement-with-israel-and-us">anticipating annexation of Palestine's farm land</a>.


feed_id: 8b6a25bb25d72dcc5e66446893947a5d
title: Breaking Pentagon rules
uri: Breaking-Pentagon-rules
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#21_May_2020_%28Breaking_Pentagon_rules%29
content:
<p>
Reportedly Pompeo broke the Pentagon's rules <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/05/18/ousted-inspector-general-was-also-probing-possible-illegal-pompeo-trump-effort-force">in order to rush approval
of an arms sale to Crown Prince Bone Saw</a>.


feed_id: 62a58310b058be78af88a9aaf77f1865
title: Four-day week
uri: Four-day-week
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#21_May_2020_%28Four-day_week%29
content:
<p>
New Zealand's prime minister proposes a four-day work week
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/20/jacinda-ardern-flags-four-day-working-week-as-way-to-rebuild-new-zealand-after-covid-19">so as to get more people employed quickly</a>.


feed_id: 3e665461e7d76864ceded00aaa79e4f0
title: Fired for refusing to censor
uri: Fired-for-refusing-to-censor
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#21_May_2020_%28Fired_for_refusing_to_censor%29
content:
<p>
Florida fired scientist Rebekah Jones who had developed a system
for online fast access to statistics about Covid-19 in the state.
She said <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/05/19/florida-covid-19-coronavirus-data-researcher-out-state-reopens/5218897002/">she was fired for refusing to censor the data</a>.


feed_id: 6c72db8cb04fd489b23e741f3bca390f
title: Hero tax
uri: Hero-tax
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#21_May_2020_%28Hero_tax%29
content:
<p>
(<a href="https://www.theonion.com/amazon-institutes-new-hero-tax-charging-essential-wor-1843544814">satire</a>) *Amazon Institutes New ‘Hero Tax’ Charging Essential Workers
Additional $2 Per Hour For Honor Of Bravely Performing Job*


feed_id: 4dc212fd12db4a4eb5cfdde09b5fe530
title: Reducing military budget
uri: Reducing-military-budget
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#21_May_2020_%28Reducing_military_budget%29
content:
<p>
29 progressive Democrats call <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2020/05/19/lee-pocan-lead-29-dems-demanding-defense-spending-decrease-ahead-ndaa-talks">for reducing the US military budget this
year</a>.

<p>
I hope they present a target for this reduction, because a minuscule
reduction of ten dollars or ten million dollars won't make much
difference against the recent increase of a hundred billion dollars.


feed_id: 06f2b628c79ac7ca3916a62a8f2793cb
title: What evangelicals could learn
uri: What-evangelicals-could-learn
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#21_May_2020_%28What_evangelicals_could_learn%29
content:
<p>
*What evangelicals could learn <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2020/05/19/fundamentalist-pandemics">from The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyam</a>.*


feed_id: a9880f822e34f25819fd1991b621400a
title: Opposing available vaccines
uri: Opposing-available-vaccines
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#21_May_2020_%28Opposing_available_vaccines%29
content:
<p>
The UK is opposing the campaign to make Covid-19 vaccines available to
everyone in the world &mdash; and without that, <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2020/05/19/campaigners-condemn-uk-putting-big-pharma-profits-ahead-coronavirus-vaccine-who">billions of people will be
unable to afford it</a>.


feed_id: 38902faca3bff72c558e4b8316cf1016
title: Kelp farming
uri: Kelp-farming
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#21_May_2020_%28Kelp_farming%29
content:
<p>
Kelp farming absorbs CO2, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/may/19/im-not-a-quitter-lobstermen-turn-to-kelp-farming-in-the-face-of-global-crises">so it can locally slow the inexorable
advance of ocean acidification</a>.

<p>
To really end ocean acidification, we must drastically cut our CO2
emissions.


feed_id: 4da1e3fb5d7b7c50d15482d6486391aa
title: Sending asylum seekers
uri: Sending-asylum-seekers
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#21_May_2020_%28Sending_asylum_seekers%29
content:
<p>
The US sends Hondurans and Salvadoreans seeking asylum to Guatemala
<a href="https://theintercept.com/2020/05/19/asylum-seekers-guatemala-report/">saying they should try to find safety there</a>.

<p>
They could replace the Guatemalans who are fleeing the violence of
their country for the US.


feed_id: 93bc8774fb240d503b22f28a693d40f4
title: Perfect success rate against Covid-19
uri: Perfect-success-rate-against-Covid-19
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#21_May_2020_%28Perfect_success_rate_against_Covid-19%29

content:
<p>
How Hong Kong protected nursing home inmates from Covid-19 <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/19/mps-hear-why-hong-kong-had-no-covid-19-care-home-deaths">with
a perfect success rate</a>.


feed_id: 74695896983479532c9e76b64c7818b1
title: Temporary decline
uri: Temporary-decline
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#21_May_2020_%28Temporary_decline%29
content:
<p>
The temporary decline in CO2 emissions, due to staying home and not
traveling, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/may/19/steep-fall-emissions-during-coronavirus-no-cause-for-celebration">is not enough to affect global heating in the long run</a>.

<p>
We still desperately need a Green New Deal.


feed_id: 8398d780c299d79a872a84e9a2e9a52c
title: Handy opportunity for racists
uri: Handy-opportunity-for-racists
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#21_May_2020_%28Handy_opportunity_for_racists%29
content:
<p>
A black man and his mother was accused of stealing a TV set after he
bought it.  Then he tried to return it and was accused again of
stealing it.  This time, the thugs beat him and his mother, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/may/19/grandmother-son-police-beating-missouri-marcia-gray">gravely
injuring them both</a>.

<p>
The <a href="https://stallman.org/glossary.html#thug">thugs</a> said they mutilated him for "failing to comply".  That is
a handy opportunity to elevate their subjective impression to the status
of fact &mdash; handy for racists.


feed_id: 79a16c6a8cd6166215e3271bf5d85521
title: The Pentagon dropped measures to cut down on wasteful spending.
uri: The-Pentagon-dropped-measures-to-cut-down-on-wasteful-spending
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#22_May_2020_%28The_Pentagon_dropped_measures_to_cut_down_on_wasteful_spending.%29

content:
<p>

The Pentagon in 2019 <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2020/05/20/gao-study-reveals-lack-pentagon-review-over-lucrative-weapons-contracts">quietly dropped measures designed to cut down on wasteful spending on business</a>.


feed_id: ea780fe53a1949cf0a893d5ca50d0e9e
title: Republicans plan to let extended unemployment insurance end in July.
uri: Republicans-plan-to-let-extended-unemployment-insurance-end-in-July
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#22_May_2020_%28Republicans_plan_to_let_extended_unemployment_insurance_end_in_July.%29

content:
<p>

Republicans plan to <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/05/20/staggeringly-cruel-36-million-newly-out-work-trump-says-hes-willing-let-boosted">let extended unemployment insurance end in July</a>, when the depression will still be getting worse.
<p>
That will, I expect, increase the depression, but not for billionaires, who will receive handouts.


feed_id: f6ff02343d90bd0716fece1475697bf9
title: Big corporations planning to sue countries for taking Covid-19 measures that cut into profits.
uri: Big-corporations-planning-to-sue-countries-for-taking-Covid-19-measure
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#22_May_2020_%28Big_corporations_planning_to_sue_counries_for_taking_Covid-19_measures_that_cut_into_profits.%29

content:
<p>

Big corporations are planning use ISDS clauses (I Sue Democratic States) <a href="https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2020/05/exclusive-countries-to-face-a-wave-of-corporate-lawsuits-challenging-emergency-covid-19-measures.html">to sue many countries</a> for taking Covid-19 emergency measures that cut into their profits.
<p>
Governments may be able to argue that the losses were due to Covid-19 and its consequences, rather than to the government actions themselves. But that is not reliable.
<p>
We must abolish the <a href="https://stallman.org/business-supremacy-treaties.html">business-supremacy treaties</a>.


feed_id: 9a784817075f5d125faa0024f4a24897
title: Insolvent Wall Street banks bailed out again.
uri: Insolvent-Wall-Street-banks-bailed-out-again
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#22_May_2020_%28Insolvent_Wall_Street_banks_bailed_out_again.%29

content:
<p>

*Insolvent Wall Street banks have been <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2020/05/18/another-bank-bailout-under-cover-virus">quietly bailed out again</a>. Banks made risk-free by the government should be public utilities.*


feed_id: a5f0904dc5389e29bc1a0a49f9e09ef2
title: Emergency Temporary Standard to Protect Workers.
uri: Emergency-Temporary-Standard-to-Protect-Workers
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#22_May_2020_%28Emergency_Temporary_Standard_to_Protect_Workers.%29

content:
<p>

<a href="https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2020/05/18/afl-cio-sues-osha-emergency-temporary-standard-protect-workers">*AFL-CIO Sues OSHA for Emergency Temporary Standard to Protect Workers.*</a>
<p>
The Secretary of Labor, a Republican, has refused to try to protect workers from infection.


feed_id: 2d33ef7b0141f0ed820002cc814a09a8
title: Apple Siri recorded and saved people's speech.
uri: Apple-Siri-recorded-and-saved-people-s-speech
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#22_May_2020_%28Apple_Siri_recorded_and_saved_people%27s_speech.%29

content:
<p>

Former Apple worker Thomas le Bonniec reports that <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2020/may/20/apple-whistleblower-goes-public-over-lack-of-action">Apple Siri recorded and saved people's speech</a> at random and is not being investigated for this.


feed_id: 4765e34537c22ca3be44197c39fc6142
title: Increase of powerful hurricanes near Australia.
uri: Increase-of-powerful-hurricanes-near-Australia
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#22_May_2020_%28Increas_of_powerful_hurricanes_near_Australia.%29

content:
<p>

Hurricanes near Australia (peculiarly called "tropical cyclones" though they are the same phenomenon) <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/may/20/tropical-cyclones-have-become-more-destructive-over-past-40-years-data-shows">show a trend over the past 40 years that the number of the most powerful ones is increasing</a> &mdash; in line with what climate models forecast.
<p>
The US is forecast to get a lot of hurricanes this year, and it will be <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/21/hurricane-us-coronavirus-covid-19-floods">hard to give people shelter without their catching Covid-19 from each other</a>.
<p>
The US needs to be making lots of masks to give them, and goggles. Republicans in their contempt for the non-rich will choose not to do it.


feed_id: 9f2f51221b8c3e080d03f968c4c9f700
title: Tory politicians' value of inmates of nursing homes.
uri: Tory-politicians-value-of-inmates-of-nursing-homes
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#22_May_2020_%28Tory_politicians%27_value_of_inmates_of_nursing_homes.%29

content:
<p>

<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/may/20/immigration-bill-ministers-care-workers-covid-19">Tory politicians value strawberries more than the inmates of nursing homes.</a>


feed_id: b4370d773cec81557fe6ecc1ace3fd26
title: Algae in Antarctica
uri: Algae-in-Antarctica
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#22_May_2020_%28Algae_in_Antarctica%29
content:
<p>

<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/20/climate-change-turning-parts-antarctica-green-say-scientists-algae">Algae are spreading across melting snow in Antarctica</a> where there were never algae before.


feed_id: 25d2bcf6fbfef954b7388d06389402ac
title: Urgent: Extradition o Julian Assange
uri: Urgent-Extradition-o-Julian-Assange
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#22_May_2020_%28Urgent%3A_Extradition_o_Julian_Assange%29

content:
<p>

US citizens: <a href="https://diy.rootsaction.org/petitions/judge-baraitser-do-not-extradite-julian-assange-to-the-usa">call on Judge Baraitser not to extradite Julian Assange.</a>


feed_id: 70b1a56a6fd542e339084c52f0829391
title: Urgent: Pentagon's Revolving Door.
uri: Urgent-Pentagon-s-Revolving-Door
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#22_May_2020_%28Urgent%3A_Pentagon%27s_Revolving_Door.%29

content:
<p>
US citizens: call on your Senator <a href="http://act.winwithoutwar.org/letter/senate-pentagon-revolving-door/">not to reopen the Pentagon's revolving door</a>.

<p>The Capitol Switchboard numbers are 202-224-3121, 888-818-6641 and 888-355-3588.</p>
  <p>
    If you call please spread the word!
  </p>
  


feed_id: 8195a55288f0a5714276b7b82b96c53a
title: Andrew Cuomo is no hero.
uri: Andrew-Cuomo-is-no-hero
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#21_May_2020_%28Andrew_Cuomo_is_no_hero.%29
content:
<p>

*Andrew Cuomo is no hero. He's to blame for <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/may/20/andrew-cuomo-new-york-coronavirus-catastrophe">New York's coronavirus catastrophe</a>. His record was terrible before coronavirus, but his abysmal handling of the crisis should get him thrown out of office.*
<p>
Many Americans have somehow got the idea that he is progressive.

<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/may/24/andrew-cuomo-hillary-clinton-cynthia-nixon-new-york-governor"More Information</a>
<a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2018-mar-jun.html#2_April_2018_(Calling_out_Cuomo)"Further information</a>


feed_id: d0b8d182a7401f0a6f275265c2eacf16
title: US government trying to bully the WHO.
uri: US-government-trying-to-bully-the-WHO
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#21_May_2020_%28US_government_trying_to_bully_the_WHO.%29

content:
<p>

The US government is trying to bully the WHO into bowing to Christian prudery by <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2020/may/20/us-demands-removal-of-sexual-health-reference-in-un-covid-19-response">removing references to sexual and reproductive health</a>.
<p>
Every time the <a href="https://stallman.org/glossary.html#bully">bully</a> succeeds in intimidating someone, he presents that as a triumph, and his fanatical supporters feel stronger.  The WHO should show strength by sticking to what it considers right.


feed_id: 0542b48a4953a34a68280108e47c9893
title: Boosting China's global power.
uri: Boosting-China-s-global-power
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#21_May_2020_%28Boosting_China%27s_global_power.%29
content:
<p>

The numskull's churlish threats are <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/may/20/post-coronavirus-uk-alliances-stand-up-china-us">boosting China's global power</a>.
<p>
China applies its power in a way that is less stupid than the US, but no less evil.


feed_id: fa23f11ba51ffe5f0ec85473111480f8
title: Refusing to hand over phone password.
uri: Refusing-to-hand-over-phone-password
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#21_May_2020_%28Refusing_to_hand_over_phone_password.%29

content:
<p>

A UK right-wing extremist <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2020/may/20/britain-first-leader-paul-golding-convicted-under-terrorism-law">was convicted of the crime of refusing to hand over his phone password</a> for an arbitrary, no-grounds-required, no-legal-advice-allowed search when entering the UK.
<p>
This is the same law that was used to make Glenn Greenwald's mate hand over the some of the Snowden leaks.  They just have to call you a "terrorist" &mdash; never mind whether there is any truth in that.


feed_id: 94c8cbbe80ad1cb44a44da6bf90297c7
title: Andrew Cuomo is no hero.
uri: 2020-05-22-Andrew-Cuomo-is-no-hero
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#21_May_2020_%28Andrew_Cuomo_is_no_hero.%29
content:
<p>

*Andrew Cuomo is no hero. He's to blame for <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/may/20/andrew-cuomo-new-york-coronavirus-catastrophe">New York's coronavirus catastrophe</a>. His record was terrible before coronavirus, but his abysmal handling of the crisis should get him thrown out of office.*
<p>
Many Americans have somehow got the idea that he is progressive.

<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/may/24/andrew-cuomo-hillary-clinton-cynthia-nixon-new-york-governor">More Information</a>
<a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2018-mar-jun.html#2_April_2018_(Calling_out_Cuomo)">Further information</a>


feed_id: 37b716c6cb33d3a4e421a19d9c10b924
title: No Covid-19 support for tax-dodgers
uri: No-Covid-19-support-for-tax-dodgers
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#22_May_2020_%28No_Covid-19_support_for_tax-dodgers%29

content:
<p>
*Scotland bans Covid-19 support <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2020/may/21/scotland-bans-covid-19-support-firms-tax-havens">to firms based in tax havens</a>.*

<p>
If your government fails to take this obvious step, that shows it is
controlled by tax-dodging rich parasites.


feed_id: 991c8968e9b2139c4771c18a05779e63
title: Second wave
uri: Second-wave
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#22_May_2020_%28Second_wave%29
content:
<p>
Science advisors of the Obama administration say the US will face
a second wave of Covid-19 around September, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/may/21/first-thing-us-has-three-months-to-prepare-for-second-covid-19-wave-say-scientists">and must stockpile medical
equipment for it</a>.

<p>
It is lunacy to have wasted the first stay-at-home period without
building up the capacity to follow it with test, trace and isolate.
The bullshitter <a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#11_May_2020_(Reducing_Covid-19_testing)">appears to have made this choice this intentionally</a>.


feed_id: e9922d419d659471a6354c089532580c
title: Low herd immunity
uri: Low-herd-immunity
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#22_May_2020_%28Low_herd_immunity%29
content:
<p>
Despite Sweden's high Covid-19 death rate, a survey in Stockholm found
that <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/21/just-7-per-cent-of-stockholm-had-covid-19-antibodies-by-end-of-april-study-sweden-coronavirus">it has gone only 10% of the way to herd immunity (7% have
antibodies)</a>.

<p>
Reaching herd immunity without a vaccine entails lots of deaths.


feed_id: 27a503a88982b8066819cab635478bea
title: Hiding their pay
uri: Hiding-their-pay
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#22_May_2020_%28Hiding_their_pay%29
content:
<p>
Rich people hide their pay as capital gains to pay less taxes.
They mostly do not give much to charity, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/may/21/capital-gains-hyper-rich-new-report-coronavirus">and they have not lost much
in the stock market's decline</a>.


feed_id: 377c55fefe628f940533a31af9217ac1
title: Contact-tracing for medical workers
uri: Contact-tracing-for-medical-workers
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#22_May_2020_%28Contact-tracing_for_medical_workers%29

content:
<p>
The big obstacle to contact-tracing in the UK is that the contacts of
infected medical workers and nursing home workers are mostly other
medical workers and nursing home workers &mdash; and if they all self-isolate for
a week or two as a precaution, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/21/uk-first-coronavirus-contact-tracing-group-warns-of-difficulties">the system will fail immediately</a>.

<p>
The first step in fixing this is obvious &mdash; give them all sufficient
protective equipment &mdash; but the UK hasn't got its act together to do
that.


feed_id: ad7292edcc76c2f05f8ac83508688f65
title: National Security law
uri: National-Security-law
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#22_May_2020_%28National_Security_law%29
content:
<p>
China is moving <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/21/china-proposes-controversial-national-security-law-for-hong-kong">to impose a repressive "national security" law on Hong
Kong</a>.

<p>
*Hong Kong’s security laws: <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/21/hong-kongs-security-laws-what-are-they-and-why-are-they-so-controversial">what are they and why are they so controversial</a>?*


feed_id: 4c70dfe34e41f3d8a2adc97ef50e895b
title: FDA on hydroxychloroquine
uri: FDA-on-hydroxychloroquine
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#22_May_2020_%28FDA_on_hydroxychloroquine%29
content:
<p>
*FDA appears to soften stance on hydroxychloroquine* <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/05/19/fda-appears-to-soften-stance-on-hydroxychloroquine-after-trump-says-he-takes-malaria-drug.html">after the numskull
announced he was taking it</a>.

<p>
This suggests that he is attacking the independence of its regulation
of drugs.

<p>
As a separate matter, the FDA has been undermining inspection of
production medicines since Obama's day.  Obama could do some good
things, <a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2019-may-aug.html#4_June_2019_(Imported_drugs)">but only when business wasn't interested</a>.


feed_id: b4e7e85ccf8455de07aa054951195cf2
title: Entitled governor
uri: Entitled-governor
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#22_May_2020_%28Entitled_governor%29
content:
<p>
Georgia Governor Kemp cancelled a special election for the state
supreme court.  The Republican-dominated state supreme court ruled
that <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/05/19/think-trump-and-republicans-wouldnt-try-cancel-election-look-what-gop-georgia-just">he was entitled to appoint a Republican judge instead of
holding an election</a>.

<p>
Kemp was previously the state official in charge of elections,
<a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2018-sep-dec.html#14_October_2018_(Brian_Kemp)">which gave him the opportunity to rig the election for governor
so he would "win."</a>


feed_id: 4ec733053e53f2dd045bcbf78d65db0e
title: Much larger depression
uri: Much-larger-depression
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#22_May_2020_%28Much_larger_depression%29
content:
<p>
Economists warn that if the US government refuses to bail out state
governments for the costs of dealing with Covid-19, <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/05/19/economists-warn-prolonged-depression-guaranteed-if-gop-refuse-federal-aid-state-and">it will push
the US into a much larger depression</a>.

<p>
Either the conman or Republican senators (I don't recall which)
have talked about doing this.


feed_id: 68ace087c712ab8b019c24217cd1c991
title: Removing another inspector general
uri: Removing-another-inspector-general
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#22_May_2020_%28Removing_another_inspector_general%29

content:
<p>
The corrupter removed another inspector general, <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2020/05/20/trump-just-removed-ig-investigating-elaine-chao-chaos-husband-mitch-mcconnell">this one for the
Department of Transportation</a>.

<p>
That IG was investigating Ellen Chao, the head of that department, for
favoritism in favor of the business interests of her husband, Senator
McConnell.


feed_id: 15bea7d28dfe068e4533e1064e47cd3b
title: Microplastic toxins climb up the food chain.
uri: Microplastic-toxins-climb-up-the-food-chain
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#23_May_2020_%28Microplastic_toxins_climb_up_the_food_chain.%29

content:
<p>

Microplastics accumulate in sea sediment.  In some areas, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/apr/30/microplastics-found-in-greater-quantities-than-ever-before-on-seabed-currents-hotspots">layers just under the surface can contain 2 million crumbs of plastic per square meter</a>.  Animals that crawl through the sediment to feed eat the microplastics, and the toxins climb up the food chain.
<p>
The fish humans eat may become dangerously toxic, or perhaps they already are.


feed_id: 0b486f77e4d739884a9d0141ce648512
title: Pandemic likely to boost the pace of automation.
uri: Pandemic-likely-to-boost-the-pace-of-automation
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#23_May_2020_%28Pandemic_likely_to_boost_the_pace_of_automation.%29

content:
<p>

The pandemic is likely to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/apr/30/coronavirus-disruption-automation">boost the pace of automation</a>, which could eliminate a substantial fraction of all today's jobs in a couple of years.
<p>
I don't understand how it could possibly work to buy clothing without trying it on.  When I buy pants, I know which size I need &mdash; but not all the pants of that size fit me.  Would I have to buy six pairs of pants, then return five of them or six of them?  Would I have to buy six of them and give away those that don't fit me?


feed_id: 33bfb5ed817406b20ce869057c52e391
title: Urgent: Investigation of Pompeo
uri: Urgent-Investigation-of-Pompeo
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#23_May_2020_%28Urgent%3A_Investigation_of_Pompeo%29
content:
<p>

US citizens: call on Congress to <a href="http://act.democracyforamerica.com/sign/em-200518-inspector-general/">pick up where the ex-Inspector General's investigation of Pompeo left off</a>.

<p>The Capitol Switchboard numbers are 202-224-3121, 888-818-6641 and 888-355-3588.</p>
  <p>
    If you call please spread the word!
  </p>
  


feed_id: 527f92196ae7ee76beb43f8777b0d66c
title: Honduras former police chief faces drug trafficking charges
uri: Honduras-former-police-chief-faces-drug-trafficking-charges
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#24_May_2020_%28Honduras_former_police_cheif_faces_drug_trafficking_charges%29

content:
<p>

President Hernández of Honduras is suspected of being a major drug trafficker.  <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/30/former-police-chief-of-honduras-accused-of-trafficking-drugs-to-us">His former chief of the national police faces US drug trafficking charges.</a>
<p>
Hernández got into power in the dubious election held after the US-supported coup.  His brother was convicted already of drug trafficking.
<p>
Prohibition of recreational drugs is futile and stupid, but that doesn't make trafficking good.  For addictive drugs, the state should provide them to addicts in a safe way, so as to <a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2012-sep-dec.html#30_October_2012_(Woman_accused_of_smuggling_heroin_faces_execution)">pull the plug on the black market</a>.


feed_id: ca82acf20e2c0d955fed68a70e3169da
title: San Francisco war on homeless
uri: San-Francisco-war-on-homeless
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#24_May_2020_%28San_Francisco_war_on_homeless%29
content:
<p>

San Francisco continues its war on homeless, especially its uniformed thugs, but some people are being <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/may/22/san-francisco-sanctioned-tent-camp-homeless-covid-19">allowed for the time being to live in tents on the street</a>.


feed_id: e80e103bfcda4fb03f4600b65ceccc34
title: Eradication of Covid-19
uri: Eradication-of-Covid-19
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#24_May_2020_%28Eradication_of_Covid-19%29
content:
<p>

A vaccine for Covid-19, even if it works, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/22/why-we-might-not-get-a-coronavirus-vaccine">may not be effective enough to eradicate the disease</a>.


feed_id: 80b5968085f4430b8517d0a6b9479a21
title: Biden considers being more progressive.
uri: Biden-considers-being-more-progressive
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#24_May_2020_%28Biden_considers_being_more_progressive.%29

content:
<p>

Biden says that he will <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/may/22/joe-biden-radicalism-fdr-economic-crisis-coronavirus">consider being more progressive</a> than he was advocating previously.
<p>
For this to win my vote, he must endorse specific progressive policies, not merely say he is thinking about doing so.


feed_id: 071cfc5438887f8e7a4b96275d508275
title: New Deal-type policies to help young people
uri: New-Deal-type-policies-to-help-young-people
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#24_May_2020_%28New_Deal-type_policies_to_help_young_people%29

content:
<p>

<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/may/22/we-must-act-now-to-shield-young-people-from-the-economic-scarring-of-covid-19">*Recessions blight young people’s prospects for decades. We need New Deal-type policies now to help them.*</a>
<p>
Republicans won't allow this.


feed_id: 3b5203d9fb339150a225c3b863e9bd25
title: German safety laws for meat processing plants
uri: German-safety-laws-for-meat-processing-plants
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#24_May_2020_%28German_safety_laws_for_meat_processing_plants%29

content:
<p>

Germany has adopted <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/may/22/exploitative-conditions-germany-to-reform-meat-industry-after-spate-of-covid-19-cases">new safety laws</a> for meat-processing plants.
<p>
We should ban use of subcontracted workers in all areas of work.


feed_id: 0108be59b1e5c47afc6c92f2b7c7b9d8
title: Study of hydroxychloroquine found to increase death rate
uri: Study-of-hydroxychloroquine-found-to-increase-death-rate
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#24_May_2020_%28Study_of_hydroxychloroquine_found_to_increase_death_rate%29

content:
<p>

A study of almost 100,000 patients given hydroxychloroquine as a putative treatment for Covid-19 <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/2020/may/22/hydroxychloroquine-trumps-covid-19-cure-increases-deaths-global-study-finds">found that the drug increases the death rate</a>.
<p>
The bullshitter may be safe taking hydroxychloroquine, for the time being, if he does not have Covid-19.


feed_id: 1737b77ff18c8a1e857fceb31f0c1666
title: 14 day quarantine for international arrivals to UK
uri: 14-day-quarantine-for-international-arrivals-to-UK
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#24_May_2020_%2814_day_quarantine_for_international_arrivals_to_UK%29

content:
<p>

The UK will make people <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/22/uk-quarantine-plan-what-will-it-mean-for-travellers">arriving internationally</a> pass 14 days of quarantine.
<p>
It might make sense to quarantine travelers from high-sickness countries such as the US and Brazil.  However, it is pointless and irrational to do this to people coming from other EU countries.  They don't have a higher infection rate than the UK itself.


feed_id: de9737366bcdfd3e94468af1f486e50b
title: Urgent: Everyone: Call on Chase to stop lending to planet roasters.
uri: Urgent-Everyone-Call-on-Chase-to-stop-lending-to-planet-roasters
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#24_May_2020_%28Urgent%3A_Everyone%3A_Call_on_Chase_to_stop_lending_to_planet_roasters.%29

content:
<p>

Everyone: phone Chase CEO Jamie Dimon’s office at +1-212270-1111 and call for Chase to stop lending to <a href="https://stallman.org/glossary.html#planet">planet roasters</a>.  350.org suggests saying these words

<blockquote>
  Hi, my name is _______. I'm calling Jamie Dimon's office today to urge
  him to stop giving loans to the fossil fuel industry. I want him to do
  this for the sake of people around the world and the future of our
  planet. As a consumer, I will refuse to bank with any company that is
  so out of touch that they're still funding fossil fuels.
</blockquote>

if you can't think of something better to say.  No insults or name-calling, please &mdash; use a polite tone to state your criticism.

Fossil fuel infrastructure is expensive.  If banks won't lend for that, it can't be built.


feed_id: 2a6ca6a9550ab8c2ed201d8432c1decf
title: Urgent: Stronger health and safety protections for US frontline food workers
uri: Urgent-Stronger-health-and-safety-protections-for-US-frontline-food-w
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#24_May_2020_%28Urgent%3A_Stronger_health_and_safety_protections_for_US_frontline_food_workers%29

content:
<p>

US citizens: call on <a href="https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/sign-the-petition-demand-stronger-workplace-health-and-safety-protections-for-frontline-food-workers">stronger workplace health and safety protections</a> for US frontline food workers.


feed_id: b1ba45d116f1e531938160cfb74798c4
title: UK Tories treaty will encourage environmental degradation
uri: UK-Tories-treaty-will-encourage-environmental-degradation
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#23_May_2020_%28UK_Tories_treaty_will_encourage_environmental_degradation%29

content:
<p>

UK Tories are as bad as always, on most issues.  Now they <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/may/22/the-guardian-view-on-climate-and-covid-time-to-make-different-choices">propose a new business-supremacy treaty that will encourage environmental degradation</a>.
<p>
By denying Parliament the power to vote on these imposed changes to the UK's laws, the British state h s made itself nondemocratic and therefore illegitimate.


feed_id: 7fc6a0756577af8dee94b9dcbd19097f
title: China repression on Hong Kong
uri: China-repression-on-Hong-Kong
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#23_May_2020_%28China_repression_on_Hong_Kong%29
content:
<p>

China has announced plans to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/22/why-reassertion-of-xi-jinping-authority-spells-violence-in-hong-kong-sedition-legislation">impose direct rule and direct repression on Hong Kong</a>.
<p>
At least China's dishonesty will be exposed completely.


feed_id: d3ea40863378cf2bce70a39e751d9256
title: Black Americans, Democratic party
uri: Black-Americans-Democratic-party
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#23_May_2020_%28Black_Americans%2C_Democratic_party%29

content:
<p>

<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/may/22/black-americans-joe-biden-democratic-party-relationship">*Black Americans are in an abusive relationship with the Democratic party.*</a>


feed_id: 37fc6778556ae32790d7353b8ab86887
title: Scheme to bypass conflict of interest rules
uri: Scheme-to-bypass-conflict-of-interest-rules
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#23_May_2020_%28Scheme_to_bypass_conflict_of_interest_rules%29

content:
<p>

A new scheme to bypass conflict of interest rules: <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/05/21/my-retirement-trumps-covid-19-vaccine-czar-refuses-sell-stock-holdings-major-drug">the head of the US Covid-19 vaccine program was appointed with 10 million in stock in GlaxoSmithKline</a>, one of the companies whose activity the program is involved with.  (He got the stock as an employee.)
<p>
<a href="https://stallman.org/glossary.html#cheater">The cheater</a> appointed him as a contractor rather than an employee and claims that this makes conflict of interest rules irrelevant &mdash; but that doesn't prevent conflicts of interest.


feed_id: a3cec27ad4896d09db5a1c788e93f557
title: Real climate defense in the DNC
uri: Real-climate-defense-in-the-DNC
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#23_May_2020_%28Real_climate_defense_in_the_DNC%29
content:
<p>

Climate defense activist RL Miller has been elected to the Democratic National Committee and plans to use her position to <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/05/21/tom-perezs-worst-nightmare-newly-elected-dnc-member-rl-miller-push-dems-climate">push the party towards real climate defense</a>.
<p>
I wonder how members of the DNC are elected.  I have never seen any campaign about who will be a member.


feed_id: de07d80fa5c4635cd512887829ad33f7
title: Lobbying against single-payer universal medical care
uri: Lobbying-against-single-payer-universal-medical-care
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#23_May_2020_%28Lobbying_against_single-payer_universal_medical_care%29

content:
<p>

The American Hospital Association <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2020/05/21/doctors-group-demands-american-hospital-association-leave-anti-single-payer-dark?cd-origin=rss">funds lobbying against single-payer universal medical care (Medicare for All)</a>, through a hypocritically named lobbying group, the "Partnership for America's Health Care Future", for which a more accurate name would be the "Partnership for Unaffordable Health Care and Future Patient Bankruptcies."
<p>
Doctors have organized to demand that the AHA stop supporting that lobbying.


feed_id: fc209cb1f019de74b96f2368bbc983a6
title: US billionaires vs most Americans financial difficulties
uri: US-billionaires-vs-most-Americans-financial-difficulties
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#23_May_2020_%28US_billionaires_vs_most_Americans_financial_difficulties%29

content:
<p>

While most Americans are in financial difficulties, <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/05/21/underscoring-grotesque-nature-unequal-sacrifice-richest-americans-have-added-434">US billionaires have gained 434 more billions since mid-March</a>.


feed_id: 3e19c89046f9d8eb6eddc5d1230df889
title: Deregulation of toxins.
uri: Deregulation-of-toxins
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#23_May_2020_%28Deregulation_of_toxins.%29
content:
<p>

The head saboteur of the EPA <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/05/20/epa-chief-says-trumps-evisceration-regulations-make-things-better-forgets-add">claims all his acts of deregulation of toxins are changes for the better</a>.
<p>
The article includes a long list of them.


feed_id: 0cce8dc1d5575e72f0033dee9f37cd46
title: Covid-19 exposes instabilities in many important market systems
uri: Covid-19-exposes-instabilities-in-many-important-market-systems
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#24_May_2020_%28Covid-19_exposes_instabilities_in_many_important_market_systems%29

content:
<p>

The Covid-19 epidemic is <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2020/05/01/black-death-killed-feudalism-what-does-covid-19-mean-capitalism">exposing the way many important market systems are unstable</a> and liable to crash.
<p>
If we can overcome the <a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2012-sep-dec.html#15_November_2012_(China_faces_labor_shortage)">disaster capitalists</a> that profit from such crashes, we could redesign them to serve or real needs.


feed_id: cfae314e19636d020c221fac0470270b
title: US deporting people who have Covid-19
uri: US-deporting-people-who-have-Covid-19
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#24_May_2020_%28US_deporting_people_who_have_Covid-19%29

content:
<p>

The <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/05/22/guatemalan-leader-blasts-trump-admins-contaminated-deportation-flights-rights-groups">president of Guatemala says that the US is deporting people there who have Covid-19</a>, and this has overwhelmed Guatemala's medical system.
<p>
Some of them are not even Guatemalan.  The US is <a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#21_May_2020_(Sending_asylum_seekers)">deporting Hondurans and Salvadoreans to Guatemala</a>.
<p>
The president of Guatemala is right-wing, but even so he could protect his country by refusing to permit deportation to Guatemala as long as the pandemic continues.
<p>
If Guatemala makes an alliance with <a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#26_March_2020_(Sanctions_that_interfere_with_response_to_Covid-19)">Cuba</a>, it could get real medical help.


feed_id: 029ad748f81170ecb65e05b7287259c3
title: US damns in poor condition
uri: US-damns-in-poor-condition
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#24_May_2020_%28US_damns_in_poor_condition%29
content:
<p>

There are over 2000 dams in the US that are in <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/may/23/us-dams-michigan-report-infrastructure">poor condition</a> and their failure would kill people.
<p>
This is the result of decades of skimping on maintenance to pay for increased military spending and handouts to the rich.


feed_id: e8b9fdb8845b783c9cd1aea89ab5d9c3
title: US total fertility rate is dropping
uri: US-total-fertility-rate-is-dropping
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#24_May_2020_%28US_total_fertility_rate_is_dropping%29

content:
<p>

The US <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/may/23/america-children-parents-week-in-patriarchy">total fertility rate is dropping</a>.
<p>
This is a good thing, because having more than a few children is a luxury that our species cannot afford &mdash; not on this planet the way it is now.
<p>
The expense of having and raising children in the US is partially the result of that situation, and partly imposed by the cruelty of plutocracy.  I campaign to end that cruelty, but fewer births is at least a silver lining to that cloud.
<p>
If we could get the whole world's fertility rate down well under 1.7, we would be headed towards a sustainable population.


feed_id: 22234b8afaff40d39a6ca822b474a9dd
title: Congress members made suspicious stock trades
uri: Congress-members-made-suspicious-stock-trades
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#24_May_2020_%28Congres_members_made_suspicious_stock_trades%29

content:
<p>

49 members of Congress (some senators, some representatives) <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/04/30/cashing-pandemic-documents-show-lawmakers-made-1500-stock-transactions-worth-158">made suspicious stock trades in February and March</a>. &mdash; suspicious in that it looks like they were acting on private information they received in Congress.
<p>
They may even have bought stocks that they could boost through their decisions.


feed_id: b20deb2b75e38fb7eeb6928ff7f8ea68
title: Preacher claimed he could make worshipers immune to Covid-19
uri: Preacher-claimed-he-could-make-worshipers-immune-to-Covid-19
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#24_May_2020_%28Preacher_claimed_he_could_make_worshippers_immune_to_Covid-19%29

content:
<p>

Frankline Ndifor, preacher, drew lots of worshipers by claiming he could make them immune to Covid-19, but he <a href="https://boingboing.net/2020/05/19/popular-pastor-who-claimed-he.html">couldn't make himself immune</a>.  His "flock" now expect him to be resurrected soon.
<p>
That will not happen, but some of them will refuse to believe that no matter how long they wait.  Eventually they will found the Ndiforian Church, and say he is someone they ca-Ndifor.
<p>
If you're not a sheep, you don't need a pastor.


feed_id: 6a3643ad78e6ed8114c520468427efc3
title: Flood in Michigan came close to a nuclear power plant.
uri: Flood-in-Michigan-came-close-to-a-nuclear-power-plant
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#24_May_2020_%28Flood_in_Michigan_came_close_to_a_nuclear_power_plant.%29

content:
<p>

The flood in Michigan, caused by the collapse of an old dam, came close to a nuclear power plant.  If it had reached the plant, <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/05/22/michigan-flood-says-group-shows-us-unprepared-nightmarish-threat-nuclear-disaster">it could have caused a disaster</a>.
<p>
We should shut down nuclear power plants, and replace them with renewable power plus batteries.


feed_id: 69628f802cbc533d475ae19423b39cfe
title: Fossil fuel companies name their price
uri: Fossil-fuel-companies-name-their-price
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#24_May_2020_%28Fossil_fuel_companies_name_their_price%29

content:
<p>

Making a sucker out of the US: the conman tells fossil fuel companies, <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/05/22/trump-allows-oil-companies-slash-their-own-royalty-rates-05-revenues-drilling-public">"Pay as little or as much as you like" for extracting fuels from US public lands.</a>
<p>
The US needs to impose a steadily increasing tax on use of fossil fuel, no matter where it came from or how it was obtained, and make the increase fast enough to reduce usage to near zero in 10 years.  <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2020/05/22/5-reasons-we-must-act-now-end-oil-and-gas-production">This can be part of a planned shift away from fossil fuels.</a>


feed_id: 1abd48b9ea179890f4808b9899654acf
title: Saboteur-in-chief won't 'close the country' for 'second wave' of Covid-19
uri: Saboteur-in-chief-won-t-close-the-country-for-second-wave-of-Covid
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#24_May_2020_%28Saboteur-in-chief_won%27t_%27close_the_country%27_for_%27second_wave%27_of_Covid-19%29

content:
<p>

*As Warnings Mount of So-Called 'Second Wave' of Covid-19, [the saboteur-in-chief] Says He <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/05/22/warnings-mount-so-called-second-wave-covid-19-trump-says-he-wont-close-country-again">Won't 'Close the Country' Again</a>.*
<p>
Of course he won't.  After working so hard to keep the US unprepared, and for "reopening" which will start the second wave, he would hardly waste the opportunity to convert that into actual deaths.
<p>
Besides, <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2020/05/01/alec-leading-right-wing-campaign-reopen-economy-despite-covid-19">ALEC wants this</a>, and he could hardly go against ALEC.


feed_id: fb85f97fdf51d04dcc2cd0e7eac770d0
title: (satire) Disappearing thousands of Hong Kong residents
uri: (satire)-Disappearing-thousands-of-Hong-Kong-residents
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#24_May_2020_%28%28satire%29_Disappearing_thousands_of_Hong_Kong_residents%29

content:
<p>

(satire) <a href="https://www.theonion.com/xi-jinping-warns-of-second-coronavirus-wave-likely-to-d-1843610026">*Xi Jinping Warns Of Second Coronavirus Wave Likely To Disappear Thousands Of Hong Kong Residents.*</a>


feed_id: df52935e9534d81f1ca35eaf40e04f23
title: Releasing prisoners convicted of nonviolent crimes
uri: Releasing-prisoners-convicted-of-nonviolent-crimes
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#24_May_2020_%28Releasing_prisoners_convicted_of_nonviolent_crimes%29

content:
<p>

<a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2020/05/22/simple-solution-coronavirus-crisis-prisons">Releasing prisoners convicted (or merely accused) of nonviolent crimes</a> not only protects them from Covid-19.  It helps protect the whole community.
<p>
The article mentions the figure of "5,000%", which always tends to mislead.
<p>
Percentages are a clear way of stating the difference between two figures only when the percentage difference is under 100%.  For an increase which more than doubles the figure, using percent to represent it is a method of exaggeration.  Instead of saying "5,000% more", say "50 times as much."  That is a big increase indeed, but has nothing to do with 5,000.


feed_id: 389c3ac1a88b0a73dd12e8e64f97917c
title: Government us of location tracking by portable phones
uri: Government-us-of-location-tracking-by-portable-phones
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#24_May_2020_%28Government_us_of_location_tracking_by_portable_phones%29

content:
<p>

Many <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2020/05/22/international-proposals-warrantless-location-surveillance-fight-covid-19">governments have increased the use of location tracking by portable phones</a>, in the name of Covid-19, even though that location data is not precise enough to be of any use for contact tracing.
<p>
However, human rights organizations are fighting back.
<p>
As for me, I don't want to carry a personal tracking device. And they can be used also as listening devices.  I have never had one and I never will.
<p>
My not having one also assures I will never use the other systems that piggyback on a mobile phone to track or identify people.  No contact-less payments.  No use-a-text-message-to-log-in.
<p>
Please join the resistance against pressure to use systems that track you.  Just start saying no, even to some of them, and mention this in your mail signatures, your profiles, etc.


feed_id: 910d4120b102d9d65ad635bb7092920e
title: Housing homeless people
uri: 2020-05-25-Housing-homeless-people
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#24_May_2020_%28Housing_homeless_people%29
content:
<p>

US cities <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2020/05/22/why-we-should-commandeer-hotels-house-homeless">must commandeer hotels to house homeless people</a>.


feed_id: 9e5a5e0761b12e28aa595b97fadb85bd
title: Federal funding to increase Covid-19 testing and contact tracing
uri: Federal-funding-to-increase-Covid-19-testing-and-contact-tracing
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#24_May_2020_%28Federal_funding_to_increase_Covid-19_testing_and_contact_tracing%29

content:
<p>

Senator Warren and Rep. Andy Levin propose federal funding to <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/coronavirus-contact-tracing-could-stop-covid-19-reopen-america-we-ncna1206701">increase Covid-19 testing and contact tracing as the base for freeing the US of the disease</a>.
<p>
This would be a great step towards the task of world-wide eradication.


feed_id: 3fe72c5e1eeb9bc6e51be1abdb26daa8
title: Biden formally opposes Israel's plan to annex part of Palestine
uri: Biden-formally-opposes-Israel-s-plan-to-annex-part-of-Palestine
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#24_May_2020_%28Biden_formally_opposes_Israel%27s_plan_to_annex_part_of_Palestine%29

content:
<p>

Biden formally opposes Israel's plan to annex part of Palestine, but <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2020/05/22/key-biden-adviser-offers-little-hope-palestinians">won't do anything to pressure Israel not to do it</a>.


feed_id: b091f734fa8a3df8fbfaff5fde1e530e
title: Senate plan to cut Social Security
uri: Senate-plan-to-cut-Social-Security
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#24_May_2020_%28Senate_plan_to_cut_Social_Security%29

content:
<p>

The Senate plan to cut Social Security, proposed by Mitt Romney, <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/05/22/gop-plot-gut-social-security-behind-closed-doors-gains-steam-senate-covid-19-talks">has support even from some nominal Democrats in the senate</a>.
<p>
This shows that even though Romney has criticized the conman, he is nonetheless part of <a href="https://stallman.org/glossary.html#doohnibor">dooH niboR</a>'s cruel band.


feed_id: 94f8fdf5b6bcf16e4cb87fea5ab625a0
title: Foreign-owned company gets Federal COVID-19 loan
uri: Foreign-owned-company-gets-Federal-COVID-19-loan
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#24_May_2020_%28Foreign-owned_company_gets_Federal_COVID-19_loan%29

content:
<p>

<a href="https://www.exposedbycmd.org/2020/05/01/foreign-owned-entertainment-company-lands-federal-covid-19-loan/">*Foreign-Owned Entertainment Company Lands Federal COVID-19 Loan.*</a>


feed_id: f3f3e42f7852987fb83671403c021bf5
title: Postal Voting
uri: Postal-Voting
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#24_May_2020_%28Postal_Voting%29
content:
<p>

Indigenous people in the US <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/may/22/mail-in-voting-native-americans-election">will be at a disadvantage</a> in postal voting.


feed_id: 36f859563efadaa2b20f32af255ed0df
title: Smaller microplastic particles are more numerous in the ocean
uri: Smaller-microplastic-particles-are-more-numerous-in-the-ocean
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#24_May_2020_%28Smaller_microplastic_particles_are_more_numerous_in_the_ocean%29

content:
<p>

Most measurements of microplastics in the ocean detect only milliplastics, since they use a strainer with holes .5mm across.  A survey with .1mm holes found that the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/may/22/microplastic-pollution-in-oceans-vastly-underestimated-study">smaller particles are more numerous</a>.
<p>
The .1mm-.5mm particles add up to much less mas of plastic than the larger ones.  However, if toxins leak out in proportion to surface area, they could leak quantities disproportionate to their masses. Also, they could be eaten by smaller animals that could not ingest a .5mm particle, and enter the food chain lower down.


feed_id: f4d05642450a24ceaedb663c5578f272
title: Climate risks and opportunities need to be incorporated into the financial system
uri: Climate-risks-and-opportunities-need-to-be-incorporated-into-the-finan
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#24_May_2020_%28Climate_risks_and_opportunities_need_to_be_incorporated_into_the_financial_system%29

content:
<p>

*   <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/commentisfree/2020/may/22/humanity-must-take-this-chance-to-find-a-new-normal-and-safeguard-our-planet-aoe">Climate risks and opportunities need to be incorporated into the financial system</a> as well as public policymaking and infrastructure.*
<p>
*We now have the proof: greening the economy doesn't come at the price of prosperity.  The investment to rebuild economic activity can be directed towards a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/may/22/greening-economy-prosperity-financial-crisis-coronavirus">green economy and still rebuild economic activity</a>.
<p>
The obstacle, as usual, is the control that <a href="https://stallman.org/glossary.html#planet">planet roasters</a> have over several important countries, including especially the US.  Doing anything good will require overcoming their political power.


feed_id: 23faff829d07a285b94eb4617cc948ea
title: Talk with mannequins
uri: 2020-05-25-Talk-with-mannequins
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#25_May_2020_%28Talk_with_mannequins%29
content:
<p>
In Virginia <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/food/2020/may/14/virgina-restaurant-solves-social-distancing-dilemma-mannequins">you can eat at a restaurant and talk with mannequins</a>.

<p>
Hold on there!  Everyone else isn't dead yet.


feed_id: 5e1beb5285c9983b7cab564ebbc6b09a
title: Urgent: leave planet-roaster lobbying group
uri: Urgent-leave-planet-roaster-lobbying-group
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#25_May_2020_%28Urgent%3A_leave_planet-roaster_lobbying_group%29

content:
<p>
 Everyone: <a href="https://act.350.org/sign/ask-rio-tinto-leave-mca">call on Rio Tinto</a> to leave the Minerals Council of Australia, a planet-roaster lobbying group.


feed_id: 77db881bd8f9c292b447ffe1c75d1042
title: Covid-19 vaccine
uri: Covid-19-vaccine
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#25_May_2020_%28Covid-19_vaccine%29
content:
<p>
There is no Covid-19 vaccine yet, but European countries are
discussing whether to require people to get vaccinated, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/23/europes-covid-predicament-how-do-you-solve-a-problem-like-the-anti-vaxxers">and
anti-vaxxers are already campaigning against it</a>.

<p>
In the absence of a vaccine that has been tested, and thus in the
absence of any information about how effective it would be and what
side-effects it would have, there is no way to say anything rational
about the question.  This dispute reflects conflicting prejudices,
nothing more.

<p>
If the vaccine is a DNA vaccine, and <a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2020-jan-apr.html#17_April_2020_(DNA_vaccines)">if it effectively modifies
peoples genomes in a heritable way</a>,
   that will raise an important issue of safety.  We must make that
decision carefully, not hastily.  But if a non-DNA vaccine is developed.
this issue won't arise.


feed_id: fb255510c2b63b679fa1c78c0d9d923a
title: Covid-19 tests
uri: Covid-19-tests
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#25_May_2020_%28Covid-19_tests%29
content:
<p>
Some kinds of Covid-19 virus tests give up to 30% false negatives.
This means that almost 1/3 of the people actually infected <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/25/doctors-condemn-secrecy-over-false-negative-covid-19-tests">will be
erroneously judged not to be infected</a>.


feed_id: 182a2f859326c0cb2412f1988ff1f52e
title: Urgent: end monopolies on life saving drugs
uri: Urgent-end-monopolies-on-life-saving-drugs
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#25_May_2020_%28Urgent%3A_end_monopolies_on_life_saving_drugs%29

content:
<p>
US citizens: <a href="https://actionnetwork.org/forms/big-pharma-monopolies-covid?nowrapper=true">call on Congress (and the conman)</a> to end the monopolies
in life-saving drugs, and pass the COVID-19 Emergency Manufacturing
Act now.


feed_id: 6b3b4f2ec215ef72f9a9e3b4cf25b3df
title: Pollution-credit trading system
uri: Pollution-credit-trading-system
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#25_May_2020_%28Pollution-credit_trading_system%29
content:
<p>
California's pollution-credit trading system <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2020/05/20/cap-and-trade-auction-reveals-weakness-market-based-climate-policy">is backfiring badly now that
demand for electricity has crashed</a>.

<p>
A steadily increasing tax would avoid some of these problems.  It
would not the shortfall of revenue if pollution surprisingly
decreases, but we should consider that windfall of safety.


feed_id: 9fc431b6b801bb925e7241312ccbe780
title: Special voting rules
uri: Special-voting-rules
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#25_May_2020_%28Special_voting_rules%29
content:
<p>
Dishonest Republican state legislators could force the presidential
election into the House of Representatives, <a href="https://www.gregpalast.com/trump-could-be-reelected-even-if-he-loses-the-electoral-college/">where under special voting
rules the Republicans would certainly win</a>.

<p>
Can we do anything to prevent this hijacking?


feed_id: 453c79304736a09d7132bba2e6f37678
title: Corrupt abuse of power
uri: Corrupt-abuse-of-power
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#25_May_2020_%28Corrupt_abuse_of_power%29
content:
<p>
The corrupter has overtly threatened Michigan and Nevada <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/05/20/trump-just-said-corrupt-part-out-loud/">with corrupt
abuse of power</a>.


feed_id: be897924fcb639005e4c08d1333b0ee1
title: Supporting businesses through employees
uri: Supporting-businesses-through-employees
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#25_May_2020_%28Supporting_businesses_through_employees%29

content:
<p>
The Paycheck Security Act would support small businesses <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2020/05/21/sanders-warner-jones-and-blumenthal-introduce-paycheck-security-act-keep">by supporting
their employees' wages and benefits</a>.


feed_id: f959eae8cd43a9c72fd5dd81ec301a81
title: The other oil well explosion
uri: The-other-oil-well-explosion
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#25_May_2020_%28The_other_oil_well_explosion%29
content:
<p>
As we remember the Big Spill in the Gulf of Mexico ten years ago,
<a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2020-jan-apr.html#19_April_2020_(Damage_remaining_from_the_Big_Spill)">causing damage that still persists</a>,
  let's also remember that this was BP's second oil well explosion.
<a href="https://www.gregpalast.com/deepwater-horizon-bps-second-blowout/">The first, in Azerbaijan, was mostly covered up</a>.


feed_id: fc8e95cd94628ea2f8192e21a45da029
title: Not about anus exams
uri: Not-about-anus-exams
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#25_May_2020_%28Not_about_anus_exams%29
content:
<p>
The URL
https://www.woroni.com.au/news/analysis-the-issues-surrounding-anus-proposed-online-invigilation/
appears to be about anus exams, carried out using a nonfree malware
prackage called Procto-rio.

<p>
Unfortunately it is not a joke.  The page is about <a href="https://www.woroni.com.au/news/analysis-the-issues-surrounding-anus-proposed-online-invigilation/">nonfree malware
called Proctorio</a> that ANU demands 
students install and run to take final exams.

<p>
That the question of the ethics of making students install software in
their own computers has been mentioned indicates progress in making
people aware of the danger of nonfree programs.

<p>
If I were a student at ANU, I might have been forced to drop out when
the school told students to install Zoom.  However, first I would have
asked my teachers to make recordings from the Zoom calls and post them
where I could download them.  Or else post the pertinent visual
materials where I could get them before the class, and I could phone
the Zoom server and record the audio myself.  Either way, I could
continue the classes without running the nonfree program myself.


feed_id: 3d98ff604193f31528c2a90c0f3835ed
title: Australia helped cover up bad new from shareholders
uri: Australia-helped-cover-up-bad-new-from-shareholders
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#26_May_2020_%28Australia_helped_cover_up_bad_new_from_shareholders%29

content:
<p>

Australia has quietly helped corporate executives to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/may/25/frydenbergs-changes-to-shareholder-class-actions-smack-of-cronyism-lawyers-say">cover up bad news and problems from shareholders</a>.


feed_id: f5f98dc821b8ff2526c2e519e79a4753
title: Millions of people in Pakistan face starvation
uri: Millions-of-people-in-Pakistan-face-starvation
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#26_May_2020_%28Millions_of_people_in_Pakistan_face_starvation%29

content:
<p>

<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/25/many-will-starve-locusts-devour-crops-and-livelihoods-in-pakistan">Millions of people in Pakistan face starvation because of swarms of locusts.</a> The government failed to spray pesticides when the infestation was small.


feed_id: 4db20893de1f43dc0bbdd78314083104
title: A 2017 plan for research to speed development of vaccines
uri: A-2017-plan-for-research-to-speed-development-of-vaccines
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#26_May_2020_%28A_2017_plan_for_research_to_speed_development_of_vaccines%29

content:
<p>

In 2017 the European Union asked Big Pharma to participate in a plan for research to speed development of vaccines for possible future epidemics. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/25/exclusive-big-pharma-rejected-eu-plan-to-fast-track-vaccines-in-2017">The companies were not interested.</a>


feed_id: 76c2e4154efc47fc75c982a90ac471ef
title: Urgent: Oregon voters: initiative which would decriminalize forbidden drugs
uri: Urgent-Oregon-voters-initiative-which-would-decriminalize-forbidden
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#26_May_2020_%28Urgent%3A_Oregon_voters%3A_initiative_which_would_decriminalize_forbidden_drugs%29

content:
<p>

Oregon voters: sign the ballot petition for an initiative which would decriminalize forbidden drugs.
<p>
Send mail to signatures@yesonip44.org for more information, to see the full text of the initiative, and the materials so that you can then sign if you wish.


feed_id: 0ca0c60b4649e8ade590bbcc3e4b767c
title: Urgent: support the Covid-19 Global Solidarity Manifesto
uri: Urgent-support-the-Covid-19-Global-Solidarity-Manifesto
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#26_May_2020_%28Urgent%3A_support_the_Covid-19_Global_Solidarity_Manifesto%29

content:
<p>

Everyone: support the <a href="https://www.covidglobalsolidarity.org/">Covid-19 Global Solidarity Manifesto</a>.


feed_id: d381c6cb146b6541414b430ba99c57f5
title: Urgent: make the bully release aid for Yemen
uri: Urgent-make-the-bully-release-aid-for-Yemen
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#26_May_2020_%28Urgent%3A_make_the_bully_release_aid_for_Yemen%29

content:
<p>

US citizens: <a href="https://act.winwithoutwar.org/act/write-congress-yemen-usaid-now">call on Congress to make the bully release aid for Yemen.</a>

<p>The Capitol Switchboard numbers are 202-224-3121, 888-818-6641 and 888-355-3588.</p>
<p>If you call please spread the word!</p>


feed_id: 24b7d9a26109b08e395dad9847e9c83a
title: Urgent: Monopolies on life-saving drugs &mdash; pass the COVID-19 Emergency Manufacturing Act
uri: Urgent-Monopolies-on-life-saving-drugs-pass-the-COVID-19-Emergenc
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#26_May_2020_%28Urgent%3A_Monopolies_on_life-saving_drugs_%2526mdash%3B_pass_the_COVID-19_Emergency_Manufacturing_Act%29

content:
<p>

US citizens: call on Congress to <a href="https://actionnetwork.org/forms/big-pharma-monopolies-covid">end the monopolies on life-saving drugs</a> &mdash; to pass the COVID-19 Emergency Manufacturing Act.

<p>The Capitol Switchboard numbers are 202-224-3121, 888-818-6641 and 888-355-3588.</p>
<p>If you call please spread the word!</p>


feed_id: 624809e4f381122ac7ebd1e94bc27cce
title: Urgent: Investigate how Amazon warehouses encourage spread of Covid-19
uri: Urgent-Investigate-how-Amazon-warehouses-encourage-spread-of-Covid-19
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#26_May_2020_%28Urgent%3A_Investigate_how_Amazon_warehouses_encourage_spread_of_Covid-19%29

content:
<p>

US citizens: call on <a href="https://actionnetwork.org/forms/sign-the-petition-demand-all-us-governors-investigate-amazon-warehouses-that-put-health-at-risk">US state governors to investigate how Amazon warehouses encourage spread of Covid-19</a>.


feed_id: 3484fec3d2996c0f1e6dd00c3657dfcb
title: Urgent: 5-year ban on arms sales to Salafi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates
uri: Urgent-5-year-ban-on-arms-sales-to-Salafi-Arabia-and-the-United-Arab
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#26_May_2020_%28Urgent%3A_5-year_ban_on_arms_sales_to_Salafi_Arabia_and_the_United_Arab_Emirates%29

content:
<p>

US citizens: call on Congress to <a href="https://act.winwithoutwar.org/act/5-year-ban-saudi-and-emirati-arms-sales">enact 5-year ban on arms sales to Salafi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates</a>.
<p>The Capitol Switchboard numbers are 202-224-3121, 888-818-6641 and 888-355-3588.</p>
<p>If you call please spread the word!</p>


feed_id: 1e402b2c748d1560fc30803a5fb2fba6
title: Urgent: Stand up to the bully's threats of illegal shutoffs of federal funds
uri: Urgent-Stand-up-to-the-bully-s-threats-of-illegal-shutoffs-of-federal
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#26_May_2020_%28Urgent%3A_Stand_up_to_the_bully%27s_threats_of_illegal_shutoffs_of_federal_funds%29

content:
<p>

US citizens: call on state election officials to <a href="https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/stand-with-election-officials-against-trumps-threats">stand up to the bully's threats of illegal shutoffs of federal funds</a>.


feed_id: 7beb1248466aa01849aa4a4051276710
title: Urgent: Call on congress to pass HR 6579
uri: Urgent-Call-on-congress-to-pass-HR-6579
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#26_May_2020_%28Urgent%3A_Call_on_congress_to_pass_HR_6579%29

content:
<p>

US citizens: call on Congress <a href="https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/become-a-co-signer-of-hr-6579-s-3640-to-repeal-135-billion-in-tax-breaks-for-the-richest-1">to pass HR 6579</a>, which would repeal a large tax cut for the rich.
<p>The Capitol Switchboard numbers are 202-224-3121, 888-818-6641 and 888-355-3588.</p>
<p>If you call spread the word!</p>


feed_id: 1f94b640ae728967e720c5634f91fefa
title: Punished by mentor
uri: Punished-by-mentor
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#26_May_2020_%28Punished_by_mentor%29
content:
<p>
Bolsonaro is getting punished for letting Covid-19 spread in Brazil
almost unrestrained.  His mentor, the bullshitter, has imposed
a travel ban <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/25/jair-bolsonaro-under-pressure-after-trump-bans-flights-from-brazil">on people who have recently been in Brazil</a>.


feed_id: 4a8bbc05abb5c0b3bed600a220214573
title: Global heating in oceans
uri: Global-heating-in-oceans
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#26_May_2020_%28Global_heating_in_oceans%29
content:
<p>
*[Changes due to global heating] in deep oceans <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/may/26/climate-change-in-deep-oceans-could-be-seven-times-faster-by-middle-of-century-report-says">could be seven times faster
by middle of century, report says</a>.*


feed_id: 496b69500073e8d0b3057f17829559bf
title: Lying to excuse aide
uri: Lying-to-excuse-aide
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#26_May_2020_%28Lying_to_excuse_aide%29
content:
<p>
Britons are enraged at Bogus Johnson for lying to excuse an aide,
Cummings, who drove for hours to meet his parents, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/may/25/dominic-cummings-one-rule-establishment-sacrifices">breaching
anti-contagion guidelines that have been presented in very rigid
terms</a>.

<p>
For the most part, separation practices are wise practices because
they reduce transmission of Covid-19.  In Massachusetts, they are
mostly not mandatory, but I don't care &mdash; I practice them nearly all
the time anyway.

<p>
However, there is no reason to practice them with a stupid robot's
rigidity regardless of how small a risk would be avoided.

<p>
I go to a supermarket once or twice a week, because that is the only
way I can get food while not being identified by the store.  I define
"safe" in terms of my freedom and my privacy as well as my health;
keeping safe calls for estimating the various risks.

<p>
I also need to take the subway to my bank occasionally to deposit
checks.

<p>
Once in a while I get take-out from a restaurant or get ice cream.  I
don't <em>need</em> to do that, but there is no reason to make a fuss about
it, because the added risk of this is small compared with the risk of
the rest.

<p>
I wear a mask when I go out, not because some places say it is
required, but because I want to avoid the chance of possibly infecting
anyone.  Rule or no rule, it is the right thing to do.

<p>
The British separation rules are, in overall, treated too rigidly, but
they are good rules for the most part.  They should be a little less
rigid for everyone, but not specially for a few politically important
people.

<p>
Nothing can excuse Johnson's <a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2019-may-aug.html#26_August_2019_(Bogus_Johnsons_lies)">history of lies</a>.


feed_id: 7a45631e77a8e3e2511f67638bc74280
title: Columbia Sportswear
uri: Columbia-Sportswear
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#26_May_2020_%28Columbia_Sportswear%29
content:
<p>
Columbia Sportswear Sought <a href="https://theintercept.com/2020/05/20/columbia-sportswear-warehouse-workers-union-teamsters/">to Crush a Warehouse Union Drive as the Pandemic
Approached</a>.


feed_id: 2ad53fee539a68e66359be88bd923209
title: Protest hanging effigy of governor
uri: Protest-hanging-effigy-of-governor
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#26_May_2020_%28Protest_hanging_effigy_of_governor%29

content:
<p>
Right-wing "reopen" protesters in Kentucky <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/may/25/kentucky-governor-effigy-protest">hung the governor in
effigy, and even Republican politicians condemned it</a>.

<p>
At last we see a limit to how much political hatred mainstream
Republicans will tolerate.


feed_id: 809967579fe0a10296802e86318eda20
title: Defending worker classification
uri: Defending-worker-classification
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#26_May_2020_%28Defending_worker_classification%29
content:
<p>
California has sued Uber and Lyft for classifying workers as
"independent contractors" <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/05/05/gig-workers-struggle-amid-outbreak-california-sues-lyft-and-uber-refusing-classify">despite the new law that requires treating
them as employees</a>.

<p>
Bravo, California &mdash; but even if the companies yield and obey the new law,
I will reject these companies for the bad way they treat their <em>customers</em>:
requiring them to identify themselves and run nonfree software.


feed_id: 9656154a1682b113af3f16c5b49aa1dd
title: Announces and realities
uri: Announces-and-realities
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#26_May_2020_%28Announces_and_realities%29
content:
<p>
Last August, the Business Roundtable &mdash; an association of CEOs of
America’s biggest corporations &mdash; announced their companies would
"[invest] in employees, delivering value to customers, and supporting
outside communities.  Since then, <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2020/05/05/corporations-will-not-save-us-sham-corporate-social-responsibility">they have become even nastier</a>.


feed_id: 862d4607da695716027467339c844496
title: Taking patients to hospital
uri: Taking-patients-to-hospital
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#26_May_2020_%28Taking_patients_to_hospital%29
content:
<p>
*My working week: 'If I take a patient to hospital, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/may/25/my-working-week-take-patient-hospital-save-kill-paramedic-covid19">it could save [per]. But it
might kill [per]</a>.'*


feed_id: 414a9b4076f245f656abba7f133c2384
title: Wealth tax
uri: 2020-05-26-Wealth-tax
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#26_May_2020_%28Wealth_tax%29
content:
<p>
Spain is now <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/may/25/spain-crisis-wealth-tax-coronavirus">considering a wealth tax</a>.

<p>
The point where a wealth tax is needed as well as a progressive income
tax is where someone's wealth generates a lot of income that can be
hidden from income tax.


feed_id: 4ea5cb8a7daca9871d08045392e493ec
title: Enormous fires
uri: Enormous-fires
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#26_May_2020_%28Enormous_fires%29
content:
<p>
Australia's enormous fires, a few months ago, are in line with the
forecast <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/may/25/australias-severe-bushfire-season-was-predicted-and-will-be-repeated-inquiry-told">made 30 years ago by the national scientific body, CSIRO</a>.


feed_id: 949183df3cc65fd3e9dd1258a70670cd
title: Chinese monitoring app to be made permanent
uri: Chinese-monitoring-app-to-be-made-permanent
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#27_May_2020_%28Chinese_monitoring_app_to_be_made_permanent%29

content:
<p>

Hangzhou plans to make its Covid-19 <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/26/chinese-city-plans-to-turn-coronavirus-app-into-permanent-health-tracker">monitoring app permanent</a>, and even Chinese resent the surveillance.


feed_id: 1b59a1861ec25ec26d038ed2330d6f90
title: Plutocratist Democrats in Washington are actively helping Republicans
uri: Plutocratist-Democrats-in-Washington-are-actively-helping-Republicans
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#27_May_2020_%28Plutocratist_Democrats_in_Washington_are_actively_helping_Republicans%29

content:
<p>

*(Plutocratist) Democrats in Washington are not just passively failing to mount an opposition to Trump. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/may/26/democrats-trump-corporate-counter-revolution">They are actively helping Republicans</a>.*


feed_id: dab90cc586f4a51edc0f058e7136691b
title: Pressure for Europe to choose sides between US and China is building
uri: Pressure-for-Europe-to-choose-sides-between-US-and-China-is-building
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#27_May_2020_%28Pressure_for_Europe_to_choose_sides_between_US_and_China_is_building%29

content:
<p>

*Pressure for <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/25/asian-century-marks-end-of-us-led-global-system-warns-eu-chief">Europe to choose sides between US and China</a> is building, says Josep Borrell, head of the EU's foreign affairs department.*


feed_id: bc82af84d65818cb2a099e54cde88456
title: Deaths and hospitalization from smoke of Australia's enormous fires
uri: Deaths-and-hospitalization-from-smoke-of-Australia-s-enormous-fires
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#27_May_2020_%28Deaths_and_hospitalization_from_smoke_of_Australia%27s_enormous_fires%29

content:
<p>

The smoke from Australia's enormous fires <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/may/26/australias-summer-bushfire-smoke-killed-445-and-put-thousands-in-hospital-inquiry-hears">killed 445 people</a>. Meanwhile 4000 more were hospitalized for respiratory problems.
<p>
Some of those 4000 may die prematurely due to lingering damage caused by the smoke.


feed_id: 53c51c46eb9b301d642585e5d26be437
title: Covid-19 is still slowly increasing in Massachusetts
uri: Covid-19-is-still-slowly-increasing-in-Massachusetts
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#27_May_2020_%28Covid-19_is_still_slowly_increasing_in_Massachusetts%29

content:
<p>

Covid-19 is <a href="https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/05/24/metro/british-study-says-massachusetts-corona-rates-much-higher-than-reported-could-rise-steeply/">still slowly increasing in Massachusetts</a>, with R > 1.  A model suggests that 13% of the population has Covid-19 now or has recovered from it.
<p>
Reopening business and social contact will speed the spread, leaving Massachusetts with less time to set up an adequate system of testing and tracing to stop it.


feed_id: 816607f731e98f9f4cbb27021716595c
title: Undermining rules on pollution will kill Americans
uri: Undermining-rules-on-pollution-will-kill-Americans
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#27_May_2020_%28Undermining_rules_on_pollution_will_kill_Americans%29

content:
<p>

*Murderer in Chief (Part Two): undermining rules on pollution <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2020/05/25/murderer-chief-part-two-trumps-gutting-environmental-rules-will-lead-hundreds">will kill at least 25,000 Americans per year</a>.  That is counting just a few kinds of pollution, so there could be substantially more deaths.


feed_id: cc9faf147cd31860f45d6fae142d7c6b
title: Volkswagen ordered to pay compensation for 'defeat device'
uri: Volkswagen-ordered-to-pay-compensation-for-defeat-device
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#27_May_2020_%28Volkswagen_ordered_to_pay_compensation_for_%27defeat_device%27__%29

content:
<p>

Volkswagen <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/may/25/german-court-rules-against-volkswagen-dieselgate-scandal">ordered to pay compensation</a> to those who purchased vehicles with the "defeat device" that cheated on emissions tests.


feed_id: a3a2769caa19414b140c807f836e3bf6
title: Ex cons right to vote
uri: Ex-cons-right-to-vote
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#27_May_2020_%28Ex_cons_right_to_vote%29
content:
<p>

Florida Republicans tried to negate a ballot initiative to restore voting rights to ex cons, by attaching a requirement that each one pay all debts related to the conviction before being allowed to vote. A <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/05/25/watershed-moment-election-law-judge-rules-modern-day-poll-tax-florida">federal court has ruled that this added requirement is unconstitutional</a>.
<p>
This victory is not final.  I suppose that the right-wing Supreme Court will make the final decision.


feed_id: 6505fb3d36f4606ab72318053bdc169b
uri: Wealthy-hospitals-received-federal-rescue-funds-and-sat-on-cash-reserv
title:
Wealthy hospitals received federal rescue funds and sat on cash reservers, poorer hospitals struggle

url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#27_May_2020_%28Wealthy_hospitals_received_federal_rescue_funds_and_sat_on_cash_reservers%2C_poorer_hospitals_struggle%29

content:
<p>

*Some of the wealthiest hospital groups in the United States have received huge infusions of <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/05/25/here-we-go-again-richest-hospitals-sitting-billions-cash-got-golden-bailouts">federal rescue funds even as they sat on billions of dollars in cash reserves</a> and poorer hospitals and clinics struggle to maintain bare-minimum levels of service.*
<p>
That's plutocracy for you.


feed_id: f4c66a0c9e53b89d77604177b4b874bf
uri: Major-U-S-corporations-simultaneously-lay-off-workers-and-dish-out-hu
title:
Major U.S. corporations simultaneously lay off workers and dish out huge dividends to wealthy shareholders

url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#27_May_2020_%28Major_U.S._corporations_simultaneously_lay_off_workers_and_dish_out_huge_dividends_to_wealthy_shareholders%29

content:
<p>

*   Five major U.S. corporations that have laid off thousands of workers in recent weeks have <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/05/06/outrageous-major-us-companies-hand-shareholders-hundreds-millions-dividends-while">simultaneously dished out hundreds of millions of dollars</a> in cash dividends to wealthy shareholders,*


feed_id: 5ec83cc6ad95bfe48ce0303558e74b8b
title: China's plan to arrest Hong Kongers and take them to China
uri: China-s-plan-to-arrest-Hong-Kongers-and-take-them-to-China
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#26_May_2020_%28China%27s_plan_to_arrest_Hong_Kongers_and_take_them_to_China%29

content:
<p>
  Thousands of Hong Kongers protested China's plan to arrest people in
  Hong Kong and take them to China,
  <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/inpictures/pictures-thousands-protest-hong-kong-law-200524143855170.html">where they could be disappeared.</a>
  


feed_id: 1de0cb695e63dd154ddb7ef1a7270467
title: Assassin-in-chief for Americans
uri: Assassin-in-chief-for-Americans
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#26_May_2020_%28Assassin-in-chief_for_Americans%29
content:
<p>
  <a href="https://stallman.org/glossary.html#dubya">Dubya</a> made himself America's assassin-in-chief, for foreigners.
  Now the bully <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2020/04/30/killer-chief">has made himself</a> America's assassin-in-chief, for Americans.


feed_id: 7048dbb27ecef509e5c40dcc11905a63
title: Remdesivir
uri: Remdesivir
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#27_May_2020_%28Remdesivir%29
content:
<p>
Publicity has created massive demand for remdesivir, on which Gilead
plans to gouge, but a trio of nonpatented drugs <a href="https://theintercept.com/2020/05/26/coronavirus-gileand-remdesivir-treatment/">gives somewhat better
results</a>.


feed_id: c9a773478501b65ee8a234c63b3a1137
title: Immunity for donation
uri: Immunity-for-donation
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#27_May_2020_%28Immunity_for_donation%29
content:
<p>
Andrew Cuomo gave nursing homes executives immunity for harm to their
patients, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/may/26/andrew-cuomo-nursing-home-execs-immunity">and received a big donation in the 2018 governor's race</a>.


feed_id: e9faf08f4802fb379993476771b94297
title: Thug killing
uri: Thug-killing
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#27_May_2020_%28Thug_killing%29
content:
<p>
A Minneapolis <a href="https://stallman.org/glossary.html#thug">thug</a> killed George Floyd, who is black, by putting his
knee on Floyd's neck when Floyd was lying face down, and helpless.  <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/may/26/george-floyd-killing-police-video-fbi-investigation">He
kept his knee there for five minutes, while Floyd said "I cannot
breathe"</a>.

<p>
We can expect the <a href="https://stallman.org/glossary.html#thug">thug</a> to tell a fantastical story, but I can't
imagine a story what could possibly excuse this.


feed_id: 7fcb75bba786fdb3a6caf6380e3afdb9
title: Racist bully fail
uri: Racist-bully-fail
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#27_May_2020_%28Racist_bully_fail%29
content:
<p>
A racist <a href="https://stallman.org/glossary.html#bully">bully</a> in Central Park called 911 and made a false accusation
against a black man for reminding her to put a leash on her dog.
Fortunately, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/may/26/central-park-new-york-white-woman-black-birdwatcher">this time nothing bad happened to the man</a>.

<p>
Nothing bad happened this time, but bearing false witness is a grave
and dangerous act.


feed_id: bcfa3e00d430ab6484279a729e0a3d84
title: No water for Covid-19
uri: No-water-for-Covid-19
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#27_May_2020_%28No_water_for_Covid-19%29
content:
<p>
Many of Venezuela's hospitals don't even have running water, so they
can't do anything to slow the spread of Covid-19.  <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/26/venezuela-coronavirus-death-toll-human-rights-watch">So why are the
government's published totals so low</a>?
  Maduro might well order officials to lie, but I don't see why lying
about this would do his side any good.

<p>
What worries me more is the report of repression.  It could be true
or it could be disinformation; I don't have a basis to rule out
either one.


feed_id: b1926a44d65ce1c680884764de200db3
title: Attacking corporatist and militarist
uri: Attacking-corporatist-and-militarist
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#27_May_2020_%28Attacking_corporatist_and_militarist%29

content:
<p>
In a debate, primary challenger Jamaal Bowman attacked corporatist and
militarist Rep. Elliot Engel <a href="https://theintercept.com/2020/05/26/eliot-engel-primary-defense-industry-pro-israel/">for upholding plutocracy and supporting wars</a>.


feed_id: aa905873441fa598957ab8defa72086e
title: Fear is good for planet-roasters
uri: Fear-is-good-for-planet-roasters
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#27_May_2020_%28Fear_is_good_for_planet-roasters%29
content:
<p>
Canadian minister says that the fear of Covid-19 <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/26/canada-coronavirus-alberta-energy-minister-oil-pipeline">makes for a "great
time" to build a planet-roaster pipeline</a>.

<p>
Maybe so, but any time is a horrible time to have that pipeline
operating on our planet.


feed_id: 2e4937109f476e9bcfca57f16a7e377e
title: Debarking without test
uri: Debarking-without-test
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#27_May_2020_%28Debarking_without_test%29
content:
<p>
Australia by mistake allowed crew to debark from a cargo ship without
testing them for Covid-19, although they said they had fever.  Now it
is about to make another mistake, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/may/26/wa-premier-fears-more-covid-19-infections-after-six-test-positive-on-live-export-ship-in-fremantle">keeping everyone else on the ship
and making them sail it away "as soon as possible"</a>.

<p>
Surely they know about the flying dutchmen ships whose crews have been
prisoners on their ships, for months?  Is Australia aiming to impose that fate on this crew?

<p>
Those who want off the ship should be allowed off, and quarantined
separately long enough to establish who is not sick.  Then, if given
assurance that their next destination will let them dock, they could
take the ship away.


feed_id: 649e6c91467084365966b6bb4d235ddf
title: Bailout for stocks
uri: Bailout-for-stocks
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#27_May_2020_%28Bailout_for_stocks%29
content:
<p>
Germany has given Lufthansa a bailout &mdash; not as a handout, nor as a loan,
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/may/26/lufthansa-9bn-bailout-german-government-coronavirus-flights">but in exchange for stock in the company</a>.


feed_id: 18481a749185aa8fa8906b97cd7d9bc2
title: YouTube investigates automatic deletion of comments criticizing China communist party
uri: YouTube-investigates-automatic-deletion-of-comments-criticizing-China
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#28_May_2020_%28YouTube_investigates_automatic_deletion_of_comments_criticising_China_communist_party%29

content:
<p>

<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2020/may/27/youtube-investigates-automatic-deletion-of-comments-criticising-china-communist-party">*YouTube investigates automatic deletion of comments criticizing China Communist party.*</a>


feed_id: 5ec3d178bf6036b1bb11e7e892e13651
title: USDA deregulating meat companies while showing they are guilty of spreading coronavirus
uri: USDA-deregulating-meat-companies-while-showing-they-are-guilty-of-spre
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#28_May_2020_%28USDA_deregulating_meat_companies_while_showing_they_are_guilty_of_spreading_coronavirus%29

content:
<p>

*The USDA is bailing out and deregulating meat companies <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2020/05/26/usda-spent-memorial-day-weekend-distorting-meat-production">while also reporting data that shows those very companies are guilty of spreading coronavirus</a> among workers for no good reason.*
<p>
USDA figures also show that there is no danger of a US shortage of meat, even if one accepts Americans over consumption of meat as normal.


feed_id: 16fbe4d6af6d6db93a8b953f6c13ecb3
title: Palestinian family shot for Harvesting Wheat
uri: Palestinian-family-shot-for-Harvesting-Wheat
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#28_May_2020_%28Palestinian_family_shot_for_Harvesting_Wheat%29

content:
<p>

<a href="https://imemc.org/article/israeli-troops-shoot-palestinian-family-harvesting-wheat-wounding-two/">*Israeli Troops Shoot Palestinian Family Harvesting Wheat, Wounding Two.*</a>


feed_id: 28a3c889807cdc536879de517d59a490
title: Expelling Arabs as a branch of Zionism
uri: Expelling-Arabs-as-a-branch-of-Zionism
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#28_May_2020_%28Expelling_Arabs_as_a_branch_of_Zionism%29

content:
<p>

In the 1920s, the goal of <a href="https://www.972mag.com/zionism-imagination-nakba-israelis/">expelling Arabs was one branch of Zionism</a>. Another aimed branch for coexistence of Jews and Arabs.


feed_id: fdb40cdd686eff1792b87f3fcad050f4
title: Discrimination in housing in Israel
uri: Discrimination-in-housing-in-Israel
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#28_May_2020_%28Discrimination_in_housing_in_Israel%29

content:
<p>

<a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/05/12/israel-discriminatory-land-policies-hem-palestinians">Discrimination in housing is openly practiced in Israel.</a>  Places where a Palestinian can rent an apartment are quite limited.


feed_id: 90730bd1b44e73349faa99a27ab90560
title: German defunding of Achille Mbembe
uri: German-defunding-of-Achille-Mbembe
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#28_May_2020_%28German_defunding_of_Achille_Mbembe%29

content:
<p>

In Germany, equating criticism of Israel with antisemitism is institutionalized, and people who compare the occupation of Palestine with Apartheid are punished.  However, <a href="https://www.972mag.com/achille-mbembe-germany-israel-antisemitism/">the attempt to do this to Achille Mbembe, esteemed scholar</a>, has provoked hundreds of academics to defend him.


feed_id: e64696b658ab0e8862bb56c2993e858d
title: Protection of sage grouse habitat
uri: Protection-of-sage-grouse-habitat
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#28_May_2020_%28Protection_of_sage_grouse_habitat%29
content:
<p>

The extractors' sage grouse are coming home to roost, as a <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2020/05/26/court-strikes-down-trump-administrations-sage-grouse-directive-canceling">court invalidated</a> the corrupter's cancellation of the agreement to protect sage grouse habitat.  This had the effect of cancelling lots of oil leases in sage grouse habitat.


feed_id: 9935595e3aff7cf7eb4d8c02b2550c74
title: (satire) DNC can focus on generating as much revenue as possible
uri: (satire)-DNC-can-focus-on-generating-as-much-revenue-as-possible
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#28_May_2020_%28%28satire%29_DNC_can_focus_on_generating_as_much_revenue_as_possible%29

content:
<p>

(satire) <a href="https://politics.theonion.com/dnc-to-streamline-fundraising-by-cutting-out-unnecessar-1843681760">*"&hellip; once our party is freed from the burden of putting forth nominees and running expensive campaigns, we’ll finally be able to focus all our efforts on generating as much revenue as possible,” wrote DNC chairman Tom Perez.*</a>


feed_id: 64e3ea7faff1f2f4ad5f41f5003ebdd5
title: (satire) Loss of human life
uri: (satire)-Loss-of-human-life
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#28_May_2020_%28%28satire%29_Loss_of_human_life%29
content:
<p>

(satire) <a href="https://www.theonion.com/trump-even-one-death-that-makes-me-look-bad-is-a-trag-1843679603">*"Every single loss of human life that can be directly attributed to my actions is one too many," said the bullshitter.*</a>


feed_id: 22a21953e2d6d932a0afb4d0078b36cd
title: Why it is necessary to replace Rep. Pelosi
uri: Why-it-is-necessary-to-replace-Rep-Pelosi
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#28_May_2020_%28Why_it_is_necessary_to_replace_Rep._Pelosi%29

content:
<p>

Shahid Buttar: why it is <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2020/05/26/whistleblowing-visionary-offers-ticket-our-future-if-we-take-it">necessary to replace Rep. Pelosi</a>.
<p>
He is running against her in November.  The Republicans were eliminated in the primary, leaving the plutocratist Democrat Pelosi, and progressive Buttar.  I endorse Buttar.


feed_id: a7647ca1c3c69058770fd49bb075d971
title: Prosecutor who refused to prosecute the white murderers of Ahmaud Arbery
uri: Prosecutor-who-refused-to-prosecute-the-white-murderers-of-Ahmaud-Arbe
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#28_May_2020_%28Prosecutor_who_refused_to_presecute_the_white_murderers_of_Ahmaud_Arbery%29

content:
<p>

A prosecutor who refused to prosecute the white murderers of Ahmaud Arbery <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/may/17/ahmaud-arbery-district-attorney-george-barnhill">has a history of straining to find grounds to prosecute black women</a>.


feed_id: eed8019b18b9402c3d20c95327d9ae38
title: Trump, Putin and Bolsonaro complacency
uri: Trump-Putin-and-Bolsonaro-complacency
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#28_May_2020_%28Trump%2C_Putin_and_Bolsonaro_complacency%29

content:
<p>

*Trump, Putin and Bolsonaro have been complacent. Now <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/may/17/trump-putin-and-bolsonaro-have-been-complacent-now-the-pandemic-has-made-them-all-vulnerable">the pandemic has made them all vulnerable</a>.*
<p>
*Why leaders who want to be seen as strongmen <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/17/putin-johnson-bolsonaro-and-trump-men-too-macho-for-masks">are afraid to take Covid-19 safety precautions</a>.*


feed_id: f9a9ab2a7dacf1a411dc9fe1eed5718a
title: Hacking a Casio calculator
uri: Hacking-a-Casio-calculator
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#28_May_2020_%28Hacking_a_Casio_calculator%29
content:
<p>

Hacking a Casio calculator with a hard-to-notice second display screen, and internet connectivity, to make it an <a href="https://gizmodo.com/calculator-hacked-for-cheating-includes-a-secret-oled-s-1843314318">ideal device for cheating on exams</a>.
<p>
I don't approve of cheating on real exams, but the hack is impressive. Besides, if you can design something like this, you can ace your exams honestly.


feed_id: 6b3aecaf023de68cbe2d207f9b9cde7c
title: Urgent: Health Care Emergency Guarantee Act
uri: Urgent-Health-Care-Emergency-Guarantee-Act
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#28_May_2020_%28Urgent%3A_Health_Care_Emergency_Guarantee_Act%29

content:
<p>

US citizens: call on Congress to pass the <a href="https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/sign-now-guarantee-health-care-during-the-emergency">Health Care Emergency Guarantee Act</a>.
     <p>The Capitol Switchboard numbers are 202-224-3121, 888-818-6641
       and 888-355-3588.</p>
     <p>If you call please spread the word!</a>


feed_id: b5ed042315385f32f6415f33cebee089
title: Urgent: Reject blanket immunity for businesses
uri: Urgent-Reject-blanket-immunity-for-businesses
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#28_May_2020_%28Urgent%3A_Reject_blanket_immunity_for_businesses%29

content:
<p>

US citizens: call on the Senate to reject <a href="http://act.pfaw.org/sign/petition-reject-corporate-immunity/">blanket immunity for businesses about workers that catch Covid-19</a>.
     <p>The Capitol Switchboard numbers are 202-224-3121, 888-818-6641
       and 888-355-3588.</p>
     <p>If you call please spread the word!</a>


feed_id: 46862067534e3ded2e4e18ab52a370ed
title: Amazon biases its searches
uri: Amazon-biases-its-searches
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#27_May_2020_%28Amazon_biases_its_searches%29
content:
<p>

Amazon biases its searches to <a href="https://www.technologyreview.com/2020/05/11/1001563/covid-pandemic-broken-ai-machine-learning-amazon-retail-fraud-humans-in-the-loop/">favor vendors that use Amazon for their shipping</a>.
<p>
If this isn't illegal, it ought to be.  We should not allow a store as big as Amazon to have anything to do with order fulfillment, for its own sales or anyone else's.


feed_id: 6ec5a32e6f5ade4b00645ce7b25555f5
title: Hong-Kong trading privileges
uri: Hong-Kong-trading-privileges
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#28_May_2020_%28Hong-Kong_trading_privileges%29
content:
<p>
The US will cease giving Hong Kong trading privileges <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/27/hong-kong-china-autonomous-us-pompeo-security-law">which it
enjoys based on its independence from China</a>.

<p>
This seems like a perfectly apt response.  While it is unpleasant to
praise anything done by the corrupt officials of the US government, I
can't refuse to praise this one.


feed_id: d12e9d35f04f058ea706b81dbb416a49
title: Diverting for Covid-19
uri: Diverting-for-Covid-19
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#28_May_2020_%28Diverting_for_Covid-19%29
content:
<p>
Diverting the entire national medical capacity to Covid-19 is causing
2000 cases of cancer to go undiagnosed each week.  <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/may/28/cancer-undiagnosed-for-nearly-2000-people-in-uk-every-week">That will amount to around
100,000 per year if it continues</a>.

<p>
If this continues, most of them will eventually die of cancer.

<p>
The situation must be the same in the US, except that many Americans
can't afford treatment for cancer under our crushingly expensive
medical system.


feed_id: a0d0584f343b26408911ec4475809944
title: Giving homeless people a place to live
uri: Giving-homeless-people-a-place-to-live
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#28_May_2020_%28Giving_homeless_people_a_place_to_live%29

content:
<p>
The UK gave just about all homeless people places to live, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/may/27/covid-19-got-rough-sleepers-off-englands-streets-the-question-is-what-happens-next">so they
would not catch and spread Covid-19</a>.
  But will it continue to support this?


feed_id: 52987810a013e6f0f932450c0fa6a3cb
title: Ejections of Corbyn's supporters
uri: Ejections-of-Corbyn-s-supporters
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#28_May_2020_%28Ejections_of_Corbyn%27s_supporters%29

content:
<p>
Labour has ejected <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/may/27/keir-starmer-david-evans-labour-general-secretary">Corbyn's supporters from the party leadership</a>.

<p>
I don't know much about Keir Starmer or the positions he stands for.
But I don't think they are close to those of Corbyn and his
supporters.  It appears that <a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2020-jan-apr.html#23_April_2020_(Politics)">a campaign of distortions alleging antisemitism</a>
  has effectively killed the battle against plutocracy in the UK.
  
<p>
Millions surely still want to defeat plutocracy, but without a leader,
they have no way to make their movement visible and attract more
supporters.


feed_id: 6ad3c502d4da3737549ff33f86781b29
title: African Swine fever
uri: African-Swine-fever
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#28_May_2020_%28African_Swine_fever%29
content:
<p>
The human pandemic is sapping the efforts <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/may/27/unstoppable-african-swine-fever-deaths-to-eclipse-record-2019-toll">to stop the African Swine
Fever pandemic, which is sweeping around the world</a>.

<p>
Wild boars, the same species, do not die from African Swine Fever.
Would it be possible to cross-breed them to make farmable pigs that
are safe from it?


feed_id: ad724030f91c4ab4767c4f2f233dc7e6
title: Tracking progress
uri: Tracking-progress
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#28_May_2020_%28Tracking_progress%29
content:
<p>
Systems to track the progress of ballots through the mail can also inform
voters if their ballots are rejected, <a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/90501588/track-your-ballot-like-a-package-how-technology-will-smooth-the-way-for-novembers-mail-in-ballot-surge">and give them a chance to correct
the rejection</a>.

<p>
This is a crucial job, but it sounds like that is done digitally,
which means it may depend on nonfree software.  These systems should not lock
the voter into running specific software either to ask for notifications
or to "cure" a rejection.

<p>
If you are a Colorado voter and you would like to help test this, would
you please write to me now?


feed_id: be64bcdc26d9f8a9b8c5ba4157497800
title: Hooking up to production
uri: Hooking-up-to-production
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#28_May_2020_%28Hooking_up_to_production%29
content:
<p>
Greetings, American human capital stock.  The White House <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/05/26/how-trump-white-house-sees-you-presidents-economic-adviser-under-fire-calling">is planning
when to hook you up to the production line again</a>.


feed_id: 38b05a881ea5a453020f857f754daaa6
title: Tracking all phone calls
uri: Tracking-all-phone-calls
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#28_May_2020_%28Tracking_all_phone_calls%29
content:
<p>
The NSA started tracking of all phone calls in the US <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/inside-the-nsas-secret-tool-for-mapping-your-social-network/">in order to map
the social network graph for everyone in the US</a>.

<p>
That is the ideal starting point for political repression, any time that
officials feel that rules do not matter.


feed_id: 5a1394d4cb6c4ad6015144f69202a126
title: Rearrested after release
uri: Rearrested-after-release
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#28_May_2020_%28Rearrested_after_release%29
content:
<p>
<a href="https://stallman.org/glossary.html#thug">Thugs</a> arrested two protesters against India's discriminatory
citizenship act, but a court released them because the charges were
not warranted by a peaceful protest.  Then thugs <a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/delhi/court-grants-activists-bail-saying-they-were-only-protesting-police-arrest-them-again-6425757/">arrested them again
and charged them with rioting and murder</a>.

<p>
(I wonder whose death is being called murder.)

<p>
This article says that that is the beginning of a repeatedly traveled
road to empower violent mobs <a href="https://www.ndtv.com/opinion/amit-shahs-bhim-koregaon-model-used-for-anti-caa-protests-2234716">to dominate society by force and tear up
the constitution of India</a>.


feed_id: e2cf61adea584c45ff714375dbe6236d
title: Protecting and creating jobs
uri: Protecting-and-creating-jobs
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#29_May_2020_%28Protecting_and_creating_jobs%29
content:
<p>

<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/may/28/protecting-creating-job-coronavirus-recovery-rishi-sunak">*Protecting and creating jobs must be a priority in any coronavirus recovery.*</a>


feed_id: a1d15bd0ec8478c214c6ea3476ba59e6
title: Manure poisoning water supplies
uri: Manure-poisoning-water-supplies
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#29_May_2020_%28Manure_poisoning_water_supplies%29
content:
<p>

Manure from Minnesota's farm animals is <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/may/28/animal-feedlots-are-a-likely-threat-to-drinking-water-in-minnesota-says-report">poisoning water supplies</a>. Likewise the fertilizer runoff from growing corn to feed them.


feed_id: 8a8ef2c0b9897b7069bcee977d308966
title: Community conservation village in India operates despite loss of tourism
uri: Community-conservation-village-in-India-operates-despite-loss-of-touri
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#29_May_2020_%28Community_conservation_village_in_India_operates_despite_loss_of_tourism%29

content:
<p>

A village in India, in Nagaland near the border with Burma, has operated since 1998 as a community conservation area, managed to protect wildlife.  Despite loss of tourism, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/may/28/khonoma-indias-first-green-village-adapts-to-coronavirus-life-without-tourists-aoe">they can survive</a>.
<p>
700 other such community conservation areas have been set up in Nagaland.  Dealing with climate disaster, and population growth if that continues, will be a big challenge for them in this century.


feed_id: 9f47eeb9eeed3050932aa6aca7569731
title: Refugees entering from Bosnia robbed and beaten
uri: Refugees-entering-from-Bosnia-robbed-and-beaten
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#29_May_2020_%28Refugees_entering_from_Bosnia_robbed_and_beaten%29

content:
<p>

Croatian thugs <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2020/may/28/they-made-crosses-on-our-heads-refugees-report-abuse-by-croatian-police">robbed and beat</a> refugees trying to enter from Bosnia.


feed_id: e834b5d2d84f5b28d18ba6aa46c40c9b
title: Bully's campaign tried to suppress sale of critical cartoon with absurd trademark claim
uri: Bully-s-campaign-tried-to-suppress-sale-of-critical-cartoon-with-absur
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#29_May_2020_%28Bully%27s_campaign_tried_to_suppress_sale_of_critical_cartoon_with_absurd_trademark_claim%29

content:
<p>

The bully's campaign tried to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/may/28/trump-campaign-attempts-to-remove-satirical-cartoon-from-online-retailer">suppress sale of a critical cartoon</a> by making an absurd trademark threat against the store that sold it.
<p>
Of course, I condemn the <a href="https://stallman.org/glossary.html#bully">bully</a>'s attempt at censorship and I am glad that Redbubble eventually stood up to bullying.  However, several general bad tendencies are visible here.


feed_id: 1453b75f52b22063e7a5ef6fb2024bfc
title: Diabetic costs
uri: Diabetic-costs
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#29_May_2020_%28Diabetic_costs%29
content:
<p>
The conman has a supposed plan to reduce what type-1 diabetics pay for
insulin, but it is designed not to have much effect.  <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2020/05/27/most-insulin-patients-wont-benefit-under-trumps-plan">The US government could
fix the problem, and it should</a>.


feed_id: 0d849b5b5b1fbc57e063b425ce325360
title: Subsidizing fossil fuel development
uri: Subsidizing-fossil-fuel-development
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#29_May_2020_%28Subsidizing_fossil_fuel_development%29

content:
<p>
The G20 countries are subsidizing fossil fuel development with at
least 77 billion dollars a year.  <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2020/05/27/why-77-billion-year-public-finance-oil-gas-and-coal-even-worse-it-sounds">The amount is not even decreasing</a>.


feed_id: e7417192dfd4555026ea8c2a03f2d2aa
title: Repressing protests
uri: Repressing-protests
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#29_May_2020_%28Repressing_protests%29
content:
<p>
Since 2015, and even more since 2017, <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/05/27/new-pen-america-report-warns-surge-anti-protest-laws-trump-era-danger-expressive">US states are passing many laws
to repress protests</a>.


<p>
The general cause is that authoritarians, who in many cases got their offices
by rigging elections, are rolling back people's rights.  With elections rigged,
protest is the only remaining way to hold them back.  Naturally, the
authoritarians are trying to put an end to that.


feed_id: da473956454d5accd765d42c8dc1f99f
title: Funding disinformation site
uri: Funding-disinformation-site
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#29_May_2020_%28Funding_disinformation_site%29
content:
<p>
The US <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/28/us-funding-website-spreading-covid-19-disinformation">is funding a disinformation site in Armenia</a>.


feed_id: 00d5b55f0d1b000860403d72341f2ceb
title: Maybe ready for Green New Deal
uri: Maybe-ready-for-Green-New-Deal
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#29_May_2020_%28Maybe_ready_for_Green_New_Deal%29
content:
<p>
*The world wasn't ready for a Green New Deal in 2009. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/may/28/the-world-wasnt-ready-for-a-green-new-deal-in-2009-today-it-may-be">Today, it may be</a>.*

<p>
However, the planet-roaster governments of the US, Canada and
Australia will do their best to block it.

<p>
The UK is not quite as planet-roasting as it was last year.  The
Tories have more or less ceased their obstruction of land-based solar
and wind power.


feed_id: 61040130665cf613a3cbc2cd524d6d04
title: Repression against journalism
uri: Repression-against-journalism
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#29_May_2020_%28Repression_against_journalism%29
content:
<p>
Journalism faces repression around the world.  In some violent
countries, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/2020/may/28/how-the-free-press-worldwide-is-under-threat">the threat is assassination</a>.

<p>
In Europe and the US, the threat usually comes in the form of lawsuits
from those whose activities are exposed, <a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2020-jan-apr.html#5_February_2020_(Chevron_crushes_the_life_of_Steven_Donziger)">as for instance Chevron in Ecuador</a>.
  However, the antiamerican's threat to regulate user forums is
is part of the global problem.


feed_id: c18d261e1f395620efb3604857093f10
title: Deforestation under Bolsonaro
uri: Deforestation-under-Bolsonaro
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#29_May_2020_%28Deforestation_under_Bolsonaro%29
content:
<p>
*Studies add to alarm <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/may/28/studies-add-to-alarm-over-deforestation-in-brazil-under-bolsonaro-covid-19">over deforestation in Brazil under Bolsonaro</a>.*


feed_id: d633b5431e8985f5226b4db5007f952d
title: (satire) Protesters criticized
uri: (satire)-Protesters-criticized
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#30_May_2020_%28%28satire%29_Protestors_criticized%29

content:
<p>

(satire) <a href="https://www.theonion.com/protestors-criticized-for-looting-businesses-without-fo-1843735351">*Protesters Criticized For Looting Businesses Without Forming Private Equity Firm First.*</a>


feed_id: fe0b824b3b1e528f91f19caf6785df9b
title: (satire) Six-Figure Death Toll
uri: (satire)-Six-Figure-Death-Toll
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#30_May_2020_%28%28satire%29_Six-Figure_Death_Toll%29

content:
<p>

(satire) <a href="https://www.theonion.com/white-house-press-secretary-trump-s-critics-will-seiz-1843734621">*White House Press Secretary: "Trump's Critics Will Seize On Any Six-Figure Death Toll That Suits Their Narrative".*</a>


feed_id: 9de0e7da9cd58dda41df62b6a6dfcca6
title: AClU is suing Clearview AI
uri: AClU-is-suing-Clearview-AI
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#30_May_2020_%28AClU_is_suing_Clearview_AI%29
content:
<p>

The <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2020/05/28/were-taking-clearview-ai-court-end-its-privacy-destroying-face-surveillance"> is suing Clearview AI</a> for violating an Illinois state privacy law with its face-matching lookup system.
<p>
If the ACLU wins, Clearview could continue its activities in other states.  We will need a federal law to put an end to face tracking all across the US.


feed_id: ea7203f17617e56ef9ba31cbdc93f2c4
title: Lockdowns reinforcing gender inequality
uri: Lockdowns-reinforcing-gender-inequality
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#30_May_2020_%28Lockdowns_reinforcing_gender_inequality%29

content:
<p>

*Research finds lockdowns <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2020/may/29/we-are-losers-in-this-crisis-research-finds-lockdowns-reinforcing-gender-inequality">reinforcing gender inequality</a>.*


feed_id: 4f648793b3afcaf3a4205dc9a1aefae1
title: Reasons Covid-19 spread much more in Lombardy than other parts of Italy
uri: Reasons-Covid-19-spread-much-more-in-Lombardy-than-other-parts-of-Ital
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#30_May_2020_%28Reasons_Covid-19_spread_much_more_in_Lombardy_than_other_parts_of_Italy%29

content:
<p>

Why did Covid-19 <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/29/why-was-lombardy-hit-harder-covid-19-than-italys-other-regions">spread much more in Lombardy</a> than in other parts of Italy?  Partial privatization of hospitals, and letting short-term business interests influence public health policy, are suspected.


feed_id: 1aa3a5f92051550f6c9d5d6150ff92c8
title: US south-west megadrought
uri: US-south-west-megadrought
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#30_May_2020_%28US_south-west_megadrought%29
content:
<p>

*US south-west in grip of historic <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/may/29/megadrought-us-south-west-fires-water-research">'megadrought'</a>, research finds.* As the fires increase, the water runs out.
<p>
There are natural fluctuations but <a href="https://stallman.org/glossary.html#global heating">global heating</a> is steadily increasing the baseline.  This will get worse and worse unless we curb global heating.  Eventually many of today's farms and many of today's people will no longer be able to exist in that region.  By and by, there will be nowhere else for them either.

If you have children now, that's the future you condemn them to. Please spare them that future by <a href="https://stallman.org/articles/children.html ">not having children</a>.


feed_id: 6b1071e37fc5d78209414c6f2d8cc28a
title: San Francisco homeless forced out of shelters
uri: San-Francisco-homeless-forced-out-of-shelters
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#30_May_2020_%28San_Francisco_homeless_forced_out_of_shelters%29

content:
<p>

San Francisco's precautions against Covid-19 forced homeless people out of shelters and closed the agencies they depended on.  For some, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/may/29/san-francisco-homeless-deaths-coronavirus">that was fatal</a>.


feed_id: e05164435c890213c57644e8ae6b54e3
title: Here's a bed sheet, make a parachute
uri: Here-s-a-bed-sheet-make-a-parachute
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#30_May_2020_%28Here%27s_a_bedsheet%2C_make_a_parachute%29

content:
<p>

<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/may/29/republicans-work-coronavirus-heres-a-bedsheet-make-a-parachute">*'Here's a bed sheet, make a parachute!'</a> Republicans say, pushing us out of a plane.*


feed_id: 3f57f7da4feb397005e4dc8bf2bf25d4
title: Giant Asian hornets
uri: Giant-Asian-hornets
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#30_May_2020_%28Giant_Asian_hornets%29
content:
<p>

<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/28/canada-murder-hornet-british-columbia-sighting">Giant Asian hornets are invading North America</a>.  They are not much danger to humans, but can devastate insect species, including bees.


feed_id: adb52f2dc341f66ff35999b2cca0ecdd
title: The BBC is chartered to be "impartial"
uri: The-BBC-is-chartered-to-be-impartial
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#30_May_2020_%28The_BBC_is_chartered_to_be_impartial%29

content:
<p>

<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/may/28/bbc-impartiality-emily-maitliss-owen-jones">The BBC is chartered to be "impartial"</a>.  It interprets that much as the US mainstream media do: whatever the government says, treat it as (at least) plausible.


feed_id: c699d91ca08d7292fb4673fd6ef65222
title: Claims to be democracy
uri: Claims-to-be-democracy
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#5_June_2020_%28Claims_to_be_democracy%29
content:
<p>
George Monbiot: *<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/jun/03/britain-democracy-tories-coronavirus-public-power">Britain's claims to being a functioning democracy are
only skin deep</a>.*


feed_id: 3128e9ed2f60916319550ebe0627a555
title: Humanity is finished if
uri: Humanity-is-finished-if
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#5_June_2020_%28Humanity_is_finished_if%29
content:
<p>
*Jane Goodall: <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/2020/jun/03/jane-goodall-humanity-is-finished-if-it-fails-to-adapt-after-covid-19">humanity is finished if it fails to adapt after Covid-19</a>.*

<p>
This change will require much less sacrifice from each person if we
let the human population peacefully decline.


feed_id: 475e94c8a9d72bada3caff9cc353f717
title: Surveillance in China today
uri: Surveillance-in-China-today
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#5_June_2020_%28Surveillance_in_China_today%29
content:
<p>
Someone I don't know sent this to me, describing surveillance in China
today.

<p>
I live in Hangzhou, and here are some of my experiences.
It still remain mandatory for people to show the app's readout to get 
into subway, trains and supermarket, and etc which could be the most 
of the public areas.  For instance, there is at least one security 
guard in each entrance of that area, almost all of residential areas 
have only one entrance by now.  And except the health code (jian kang 
ma) you have to have in order to get elsewhere, you aslo have to 
identify yourself to get another ID card to get in the residential 
area, and have to show the ID card every time before you get in.  In 
their practice, residential A area's residents won't be allowed to go 
to residential B area, vice versa.  If you don't have these 
identifiers, the so-called security guard would love to harass you 
even they know you just got out the area.  It's ridiculous to check 
that out again.  If you forgot your phone or card, they would take 
down your personal information, and they don't have to take a picture 
of you since the cameras just in front of you!


feed_id: f4aaad0cccb226bd5c09f791d1852f47
title: Joy and hope before crackdown
uri: Joy-and-hope-before-crackdown
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#5_June_2020_%28Joy_and_hope_before_crackdown%29
content:
<p>
*Student protesters and journalists in 1989 recall <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jun/04/tiananmen-square-witnesses-remember-an-air-of-celebration-and-then-orwellian-silence">the joy and hope
before the crackdown* in Tiananmen Square, Beijing</a>.


feed_id: cb23761c1e5e7dcd98655eac24abbe06
title: Restoring reputation
uri: Restoring-reputation
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#5_June_2020_%28Restoring_reputation%29
content:
<p>
*New York [<a href="https://stallman.org/glossary.html#thug">thugs</a>] take seconds to restore reputation for brutality.*
<a href="https://stallman.org/glossary.html#thug">Thugs</a> attacked protesters for no reason on many occasions.
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jun/04/new-york-police-brutality-protests-george-floyd">They even besieged protesters on a bridge</a>.
  Even worse, Mayor de Blasé legitimized their violent attacks.

<p>
When repressing protests or preparing to, <a href="https://theintercept.com/2020/06/03/nypd-badge-black-band/">they cover their badge
numbers so they can get away with crimes</a>.


feed_id: 54ff3e4229a455e3691d3fe5758eeed6
title: Pitchforks are coming
uri: Pitchforks-are-coming
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#5_June_2020_%28Pitchforks_are_coming%29
content:
<p>
*The Pitchforks Are Coming… <a href="https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/06/the-pitchforks-are-coming-for-us-plutocrats-108014">For Us Plutocrats</a>.*


feed_id: 0f2986e7847c51a16345516e03836fd2
title: Atmospheric CO2 levels and Covid-19
uri: Atmospheric-CO2-levels-and-Covid-19
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#5_June_2020_%28Atmospheric_CO2_levels_and_Covid-19%29

content:
<p>
*Atmospheric CO2 levels <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jun/04/atmospheric-co2-levels-rise-sharply-despite-covid-19-lockdowns">rise sharply despite Covid-19 lockdowns</a>.*


feed_id: 37f05452fe698ff2544dcf9803bd0f7d
title: Mattis about the bully
uri: Mattis-about-the-bully
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#5_June_2020_%28Mattis_about_the_bully%29
content:
<p>
Mattis, the first Secretary of Defense appointed by the <a href="https://stallman.org/glossary.html#bully">bully</a>,
condemned him <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jun/03/james-mattis-comdemns-trump-george-floyd-protests">for his church steps photo-op, for which he used the
military counter to the Constitution, and for trying to divide
Americans</a>.

<p>
Some of the bully's evangelical supporters <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jun/04/trumps-bible-photo-op-splits-white-evangelicals">were repelled by the way he
used the Bible as a prop for hatred</a>.


feed_id: 33164c9bc535822b08f6a7b4ea1e8698
title: Rise in Covid-19 cases
uri: Rise-in-Covid-19-cases
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#5_June_2020_%28Rise_in_Covid-19_cases%29
content:
<p>
California and 20 other states <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jun/03/california-covid-19-cases-rise-reopen-protest">have experienced a rise in Covid-19
cases in the past few days</a>.


feed_id: 0224b55b30694253efe88d82d6e03d11
title: New York City proposes to transfer funds from the New York Thug Dept.
uri: New-York-City-proposes-to-transfer-funds-from-the-New-York-Thug-Dept
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#5_June_2020_%28New_York_City_proposes_to_transfer_funds_from_the_New_York_Thug_Dept.%29

content:
<p>

A state senator from New York City proposes to <a href="https://theappeal.org/politicalreport/nypd-budget-defund-disclosure-senator-salazar/">transfer funds from the New York Thug Dept</a> to other agencies, which would be tasked to handle humanely some of the situations that the thugs now handle.
<p>
I don't think this is a panacea.  Racism shows up in other agencies, too.  Also, some of the situations will, due to the circumstances, come first to the attention of <a href="https://stallman.org/glossary.html#thug">thugs</a>.  To get good outcomes would require those thugs to know how to handle them well.
<p>
But there are certainly opportunities to make things better by giving problems to other agencies.  For example, thugs in schools tend to solve problems by <a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2016-jan-apr.html#20_April_2016_(Schools_with_thugs)">arresting students</a> and getting them started on the <a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#31_October_2015_(Urgent:_Richland_schools)">school-to-prison pipeline</a>.
<p>
Back when there were not normally <a href="https://stallman.org/glossary.html#thug">thugs</a> in schools, the same kinds of problems occurred but most of them did not result in criminal charges.
<p>
*Minneapolis public school board to vote on <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jun/01/minneapolis-public-school-end-police-contract">terminating its contract</a> with police.*


feed_id: 25143388b2d115c2b8b7f3749012f7f7
title: Face masks in France
uri: Face-masks-in-France
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#5_June_2020_%28Face_masks_in_France%29
content:
<p>

In France, wearing a face mask is mandatory in public, but <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/france-face-masks-coronavirus/2020/05/09/6fbd50fc-8ae6-11ea-80df-d24b35a568ae_story.html">wearing a niqab</a> face mask is punishable with a fine.
<p>
I am concerned about face masks, not because of their religious use, but because they are a way to resist massive surveillance.


feed_id: 0a79962931023ab467bbfc451718fd9f
title: ACLU lawsuit against Minneapolis PD
uri: ACLU-lawsuit-against-Minneapolis-PD
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#5_June_2020_%28ACLU_lawsuit_against_Minneapolis_PD%29

content:
<p>

*ACLU Files <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2020/06/03/aclu-files-class-action-lawsuit-against-minneapolis-police-attacking-journalists">Class Action Lawsuit Against Minneapolis Police</a> for Attacking Journalists at Protests.*


feed_id: 4cc69c89e67eadc0c13374666b631d6e
title: Tear gas and Coronavirus
uri: Tear-gas-and-Coronavirus
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#5_June_2020_%28Tear_gas_and_Coronavirus%29
content:
<p>

The symptoms of <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/media/trump-demands-journalists-correct-stories-on-the-use-of-tear-gas-according-to-the-cdc-it-was-tear-gas/2020/06/02/bf68726c-a544-11ea-bb20-ebf0921f3bbd_story.html">exposure to tear gas promote the spread of coronavirus</a>.


feed_id: 7ed4e043551b375f430fec3269fd9a38
title: Urgent: Biden: Ditch Larry Summers.
uri: Urgent-Biden-Ditch-Larry-Summers
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#5_June_2020_%28Urgent%3A_Biden%3A_Ditch_Larry_Summers.%29

content:
<p>

Everyone: call on Biden to <a href="https://go.justicedemocrats.com/signup/acq-ms-signup-jacobin-larrysummers-20200511/">ditch plutocratist advisor Larry Summers</a>.


feed_id: fcf239d033f140275511c69380ff3549
title: Limited power to stop projects that put water supply at risk
uri: Limited-power-to-stop-projects-that-put-water-supply-at-risk
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#5_June_2020_%28Limited_power_to_stop_projects_that_put_water_supply_at_risk%29

content:
<p>

The Environmental Poisoning Agency's new rule mostly <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/06/02/targeted-strike-against-environmental-and-racial-justice-trump-epa-curbs-state-power">eliminates states' power</a> to stop projects that put water supply at risk.
<p>
Thus, if the EPA's bogus criteria approve the project, there is meant to be no way to stop it.


feed_id: fbca477ef8998a43f342631e51d53f76
title: New York thugs
uri: New-York-thugs
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#5_June_2020_%28New_York_thugs%29
content:
<p>

*New York <a href="https://theintercept.com/2020/06/02/new-york-police-protesters-george-floyd/">[thugs] Are Attacking Protesters</a> &mdash; They Know They Won’t Face Consequences.*


feed_id: d6cbdb5e4d0436cb33dbe03603e367d6
title: UK access to cash for most vulnerable
uri: UK-access-to-cash-for-most-vulnerable
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#5_June_2020_%28UK_access_to_cash_for_most_vulnerable%29

content:
<p>

*UK government urged to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/money/2020/jun/02/government-urged-to-protect-access-to-cash-for-most-vulnerable">protect access to cash for most vulnerable</a>.*
<p>
Where privacy is concerned, we are <em>all</em> vulnerable and we <em>all</em> should be paying cash to protect our privacy.


feed_id: 12f45f63c579c2586a3f5dd641413a48
title: Coronavirus will haunt US economy
uri: Coronavirus-will-haunt-US-economy
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#5_June_2020_%28Coronavirus_will_haunt_US_economy%29
content:
<p>

*Coronavirus will <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/jun/01/coronavirus-us-economy-impact-wipe-out-8tn">haunt US economy</a> for a decade and wipe out $8tn, says CBO.*


feed_id: 40c488597a1f0f276d9725f221552e74
title: Protests in Paris against racism
uri: Protests-in-Paris-against-racism
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#5_June_2020_%28Protests_in_Paris_against_racism%29
content:
<p>

20,000 people <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jun/03/clashes-at-paris-protest-against-racism-and-police-violence">protested in Paris against racism and violent thugs</a>.


feed_id: 1f816c2046724622d8d4b196680f4e33
title: Brexit and Covid-19
uri: Brexit-and-Covid-19
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#4_June_2020_%28Brexit_and_Covid-19%29
content:
<p>
The Tories want to pull Britain out of the EU with no trade agreement.
The ones who won wanted this all along, but didn't dare admit it
because Britons wouldn't have voted for them last winter.  Now <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/jun/03/pandemic-no-deal-brexit-vote-leavers-coronavirus">they
can force that path and blame Covid-19</a>.


feed_id: 03b8e76f1bd60e9192e64362d4766502
title: Protests and Covid-19
uri: Protests-and-Covid-19
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#4_June_2020_%28Protests_and_Covid-19%29
content:
<p>
Black Lives Matter protests are likely to spread Covid-19
substantially.  I was alarmed by the way <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jun/03/protests-police-covid-19-coronavirus-spread">the protesters in videos 
were taking this risk</a>.

<p>
Do protest, but keep distance, wear masks, and sanitize your hands!

<p>
I was struck by the statistics in the article comparing the danger of
being killed by <a href="https://stallman.org/glossary.html#thug">thugs</a> (if you're a black male) and the danger of being
killed by measles.

<p>
*Whether it’s police violence, poor medical care, or simply trying to
breathe, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/jun/03/america-black-deaths-racism">we (blacks) suffer from an underlying condition: racism</a>.*


feed_id: 3dd1361d7bac448d372fc73d92234b26
title: Temporary fall in air pollution reversing
uri: Temporary-fall-in-air-pollution-reversing
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#4_June_2020_%28Temporary_fall_in_air_pollution_reversing%29

content:
<p>
The temporary fall in air pollution <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jun/03/air-pollution-in-china-back-to-pre-covid-levels-and-europe-may-follow">is now being reversed as China and
Europe reopen their economies</a>.


feed_id: 97952ef7489d40f0711907cc7345dad7
title: Europe-wide minimum income
uri: Europe-wide-minimum-income
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#4_June_2020_%28Europe-wide_minimum_income%29
content:
<p>
*Spain (actually, Podemos) rekindles a radical idea: <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jun/03/spain-rekindles-a-radical-idea-a-europe-wide-minimum-income">a Europe-wide
minimum income</a>.*


feed_id: 7bc0cbab9f5af70030f90f09a799e8f1
title: Lower birth weight
uri: Lower-birth-weight
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#4_June_2020_%28Lower_birth_weight%29
content:
<p>
Women living near active gas and oil wells <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jun/03/living-near-oil-and-gas-wells-linked-to-low-birthweight-in-babies">tend to have babies with
lower birth weight</a> (which bodes ill for the babies' future health).

<p>
Wells that were shut down do not show the same effect, so this is not
a matter of correlation between poverty and having oil drilling around.


feed_id: 19c901786390e6790419dc72ae2fa5a5
title: Thugs killing son of diplomat
uri: Thugs-killing-son-of-diplomat
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#4_June_2020_%28Thugs_killing_son_of_diplomat%29
content:
<p>
<a href="https://stallman.org/glossary.html#thug">Thugs</a> in Atlanta killed the son of a Ghanaian diplomat, and said he
shot at them first.  <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2020/jun/03/the-gambia-demands-us-investigation-into-police-killing-of-citizen-in-atlanta">His family say that is absurd</a>.

<p>
You can't put total faith in such statements from a victim's family,
but they have more credibility than statements from <a href="https://stallman.org/glossary.html#thug">thugs</a>.


feed_id: 3f9552f173d099de81b13d03e186febd
title: Human capital stock
uri: Human-capital-stock
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#4_June_2020_%28Human_capital_stock%29
content:
<p>
*China accuses UK of gross interference <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jun/03/china-accuses-uk-of-gross-interference-over-hong-kong-citizenship-offer">over Hong Kong citizenship offer</a>.*

<p>
Apparently China's rulers think of Chinese people as "human capital stock",
<a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2020-mar-jun.html#28_May_2020_(Hooking_up_to_production)">just like some US officials</a>.

<p>
Some old Hong Kongers say, "Britain, please take my children instead of me!"


