# articles

feed_id: b4bd6a736f50889321bd457be11adc2a
title: Liberating Covid-19 vaccines
uri: Liberating-Covid-19-vaccines
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#14_June_2021_%28Liberating_Covid-19_vaccines%29
content:
<p>
The European Parliament voted <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-eu-vaccine/lawmakers-urge-eu-u-turn-to-back-vaccine-patent-waiver-idUSKCN2DM12I">to support liberating Covid-19 vaccines</a>.
  This is non-binding; the parliament has no say over such questions.


feed_id: b3dc9706c22fe58c4b795220840fedf7
title: Right to state dissent
uri: Right-to-state-dissent
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#14_June_2021_%28Right_to_state_dissent%29
content:
<p>
A UK appeals court endorsed the right to state dissent from
established political views <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/law/2021/jun/10/gender-critical-views-protected-belief-appeal-tribunal-rules-maya-forstater">about what respect various individuals deserve</a>.

<p>
The UK <a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2014-sep-dec.html#29_October_2014_(Extreme_pornography_law)">continues to impose censorship in other ways</a>,
  but this is an important step forward.  Unless overturned, it means
that people in the UK cannot impose political censorship by law simply
by saying, "Your views are harming me!"


feed_id: d8e5317cdfb7858b63c8b69b8552a68a
title: Climate and nature crises
uri: Climate-and-nature-crises
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#14_June_2021_%28Climate_and_nature_crises%29
content:
<p>
*Climate and nature crises: <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jun/10/climate-and-nature-crises-solve-both-or-solve-neither-say-experts">solve both or solve neither</a>, say experts.*


feed_id: e0139f599b8aee962bf3bd51943ebecc
title: Conflicting views
uri: Conflicting-views
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#14_June_2021_%28Conflicting_views%29
content:
<p>
People of Bristol are working on making <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/jun/10/edward-colston-statue-bristol-culture-wars-slavery">an accommodation between their
conflicting views about Colston, and political values</a>.

<p>
I hope that the targets of racism and the targets of economic
inequality learn to work together.  Together they can win.


feed_id: 75879757358279c012732125ce661514
title: Reports of torture
uri: Reports-of-torture
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#14_June_2021_%28Reports_of_torture%29
content:
<p>
Amnesty International presents <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2021/jun/10/china-uyghur-xinjiang-dystopian-hellscape-says-amnesty-international-report">more reports of torture of Uyghurs and
other Muslims in Xinjiang</a>.


feed_id: 0b5924773d117ed1af7545bb5dbc3721
title: Not everyone's enemy
uri: Not-everyone-s-enemy
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#14_June_2021_%28Not_everyone%27s_enemy%29
content:
<p>
Having a leader that isn't everyone's worst enemy <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-survey/u-s-image-among-european-asian-partners-improves-under-biden-idUSKCN2DM1IV">is winning back
trust in the US</a>.


feed_id: 14b85c852c04840fac9bb47513e5f471
title: Socialist candidate winning election
uri: Socialist-candidate-winning-election
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#14_June_2021_%28Socialist_candidate_winning_election%29

content:
<p>
Pedro Castillo, a socialist candidate, has won the election for
president of Peru, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-peru-election/victory-in-sight-for-perus-castillo-with-70000-vote-margin-as-fraud-claims-muddy-water-idUSKCN2DM1SG">subject to reexamination of some of the ballots</a>.

<p>
He is not an extremist, and said he intended to continue a market economy,
but he wants to raise taxes on extractive foreign companies.

<p>
Naturally, the right wing is fabricating charges of fraud, as is its
strategy nowadays.


feed_id: 115b35b00077ef0dfdc91dcfa9e772aa
title: Items polluting the seas
uri: Items-polluting-the-seas
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#14_June_2021_%28Items_polluting_the_seas%29
content:
<p>
*Single-use bags, plastic bottles, food containers and food wrappers
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jun/10/takeaway-food-and-drink-litter-dominates-ocean-plastic-study-shows">are the four most widespread items polluting the seas</a>.*


feed_id: 64a45af86c4392b0a44ee2a31e823f48
title: Extremist group
uri: Extremist-group
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#14_June_2021_%28Extremist_group%29
content:
<p>
Russia labeled the Jehovah's Witnesses as an "extremist group" and has
attacked their prayer meetings, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jun/10/navalny-backers-see-cautionary-tale-in-russian-raids-on-jehovahs-witnesses">sentencing some of them to many years
in prison</a>.

<p>
This is inexplicable, since they do not advocate violence, or agitate
against Putin.


feed_id: 05dbfce5701bc4cfc1dd5b0bffee344a
title: Violating the rule of law
uri: Violating-the-rule-of-law
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#14_June_2021_%28Violating_the_rule_of_law%29
content:
<p>
The European Parliament voted to demand sanctions against Hungary and
Poland <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jun/10/meps-back-action-against-european-commission-over-rule-of-law-sanctions">for violating the rule of law</a>.

<p>
The wrong those two countries are carrying out consists of <a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2019-sep-dec.html#28_October_2019_(European_Commission_sues_Poland)">infringing
the independence of the judiciary</a>.


feed_id: 09a17a068bad619653f40902b51e98df
title: Deportation
uri: 2021-06-15-Deportation
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#14_June_2021_%28Deportation%29
content:
<p>
Asking the International Criminal Court to investigate <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-warcrimes-tajikistan-china-uyghurs/lawyers-urge-icc-to-probe-alleged-forced-deportations-of-uyghurs-from-tajikistan-idUSKCN2DM1WK">the deportation of
thousands of Uighurs from Tajikistan to China</a>.


feed_id: bfe519c25cb7ff831a893344b8255d1d
title: Unmarked burials of children
uri: Unmarked-burials-of-children
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#14_June_2021_%28Unmarked_burials_of_children%29
content:
<p>
The discovery of unmarked burials of indigenous children who died at a
Canadian boarding school &mdash; which they were forced to attend &mdash; has
compelled Canada to offer settlement for legal disputes <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-canada-indigenous-lawsuit/canada-proposes-to-settle-indigenous-lawsuit-after-discovery-of-childrens-remains-idUSKCN2DL2KR">about
forcing indigenous children to attend those schools</a>.

<p>
The purpose of these schools (which were spread across Canada) was to
disconnect indigenous children from their parents, their culture, and
their language.  That in itself was cruel, but the schools also
practiced direct physical forms of cruelty, including giving the
students inadequate food.

<p>
Canada set up a Truth and Reconciliation Commission to investigate
the crimes of those schools, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/jun/09/discovery-mass-graves-canada-indigenous-people-first-nations-residential-schools">but has not implemented its recommendations</a>.


feed_id: 4d984b9e0c0f5fdb2a3286564267dd50
title: New gas-powered generator
uri: New-gas-powered-generator
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#14_June_2021_%28New_gas-powered_generator%29
content:
<p>
Australia's planet-roaster government wants to spend 600 million to
build a new gas-powered generator <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/jun/10/morrison-governments-600m-gas-power-plant-at-kurri-kurri-not-needed-and-wont-cover-costs-analysts-say">that won't be fully utilized,
and isn't necessary</a>.

<p>
At least, it isn't necessary for providing electricity.  I am sure
some construction companies and fossil fuel companies desperately need it.


feed_id: 4ade00ce58edb3f8f24fa4a45c86397e
title: Urgent: Laws prohibiting algorithmic discrimination
uri: Urgent-Laws-prohibiting-algorithmic-discrimination
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#14_June_2021_%28Urgent%3A_Laws_prohibiting_algorithmic_discrimination%29

content:
<p>

US citizens: call on Zuckerberg to <a href="https://act.freepress.net/sign/fb_algorithimic_discrimination?akid=17473.9489429.YnhEeg&rd=1&t=1008">endorse laws prohibiting algorithmic discrimination</a>.
<p>
This is a half-measure.  Collecting people's personal data endangers
them in many ways, and discrimination is only one of them.  It also
harms society in various ways &mdash; for instance, boosting hate groups
and conspiracy fantasies; this is not an issue of discrimination by
Facebook, even if some of the hate groups might practice or advocate
discrimination.
<p>
We should not allow anything comparable to Facebook to exist.


feed_id: 957455cab4f921959e7cad26462b3e5e
title: Covid-19 in Mexico
uri: Covid-19-in-Mexico
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#14_June_2021_%28Covid-19_in_Mexico%29
content:
<p>

In Mexico, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-mexico/mexico-says-covid-19-has-affected-a-fourth-of-its-population-idUSKCN2DO03N">1/4 of the population</a> &mdash; 31 million people &mdash; have had Covid-19.
<p>
I'd expect this to mean around half a million deaths and a larger number
with persistent disabilities.


feed_id: f1f13ec9f4e5e79d7c36a6e70e730e3f
title: We must protect marine areas
uri: We-must-protect-marine-areas
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#14_June_2021_%28We_must_protect_marine_areas%29
content:
<p>

Deep sea explorer Sylvia Earle: <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jun/12/were-causing-our-own-misery-oceanographer-sylvia-earle-on-the-need-for-sea-conservation">we must "protect marine areas and stop
eating tuna</a>."
<p>
She may be right regarding people in wealthy countries that most
seafood we eat is a luxury.  But not in poor countries.  I've read
that around a billion people around the world depend on seafood for
their sustenance.
<p>
Of course, most of them are not eating expensive tuna.  They are
eating whatever they can catch near where they live.  The people
who eat canned herring are not splurging.
<p>
I don't want to rush to stop eating tuna in sushi, especially since I
only rarely have sushi at all.  But I endorse firm measures to end the
practice of fishing for tuna, and all forms of overfishing,
non sustainable fishing, and ecosystem-damaging fishing.
<p>
In some places, "sushi" usually means tuna and salmon only.  Other
kinds of fish may not even be available.  I suggest that people try
the other kinds of fish, aside from tuna and salmon, to discover how
delicious they are.


feed_id: 1781665a0c7ee70a940f0a4942bd6899
title: Colombia police rights abuses
uri: Colombia-police-rights-abuses
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#14_June_2021_%28Colombia_police_rights_abuses%29
content:
<p>

Human Rights Watch: <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-colombia-protests-violence/systemic-failures-behind-colombia-police-rights-abuses-hrw-idUSKCN2DL1JC">*Systemic failures behind Colombia police rights
abuses.*</a>


feed_id: 47bd0dc957c336be2336036d51115827
title: Tunisians protesting
uri: Tunisians-protesting
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#14_June_2021_%28Tunisians_protesting%29
content:
<p>

Tunisians are protesting after uniformed thugs <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-tunisia-protests/violent-protests-over-police-abuses-continue-in-tunisian-capital-idUSKCN2DP00D">beat a prisoner to death</a>.
<p>
The prisoner was accused of selling illegal drugs.  Repression of drug
dealers is a bad solution to a gratuitous problem created by
prohibition of drugs.  The best way to handle drugs that can harm
their users is to <a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2018-mar-jun.html#7_March_2018_(Portugal's_decriminalization)">legalize the drugs and regulate them so that fewer people will use them.


feed_id: 37640b7a5135028da4d3bd0b720257ef
title: Thank the party
uri: Thank-the-party
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#14_June_2021_%28Thank_the_party%29
content:
<p>

China is teaching Tibetans to <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-tibet/xi-jinping-is-my-spiritual-leader-chinas-education-drive-in-tibet-idUSKCN2DN1CA">thank the Party for everything they have
in life</a>.


feed_id: cbd89746094c98c3d688718e2c88cb4a
title: Chilean colonel
uri: Chilean-colonel
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#14_June_2021_%28Chilean_colonel%29
content:
<p>

Argentina has captured a fugitive Chilean colonel who was one of
<a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-argentina-crime/fugitive-chilean-colonel-arrested-in-argentina-on-human-rights-violations-idUSKCN2DP00R">Chilean dictator Pinochet's murderers</a>.


feed_id: c028630556e5929dd5baf3d14f9a607e
title: Map of landmines
uri: Map-of-landmines
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#14_June_2021_%28Map_of_landmines%29
content:
<p>

*Azerbaijan swaps <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jun/13/azerbaijan-swaps-15-armenian-pows-for-map-of-landmines">15 Armenian PoWs for map of landmines</a>.*
<p>
It is very bad to plant antipersonnel landmines.


feed_id: 48386a20686d2f8adb6bb06260371c88
title: Shelled hospital
uri: Shelled-hospital
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#14_June_2021_%28Shelled_hospital%29
content:
<p>

Assad's forces have <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jun/13/at-least-18-die-as-hospital-hit-in-shelling-of-syrian-city">shelled a hospital</a> <a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2020-jan-apr.html#21_January_2020_(War_on_civilians)">again</a>.


feed_id: 5a09c241a28c553ce1f21e64930d2d49
title: No appeal on Craig Murray's conviction
uri: No-appeal-on-Craig-Murray-s-conviction
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#14_June_2021_%28No_appeal_on_Craig_Murray%27s_conviction%29

content:
<p>

The court that convicted Craig Murray for writing about Salmond's
trial decided <a href="https://thedissenter.org/whistleblower-craig-murray-appeal-request-rejected/">not to let him appeal</a> the peculiar basis given for convicting him.
<p>
How can it make sense to let a court decide whether its decision can
be appealed?  "Is there any chance that you might have misjudged this?
No, that's impossible."


feed_id: 6a4af75714cacc7a98fb55357f4b36c0
title: Factory conditions spread Covid-19
uri: Factory-conditions-spread-Covid-19
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#14_June_2021_%28Factory_conditions_spread_Covid-19%29

content:
<p>

Factory working conditions in southeast Asia <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jun/13/factory-workers-making-goods-for-the-west-bear-brunt-of-virus-surge-in-south-east-asia">encourage the spread of Covid-19</a> among the workers.


feed_id: 05a299d39603d97f1e929542c0676dba
title: Firing school teachers
uri: Firing-school-teachers
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#14_June_2021_%28Firing_school_teachers%29
content:
<p>

One candidate for mayor of New York wants to <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/06/12/nyc-mayoral-candidate-eric-adams-rebuked-dangerous-400-students-1-teacher-theory">fire most of the public
school teachers</a>, leaving only a few "great" teachers, each of whom
will "teach" 400 students.
>p>
This would make sense if students were mass-produced, identical machines.


feed_id: 70d9bf6f3d8fcc2076bc067124d3b2a8
title: The most important policy questions
uri: The-most-important-policy-questions
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#14_June_2021_%28The_most_important_policy_questions%29

content:
<p>

The American people are in strong agreement about the most important
policy questions, including preserving democracy.  These policies have
<a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2021/06/11/freeing-muzzled-majority-beneath-polarization-surprising-unity">2/3 support, and many have 3/4 or 4/5 support</a>. A small minority of
extremist Republicans are hijacking the country.


feed_id: b238f70314220ed6d11e181865fae7c2
title: (satire) BlackRock dream home
uri: (satire)-BlackRock-dream-home
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#14_June_2021_%28%28satire%29_BlackRock_dream_home%29

content:
<p>

(satire) *Thrilled BlackRock Announces <a href="https://www.theonion.com/thrilled-blackrock-announces-purchase-of-800-000th-drea-1847080553">Purchase Of 800,000th Dream Home</a>.*


feed_id: 20acc7e9b65a30b94985d977273001d7
title: (satire) 2 Million brain-dead
uri: (satire)-2-Million-brain-dead
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#14_June_2021_%28%28satire%29_2_Million_brain-dead%29

content:
<p>

(satire) *<a href="https://www.theonion.com/over-2-million-left-brain-dead-in-most-brutal-day-of-cu-1847075147">Over 2 Million Left Brain-Dead</a> In Most Brutal Day Of Culture
Wars Yet.*


feed_id: d88398af9bc2eae03e9491d20814d97f
title: When a protest constitutes a riot
uri: When-a-protest-constitutes-a-riot
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#14_June_2021_%28When_a_protest_constitutes_a_riot%29

content:
<p>

New repressive Republican laws in various states allow <a href="https://stallman.org/glossary.html#thug">thugs</a> to decide
whether a <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2021/06/11/republican-war-protests">protest constitutes a "riot"</a>, and to punish anyone nearby when some unidentified person commits a crime.


feed_id: e73ca188cb392a0dc4ad22bcf286a53c
title: Heating of summers and winters
uri: Heating-of-summers-and-winters
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#14_June_2021_%28Heating_of_summers_and_winters%29
content:
<p>

Paleontological evidence suggests that global heating may <a href="http://www.sci-news.com/paleontology/cretaceous-dinosaurs-warm-variable-greenhouse-climate-09751.html">heat both summers and winters the same amount</a>.
That would lead to painfully hot summers.


feed_id: 5d01837bdb5d2080502d98ebe58e9eea
title: Over 2,000 Palestinians arrested
uri: Over-2-000-Palestinians-arrested
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#14_June_2021_%28Over_2%2C000_Palestinians_arrested%29

content:
<p>

Israeli thugs have <a href="https://www.972mag.com/police-crackdown-palestinian-citizens-israel/">arrested over 2,000 Palestinians</a>, in many cases
over obviously bogus charges.
Some were protesting; some were at home.  Some are journalists, but
journalists were arrested despite not being at protests.
<p>
Sometimes the <a href="https://stallman.org/glossary.html#thug">thugs</a> attacked protesters with violence and then did not
let them get medical treatment.
<p>
Sometimes the <a href="https://stallman.org/glossary.html#thug">thugs</a> did not allow volunteer lawyers to meet with the
prisoners.


feed_id: 245d52d3623ca70f46492cb2f59a016c
title: Israel demands block of shipment
uri: Israel-demands-block-of-shipment
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#14_June_2021_%28Israel_demands_block_of_shipment%29
content:
<p>

Israel demanded that Egypt <a href="https://www.ynetnews.com/article/S1ciu001s00">block the shipment of construction materials</a>
needed to rebuild Gaza's destroyed houses, on the grounds that some of it
might be used to rebuild HAMAS's military facilities.
<p>
Fortunately, Egypt is disregarding that demand.  Biden pledged funds
to help rebuild Gaza, and must have urged Egypt to allow in the
necessary materials to do it.


feed_id: 03c680434dd29f625ed7b0e34fb4c19c
title: Splitting from ALEC
uri: Splitting-from-ALEC
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#15_June_2021_%28Splitting_from_ALEC%29
content:
<p>
A campaign calls on companies <a href="https://www.exposedbycmd.org/2021/06/14/cmd-joins-300-groups-in-call-for-companies-to-quit-alec-over-voter-suppression-bills/">to split from ALEC</a>.
  That organization lobbies states <a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2018-jul-oct.html#17_August_2018_(ALEC)">to adopt right-wing policies
that hurt poor people, democracy, or both</a>.


feed_id: 023a27dfb26b787626c1fa8bd1cea664
title: Reality Winner
uri: 2021-06-15-Reality-Winner
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#15_June_2021_%28Reality_Winner%29
content:
<p>
Reality Winner has been released on probation, but the US government
practice of imprisoning whistleblowers by calling them "spies" <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jun/14/reality-winner-nsa-whistleblower-released-prison">is only
getting worse</a>.


feed_id: 6be9dcc96f834ed8eaad5cb712e25e24
title: Unlivable in a few decades
uri: Unlivable-in-a-few-decades
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#15_June_2021_%28Unlivable_in_a_few_decades%29
content:
<p>
Global heating will make major Australian cities <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/commentisfree/2021/jun/15/how-are-our-cities-going-to-look-in-a-rapidly-heating-world-it-wont-be-long-and-50c-will-be-normal">unlivable in a few decades</a>.


feed_id: d99284f62196098098669995a0336939
title: Inequalities made worse by Covid
uri: Inequalities-made-worse-by-Covid
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#15_June_2021_%28Inequalities_made_worse_by_Covid%29
content:
<p>
*UK health inequalities <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jun/14/uk-health-inequalities-made-worse-by-covid-crisis-study-suggests">made worse by Covid crisis</a>.
   Disadvantaged groups have faced greatest
   disruption to medical care.*

<p>
The underlying long-term cause of this is steadily increasing
underfunding of the NHS.  Tories keep saying that they will get
more done with less money; but always the result is less done,
so some poor people get squeezed out the cracks.


feed_id: 8f7af32bf751194908bfbe17fdb5ced0
title: Golden opportunity missed
uri: Golden-opportunity-missed
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#15_June_2021_%28Golden_opportunity_missed%29
content:
<p>
* The [G7] summit was a golden opportunity to avoid countless deaths.
   History <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/jun/14/grand-words-g7-vaccines-summit-failure-gordon-brown">will judge the rich world's failure harshly</a>.*


feed_id: 96765e81c15e66e37084ea1abeab7b52
title: Transport
uri: Transport
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#15_June_2021_%28Transport%29
content:
<p>
Floating plastic detritus is transporting various marine species
around the world, to other regions where <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jun/14/plastic-rafting-the-invasive-species-hitching-a-ride-on-ocean-litter">they can become intrusive
pests and wipe out native species</a>.


feed_id: e59812b096ff5a630338b2469c0f6d55
title: Hospitals collapsing
uri: Hospitals-collapsing
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#15_June_2021_%28Hospitals_collapsing%29
content:
<p>
On top of war, Afghanstan's hospitals <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-afghanistan/full-hospitals-in-afghanistan-close-doors-to-new-patients-as-covid-19-surges-idUSKCN2DQ0XQ">are collapsing under the weight
of Covid-19</a>.


feed_id: fbd43d9a1d45bfb582f4ea3ff0e1a61e
title: Predatory lending
uri: Predatory-lending
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#15_June_2021_%28Predatory_lending%29
content:
<p>
A new form of predatory lending lures women into improvidence by
inviting them to imagine the bliss of never worrying about whether you
can afford something.  Such bliss can be yours <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2021/jun/13/eva-wiseman-column-debt-for-women-has-been-rebranded-as-a-naughty-little-treat">in an instant with
one-click borrowing</a>.

<p>
You will still need to worry about how much you are spending,
but you will fail to do what you need.

<p>
Imagine when someone combines this with the prosperity gospel.  "Start
borrowing now, and since you're a good Christian, your debt will
miraculously pay itself.  If it doesn't?  You must not be a good
enough Christian."


feed_id: a20da5c3b3a50a37f59fe850e41411db
title: Economic weakness
uri: Economic-weakness
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#15_June_2021_%28Economic_weakness%29
content:
<p>
The US conquest an occupation of Iraq were one cause of its economic
weakness, <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2021/06/13/osama-bin-ladens-ghost-and-multi-trilion-dollar-cost-endless-war">which is enabling China to move towards dominating the world</a>.

<p>
I think that its plutocratist decadence is, however, another cause.
(The two are related.)

<p>
If this were no more than a matter of competition between countries, I
would say, "Let the (most capable) country and system win."  The
reason I don't say that is that China would impose a totalitarian
hell.


feed_id: 11f43a3dc21144d245f7c13da0cc0779
title: Deporting man there since he was a toddler
uri: Deporting-man-there-since-he-was-a-toddler
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#15_June_2021_%28Deporting_man_there_since_he_was_a_toddler%29

content:
<p>
Protesters in London and Glasgow objected to plans to deport to Jamaica
a man <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/jun/12/protesters-in-london-and-glasgow-call-for-halt-to-osime-brown-deportation">who has lived in the UK since he was a toddler</a>.


feed_id: d17aaae7aad0fbd3cc8c96cc965dce25
title: G-zero world
uri: G-zero-world
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#15_June_2021_%28G-zero_world%29
content:
<p>
*This G7 reflects our G-zero world, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/jun/13/g7-g-zero-world-national-self-interest-parochially">ruled by self-interest instead of global
ambition</a>.*


feed_id: 3f73ef83dc9f6c1b29a80e978653845d
title: Netanyahu out
uri: Netanyahu-out
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#15_June_2021_%28Netanyahu_out%29
content:
<p>
*Israeli coalition <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jun/13/benjamin-netanyahu-ousted-israel-prime-minister-coalition-12-years">ousts Netanyahu as prime minister after 12 years</a>.*

<p>
Netanyahu's great achievement was to eliminate Israel's will to make
peace with Palestine, and replace it <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jun/13/benjamin-netanyahu-former-commando-who-became-king-bibi-profile">with the will to subjugate
Palestinians for ever</a>.

<p>
He has postponed dealing with the corruption charges against him by
being prime minister.  With luck, the prosecution will soon start and
prevent him from holding that office again.


feed_id: 4496e21ef567924a4b29210e3c4d97d6
title: Netanyahu's great achievement
uri: Netanyahu-s-great-achievement
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#15_June_2021_%28Netanyahu%27s_great_achievement%29
content:
<p>
Netanyahu's great achievement was to eliminate Israel's will to make peace
with Palestine and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jun/13/benjamin-netanyahu-former-commando-who-became-king-bibi-profile">replace that with the will to rule Palestinians for ever</a>.


feed_id: 9c5e6a419409e0e324fa265e02ec8003
title: DoJ chiefs
uri: DoJ-chiefs
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#15_June_2021_%28DoJ_chiefs%29
content:
<p>
*Pelosi: "beyond belief" that [the corrupter's] DoJ chiefs <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jun/13/trump-justice-department-phone-data-democrats-pelosi">didn't know
 of secret subpoenas</a>.*

<p>
If it is true that they did not know, it follows that the corrupter
had undermined their control of the department in order to use it
to undermine the US government.


feed_id: 9ac4fa4b644832b6b6be94c9efc64c5b
title: Bogus accusations of fraud
uri: Bogus-accusations-of-fraud
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#15_June_2021_%28Bogus_accusations_of_fraud%29
content:
<p>
Since it appears that the leftist candidate has won Peru's presidential
election, the right-wing candidate <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/06/11/we-are-sounding-alarm-global-left-warns-right-wing-fujimori-trying-steal-election">is making bogus accusations of fraud</a>.

<p>
The next right-wing step may be to spend a lot of money to create an
false impression that the election was stolen.  It worked in Bolivia;
it might work in the US; it may work in Peru if people don't organize
to stop it.


feed_id: 555a03e5fd2d488bb6d1c9c751952774
title: Revolving door
uri: 2021-06-16-Revolving-door
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#16_June_2021_%28Revolving_door%29
content:
<p>
The revolving door for violant thugs <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jun/16/st-louis-police-officer-conviction-ellis-brown">leads out of one thug department
and into another</a>.

<p>
They continue to main and kill, but they suffer the penalty of a lower
salary.


feed_id: b1e9f62863c7753667a4c325a7f84a60
title: Investigation into seized communication records
uri: Investigation-into-seized-communication-records
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#16_June_2021_%28Investigation_into_seized_communication_records%29

content:
<p>
Republicans will thwart a Senate investigation <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jun/16/senate-republicans-trump-justice-department-democrats-data">into how Trump's henchmen
seized senators' communication records</a>.


feed_id: 6342b1c4af59a59e0b756dda8f75ca5b
title: Antidepressants and crayfish
uri: Antidepressants-and-crayfish
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#16_June_2021_%28Antidepressants_and_crayfish%29
content:
<p>
Small amounts of antidepressants in the water make crayfish "bolder",
and more rash.  <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jun/15/crayfish-behave-more-boldly-after-exposure-to-antidepressants-study">This could affect ecosystems</a>.


feed_id: 7fa41a30f90216c95b75b96f4f008e34
title: Agreement to stop dealing with climate crisis
uri: Agreement-to-stop-dealing-with-climate-crisis
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#16_June_2021_%28Agreement_to_stop_dealing_with_climate_crisis%29

content:
<p>
*   From food standards to fossil fuel exports, Britain’s agreement with
   Australia <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/jun/15/government-obsession-trade-deals-australia-disaster-environment">could stop us dealing with the climate crisis</a>.*


feed_id: b5c7d27c12d83a5d920f81adda2a1e34
title: War on drugs killings
uri: War-on-drugs-killings
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#16_June_2021_%28War_on_drugs_killings%29
content:
<p>
*ICC prosecutor <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jun/14/icc-seeks-investigation-into-philippines-war-on-drugs-killings">seeks investigation into Philippines ‘war on drugs’
 killings</a>.*

<p>
President Do-Dirty's war was nominally on drugs, but actually against
whoever looked good to shoot.


feed_id: 4f42b8193edb5486a1d9d41f5ca485c6
title: Protecting Yanomami from wildcat gold miners
uri: Protecting-Yanomami-from-wildcat-gold-miners
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#16_June_2021_%28Protecting_Yanomami_from_wildcat_gold_miners%29

content:
<p>
*Brazil to deploy special force <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-brazil-indigenous/brazil-to-deploy-special-force-to-protect-the-yanomami-from-wildcat-gold-miners-idUSKCN2DQ1UQ">to protect the Yanomami from wildcat
 gold miners</a>.*

<p>
Measures like this are justified for the protection of the Yanomami
and the land and its ecosystems.  However, I have to worry that Bolsonaro
will intentionally pervert or corrupt the mission so that it poisons them
instead.


feed_id: 132db2505892ae6d1d813033e386ccd2
title: Repeal of Use of Military Force
uri: Repeal-of-Use-of-Military-Force
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#16_June_2021_%28Repeal_of_Use_of_Military_Force%29
content:
<p>
Biden has endorsed repeal <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/usa-defense-biden-authorization-int/biden-backs-effort-in-congress-to-repeal-forever-war-authority-in-iraq-idUSKCN2DQ1X1">of the 2002 Authorization for the Use of
Military Force</a>.

<p>
Bravo!

<p>
Will the Republicans in the Senate block this
to make sure the next Republican president can make an excuse
for war wherever he wants it?


feed_id: 2d55f42c5587c194ff7cce380e343943
title: Own Pandas
uri: Own-Pandas
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#16_June_2021_%28Own_Pandas%29
content:
<p>
(<a href="https://www.theonion.com/senate-passes-50-billion-bill-to-combat-chinese-influe-1847081857">satire</a>) *Senate Passes $50 Billion Bill To Combat Chinese Influence
By Developing Own Pandas.*

<p>
That is less of a joke than it might seem.  China uses its pandas with
great care as instruments of influence.  It does not give pandas, only
lend them, and the contract says that all baby pandas they produce
belong to China.  Thus, China maintains its monopoly.

<p>
This has been used to induce various countries to panda to China.


feed_id: 8756d8eccb478de66604727b8b58baba
title: Heatwave
uri: Heatwave
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#16_June_2021_%28Heatwave%29
content:
<p>
A heatwave in the US southwest <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jun/14/us-heatwave-southwest-utah-california-nevada-arizona">brings temperatures of 49C, 120F, in
some places</a>.

<p>
If we don't curb <a href="https://stallman.org/glossary.html#global heating">global heating</a>, people should expect much worse.


feed_id: 342fb8e604178297b6155c9f9e5d008d
title: Hating masks
uri: Hating-masks
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#16_June_2021_%28Hating_masks%29
content:
<p>
The corrupter has inspired thousands of Americans <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/06/13/opinions/unruly-air-passengers-masks-trump-obeidallah/index.html">to hate masks the way they
hate Democrats and minority racial groups</a>.


feed_id: 8df721d2044ec37b7a49375fc75ef30b
title: Pressure on coal
uri: Pressure-on-coal
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#16_June_2021_%28Pressure_on_coal%29
content:
<p>
Biden dropped pressure to quickly end burning of coal.  Perhaps <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/06/14/intent-appeasing-manchin-us-blocks-g7-progress-phasing-out-coal">this
was catering to Manchin</a>.

<p>
It is a mistake to give Manchin anything without a concrete deal where he
gives something concrete in return.


feed_id: d937edc5a43eb773c8a6706d10b62cdf
title: Part of NATO
uri: Part-of-NATO
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#16_June_2021_%28Part_of_NATO%29
content:
<p>
Ukraine's president very very much <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ukraine-president/zelenskiy-asks-u-s-for-clarity-on-nato-membership-plan-for-ukraine-idUSKCN2DQ11Y">wants Ukraine to be part of NATO</a>.

<p>
I suspect that it would be far more effective, for restraining Putin,
to threaten to include Ukraine in NATO than to actually do it.  That
is a general principle that I learned about by reading a book about Go
strategy.


feed_id: 0d721da1e1a38622152e67c164965777
title: Serious violations by police
uri: Serious-violations-by-police
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#16_June_2021_%28Serious_violations_by_police%29
content:
<p>
*U.N. rights office voices concern <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/tunisia-rights-un-int/u-n-rights-office-voices-concern-on-serious-violations-by-tunisian-police-idUSKCN2DQ16F">on serious violations by Tunisian police</a>.*


feed_id: 44c0a1083bf976c27f0515bee5c5a8ac
title: Delta variant
uri: Delta-variant
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#16_June_2021_%28Delta_variant%29
content:
<p>
As the Delta variant of Covid-19 spreads, it increases the danger.
Being vaccinated is still very helpful, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-health-coronavirus-scotland-delta/delta-variant-doubles-risk-of-covid-hospitalisation-scottish-study-idUSKCN2DQ1AM">but the chance of catching it
despite vaccination is significant</a>.

<p>
Delta can also <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jun/14/delta-variant-covid-symptoms-include-headaches-sore-throat-and-runny-nose">more easily be mistaken for a cold</a>.
   *The number one
symptom is headache … followed by sore throat, runny nose and fever.*


feed_id: 6ad426c8ab62cbb6a2e74c5dca76c009
title: Climate targets
uri: 2021-06-16-Climate-targets
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#16_June_2021_%28Climate_targets%29
content:
<p>
*   Rich countries must come forward with detailed plans <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jun/14/rich-countries-urged-to-come-up-with-detailed-plans-to-cut-emissions">on how they hope
   to meet their climate targets</a>.*


feed_id: 87a988e9a46176d82dcf6d656da58bb7
title: Economic weakness
uri: 2021-06-16-Economic-weakness
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#15_June_2021_%28Economic_weakness%29
content:
<p>
The US conquest and occupation of Iraq were one cause of its economic
weakness, <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2021/06/13/osama-bin-ladens-ghost-and-multi-trilion-dollar-cost-endless-war">which is enabling China to move towards dominating the world</a>.

<p>
I think that its plutocratist decadence is, however, another cause.
(The two are related.)

<p>
If this were no more than a matter of competition between countries, I
would say, "Let the (most capable) country and system win."  The
reason I don't say that is that China would impose a totalitarian
hell.


feed_id: 3be1db67aecbfcbe923e3782af424cbf
title: Firing school teachers
uri: 2021-06-16-Firing-school-teachers
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#14_June_2021_%28Firing_school_teachers%29
content:
<p>

One candidate for mayor of New York wants to <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/06/12/nyc-mayoral-candidate-eric-adams-rebuked-dangerous-400-students-1-teacher-theory">fire most of the public
school teachers</a>, leaving only a few "great" teachers, each of whom
will "teach" 400 students.
<p>
This would make sense if students were mass-produced, identical machines.


feed_id: f209ffccf890cc0e7188382838c338a6
title: Danger of extracting fossil fuels
uri: 2021-06-16-Danger-of-extracting-fossil-fuels
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#12_June_2021_%28Danger_of_extracting_fossil_fuels%29

content:
<p>

A growing problem: resistance to fossil fuel infrastructure now
frequently downplays the main danger of extracting and transporting
fossil fuels &mdash; that they might leak methane into the air, or be burnt
and release CO2.  This <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2021/06/09/we-must-divest-oil-pipelines">example</a> does not trouble to mention it at all.
<p>
What's with these people?  I get the impression that they are more
concerned with who owns certain land or waterways than with whether
civilization survives.
<p>
Ironically, the same can be said of the companies that want to extract the
fossil fuels.
<p>
The reason not to build the Line 3 pipeline applies to every other new
oil or gas pipeline, every new refinery, and every new well or mine:
there is <a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2013-sep-dec.html#26_October_2013_(The_carbon_budget)">no room in the world's carbon budget</a>
for any more fossil fuel infrastructure.


feed_id: 25fcf12fc410299ee0272ebf8ad71d53
title: Urgent: call on Tiktok to stop collecting biometric data
uri: Urgent-call-on-Tiktok-to-stop-collecting-biometric-data
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#16_June_2021_%28Urgent%3A_call_on_Tiktok_to_stop_collecting_biometric_data%29

content:
<p>

US citizens: call on TikTok to <a href="https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/tell-tiktok-no-biometric-data-collection?nowrapper=true&referrer=&source=email-tiktok-just-started-forcing-people-to-hand-over-face-and-voice-prints-2">stop collecting biometric data</a>, and
delete what it has collected.


feed_id: 90ba3099a62b0652774e56d083f40a0d
title: Extinction of eels
uri: Extinction-of-eels
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#16_June_2021_%28Extinction_of_eels%29
content:
<p>

Trying to prevent the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jun/16/a-rewilding-project-on-uk-rivers-aims-to-stop-eels-sliding-to-extinction-aoe">extinction of eels in the Britain</a>.


feed_id: 75813cd9bbfd018c41714264117f40c7
title: Boat refugee
uri: Boat-refugee
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#16_June_2021_%28Boat_refugee%29
content:
<p>

Australia has <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-australia-asylum/australia-temporarily-releases-sri-lankan-asylum-seeker-family-after-two-years-island-detention-idUSKCN2DR06P">temporarily released a boat refugee</a> from an immigration
prison on a remote island, to reunite him with his wife and children, but
he will still be kept under some sort of house arrest.
<p>
Australia has sworn unending repression for boat people, and treats that as
the highest political priority.


feed_id: 16f82e054bfef24f025f1eb2bae257fa
title: Lab precautions
uri: Lab-precautions
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#16_June_2021_%28Lab_precautions%29
content:
<p>

Whether or not Covid-19 escaped from a virology lab, such labs
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/jun/15/covid-escaped-lab-or-not-biosecurity-laboratories">need to take stronger precautions</a>.


feed_id: 104b16aaf12e5239f1b99a3858592f0a
title: America needs more press freedom
uri: America-needs-more-press-freedom
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#16_June_2021_%28America_needs_more_press_freedom%29
content:
<p>

*Trump spied on journalists. So did Obama. America needs <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/jun/15/donald-trump-barack-obama-us-press-freedom">more press freedom
now</a>.*


feed_id: 51f9161b9a1416f0a9d02270a6a0235e
title: Ikea fined by French court
uri: Ikea-fined-by-French-court
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#16_June_2021_%28Ikea_fined_by_French_court%29
content:
<p>

*Ikea <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/jun/15/ikea-fined-1m-by-french-court-for-spying-on-staff">fined €1m by French court</a> for spying on staff.*


feed_id: d549ad8139dfa5f5c402af19f0885346
title: Concealed failings of investigation
uri: Concealed-failings-of-investigation
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#16_June_2021_%28Concealed_failings_of_investigation%29

content:
<p>

*London's [thugs] corruptly concealed <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-britain-police-morgan/british-police-corruptly-concealed-failings-over-1987-murder-report-idUSKCN2DR1BD">failings in the investigation</a> of
the 1987 murder of private investigator Daniel Morgan.*


feed_id: 9d661108202b919baf0b4f505b15ff55
title: Revolving door
uri: 2021-06-17-Revolving-door
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#16_June_2021_%28Revolving_door%29
content:
<p>
The revolving door for violent thugs <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jun/16/st-louis-police-officer-conviction-ellis-brown">leads out of one thug department
and into another</a>.

<p>
They continue to main and kill, but they suffer the penalty of a lower
salary.


feed_id: d025e71d24b24976fc9b14b5f2e80cec
title: Driver charged with murder
uri: Driver-charged-with-murder
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#18_June_2021_%28Driver_charged_with_murder%29
content:
<p>
*Driver accused of driving into protesters in Minneapolis <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jun/17/minneapolis-driver-protesters-murder-charge-nicholas-kraus">charged with
 murder</a>.*

<p>
Republican state legislatures are passing laws to help murderous fanatics
get away with such murders.
 They will only need to claim that they hit the protesters by accident,
and right-wing jurors could decide to believe them.


feed_id: 180d63e9f395a4619158bcee9700b5dc
title: Hiring mercenaries
uri: Hiring-mercenaries
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#18_June_2021_%28Hiring_mercenaries%29
content:
<p>
A minister  in Bolivia's previous coup-installed  government sought to
hire US  mercenaries <a href="https://theintercept.com/2021/06/17/bolivia-coup-plot-mercenaries/">to block the  2020 election of the  new president
Arce</a>.


feed_id: 3b26bb8d075e3058a81e47040380b9f5
title: Remodeling old buildings
uri: Remodeling-old-buildings
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#18_June_2021_%28Remodeling_old_buildings%29
content:
<p>
China is remodeling old buildings in some cities in Xinjiang as more
appealing oldish-looking tourist attractions.  When reporters visit,
<a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-xinjiang-surveillance-wider-ima/in-chinas-new-xinjiang-patriotic-tourism-riot-police-and-minders-idUSKCN2DT121">they feel the heavy hand of Soviet-style repression</a>.


feed_id: 5a52d5994e041df43b06f04b29d742cf
title: Arsenic and lead in baby foods
uri: Arsenic-and-lead-in-baby-foods
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#18_June_2021_%28Arsenic_and_lead_in_baby_foods%29
content:
<p>
The FDA must enforce limits <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/jun/17/why-are-there-dangerous-levels-of-arsenic-and-lead-in-american-baby-food">on arsenic and lead in baby foods</a>.


feed_id: bf0a01098201cef7fb9405dec1fa673d
title: Lottery college
uri: Lottery-college
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#18_June_2021_%28Lottery_college%29
content:
<p>
For most Americans, a college education <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/jun/17/america-lottery-society-wellbeing">is something they need to win
a lottery to get</a>.


feed_id: d89788e454731e3a275addf9e96a9a7a
title: Punishing peaceful protesters
uri: Punishing-peaceful-protesters
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#18_June_2021_%28Punishing_peaceful_protesters%29
content:
<p>
*[The US deportation thug organization] Discussed <a href="https://theintercept.com/2021/06/17/ice-retaliate-immigrant-advocates-surveillance/">Punishing Immigrant
 Advocates for Peaceful Protests</a>.*


feed_id: dfec35a1ef30e014920e56c666c0d81e
title: Arrest of journalists
uri: Arrest-of-journalists
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#18_June_2021_%28Arrest_of_journalists%29
content:
<p>
China arrested executives and editors of the Apple Daily for
endangering national security.  Precisely what actions supposedly had
that effect, China does not bother to answer, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jun/17/worst-of-times-hong-kong-apple-daily-media-defiant-amid-police-crackdown">since the goal is to
intimidate all journalists</a>.


feed_id: 1ba42d82bfba71b21a069bc03297fe07
title: Pleading for release
uri: Pleading-for-release
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#18_June_2021_%28Pleading_for_release%29
content:
<p>
*Father of [Sofia Sapega, who was] arrested off plane in Belarus,
 <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-belarus-politics-sapega-father/father-of-woman-arrested-off-plane-in-belarus-appeals-to-lukashenko-for-her-release-idUSKCN2DT1D9">appeals to Lukashenko for her release</a>.*


feed_id: 9c3acc2b25476d5e192afa27a6aee181
title: Thug charged for killing autistic
uri: Thug-charged-for-killing-autistic
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#18_June_2021_%28Thug_charged_for_killing_autistic%29

content:
<p>
*Israeli policeman <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-israel-palestinians-violence/israeli-policeman-charged-with-manslaughter-of-autistic-palestinian-idUSKCN2DT1OY">charged with manslaughter of autistic Palestinian</a>.*
  The <a href="https://stallman.org/glossary.html#thug">thug</a> had no reason at all to shoot him.

<p>
It is rare for Israeli <a href="https://stallman.org/glossary.html#thug">thugs</a> or soldiers to face justice for killing a
Palestinian.  I hope this is the sign of a change.


feed_id: c99eaef3bd9fb85373399e5fb83d2e81
title: Organizing against overfishing
uri: Organizing-against-overfishing
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#18_June_2021_%28Organizing_against_overfishing%29
content:
<p>
Eight countries in the Pacific Ocean organized to prevent foreign ships from overfishing, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jun/16/the-mice-that-roared-how-eight-tiny-countries-took-on-foreign-fishing-fleets">and get a share of the money at the same time</a>,


feed_id: e0fb55ffc887605116fa13ffda8bbf56
title: Pressure to investigate bogus accusations
uri: Pressure-to-investigate-bogus-accusations
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#18_June_2021_%28Pressure_to_investigate_bogus_accusations%29

content:
<p>
Emails show that the White House chief of staff, under the corrupter,
tried five times to make Acting Attorney General Rosen <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jun/15/emails-reveal-trump-push-overturn-election-defeat">investigate
various bogus accusations of voter fraud</a>.

<p>
Rosen refused.  At that time it was possible for supporters of the corrupter
to retain some scruples about their civic duty.


feed_id: 8a06e637ff6d4e678ffe24f17d8fd1c6
title: Consumerism
uri: Consumerism
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#18_June_2021_%28Consumerism%29
content:
<p>
How plutocracy co-opts and perverts the defense of freedom and
autonomy &mdash; <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/node/328374">using consumerism</a>.
  Zuckerberg wanted to buy the rights to "Another Brick In the Wall"
to use it to promote Instagram, <a href="https://stallman.org/facebook.html">which is a very big collection of 
bricks</a>
       in the wall of surveillance.

<p>
Musician Roger Waters, author of the song, condemned Facebook and
stated support for Julian Assange.


feed_id: 3d37034c764cc9c483c889835870ae84
title: Business deregulation
uri: Business-deregulation
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#18_June_2021_%28Business_deregulation%29
content:
<p>
Tories plan <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-britain-redtape/go-boldly-to-cut-red-tape-after-brexit-uk-lawmakers-report-urges-idUSKCN2DR1YJ">to deregulate businesses across the board</a>.

<p>
Contracts will be awarded in "agile" ways, thus regularizing the Tory
practice of giving contracts to companies run by friends of ministers,
<a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6546927/Grayling-defends-handing-13-8million-no-deal-Brexit-ferry-contract-Seaborne-Freight.html">whether or not they have the capacity to do the job or the experience
to do it right</a>
                                                       Planning will also
be agile, so that <a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2018-mar-jun.html#1_June_2018_(UK:_Tories_to_speed_up_fracking_projects)">local people won't be able to argue against plans that
would harm them</a>.
                  (Unless it's a land-based wind farm; <a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#29_November_2016_(UK_ministers_delay_fracking_report)">Tories want those
all to be blocked</a>.)


feed_id: 5c49bbdaf6e5a70cfe3c29f545484600
title: Civil service plans
uri: Civil-service-plans
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#18_June_2021_%28Civil_service_plans%29
content:
<p>
*[Minister] Michael Gove's civil service plans <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2021/jun/15/michael-goves-civil-service-reform-threatens-impartiality-says-union-leader">threaten impartiality</a>,
 says union leader.*


feed_id: f2cbfba1bf543113021aa0c46de13ca8
title: Opposing helping each other
uri: Opposing-helping-each-other
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#18_June_2021_%28Opposing_helping_each_other%29
content:
<p>
Andy Slavitt hinted at how some Americans (Republicans) were too
selfish in confronting Covid-19, and refused to do the little things
that save other people's health and lives, They should have made
little sacrifices such as wearing masks, keeping distance, getting
vaccinated.  What they opposed was the principle that we ought
to help each other.  <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jun/15/andy-slavitt-coronavirus-americans-sacrifice-little-bit">"War on Earth, ill will to men."</a>

<p>
He touched the right-wingers' nerve because what he said is evidently
true.  So they began spewing gibberish as white noise to drown out his
message.

<p>
Delta variant has to start a wave that will kill or disable a lot of
antivaxxers.  As people see the pattern that Republicans spread human
death and Democrats more or less protect human life, they may learn
not to trust Republicans.


feed_id: 0c2bfa0be0bea5eed76f3182f0f5a013
title: Soybeans, coffee, chocolate, and palm oil
uri: Soybeans-coffee-chocolate-and-palm-oil
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#18_June_2021_%28Soybeans%2C_coffee%2C_chocolate%2C_and_palm_oil%29

content:
<p>
Global supplies of soybeans, coffee, chocolate, and palm oil <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jun/15/climate-crisis-to-hit-europes-coffee-and-chocolate-supplies">will be cut
by global heating, even if we curb emissions quickly</a>.

<p>
They will be cut a lot more, over time, if we fail to curb emissions.


feed_id: 1082fc789b39b813cfe1f1e70f633b30
title: Investigation of the origin of SARS-CoV-2
uri: Investigation-of-the-origin-of-SARS-CoV-2
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#19_June_2021_%28Investigation_of_the_origin_of_SARS-CoV-2%29

content:
<p>
Some Americans
<a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/06/15/health/coronavirus-all-of-us-blood-survey/index.html">had
antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 in blood samples they gave in January
2020</a>, so they must have got infected in 2019.
<p>
I don't know whether there is any chance that some other coronavirus
could have triggered formation of antibodies that react to SARS-CoV-2.
If not, those Americans must have caught Covid-19 in December.
<p>
*<a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/06/15/let-scientific-evidence-determine-origin-covid-19-say-heads-us-national-academies">'Let
Scientific Evidence Determine Origin' of Covid-19</a>, Say Heads of US
National Academies.*
<p>
A Chinese virologist said this means the investigation of the origin
of SARS-CoV-2 should 
<a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/china/china-disease-expert-says-covid-19-origins-probe-should-shift-us-global-times-2021-06-17/">move
to the US</a>.
<p>
The investigation should study <em>all</em> relevant places and
events.  Trying to "blame the US" for Covid-19 is as foolish as trying
to "blame China" for it.  It is foolish to consider this as a matter
of rivalry between countries.  If any mistakes were made by China, if
any mistakes were made by the United States, if any were made
elsewhere, the world needs to know what happened and understand them.


feed_id: 37524d33b21299ad8cfa83e17fc1dc81
title: Urgent: Pay cash to protect your anonymity
uri: Urgent-Pay-cash-to-protect-your-anonymity
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#20_June_2021_%28Urgent%3A_Pay_cash_to_protect_your_anonymity%29

content:
<p>
Britons, protect your anonymity &mdash;
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/jun/16/cashless-society-draws-closer-with-only-one-in-six-payments-now-in-cash">pay
cash</a>!  If you don't defend this right, you will lose it.
<p>
When you leave your house, take cash with you, enough for the
purchases you might make.
<p>
A bonus: most people find that paying cash leads them to spend less.


feed_id: 28350dba7bccf88373a32c298f23ee3c
title: Urgent: Infrastructure plan money not for the Pentagon
uri: Urgent-Infrastructure-plan-money-not-for-the-Pentagon
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#20_June_2021_%28Urgent%3A_Infrastructure_plan_money_not_for_the_Pentagon%29

content:
<p>
US citizens:
<a href="https://act.winwithoutwar.org/act/no-new-money-for-the-Pentagon">call
on Pelosi and Schumer</a> to give the Pentagon none of the
infrastructure plan money.
<p>
If you sign, please spread the word!


feed_id: 3e40bb6f6bc1ee4e73014bb445a0f8ce
title: Juneteenth
uri: 2021-06-21-Juneteenth
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#20_June_2021_%28Juneteenth%29
content:
<p>
June 19 is Juneteenth, a new federal holiday which
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jun/17/juneteenth-slavery-federal-holiday-biden-signs-bill">celebrates
the freeing of slaves in the defeated confederacy</a>.
<p>
It was not the end of discrimination by law against blacks &mdash;
that continued into the 1960s and was ended by the civil rights
movement.
<a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2015-may-aug.html#29_August_2015_(Systemic_racism_in_the_US)">Systemic
racism</a> continues
<a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2020-jul-oct.html#12_September_2020_(Sentencing_in_Massachusetts_is_subject_to_systemic_racism)">to
this day</a>.  So we still need more change in that area.


feed_id: 11d6f99162c3c1ac82c0114ae8a72ba0
title: Lot more housing
uri: Lot-more-housing
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#21_June_2021_%28Lot_more_housing%29
content:
<p>
Prefabricated small houses, to fit in spaces which used to hold garages,
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/jun/16/bristol-to-build-gap-homes-on-garage-sites-to-tackle-housing-crisis">can provide a lot more housing comparatively quickly</a>.


feed_id: 3019015cf50b162747a4f95effcf1a2a
title: Gratis burgers for thugs
uri: Gratis-burgers-for-thugs
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#21_June_2021_%28Gratis_burgers_for_thugs%29
content:
<p>
<a href="https://stallman.org/glossary.html#thug">Thugs</a> in Lahore demanded gratis burgers at a restaurant.  The staff
said no, so the <a href="https://stallman.org/glossary.html#thug">thugs</a> returned the next day and arrested all the
staff, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/06/16/asia/pakistan-police-detain-staff-free-burgers-intl-hnk/index.html">leaving the restaurant unattended, even the machines that heat
oil for frying</a>.
  This risked causing injuries or a fire.  Fortunately that didn't happen.

<p>
Reportedly the <a href="https://stallman.org/glossary.html#thug">thugs</a> have been suspended.  They deserve more
punishment than that; what they did was corrupt.


feed_id: c80148e423ca3cd72e06e6bc38c8bc2d
title: Oil and gas on public lands
uri: Oil-and-gas-on-public-lands
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#21_June_2021_%28Oil_and_gas_on_public_lands%29
content:
<p>
Biden's order to stop issuing oil and gas leases on public lands, or
offshore, was temporarily blocked by a judge.  <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/06/15/politics/oil-gas-lease-pause-biden-administration/index.html">It may be blocked
permanently</a>.

<p>
We have to keep this in perspective.  If this comparatively small
action is a "key" part of Biden's efforts to avoid <a href="https://stallman.org/glossary.html#global heating">global heating</a>
disaster, it's because what he has done so far is small.  He has
proposed legislation to do more, but Manchin and Sinema are blocking
those bills.  Unless we do a lot more, our future is hosed.


feed_id: dd3636481a03c64b0a9931a376c89f61
title: Guns prohibition
uri: Guns-prohibition
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#21_June_2021_%28Guns_prohibition%29
content:
<p>
San Jose, California, cannot prohibit guns.  It plans <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/06/15/opinions/san-jose-gun-control-initiative-liccardo/index.html">to require gun owners
to carry insurance and pay a tax</a>.

<p>
Those who possess guns but have not paid and insured them will have
them seized.

<p>
I think it is a clever idea.  Let's see how well it works.


feed_id: 72475bcdc6d38b91b5b7b3e0d280290f
title: Preserving filibuster
uri: Preserving-filibuster
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#21_June_2021_%28Preserving_filibuster%29
content:
<p>
A leaked meeting recording shows Manchin asking rich donors to "convince"
some Senate Republicans <a href="https://theintercept.com/2021/06/16/joe-manchin-leaked-billionaire-donors-no-labels/">to vote for an investigation of the Jan 6 insurrection,
to help him preserve the filibuster</a>.


feed_id: 85cd463a69cf7e8e4b20d8ec188e2f16
title: Pfizer out of ALEC
uri: Pfizer-out-of-ALEC
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#21_June_2021_%28Pfizer_out_of_ALEC%29
content:
<p>
Pfizer has pulled out of ALEC, <a href="https://www.exposedbycmd.org/2021/06/16/pfizer-dumps-alec/">in response perhaps to public pressure</a>.

<p>
It is better to cease support for ALEC than continue it,
but whatever motivated the company to support ALEC may find
a new expression &mdash; perhaps through PhRMA, which lobbies
for Big Pharma.


feed_id: 16ccc58f35e3b3d4302b5c6523e7d748
title: Sentence for witness K
uri: Sentence-for-witness-K
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#21_June_2021_%28Sentence_for_witness_K%29
content:
<p>
Australia will soon decide, secretly, the sentence to impose <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/jun/17/scapegoating-protesters-to-gather-at-australian-parliament-before-witness-k-sentencing">on the heroic
whistleblower that we know only as "Witness K"</a>.


feed_id: 9090f37e7fdf31df870771673660207a
title: Law against transgenders
uri: Law-against-transgenders
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#21_June_2021_%28Law_against_transgenders%29
content:
<p>
Hungary has passed a law which seems to prohibit <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-hungary-lgbt-media/harry-potter-friends-may-fall-victim-to-hungarys-anti-lgbt-law-broadcaster-idUSKCN2DS1RI">showing video
including transgender minors except late at night</a>.

<p>
The expression "defend the right of children to an identity that
conforms to their birth gender," when we interpret "right" correctly,
means that no one should try to force or pressure children to be
trans.  I agree that children who want to be cis have the right to be cis.

<p>
However, I doubt that many children grow up under pressure to be
trans.  Few parents are likely to impose such pressure.  (The Chinese
movie, "Farewell My Concubine," presents a fictional example that
might be based on some real instances 100 years ago.)

<p>
The right-wing advocates of that law seem to twist the concept of
"have the right" by adding, implicitly, "whether they like it or not."
That results in an excuse to impose something on people while
pretending to be respecting their freedom.

<p>
People have duties as well as rights.  There are times when we must
demand that people carry out their duties &mdash; for instance, to pay taxes
<a href="https://stallman.org/articles/why-we-need-a-state.html">so the state can carry out its missions</a>.
  But we should reject the dishonesty of pretending that this is done
<em>for the sake of</em> those people, that it constitutes defending their
rights.

<p>
It appears that "children" is being used here to mean "minors".  I
can't let that practice go by without a rebuke.  Treating teenagers
like children harms them by infantilizing them.


feed_id: aadfd07b450ab8fbb2cdc22146c1ac0f
title: Calling for Stephen Breyer to retire
uri: Calling-for-Stephen-Breyer-to-retire
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#21_June_2021_%28Calling_for_Stephen_Breyer_to_retire%29

content:
<p>
*Legal scholars publish letter <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/law/2021/jun/16/stephen-breyer-supreme-court-retirement-legal-scholars-letter">calling for Stephen Breyer to retire
from Supreme Court</a>.*

<p>
He is old; the aim is to ensure Republicans don't get to replace him
as they did Justice Ginsburg.


feed_id: 66bb7b8ed655f40c65695b2a31a2bb49
title: Prevent more DOJ spying abuses
uri: Prevent-more-DOJ-spying-abuses
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#21_June_2021_%28Prevent_more_DOJ_spying_abuses%29
content:
<p>
*Press Freedom Advocates Say 'Congress Needs to Act' <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/06/15/press-freedom-advocates-say-congress-needs-act-prevent-more-doj-spying-abuses-under">to Prevent More DOJ
Spying Abuses &mdash; Under Both Parties</a>.*


feed_id: c4ac9c7029a650f9d7ee5d6749c7d473
title: Protests against police abuse
uri: Protests-against-police-abuse
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#21_June_2021_%28Protests_against_police_abuse%29
content:
<p>
*Protests against police abuse <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-tunisia-protests/protests-against-police-abuse-spread-across-tunisian-capital-idUSKCN2DT006">spread across Tunisian capital</a>.*


feed_id: 42085f2f2485e2f86fbeef0e18773a38
title: Proprietary software
uri: 2021-06-21-Proprietary-software
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#21_June_2021_%28Proprietary_software%29
content:
<p>
Proprietary software tends to be designed to mistreat the user.
The FBI released proprietary software for gangsters <a href="https://boingboing.net/2021/06/08/crooks-collared-for-using-fbis-fake-encrypted-messaging-platform-learn-the-dangers-of-proprietary-software.html">which was designed
to snoop on them</a>.

<p>
In my view, snooping on those gangsters' crimes was a good thing to
do, for special reasons.  Nonetheless, it is a good example of why <a href="https://gnu.org/malware/">you
should not use nonfree software</a>.


feed_id: ca41972d372dc0d742aa91b419004d51
title: War on people
uri: War-on-people
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#21_June_2021_%28War_on_people%29
content:
<p>
*Nixon's War on Drugs turned out to be a war on people.  President
 Biden <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2021/06/16/its-time-end-war-drugs-once-and-all">should end it once and for all</a>.*


feed_id: 76bce5794d842985e4631a7c27bd9dea
title: Power structure
uri: Power-structure
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#21_June_2021_%28Power_structure%29
content:
<p>
The Democratic Party power structure in West Virginia <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jun/17/joe-manchin-biden-west-virginia-democrats">is made
up of people with political stances like Senator Manchin's</a>.
  They keep the working-class and nonwhite Democrats from having much influence.

<p>
Jesee Jackson: Most West Virginia residents are poor and need more
federal government support.  To represent them, Manchin <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2021/06/15/poverty-haunts-west-virginia-joe-manchin-has-chance-actually-help-his-state">should help
enact the progressive program</a>.

<p>
*Rev. Barber Says West Virginians Are Ready for 'Non-Violent Sit-Ins' Against
Manchin <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/06/15/rev-barber-says-west-virginians-are-ready-non-violent-sit-ins-against-manchin">for Abetting GOP Voter Suppression</a>.*


feed_id: 907a828997bd4377758cebe017d95155
title: Non-living factories
uri: Non-living-factories
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#21_June_2021_%28Non-living_factories%29
content:
<p>
Meat made in non-living factories could address issues of
sustainability, and animal suffering.  <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/food/2021/jun/17/lab-grown-meat-no-kill-food">But it creates possible
problems for human beings</a>,
    both biological (elimination of the biodiversity, and organ
diversity as in present-day farm animals) and legal (patent-owning
companies could control all meat).

<p>
This is not necessarily a reason to reject artificial meat, but means
we should not uncritically assume that all artificial meat is free
of grave problems.


feed_id: 8b316cb8fb6627a157e9347370834daf
title: Repealing use of military force
uri: Repealing-use-of-military-force
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#22_June_2021_%28Repealing_use_of_military_force%29
content:
<p>
Progressives call for repealing <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/06/18/after-iraq-war-authorization-repealed-calls-grow-do-2001-aumf-next">the 2001 Authorization for Use of
Military Force</a>.


feed_id: 89f856e4c9ba8dae98eae861fba7ad60
title: Helping voters
uri: Helping-voters
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#22_June_2021_%28Helping_voters%29
content:
<p>
Voting rights activists have to help disprivileged voters, one by one,
<a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/06/19/politics/voting-rights-democratic-activists-states-congress/index.html">overcome the hurdles Republicans invent to disenfranchise them</a>.


feed_id: 9284240ae9a3068a93164f90a97c5e01
title: ACCESS
uri: ACCESS
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#22_June_2021_%28ACCESS%29
content:
<p>
Cory Doctorow talks about the proposed interoperability law, ACCESS,
and <a href="https://www.consumerreports.org/digital-rights/an-interview-with-tech-activist-and-author-cory-doctorow-a1943952645/">endorses the idea of limiting the collection of personal data</a>.

<p>
"Data protection" requirements may do a little good &mdash; here's <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-57232253">one
interesting attempt</a> &mdash;
  but this is unusual.  For the most part, <a href="https://stallman.org/articles/real-privacy-laws.html">their approach
is too weak</a>.


feed_id: ab424edca19724eacde86c90435c0306
title: Nasty things about Airbnb
uri: Nasty-things-about-Airbnb
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#22_June_2021_%28Nasty_things_about_Airbnb%29
content:
<p>
Some nasty things about Airbnb.  For instance, most airbnb rentals
belong to large companies <a href="https://moguldom.com/358784/the-dirty-side-of-airbnb-3-things-to-know-about-the-secretive-team-that-keeps-problems-quiet/">that gobble up lots of houses that people
used to live in</a>.

<p>
This could be driving up your rent.


feed_id: adf7a423d949a917c9b4c84b726c39f6
title: Military coup
uri: 2021-06-22-Military-coup
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#22_June_2021_%28Military_coup%29
content:
<p>
Right-wing Peruvian retired military officers <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-peru-election/peru-ex-military-stir-election-tensions-with-appeal-to-armed-forces-to-remedy-poll-idUSKCN2DU2F5">called for a military coup</a>.

<p>
This is the standard right-wing one-two punch: fabricate accusations 
of election fraud, then cite them as the excuse for a coup.  That's what the
right-wing opposition <a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2020-jul-oct.html#27_September_2020_(False_accusations_against_Bolivia's_President_Morales)">did in Bolivia against Evo Morales</a>.


feed_id: f555e4b3aed811b9fd2cb22209f1cc69
title: Forced labor
uri: Forced-labor
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#22_June_2021_%28Forced_labor%29
content:
<p>
Congress plans to eliminate the exception in the US Constitution <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/06/18/dems-introduce-abolition-amendment-scrap-constitutions-slavery-clause">that permits
imposing forced labor on convicts</a>.

<p>
When I read those words in the 13th amendment, I thought that their
purposes was to allow sentencing convicts to imprisonment.  I don't
advocate abolishing that.

<p>
However, the practice of forcing prisoners to work for low pay is a
dangerous abuse, because it encourages passing laws to put more people
in prison.  I strongly support eliminating that practice.


feed_id: 73a7776b647210c9b0ce45a9fdfd3ed0
title: Bashing protesters at will
uri: Bashing-protesters-at-will
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#22_June_2021_%28Bashing_protesters_at_will%29
content:
<p>
The Portland <a href="https://stallman.org/glossary.html#thug">thugs</a> that police protests demand to be allowed to bash
protesters at will.  One of them was charged for a gratuitous violent attack
on a protester, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/06/18/us/portland-oregon-police-resign-team/index.html">so the others resigned from the team</a>.

<p>
The city cannot afford to give in to such demands.


feed_id: 3915d8339221ada57181e1a114a24f09
title: Supposed gang members
uri: Supposed-gang-members
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#22_June_2021_%28Supposed_gang_members%29
content:
<p>
California's gang data base includes supposed gang members added at
the age of one year.  And <a href="https://theintercept.com/2021/06/18/dc-police-gang-database-hacked-emails/">other errors that can ruin someone's life</a>.


feed_id: 3e2c8e11e2aa8db762644ecf953ed276
title: LinkedIn censure
uri: LinkedIn-censure
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#22_June_2021_%28LinkedIn_censure%29
content:
<p>
LinkedIn <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jun/18/linkedin-blocks-profiles-from-view-in-china-if-sensitive-topics-mentioned">censors user profiles for China</a>.


feed_id: 85584bc46ad3f62cb9f63e90be0d5c02
title: SARS-CoV-2 origins
uri: SARS-CoV-2-origins
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#22_June_2021_%28SARS-CoV-2_origins%29
content:
<p>
The question of whether SARS-CoV-2 jumped to humans from an animal or
leaked from a lab has become politicized, and <a href="https://theintercept.com/2021/06/19/lab-leak-covid-origins-virology/">researchers feel
threatened based on the positions they take</a>.

<p>
Scientific progress needs the truth, whatever it is, and this will
make the truth harder to ascertain.


feed_id: 98fc91ad6a77a254cfa31ba6bcc3479e
title: Vaccination requirements
uri: Vaccination-requirements
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#22_June_2021_%28Vaccination_requirements%29
content:
<p>
A court ruled that the CDC <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jun/19/florida-cruise-ship-coronavirus-judge-ruling">can't make vaccination requirements for
cruise ships</a>.

<p>
Rulings like this make the US rather helpless defend itself against future
pandemics.  In other words, they endanger national security.

<p>
I expect the Republican-controlled US states to suffer another wave of
Covid-19, with the Delta variant, causing a substantial number of deaths
and permanent disabilities among adults under age 60.


feed_id: ace27068de447c4db8de73b2bf4aea39
title: Condemnation of climate policy
uri: Condemnation-of-climate-policy
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#22_June_2021_%28Condemnation_of_climate_policy%29
content:
<p>
*Climate campaigners claimed a "historic victory" after a Brussels
   court on Thursday condemned Belgium for its climate policy <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/06/18/historic-belgium-court-says-inadequate-climate-policy-human-rights-violation">that
   breaches the country's duty of care and human rights obligations</a>.*


feed_id: 7696d71b7b9d94d34b38b67775735d29
title: Trapped heat
uri: Trapped-heat
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#22_June_2021_%28Trapped_heat%29
content:
<p>
*The amount of heat the Earth traps <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/06/17/us/earth-trapped-heat-doubled/index.html">has doubled in just 15 years</a>, study shows.*

<p>
This is related to drought.


feed_id: 65bc14f1b685ccc70728de448523c1cc
title: Big Pharma control of vaccine
uri: Big-Pharma-control-of-vaccine
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#22_June_2021_%28Big_Pharma_control_of_vaccine%29
content:
<p>
*94% of Americans Oppose Big Pharma's Control of Global Covid-19 Vaccine
Doses: <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/06/18/94-americans-oppose-big-pharmas-control-global-covid-19-vaccine-doses-poll">Poll</a>.*


feed_id: 9fa8101591e477cf61d5dced07cf99f5
title: Warnings about heat waves
uri: Warnings-about-heat-waves
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#22_June_2021_%28Warnings_about_heat_waves%29
content:
<p>
Scientists regarding the US west: We have warned about heat waves and
droughts like these, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jun/18/us-heatwave-west-climate-crisis-drought">and the fires that will follow</a>.


feed_id: d2eecd77474017e95b974372f9a65b22
title: Attackers of pro-democracy protesters
uri: Attackers-of-pro-democracy-protesters
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#22_June_2021_%28Attackers_of_pro-democracy_protesters%29

content:
<p>
People who attacked pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-hongkong-security-court/hk-court-finds-five-guilty-over-2019-attack-on-protesters-at-station-idUSKCN2DU0TR">have been
convicted of violent crime</a>.


feed_id: e0077b64ca3db39485f543da7ab1995b
title: Comfortable and unchallengeable lies
uri: Comfortable-and-unchallengeable-lies
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#22_June_2021_%28Comfortable_and_unchallengeable_lies%29

content:
<p>
Comfortable and unchallengeable lies paved the way to overthrow
democracy in Germany.  <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2021/06/18/tough-truths-are-desperately-needed-about-americas-lost-wars">It can happen in the US too</a>.

<p>
The reason why the US military can't win the wars it has started in
the 21st century is that foreign armies and foreign money normally
can't defeat a strongly motivated guerrilla.  Only a local force with
an even stronger commitment to victory can do so.  In situations like
that, a US military intervention is usually self-defeating.

<p>
US leaders should recognize this.


feed_id: b58e3cce7320b62e1b2bc91b2b860031
title: Election audit
uri: Election-audit
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#22_June_2021_%28Election_audit%29
content:
<p>
ALEC is lobbying <a href="https://www.exposedbycmd.org/2021/06/18/domino-theory-alec-lawmakers-eye-arizona-style-election-audits-in-other-states/">for more states to imitate Arizona's "election audit"</a>.

<p>
As far as I can tell, the aim of the "election audit" is to be
secretive and sloppy enough to create the opportunity for liars to
claim to have discovered irregularities, and no one will have enough
facts to refute the claim.  Then the Republican anti-truth machine
will convince 50 million Americans to believe the lies, along with
other lies such as "Covid-19 is not dangerous" and "Democrats stole
the 2020 election."


feed_id: 9ed0682b5237e4c00d35d3afbf45b02a
title: Wall Street takeover
uri: Wall-Street-takeover
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#22_June_2021_%28Wall_Street_takeover%29
content:
<p>
*Critics Warn Bipartisan Infrastructure Plan '<a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/06/18/critics-warn-bipartisan-infrastructure-plan-would-facilitate-wall-street-takeover">Would Facilitate a Wall Street Takeover</a>.'*


feed_id: 32381ba08f0b17313a25c2b8354441ee
title: The Counseling Not Criminalization in Schools Act
uri: The-Counseling-Not-Criminalization-in-Schools-Act
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#22_June_2021_%28The_Counseling_Not_Criminalization_in_Schools_Act%29

content:
<p>
The Counseling Not Criminalization in Schools Act would shift funds 
<a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/06/18/counseling-not-criminalization-bill-unveiled-boot-police-us-schools">to support counseling in schools instead of uniformed thugs</a>.


feed_id: fedfc4b4e23258997431d39868f9f83f
title: (satire) Full compensation for mistakes
uri: (satire)-Full-compensation-for-mistakes
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#23_June_2021_%28%28satire%29_Full_compensation_for_mistakes%29

content:
<p>

(satire) *CEO Of Troubled Company <a href="https://www.theonion.com/ceo-of-troubled-company-accepts-full-compensation-for-h-1847082524">Accepts Full Compensation</a> For His Mistakes.*


feed_id: 8d17cd0f147fe69425b450eae853c2ec
title: Control of Political decisions
uri: Control-of-Political-decisions
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#23_June_2021_%28Control_of_Political_decisions%29
content:
<p>

Ralph Nader: business executives control most political decisions,
because they have <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2021/06/19/until-people-collar-congress-its-iron-collar-corporate-state">systematically neutralized</a> the former competing
sources of power in society.


feed_id: 18d729ebc3762d7da4a3553bcd541040
title: Investigate Ebrahim Raisi
uri: Investigate-Ebrahim-Raisi
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#23_June_2021_%28Investigate_Ebrahim_Raisi%29
content:
<p>

Amnesty International <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/amnesty-calls-investigation-into-irans-raisi-crimes-against-humanity-2021-06-19/">calls for an investigation of Ebrahim Raisi</a>, who
was just elected president of Iran, for the execution of thousands of
political prisoners in Iran in 1988.


feed_id: 25cbc5db6b6bb43bc479b6d181fbe6ee
title: Eased sanctions
uri: Eased-sanctions
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#23_June_2021_%28Eased_sanctions%29
content:
<p>

The US has eased sanctions against Iran, Venezuela and Syria to <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-sanctions-covid/u-s-issues-new-guidance-to-ease-covid-19-assistance-to-countries-hit-by-sanctions-idUSKCN2DT2LX">facilitate
shipment of products to treat or prevent Covid-19</a>.
<p>
It is clearly the right thing to do.  It should not have taken so long.


feed_id: b3422b005140d1967ba3f344402eba62
title: Protest of the London Science Museum
uri: Protest-of-the-London-Science-Museum
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#23_June_2021_%28Protest_of_the_London_Science_Museum%29

content:
<p>

British students <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jun/19/students-protest-at-science-museum-over-sponsorship-by-shell">protest the London Science Museum</a> for letting Shell
fund an exhibit which leads people to think we can trust in carbon
capture and storage to curb <a href="https://stallman.org/glossary.html#global heating">global heating</a> and skip the necessary effort.


feed_id: a404df009ec002d55a990683b8eeaf80
title: Bullying Catholic politicians
uri: Bullying-Catholic-politicians
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#23_June_2021_%28Bullying_Catholic_politicians%29
content:
<p>

Some US bishops are trying to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jun/19/biden-threatened-with-communion-ban-over-position-on-abortion">bully Catholic politicians</a> (including Biden)
into opposing abortion.
<p>
When John F Kennedy ran for president, some said that it would be
intolerable to have a Catholic as president because he would be a
puppet for the pope.  Kennedy responded said that he would not let
that happen.


feed_id: 31573e1421e3286cfd4c80216bb1c652
title: Witness K spared jail
uri: Witness-K-spared-jail
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#23_June_2021_%28Witness_K_spared_jail%29
content:
<p>

*Witness K spared jail after pleading guilty to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/jun/18/witness-k-should-be-shown-judicial-mercy-not-used-to-deter-others-court-told">breaching secrecy laws
over Timor-Leste bugging</a>.*
<p>
However, that is no excuse for prosecuting whistleblowers who report
wrongdoing by the state.  <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global/commentisfree/2021/jun/18/australia-has-prosecuted-a-brave-individual-people-who-speak-up-keep-getting-arrested">Australia must change its laws</a>.


feed_id: 3b898e80a8917f04ffe0ac415cdbedac
title: Failing deal on climate
uri: Failing-deal-on-climate
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#23_June_2021_%28Failing_deal_on_climate%29
content:
<p>

*UN blasts world leaders for <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jun/20/un-blasts-world-leaders-for-failing-to-seal-72bn-a-year-deal-on-climate">failing to seal £72bn-a-year deal on climate</a>.*


feed_id: 59a2ef57e173786e77a2abf40f647adb
title: Too ignorant to vote
uri: Too-ignorant-to-vote
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#23_June_2021_%28Too_ignorant_to_vote%29
content:
<p>

Fujimori's anti-democratic party aims to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jun/20/peru-elite-election-pedro-castillo-keiko-fujimori">cancel the votes of Peru's rural poor</a>, saying they are too ignorant to be allowed to vote.
<p>
We know what happens when elites don't let poor people's votes count:
they form governments that serve the elites.  They are trying it in the US and
they are trying it in Peru.
<p>
How will the US government use its influence in Peru?  Will it support the
coup, as Hillary Clinton did in Honduras and the bullshitter's servants
did in Bolivia?  Or will it support the elected government?


feed_id: 8f1c0c12e36df92f617cbbce95e225b4
title: Journalist arrested for "stalking"
uri: Journalist-arrested-for-stalking
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#23_June_2021_%28Journalist_arrested_for_stalking%29
content:
<p>

Australian thugs have <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/jun/18/friendlyjordies-arrest-by-nsw-police-fixated-persons-unit-questioned-by-former-top-prosecutor">arrested a journalist for "stalking" an official</a>
at public events to ask embarrassing questions.


feed_id: 4c7fca6e849f5182650b4fbce09e40f9
title: Hong Kong's Apple Daily newspaper
uri: Hong-Kong-s-Apple-Daily-newspaper
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#23_June_2021_%28Hong_Kong%27s_Apple_Daily_newspaper%29

content:
<p>

Hong Kong's non-submissive newspaper Apple Daily will have to shut down
soon because China has <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-hongkong-security/hong-kongs-apple-daily-says-only-has-cash-for-few-weeks-after-assets-frozen-idUSKCN2DW04X">frozen its assets</a>.


feed_id: 797d905b305cca4103e087a852b1f263
title: Immediate threats to the US
uri: Immediate-threats-to-the-US
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#23_June_2021_%28Immediate_threats_to_the_US%29
content:
<p>

The immediate threats to the US do not come from China.  They come from
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/jun/20/the-uss-greatest-danger-isnt-china-its-much-closer-to-home">its own flaws</a>.
<p>
In the longer term, Chinese dominion is a threat to the world as a
whole.  But the US will not be able to help resist that threat unless
it corrects its own flaws.


feed_id: b5c2b7c02d9e0d9a4cf1c845994f03c5
title: Perverting the Department of Justice
uri: Perverting-the-Department-of-Justice
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#23_June_2021_%28Perverting_the_Department_of_Justice%29

content:
<p>

Barr as attorney general was a thoroughly willing flunky for <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jun/21/trump-doj-bill-bar-attorney-general-justice-department">perverting
the Department of Justice</a>.


feed_id: 0259a66e9e813b35e9dcbce5826cd52e
title: Zimbabweans in extreme poverty
uri: Zimbabweans-in-extreme-poverty
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#23_June_2021_%28Zimbabweans_in_extreme_poverty%29
content:
<p>

Half of Zimbabweans are <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2021/jun/21/half-of-zimbabweans-fell-into-extreme-poverty-during-covid">now in extreme poverty</a>: 8 million now,
up from 6.5 million in 2019 and 3 million in 2011.


feed_id: 9463b3a692d1f5e098f120defe8f2f97
title: Zambian park
uri: Zambian-park
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#23_June_2021_%28Zambian_park%29
content:
<p>

*Farm plan <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jun/21/farm-plan-poses-catastrophic-threat-to-zambian-park-vital-for-fruit-bats-aoe">poses ‘catastrophic’ threat</a> to Zambian park vital for fruit bats.*
<p>
The last frenzied decades before massive global collapse
could see desperate humans wipe out thousands of endangered species
in a futile effort to postpone that collapse.


feed_id: 543368a4eab991ae23eeba5d634056d6
title: Condemnation of actors
uri: Condemnation-of-actors
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#23_June_2021_%28Condemnation_of_actors%29
content:
<p>

It's getting so that people will <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2021/jun/18/how-straight-actors-playing-gay-went-from-brave-to-blacking-up">condemn an actor</a> for playing a
character that has any substantial difference from per real self.


feed_id: 4766b9fe200bec501363408aeb65aacf
title: Jail for refusing vaccination
uri: Jail-for-refusing-vaccination
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#23_June_2021_%28Jail_for_refusing_vaccination%29
content:
<p>

President Do-dirty said he will <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-philippines/philippines-duterte-threatens-those-who-refuse-the-covid-19-vaccine-with-jail-idUSKCN2DX247">put people in jail</a> for refusing
Covid-19 vaccination.
I think that is unjustly strict.  First of all, there are people who
have certain medical conditions for whom vaccination would be
dangerous.  However, even for people that have no medical reason to
refuse, actually forcing them is going too far.
<p>
It is legitimate to restrict certain activities to vaccinated people,
such as large gatherings, and occupations where other people's safety
depends on vaccination.  However, if people who cannot be vaccinated
are excluded from work for not being vaccinated, the state should
pay their salaries, because it isn't their fault.
<p>
Once enough people have been vaccinated to reach herd immunity, it
will be safe to let unvaccinatable people return to those jobs,
and generally treat them just like vaccinated people.


feed_id: 3c57cb4c87c4c082c80d7990811aaa18
title: COVID-19 vaccine hub
uri: COVID-19-vaccine-hub
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#23_June_2021_%28COVID-19_vaccine_hub%29
content:
<p>

*Who Setting up hub to make COVID-19 vaccines in South Africa* for
<a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-who-africa/who-setting-up-hub-to-make-covid-19-vaccines-in-south-africa-idUSKCN2DX1QK">vaccinating people in poor countries</a>.


feed_id: 17556c9a3728c018779e5f922999570b
title: Threats to decertify Venice
uri: Threats-to-decertify-Venice
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#23_June_2021_%28Threats_to_decertify_Venice%29
content:
<p>

UNESCO threatens to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jun/21/venice-may-be-put-on-endangered-list-if-cruise-ships-not-banned-says-unesco">decertify Venice</a> unless it stops letting cruise
ships dock.


feed_id: b62e48e517bd08e3aba738fd60cb3f86
title: Disappearances and murders
uri: Disappearances-and-murders
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#23_June_2021_%28Disappearances_and_murders%29
content:
<p>

90,000 disappearances (and plenty of simple murders) in Mexico are <a href="https://theintercept.com/2021/06/21/mexico-disappearances-state-violence/">directly
related to US-Mexico collaboration</a> in the "War on Drugs".
<p>
This is one of <a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2012-sep-dec.html#02_November_2012_(Legalization_of_marijuana_in_US_states)">many reasons</a> we need to end that war.


feed_id: 697ac3dfdd4a94f255667e9cee57e508
title: Weakened encryption
uri: Weakened-encryption
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#23_June_2021_%28Weakened_encryption%29
content:
<p>
Encryption algorithms used in old portable phones <a href="https://www.vice.com/en/article/4avnan/bombshell-report-finds-phone-network-encryption-was-deliberately-weakened">were designed to be
weak</a>.
  Some numeric parameters were chosen to make breaking the encryption
particularly easy.


feed_id: bebfd0d9f648b55e946a95f77da3b69f
title: Murder threat for election win
uri: Murder-threat-for-election-win
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#23_June_2021_%28Murder_threat_for_election_win%29
content:
<p>
A Lunatic Party candidate for Congress said he would send contract
killers <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2021/06/17/secret-recording-florida-republican-threat-hit-squad-494976">to murder a rival Lunatic Party candidate, if the latter wins</a>.


feed_id: 6e6014679701a9992dc639893713dd7d
title: US Supreme Court on farms outside US
uri: US-Supreme-Court-on-farms-outside-US
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#23_June_2021_%28US_Supreme_Court_on_farms_outside_US%29

content:
<p>
The US Supreme Court allows corporations to direct farms outside
the US <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/06/17/dangerous-precedent-us-high-court-sides-corporate-giants-nestle-and-cargill-child">to mistreat workers and not be held responsible</a>.

<p>
The decision gives corporations more rights than human beings.  That
is always wrong.  Aside from that, the decision is wrong because it
allows a US entity to organize and direct an action and escape
responsibility for it, by organizing and directing it outside the US.

<p>
There is a crucial factual question: to what extent do Nestle USA and
Cargill really control the working conditions on those farms?  The
article quotes someone as asserting that they have total control.  The
article itself doesn't demonstrate that.  It may be true, though.


feed_id: d554f1fdde701d8d938abec9dfedac4d
title: Compromised version of the For the People Act
uri: Compromised-version-of-the-For-the-People-Act
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#23_June_2021_%28Compromised_version_of_the_For_the_People_Act%29

content:
<p>
Obama backed Manchin's <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jun/21/barack-obama-joe-manchin-voting-rights-proposal">proposed compromise version of
the For the People Act</a>.

<p>
Sanders said he did not reject it out of hand.

<p>
Manchin's version of voter ID requirements is not as bad as what
Republicans are imposing in many states.  It permits demonstrating
residence with a utility bill.  In some states, that is a lot cheaper
and easier to get than an official state ID.

<p>
However, many people who share apartments don't directly pay any
utility bills (though they may share the cost).  How are they supposed
to vote?  What about spouses that don't have the utility bills in
their name?  And adult children who had to move back to their parents'
home?

<p>
I don't know whether Manchin's compromise would enable them to vote or
not, since I don't know the details.

<p>
The same difficulties could prevent them from getting a
driver's license in some states.


feed_id: 194aef0cd6a3ca06b8a451a5dea33581
title: Cast of human rights setbacks
uri: Cast-of-human-rights-setbacks
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#23_June_2021_%28Cast_of_human_rights_setbacks%29
content:
<p>
*UN warns of worst "<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jun/21/un-warns-of-worst-cascade-of-human-rights-setbacks-in-our-lifetimes">cascade of human rights setbacks in our lifetimes</a>."*


feed_id: f933e5f78ef490f3ca8f1b77999ec5bb
title: Charging more, paying less
uri: Charging-more-paying-less
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#23_June_2021_%28Charging_more%2C_paying_less%29
content:
<p>
Uber and Lyft <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2021/jun/21/uber-lyft-fares-surge-drivers-dont-get-piece-of-pie">are cutting pay for drivers</a>
  even as they charge customers more.

<p>
This is in addition to making customers run nonfree software and
identify themselves, which both <a href="https://stallman.org/uber.html">Uber</a>
  and <a href="https://stallman.org/lyft.html">Lyft</a>
  do.


feed_id: 4103447e3063e2f300cc8925d13636f7
title: Outlawing opposition
uri: Outlawing-opposition
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#23_June_2021_%28Outlawing_opposition%29
content:
<p>
Putin may regret <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/jun/21/russian-state-navalnys-organisations-russia-reformists">outlawing opposition organizations such as Navalny's</a>.


feed_id: 6721430621a4b2e22c448304a4e8ae2a
title: Long Covid recovering
uri: Long-Covid-recovering
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#23_June_2021_%28Long_Covid_recovering%29
content:
<p>
Some of the sufferers of long Covid injuries can recover their normal
strength and capacity <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/jun/21/long-covid-recovery-coronavirus">by getting lots of rest for a substantial time</a>.
  Society needs to give all of them the opportunity to do this.


feed_id: f207993069abca0fbef6b1f1855d1029
title: Buddha statue
uri: Buddha-statue
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#23_June_2021_%28Buddha_statue%29
content:
<p>
What would the Buddha have said <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-thailand-giantbuddha/thai-temple-says-construction-of-giant-buddha-statue-visible-across-bangkok-nearly-complete-idUSKCN2DX13Q">about the idea of a 69-meter-tall
statue of him</a>?


feed_id: f43a87941cbd8e03f1e755da4ee6a36c
title: Donation to restore bombed bookshop
uri: Donation-to-restore-bombed-bookshop
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#23_June_2021_%28Donation_to_restore_bombed_bookshop%29

content:
<p>
*Donations flood in <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2021/jun/21/donations-flood-in-to-restore-gaza-bookshop-destroyed-by-israeli-airstrikes">to restore Gaza bookshop destroyed by Israeli airstrikes</a>.*


feed_id: 7e89f22b3402ed527be11a7f8deef05c
title: Princess Latifa and friends
uri: Princess-Latifa-and-friends
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#23_June_2021_%28Princess_Latifa_and_friends%29
content:
<p>
Some of Princess Latifa's friends report travelling with her, and that
she is not imprisoned, but <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/emirates-dubai-latifa-int/dubais-latifa-appears-to-have-degree-of-freedom-says-lawyer-for-campaign-group-idUSKCN2DX0S3">there are some reasons to wonder if it is
really true</a>.


feed_id: be2cb6284f2c63bb1967731b1e0366d6
title: Liquid Natural Gas
uri: Liquid-Natural-Gas
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#23_June_2021_%28Liquid_Natural_Gas%29
content:
<p>
*Biden Subsidies for Liquid Natural Gas <a href="https://theintercept.com/2021/06/21/biden-lng-subsidies-fossil-fuel-climate/">Could Doom International
 Climate Goals</a>.*


feed_id: f6dd7d3894a483c06301faaf2debfe38
title: Rejecting exports
uri: Rejecting-exports
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#23_June_2021_%28Rejecting_exports%29
content:
<p>
The EU will reject major exports from Belarus <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jun/21/eu-widens-belarus-sanctions-to-make-lukashenko-regime-run-dry">as punishment for
the seizure of Roman Protasevich and Sofia Sapega</a>.


feed_id: 10cb21ad0c3e5b9e399cbc04b7b9e243
title: Peace negotiating
uri: Peace-negotiating
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#23_June_2021_%28Peace_negotiating%29
content:
<p>
Salafi Arabia and the Houthis <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/yemen-security-int/end-of-yemen-quagmire-saudi-led-coalition-houthis-near-peace-deal-idUSKCN2DX1F3">are reportedly negotiating peace</a>.

<p>
I think Biden is partly responsible for Crown Prince Bone Saw's
decision to seek peace.  In addition to <a href="https://www.stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#2_March_2021_(No_personal_sanctions_on_Prince_Bone_Saw)">the overt pressure</a>,
  I expect there was private pressure.


feed_id: 9c59d264e58ca8c6a9c4dc1a42692210
title: Covid and birthdays
uri: Covid-and-birthdays
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#23_June_2021_%28Covid_and_birthdays%29
content:
<p>
*   US study finds households with recent birthdays <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jun/21/birthdays-linked-to-spread-of-covid-in-areas-with-high-transmission">about 30% more likely
   to have positive diagnosis [for Covid-19]</a>.*

<p>
The effect is strongest for children's birthdays.
It appears that birthday parties are spreading the disease,
and suggests that children are playing a significant role in the spreading.

<p>
The study covered most of 2020.  It will be interesting to see
what happens in the second half of 2021.


feed_id: 074ec1775e829e87060f673d05ea3ba5
title: Third wave of Covid-19
uri: Third-wave-of-Covid-19
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#23_June_2021_%28Third_wave_of_Covid-19%29
content:
<p>

A <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/world-news/third-wave-of-covid-19-definitely-underway-in-britain-says-vaccine-expert/articleshow/83666378.cms">third wave</a> of Covid-19 has started in the UK.
It is clear that the government catered to the demands of those who
could not defer gratification to save people's lives.  However, the
government's previous bad leadership undermined its authority and fomented
those demands.
<p>
When a system behaves badly, the blame falls on the system overall
as well as on the people who exploit its flaws.  Neither one can make
the excuse of blaming the other.


feed_id: 530aad2dded609fbf095362a3f3779e2
title: Mysterious suicide
uri: Mysterious-suicide
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#23_June_2021_%28Mysterious_suicide%29
content:
<p>

Five <a href="https://stallman.org/glossary.html#thug">thugs</a> from Savannah, Georgia, reported that a suspect committed
suicide while they were taking a break from interrogating him.
Mysteriously, the cameras all <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/US/officers-fired-man-dies-suicide-interview-room-savannah/story?id=78286961">failed to record anything</a> during that
time.
<p>
Is it plausible that the suspect committed suicide?  It seems more
plausible to me that the <a href="https://stallman.org/glossary.html#thug">thugs</a> killed him.  But there is no proof.
<p>
The system has to be changed so that this can't happen again.


feed_id: f4d37c5a03e482bcb5cc45b8808954ae
title: More segregated
uri: More-segregated
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#23_June_2021_%28More_segregated%29
content:
<p>

Most US cities and metropolitan areas have become <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/06/21/us/housing-segregation-cities-berkeley-study/index.html">more segregated racially</a> since 1990.


feed_id: 9603d4b161a89b07241aa15ed89ccf56
title: Britain's housing crisis
uri: Britain-s-housing-crisis
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#23_June_2021_%28Britain%27s_housing_crisis%29
content:
<p>

*<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2021/jun/22/absurd-planning-policies-that-create-britains-housing-crisis">Absurd planning policies</a> that create Britain's housing crisis.*


feed_id: 592c0f6f933a5025f2324903078ed7d3
title: Czech thugs killed a man
uri: Czech-thugs-killed-a-man
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#23_June_2021_%28Czech_thugs_killed_a_man%29
content:
<p>

Video shows that Czech thugs killed a Roma man by <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2021/jun/22/death-of-romany-man-knelt-on-by-czech-police-compared-to-george-floyd">kneeling on his neck</a>.


feed_id: d07a0bfdce731499bfc40a2358505e4d
title: Ecocide
uri: 2021-06-24-Ecocide
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#23_June_2021_%28Ecocide%29
content:
<p>

Proposing a draft law <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jun/22/legal-experts-worldwide-draw-up-historic-definition-of-ecocide">establishing the crime of ecocide</a>.
<p>
It shows that the law can defend the well being of ecosystems without
the silliness of claiming that the ecosystems themselves "have
rights".
<p>
If this is adopted by the International Criminal Court, we will
have another reason to press for more countries to join that court.
Its main opponents are the US, Russia and China.


feed_id: 3339767d90e2aa164ee6e48829df1195
title: Proposed Italian law
uri: Proposed-Italian-law
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#23_June_2021_%28Proposed_Italian_law%29
content:
<p>

The Vatican objects to a <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-vatican-gays/vatican-wants-changes-to-italy-draft-law-against-homophobia-idUSKCN2DY1FQ">proposed Italian law</a> which might criminalize
the refusal to teach certain specific ideas about gender, and refusal
to conduct same-sex marriages.
<p>
I support same-sex marriages, and adoption by same-sex couples.  I
also support the right of people to practice their religion, so any
particular church should not be required to carry out those
procedures.  As long as same-sex couples have other places to marry or
adopt, such as state agencies, their rights are safe.
<p>
Where I see real injustice is where religious organizations have a local
monopoly (or near-monopoly) on some activities, such as <a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2020-jul-oct.html#10_July_2020_(Corporations_and_contraceptive_coverage)">medical care</a> or <a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2018-sep-dec.html#15_September_2018_(Government-funded_religious_schools)">education</a>.
That near-monopoly gives them power over what people can do.


feed_id: 1df6e5ea067715cde939dd1312c6c270
title: Secretly imprisoned
uri: Secretly-imprisoned
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#23_June_2021_%28Secretly_imprisoned%29
content:
<p>

China <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jun/22/china-stepping-up-use-secret-detention-without-trial-report-warns">imprisons tens of thousands of people</a> secretly and incommunicado,
to break them before charging them with crimes.
Some who were later released report having been tortured,
Guantanamo style.


feed_id: 61c4115ee6fe355f218af42d25f02f12
title: Irrational rage
uri: Irrational-rage
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#23_June_2021_%28Irrational_rage%29
content:
<p>

Covid-19 may have pushed millions of Americans into <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/jun/22/rage-planes-grocery-stores-hidden-pandemic-trauma">irrational rage</a>
while other millions practice denial of what they went through.
<p>
The denial is spreading the Delta variant, while the irrational rage
pressures people not to take precautions.


feed_id: e7f75f62c571591e84c87b3e6bb3fa72
title: Proposed gun insurance and fee law
uri: Proposed-gun-insurance-and-fee-law
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#23_June_2021_%28Proposed_gun_insurance_and_fee_law%29

content:
<p>

<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jun/22/san-jose-mass-shooting-gun-control-legislation-california">More details</a> about San Jose's proposed gun insurance and fee law.


feed_id: 4b5c17ac21b1a4bb4c9243e5a2c68495
title: Prosecuting Walter Mitty terrorists
uri: Prosecuting-Walter-Mitty-terrorists
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#23_June_2021_%28Prosecuting_Walter_Mitty_terrorists%29

content:
<p>

Trevor Aaronson has reported on the <a href="https://theintercept.com/2021/06/22/tucker-carlson-january-6-fbi-conspiracy/">FBI practice of prosecuting Walter Mitty terrorists</a>, people whom the FBI has led by the hand into a
trying to commit a crime which was never a real possibility.
Thus it can prosecute people who would never have
committed any terrorism if left alone.
<p>
This makes the FBI look very effective, but it <a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2019-may-aug.html#22_August_2019_(Arrest_of_would-be_mass_shooters)">may not prevent any
terrorist plots</a> that would really have been carried out.  It's also
unjust.
<p>
Right-wingers have used that truth as the basis for fiction, claiming
that the attack on the Capitol was brought about by FBI entrapment.
<p>
Aaronson refutes part of their argument about this.
<p>
In addition, if that were the case, the FBI (1) would not have built
up the group to be big enough to do real harm and (2) would have
arrested the participants before they got in a position to do real
harm.


feed_id: 7bd04e74111cc36698f747a6e06b395b
title: Great barrier reef
uri: Great-barrier-reef
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#23_June_2021_%28Great_barrier_reef%29
content:
<p>

Since 2014, the Australian government has campaigned forcefully against
recognizing how global heating and fertilizer runoff are <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jun/22/great-barrier-reef-timeline-decades-of-damage-and-australias-fight-to-stop-in-danger-listing">destroying the
Great Barrier Reef</a>.
<p>
Now UNESCO plans once again to label the reef as world heritage "in danger".


feed_id: f5896b1796429304ce71584497b48166
title: Failure of British state schools
uri: Failure-of-British-state-schools
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#23_June_2021_%28Failure_of_British_state_schools%29
content:
<p>

Tories blame the failure of British state schools on "decades" of bad
policies, but the policy under funding schools, and food and shelter
for the students in them, was <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/jun/22/tories-education-report-austerity-white-working-class">started by the Tories</a> in 2010.
<p>
It is still true: the Tories are <a href="media/c769d589.anuran-bevan.jpg" data-original-source="https://stallman.org/archives/anuran-bevan.jpg">lower than vermin</a>.


feed_id: c30c5dfb690073885dc00672aedee1e7
title: Trial of Moroccan journalists
uri: Trial-of-Moroccan-journalists
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#23_June_2021_%28Trial_of_Moroccan_journalists%29
content:
<p>

*Trial of Moroccan journalists <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-morocco-rights/trial-of-moroccan-journalists-raises-fears-of-repression-idUSKCN2DY1ZG">raises fears of repression</a>.*


feed_id: 44d00352b60564cd90e7dd66164f85cc
title: Response to revenge porn
uri: Response-to-revenge-porn
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#23_June_2021_%28Response_to_revenge_porn%29
content:
<p>

The <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/jun/22/a-leaked-sm-video-wont-keep-zack-weiner-out-of-politics-and-nor-should-it">right way to respond to revenge porn</a>: "I'm not ashamed."


feed_id: 0daf3eb9f66a480c0466c04c155499e2
title: Abuse in Mexico
uri: Abuse-in-Mexico
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#23_June_2021_%28Abuse_in_Mexico%29
content:
<p>

*Migrants <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jun/22/migrants-mexico-us-title-42-human-rights-report">turned away at border</a> under Biden face shocking abuse in Mexico.*


feed_id: 63ebdee23a65eed0069e66610aab0503
title: Landmines and booby traps
uri: Landmines-and-booby-traps
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#23_June_2021_%28Landmines_and_booby_traps%29
content:
<p>

Fighting Libyan factions filled Tripoli with <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-libya-security-mines/deadly-landmine-legacy-in-tripoli-shows-stakes-of-libya-talks-idUSKCN2DZ1M7">landmines and booby traps</a>.
<p>
The US should sign the treaty against antipersonnel landmines
and lead other countries to do so.


feed_id: 4f28de05d333eaf13092f96c08d92011
title: Threats of violence
uri: Threats-of-violence
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#23_June_2021_%28Threats_of_violence%29
content:
<p>

Guatemala's anti corruption judges are <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-guatemala-crime/guatemalan-high-risk-court-judges-say-they-are-being-persecuted-harassed-idUSKCN2DY04Q">facing threats of violence</a>.


feed_id: ac8e3ecef98bea1883a3fec4377db2b9
title: (satire) Sanctity of innocent carbohydrates
uri: (satire)-Sanctity-of-innocent-carbohydrates
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#23_June_2021_%28%28satire%29_Sanctity_of_innocent_carbohydrates%29

content:
<p>

(satire) *Every day, women are using pancreatic
   enzymes to break down food <a href="https://www.theonion.com/gop-launches-new-legislative-effort-to-control-women-s-1847141621">without any consideration</a> for the sanctity
of these innocent carbohydrates, proteins, and fats.*


feed_id: 820b4f5c1424fd604b5c6c94e4318a14
title: (satire) Nepotistic hiring practices
uri: (satire)-Nepotistic-hiring-practices
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#23_June_2021_%28%28satire%29_Nepotistic_hiring_practices%29

content:
<p>

(satire) *Organized Crime Syndicate Condemned For <a href="https://www.theonion.com/organized-crime-syndicate-condemned-for-history-of-nepo-1847124699">History Of Nepotistic Hiring Practices</a>.*


feed_id: 294f6fbab4bfc2935d2e55c825f0ee78
title: Climate finance pledges
uri: Climate-finance-pledges
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#23_June_2021_%28Climate_finance_pledges%29
content:
<p>

*Global Hopes in Doubt After G7 <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/06/21/global-hopes-doubt-after-g7-fails-meet-climate-finance-pledges-poor-nations">Fails to Meet Climate Finance Pledges</a>
for Poor Nations.*


feed_id: 8edf422c8f9690ccac968b548f7b03be
title: Precautions when vaccinated
uri: Precautions-when-vaccinated
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#23_June_2021_%28Precautions_when_vaccinated%29
content:
<p>

We who are vaccinated should <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/jun/22/viruses-wearing-mask-england-vaccines">continue taking precautions</a> such as wearing masks
when indoors or near other people.


feed_id: 650c23413b6e688d914639e0bacb9d00
title: Apple Daily raids
uri: Apple-Daily-raids
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#23_June_2021_%28Apple_Daily_raids%29
content:
<p>

*Hong Kong leader refuses to say <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jun/22/hong-kong-leader-carrie-lam-apple-daily-arrests-national-security-law">how media can avoid arrest</a> in wake of Apple
Daily raids.*
<p>
Keeping the boundaries vague is standard practice for promoting
self-censorship through intimidation.
<p>
Hong Kong has decided that political accusations <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-hongkong-security-jury/hk-court-upholds-decision-for-no-jury-at-first-national-security-trial-idUSKCN2DY0BE">won't have jury trials</a>.
Juries give the people power that repressive autocrats don't want
them to have.


feed_id: 85fc39a17ca706b69864a8a1f27bf0e0
title: Amazon's tight control of workers
uri: Amazon-s-tight-control-of-workers
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#23_June_2021_%28Amazon%27s_tight_control_of_workers%29

content:
<p>

Amazon must <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/06/21/prime-day-groups-demand-federal-ban-amazons-punitive-worker-surveillance">eliminate the tight control</a> that treats workers as robots, and
injures them along the way.
<p>
Please don't buy from Amazon.  When people buy things for me, I ask
them to please not buy from Amazon.


feed_id: 4e52dcb49573f7c660d60a503768756f
title: Paramilitary training for Khashoggi killers
uri: Paramilitary-training-for-Khashoggi-killers
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#24_June_2021_%28Paramilitary_training_for_Khashoggi_killers%29

content:
<p>
*Four Saudis who participated in the 2018 killing of the Washington
 Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/saudi-khashoggi-usa-int/saudis-who-killed-journalist-khashoggi-received-paramilitary-training-in-u-s-new-york-times-idUSKCN2DY2OK">received paramilitary training in the
 United States the previous year</a>.*


feed_id: 546beb83d16639341331e0c48ec61a3b
title: For security reasons
uri: For-security-reasons
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#24_June_2021_%28For_security_reasons%29
content:
<p>
Apple says it restricts users for their own good, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2021/jun/23/letting-users-bypass-app-store-would-be-security-risk-says-apple">to protect them from
"security risk"</a>.

<p>
Apple is using the usual narrow definition of "security" &mdash; the danger that
third parties might attack the user.  However, Apple's own software mistreats
users in several ways, and that is bad security, <a href="https://gnu.org/malware/malware-apple.html ">using a broader and deeper
sense of "security"</a>.


feed_id: 39be59c536cdb2820018a78f9f4c86ec
title: Tax dodging
uri: 2021-06-24-Tax-dodging
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#24_June_2021_%28Tax_dodging%29
content:
<p>
Let's stop presuming that <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/jun/23/billionaire-tax-avoidance-perfectly-legal">all tax dodging by the rich is lawful</a>.

<p>
Much of it may be lawful.  When corporations route their profits
through a country where the tax rate is zero, it may be lawful.  That
is no excuse morally, of course &mdash; those laws must be changed.

<p>
However, the purpose of using tax havens to hide who really gets the
money is so that someone can commit tax evasion, and that is
presumably a crime.

<p>
The article calls for investigating rich cheaters, and changing laws so
that it is possible to nail them.


feed_id: 3f818a1a31ee9eddaea8232b4566d7ef
title: Liquified natural gas
uri: Liquified-natural-gas
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#24_June_2021_%28Liquified_natural_gas%29
content:
<p>
A proposed EU directive for cutting the carbon emissions of shipping
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jun/23/eu-policy-to-cut-shipping-carbon-emissions-would-be-disaster-leak">would permit use of liquified natural gas as a bridge to nowhere</a>.
  Compared with the current fuel (heavy fuel oil), it might not reduce
emissions at all.

<p>
Cutting emissions will cost a lot of money, but the alternative is
global disaster, so we need to spend it.  Permitting "flexibility"
to avoid this is self-defeating.


feed_id: 4c1e24ff662342f453d758ee4797af08
title: Filibuster
uri: 2021-06-24-Filibuster
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#24_June_2021_%28Filibuster%29
content:
<p>
Republicans <a href="https://theintercept.com/2021/06/22/joe-manchin-filibuster-voting-rights-debate/">blocked the For the People Act with a filibuster</a>, as expected.
  Now the really hard fight begins, to convince all Democrats in the Senate
to vote to eliminate or weaken the filibuster so that this and other crucial
laws can be passed.


feed_id: c307247ffb01807a2da27f08fb4623bf
title: Boarding schools
uri: Boarding-schools
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#24_June_2021_%28Boarding_schools%29
content:
<p>
The US Interior Department will hold an investigation of the boarding
schools <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jun/22/us-investigation-native-american-boarding-schools">that decades ago it forced indigenous children to attend</a>.


feed_id: 73f4ba52ec1cbec16204f2c15fd3fdf7
title: Unionizing Amazon workers
uri: Unionizing-Amazon-workers
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#24_June_2021_%28Unionizing_Amazon_workers%29
content:
<p>
*Teamsters plan sweeping effort <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2021/jun/22/amazon-union-teamsters">to unionize Amazon workers</a>.*

<p>
Bravo!


feed_id: 5a3b7b90f695812c1360c26dd11bc4cd
title: Arrest of journalists
uri: 2021-06-24-Arrest-of-journalists
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#24_June_2021_%28Arrest_of_journalists%29
content:
<p>
Nicaragua has arrested journalists as well as political candidates; a
famous Nicaraguan journalists <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2021/jun/22/nicaragua-journalist-exile-carlos-fernando-chamorro-ortega">has fled the country after his home was
raided</a>.

<p>
When the US prosecutes journalists such as Julian Assange, it lends
support to other countries that do so. Including Nicaragua and China.
The US should stand up for freedom of the press, <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2021/06/22/40-years-after-pentagon-papers-decision-press-freedom-still-threatened">including the freedom
to investigate government wrongdoing</a>.


feed_id: b6c1c161b7cf374d046ba47f9b358cfb
title: Socialism
uri: 2021-06-24-Socialism
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#24_June_2021_%28Socialism%29
content:
<p>
*US military training manual <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jun/22/us-military-training-document-socialism-terrorist-ideology">describes socialism as "terrorist ideology."</a>*

<p>
That is arrant bullshit.  Today's socialists are mostly not violent at
all.  Some communists are violent, but that is mainly when they are
working for violent communist states such as China.


feed_id: e25093eead6e6675652c88e4f949c3da
title: New article
uri: New-article
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#24_June_2021_%28New_article%29
content:
<p>
New article : <a href="https://stallman.org/articles/cooperative-internet-disservices.html">Worker-owned internet services can still be dis-services</a>.


feed_id: 406e93d2b9a8c51397aceb10d985d82d
title: Destroying democracy
uri: Destroying-democracy
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#25_June_2021_%28Destroying_democracy%29
content:
<p>
* Rep. Mondaire Jones said [Senator] Sinema [by defending the
filibuster] is effectively arguing that "we should let Republicans
destroy democracy now <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/06/22/sinema-op-ed-defending-senate-filibuster-slammed-delusional">because at some indeterminate time in the future
they may try again</a>."*


feed_id: b12b16405fd8c3e85ec51b152e3b471b
title: Right to protest
uri: 2021-06-25-Right-to-protest
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#25_June_2021_%28Right_to_protest%29
content:
<p>
The proposed British law to restrict the right to protest &mdash; even
alone &mdash; <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/jun/22/curbs-on-protests-in-policing-bill-breach-human-rights-laws-mps-and-peers-say">says this is in the name of avoiding noise</a>!

<p>
Right-wingers say the law is good because the <a href="https://stallman.org/glossary.html#thug">thugs</a> like it.
Duh!  I say that confirms it is bad.


feed_id: 5e9c7da8f9bc61a9f6018e1d765898fe
title: Data storage
uri: 2021-06-25-Data-storage
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#25_June_2021_%28Data_storage%29
content:
<p>
Companies that store data about users in China are required to cooperate
unquestioningly with Chinese surveillance, and must not send the data <a href="https://www.cpomagazine.com/data-protection/new-data-security-law-in-china-makes-government-power-over-tech-giants-absolute/">to
anyone outside China without China's approval</a>.

<p>
This protects people in China from non-Chinese surveillance and
profiling, while making all of them totally vulnerable to China.


feed_id: 6ce494ac673b06ef0b7c7ab71d511425
title: Drying for amazon rainforest
uri: Drying-for-amazon-rainforest
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#25_June_2021_%28Drying_for_amazon_rainforest%29
content:
<p>
*Study Warns of <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/06/22/should-ring-alarm-bells-study-warns-severe-drying-amazon-rainforest">Severe Drying for Amazon
 Rainforest</a>.*


feed_id: f1e0c426250343c01bc749e554a7469b
title: Non-nuclear deal and election
uri: Non-nuclear-deal-and-election
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#25_June_2021_%28Non-nuclear_deal_and_election%29
content:
<p>
Biden's slow negotiations to resume the non-nuclear deal with Iran
<a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2021/06/23/how-bidens-nuclear-train-wreck-helped-raisi-win-iranian-election">probably helped push the voters towards the right-wing candidate</a>.

<p>
I think the term "train wreck" is too strong, but mostly I agree with
the article's opinions.


feed_id: 40055af0576d1f1ddb6d029ec930edde
title: Future cost of CO2
uri: Future-cost-of-CO2
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#25_June_2021_%28Future_cost_of_CO2%29
content:
<p>
The US underestimates <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/06/22/social-cost-emissions-one-most-important-numbers-no-one-has-ever-heard">the future cost to society of emitting CO2</a>,
  which systematically encourages plans to emit too much of it.


feed_id: 6e7571af3ef5aecd6eb889a26edc7a28
title: Prisoners phone calls
uri: 2021-06-25-Prisoners-phone-calls
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#25_June_2021_%28Prisoners_phone_calls%29
content:
<p>
Connecticut <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/06/22/us/connecticut-free-prison-phone-calls-trnd/index.html">will stop charging prisoners for phone calls</a>.


feed_id: 38d39fea9ab12f8ea26a88415cda3e39
title: Protecting democracy
uri: 2021-06-25-Protecting-democracy
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#25_June_2021_%28Protecting_democracy%29
content:
<p>
Sanders: *Not a single Republican in the United States Senate has the
courage to even debate <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/06/23/sanders-rips-gop-remaining-loyal-big-lie-says-filibuster-must-be-abolished">whether we should protect American democracy
or not</a>.*


feed_id: 06b8863fb05f6fd867d25270699c9a2e
title: New mayor
uri: New-mayor
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#25_June_2021_%28New_mayor%29
content:
<p>
Buffalo, New York, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jun/23/india-walton-socialist-candidate-buffalo-mayor-primary-race">has elected a socialist mayor</a>.

<p>
She plans to reduce the opportunities for brutality by the city's <a href="https://stallman.org/glossary.html#thug">thug</a>
department, and to redefine "public safety" in a broader way.


feed_id: 9e2ec3b51cf4ec4fd8717ef7b6731383
title: Endorsement of election
uri: Endorsement-of-election
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#25_June_2021_%28Endorsement_of_election%29
content:
<p>
The US endorsed <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-peru-election-usa/washington-calls-peru-election-fair-despite-fujimori-claims-of-voter-fraud-idUSKCN2DY2MP">the validity of the Peruvian election</a>.

<p>
This is <a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2009-may-aug.html#22 July 2009 (US backs coup in Honduras)">definitively better than the US used to act</a>.


feed_id: eab8a7196ce3b3baf17e8605683e9c2e
title: Capturing CO2
uri: Capturing-CO2
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#25_June_2021_%28Capturing_CO2%29
content:
<p>
Some geoengineering schemes <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jun/23/cloud-spraying-and-hurricane-slaying-could-geoengineering-fix-the-climate-crisis">could capture large amounts of
already-emitted CO2</a>.

<p>
These schemes, if they work, could compensate for all the effects of
releasing CO2, by removing that CO2.  Running them extra could
compensate for the methane we have released.

<p>
Concerns about "playing god" are foolish.  That idea is valid only
insofar as it reminds us that these schemes could have risks we won't
foresee.  Alas, what we are already doing has enormous risks that we
have already foreseen.

<p>
We may need to uses megasystems to sequester CO2.  However, I am
concerned that we will adopt this as an easy substitute for reducing
emissions.  Fossil fuel companies will say, "Let's continue to extract
and burn all the fossil fuels &mdash; and sequester all the CO2 with
olivine and kelp forests."

<p>
That would be risky: if the scheme works for a while, that does not
mean it will work without limits.  We had better play it safe with our
planet: first, make firm arrangements to cease the dangerous and
destructive practices, thus limiting the damage we will do; then fix
the damage we will not have avoided.

<p>
As for the schemes that would only cool the Earth, they don't try to
address the danger of ocean acidification by the emitted CO2, <a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2007-nov-feb.html#24 January 2008 (Global warming is destroying coral reefs)">which
could kill all coral</a>, all molluscs, and maybe all crustacians (I
don't remember), because they could not make their shells.
                                           Some research suggest that
high levels of CO2 would change some other animals' behavior, making
them rash, so they would get eaten.
  Local cooling to prevent escape of methane might be useful.  It
would be much smaller and thus less risky than trying to cool the
whole surface of the Earth.


feed_id: 4b3112344882e38d7b4abf6bdb005d8e
title: Accustomed to the absence of UK
uri: Accustomed-to-the-absence-of-UK
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#25_June_2021_%28Accustomed_to_the_absence_of_UK%29
content:
<p>
The EU has accustomed itself to the absence of the UK, and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jun/23/moving-on-why-the-eu-is-not-missing-britain-that-much">may have been
strengthened by it</a>.

<p>
It still has grave problems: <a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2006-jan-apr.html#18 January 2006 (Software patents)">its government has only a little democracy</a>,
  and it gives the Euro <a href="https://stallman.org/glossary.html#bankster">banksters</a> the power to crush countries
such as Greece and Italy that fall into unpayable debt.


feed_id: c0d40e2fcf33cee3483507f4239d898f
title: Editorial writer arrested
uri: Editorial-writer-arrested
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#25_June_2021_%28Editorial_writer_arrested%29
content:
<p>
*Hong Kong police <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jun/23/hong-kong-police-arrest-editorial-writer-at-apple-daily-newspaper">arrest editorial writer at Apple Daily newspaper</a>.*


feed_id: c80121181d3684aefd6df7bf3f480d63
title: Ancient indigenous art protection
uri: Ancient-indigenous-art-protection
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#25_June_2021_%28Ancient_indigenous_art_protection%29

content:
<p>
Some indigenous Australians criticize Western Australia's bill to
change the rules <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-australia-indigenous-mining-heritage/australian-aboriginal-opposition-mounts-to-new-state-heritage-laws-idUSKCN2DZ0ET">meant to protect the sites containing ancient
indigenous art</a>.

<p>
I support protecting them, but the AHAA seems to say that the
destruction of ancient indigenous art is acceptable provided that the
"holders of this cultural heritage give consent."  I do not agree with
that.  Those sites include some of the oldest art in the world; it is
part of the heritage of all humanity.  <em>No one group</em> should be
authorized to give consent for their destruction.  On the contrary, we
should make it very hard for anyone to get legal permission to do
that.

<p>
We should not romanticize indigenous humans.  They are humans, and
susceptible to corruption by money or power like other humans.  There
are examples where some members of an indigenous group claimed the
power to authorize the destruction or damaging of the group's
heritage.


feed_id: 2bbe8ab40bf8dac81d95856e1fb6579f
title: More homelessness
uri: More-homelessness
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#25_June_2021_%28More_homelessness%29
content:
<p>
The UK's tax system allows people to own second homes, rent them out
part time, and pay no tax on them.  <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/jun/23/second-homes-uk-government-britain-housing-crisis">The result is more homelessness</a>.


feed_id: 6d52defe3689c6b425d952a38f8c7f18
title: Failure of British state schools
uri: 2021-06-25-Failure-of-British-state-schools
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#23_June_2021_%28Failure_of_British_state_schools%29
content:
<p>

Tories blame the failure of British state schools on "decades" of bad
policies, but the policy under funding schools, and food and shelter
for the students in them, was <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/jun/22/tories-education-report-austerity-white-working-class">started by the Tories</a> in 2010.
<p>
It is still true: the Tories are <a href="media/62a79bb0.anuran-bevan.jpg" data-original-source="https://stallman.org/images/anuran-bevan.jpg">lower than vermin</a>.


feed_id: 05b5d90fec0cc84dadf214cb54a334e6
title: Canadian forest protectors
uri: Canadian-forest-protectors
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#26_June_2021_%28Canadian_forest_protectors%29
content:
<p>


Forest protectors are <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jun/24/british-columbia-logging-ancient-growth-protests">attaching themselves to trees and roads</a> to prevent
logging of the remaining ancient trees in British Columbia (Canada).


feed_id: 2893cbfb3efc9d6775bf9b23ad5963e2
title: Florida's doomed islands
uri: Florida-s-doomed-islands
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#26_June_2021_%28Florida%27s_doomed_islands%29
content:
<p>
People in the Florida Keys are starting to recognize that <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jun/24/florida-keys-climate-change-sea-level-rise">their islands
are doomed</a> because of global heating.
<p>
  
To raise their homes enough to escape flooding in the short term would
cost more than they can afford.  Worse than that, it would only delay
the disaster, not prevent it -- the work would have to be repeated,
with increasing frequency, and that would be money ill spent.
<p>
Millions of people will lose their homes due to sea level rise,
and for in most cases we can't protect them for very long.
<p>
We have to focus on treating the disease, not the symptoms.
The disease is greenhouse gas emission and the treatment is to
curb emissions.


feed_id: bfaa4b2defbb2ef440979d4ba8511f49
title: Repressive UK laws
uri: Repressive-UK-laws
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#26_June_2021_%28Repressive_UK_laws%29
content:
<p>
UN special rapporteur David Boyd warns that <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/law/2021/jun/24/uk-introducing-three-laws-that-threaten-human-rights-says-un-expert">three proposed repressive
UK laws</a> would *make human rights violations more likely to occur and less
likely to be punished.*


feed_id: 927fb037d5d0e874058fbb6b1a32ee9b
title: al-Sisi 60,000 political prisoners
uri: al-Sisi-60-000-political-prisoners
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#26_June_2021_%28al-Sisi_60%2C000_political_prisoners%29

content:
<p>
Dictator al-Sisi has taken <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/jun/24/egypt-political-prisoners-west-dictatorship">at least 60,000 political prisoners</a>,
including four activists of the Egyptian Initiative on Personal Rights
(EIPR).
<p>
*Part of the EIPR’s role is to investigate the [88]mistreatment of
   prisoners, and during interrogations the arrestees were asked why they
   had fabricated accounts of the grim conditions faced by those in jail,
   even as they sat in those very conditions themselves.*
<p>

Al-Sisi can continue this because he has outside financial backing,
from the US for instance.


feed_id: a940f1d043d17a7f51868593d234eef8
title: Nizar Banat killed
uri: Nizar-Banat-killed
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#26_June_2021_%28Nizar_Banat_killed%29
content:
<p>
Palestinian thugs beat Palestinian opposition candidate Nizar Banat
so badly that he <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/palestinians-politics-critic-int/critic-of-abbas-dies-in-palestinian-custody-u-n-demands-investigation-idUSKCN2E012T">died from his injuries</a>.


feed_id: a7535d931f0a5c92b561f0b9a0172890
title: Voting rights bill
uri: Voting-rights-bill
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#26_June_2021_%28Voting_rights_bill%29
content:
<p>
The expected filibuster against the We the People Act was
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/jun/24/voting-rights-bill-for-the-people-act-senate-manchin">not a final defeat</a>. Steady pressure can shift the votes of some
senators and achieve victory.


feed_id: ff3d8731a1000ac057d41dd5745d9662
title: EU Parliament greenhouse emissions
uri: EU-Parliament-greenhouse-emissions
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#26_June_2021_%28EU_Parliament_greenhouse_emissions%29

content:
<p>
The European Parliament approved binding greenhouse emissions targets
and other measures to <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-climate-change-eu-law/climate-law-of-laws-gets-european-parliaments-green-light-idUSKCN2E01A9">curb global heating</a>.
<p>
  I think this is not strong enough, but it is still a good step forward.
<P>


feed_id: b5318a500c6199ef41e2a24ab7f1ebc8
title: Ethiopian market massacre
uri: Ethiopian-market-massacre
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#26_June_2021_%28Ethiopian_market_massacre%29
content:
<p>
  *At least <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jun/24/ethiopian-airstrike-tigray-market">64 killed</a> in Ethiopian airstrike on Tigray market.*<p>
    When US pilots <a href="media/3bba46cc.faith-based-cartoon.jpg" data-original-source="https://stallman.org/images/faith-based-cartoon.jpg">bombed weddings</a> in the <a href="https://www.stallman.org/archives/2018-sep-dec.html#14_September_2018_(US-funded_atrocities)">Middle East</a>, perhaps they did
not know what they were attacking.  However, Ethiopian pilots ought to
immediately recognize an Ethiopian market.
<p>
When the US claims that all the victims of a bombing were guerrillas,
it is hard for Americans to know for certain that this is false.  Most
of us have never been to the countries where these attacks occurred,
and we don't know what is normal there or not.  We have to decide
whether to believe the US government or believe local people that we
don't know much about.  Over time, it has become clear that the US
often <a href="https://www.stallman.org/archives/2011-may-aug.html#26_July_2011_(Drone_Deaths_Denied)">denies civilian casualties</a>.
<p>
I expect that Ethiopians know what is plausible in Ethiopian life, and
what really could or could not have happened in that bombing.


feed_id: 1496dad42122ff404ca17fe869996fe5
title: Malaysia repressive laws
uri: Malaysia-repressive-laws
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#26_June_2021_%28Malaysia_repressive_laws%29
content:
<p>
Malaysia plans to <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-malaysia-lgbt/malaysia-seeks-stricter-sharia-laws-for-promoting-lgbt-lifestyle-idUSKCN2E01J9">increase the repression</a> of blasphemy and nonstandard
gender or sex roles.
<p>
  
We think of Malaysia as modern, not fanatical.
But countries dominated by Islam tend to be repressive and deny
various human rights <a href="https://www.stallman.org/archives/2015-jan-apr.html#24_March_2015_(Laws_keeping_people_in_prostitution_and_slavery)">in the name of religion</a>, including <a href="https://www.stallman.org/archives/2015-jan-apr.html#27_April_2015_(Muslim_Countries)">religious freedom</a>.


feed_id: 343bd72cb72da2fc93a15d3d31861654
title: Urgent: Repeal Authorization for Use of Military Force
uri: Urgent-Repeal-Authorization-for-Use-of-Military-Force
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#26_June_2021_%28Urgent%3A_Repeal_Authorization_for_Use_of_Military_Force%29

content:
<p>

US citizens: call on the Senate to <a href="https://act.winwithoutwar.org/act/senate_2002_AUMF_lee?source=em20210621&t=1006&akid=7036%2E223515%2ExOAo_e">repeal the 2002 Authorization for
Use of Military Force</a>.
<p>
The House passed this, but that's not enough to do it.

<p>The Capitol Switchboard number is 202-224-3121.</p>
<p>If you call, please spread the word!</p>
  


feed_id: 1ea25a6421e69643d7be69b23df736f1
title: Urgent: Pass a wealth tax
uri: Urgent-Pass-a-wealth-tax
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#26_June_2021_%28Urgent%3A_Pass_a_wealth_tax%29
content:
<p>

US citizens: call on Congress to <a href="https://act.demandprogress.org/sign/tell-congress-pass-wealth-tax-now/?t=1002&akid=28107%2E96703%2EDnDdpr">pass a wealth tax</a>.
<p>The Capitol Switchboard number is 202-224-3121.</p>
<p>If you call, please spread the word!</p>


feed_id: 9d86fd13145642c5d0cb333dda7eb6c5
title: Urgent: No infrastructure deal without climate defense
uri: Urgent-No-infrastructure-deal-without-climate-defense
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#26_June_2021_%28Urgent%3A_No_infrastructure_deal_without_climate_defense%29

content:
<p>

US citizens: tell the President and Congress: <a href="https://act.demandprogress.org/sign/tell-congress-pass-green-infrastructure-now/">No infrastructure
deal without climate defense</a>.
<p>The Capitol Switchboard number is 202-224-3121.</p>
<p>If you call, please spread the word!</p>


feed_id: 51f3db0eec3f777f198164edfeaf144c
title: Urgent: People imprisoned for drug crimes
uri: Urgent-People-imprisoned-for-drug-crimes
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#26_June_2021_%28Urgent%3A_People_imprisoned_for_drug_crimes%29

content:
<p>

US citizens: call on Biden to <a href="https://action.aclu.org/send-message/biden-end-war-drugs-start-clemency">give clemency to people imprisoned for
drug crimes</a>.

<p>The White House comments line is 202-456-1111.</p>
  <p>If you call, please spread the word!</p>
  


feed_id: 9863413c9f9a561a5f7edba7398e4978
title: Urgent: Work and Family Mobility Act
uri: Urgent-Work-and-Family-Mobility-Act
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#26_June_2021_%28Urgent%3A_Work_and_Family_Mobility_Act%29

content:
<p>

Massachusetts citizens: <a href="https://action.aclu.org/send-message/ma-family-mobility-act?initms_aff=ma&initms_chan=eml&utm_medium">support the Work and Family Mobility Act</a>.


feed_id: 96911193a271ff092d9744dae5ed3d1b
title: Masks indoors in Israel
uri: Masks-indoors-in-Israel
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#26_June_2021_%28Masks_indoors_in_Israel%29
content:
<p>

Israel has brought back the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jun/25/israel-resumes-indoor-mask-requirement-after-rise-in-covid-cases">requirement to wear masks</a> in public places
indoors, due to renewed spread of Covid-19.


feed_id: 437014622b8d5c727da34312967ed267
title: Death due to Covid-19
uri: Death-due-to-Covid-19
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#26_June_2021_%28Death_due_to_Covid-19%29
content:
<p>

Almost every death (or disability) due to Covid-19 in the US from now
on <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/06/23/health/us-coronavirus-wednesday/index.html">will be preventable</a> &mdash;
due to American's foolish refusal to get vaccinated.


feed_id: cd64bb54e7b378cd0a063131a88f0fa0
title: Brazil's environment minister
uri: 2021-06-27-Brazil-s-environment-minister
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#26_June_2021_%28Brazil%27s_environment_minister%29
content:
<p>

*   Brazil’s environment minister <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jun/24/brazil-environment-minister-quits-amid-inquiry-into-amazon-logging">has quit</a> amid a criminal investigation
   into whether he obstructed a police inquiry into illegal logging in the
   Amazon rainforest.*


feed_id: 177521fe63c87def4867e3f0d89410f3
title: Trial of Chinese scientist
uri: Trial-of-Chinese-scientist
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#26_June_2021_%28Trial_of_Chinese_scientist%29
content:
<p>

A juror in the trial of Chinese scientist Anming Hu says that the
<a href="https://theintercept.com/2021/06/23/anming-hu-trial-fbi-china/">FBI tried to railroad him</a>, that the accusation of hiding his ties
to China was visibly false all along.
<p>
I wonder what the FBI does when it finds that an agent has tried to
frame someone.  Does it say, "Get lost, we don't want to threaten
innocent people"?  Or does it say, "Nice try, better luck next time"?


feed_id: cee245d4893e98298ec3bb9ebf48cfc6
title: UK ban on junk food ads
uri: UK-ban-on-junk-food-ads
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#26_June_2021_%28UK_ban_on_junk_food_ads%29
content:
<p>

*UK to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/2021/jun/23/uk-to-ban-junk-food-advertising-online-and-before-9pm-on-tv-from-2023">ban junk food advertising</a> online and before 9pm on TV [and on
 internet sites] from 2023.*


feed_id: 34bfdc54f5041dcd4f770bf94778214d
title: Amazon's private internet, "Sidewalk"
uri: Amazon-s-private-internet-Sidewalk
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#26_June_2021_%28Amazon%27s_private_internet%2C_Sidewalk%29

content:
<p>

The <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2021/06/20/aclu-alarm-amazon-activates-sidewalk-surveillance-system">ACLU's criticisms</a> of Amazon's private internet, "Sidewalk".


feed_id: bc1408e23b4c9f48c8a5e48faa3c6986
title: Face recognition used to prove unemployment eligibility
uri: Face-recognition-used-to-prove-unemployment-eligibility
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#26_June_2021_%28Face_recognition_used_to_prove_unemployment_eligibility%29

content:
<p>

Some states require unemployed people to use unreliable face
recognition to <a href="https://www.vice.com/en/article/5dbywn/facial-recognition-failures-are-locking-people-out-of-unemployment-systems">prove their eligibility for unemployment support</a>.
Failures can cause delays of weeks.
<p>
This is a use of face recognition for which a perfectly reliable system
would do no harm.  Applicants for unemployment support are required to
identify themselves, after all.  What worries me most is the danger of
using biometrics to identify people who should be allowed anonymity.


feed_id: bf69b52cd2cf4cab1e806075bff35a52
title: (satire) After Democracy crumbles
uri: (satire)-After-Democracy-crumbles
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#26_June_2021_%28%28satire%29_After_Democracy_crumbles%29

content:
<p>

(satire) *Experts Encourage Americans To Start Thinking About <a href="https://www.theonion.com/experts-encourage-americans-to-start-thinking-about-wha-1847149618">What
Form Of Government</a> They’d Like To Try After Democracy Crumbles.*
<p>
I think we already know the answer.  If we don't defend democracy now,
we will have out-and-out plutocracy &mdash; still presented as democracy.


feed_id: 50777add038ca4ee3a6f10660ee506d1
title: (satire) Critical Race Theory
uri: (satire)-Critical-Race-Theory
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#26_June_2021_%28%28satire%29_Critical_Race_Theory%29

content:
<p>

(satire) *Conservative Man Tearfully Informs Family <a href="https://www.theonion.com/conservative-man-tearfully-informs-family-critical-race-1847149198">Critical Race
Theory Has Spread To His Liver</a>.*


feed_id: 0e048c2a990a896fe6fc2de41b82607c
title: Colony on Palestinian territory
uri: Colony-on-Palestinian-territory
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#26_June_2021_%28Colony_on_Palestinian_territory%29
content:
<p>

As Israelis build a <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-israel-palestinians-settlements/lasers-and-flaming-torches-light-up-battle-over-new-israeli-settlement-idUSKCN2E01LP">new colony on Palestinian territory</a>, Palestinians
are trying many ways to drive them out.
<p>
The colony is illegal under Israeli law, but the government is only
interested in keeping it growing.  Rather than removing the Israeli
lawbreakers, Israel sent troops who are killing some of the
Palestinian protesters.
<p>
Smoke from the fires burning outside the colony sometimes hurts the
eyes of the colonists.  It must feel somewhat like tear gas.


feed_id: 5ef00b0b2068be8f09c758df5efcfd53
title: Oil and gas donors gave to Tories
uri: Oil-and-gas-donors-gave-to-Tories
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#26_June_2021_%28Oil_and_gas_donors_gave_to_Tories%29

content:
<p>

*Oil and gas donors gave over £400k to Tories* as the UK government <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2021/jun/24/oil-gas-donors-gave-over-400k-tories-before-north-sea-decision">decided
to allow new oil wells in the North Sea</a>.


feed_id: dc0ea9a666a06fb0a62c4a139492f5e5
title: Rich backer of the corrupter
uri: Rich-backer-of-the-corrupter
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#26_June_2021_%28Rich_backer_of_the_corrupter%29
content:
<p>

A <a href="https://theintercept.com/2021/06/24/khashoggi-trump-donor-saudi-arabia-tier-1/">web of influence</a> linked a rich backer of the corrupter with Crown
Prince Bone Saw and his murder of Jamal Khashoggi.
<p>
I doubt that the training included use of bone saws or forced
application of powerful sedatives, but it may have included readiness
to follow orders for assassination.
<p>
I see no evidence that either the corrupter or his plutocratist donor
specifically supported murdering Khashoggi.  But they surely helped
get the US more closely involved with Bone Saw and <a href="https://stallman.org/glossary.html#salafi">Salafi Arabia</a>.  If
that didn't directly bring about to the murder of Khashoggi, it surely
helped bring about US support for <a href="https://stallman.org/glossary.html#salafi">Salafi Arabia</a>'s war in Yemen, which
has killed thousands, or perhaps hundreds of thousands.


feed_id: 353a22268ca828dd7b5e951d60314a4a
title: Right to protest
uri: 2021-06-27-Right-to-protest
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#25_June_2021_%28Right_to_protest%29
content:
<p>

The proposed British law to restrict the right to protest &mdash; even
alone &mdash; <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/jun/22/curbs-on-protests-in-policing-bill-breach-human-rights-laws-mps-and-peers-say">says this is in the name of avoiding noise</a>!

<p>
Right-wingers say the law is good because the <a href="https://stallman.org/glossary.html#thug">thugs</a> like it.
Duh!  I say that confirms it is bad.


feed_id: 45c83046070cbbfc8c15823a109d0567
title: Data storage
uri: 2021-06-27-Data-storage
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#25_June_2021_%28Data_storage%29
content:
<p>

Companies that store data about users in China are required to cooperate
unquestioningly with Chinese surveillance, and must not send the data <a href="https://www.cpomagazine.com/data-protection/new-data-security-law-in-china-makes-government-power-over-tech-giants-absolute/">to
anyone outside China without China's approval</a>.

<p>
This protects people in China from non-Chinese surveillance and
profiling, while making all of them totally vulnerable to China.


feed_id: b419ecd7da0a7c080f1e3ebb80cf8173
title: Drying for amazon rainforest
uri: 2021-06-27-Drying-for-amazon-rainforest
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#25_June_2021_%28Drying_for_amazon_rainforest%29
content:
<p>

*Study Warns of <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/06/22/should-ring-alarm-bells-study-warns-severe-drying-amazon-rainforest">Severe Drying for Amazon
 Rainforest</a>.*


feed_id: a3069185290fe18449706f010265adfc
title: Ancient indigenous art protection
uri: 2021-06-27-Ancient-indigenous-art-protection
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#25_June_2021_%28Ancient_indigenous_art_protection%29

content:
<p>
Some indigenous Australians criticize Western Australia's bill to
change the rules <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-australia-indigenous-mining-heritage/australian-aboriginal-opposition-mounts-to-new-state-heritage-laws-idUSKCN2DZ0ET">meant to protect the sites containing ancient
indigenous art</a>.

<p>
I support protecting them, but the AHAA seems to say that the
destruction of ancient indigenous art is acceptable provided that the
"holders of this cultural heritage give consent."  I do not agree with
that.  Those sites include some of the oldest art in the world; it is
part of the heritage of all humanity.  <em>No one group</em> should be
authorized to give consent for their destruction.  On the contrary, we
should make it very hard for anyone to get legal permission to do
that.

<p>
We should not romanticize indigenous humans.  They are humans, and
susceptible to corruption by money or power like other humans.
Just now an indigenous group in Canada <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jun/24/british-columbia-logging-an\
cient-growth-protests">opposes efforts to protect
the remnant old growth rainforest in British Columbia</a>, because it gets paid for the trees that are cut down.
<p>
I think logging is legitimate and useful -- as long as it doesn't go
too far.  In particular, we must preserve the small old growth forests
that remain.


feed_id: 075c7e223186589385e59c15c9611dcc
title: Australia lockdown
uri: Australia-lockdown
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#27_June_2021_%28Australia_lockdown%29
content:
<p>
Australia has <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-australia-state/downtown-sydney-bondi-head-for-lockdown-as-delta-infections-spike-idUSKCN2E105C">imposed a lockdown</a> on part of Sydney, and a neighboring
town.<p>
    This is necessary.
<p>
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/jun/25/the-federal-government-squandered-our-precious-covid-advantage-now-sydney-is-in-lockdown">An article argues</a> that Australia was foolish to depend on its
quarantine and occasional lockdowns to protect the country from
Covid-19.<p>  I disagree.
<p>
In an ideal world, Australia (and every other country) would have
vaccinated everyone by now (aside from medically necessary
exceptions).  However, given the artificial limitations on vaccine
production, on top of the inevitable difficulties of ramping up
production, Australia was not the most urgent place to use the limited
supplies.  It was succeeding, as well as any country, in keeping its
population safe.


feed_id: d866beb5435213341e3ae3787b138889
title: Belarus journalist moved
uri: Belarus-journalist-moved
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#27_June_2021_%28Belarus_journalist_moved%29
content:
<p>
Belarus has moved journalist prisoner Roman Protasevich <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-belarus-politics-protasevich/belarus-moves-jailed-opposition-blogger-protasevich-to-house-arrest-bbc-idUSKCN2E10JI">to house
arrest</a> in an apartment.<p>
Likewise Sofia Sapega, who was taken off the plane with him.
<p>
This could be a step towards releasing the two.  I expect the EU would
suspend its sanctions unless/until Belarus does such a thing again.


feed_id: 70ac31fed3c961824fa5910056ccd921
title: PISSI becoming PISSA
uri: PISSI-becoming-PISSA
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#27_June_2021_%28PISSI_becoming_PISSA%29
content:
<p>
  PISSI is becoming PISSA as it <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jun/25/isis-linked-groups-open-up-new-fronts-across-sub-saharan-africa">expands in Subsaharan Africa</a>.<p>
    PISSA in Nigeria treats local Muslims with respect, better than other
governments.  Which is fine, in and of itself.  If it were willing to
make peace with non-Muslims, we could coexist with it.


feed_id: 5d4553677bb16c2b6113934080978262
title: New Zealand insult prison
uri: New-Zealand-insult-prison
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#27_June_2021_%28New_Zealand_insult_prison%29
content:
<p>


New Zealand imprisons people for <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-newzealand-law-hatespeech/new-zealand-plans-stronger-hate-speech-laws-in-response-to-christchurch-attack-idUSKCN2E105E">"being insulting"</a>, and plans to do this
in even more cases.<p>
    
It is painful to be insulted, but none of us has the right to forbid people
to insult us.


feed_id: 6e039a2fe8329d777519bdd9e3a26948
title: US censorship of Iranian websites
uri: US-censorship-of-Iranian-websites
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#27_June_2021_%28US_censorship_of_Iranian_websites%29

content:
<p>
The US blocked access <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/06/22/press-freedom-advocates-condemn-us-shutdown-iranian-news-sites">from the US</a> to some Iranian government web
sites.<p>
    
That is censorship in the US.  Americans have the right to see what
Iran is saying.


feed_id: e01ca52b1829f0db4080e92560ee25a3
title: Manchin protest
uri: Manchin-protest
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#27_June_2021_%28Manchin_protest%29
content:
<p>
The Poor People's Campaign <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/06/23/were-not-going-away-nonviolent-protest-over-voting-rights-ends-arrests-dc">protested Manchin and the Republicans</a>
outside their office in Washington DC.


feed_id: 613264a7c3f7d8b8c80b03c786953e4c
title: New UK oilfield
uri: New-UK-oilfield
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#27_June_2021_%28New_UK_oilfield%29
content:
<p>
  The UK plans to develop a <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/06/23/proposed-new-oil-field-scotland-ahead-glasgow-climate-talks-decried-obscenity">large new oilfield</a> in the North Sea.<p>
    There is no room for this in the carbon budget.


feed_id: 13a29cdf4cecf2c7a63b831352907dbd
title: Biden Okay's Alaska Oil Drilling
uri: Biden-Okay-s-Alaska-Oil-Drilling
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#27_June_2021_%28Biden_Okay%27s_Alaska_Oil_Drilling%29

content:
<p>
  
*Ignoring Climate Goals, Biden Administration <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2021/06/23/ignoring-climate-goals-biden-administration-greenlights-oil-drilling-alaska">Greenlights Oil Drilling</a> in
Alaska.*


feed_id: bede06f94d14a922e5a690f0243e089f
title: Wales' environmental offsets
uri: Wales-environmental-offsets
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#27_June_2021_%28Wales%27_environmental_offsets%29
content:
<p>
*   New South Wales’ use of environmental offsets to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jun/25/nsw-inquiry-to-scrutinise-use-of-environmental-offsets">compensate for habitat
   destruction</a> caused by major developments will be examined by a
   parliamentary inquiry.*


feed_id: 25faf20e6385f3f8e63ef4607ce080b3
title: Pakistan censorship
uri: Pakistan-censorship
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#27_June_2021_%28Pakistan_censorship%29
content:
<p>
Pakistan is moving to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2021/jun/24/a-haven-for-free-thinkers-pakistan-creatives-mourn-loss-of-progressive-arts-space">censorship</a> of opinions and art.


feed_id: dce5774987d3513117239ec666474cd1
title: California drought heating
uri: California-drought-heating
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#27_June_2021_%28California_drought_heating%29
content:
<p>
Drought caused by global heating is forcing California to burn more
gas and thus causes <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jun/24/california-drought-hydropower-fossil-fuels">more global heating</a>.


feed_id: 07c9838492c62a7625b50683f6b4be47
title: Face recognition used to prove unemployment eligibility
uri: 2021-06-28-Face-recognition-used-to-prove-unemployment-eligibility
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#26_June_2021_%28Face_recognition_used_to_prove_unemployment_eligibility%29

content:
<p>

Some states require unemployed people to use unreliable face
recognition to <a href="https://www.vice.com/en/article/5dbywn/facial-recognition-failures-are-locking-people-out-of-unemployment-systems">prove their eligibility for unemployment support</a>.
Failures can cause delays of weeks.
<p>
This is a use of face recognition for which a perfectly reliable
system would do no harm, provided it doesn't impose nonfree software
on people.  Applicants for unemployment support are required to
identify themselves, after all.  What worries me most about biometrics
is the danger of using them to identify people when they are entitled
to anonymity.


feed_id: 66b84bb9238caba25b2680ddebcf18e6
title: Urgent: Support Julian Assange
uri: Urgent-Support-Julian-Assange
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#28_June_2021_%28Urgent%3A_Support_Julian_Assange%29
content:
<p>
In Boston: rally to support Julian Assange and freedom of the press.
Monday, July 5, from 11 to 12:30, at Park Street Station on the Boston
Common.


feed_id: 6f0b75c2a994b74f61544c750e9944ae
title: Urgent: exclude white supremacists
uri: Urgent-exclude-white-supremacists
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#28_June_2021_%28Urgent%3A_exclude_white_supremacists%29

content:
<p>
US citizens: <a href="https://actionnetwork.org/forms/tell-the-doj-no-white-supremacists-in-americas-police-including-tsa-agents-and-transit-cops-2?nowrapper=true">call on the DOJ</a> to exclude white supremacists in
America's thug departments, including transit <a href="https://stallman.org/glossary.html#thug">thugs</a>, as well as the
TSA.


feed_id: 8740b649904a329ceb03f173d3cbec59
title: Urgent: Green New Deal
uri: 2021-06-28-Urgent-Green-New-Deal
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#28_June_2021_%28Urgent%3A_Green_New_Deal%29
content:
<p>
US citizens: <a href="https://act.rootsaction.org/p/dia/action4/common/public/?action_KEY=14247">call on Congress and the president</a> to pass the Green
New Deal.


feed_id: 49b041e1a03d50e7d278b8f785392450
title: Infrastructure bill
uri: Infrastructure-bill
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#28_June_2021_%28Infrastructure_bill%29
content:
<p>
There is a bipartisan deal to pass an infrastructure bill.  What it
does not include, Democrats say they will pass via budget
reconciliation process, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/06/24/politics/biden-infrastructure-meeting-senators/index.html">a sort of loophole-in-a-loophole</a>.

<p>
It seems that the crucial question is not what this deal includes, but
what is included in this deal plus the budget reconciliation bill.
I'd like to see what Sanders says about it.

<p>
One thing that is clearly dangerous <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/06/24/progressives-alarmed-privatization-dub-infrastructure-deal-disaster-making">is the plan to sell public assets</a>.
  Another is "public-private partnerships", which is a nice-sounding name
for making the public support the profits of businesses.

<p>
Reportedly the investments are slanted towards use of fossil fuels.
Some of that can't be avoided, but it's clear that plutocratists
will try do as much of that as they can.


feed_id: 1fba1aec4f22b5323a46663534f60ef8
title: Experiment in bankruptcy
uri: Experiment-in-bankruptcy
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#28_June_2021_%28Experiment_in_bankruptcy%29
content:
<p>
(<a href="https://www.theonion.com/scientists-announce-successful-experiment-to-bankrupt-m-1847165753">satire</a>) *Scientists Announce Successful Experiment To Bankrupt Mouse
That Can’t Afford Cancer Drug.*


feed_id: e2281992f5e9c4c8b4d32a6990a14f95
title: Giant sinkhole
uri: Giant-sinkhole
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#28_June_2021_%28Giant_sinkhole%29
content:
<p>
(<a href="https://www.theonion.com/infrastructure-talks-come-to-halt-after-giant-sinkhole-1847151054">satire</a>) *Infrastructure Talks Come To Halt After Giant Sinkhole
Swallows Capitol Building.*


feed_id: 61254bfc762cc71f9207b073f93c19dd
title: Freedom of speech in universities
uri: Freedom-of-speech-in-universities
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#28_June_2021_%28Freedom_of_speech_in_universities%29

content:
<p>
Florida Republicans have adopted a law that claims to defend freedom
of speech in universities; but it lets the politicians in power
(right-wing politicians) decide when and how to enforce.  As a result,
<a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/06/24/sounds-fascism-desantis-signs-law-collect-political-views-professors">it is likely to defend freedom of right-wing speech, while helping to
restrict left-wing speech</a>.


feed_id: 003da31851c9652402c9042a23192cd3
title: Masculinity anxiety
uri: Masculinity-anxiety
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#28_June_2021_%28Masculinity_anxiety%29
content:
<p>
Masculinity anxiety <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2021/jun/24/mystery-of-wheelie-suitcase-how-gender-stereotypes-held-back-history-of-invention">has held society back from rational advances</a>.

<p>
I'm proud to say that I adopted wheeled suitcases as soon as I became
aware of them.  Conceptions of manliness didn't hold me back at all.
I never considered myself physically strong, nor made much effort to be so.

<p>
I do wonder how the women who used rolling suitcases before they were
a "success" got them.  Did each make her own?  If not, they had to buy
them somewhere, so where was that?


feed_id: 5ff0ae62dec7f27476a0889d74bba49f
title: Misleading voters
uri: Misleading-voters
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#28_June_2021_%28Misleading_voters%29
content:
<p>
Plutocratist Democrats including Clinton are trying desperately to
mislead voters <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2021/06/24/why-corporate-democrats-are-desperately-trying-keep-nina-turner-out-congress">so that they won't vote for Nina Turner for Congress</a>.


feed_id: 26df8fd04177bc0bd8704e76dfef6370
title: Making filibusters difficult to carry out
uri: Making-filibusters-difficult-to-carry-out
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#28_June_2021_%28Making_filibusters_difficult_to_carry_out%29

content:
<p>
Some ideas for how the Senate <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2021/06/24/democrats-urgently-need-plan-b-voting-rights-and-filibuster-reform">can make filibusters more difficult
to carry out</a>.


feed_id: 07e315522eab9c63658e59cccb5132e2
title: Pentagon report on UAPs
uri: Pentagon-report-on-UAPs
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#28_June_2021_%28Pentagon_report_on_UAPs%29
content:
<p>
The Pentagon has released its report <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jun/25/ufos-us-government-report">describing Unidentified Aerial
Phenomena which appear to be objects</a>.

<p>
In some cases they reportedly affected military systems.

<p>
Let's see what explanations skeptics come up with.

<p>
UAPs could be devices <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jun/25/ufo-report-pentagon-security-experts-reaction">that send spoofing transmissions to present a
false impression of how they are moving</a>.


feed_id: 5c85309010c9d59bf75c15eabfb0acf7
title: Deleted genetic sequences
uri: Deleted-genetic-sequences
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#28_June_2021_%28Deleted_genetic_sequences%29
content:
<p>
The NIH deleted in June 2020 some early SARS-CoV-2 genetic sequences <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/06/23/health/coronavirus-sequences-database-scientist/index.html">at the
request of the Chinese researcher who had previously submitted them</a>.

<p>
It is not obvious what those sequences would prove if they were still
available, but given the way China operates, we have to suspect that
officials ordered the researcher to "request" their deletion, and that
the purpose was to impede understanding.  I think the NIH should
change its rules for deletions.  Perhaps it should allow the submitter
to add notes, such as "I now suspect this was spurious", but not
actual deletion.


feed_id: 0c63cf3494bfdf9f5e8d2d1b0f694f97
title: Using economic power to get deportations
uri: Using-economic-power-to-get-deportations
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#28_June_2021_%28Using_economic_power_to_get_deportations%29

content:
<p>
China uses its increasing economic power <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2021/jun/25/beijing-using-its-financial-muscle-to-target-uyghurs-living-abroad-report">to make other countries expel
Uyghur expats or deport them to China</a>.

<p>
This includes Pakistan, Kyrgyzstan, Cambodia, Burma, Egypt, Turkey,
and other countries.

<p>
I've decided to write it "Uyghur", because their own pronunciation of
that name starts with the sound of "uy" rather than the "we"
customarily used to pronounce that name in English.


feed_id: 3a82b984d8f457cf98e5de08fc089927
title: Mistake or incompetence
uri: Mistake-or-incompetence
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#28_June_2021_%28Mistake_or_incompetence%29
content:
<p>
When Iranian soldiers shot down Ukrainian flight 752, was it a
"disastrous mistake" <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-iran-crash-canada/iran-dismisses-canada-report-on-downing-of-airline-as-highly-politicised-idUSKCN2E10KL">or was it "incompetence and recklessness"</a>?

<p>
The difference does matter in regard to what steps Iran should take to
make sure nothing similar happens again, but it is not a big moral
issue.


feed_id: f31159083758f552a9422bf91467ad8b
title: Start of Covid spreading
uri: Start-of-Covid-spreading
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#28_June_2021_%28Start_of_Covid_spreading%29
content:
<p>
Statistical methods suggest that SARS-CoV-2 <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-china-origins/first-covid-19-case-could-have-emerged-in-china-in-oct-2019-study-idUSKCN2E1018">started spreading in China
in October or early November, 2019</a>.


feed_id: fe630686c4890e8ff6c673cfef4b4c82
title: California drought heating
uri: 2021-06-28-California-drought-heating
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#27_June_2021_%28California_drought_heating%29
content:
<p>
Drought caused by <a href="https://stallman.org/glossary.html#global heating">global heating</a> is forcing California to burn more
gas and thus causes <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jun/24/california-drought-hydropower-fossil-fuels">more global heating</a>.


feed_id: 9bb1fd2024130f3176b5bbe237c34742
title: Nizar Banat killed
uri: 2021-06-28-Nizar-Banat-killed
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#26_June_2021_%28Nizar_Banat_killed%29
content:
<p>
Palestinian <a href="https://stallman.org/glossary.html#thug">thugs</a> beat Palestinian opposition candidate Nizar Banat
so badly that he <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/palestinians-politics-critic-int/critic-of-abbas-dies-in-palestinian-custody-u-n-demands-investigation-idUSKCN2E012T">died from his injuries</a>.


feed_id: 70ca2b71950e18cc4cccfda2fb3b070e
title: Donations to GOP backers of Trump's Coup attempt
uri: Donations-to-GOP-backers-of-Trump-s-Coup-attempt
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#28_June_2021_%28Donations_to_GOP_backers_of_Trump%27s_Coup_attempt%29

content:
<p>

*Military Contractors Quietly <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/06/24/military-contractors-quietly-boost-donations-gop-backers-trumps-coup-attempt">Boost Donations to GOP Backers</a> of Trump's Coup
Attempt.*


feed_id: 073e1c836d5f5ca578e148f03493ff6e
title: (satire) Falsified documents to pass as tuna
uri: (satire)-Falsified-documents-to-pass-as-tuna
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#28_June_2021_%28%28satire%29_Falsified_documents_to_pass_as_tuna%29

content:
<p>

(satire) *Subway CEO Apologizes For <a href="https://www.theonion.com/subway-ceo-apologizes-for-trusting-fish-who-falsified-d-1847165816">Trusting Fish Who Falsified
Documents</a> To Pass As Tuna.*


feed_id: add1c1ac15477f24e471ed5533a5caea
title: Pushed for violence against protesters
uri: Pushed-for-violence-against-protesters
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#28_June_2021_%28Pushed_for_violence_against_protesters%29

content:
<p>

A book reports that the <a href="https://stallman.org/glossary.html#bully">bully</a>, in 2020, persistently pressed for US
thugs and the army to commit <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/06/24/politics/bender-book-trump-milley-protests/index.html">more violence against
protesters</a>.


feed_id: 282f59b23f3af857025a2708bf2613c2
title: Reduce the siege of Gaza
uri: Reduce-the-siege-of-Gaza
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#28_June_2021_%28Reduce_the_siege_of_Gaza%29
content:
<p>

How Israel should start contacts with HAMAS to <a href="https://www.jpost.com/opinion/israels-approach-to-gaza-needs-to-change-opinion-671855">reduce the siege of Gaza</a>.


feed_id: cf5b0d686635eacc02d2a27e5b4d574a
title: Ahmad 'Abdu
uri: Ahmad-Abdu
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#28_June_2021_%28Ahmad_%27Abdu%29
content:
<p>

Israeli <a href="https://stallman.org/glossary.html#thug">thugs</a> found Ahmad 'Abdu in his car, which was stationary,
and <a href="https://www.jpost.com/arab-israeli-conflict/israeli-police-killed-palestinian-who-didnt-pose-threat-btselem-671831">immediately started shooting him</a>.  Then they left without even giving
him first aid.
Then they lied about what they had done.


feed_id: 8f345782518c2be3875a22cb3f2af04e
title: Videos removed from Youtube
uri: Videos-removed-from-Youtube
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#28_June_2021_%28Videos_removed_from_Youtube%29
content:
<p>

Youtube has <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-alphabet-china-exclusive/exclusive-youtube-takes-down-xinjiang-videos-forces-rights-group-to-seek-alternative-idUSKCN2E11KS">deleted videos</a> in which people talked about their relatives
who are in reeducation camps in China, and showed their own ID cards
to demonstrate their identity.
Youtube has a rule against showing people's identity data.
<p>
That rule seems good in most circumstances, but this seems to be
an exception.
<p>
Posting videos in a site other than youtube
is not a bad thing.  But some of them require nonfree software to view,
and do not &mdash; unlike Youtube &mdash; have invidious as a workaround.


feed_id: a90dc82396f4261c0a82aae230b8a5f2
title: Assange's fiancée
uri: Assange-s-fiancée
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#28_June_2021_%28Assange%27s_fianc%C3%83%C2%A9e%29
content:
<p>

*Assange's fiancée urges Biden to <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-wikileaks-assange-moris/assanges-fiance-urges-biden-to-free-wikileaks-founder-to-show-u-s-has-changed-idUSKCN2E10U0">free WikiLeaks founder</a> to show
 U.S. has changed.*


feed_id: ad7592ba9c45e20b1585abfbf06817cf
title: Funeral of Nizar Banat
uri: Funeral-of-Nizar-Banat
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#28_June_2021_%28Funeral_of_Nizar_Banat%29
content:
<p>

The funeral of Nizar Banat <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-israel-palestinians-critic/palestinian-mourners-call-for-change-at-funeral-of-abbas-critic-idUSKCN2E1176">became a protest against Mahmoud Abbas</a>,
president of Palestine.
<p>
Palestine has not held an election for many years.  The reasons for
this are complex: Israel has put elected officials in prison without
charges, and has interfered with holding elections.  The result is that
Mahmoud Abbas remains president by default.


feed_id: 32edec16b09094602187c93445a1b120
title: Refusal to hire enough nurses
uri: Refusal-to-hire-enough-nurses
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#28_June_2021_%28Refusal_to_hire_enough_nurses%29
content:
<p>

US hospitals, even those that are nonprofit organizations, <a href="https://theintercept.com/2021/06/25/hospitals-nurse-staffing-shortage/">refuse to
hire enough nurses</a>.  The predictable result is that patients get
injured.
<p>
Occasionally a patient develops a serious condition that went unnoticed
because the nurses were always in a hurry.
<p>
I voted against the Massachusetts initiative, despite agreeing with
the basic idea, because it seemed to me that putting a specific
staffing ratio directly in the law was too rigid.  In 20 years that
ratio might call for change and would be very hard to change.  Also,
since the nurse I had known had died, I had no one to ask about whether
that number was correct.


feed_id: 3fbf3abc0bded0d1dfa5ed63741b9e0f
title: Charges against nonviolent protesters
uri: Charges-against-nonviolent-protesters
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#28_June_2021_%28Charges_against_nonviolent_protesters%29

content:
<p>

The UK's supreme court <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jun/25/protesters-blockaded-london-arms-fair-convictions-quashed">dismissed charges</a> against participants in
an inconvenient but nonviolent protest
in the name of the freedom to protest.


feed_id: c8a031442c7dbd6fefac9138d0c50bfb
title: Excluding candidates
uri: Excluding-candidates
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#28_June_2021_%28Excluding_candidates%29
content:
<p>

Russia is <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-russia-politics-navalny/russia-opposition-figure-says-election-bid-blocked-over-navalny-support-idUSKCN2E10ZT">excluding candidates from local elections</a> because of their
past support for Navalny.


feed_id: 9fbc273dc193f82635cb8088b90e16eb
title: Sanctions on Chinese solar panels
uri: Sanctions-on-Chinese-solar-panels
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#28_June_2021_%28Sanctions_on_Chinese_solar_panels%29

content:
<p>

The US has put <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jun/25/us-bans-target-chinese-solar-panel-industry-over-xinjiang-forced-labor-concerns">sanctions on some Chinese solar panel exports</a>.
<p>
This is a tricky trade off between two goals: to punish China for its
repression, about which it shows as little shame as the <a href="https://stallman.org/glossary.html#bully">bully</a> does,
and to continue installing solar generation in the US.  I suppose the
aim includes encouraging a buildup of US production which would be a
long-term decrease in the world's dependence on China for this.


feed_id: a9a19fa8020e1db751f37a7015c61dc6
title: IPCC Draft climate report
uri: IPCC-Draft-climate-report
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#28_June_2021_%28IPCC_Draft_climate_report%29
content:
<p>

*Leaked <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/06/23/leaked-ipcc-draft-climate-report-reads-4000-page-indictment-humanitys-failure">IPCC Draft Climate Report</a> 'Reads Like a 4,000-Page Indictment'
of Humanity's Failure.*


feed_id: 8fd0cb543e4d060447e43dc37edd3f3e
title: John McAfee
uri: John-McAfee
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#28_June_2021_%28John_McAfee%29
content:
<p>

John McAfee's widow says he was not suicidal and had told her
he would call her again in the evening.  She <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/06/25/tech/john-mcafee-wife-janice-intl/index.html">does not believe he committed suicide</a>.
<p>
I know nothing about his case and have no opinion about whether he was
guilty or not.


feed_id: 21f1d9f66d2cee729edfd7bc030b62a0
title: Law to reject election results
uri: Law-to-reject-election-results
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#28_June_2021_%28Law_to_reject_election_results%29
content:
<p>

Arizona Republicans are passing a law to make it easy for Republicans
to conspire to <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/06/25/politics/arizona-bills-secretary-of-state/index.html">reject election results</a> (in case a Democrat wins).


feed_id: 4d96173d1f7a8f43c8ff8d922f44b067
title: Israel's colonies in Palestine
uri: Israel-s-colonies-in-Palestine
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#28_June_2021_%28Israel%27s_colonies_in_Palestine%29
content:
<p>

70 members of Congress told Biden that the US should resume its former
recognition that <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/06/25/70-house-dems-call-biden-acknowledge-israeli-settlements-are-illegal">Israel's colonies in Palestine are illegal</a>.


feed_id: 019f495f9befaa6e84d7084396c7aab5
title: Punish Michael Flynn
uri: Punish-Michael-Flynn
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#28_June_2021_%28Punish_Michael_Flynn%29
content:
<p>

The US Army must not be too timid to <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2021/06/25/its-time-talk-about-michael-flynn-and-his-cronies">punish Michael Flynn</a>
for calling for a military coup.


feed_id: 01ac45070fff2150499c6d8e31f64fec
title: Research on versions of coronaviruses
uri: Research-on-versions-of-coronaviruses
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#28_June_2021_%28Research_on_versions_of_coronaviruses%29

content:
<p>

The US as well as China has <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2021/06/25/examining-origins-covid-19-and-preventing-future-pandemics">carried out research</a> on potentially dangerous modified versions of coronaviruses.
<p>
This in itself is not evil; the research has an ethical medical
justification.  But there is some risk to it, and we are not sure how
much risk that its.  The author calls for coordinated international
standards and oversight for such research.


feed_id: 415be4ac0d582796d2df146f7b5a200a
title: (satire) Cheaper to tear down U.S. and start over
uri: (satire)-Cheaper-to-tear-down-U-S-and-start-over
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#28_June_2021_%28%28satire%29_Cheaper_to_tear_down_U.S._and_start_over%29

content:
<p>

(satire) *Contractor Informs Biden It'd Be Cheaper To Just <a href="https://www.theonion.com/contractor-informs-biden-it-d-be-cheaper-to-just-tear-d-1847165691">Tear Down
U.S. And Start Over</a>.*


feed_id: 5418dd0bcd5ef2ba7790cdc4d195a7ef
title: (satire) Holy water-infused spray
uri: (satire)-Holy-water-infused-spray
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#28_June_2021_%28%28satire%29_Holy_water-infused_spray%29

content:
<p>

(satire) *Raid Introduces <a href="https://www.theonion.com/raid-introduces-holy-water-infused-spray-that-allows-co-1847174499">Holy Water-Infused Spray</a> That Allows
Cockroaches To Be Baptized And Die As Christians.*


feed_id: e9a329376bc13429b6d4573ae1737604
title: Gas pipeline to Russia
uri: Gas-pipeline-to-Russia
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#28_June_2021_%28Gas_pipeline_to_Russia%29
content:
<p>

Germany claims that it could <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-germany-election/german-cdu-chancellor-candidate-nord-stream-could-be-halted-if-russia-abuses-it-idUSKCN2E20IG">stop construction of the new gas pipeline
to Russia</a>, or shut off its use, as punishment for Russian aggression.
<p>
I am skeptical of the claim.  Once the pipeline is in use, EU countries
would become dependent on it, and their pressure to keep it running would
be even harder to resist then, than their pressure to finish it is now.
<p>
The EU should cancel this pipeline and adopt stronger measures to
decarbonize.  It needs to do that anyway.


feed_id: b16c2d2c0c42c40ecaaa505973773a47
title: Hostility against the police
uri: Hostility-against-the-police
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#28_June_2021_%28Hostility_against_the_police%29
content:
<p>

Hong Kong's new head of the <a href="https://stallman.org/glossary.html#thug">thug</a> department claims that "hostility
against the police" is <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jun/26/hong-kong-needs-law-to-tackle-hostility-against-the-police-says-forces-new-chief">caused by "fake news."</a>
<p>
I think that means the state will declare news about unjust actions by
the <a href="https://stallman.org/glossary.html#thug">thugs</a> to be "fake."


feed_id: 6d2680208636247685c35861dcd2610e
title: Suing Republican supporters
uri: Suing-Republican-supporters
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#28_June_2021_%28Suing_Republican_supporters%29
content:
<p>

Biden campaign workers are <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jun/26/trump-train-texas-bus-lawsuit-kkk-act-democrats">suing the Republican supporters</a> that besieged
a campaign bus in Texas.


feed_id: ba2b4064c4ce6ee45aa99e67f7a1add2
title: Collapsed apartment building in Miami
uri: Collapsed-apartment-building-in-Miami
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#28_June_2021_%28Collapsed_apartment_building_in_Miami%29

content:
<p>

The owners of the recently collapsed apartment building in Miami got a
warning from an engineer of structural damage, so they started
planning to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jun/26/miami-condo-collapse-warning-death-toll">do the recommended repairs</a>.
<p>
That takes time.  Alas, the building collapsed shortly before those
repairs were going to start.
<p>
What should we conclude about such a situation?  Were the owners
negligent or culpable for this?
<p>
Is there a way to tell when there is an imminent danger of collapse?
Should all building owners assume an imminent danger from such damage?


feed_id: 4347cbfdf37f24c8cef71186733eb3bf
title: Shutdown of Iranian web sites
uri: Shutdown-of-Iranian-web-sites
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#28_June_2021_%28Shutdown_of_Iranian_web_sites%29
content:
<p>

When the US shut down Iranian web sites, it <a href="https://theintercept.com/2021/06/26/us-iran-censor-websites-evidence/">included even dissidents</a>.


feed_id: e86d44239b5d08c69e3d862175158213
title: Sabotaging lawsuits
uri: Sabotaging-lawsuits
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#28_June_2021_%28Sabotaging_lawsuits%29
content:
<p>

The New York City <a href="https://stallman.org/glossary.html#thug">thug</a> department has a history of sabotaging lawsuits
by failing to hand over documents that the victims demand for the
trial.  It is doing that again now, <a href="https://theintercept.com/2021/06/26/nypd-abuse-george-floyd-court/">to Black Lives Matter protesters</a>
whom the <a href="https://stallman.org/glossary.html#thug">thugs</a> attacked last summer.


feed_id: 031ca9675583c6a848d3d0b85a568e07
title: Farm-worker union organizers
uri: Farm-worker-union-organizers
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#28_June_2021_%28Farm-worker_union_organizers%29
content:
<p>

The Supreme Court's ruling on farm-worker union organizers is a <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2021/06/24/us-supreme-courts-latest-anti-labor-ruling-goes-far-beyond-farm-workers">disaster
for the public</a> which extends far beyond union organizing.
<p>
It limits all levels of governments in the US in requiring businesses from
allowing access to workers in workplaces.


feed_id: 1e547b84fe2ec5811efe6e40f3144c9c
title: UK oilfield exempt from carbon text
uri: UK-oilfield-exempt-from-carbon-text
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#29_June_2021_%28UK_oilfield_exempt_from_carbon_text%29

content:
<p>


The UK plans a new climate impact test for proposed fossil fuel projects.
The test will be applied at the very start of the process, which means that
an enormous planned oilfield in the North Sea will be <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/jun/26/green-groups-fury-at-loophole-in-new-north-sea-oil-test">exempt from the test</a>.


feed_id: fcd89729eebd662311128f02605b7228
title: Urgent: Call Congress to protect Amazon workers from surveillance
uri: Urgent-Call-Congress-to-protect-Amazon-workers-from-surveillance
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#29_June_2021_%28Urgent%3A_Call_Congress_to_protect_Amazon_workers_from_surveillance%29

content:
<p>
US citizens: <a href="https://actionnetwork.org/forms/sign-the-petition-to-congress-protect-workers-from-amazons-dangerous-surveillance-practices?nowrapper=true&referrer=group-democracy-for-america&source=group-democracy-for-america">call on Congress</a> to protect workers from Amazon's
oppressive surveillance.


feed_id: e4ba666a8f30b88e20c356d286bdad5c
title: UK BLK death threats
uri: UK-BLK-death-threats
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#29_June_2021_%28UK_BLK_death_threats%29
content:
<p>


Black Lives Matter activists and supporters in the UK are <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/06/26/uk/blm-uk-activists-backlash-gbr-cmd-idnty-intl/index.html">getting
death threats</a>; when they state their support, they are accused of
"inflaming racial tensions".<p>
    
I think that the thugs who are quick to murder blacks are the ones who
inflame the racial tensions.  The issue is how to change their behavior.


feed_id: 1c067353f6d574f044a71fb861dc7ac7
title: Myanmar torture
uri: Myanmar-torture
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#29_June_2021_%28Myanmar_torture%29
content:
<p>
*Nathan Maung says [Burmese prison thugs] punched, slapped and beat him, and
kept him blindfolded for <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jun/27/us-journalist-says-he-was-tortured-during-detention-in-myanmar">over a week</a>.*<p>
    They also chained him in painful positions and denied him sleep.
<p>
They didn't know, for the first few days, that he was a US citizen.
So his treatment may be representative of how they treat political
prisoners who are citizens only of Burma.  But he says that some
prisoners got worse torture than he did.


feed_id: 783061baabca3ff9e7a3ec3c4b83be9c
title: Good guy gun killed
uri: Good-guy-gun-killed
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#29_June_2021_%28Good_guy_gun_killed%29
content:
<p>
A "good guy with a gun" shot a murderer.  Then a uniformed thug <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/06/26/us/arvada-colorado-police-shot-good-samaritan/index.html">shot
him dead</a> without giving him time to explain.


feed_id: c2890f409e370ffb6dedaa9a75d964f8
title: Bipartisan unemployment insurance
uri: Bipartisan-unemployment-insurance
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#29_June_2021_%28Bipartisan_unemployment_insurance%29

content:
<p>


The bipartisan infrastructure sellout-or-deal include an attempt to
<a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/06/25/experts-warn-bipartisan-infrastructure-deal-could-slash-unemployment-benefits">crack down</a> on fraud in unemployment insurance.<p>
    Whatever it does, it is likely to <a href="https://www.stallman.org/archives/2011-sep-dec.html#21_December_2011_(Unemployment_Poverty)">screw people</a> who are entitled to
unemployment support.



                       And the supposed amount to be saved is likely to
be way exaggerated.


feed_id: 8ad0bda886f4384442179af52e36e27d
title: Big Pharma UK
uri: Big-Pharma-UK
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#29_June_2021_%28Big_Pharma_UK%29
content:
<p>


Big Pharma corrupts the UK Parliament via <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/jun/25/drug-firms-giving-mps-hidden-funding-research-shows">hiden funding</a> to various
parliamentary "all-party" groups.<p>
    
  They don't have official status; nonetheless, funding one gives support
to its members, and can therefore corrupt them.


feed_id: 26761d2c0e9b21916e3dd58567ed863c
title: Israeli violations
uri: Israeli-violations
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#29_June_2021_%28Israeli_violations%29
content:
<p>
*Amnesty: <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jun/24/amnesty-catalogue-of-violations-by-israeli-police-against-palestinians">‘catalogue of violations’</a> by Israeli police against Palestinians.*


feed_id: 298dddff6245e782ea09fc9f7024c245
title: False equivalance
uri: False-equivalance
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#29_June_2021_%28False_equivalance%29
content:
<p>
On the issue of whether <a href="https://theintercept.com/2021/06/24/ilhan-omar-moral-equivalence-reagan/">two sides</a> in a dispute are "morally equivalent,"
or even in the same region of morality.
<p>
  False equivalence is a kind of fallacy that can be used to argue for
various conclusions.  Often that fallacy is used to defend unjust
power; the article presents examples.  The article also presents
examples of false or misleading accusations of use the fallacy.
<p>
Was it better to be in Eastern Europe under the Soviet Empire than in
Central America under US dominion?  I think that depends on where and
when.  Stalin's rule also included massive arbitrary imprisonment and
execution, sometimes almost at random, but he died in 1953 and after
him the repression was less wild and brutal (but it was still
repression).
<p>
I have a feeling that the term "genocide" is being stretched when
applied to the repression in Guatemala.  It was a crime against
humanity, for sure; but genocide is something different.  In order to
be genocide, the killings would have to have been intended as a step
towards _eliminating_ the Maya of Guatemala.  Was that the army's
intent?  I don't know for ceertain, but the basis presented here seems
insufficient to show that.


feed_id: 7ef60e8bdf7c55335c3010b9a84ffd3f
title: Publishers cancel books
uri: Publishers-cancel-books
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#29_June_2021_%28Publishers_cancel_books%29
content:
<p>
  <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2021/jun/27/philip-roth-blake-bailey-publishing-metoo-ww-norton">On the issue</a> of cancelling books to express disapproval of their authors.<p>
    
I am terrified by the reported contempt of publishing staff under 40
for freedom to disagree with them.  If they succeed in excluding from
publication all disagreement with their ideology -- regardless of what
the ideology eventually comes to be -- the result is likely to be
tyranny.


feed_id: a0a8a4137246bccc6580c2065d8de90b
title: Right-wing violence hype
uri: Right-wing-violence-hype
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#29_June_2021_%28Right-wing_violence_hype%29
content:
<p>
Right-wing propaganda claims that increasing rates of violent crime result
from local policy changes, which in many cases <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2021/06/26/thin-blue-lies-behind-crime-wave-hype">did not really happen</a>.


feed_id: 38b635f7daa8388923398fc1f624ebfb
title: Taking Syrian prisoners back
uri: Taking-Syrian-prisoners-back
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#29_June_2021_%28Taking_Syrian_prisoners_back%29
content:
<p>
Biden called on countries whose citizens are in Syrian prison camps,
accused of supporting PISSI, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/syria-security-usa-int/blinken-untenable-for-10000-is-fighters-still-to-be-held-in-syria-idUSKCN2E40UT">to take them back</a>
   (and prosecute them if appropriate).

<p>
I am in favor of this.


feed_id: d3c02a6c90c720e8ea88ba15482e4489
title: Global heating attribution
uri: Global-heating-attribution
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#29_June_2021_%28Global_heating_attribution%29
content:
<p>
Advances in attributing parts of the costs of <a href="https://stallman.org/glossary.html#global heating">global heating</a> effects
to specific amounts of greenhouse emissions <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jun/28/new-climate-science-could-cause-wave-of-litigation-against-businesses-study">are likely to lead to a
lot more lawsuits against fossil fuel companies</a>.

<p>
I predict that companies will buy laws to give them immunity.
That's the plutocratic way of life.


feed_id: 24a83c59ff630626c8c1d47284c0ccc2
title: Songbirds
uri: Songbirds
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#29_June_2021_%28Songbirds%29
content:
<p>
A French court has prohibited <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jun/28/french-court-outlaws-glue-trap-hunting-of-songbirds">hunting songbirds by putting glue on
branches</a>.

<p>
This will help protect endangered species.

<p>
I find it hard to understand how anyone can want to kill a songbird
rather than listen to its singing.


feed_id: 26e1dd59dd0454a4628e9f937854dfd9
title: Urgent: ending training of Salafi Arabia
uri: Urgent-ending-training-of-Salafi-Arabia
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#29_June_2021_%28Urgent%3A_ending_training_of_Salafi_Arabia%29

content:
<p>
US citizens: <a href="https://act.winwithoutwar.org/act/saudi_military_training?source=em20210624&t=1011&akid=7045%2E223515%2Ed_j4k6">call on Blinken</a> to end all US training of "security"
forces of <a href="https://stallman.org/glossary.html#salafi">Salafi Arabia</a>.


feed_id: 841c18e2e628198c355a4587b0c245d3
title: Deceit is routine
uri: Deceit-is-routine
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#29_June_2021_%28Deceit_is_routine%29
content:
<p>
*The case for Brexit was built on lies. Five years later, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/jun/27/case-for-brexit-built-on-lies-five-years-later-deceit-is-routine-in-our-politics">deceit is routine in
[UK] politics</a>.*

<p>
The difficulty of getting the health minister to resign <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/jun/27/if-this-were-an-ethical-government-matt-hancock-would-have-gone-instantly">demonstrates
the level of tolerance for deceit</a>.
  Indeed, several instances of deceit in government, and outcry in
response to them, were covered up in the past year.

<p>
*From Grenfell Tower to the Met police, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/jun/27/from-grenfell-tower-to-the-met-police-shirking-responsibility-has-become-endemic">shirking responsibility has become
endemic</a>.*


feed_id: 24f56dffc4d0054f269cfba59f9caf1c
title: UK BLK death threats
uri: 2021-06-29-UK-BLK-death-threats
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#29_June_2021_%28UK_BLK_death_threats%29
content:
<p>


Black Lives Matter activists and supporters in the UK are <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/06/26/uk/blm-uk-activists-backlash-gbr-cmd-idnty-intl/index.html">getting
death threats</a>; when they state their support, they are accused of
"inflaming racial tensions".<p>
    
I think that the <a href="https://stallman.org/glossary.html#thug">thugs</a> who are quick to murder blacks are the ones who
inflame the racial tensions.  The issue is how to change their behavior.


feed_id: f0984f40bfa00d60863258ac194aba6d
title: Myanmar torture
uri: 2021-06-29-Myanmar-torture
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#29_June_2021_%28Myanmar_torture%29
content:
<p>
*Nathan Maung says [Burmese prison <a href="https://stallman.org/glossary.html#thug">thugs</a>] punched, slapped and beat him, and
kept him blindfolded for <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jun/27/us-journalist-says-he-was-tortured-during-detention-in-myanmar">over a week</a>.*<p>
    They also chained him in painful positions and denied him sleep.
<p>
They didn't know, for the first few days, that he was a US citizen.
So his treatment may be representative of how they treat political
prisoners who are citizens only of Burma.  But he says that some
prisoners got worse torture than he did.


feed_id: 9fae6844011283e0a777554cb86701bd
title: False equivalance
uri: 2021-06-29-False-equivalance
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#29_June_2021_%28False_equivalance%29
content:
<p>
On the issue of whether <a href="https://theintercept.com/2021/06/24/ilhan-omar-moral-equivalence-reagan/">two sides</a> in a dispute are "morally equivalent,"
or even in the same region of morality.
<p>
  False equivalence is a kind of fallacy that can be used to argue for
various conclusions.  Often that fallacy is used to defend unjust
power; the article presents examples.  The article also presents
examples of false or misleading accusations of use the fallacy.
<p>
Was it better to be in Eastern Europe under the Soviet Empire than in
Central America under US dominion?  I think that depends on where and
when.  Stalin's rule also included massive arbitrary imprisonment and
execution, sometimes almost at random, but he died in 1953 and after
him the repression was less wild and brutal (but it was still
repression).
<p>
I have a feeling that the term "genocide" is being stretched when
applied to the repression in Guatemala.  It was a crime against
humanity, for sure; but genocide is something different.  In order to
be genocide, the killings would have to have been intended as a step
towards <em>eliminating</em> the Maya of Guatemala.  Was that the army's
intent?  I don't know for ceertain, but the basis presented here seems
insufficient to show that.


feed_id: c24cc6a5f91372dcaabbc21c37c9f9ca
title: Endorsement of election
uri: 2021-06-29-Endorsement-of-election
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#25_June_2021_%28Endorsement_of_election%29
content:
<p>
The US endorsed <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-peru-election-usa/washington-calls-peru-election-fair-despite-fujimori-claims-of-voter-fraud-idUSKCN2DY2MP">the validity of the Peruvian election</a>.

<p>
This is <a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2009-may-aug.html#22 July 2009 (US backs coup in Honduras)">definitively better than how the US used to act</a>.


feed_id: 63529197f3ffd2b49d51183d2596cf4b
title: Brain pain
uri: Brain-pain
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#30_June_2021_%28Brain_pain%29
content:
<p>
The brain can respond to some kinds of pain and damage by <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/jun/28/sufferers-of-chronic-pain-have-long-been-told-its-all-in-their-head-we-now-know-thats-wrong">lowering its
pain threshold</a>. This can lead to devastating pain in many parts of
the body.


feed_id: 95b3e661c94d7871d400ce636bf56443
title: Fly-shooting nets
uri: Fly-shooting-nets
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#30_June_2021_%28Fly-shooting_nets%29
content:
<p>
Fly-shooting nets are so effective for catching fish that they leave
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jun/28/damaging-fly-shooting-fishing-in-channel-sparks-concerns">very little to regenerate the stock</a>.<p>
    
If our goal is to keep fish stocks strong, fish them sustainably, and
provide work for many fishers, it is clear that these nets are
counterproductive -- so we should ban them entirely.


feed_id: 7b27beb63d7b32107dc19ca6e860fb7a
title: New Zealand Plastic
uri: New-Zealand-Plastic
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#30_June_2021_%28New_Zealand_Plastic%29
content:
<p>
New Zealand plans to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jun/28/new-zealand-to-ban-most-single-use-plastics-by-2025">ban plastic packaging</a> for some products, as well as the usual single-use plastics that other countries ban.


feed_id: a513a8c55919da20efc9db7dbd171283
title: Sea levels buildings
uri: Sea-levels-buildings
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#30_June_2021_%28Sea_levels_buildings%29
content:
<p>
Rising seas drive salt water into the ground nearby.  This can corrode
the foundations of tall buildings and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jun/29/miami-condo-collapse-questions-climate-change">make them collapse</a>.<p>
    There are many places in the world where lots of somewhat tall
buildings have been built near beaches.  I've seen them near Rio de
Janeiro.
<p>
Even if we work hard to curb greenhouse emissions quickly, sea-level
rise will continue for decades, perhaps even centuries.  Miami cannot
be saved.


feed_id: 4dc76d7d17afe2f728a151d17cecbf0a
title: Brazil 400,000
uri: Brazil-400-000
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#30_June_2021_%28Brazil_400%2C000%29
content:
<p>
*Brazil could have stopped <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2021/jun/29/brazil-coronavirus-deaths-jair-bolsonaro">400,000 Covid deaths</a> with better response,
expert says.*


feed_id: d9768bc36f3eea238c9eef0c5daf73c4
title: British museums imperialism
uri: British-museums-imperialism
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#30_June_2021_%28British_museums_imperialism%29
content:
<p>
A major London museum insists on its responsibility to "accurately
explain the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2021/jun/28/va-insists-it-has-responsibility-to-tell-truth-about-collections">nature of its collections</a>," including how some were
acquired through British imperialism, but rejects demands to hide
them.<p>
    
I agree with the museum's general stance.  I don't know enough about the
specific cases to have opinions on them.
<p>
"Decolonization" properly means giving independence to colonies.  I
object to extending that word to cover removing things from display,
because that results in absurd hyperbole.  Also, it tries to impose
the presumption that two very different issues are just one issue.
Opposing colonization does not imply any particular position on what
to do with objects in a museum that were acquired from colonization --
or with objects acquired by war (as distinct from colonization).


feed_id: 16cda671b210d1be37cad6a4bb8b6b03
title: Questionable Alzheimers Drug
uri: Questionable-Alzheimers-Drug
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#30_June_2021_%28Questionable_Alzheimers_Drug%29
content:
<p>
Why the approval of the purported Alzheimer's preventative, aducanumab,
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/jun/28/alzheimers-drug-aducanumab-approval-dementia">was questionable</a>.


feed_id: 7e1ecff7bf6b703d631efb47a1ca22f8
title: Republicans gerrymandering
uri: Republicans-gerrymandering
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#30_June_2021_%28Republicans_gerrymandering%29
content:
<p>
*Republicans can [rig] the next elections <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/jun/28/republicans-gerrymandering-congress-elections">through gerrymandering alone</a>.*


feed_id: fc73e19686b66d8bd38bdbf865bfcebb
title: Neighborhood trees
uri: Neighborhood-trees
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#30_June_2021_%28Neighborhood_trees%29
content:
<p>
In many US cities, wealthier neighborhoods have lots of trees, but
poor neighborhoods <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jun/28/houston-trees-shade-heat-temperatures-race-class">have few or none</a>.  So the latter become painfully,
even dangerously hot.  This is the result of lending practices decades
ago, which will take effort and money to overcome.
<p>
Just planting trees won't immediately fix the problem; it may take
some decades for the trees to grow big enough to have much effect.
<p>
To give poor neighborhoods the same amount of trees would
require <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jun/29/trees-america-cities-study-disparities">30 million new trees</a>.
<p>That's assuming they find enough new-tree-ents to grow big.


feed_id: 8791107b2bf1397ee1859b11b90f2091
title: EU workspaces
uri: EU-workspaces
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#30_June_2021_%28EU_workspaces%29
content:
<p>
The EU will draw up <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-eu-safety/eu-plans-new-safety-rules-for-the-workplace-wherever-it-is-idUSKCN2E417F">work safety standards</a> that apply to working
at home or in other premises that are not "workplaces" of the employer.


feed_id: b190c2aa810d7411782cd2246618ad11
title: Remote exam software companies
uri: Remote-exam-software-companies
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#30_June_2021_%28Remote_exam_software_companies%29
content:
<p>
Remote exam software companies try to have it both ways: telling
schools that they automate detection of cheating while saying that
<a href="https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2021/06/long-overdue-reckoning-online-proctoring-companies-may-finally-be-here">teachers can and must review recordings and make their own decisions</a>.

<p>
It is clear that those programs snoop on students and the interiors of
their homes.

<p>
However, the article says nothing about their demand that students
install nonfree software.  Even worse, the program talks over a
network, which means you must expect it to be spying on users.


feed_id: c83483519c8978fa6b187fa925d500a8
title: Critic of the ACCESS Act
uri: Critic-of-the-ACCESS-Act
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#30_June_2021_%28Critic_of_the_ACCESS_Act%29
content:
<p>
The EFF criticizes the ACCESS Act, a bill meant to stop platforms from
mistreating users.  <a href="https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2021/06/new-access-act-good-start-heres-how-make-sure-it-delivers">It is too weak in several ways</a>.

<p>
The EFF's criticisms are valid, but it doesn't mention a basic
weakness: that it doesn't require services to allow anonymous use.  If
the service knows who the user is, <a href="https://gnu.org/malware/">it will track the user, and that is
the basis for some injustices</a>.


feed_id: 9655b06329806716580789207db3d2bc
title: Entitled to not paying taxes
uri: Entitled-to-not-paying-taxes
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#30_June_2021_%28Entitled_to_not_paying_taxes%29
content:
<p>
A Disney heiress explains the attitudes she absorbed from her family
while growing up, <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/06/abigail-disney-rich-protect-dynastic-wealth-propublica-tax/619212/">which taught her to feel entitled to avoid paying
any taxes</a>.

<p>
These people ought to pay lots of their income in taxes.  Their
political philosophy enables them to justify escaping from that, by
spending a much smaller amount on philanthropy.


feed_id: b093e3c9b6b42c2b48fc95dc10342a24
title: Corruption to stop unionizing
uri: Corruption-to-stop-unionizing
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#30_June_2021_%28Corruption_to_stop_unionizing%29
content:
<p>
Uber and Lyft corrupted community groups to get them <a href="https://themarkup.org/news/2021/06/17/uber-and-lyft-donated-to-community-groups-who-then-pushed-the-companies-agenda">to push the
companies' campaigns to stop gig workers from unionizing</a>.


feed_id: e15f9d2a7de3dd16457e1744e74fe7e8
title: Republican narrative
uri: Republican-narrative
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#30_June_2021_%28Republican_narrative%29
content:
<p>
*The Republican narrative that enhanced unemployment benefits are
   dissuading people from returning to work—and that cutting off the aid
   is necessary to boost hiring—is running up against reality in the
   GOP-led state of Missouri, where officials have yet to see <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/06/28/blow-gop-narrative-missouri-cut-jobless-benefits-not-boosting-hiring">any
   significant increase in job applicants since the governor cut off
   pandemic-related federal programs last month</a>.*

<p>
We don't see much effort by legislatures to stop landlords from
holding apartments vacant until someone offers a higher rent.  But if
workers wait for a better offer, legislators insult them and try to
pressure them.  That's plutocracy at work.


feed_id: f8e32fd91791ba32b553d3f69a99e3cc
title: Donating to supports of overturning election
uri: Donating-to-supports-of-overturning-election
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#30_June_2021_%28Donating_to_supports_of_overturning_election%29

content:
<p>
Toyota has donated lots of money to Republican congresscritters
<a href="https://www.axios.com/toyota-leads-donations-among-election-objectors-ebae427b-6f47-4591-aa28-31f366e6e2e0.html">that have supported overturning the election</a>.


feed_id: 46f65e16bba927e5be44b142f942b7a3
title: Stop police discrimination
uri: Stop-police-discrimination
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#30_June_2021_%28Stop_police_discrimination%29
content:
<p>
United Nations human rights officials have called on all countries
<a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/06/28/un-calls-nations-end-untenable-status-quo-systemic-racism">to stop police from practicing discrimination against blacks</a>.


feed_id: 3ee0683ed83400a57c9c1ef557cbe7e8
title: Not wearing masks indoors
uri: Not-wearing-masks-indoors
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#30_June_2021_%28Not_wearing_masks_indoors%29
content:
<p>

In Idaho, most of the people not wearing masks indoors <a href="https://boingboing.net/2021/06/25/most-idahoans-not-wearing-masks-are-unvaccinated.html">are unvaccinated</a>.


feed_id: 80e9f485f666fc4ccebdfa472b34bdb8
title: Chronic pain
uri: 2021-06-30-Chronic-pain
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#30_June_2021_%28Chronic_pain%29
content:
<p>
Interviews with people suffering <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/jun/29/i-struggle-every-day-with-the-loss-of-my-former-life-what-its-like-to-live-with-chronic-pain">from various medical problems
that cause chronic pain</a>.
  Many report that doctors didn't believe they had real medical problems.


feed_id: b3e2a1c5d00d1a1b91d024d41841622f
title: Important traditions
uri: Important-traditions
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#30_June_2021_%28Important_traditions%29
content:
<p>
Amartya Sen: Britain taught India important traditions, including a
free press and democratic elections, but the British Empire <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jun/29/british-empire-india-amartya-sen">prevented
India from taking advantage of them until India became independent</a>.


feed_id: 88d8072565832933676faf213e4d657e
title: Fake leaflets
uri: Fake-leaflets
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#30_June_2021_%28Fake_leaflets%29
content:
<p>
Right-wingers in the UK are distributing fake leaflets, pretending to
be from the Labour Party, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jun/29/tuesday-briefing-batley-and-spen-byelection-tensions">which make extreme statements</a>.


feed_id: 262a246063203035db03e4c62807263b
title: Testifying about corruption
uri: Testifying-about-corruption
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#30_June_2021_%28Testifying_about_corruption%29
content:
<p>
South Africa has sentenced its former president Zuma to prison
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jun/29/former-south-african-president-jacob-zuma-sentenced-prison">for refusing to testify about corruption</a>.


feed_id: f95f53b0188767649a748cb0f442e50e
title: Southern Baptists
uri: Southern-Baptists
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#30_June_2021_%28Southern_Baptists%29
content:
<p>
The US Southern Baptists are divided between <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/jun/29/southern-baptist-convention-america-culture-wars">supporters of the
Republican death cult and people more interested in Christianity</a>.

<p>
Why is there an organization called "Southern Baptist"?  In 1845, the
Baptists of the south split from the US Baptist church because the
latter had concluded that slavery was wrong.  Those in the south were
ardent supporters of slavery.  Now they are reverting to white
supremacism.


feed_id: 3e2aa5fa535767b4ffd207569a7be12b
title: Guerrillas chasing government forces out
uri: Guerrillas-chasing-government-forces-out
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#30_June_2021_%28Guerrillas_chasing_government_forces_out%29

content:
<p>
Tigrayan guerrillas have reorganized and chased the Ethiopian government
forces <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jun/29/tigray-rebels-vow-to-drive-out-enemies-despite-ceasefire-declaration">out of Mekelle, the capital of Tigray</a>.

<p>
Mekelle is now under the control <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ethiopia-conflict-tpla/tigray-regional-capital-mekelle-100-under-control-of-former-rulers-spokesman-says-idUSKCN2E50ZZ">of the Tigray People's Liberation Front</a>,


feed_id: 3ae0a20de514407b6bec3fee0ce0465e
title: Lowering pain threshold
uri: Lowering-pain-threshold
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-mar-jun.html#30_June_2021_%28Lowering_pain_threshold%29
content:
<p>
The brain can respond to some kinds of pain and damage by lowering its
pain threshold.  This can lead <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/jun/28/sufferers-of-chronic-pain-have-long-been-told-its-all-in-their-head-we-now-know-thats-wrong">to devastating pain in many parts of
the body</a>.


feed_id: 9dc06458346f3c072c8342da16378282
title: Urgent: Stop all new fossil fuel projects
uri: Urgent-Stop-all-new-fossil-fuel-projects
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#30_June_2021_%28Urgent%3A_Stop_all_new_fossil_fuel_projects%29

content:
<p>

US citizens: call on Biden to <a href="https://actionnetwork.org/forms/sign-the-petition-to-president-biden-block-all-new-fossil-fuel-projects-and-invest-in-a-clean-energy-future">stop all new fossil fuel projects</a>.
<p>
To do this sincerely means not looking for excuses to claim that some
of them aren't quite new enough, as the UK <a href="https://www.stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#29_June_2021_(UK_oilfield_exempt_from_carbon_test)">just did</a>.


feed_id: 4e02eabd607e67be15634ce15c523e33
title: Moving to renewable electricity
uri: Moving-to-renewable-electricity
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#30_June_2021_%28Moving_to_renewable_electricity%29
content:
<p>

Moving to renewable electricity depends on a lot of mining, and mining tends to
raise both <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/jun/27/mining-holds-the-key-to-a-green-future-no-wonder-human-rights-activists-are-worried">environmental concerns and human rights concerns</a>.


feed_id: 039322f0953f798915b6c28e8a022265
title: Dumping manure
uri: Dumping-manure
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#30_June_2021_%28Dumping_manure%29
content:
<p>

London cops arrested Extinction Rebellion protesters for <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/jun/27/extinction-rebellion-protesters-arrested-dumping-manure-daily-mail">dumping manure
on the office of a newspaper</a> that downplays the climate crisis.


feed_id: 9324d48b7126b45ece67b2d062d87be0
title: Censored history
uri: Censored-history
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#30_June_2021_%28Censored_history%29
content:
<p>

The Chinese Communist Party presents a <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-politics-anniversary-history/chinas-ruling-party-censors-its-past-as-centenary-nears-idUSKCN2E42KC">thoroughly censored history</a>
in which all the things it did badly have disappeared.
<p>
There are similar tendencies in other countries.
For instance, Japan tends to deny war crimes, including <a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2019-sep-dec.html#11_December_2019_(Army_enslaved_women_as_prostitutes)">kidnapping
women</a> from subject peoples and forcing them to be prostitutes.
<p>
Some Americans tend to deny ugly parts of US history,
including slavery, stealing the land from the indigenous peoples,
<a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2019-sep-dec.html#17_November_2019_(Guatemala_civil_war)">overthrowing democracies</a> in other countries,
and, since 2000, a number of wars that <a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2019-sep-dec.html#2_November_2019_(Destroying_social_order_of_countries)">go on and on</a> because victory
is impossible.
<p>
But it is not forbidden in the US to talk about these things.


feed_id: 9e301d3fb71024084eb97cc81dbe290f
title: Mexico legalized marijuana
uri: Mexico-legalized-marijuana
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#30_June_2021_%28Mexico_legalized_marijuana%29
content:
<p>

Mexico's supreme court has <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jun/28/mexicos-high-court-strikes-down-laws-that-ban-use-of-recreational-marijuana">legalized marijuana</a>.


feed_id: 3ad105799bf14d4164c7b8567e994a78
title: Increased Delta variant threat
uri: Increased-Delta-variant-threat
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#30_June_2021_%28Increased_Delta_variant_threat%29
content:
<p>

It is <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jun/28/now-is-not-time-abandon-all-covid-caution-analysis">foolhardy to eliminate precautions</a> against Covid-19 with the Delta
variant increasing the threat.
<p>
Some US states, ruled by the Republican death cult, are already seeing
a new surge.


feed_id: 8be0d545722a8d2cb6ae4b73a02dd2cb
title: A road to a driveway
uri: A-road-to-a-driveway
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#30_June_2021_%28A_road_to_a_driveway%29
content:
<p>

Minnesota "law enforcement" personnel claim to have <a href="https://theintercept.com/2021/06/28/minnesota-sheriff-pipeline-camp-barricade/">arbitrarily prohibited travel</a> from a road to a driveway and say they will build a
wall there to prevent it.
<p>
The driveway, like the land it leads to, belongs to protesters that
oppose the Line 3 pipeline.  The "law enforcement" personnel come from
a local sheriff's department which has been (in effect) purchased by
the pipeline company.


feed_id: 05383c2e3995b62835dc6ce46f102177
title: Nigerian government threatens press
uri: Nigerian-government-threatens-press
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#30_June_2021_%28Nigerian_government_threatens_press%29

content:
<p>

*Nigerian government <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jun/29/nigerian-government-threatens-to-rein-in-press-after-twitter-ban">threatens to rein in press</a> after Twitter ban.*


feed_id: 81fa8e8564c7562cfc8d47947dc03ce5
title: Retaliatory air attack
uri: Retaliatory-air-attack
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#30_June_2021_%28Retaliatory_air_attack%29
content:
<p>

Biden launched another <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/06/28/fresh-demands-immediate-us-withdrawal-biden-administration-bombs-iraq-syria">retaliatory air attack</a> on "Iran-backed militia
groups" which seem to be using drones to bombard US military forces
and US civilian activities in Iraq (for instance, a consulate).
The Iraqi government condemned this attack.
<p>
It is the Iraqi government's responsibility to protect foreign
consulates, and US forces as well if it has invited them to Iraq.
This raises the question: why are the forces there?
<p>
Are they there to provide military support that Iraq wants?  If so,
Iraq should join in protecting them, including counterattacking if that
is necessary.
<p>
But perhaps the Iraqi government regards US forces as intruders, and
would rather they were gone.  If so, removing them might be the right
thing to do.  The only force in the region that the US has a reason to
fight is <a href="https://stallman.org/glossary.html#pissi">PISSI</a>, as far as I know.


feed_id: 03f44ad91f6f9d9d05cdeff489fc6b65
title: Sunrise movement protest
uri: Sunrise-movement-protest
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#30_June_2021_%28Sunrise_movement_protest%29
content:
<p>

The Sunrise Movement organized a <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/06/28/sunrise-activists-arrested-over-no-climate-no-deal-blockade-white-house">protest at the White House</a>
criticizing Biden's desperate efforts to find a "compromise" so
weak that Republicans won't kill it.
<p>
I suspect that that is a moving target, and that each new surrender emboldens
Republicans to demand more.
<p>
If you are going to accept a "compromise" that is a small fraction of
what must be done, at least have the courage to continue describing it
as such &mdash; something like.  "I thank the Republicans for compromising
on 15% of what we wanted to do for US infrastructure."
<p>
The worst part of this "compromise" is that it takes a <a href="https://www.stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#9_June_2021_(The_Sunrise_Movement)">step backwards</a>.


feed_id: 158225824b8709148f7948b058312ca2
title: Venezuela opposition candidates
uri: Venezuela-opposition-candidates
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#30_June_2021_%28Venezuela_opposition_candidates%29
content:
<p>

Venezuela is looking at being flexible about letting opposition candidates
<a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-politics/venezuela-enables-opposition-coalition-to-participate-in-elections-idUSKCN2E52NL">run either separately and in a coalition</a>.
<p>
Some opposition parties have been running candidates (and gaining some
seats) all along.  But some were excluded, I think, after their leader
Juan Guaido tried try to stage a coup, claiming <a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2019-jan-apr.html#20_February_2019_(President_of_Venezuela)">support from the US</a>.
Not surprisingly, he faced criminal charges for that.
<p>
Can anyone tell me whether he still faces charges?


feed_id: 7bc0d75c4023fecc4e69c4a614236d08
title: Transfer of immigration prisoners
uri: Transfer-of-immigration-prisoners
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#30_June_2021_%28Transfer_of_immigration_prisoners%29

content:
<p>

The US deportation thugs <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jun/29/ice-detainees-new-jersey-protests">transferred 30 immigration prisoners</a> to a different prison and did not say where.  This included prisoners who
were on hunger strike.


feed_id: d078c0bff99cb21b457476a2bfd51ddd
title: Chinese students in Australia
uri: Chinese-students-in-Australia
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#30_June_2021_%28Chinese_students_in_Australia%29
content:
<p>

Human Rights watch says Chinese students in Australian universities
mostly cooperate with China to transmit pressure for classmates and
teachers not to say anything critical about China.  Those who disobey
<a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-australia-china-students/chinese-censorship-surveillance-found-at-australian-universities-rights-group-idUSKCN2E52CY">face physical attacks, or punishment of their relatives</a> in China.
<p>
As long as they are holding classes online, they should make all the
students anonymous so that they can more safely criticize China (or
any other country).
<p>
However, I think that the real root of the problem is having so many
students from a country with a vicious repressive government.  When
10% of the students in a university are Chinese, the desire for their
income will tend to carry more weight with cowardly administrators
than academic freedom.  By keeping the numbers down, they can protect
themselves from this temptation.


feed_id: 4d3d3d9bc77f4b41e0c92c5c8b4825c3
title: Commercial farming and mines
uri: Commercial-farming-and-mines
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#30_June_2021_%28Commercial_farming_and_mines%29
content:
<p>

Brazil's congress is considering a law to facilitate <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-brazil-indigenous/bill-curtailing-indigenous-land-rights-advances-in-brazils-congress-idUSKCN2E52A5">taking over
indigenous lands for commercial farming and mines</a>.
<p>
However, Brazil has <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-brazil-environment/brazil-bans-fires-redeploys-military-to-protect-amazon-rainforest-idUSKCN2E51UM">banned outdoor fires</a>, in an attempt to prevent
people from setting fires as they tend to do at this time.  In recent
years these fires have burned substantial parts of the Amazon forest,
and the drought would make it even worse.
<p>
At least it will enable people to cut down the trees for wood rather
than seeing them all burn.


feed_id: 1c272c4da4d93ba4db790b59e695b945
title: Vaccinated people wear masks
uri: Vaccinated-people-wear-masks
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#30_June_2021_%28Vaccinated_people_wear_masks%29
content:
<p>

Los Angeles County recommends that <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jun/29/delta-variant-los-angeles-indoor-masks-vaccine-status">vaccinated people wear masks</a>
in public indoors, just like the non-vaccinated.


feed_id: 7cd2f16388643030a020ee53b0091d5d
title: Sea level rise
uri: 2021-07-01-Sea-level-rise
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#30_June_2021_%28Sea_level_rise%29
content:
<p>

Sea level rise will <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jun/29/risk-from-sea-level-rises-unless-emissions-reduced">threaten the homes</a> of 410 million people by the end of
the century,
and that is not counting any population increase.


feed_id: 2a61a727bbff12d6a008f224e9dcdec2
title: Russian thugs raid journalists
uri: Russian-thugs-raid-journalists
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#30_June_2021_%28Russian_thugs_raid_journalists%29
content:
<p>

*Russian [thugs] <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jun/29/russian-police-raid-proekt-journalists-probing-government-corruption">raid journalists</a> probing government corruption.*
<p>
The Russian state has abandoned any attempt to heed ideas of justice.
It represents raw power.


feed_id: 06facdd624ec99922e320b590f3fee7a
title: Demolishing Palestinian homes and stores
uri: Demolishing-Palestinian-homes-and-stores
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#30_June_2021_%28Demolishing_Palestinian_homes_and_stores%29

content:
<p>

Israel is now <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-israel-palestinians-jerusalem-demolit/police-palestinians-clash-as-israel-begins-demolition-in-jerusalems-silwan-idUSKCN2E51BB">demolishing Palestinian homes and stores in Silwan</a>,
which is part of what Israel has annexed as "East Jerusalem".
<p>
The excuse is that some of the homes were "built illegally", but since
Israel effectively prohibits all construction by Palestinians, that has
little moral weight.


feed_id: 09b5ffcc3629b33b179ba309eabf734f
title: Labour abuse allegations
uri: Labour-abuse-allegations
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#30_June_2021_%28Labour_abuse_allegations%29
content:
<p>

*Malaysian palm[-oil] giant IOI faces <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-malaysia-labour-ioi-corp/malaysian-palm-giant-ioi-faces-labour-abuse-allegations-in-new-report-idUSKCN2E51AO">labour abuse allegations</a> in new report.*


feed_id: 6380c91c1727d3a389cdae67ea0e9756
title: New coal power investment
uri: New-coal-power-investment
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#30_June_2021_%28New_coal_power_investment%29
content:
<p>

*Five Asian countries <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jun/30/five-asian-countries-80-percent-new-coal-power-investment">account for 80%</a> of new coal power investment.*


feed_id: 52a8806bcb053746b398f8a13bd3ca10
title: Calling teenagers children
uri: Calling-teenagers-children
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#30_June_2021_%28Calling_teenagers_children%29
content:
<p>

Calling teenagers "children" has real effects.  The UK is considering
a law to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2021/jun/30/pauline-latham-mp-picks-up-bill-to-end-child-marriage-in-england-and-wales">prohibit marriage of anyone under 18</a>, and this is presented as
"saving people from child marriage."
<p>
The stated reason for this law is to prevent the practice of
compelling someone to marry.  Doing that is clearly an injustice, but
I don't see that it becomes any less wrong if the victim is over 18.
<p>
Maybe it is unwise for people under 18 to marry.  Maybe it is unwise
for people under 21 to marry.  Or under 31.  I clearly don't know, but
it is not about being "children."


feed_id: d03352509687fa996b462de26f3813e9
title: Imposing secrecy
uri: Imposing-secrecy
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#30_June_2021_%28Imposing_secrecy%29
content:
<p>

The Tories want to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2021/jun/30/alarm-over-plans-to-shield-post-brexit-environment-watchdog-from-scrutiny">impose secrecy</a> on British environmental protection
decisions. That would be very helpful when ministers wish to permit a damaging
development because of the developer's political influence.  Would
Tories ever do that?


feed_id: a29f18ece72247fdb15b5300de984397
title: Lowering pain threshold
uri: 2021-07-01-Lowering-pain-threshold
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#30_June_2021_%28Lowering_pain_threshold%29
content:
<p>
The brain can respond to some kinds of pain and damage by lowering its
pain threshold.  This can lead <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/jun/28/sufferers-of-chronic-pain-have-long-been-told-its-all-in-their-head-we-now-know-thats-wrong">to devastating pain in many parts of
the body</a>.


feed_id: 62e78bc2f7b52535af265989fbc42b10
title: Accusations of plagiarism
uri: Accusations-of-plagiarism
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#2_July_2021_%28Accusations_of_plagiarism%29
content:
<p>
The German Green Party is being hit hard by accusations of plagiarism
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jun/30/german-greens-say-plagiarism-claims-are-character-assassination">that seem to be exaggerated to hurt the party</a>.

<p>
The article is undermined by a mistaken basic assumption: that
plagiarism is related to copyright.  The two are entirely unrelated.
If you publish a copy of Hamlet calling yourself the author, that is
not copyright infringement, since Hamlet is in the public domain.  It
is, nonetheless, plagiarism.

<p>
Legally it is possible to infringe copyright by republishing your own
writings, if the copyright belongs to some other person or company.
But that cannot be plagiarism.

<p>
Accusations of plagiarism for short passages seem to be straining to
put the accused in the wrong.  That does sound like something
resembling character assassination.  Meanwhile, supposing this is big
enough to amount to plagiarism, the one responsible would seem to be
the ghostwriter who wrote the book, not the Green candidate whose name
was on it.  She can't be expected to recognize that a passage was
copied from an unidentified book that she may never have read or heard
of.

<p>
The mere use of a ghostwriter feels, to me, somewhat like plagiarism.
You are putting your name on something written by XYZ.  To be sure,
you paid XYZ for permission to do so, so XYZ won't object.  But I
don't think that excuses claiming to have written something you did
not write.

<p>
However, if the candidate's book acknowledges the work of the
ghostwriter, that eliminates the issue.

<p>
In any case, recognizing that ghostwriting is generally accepted and
does no special wrong to anyone, I would not consider it a major
ethical issue.  If I were a German voter, it would not change my vote.


feed_id: ba9e3be87b264f9dae2efa98256c3d5e
title: Unconstitutional for insurrection aids to hold office
uri: Unconstitutional-for-insurrection-aids-to-hold-office
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#2_July_2021_%28Unconstitutional_for_insurrection_aids_to_hold_office%29

content:
<p>
It would be unconstitutional for those who aided the Jan 6
insurrection after taking an oath of office in the US, <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/06/29/watchdog-says-insurrectionist-lawmakers-including-trump-should-be-barred-public">to take up any
federal or state office</a>.


feed_id: 0e55f6be620e29c97b8eb249ae2eb1d7
title: Legalization of abortion
uri: 2021-07-02-Legalization-of-abortion
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#2_July_2021_%28Legalization_of_abortion%29
content:
<p>
Three Mexican states <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mexico-abortion/hidalgo-becomes-third-mexican-state-to-allow-abortion-idUSKCN2E62Q8">have now legalized abortion</a>.


feed_id: e65879a898d6c3711c9545096bd1ad5e
title: Coal miners
uri: Coal-miners
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#2_July_2021_%28Coal_miners%29
content:
<p>
Striking Alabama coal miners picked investment companies that bought
the bankrupt Walter Energy, made promises to the union workers, <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2021/06/28/coal-miners-strike-alabama-warrior-met-coal-aint-got-no-soul">then
broke them</a>.


feed_id: 9a11de0ab0eea34b9af2d3196b45bd12
title: Pollutants
uri: Pollutants
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#2_July_2021_%28Pollutants%29
content:
<p>
In the negotiations for a global treaty on persistent organic pollutants,
the US EPA <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/06/28/biden-epa-lining-chemical-industry-against-push-curb-microplastics-greenpeace">is pushing to omit UV-238 from the list of them</a>.


feed_id: cf7916dbaf4f72814f937f5a6d6cefed
title: Ban ads for fossil fuel companies
uri: Ban-ads-for-fossil-fuel-companies
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#2_July_2021_%28Ban_ads_for_fossil_fuel_companies%29
content:
<p>
Calling on social media companies <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/06/28/green-groups-petition-urges-social-media-platforms-ban-big-oil-ads">to ban ads for fossil fuel companies</a>.
  This punishment would fit the crime of advertising lies which denied
<a href="https://stallman.org/glossary.html#global heating">global heating</a>.


feed_id: f1e56ec91f61d684d7c0415579aea1da
title: Ancient coronavirus epidemic
uri: Ancient-coronavirus-epidemic
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#2_July_2021_%28Ancient_coronavirus_epidemic%29
content:
<p>
A Coronavirus epidemic 25,000 years ago seems to have killed enough people
in East Asia <a href="http://www.sci-news.com/?p=77949">to have a big selective effect on certain proteins</a>.
  Those proteins probably made people more capable of resisting the
infection or its symptoms.

<p>
I expect Republicans will condemn China for not sharing those genes
with other racial groups, while secretly looking for people of Chinese
descent to marry.  ;-}.


feed_id: 10d1b64c14049d91fe7a5da60d3e9327
title: People's Response Act
uri: People-s-Response-Act
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#2_July_2021_%28People%27s_Response_Act%29
content:
<p>
The People's Response Act would move the US towards responding to drug
and mental crises with compassion rather than hatred &mdash; <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/06/28/cori-bush-proposal-aims-keep-mental-health-crises-ending-police-violence">with unarmed people
who will help rather than kill</a>.

<p>
It might be better for the mental health responders to be local organizations
rather than federal.  But that is a detail &mdash; it is better to do this
in one way or the other, than not to do it.


feed_id: 82ff8384cce4eb746c68f68ed69a0152
title: Making hydrogen
uri: Making-hydrogen
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#2_July_2021_%28Making_hydrogen%29
content:
<p>
Is it wise to make hydrogen <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/jun/29/equinor-to-triple-uk-hydrogen-output-with-new-plant-near-hull">by burning fossil fuel and sequestering
the CO2</a>?

<p>
Any CO2 that is released into greenhouses or used to carbonate water
will then go into the atmosphere &mdash; its sequestration will be
temporary.  Anyway, if we already bottle enough CO2 to meet those
demands, whatever CO2 is sequestered this way won't get used for that.

<p>
So why grasp at that straw to make this project look good?  I have a
feeling that someone is trying to underestimate the cost of storing
all the unwanted CO2 that this process will produce.  Perhaps to make
this plant look more green than it would really be.

<p>
I suggest building more wind and solar generating capacity than the
average electric demand can directly use, and using the surplus (when
there is a surplus) to make hydrogen.  When there is need for more
electricity than the wind and solar facilities are producing, burn
some hydrogen to make up the shortfall.


feed_id: 5e6ed1f81976a501b5ebc0cfeef840bf
title: Heat dome
uri: Heat-dome
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#2_July_2021_%28Heat_dome%29
content:
<p>
The Pacific Northwest heat dome is being described as
"once-in-a-millennium" <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/06/28/northwestern-heatwave-sparks-calls-transformative-climate-action">by people who don't understand that heat that
was rare in the past will be frequent in the future</a>.

<p>
A few decades from now, the same strength of heat dome will be an
every-few-years event, and worse ones will happen occasionally.

<p>
Lytton village in British Columbia suffered three days of
record-breaking heat; <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jul/01/lytton-wildfire-heatwave-british-columbia-canada">then a wildfire destroyed it</a>.


feed_id: 27cc53c6e8d0d3dae47e860e3e483c8f
title: Military rapes in civilian courts
uri: Military-rapes-in-civilian-courts
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#2_July_2021_%28Military_rapes_in_civilian_courts%29
content:
<p>
South Korea wants rapes committed against soldiers to be tried in
civilian courts, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-southkorea-abuse-military/s-korea-looks-to-overhaul-military-justice-after-sex-abuse-cases-idUSKCN2E60T6">because they are more likely to convict rapists</a>.

<p>
Women's suicides after being raped suggest to me that patriarchal
(Confucian) values, according to which rape destroys a woman's purity
and calls for her (rather than the rapist) to feel shame, still have
power in South Korea.  If so, the solution should include confronting
and rejecting those values.


feed_id: 7d4075e414780ba5c2c87c4cdb566b4e
title: Hiding billions
uri: Hiding-billions
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#2_July_2021_%28Hiding_billions%29
content:
<p>
Billionaires can use Roth IRAs <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2021/06/29/peter-thiel-will-pay-zero-federal-income-tax-his-5-billion-gains">to hide billions of dollars of income
from all taxation ever</a>.

<p>
There is no need for Roth IRAs.  It would be legitimate to wind them all up.


feed_id: 71ef7cd8f13919fe3161463b70ee74cd
title: Systematic lies
uri: Systematic-lies
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#2_July_2021_%28Systematic_lies%29
content:
<p>
Fossil fuel companies caused the coming <a href="https://stallman.org/glossary.html#global heating">global heating</a> disaster by
systematic lies.  <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jun/30/climate-crisis-crime-fossil-fuels-environment">We should focus on this, and prosecute them</a>.

<p>
We can't save ourselves individually from climate disaster.  The only
way we can save ourselves is <em>together</em>.

<p>
To wonder where your descendants would be "most safe" in a world of
climate disaster is a foolish distraction.  That question will become
pertinent only if civilization is failing &mdash; which means, if almost
everyone is doomed.  But that defeat is only a possibility; it has not
happened <em>yet</em>.  Now is the time when humanity can win, so focus on
now!

<p>
Billionaires know where their descendants would be "most safe": 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/jun/30/a-heatwave-in-seattle-extreme-weather-is-no-longer-unprecedented-it-has-become-the-norm">in private enclaves intended to survive collapse of civilization</a>.
  We need to show them, in a way that they can't doubt, that we won't
let their families abandon the rest of us that way &mdash; that their
families' fate is linked with civilization's, so they must work for
civilization's survival if their own descendants are to have a chance.

<p>
Lawsuits and other pressure against planet roasting companies <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jun/30/climate-crimes-oil-and-gas-environment">are
starting to win in some countries</a>.


feed_id: 1d1c0f858217dd4953454b6414af89a6
title: Business-supremacy treaties without human rights
uri: Business-supremacy-treaties-without-human-rights
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#2_July_2021_%28Business-supremacy_treaties_without_human_rights%29

content:
<p>
The UK is negotiating and signing <a href="https://stallman.org/glossary.html#business-supremacy">business-supremacy treaties</a> with countries
that disrespect human rights, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2021/jun/30/uk-making-trade-deals-with-countries-abusing-human-rights-says-tuc">and in some cases workers' rights as well</a>.

<p>
Exporting production to countries that have lower pay or working conditions
is an indirect way to reduce them in the UK.


feed_id: 30c9bce91e22680970e78e8444e4c966
title: Carbon offset
uri: Carbon-offset
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#2_July_2021_%28Carbon_offset%29
content:
<p>
*   Forest protection carbon offsets that may have no benefit to the
   climate <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jun/30/offsets-being-used-in-colombia-to-dodge-carbon-taxes-report-aoe">have been used by polluters to avoid paying carbon taxes in
   Colombia</a>.*

<p>
The offset schemes get a seal of approval from a private organization
called "Verra", but its private status makes it less accountable than
a government organization would be.


feed_id: 10c0a8bdc058b101cbda0983dfa1060c
title: Virgin Plastic 2040
uri: Virgin-Plastic-2040
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#2_July_2021_%28Virgin_Plastic_2040%29
content:
<p>
*Call for <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jul/01/call-for-global-treaty-to-end-production-of-virgin-plastic-by-2040">global treaty</a> to end production of "virgin" plastic by 2040.*


feed_id: da3d3b72d886ada01364aef0033b1506
title: Erdoğan protest women
uri: Erdoğan-protest-women
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#2_July_2021_%28Erdo%C3%84%C2%9Fan_protest_women%29
content:
<p>


Thousands protested in Turkey as Erdoğan took Turkey out of the treaty
against <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-turkey-rights-women/women-protest-as-turkey-quits-violence-on-women-treaty-idUSKCN2E738J">violence against women</a>.


feed_id: d54ed40a3ebb0d03ef1684a7672c27a8
title: Duque 8 years protesters
uri: Duque-8-years-protesters
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#2_July_2021_%28Duque_8_years_protesters%29
content:
<p>
President Duque of Colombia wants to sentence protesters to _more_
than just <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-colombia-protests/colombias-duque-looks-to-get-tough-on-vandalism-critics-decry-attack-on-protests-idUSKCN2E75GO">8 years in prison</a> for blocking a highway.


feed_id: ff7170129d2c0d063fa253f9796949d0
title: Republicans Trumpify Electoral System
uri: Republicans-Trumpify-Electoral-System
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#2_July_2021_%28Republicans_Trumpify_Electoral_System%29

content:
<p>
*Republicans Trumpify Electoral System <a href="https://www.exposedbycmd.org/2021/06/30/republicans-trumpify-electoral-system-to-steal-future-elections/">to Steal Future Elections</a>.*


feed_id: fc23dda8838245fd5c31b1e60803893a
title: Matt Hancock Resigns
uri: Matt-Hancock-Resigns
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#2_July_2021_%28Matt_Hancock_Resigns%29
content:
<p>
*Yes, Matt Hancock resigned, but standards in government have to be
upheld by <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/jun/30/ministers-government-standards-hancock-public-opinion">more than just public opinion.</a>*<p>
    
If public opinion learns to say, "Never vote for a Tory," that would
be <a href="media/62a79bb0.anuran-bevan.jpg" data-original-source="https://stallman.org/images/anuran-bevan.jpg">a good first step.</a>


feed_id: f356760ebdc7a043344d2bca6c4c28d4
title: Russia Jehovah's Witnesses Jailed
uri: Russia-Jehovah-s-Witnesses-Jailed
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#2_July_2021_%28Russia_Jehovah%27s_Witnesses_Jailed%29

content:
<p>
Russia has jailed Jehovah's Witnesses for arbitrarily declared
<a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-russia-politics-religion/russia-jails-jehovahs-witness-for-record-eight-years-over-extremism-idUSKCN2E61WM">"extremism"</a>.<p>
    
Jehovah's Witnesses are annoying, but it is not hard to get them to
leave you alone.  There is no justification for putting them in
prison.


feed_id: 4ee64e2b3fd1a35568ca370a332fde36
title: UK Covid-test corruption
uri: UK-Covid-test-corruption
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#2_July_2021_%28UK_Covid-test_corruption%29
content:
<p>
The corruption of UK contracting with Covid-testing companies has been
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2021/jun/30/bids-from-politically-connected-firms-for-covid-test-contracts-designated-fast-track-email-suggests">exposed by emails</a>.


feed_id: 2268bc3b94e1b62eb73bf6a749cb1aab
title: Israeli Colonists
uri: Israeli-Colonists
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#2_July_2021_%28Israeli_Colonists%29
content:
<p>
Fanatical Israeli colonists agreed to leave the <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-israel-palestinians-settlement/israeli-govt-and-settlers-reach-deal-over-west-bank-outpost-palestinians-angered-idUSKCN2E60YO">officially unapproved
"outpost"</a> with which they were trying to take Palestinians' land, but
their buildings will remain there, locked and off limits to the local
Palestinians.<p>
    

That is significant because that particular spot was chosen to help <a href="https://www.stallman.org/archives/2012-sep-dec.html#07_December_2012_(Israel_plans_to_split_West_Bank)">cut
the West Bank in two parts</a>, blocking Palestinians from travelling between.<p>



This is temporary, and the government says it might later authorize
another colonization attempt there.  I hope that the strength of
opposition convinces it not to do so.  Israel must return the land it
has taken on Palestinian territory, unless it gets an agreement to
trade that territory for other good land.


feed_id: 9678a0da05376429e0706fcaddb012f4
title: Australian University Pseudonyms
uri: Australian-University-Pseudonyms
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#2_July_2021_%28Australian_University_Pseudonyms%29
content:
<p>
*Australian universities may allow students to submit written
   assignments under pseudonyms and in hard copy amid growing concerns
   about <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/jul/01/australian-universities-may-allow-pseudonyms-to-protect-students-including-those-critical-of-china">[China]-linked harassment</a> over politically sensitive
topics.*<p>
    
This is a good thing to do, but their pseudonyms should extend to all
aspects of their participation in the school, and they should be
allowed to have multiple pseudonyms for different activities.
<p>
Also, everyone should be allowed to submit work on paper
so as to avoid digital systems that snoop on them.


feed_id: e3e103133a4a8ad375bcb6ee70f6fb55
title: London football super-spreader
uri: London-football-super-spreader
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#2_July_2021_%28London_football_super-spreader%29
content:
<p>
An "important" football match in London became a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/jun/30/younger-male-euro-2020-fans-driving-covid-rise-in-scotland">Covid super-spreader</a>.
<p>
  It was a policy mistake to permit spectators at that match.


feed_id: d1eff3f82752fc49c49e09e8cc041643
title: Pesticide Companies Poison EPA
uri: Pesticide-Companies-Poison-EPA
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#2_July_2021_%28Pesticide_Companies_Poison_EPA%29
content:
<p>
*How Pesticide Companies Corrupted the EPA <a href="https://theintercept.com/2021/06/30/epa-pesticides-exposure-opp/">and Poisoned America</a>.*


feed_id: 2731db65b0bfd3923ca2e200ad0ce505
title: Urgent: Exclusion of military pollution from climate agreements
uri: Urgent-Exclusion-of-military-pollution-from-climate-agreements
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#3_July_2021_%28Urgent%3A_Exclusion_of_military_pollution_from_climate_agreements%29

content:
<p>

Everyone: call on Cop26 to <a href="https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/stop-excluding-military-pollution-from-climate-agreements-2">stop excluding military pollution from climate agreements</a>.


feed_id: d9c6c98a3453e02c203ffcd22f4b09d4
title: Urgent: Elon Musk's union-busting
uri: Urgent-Elon-Musk-s-union-busting
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#3_July_2021_%28Urgent%3A_Elon_Musk%27s_union-busting%29

content:
<p>

US citizens: call on Congress to stop Elon Musk's union-busting by
<a href="https://actionnetwork.org/forms/sign-now-stop-elon-musks-union-busting-with-the-american-jobs-plan">passing the American Jobs Plan</a>.

<p>If you call, please spread the word!<p>


feed_id: f78a07983969dd65fec41357217a8b1e
title: Freezing jail conditions
uri: Freezing-jail-conditions
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#3_July_2021_%28Freezing_jail_conditions%29
content:
<p>

*Secret Internal Report [from a federal prison] Slammed Warden For
<a href="https://theintercept.com/2021/07/01/bop-mdc-brooklyn-warden-freezing-jail/">Freezing Jail Conditions</a> &mdash; Then He Was Promoted Anyway.*
<p>
We must put an end to impunity for officials that are callous and/or
incompetent (as well as for officials that are brutal).


feed_id: 6e6bf7dd5bdaa7ab9ce9ae97013abd8d
title: Climate disaster has started
uri: Climate-disaster-has-started
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#3_July_2021_%28Climate_disaster_has_started%29
content:
<p>

People are coming to realize that the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jul/01/nowhere-is-safe-say-scientists-as-extreme-heat-causes-chaos-in-us-and-canada">predicted climate disaster has
started</a>.  Nowhere is safe from extreme weather.
<p>
The extreme weather of 30 years from now will go beyond what we call
"extreme" today.


feed_id: d9b395acc637695a94e8f738becdd1c0
title: Arizona voting restrictions
uri: Arizona-voting-restrictions
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#3_July_2021_%28Arizona_voting_restrictions%29
content:
<p>

*US supreme court deals bow to voting rights by <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jul/01/us-voting-rights-supreme-court-arizona">upholding Arizona restrictions</a>.*
<p>
The Republicans on the court seem inclined to give states lots of
leeway for voter suppression.  They support "states' rights" rather
than "people's rights".


feed_id: 0028151a44dc510876052cce48cb7fba
title: Euro soccer tournament
uri: Euro-soccer-tournament
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#3_July_2021_%28Euro_soccer_tournament%29
content:
<p>

*Euro soccer tournament <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus/euro-soccer-tournament-under-fire-for-helping-spread-covid-19-idUSKCN2E74HT">under fire</a> for helping spread COVID-19.*
<p>
I want to respond, "Duh?!" 
<p>
Travel to beaches is having a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jul/01/spain-records-surge-in-covid-cases-among-unvaccinated-young-people">similar effect</a>.


feed_id: 1c856a220ee53539c91feeaa89740615
title: Italian prisons
uri: Italian-prisons
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#3_July_2021_%28Italian_prisons%29
content:
<p>

*Italian prisons under fire as video footage shows guards <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jul/01/italian-prisons-under-fire-as-video-footage-shows-guards-beating-inmates">beating inmates</a>.*


feed_id: b853bc9577cf69eac5fef0a1b09c4900
title: Charged with murder for self defense
uri: Charged-with-murder-for-self-defense
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#3_July_2021_%28Charged_with_murder_for_self_defense%29

content:
<p>

A teenager in Zimbabwe fought with a rapist who had invaded her home,
and killed him.  Now she is <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2021/jul/01/uproar-in-zimbabwe-as-teenager-who-fought-off-sexual-assault-charged-with">charged with murder</a> for her act of self-defense.
Zimbabwean law leaves doubt about whether self-defense is a legally
valid defense, which makes some women scared to fight back.


feed_id: d811ec9f2eb888b4cdf862e12c067fe6
title: Donald Rumsfeld's legacy
uri: Donald-Rumsfeld-s-legacy
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#3_July_2021_%28Donald_Rumsfeld%27s_legacy%29
content:
<p>

Donald Rumsfeld's legacy: <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/06/30/merciless-war-criminal-and-ex-defense-secretary-donald-rumsfeld-dead-88">*systemic torture, massacres of civilians,
[and] illegal wars.*</a>


feed_id: 8a26d1bfcdb15b893044aea97c2b13ac
title: Hong Kong blackwhiting
uri: Hong-Kong-blackwhiting
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#3_July_2021_%28Hong_Kong_blackwhiting%29
content:
<p>

A Hong Kong official <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-hongkong-security/hong-kongs-acting-chief-executive-says-freedoms-guaranteed-under-security-law-idUSKCN2E72Y5">demonstrated a level of blackwhiting</a> befitting
Republicans.


feed_id: 6186b82048daa0f69853ab36e07a2609
title: Insect protein
uri: Insect-protein
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#3_July_2021_%28Insect_protein%29
content:
<p>

*   <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jul/01/bugs-to-the-rescue-using-insects-as-animal-feed-could-cut-deforestation-report">Adopting insect protein</a> in pig and poultry feed could reduce UK soya
   consumption by a fifth by 2050, says WWF study.*


feed_id: bde99b93141a7c4fbb351b895a85093c
title: (satire) Roots of Washington Monument
uri: (satire)-Roots-of-Washington-Monument
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#3_July_2021_%28%28satire%29_Roots_of_Washington_Monument%29

content:
<p>

(satire) *Biologists Discover Roots Of Washington Monument Have <a href="https://www.theonion.com/biologists-discover-roots-of-washington-monument-have-s-1847210980">Spread Over 400 Feet Underground</a>.*


feed_id: 48d686dbef88a0d7bfbf793ad871ce6f
title: (satire) Supreme Court waits in line
uri: (satire)-Supreme-Court-waits-in-line
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#3_July_2021_%28%28satire%29_Supreme_Court_waits_in_line%29

content:
<p>

(satire) *Supreme Court <a href="https://www.theonion.com/supreme-court-waits-in-line-for-hours-before-voting-to-1847211846">Waits In Line For Hours</a> Before Voting To
Uphold Arizona Restrictions.*


feed_id: a0abdcbef8336d4660f3f887317e5d1b
title: Articles by Chinese scientists
uri: Articles-by-Chinese-scientists
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#3_July_2021_%28Articles_by_Chinese_scientists%29
content:
<p>

Some scientific journal publishers have <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/education/2021/jun/30/science-journal-editor-says-he-quit-over-china-boycott-article">resisted a push to reject
articles by Chinese scientists</a> to punish China for its crimes against
humanity.
<p>
I support that goal, in general, but these publishers acted rightly in
refusing to reject authors for being Chinese.  Scientific cooperation
is part of the basis of science.  We must not undermine cooperation
for political campaigns, not even when the campaign is based on a
valid goal.
<p>
It should be noted that the Palestinian Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions
campaign <a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2015-may-aug.html#31_May_2015_(Boycotting_Israels_colonies)">carefully avoids</a> calling for a boycott of individual Israelis. It targets only institutions.


feed_id: c5a4017f17fee27b528d99c4b8e4c42f
title: Influence inside the FDA
uri: Influence-inside-the-FDA
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#3_July_2021_%28Influence_inside_the_FDA%29
content:
<p>

Biogen developed <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/06/30/expose-showing-inappropriately-close-fda-biogen-collaboration-prompts-demand-ig">improper influence</a> inside the FDA to bring about the approval of its drug aducanumab with inadequate
investigation.
<p>
This looks like an example of regulatory capture.


feed_id: bbc8152454f8490c92d69e6d9e34a1fd
title: (satire) Best of luck stopping climate change
uri: (satire)-Best-of-luck-stopping-climate-change
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#3_July_2021_%28%28satire%29_Best_of_luck_stopping_climate_change%29

content:
<p>

(satire) *Senate Passes Bill Wishing Younger Generations <a href="https://www.theonion.com/senate-passes-bill-wishing-younger-generations-best-of-1847203424">Best Of Luck</a>
Stopping Climate Change.*


feed_id: b40580b92356a1bc3c12d61fb36ef463
title: Trickle-down neoliberalism
uri: Trickle-down-neoliberalism
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#3_July_2021_%28Trickle-down_neoliberalism%29
content:
<p>

Trickle-down neoliberalism appears to work as long as stock prices are
rising, but occasionally it crashes.  To keep it going requires a
<a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2021/06/30/neoliberalism-has-depended-huge-levels-government-support-its-entire-existence">bailout of the rich</a>.  Each bailout incorporates more instability which
results in a crash some years later.
<p>
The article also discusses the alternatives to continuing down that path.


feed_id: 11fa73e695bb73eb8c3f856bf5f68c9e
title: Face recognition in Maine
uri: Face-recognition-in-Maine
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#3_July_2021_%28Face_recognition_in_Maine%29
content:
<p>

Maine has <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/06/30/maine-sets-example-countrys-strongest-facial-recognition-ban">prohibited state government use</a> of face recognition, with small
exceptions.
<p>
This is a substantial step forward but it may not be sufficient.  I
think it does not prevent private businesses from tracking everyone
via face recognition &mdash; something we could call the China Syndrome.


feed_id: c27c5367ed442bc3f8dfc27f4e158248
title: Voter fraud
uri: 2021-07-04-Voter-fraud
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#3_July_2021_%28Voter_fraud%29
content:
<p>

Bolsonaro <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-brazil-politics-bolsonaro/brazils-bolsonaro-says-he-wont-hand-over-presidency-if-there-is-vote-fraud-idUSKCN2E75S1">threatens to seize power</a> if he loses the next election,
giving "voter fraud" as an excuse.


feed_id: 38190f0216bd32402c9da17354249643
title: Lukashenko's dictatorship
uri: Lukashenko-s-dictatorship
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#3_July_2021_%28Lukashenko%27s_dictatorship%29
content:
<p>

EU <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-belarus-politics-sanctions/belarus-leader-has-little-to-fear-from-eu-sanctions-analysts-idUSKCN2E73HN">sanctions against Belarus</a> and against Lukashenko's cronies
are unlikely to endanger Lukashenko's dictatorship.
<p>
As long as Russia supports Lukashenko, the west cannot hurt him much.


feed_id: c73ddfdf5b06d240a6ee6ee6badcf816
title: Lack of California-Oregon rain
uri: Lack-of-California-Oregon-rain
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#3_July_2021_%28Lack_of_California-Oregon_rain%29
content:
<p>

The lack of rain on the California-Oregon border is <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jul/01/water-scarcity-climate-change-exacerbating-crisis">endangering fish,
and farmers</a>.
<p>
There is no way to keep farming going without enough rain, but I think
that the US government should buy out enough of the farms in such
areas that the remainder will be able to subsist on the water that is
now available.  That would be of some help to them.  Letting them fall
into bankruptcy is the callous, Republican approach.


feed_id: f02fbdbc77729c0406e87901b224faa8
title: Duque 8 years protesters
uri: 2021-07-04-Duque-8-years-protesters
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#2_July_2021_%28Duque_8_years_protesters%29
content:
<p>
President Duque of Colombia wants to sentence protesters to <em>more</em>
than just <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-colombia-protests/colombias-duque-looks-to-get-tough-on-vandalism-critics-decry-attack-on-protests-idUSKCN2E75GO">8 years in prison</a> for blocking a highway.


feed_id: d8ce82fcd71d2b21bcc4914007526814
title: Urgent: Appoint an FCC commissioner
uri: Urgent-Appoint-an-FCC-commissioner
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#5_July_2021_%28Urgent%3A_Appoint_an_FCC_commissioner%29

content:
<p>

US citizens: call on Biden to <a href="https://act.demandprogress.org/sign/tell-president-biden-appoint-fifth-fcc-chair-now/?t=1001&akid=28145%2E96703%2Ee2mDu5">appoint an FCC commissioner</a> to fill the
vacant seat.


feed_id: 714ce5c335df5fcdf9cfca9217edcded
title: Urgent: Strong climate bill
uri: Urgent-Strong-climate-bill
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#5_July_2021_%28Urgent%3A_Strong_climate_bill%29
content:
<p>

US citizens: call on Biden to <a href="https://act.350.org/sign/climate-bill-now/">introduce a strong climate bill</a>.


feed_id: 1f851135bd087eb9e9e3a7294f2a3c1e
title: Scientific American
uri: Scientific-American
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#5_July_2021_%28Scientific_American%29
content:
<p>

Scientific American published an article whose title explicitly stated
a controversial political stand.  It said that the authors <a href="https://theintercept.com/2021/07/01/scientific-american-palestine-israel/">"stand in
solidarity with Palestine."</a>
Later the magazine took it down.
<p>
The article should never have been published there, because Scientific
American's purpose is science education.  It should not politicize
that education, except perhaps to defend science from anti-science.
<p>
Depending on how far the stated solidarity extends, I might agree with
the authors' position.  (I support the existence of Israel as well as
the existence of Palestine.)  I might possibly have stated agreement
with the article.
<p>
However, the issue as I see it is not about which stance the article
took.  If the proclaimed solidarity were with "Rojava", "Hong Kong",
"Taiwan", "the United States", or "Israel", the issue would be the
same.  The article belongs in a place where political stands belong,
and Scientific American should not be that place.


feed_id: a773bdab9b71ca84e8a39bdd53b55755
title: Conspiracy theories
uri: Conspiracy-theories
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#5_July_2021_%28Conspiracy_theories%29
content:
<p>

Edward Snowden: <a href="https://edwardsnowden.substack.com/p/conspiracy-pt1">*Why do conspiracy theories flourish? Because the
truth is too hard to handle.*</a>
<p>
The article explains that the most dangerous conspiracies are not
secret, and that imaginary conspiracies serve as a distraction from
them.


feed_id: 70192541f4d0d4c973734f2938f5453c
title: Changes to conservatorship laws
uri: Changes-to-conservatorship-laws
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#5_July_2021_%28Changes_to_conservatorship_laws%29
content:
<p>

*After Britney Spears testimony, lawmakers <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/law/2021/jul/02/britney-spears-court-testimony-conservatorship-reform">push changes</a> to
conservatorship laws.*


feed_id: 33e01a27ba2201027185a0e6239b2a42
title: Future wildfire damage
uri: Future-wildfire-damage
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#5_July_2021_%28Future_wildfire_damage%29
content:
<p>

California Governor Newsom <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jul/02/gavin-newsom-california-fire-prevention-investigation">overstated work</a> that the state had done on
preventing future wildfire damage.
<p>
I don't know how effective it is to remove some potential fuel from a
forest.  On that I will defer to experts.  This method can't get out
of control and become dangerous (a controlled burn has that danger),
but it must be a lot more labor-intensive.
<p>
Effective action to reduce fire danger requires a tremendous amount of
work and money, because it has to be done over the whole region
affected by drought.  And it has to be done over and over, forever.
<p>
Switching to renewable energy and curbing the emissions that cause the
drought will be far more efficient in the long term.


feed_id: d3eefd88c0bde37faacef0e3a56897db
title: Home care budgets
uri: Home-care-budgets
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#5_July_2021_%28Home_care_budgets%29
content:
<p>

Several US states are using <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jul/02/algorithm-crucial-healthcare-decisions">algorithms to apportion</a> home care budgets
for the disabled.  This has given more help to some, and less to
others.  Some patients can't get out of bed without the help they no
longer get; some have died.
<p>
In theory, an algorithm can do the job better than humans.  The
salesmen will lead you to imagine that the algorithm performs as well
as you could imagine.  In practice, it can easily do a bad job.  In
this case, some factors were explicitly not considered.  Very likely
there are other important factors that that human decision-makers used
to recognize on their own.
<p>
If the state <a href="https://gnu.org/philosophy/government-free-software.html">doesn't have the source code</a> of the program, it should
not use the program.
But the problems described in the article can happen with
a free program, because they result from the absence of any
non-problematical solution.
<p>
The underlying problem is that the algorithm has to divide up funds
that are insufficient to start with.  The algorithm tries to spread
the insufficiency equally.  Is that the best thing to do?
<p>
Which is worse: to permanently give each disabled person half the help
<a href="https://stallman.org/glossary.html#perse">perse</a> needs, or to permanently abandon a randomly-chosen half of them?
The answer is not obvious to me.


feed_id: 69679b96a9057c8278a55b0d84a66bff
title: Water privatization
uri: 2021-07-05-Water-privatization
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#5_July_2021_%28Water_privatization%29
content:
<p>

Progressives tell Biden <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/07/01/200-groups-congress-no-water-privatization-any-infrastructure-deal">not to put water privatization</a> into the
infrastructure deal.
<p>
Privatizing any service is harmful unless it results in a competitive market
with many competitors.


feed_id: 3a1efb5fa6f79d8571b6c797a18b6b9b
title: Murder of Muhammad Waqas
uri: Murder-of-Muhammad-Waqas
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#5_July_2021_%28Murder_of_Muhammad_Waqas%29
content:
<p>

A Pakistani thug has been charged with the <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/pakistan-blasphemy-killing/pakistani-policeman-accused-of-killing-man-acquitted-of-blasphemy-idUSKCN2E90AY">brutal murder of Muhammad Waqas</a>,
who had been charged with blasphemy and then acquitted.
<p>
In Pakistan, it is not unusual for fanatics to murder people who have
been charged with blasphemy, or their lawyers, or anyone who stands in
the way of executing them.


feed_id: cf13dd179e6a22f050c88b4650784c78
title: Bullied into giving DNA samples
uri: Bullied-into-giving-DNA-samples
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#5_July_2021_%28Bullied_into_giving_DNA_samples%29
content:
<p>

Prosecutors in Orange County, California, <a href="https://stallman.org/glossary.html#bully">bully</a> everyone accused
of the smallest offenses into into <a href="https://theintercept.com/2021/07/03/orange-county-prosecutors-dna-surveillance/">giving a DNA sample</a>, by threatening
false felony charges.
<p>
It is easy to manipulate the public with fear into tossing aside civil
liberties for "stronger law enforcement" which will supposedly make
everyone "safe".  The danger is that it promotes repression too.


feed_id: e94097f120c1656dda9aa9bb19a74185
title: Urgent: Elon Musk's union-busting
uri: 2021-07-05-Urgent-Elon-Musk-s-union-busting
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#3_July_2021_%28Urgent%3A_Elon_Musk%27s_union-busting%29

content:
<p>

US citizens: call on Congress to stop Elon Musk's union-busting by
<a href="https://actionnetwork.org/forms/sign-now-stop-elon-musks-union-busting-with-the-american-jobs-plan">passing the American Jobs Plan</a>.

<p>The Capitol Switchboard number is 202-224-3121.</p>
<p>If you call, please spread the word!<p>


feed_id: bbd9d3b39d313fe3842f5005cc0763bd
title: Alcohol addiction
uri: Alcohol-addiction
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#5_July_2021_%28Alcohol_addiction%29
content:
<p>
*   Alcohol addiction has long been romanticised in films, TV shows, books
   and adverts. Let’s stop glossing over the destructive drudgery and
   <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2021/jul/04/time-to-face-the-brutal-truth-theres-no-glamour-at-the-bottom-of-a-glass">sheer sorrow of the disease</a>.*


feed_id: 4b430a27083b543565535b9220fef089
title: Defending monuments to the Confederacy
uri: Defending-monuments-to-the-Confederacy
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#5_July_2021_%28Defending_monuments_to_the_Confederacy%29

content:
<p>
Suggested tactics for defending monuments to the Confederacy <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jul/04/sons-of-confederate-veterans-manual-statues-symbols">include avoiding
the topics of race and slavery</a>.

<p>
The whitewashing of the Confederacy has always been based on pretending
that the Civil War was not about whether to end slavery.


feed_id: 12122974e4758c227097f2bb036f2fb8
title: Making nomad life impossible
uri: Making-nomad-life-impossible
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#5_July_2021_%28Making_nomad_life_impossible%29
content:
<p>
One aspect of the Tories' proposed broad repression law would be to
make nomadic life almost impossible, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jul/04/our-traditions-way-of-life-and-culture-are-under-threat-gypsy-leader-warns-patel">as they would be effectively
forbidden to stop almost anywhere</a>.

<p>
People who live in vehicles because they can no longer afford anywhere else
would also be targeted.


feed_id: 389709021e433bb8affdc18301a812ef
title: Fashion brands and slavery
uri: Fashion-brands-and-slavery
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#5_July_2021_%28Fashion_brands_and_slavery%29
content:
<p>
*France investigates fashion brands <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jul/02/france-investigates-fashion-brands-over-forced-uyghur-labour-claims">over forced Uyghur labour claims</a>.*


feed_id: b60aa91448649f73ea16a73d78fed28c
title: Colonies
uri: Colonies
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#5_July_2021_%28Colonies%29
content:
<p>
The deal that removed Israeli fanatics from their illegally
constructed colony in Palestine <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jul/02/israeli-coalition-faces-early-test-over-illegal-west-bank-settlement-evyatar">seems to be designed to create an
excuse to permit them to return soon</a>.


feed_id: 6b87a496a899d03393eee4eeb2396344
title: Coastguards and migrants
uri: Coastguards-and-migrants
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#5_July_2021_%28Coastguards_and_migrants%29
content:
<p>
*Libyan coastguards "<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2021/jul/02/libyan-coastguards-fired-on-and-tried-to-ram-migrant-boat-ngo">fired on and tried to ram migrant boat</a>".*

<p>
European countries support the Libyan Coast Guard, so one has to
wonder whether this support amounts to recruiting Libyan help to kill
migrants.


feed_id: a9aaf23ad9101eca6d732100ac797c4c
title: Longer extreme weather
uri: Longer-extreme-weather
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#5_July_2021_%28Longer_extreme_weather%29
content:
<p>
Climate models show that <a href="https://stallman.org/glossary.html#global heating">global heating</a> causes more instances of
extreme weather, but there is a secondary effect, not included in the
models, that causes extreme weather to get stuck for longer in one
place.  <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jul/02/canadian-inferno-northern-heat-exceeds-worst-case-climate-models">This makes the effect even more extreme</a>.


feed_id: 976ddd1f93956d1779efdff279f17f12
title: John McAfee
uri: 2021-07-05-John-McAfee
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#5_July_2021_%28John_McAfee%29
content:
<p>
A report from the prison says that John McAfee <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/legal-spain-usa-mcafee/mcafee-attempted-suicide-months-before-death-in-spanish-jail-prisons-source-says-idUSKCN2E81S2">tried to commit suicide
at the end of February</a>.


feed_id: 34c323c7536054affbce299c8a20c221
title: Dealing with FARC splinter groups
uri: Dealing-with-FARC-splinter-groups
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#5_July_2021_%28Dealing_with_FARC_splinter_groups%29
content:
<p>
Venezuela jailed Javier Tarazona after he claimed that the government
<a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-rights/venezuelan-police-detain-head-of-human-rights-group-idUSKCN2E82CZ">had dealings with Colombian FARC splinter groups</a>.


feed_id: e31846a71c331097da45587a85433472
title: Worsening famine
uri: Worsening-famine
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#5_July_2021_%28Worsening_famine%29
content:
<p>
*UN warns <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ethiopia-conflict-un/u-n-warns-of-worsening-famine-in-ethiopias-tigray-idUSKCN2E82D4">of worsening famine in Ethiopia's Tigray</a>.*
  The famine is at least partly caused by the civil war.


feed_id: 8f9722dd81785d525af8d2610cebb509
title: Donald Rumsfeld
uri: Donald-Rumsfeld
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#5_July_2021_%28Donald_Rumsfeld%29
content:
<p>
(<a href="https://www.theonion.com/rumsfeld-family-immediately-squabbling-over-who-will-in-1847207277">satire</a>) *Rumsfeld Family Immediately Squabbling Over Who Will Inherit
Mounted Heads Of Iraqi Civilians.*

<p>
(<a href="https://www.theonion.com/donald-rumsfeld-survived-by-1-million-fewer-iraqis-1847206941">satire</a>) *Donald Rumsfeld Survived By 1 Million Fewer Iraqis.*


feed_id: 43f3e23eb965665cd319c85eb10d97aa
title: Large events requirements
uri: Large-events-requirements
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#5_July_2021_%28Large_events_requirements%29
content:
<p>
Large events in the UK require participants to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/money/2021/jul/01/covid-ticketing-rules-exclude-people-not-online-from-major-events">(1) run nonfree
software to get a ticket and (2) identify themselves</a>.

<p>
There is no justification for requiring nonfree software &mdash; they could
do the job with free software.  Rather than run the nonfree software,
I would choose not to go.  It isn't the end of the world to stay away.

<p>
Identification is a more complex issue.  I can't argue with the
importance of contact tracing for beating Covid-19, if the country
makes a serious attempt to do that.  Some countries try to do that
carefully, but I don't think the Tories have tried.  <a href="https://www.stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#18_June_2021_(Business_deregulation)">They give the
contracts to incompetent companies for political reasons</a>.
  For the same reason, I feel safer staying away from those events.
I wouldn't even think of going if I were not fully vaccinated.
But even vaccinated people have a small but significant chance
of catching the Delta variant.


feed_id: d67cbe7308a401d703b923dbf9cbf787
title: Jellyfish ocean
uri: Jellyfish-ocean
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#5_July_2021_%28Jellyfish_ocean%29
content:
<p>
As we pollute the sea and overcatch fish, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jul/03/it-looked-like-an-alien-with-tentacles-wrapped-around-her-jellyfish-here-to-ruin-your-summer-holiday">we are driving the seas towards
mainly jellyfish</a>.


feed_id: b6274d91bd41e075ec2e879ae9ba3cfb
title: Guantanamo prisoners
uri: 2021-07-05-Guantanamo-prisoners
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#5_July_2021_%28Guantanamo_prisoners%29
content:
<p>
23 Guantanamo prisoners have been "released" to the UAE, which said
they would be free after some months, but every one has been kept in
prison ever since.  One may be sent to Russia <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jul/03/former-guantanamo-detainee-faces-forced-repatriation-to-russia-after-release-say-experts">for more torture and
imprisonment</a>.


feed_id: 89d11522b187fdd71b254da914c88328
title: Urgent: Climate-focused infrastructure bill
uri: Urgent-Climate-focused-infrastructure-bill
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#6_July_2021_%28Urgent%3A_Climate-focused_infrastructure_bill%29

content:
<p>
US citizens: <a href="http://act.democracyforamerica.com/sign/reconciliation_for_infrastructure_/">call on Biden and Senate Democrats</a> to Use reconciliation
to pass a robust climate-focused infrastructure bill.


feed_id: bdf6954b233dc2ae19e203d338f17113
title: Damaged concrete
uri: Damaged-concrete
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#6_July_2021_%28Damaged_concrete%29
content:
<p>
The condo board of the collapsed Florida apartment building <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jul/03/miami-condo-collapse-board-debate">disputed for
a long time what to do about the damaged concrete</a>.

<p>
I can understand the disagreement in the board.  The owners of the
building were the residents; some of them might have been bankrupted
by a $100,000 expense.  If they had realized that the alternative was
likely to include collapse of the building, I suppose they would have
closed the pool and said "Fix the damage right away," or moved out
immediately if the collapse was likely to happen soon.  But the
engineers did not tell them (and I suppose did not know) that collapse
was likely.

<p>
What a dilemma.


feed_id: 780f078106d7db0e46a491c66ffb2b74
title: Urgent: reject Journalism Competition and Preservation Act
uri: Urgent-reject-Journalism-Competition-and-Preservation-Act
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#6_July_2021_%28Urgent%3A_reject_Journalism_Competition_and_Preservation_Act%29

content:
<p>
US citizens: <a href="https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/dont-kill-local-independent-news-protect-the-right-to-share-online-stop-rupert-murdochs-jcpa?nowrapper=true">call on Congress</a> to reject the "Journalism Competition
and Preservation Act".  It threatens fair use, and would give big media
additional advantages over smaller competitors.


feed_id: 9fb7de96753ae62793af68310ac5b73c
title: Urgent: leniency for Daniel Hale
uri: Urgent-leniency-for-Daniel-Hale
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#6_July_2021_%28Urgent%3A_leniency_for_Daniel_Hale%29

content:
<p>
Everyone: <a href="https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/us-drone-warfare-whistleblower-daniel-hale-is-headed-to-sentencing-tell-the-judge-to-grant-him-leniency?nowrapper=true">call for leniency</a> for whistleblower Daniel Hale.


feed_id: f1d446392cc8187e2b5acab7aad6cab7
title: Denouncing pipeline
uri: Denouncing-pipeline
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#6_July_2021_%28Denouncing_pipeline%29
content:
<p>
Minneapolis denounced the Line 3 pipeline <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/07/02/protesters-face-felonies-minneapolis-city-council-joins-opposition-line-3">and called for its cancellation</a>.


feed_id: 619dabcea23ca4d8596e9698384b8efc
title: Genetic disease cured
uri: Genetic-disease-cured
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#6_July_2021_%28Genetic_disease_cured%29
content:
<p>
A genetic disease has been cured in several patients <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2021/06/26/1009817539/he-inherited-a-devastating-disease-a-crispr-gene-editing-breakthrough-stopped-it">by injecting a
CRISPR-Cas9 gene editor into their bloodstream</a>.


feed_id: 226a4f17265b009751a6b0272ccd28b3
title: Bill Cosby
uri: Bill-Cosby
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#6_July_2021_%28Bill_Cosby%29
content:
<p>
Bill Cosby's rape conviction was thrown out because it was based on
using his own testimony (for a civil suit), <a href="https://apnews.com/article/bill-cosby-conviction-overturned-5c073fb64bc5df4d7b99ee7fadddbe5a">which he gave in return
for a promise not to prosecute him</a>.

<p>
I have no reason to doubt the trial's conclusion that Cosby was guilty
of rape.  Punishing rapists is important.

<p>
But it's even more important not to let governments cheat and trick
people by making a promise not to prosecute and then breaking it.  The
right to refuse self-incrimination is an endangered fundamental
liberty, and we must protect it &mdash; even though sometimes it protects
real criminals who committed real crimes that call for real
punishment.


feed_id: 94771d344d24b28e7f76963029afc8f9
title: Child slavery
uri: Child-slavery
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#6_July_2021_%28Child_slavery%29
content:
<p>
*On Ghana's Lake Volta, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/03/opinions/lisa-kristine-lake-volta-spc-intl/index.html">child slavery is in plain sight</a>.*


feed_id: 8aa2d236fbfc720535cbc50e6fc29e8c
title: Decriminalizing drug possession
uri: Decriminalizing-drug-possession
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#6_July_2021_%28Decriminalizing_drug_possession%29
content:
<p>
A bill to decriminalize drug possession <a href="https://drugpolicy.org/press-release/2021/06/us-house-representatives-bonnie-watson-coleman-cori-bush-introduce-federal">has been introduced in Congress</a>.


feed_id: 3c4ee696f95b91a524bd525520d2cd4d
title: Firing striking nurses
uri: Firing-striking-nurses
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#6_July_2021_%28Firing_striking_nurses%29
content:
<p>
Multinational hospital chain owner Tenet Healthcare plans to fire the
striking nurses in one US hospital.  They are on strike demanding
safe levels of staffing.  Tenet's aim is to be able <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2021/07/02/joe-bidens-patco-moment">to maintain
insufficient levels in the US and perhaps in other countries</a>.

<p>
I think we should put an end to for-profit hospitals, I know that the
managemment of nonprofit hospitals often engages in some of the same
harmful actions, but I suspect that the for-profit competition
encourages this.


feed_id: 3985e567eb8d162a53a595f941b693cb
title: Global minimum tax deal
uri: Global-minimum-tax-deal
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#6_July_2021_%28Global_minimum_tax_deal%29
content:
<p>
Oxfam denounced the global minimum tax deal <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/07/02/oxfam-denounces-oecd-global-tax-deal-skewed-rich-and-completely-unfair">because of its designed-in
loopholes</a>.


feed_id: cb7dc3611ef02e24347615806c17eb0e
title: Deep sea animals
uri: Deep-sea-animals
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#6_July_2021_%28Deep_sea_animals%29
content:
<p>
As people learn more about animals of the deep sea, we might start
overfishing them <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/02/world/ocean-twilight-zone-whoi-c2e-scn-spc-intl/index.html">without understanding that we are doing so</a>.


feed_id: 36f674260f8ec942ce097a1795e54b25
title: Online tickets
uri: Online-tickets
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#6_July_2021_%28Online_tickets%29
content:
<p>
Some events sell tickets only online, and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/money/2021/jul/01/covid-ticketing-rules-exclude-people-not-online-from-major-events">allow only the person
that purchased the ticket to use it</a>.

<p>
Aside from excluding people who can't personally purchase a ticket
that way, this system does something even worse: it violates the
privacy of everyone that attends.

<p>
Since you're not going to be compelled to attend, refuse!


feed_id: 95f9ebc58213c2b2c1f0146149531908
title: Surprise medical bills
uri: Surprise-medical-bills
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#6_July_2021_%28Surprise_medical_bills%29
content:
<p>
New US regulations <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/01/politics/surprise-medical-bills-rule/index.html">attempt to check the practice of surprise enormous
medical bills</a>.


feed_id: 7fe5ea79d48a4b7505642614aba106f1
title: False testimony against Assange
uri: False-testimony-against-Assange
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#6_July_2021_%28False_testimony_against_Assange%29
content:
<p>
Sigurdur Ingi Thordarson, a former Wikileaks volunteer, has admitted
he had given the FBI false testimony <a href="https://stundin.is/grein/13627/key-witness-in-assange-case-admits-to-lies-in-indictment/">making false accusations against
Julian Assange</a>.

<p>
The article shows how the US indictment against Assange repeats some
of Thordarson's accusations.

<p>
He initially offered his fabrications to the FBI to try to get out of
possible charges for embezzling money from Wikileaks.  In 2019,the FBI
gave him immunity from prosecution on other charges in exchange for
this testimony against Assange.

<p>
The article reconciles the US assertion that the push to indict
Assange started only under the <a href="https://stallman.org/glossary.html#bully">bully</a>, with the evidence that the
efforts to indict Assange started while Obama was president.


feed_id: fc6628e2ae2e991026a6aa779e349e9d
title: Urgent: reject Journalism Competition and Preservation Act
uri: 2021-07-07-Urgent-reject-Journalism-Competition-and-Preservation-Act
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#7_July_2021_%28Urgent%3A_reject_Journalism_Competition_and_Preservation_Act%29

content:
<p>
US citizens: <a href="https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/dont-kill-local-independent-news-protect-the-right-to-share-online-stop-rupert-murdochs-jcpa?nowrapper=true">call on Congress</a> to reject the "Journalism Competition
and Preservation Act".
  It threatens fair use, and would give big media
added advantages over small competitors.


feed_id: bd64185c89e3b45ce0cc3ca266319244
title: Rescue ship seized
uri: Rescue-ship-seized
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#7_July_2021_%28Rescue_ship_seized%29
content:
<p>
Italy <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-libya-migrants-msf/msf-denounces-seizure-of-migrant-rescue-vessel-in-italy-idUSKCN2EB0WD">has seized another ship that rescued migrants at sea</a>.


feed_id: 4f7597098713a140e84f590d1d1f63a9
title: Death of political prisoner
uri: Death-of-political-prisoner
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#7_July_2021_%28Death_of_political_prisoner%29
content:
<p>
*Fury in India over death <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jul/05/indias-oldest-political-prisoner-stan-swamy-dies-aged-84">of 84-year-old political prisoner Stan Swamy</a>.*

<p>
He and other activists for human rights and against caste prejudice
were charged with "terrorism", based on files found on one of their
computers &mdash; files which analysis suggests were planted by crackers.

<p>
Modi's officials may not have been interested in reasons to doubt
the conclusion they wanted to believe.


feed_id: 38bb611afc1baae9d215378478b51863
title: Variant factories
uri: Variant-factories
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#7_July_2021_%28Variant_factories%29
content:
<p>
*UK scientists caution that lifting of Covid rules <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jul/04/uk-scientists-caution-that-lifting-of-covid-rules-is-like-building-variant-factories">is like building "variant
factories"</a>.*

<p>
This is true &mdash; but meanwhile there are enormous "variant factories" in the
unvaccinated countries.  We need to get almost everyone vaccinated
for Covid-19, so we can eradicate it.


feed_id: 86a9c05238cae8e5440bbaaf72febbeb
title: Taliban on the move
uri: Taliban-on-the-move
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#7_July_2021_%28Taliban_on_the_move%29
content:
<p>
The Taliban are rapidly taking over large parts of Afghanistan.
Government soldiers <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jul/04/hundreds-of-afghan-security-forces-flee-as-districts-fall-to-taliban">either run away or surrender happily</a>.

<p>
It is interesting that the areas which fought the Taliban bitterly 20
years ago show no interest in fighting it now.  Perhaps the opposition
back then was due to loyalty to the individual warlords that lead them.

<p>
It is clear that those soldiers don't feel a strong commitment to 
the current government's cause.  That, I think, is why the Taliban
are winning.  The Taliban inspire loyalty.  How sad it is to see people
invest their loyalty in a fanatical religion.

<p>
I am also sad about the religious repression that Afghan women will
face under the Taliban.  But I can't consider forever war better.

<p>
What can these women do?  Some years ago, they could perhaps have
formed militia units determined to defeat the Taliban.  With real
commitment to the cause, just what the Afghan army lacks, they might
perhaps have won.  But it seems too late to start now.

<p>
At this point, I think their only hope of avoiding some of the
Taliban's oppression is to seek asylum in other countries.


feed_id: 747f54a328763e3ac7dd70d21a4c6b33
title: DNA-sequencing of babies
uri: DNA-sequencing-of-babies
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#7_July_2021_%28DNA-sequencing_of_babies%29
content:
<p>
An article about the possibility of DNA-sequencing every baby born in
the UK does not mention <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/2021/jul/04/whole-genome-sequencing-of-all-uk-newborns-would-have-public-support">that this would be a giant collection of
biometric identification data</a>.


feed_id: bff6c9f181ef7126679c4f421f00dee8
title: Vanity plates
uri: Vanity-plates
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#7_July_2021_%28Vanity_plates%29
content:
<p>
Freedom of speech <a href="https://theintercept.com/2021/07/04/milf-mobile-maine-free-speech/">as applied to vanity plates</a>.


feed_id: 2012ad9882b1f78634579a6980d6c453
title: Making of show of climate defense
uri: Making-of-show-of-climate-defense
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#7_July_2021_%28Making_of_show_of_climate_defense%29
content:
<p>
Greta Thunberg rebukes politicians <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/07/02/nature-and-physics-will-not-fall-it-greta-thunberg-rips-climate-theatrics-world">for only making a show of
defending Earth's climate</a>.
  Even if this fools many people, it won't fool the air.


feed_id: c85d767e1cf1dd066e7c2c5c7c78151f
title: Thugs using copyright
uri: Thugs-using-copyright
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#7_July_2021_%28Thugs_using_copyright%29
content:
<p>
A <a href="https://stallman.org/glossary.html#thug">thug</a> tried to use copyright law to block publication of recordings
of <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/07/02/cops-effort-censor-witness-video-copyrighted-taylor-swift-song-backfires">how he was treating the protesters at Black Lives Matter event</a>.
   It wasn't the first time.

<p>
A human US judge could rule that the right to publish news of events
overrides copyright law.  The <a href="https://stallman.org/glossary.html#thug">thugs</a> expect that automatic copyright
censorship filters will not be able to make such a judgment.

<p>
I support Black Lives Matter, but I would equally condemn <a href="https://stallman.org/glossary.html#thug">thugs</a> for
doing this to people supporting any other cause, even a cause I
oppose.  (However, <a href="https://stallman.org/glossary.html#thug">thugs</a> tend to be friendly and helpful to supporters
of right-wing causes.)

<p>
It would be ironic if the <a href="https://stallman.org/glossary.html#thug">thug</a> gets sued for public performance of the
song.  That too is copyright infringement.  But I do not hope that
this happens, because it too would increase the unjust power of
copyright.


feed_id: 9715f558c3984ee606d559457679f9c0
title: Importance of democracy
uri: Importance-of-democracy
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#7_July_2021_%28Importance_of_democracy%29
content:
<p>
(<a href="https://www.theonion.com/congressional-democrats-put-on-elaborate-4th-of-july-pa-1847170824">satire</a>) *Congressional Democrats Put On Elaborate 4th Of July Pageant
To Teach Republicans Importance Of Democracy.*


feed_id: e822079637a717953b4460f43994973a
title: Enjoy economy
uri: Enjoy-economy
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#7_July_2021_%28Enjoy_economy%29
content:
<p>
(<a href="https://www.theonion.com/labor-department-announces-plans-to-stop-counting-jobs-1847220571">satire</a>) *Labor Department Announces Plans To Stop Counting Jobs And
Just Enjoy Economy.*


feed_id: 0b934b794e509639bfeac37325905ec7
title: Not really said
uri: Not-really-said
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#7_July_2021_%28Not_really_said%29
content:
<p>
Exxon's CEO is trying to tell people that the admissions about its
planet-roasting lobbying <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/07/02/isnt-apology-its-cover-exxonmobil-ceo-slammed-new-statement-expose">were not really said, so we should forget them</a>.


feed_id: 5c2a93ea7c85245a6986b00dc12f5674
title: Glyphosate
uri: 2021-07-07-Glyphosate
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#7_July_2021_%28Glyphosate%29
content:
<p>
Europe decided to authorize glyphosate based on experiments
carried out by companies, then described in secret reports written
and submitted by companies.  These reports have become public and show
important flaws; <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/jul/02/glyphosate-herbicide-roundup-corporate-safety-studies">they don't prove that glyphosate is safe</a>.

<p>
No wonder the companies kept them secret.

<p>
Clearly these regulatory decisions should not accept secret studies
carried out by companies with an interest in the outcome.

<p>
For medicines, I've argued that tests of their effectiveness and
safety should be independent of the companies involved with producing
and selling them.
   Perhaps that should apply to pesticides, too.

<p>
It is pertinent that one report says that glyphosate caused cancer
specifically when mixed with other chemicals, <a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2020-jan-apr.html#6_February_2020_(Reapproving_glyphosate)">as occurs in Roundup</a>.
  That one study may not be proof enough, but shows the need to test
Roundup as well as pure glyphosate.


feed_id: d838c08a59f9a7f2bd25873479123158
title: What was the point
uri: What-was-the-point
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#7_July_2021_%28What_was_the_point%29
content:
<p>
*'What was the point?' <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-afghanistan-bagram/what-was-the-point-afghans-rue-decades-of-war-as-u-s-quits-bagram-idUSKCN2E90FL">Afghans rue decades of war as U.S. quits Bagram</a>.*

<p>
If the US had achieved its war aims, the war could have been worth its
human and financial cost, which would have been small.  But once it
became clear that that was no longer possible, there was no point in
continuing the war any longer.

<p>
(<a href="https://www.theonion.com/someone-s-gotta-occupy-afghanistan-grumbles-dick-che-1847220332">satire</a>) *"Someone's Gotta Occupy Afghanistan," Grumbles Dick Cheney,
Shoving Firearms Into Suitcase.*


feed_id: 7050953aac3968df9e0f4c876e66899d
title: Heat wave
uri: Heat-wave
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#7_July_2021_%28Heat_wave%29
content:
<p>
The northwest US heat wave <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/07/02/scientists-call-northwest-heatwave-most-extreme-world-weather-records">was the most extreme heat wave ever recorded</a>.

<p>
Forecasting some of the extreme weather disasters <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2021/07/02/only-beginning-its-about-get-much-harder">we will experience
at 1.5 C, 2C, 3C and 4C of global heating</a>.
  Meanwhile, the world may reach 1.5C by 2025,
showing the trying to avoid that by actions with targets in 2050.


feed_id: 45c5fe54e77e755094633cd24117ed00
title: Urgent: Tell House and Senate not to meet with Exxon's representatives
uri: Urgent-Tell-House-and-Senate-not-to-meet-with-Exxon-s-representatives
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#7_July_2021_%28Urgent%3A_Tell_House_and_Senate_not_to_meet_with_Exxon%27s_representatives%29

content:
<p>

US citizens: call on your congresscritter and senators to <a href="https://act.350.org/letter/never-exxon-pledge/">refuse to meet</a> with
Exxon's representatives.

<p>The Capitol Switchboard number is 202-224-3121.</p>
<p>If you call, please spread the word!</p>


feed_id: 6d01ebc20b6e15fb2e368587d117433b
title: Urged not to restrict protests
uri: Urged-not-to-restrict-protests
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#7_July_2021_%28Urged_not_to_restrict_protests%29
content:
<p>

The Council of Europe's human rights representative urged the UK
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/law/2021/jul/05/europe-rights-tsar-urges-mps-peers-oppose-protest-curbs">not to restrict</a> protests.


feed_id: 3cce704503be295179f98825e19269ab
title: Mental health problems
uri: Mental-health-problems
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#7_July_2021_%28Mental_health_problems%29
content:
<p>

Isolating people for long times causes <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/jul/05/lockdown-mental-health-pandemic">mental problems</a>.  So does
working in an overloaded hospital, getting badly sick, and having
friends and relatives die.  It is a mistake to assume it is better to
let people spread Covid-19 ad libitum.


feed_id: 2d8cb4e3b9a066475dba2223f73dec20
title: Investment fund in Norway
uri: Investment-fund-in-Norway
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#7_July_2021_%28Investment_fund_in_Norway%29
content:
<p>

A large pension fund in Norway has <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-israel-investment-norway-klp/nordic-fund-klp-excludes-16-companies-over-links-to-israeli-settlements-in-west-bank-idUSKCN2EB0O2">refused investment</a> in 16 companies
because of their connections to Israel's colonies in Palestinian
territory.


feed_id: 3d9c91d6f3b4818367e68bf17462d014
title: Fired by a robot
uri: Fired-by-a-robot
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#7_July_2021_%28Fired_by_a_robot%29
content:
<p>

What's even worse than working under robot supervision in an Amazon warehouse?
Being <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/jul/05/amazon-worker-fired-app-dystopia">fired by a robot</a> in an Amazon warehouse.
<p>
You can help put an end to this: don't order anything from <a href="amazon.html">Amazon</a>.
<p>
You could even recover some of your freedom by joining me in not
ordering things online.  Saying no even once is helping.


feed_id: 6987ad52aa7f9e83c6f2d05d961d7ad5
title: Altering people's dreams
uri: Altering-people-s-dreams
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#7_July_2021_%28Altering_people%27s_dreams%29
content:
<p>

Companies are studying what they can achieve with advertising <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/2021/jul/05/advertisers-targeted-dream-incubation">designed to
alter people's dreams</a>.
<p>
The clean and simple solution to this problem, which would solve many
other problems, would be not to have computerized speakers in your
home controlled by nonfree software.  That gives companies the power
to do many nasty things to you.  But most people consider that such
a radical change that it can't even be proposed.


feed_id: f052ddff6fe35c9186194be2c5873848
title: Pelosi's select committee
uri: Pelosi-s-select-committee
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#7_July_2021_%28Pelosi%27s_select_committee%29
content:
<p>

*Capitol attack: what Pelosi’s select committee is <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jul/05/capitol-attack-committee-nancy-pelosi-trump">likely to investigate</a>.*


feed_id: 7d82703e0456f947d4e2339d60ea51bb
title: South Korea mRNA vaccine
uri: South-Korea-mRNA-vaccine
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#7_July_2021_%28South_Korea_mRNA_vaccine%29
content:
<p>

*South Korea in talks with mRNA vaccine makers to <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-southkorea-vaccine/exclusive-south-korea-in-talks-with-mrna-vaccine-makers-to-make-up-to-1-billion-doses-government-official-idUSKCN2EB07O">make up to 1 billion
doses</a>.*
<p>
This has the potential to be of great help in eliminating the danger
of Covid-19.  To vaccinate the world faster, we need faster production
of vaccines.


feed_id: 8d22e9abb40b679aa0850085837a38d3
title: Public warning of global heating
uri: Public-warning-of-global-heating
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#7_July_2021_%28Public_warning_of_global_heating%29
content:
<p>

<a href="https://stallman.org/glossary.html#global heating">Global heating</a> was having effects in the 1960s that can be recognized
in hindsight.  There was even some government concern about the issue.
But it was the 1970s when the public <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/2021/jul/05/sixty-years-of-climate-change-warnings-the-signs-that-were-missed-and-ignored">started to receive warnings</a>.


feed_id: b84281d2d3fd4a7ba53d91691f145dfb
title: UK ends distancing measures
uri: UK-ends-distancing-measures
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#7_July_2021_%28UK_ends_distancing_measures%29
content:
<p>

The UK has decided to end anti-Covid distancing measures and invite
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jul/04/politics-trumps-covid-science-in-javids-push-to-live-with-the-virus">spreading of the disease</a>.


feed_id: 5758b445d2f3ae9964a2b342067d1fcf
title: Federal executions
uri: Federal-executions
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#7_July_2021_%28Federal_executions%29
content:
<p>

*US <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jul/01/us-federal-executions-halted-attorney-general">halts all federal executions</a> amid review of capital punishment.*
<p>
This may be the effect of Biden's disapproval of the death penalty.
It could lead to ending the death penalty for federal crimes.


feed_id: 64f0fb73ce2e8f9af065fe5fa767f759
title: Making elections less fair
uri: Making-elections-less-fair
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#7_July_2021_%28Making_elections_less_fair%29
content:
<p>

The Supreme Court is eagerly <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/01/politics/voting-rights-act-supreme-court-ruling/index.html">seeking opportunities</a> to allow states to
make elections less fair.  First, by accepting voting rules that
interfere with poor voters; second, by ensuring the rich can use their
money to do more than vote.


feed_id: 90926c9383e6584a4a30d6b7099b40b2
title: Nina Turner
uri: Nina-Turner
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#7_July_2021_%28Nina_Turner%29
content:
<p>

Nina Turner is running in an <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/06/30/clyburn-intervention-seen-latest-salvo-dem-establishments-bid-stop-nina-turner">Ohio Democratic primary for Congress</a>.
She has worked for Sanders and eagerly supports Medicare for All.  Her
plutocratist opponent gets campaign support from Big Pharma, and gets
endorsements from politicians funded by Big Pharma.


feed_id: edce468883676934e682542f03b23e3b
title: Personal data about students
uri: Personal-data-about-students
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#7_July_2021_%28Personal_data_about_students%29
content:
<p>

Bill Gates is funding an effort to make it easier to <a href="https://www.edweek.org/technology/why-school-district-data-systems-are-so-messed-up-a-new-coalition-wants-to-help/2021/06">collect and analyze
personal data</a> about students.  Easier for schools.  Easier for companies.
<p>
They talk about protecting students' privacy.  What they mean is,
protecting it from third parties who were not officially supposed to
get the data.  As for protecting the students' privacy from the
companies that have dealt themselves in, they exclude that from the
definition of "privacy".
<p>
If the school gives a student's real name to any company, or any other
identifying data, that already <a href="https://gnu.org/philosophy/surveillance-vs-democracy.html">violates the student's privacy</a>.


feed_id: 7c8d7e49d0419c4839805384c3024c09
title: Russian gas
uri: Russian-gas
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#7_July_2021_%28Russian_gas%29
content:
<p>

Russia demonstrates the power it gets from Europe's dependence on
Russian gas by <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-russia-nordstream/gazprom-holds-back-exports-via-ukraine-pressing-case-for-nord-stream-2-analysts-idUSKCN2E81CA">pressuring European countries</a> to invest in continuing,
long-lasting dependence on Russian gas.
<p>
This should remind Europe that the whole world needs to quickly cut
down its use of natural gas, Russian or not.  If Nord Stream 2 is
still in use 10 years from now, that will mean the world has failed to
protect itself from <a href="https://stallman.org/glossary.html#global heating">global heating</a>.
<p>
If Nord Stream 2 is <em>not</em> still in use 10 years from now, building it
will have been a waste of money.  Europe should not spend another eurocent
on that bad investment.
<p>
Cutting it off now will punish Putin where it really hurts.


feed_id: b298ae58d748985c51ba164da1791ef7
title: Unsubstantiated claim
uri: Unsubstantiated-claim
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#7_July_2021_%28Unsubstantiated_claim%29
content:
<p>

The level of belief in the <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2021/07/01/coronavirus-lab-leak-theory-not-disproven-unlikely">unsubstantiated claim</a> that SARS-Cov-2
leaked from a lab demonstrates the powerful effect of a loud chorus
repeating the same claim.
<p>
This gives the wrecker his power.


feed_id: 479f38e935c8e9efade99f3280fefdf6
title: Undermining of the NHS
uri: Undermining-of-the-NHS
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#7_July_2021_%28Undermining_of_the_NHS%29
content:
<p>

Britons are protesting against the Tories' <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2021/jul/03/protest-groups-to-call-for-end-to-nhs-underfunding-and-understaffing">undermining of the NHS</a> and their
plan to privatize it step by step.


feed_id: 5e643405affcc14d8aa9480c98dfc1fa
title: Biden's foreign policy
uri: Biden-s-foreign-policy
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#7_July_2021_%28Biden%27s_foreign_policy%29
content:
<p>

*Why Is <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2021/07/04/why-bidens-foreign-policy-so-conventional">Biden's Foreign Policy</a> So... Conventional?*


feed_id: 80979b82675bdbd413ea88d9e2fc18e4
title: Climate crisis is a workers' rights issue
uri: Climate-crisis-is-a-workers-rights-issue
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#7_July_2021_%28Climate_crisis_is_a_workers%27_rights_issue%29

content:
<p>

*The Heat Wave Shows [the climate crisis] Is a <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2021/07/04/heat-wave-shows-climate-change-workers-rights-issue">Workers' Rights Issue</a>.*
Particularly for the low-paid workers that can't work in air conditioning.


feed_id: fb8ab7ae91f1e1c740120f799218862b
title: Oil pipeline in Tennessee
uri: Oil-pipeline-in-Tennessee
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#7_July_2021_%28Oil_pipeline_in_Tennessee%29
content:
<p>

<a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/07/04/triumph-environmental-justice-oil-companies-scrap-pipeline-plans-amid-grassroots">Public pressure</a> has cancelled plans for a new oil pipeline in Tennessee.


feed_id: d0b37078f7cd03a8caab1d40838d3365
title: US sued for blocking Keystone XL
uri: US-sued-for-blocking-Keystone-XL
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#7_July_2021_%28US_sued_for_blocking_Keystone_XL%29
content:
<p>

A pipeline company is using a business-supremacy treaty to <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/04/business/tc-energy-pipeline-climate/index.html">sue the US</a>
for blocking the Keystone XL pipeline.
It demands 15 billion dollars.
<p>
It does not deserve to get any of that money.  The approval of that
pipeline was the result of <a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2013-jan-apr.html#11_April_2013_(Planet_roaster_pipeline)">lobbying and lies</a> by many fossil fuel
companies, starting in the 1970s,
which warped the US government (and others) to act in the interest
of <a href="https://stallman.org/glossary.html#planet">planet roasters</a> rather than the public interest.  If this influence
has come to an end, and it blocks <a href="https://stallman.org/glossary.html#planet">planet roasters</a> from doing some
harm, that means it is acting properly.  The <a href="https://stallman.org/glossary.html#planet">planet roasters</a> will owe
damages for the damage they succeeded in carrying out.


feed_id: 4caf998a212b2c30d0861796170aacb3
title: Assaulting Journalists
uri: Assaulting-Journalists
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#7_July_2021_%28Assaulting_Journalists%29
content:
<p>

*FBI Begins <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/07/03/fbi-begins-arresting-people-accused-assaulting-journalists-capitol-january-6">Arresting People</a> Accused of Assaulting Journalists at Capitol on
January 6.*


feed_id: 36f5c76c25ed4f2d8787fb4e8d2e9dc3
title: Summer Covid cases
uri: Summer-Covid-cases
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#8_July_2021_%28Summer_Covid_cases%29
content:
<p>
*Data predicts <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jul/06/data-predicting-2m-uk-summer-covid-cases-prompts-health-fears">2m UK summer Covid cases with 10m isolating</a>.*

<p>
That is an enormous rate of infection &mdash; almost one in 30 people.


feed_id: c50c31c2cf6e712ba8d70c824adf40b3
title: Abolition of nuclear weapons
uri: Abolition-of-nuclear-weapons
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#8_July_2021_%28Abolition_of_nuclear_weapons%29
content:
<p>
*Twenty-five years ago, the International Court of Justice stated <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2021/07/06/nuclear-disarmament-long-run-here">the
 obligation to negotiate the abolition of nuclear weapons</a>.*
  No progress has been made, except for the non-nuclear deal with Iran
&mdash; which Biden seems to be missing the chance to restore.


feed_id: 9fe8292821a7db36f636a8f1c0b06510
title: Making countries subservient
uri: Making-countries-subservient
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#8_July_2021_%28Making_countries_subservient%29
content:
<p>
The US has concluded that China's diplomatic differences with
Australia <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/jul/07/china-trying-to-cut-australia-out-of-the-herd-with-diplomatic-freeze-us-warns">reflect a strategy of making countries subservient to China
via divide and conquer</a>.
  (That is what I have thought.)

<p>
It is useless to treat this as a minor dispute and hope to resolve it
through diplomacy.  China doesn't want a reasonable solution, it wants
surrender so as to increase its power.


feed_id: 762c07ed0b16ce03e9e8893d3656c89e
title: Divine right of corporations' profit
uri: Divine-right-of-corporations-profit
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#8_July_2021_%28Divine_right_of_corporations%27_profit%29

content:
<p>
We must overturn the divine right of corporations' profit <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2021/07/05/independence-day-and-imperial-ceo">so that they
can't drive us into poverty</a>.


feed_id: 26ed07f585b67383040db650fac51b79
title: Breaking vaccine patents
uri: Breaking-vaccine-patents
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#8_July_2021_%28Breaking_vaccine_patents%29
content:
<p>
*Brazil's lower house <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-brazil-patents/brazils-lower-house-approves-text-of-bill-to-allow-breaking-of-vaccine-patents-idUSKCN2EC2LV">approves text of bill to allow breaking of vaccine
patents</a>.*

<p>
Bolsonaro opposes the bill, as part of his general policy of letting
Covid-19 win.


feed_id: b4b992d53778467e96899288730a41f4
title: Arrest of dual citizen
uri: Arrest-of-dual-citizen
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#8_July_2021_%28Arrest_of_dual_citizen%29
content:
<p>
Turkish agents in Kyrgyzstan arrested a dual citizen and took him to
Turkey for prosecution, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/kyrgyzstan-turkey-detention-int/kyrgyzstan-protests-over-turkeys-detention-of-dual-citizen-idUSKCN2EC1DQ">accused of being an ally of Fethullah Gulen</a>.

<p>
Erdoğan envisions Gulen as the leader of a giant conspiracy and accuses
all those he considers enemies of conspiring with Gulen.  I find those
claims extremely unlikely.


feed_id: 5e8b7d5306f0821092dc58ec4f6185fe
title: Quoting Goebbels
uri: Quoting-Goebbels
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#8_July_2021_%28Quoting_Goebbels%29
content:
<p>
The bullshitter recently <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/05/politics/trump-disinformation-strategy/index.html">quoted Goebbels, Hitler's head of propaganda</a>.

<p>
The bullshitter:
 "If you say it enough and keep saying it, they'll start to believe
   you."

<p>
Joseph Goebbels:
   "If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will
   eventually come to believe it."

<p>
Tomorrow the bullshitter might say the opposite, or anything else whatsoever,
but he will continue to be culpable for his big-lie tactics.


feed_id: 38c45bc0b0b59037c8ea304111edb981
title: Solutions for some
uri: Solutions-for-some
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#8_July_2021_%28Solutions_for_some%29
content:
<p>
The Tories don't care much the Britons who are stuck with firetrap
apartments.  They keep <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/jul/05/government-cladding-scandal-grenfell-inquiry-residents-towers-safe">adopting solutions for some that omit the rest</a>.


feed_id: 61ac5d53532d3bb3a2f62643f2b79db3
title: Graft scheme
uri: Graft-scheme
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#8_July_2021_%28Graft_scheme%29
content:
<p>
*Brazil's Bolsonaro <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-brazil-corruption-bolsonaro/brazils-bolsonaro-implicated-in-alleged-graft-scheme-as-lawmaker-uol-reports-idUSKCN2EB1D4">implicated in alleged graft scheme as lawmaker</a>.*

<p>
Politicians who don't think corruption is wrong, in countries where corruption is widespread, will generally have participated.


feed_id: e9ac114b5b78da568db574ce3f5a575d
title: Abandonment
uri: Abandonment
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#8_July_2021_%28Abandonment%29
content:
<p>
*The Tories’ <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jul/05/the-tories-abandonment-of-responsibility-to-protect-us-from-covid-is-unmasked">abandonment of responsibility to protect us from Covid is
unmasked</a>.*


feed_id: 0d8ded6ab1958cbe2b678718515a5fdd
title: Ordering assassination
uri: Ordering-assassination
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#8_July_2021_%28Ordering_assassination%29
content:
<p>
A former CEO has been convicted <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jul/05/berta-caceres-assassination-roberto-david-castillo-found-guilty">of ordering the assassination 
of Berta Cáceres</a>.
  Her activism was in the way of the dam that his company wanted to
build.  The murder followed years of surveilling her.

<p>
Before being the CEO of that company, he was in the Honduran military and
got training from the US.  I wonder: was that in <a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2006-sep-dec.html#13 December 2006 (Teach torture)">the School of the Americas,
aka WHINSEC and various other names</a>?


feed_id: 2ddd82ace0a825a6c22f12e343dca959
title: Admitting new countries
uri: Admitting-new-countries
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#8_July_2021_%28Admitting_new_countries%29
content:
<p>
Should the EU <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-germany-balkans-merkel/merkel-sees-strategic-case-for-balkan-states-joining-eu-idUSKCN2EB1DZ">admit the remaining Balkan countries</a>?

<p>
They do not have a long or strong tradition of democracy, so it seems
likely that they will go the way of Poland and Hungary.  Before
admitting them, the EU needs to strengthen its ability to stop
countries from going down that path.


feed_id: 276b59375070d120f4892c366080621e
title: As if Covid did not exist anymore
uri: As-if-Covid-did-not-exist-anymore
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#8_July_2021_%28As_if_Covid_did_not_exist_anymore%29
content:
<p>
Spain is suffering from a surge in Covid-19 <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-spain/spains-covid-19-cases-jump-as-youth-infection-surges-idUSKCN2EB1JE">as people there act as if
Covid-19 did not exist any more</a>.

<p>
I am in Spain now, and I take care to remind the people I meet
to take precautions &mdash; and to set an example by doing so myself.


feed_id: 31302cb6ceb01a288d1555f16a327f70
title: Torturing prisoners
uri: 2021-07-08-Torturing-prisoners
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#8_July_2021_%28Torturing_prisoners%29
content:
<p>
Mexico has arrested a former high official of thugs <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mexico-crime/mexico-arrests-ex-top-police-official-over-torture-allegations-idUSKCN2EB1O9">on charges of
torturing prisoners</a>.


feed_id: 7ccdb7151b57269e69ed5bcfe4d32143
title: No lesson learned
uri: No-lesson-learned
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#8_July_2021_%28No_lesson_learned%29
content:
<p>
*The real tragedy of the 2003 U.S. invasion is that virtually none of
 its lessons have been learned. It's easy to understand why. None of
 its perpetrators <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2021/07/05/crimes-donald-rumsfeld-and-reflection-iraq-war">have ever suffered any consequences for the damage
 they inflicted on the country and the world</a>.*

<p>
I think that the death of a million or so Iraqis, and the rise of
PISSI, are additional tragic consequences of <a href="https://stallman.org/glossary.html#dubya">Dubya</a>'s invasion.


feed_id: 12858eb73002e666660c86a895eae88f
title: Urgent: Facial Recognition and Biometric Technology Moratorium Act
uri: Urgent-Facial-Recognition-and-Biometric-Technology-Moratorium-Act
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#8_July_2021_%28Urgent%3A_Facial_Recognition_and_Biometric_Technology_Moratorium_Act%29

content:
<p>

US citizens: call on your congresscritter to <a href="https://act.presente.org/sign/ban-facial-recognition/?t=1008&akid=12861%2E439815%2EysJU8n">support the Facial
Recognition and Biometric Technology Moratorium Act of 2021</a>.
<p>
This is a substantial step forward, but not sufficient.  We must ban face recognition by private parties too, outside of narrow exceptions.

<p>The Capitol Switchboard number is 202-224-3121.</p>
<p>If you call, please spread the word!</p>


feed_id: 590ae251a96780e72540a85f8ba0cfcc
title: Urgent: Abolish the filibuster
uri: Urgent-Abolish-the-filibuster
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#8_July_2021_%28Urgent%3A_Abolish_the_filibuster%29
content:
<p>

US citizens: phone your senators on July 12 to <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/07/06/poor-peoples-campaign-announces-season-nonviolent-direct-action-targeting-us-senate">insist on abolishing
the filibuster</a>.

<p>The Capitol Switchboard number is 202-224-3121.</p>
<p>If you call, please spread the word!</p>


feed_id: f754cda8308378fc76e89491c46f6b20
title: Charged with 150 murders
uri: Charged-with-150-murders
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#8_July_2021_%28Charged_with_150_murders%29
content:
<p>

10 Colombian soldiers have been <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jul/06/colombia-court-military-civilians-killed-false-positives">charged with almost 150 murders</a>,
as part of the "falsos positivos" murder campaign which involved
murdering over 6,000 people around 15 years ago.
<p>
The motive for the murders was to inflate body counts and claim
bounties meant for killing rebels.


feed_id: acac35a6bf524b261193df93472dcaae
title: Repression of political opposition
uri: Repression-of-political-opposition
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#8_July_2021_%28Repression_of_political_opposition%29

content:
<p>

Nicaragua's dictator Ortega is aiming for completeness in the <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-nicaragua-politics/nicaragua-detains-another-five-opposition-leaders-as-ortega-ups-the-ante-idUSKCN2EC269">repression of political opposition</a>.


feed_id: c393ec714ffe8d7c82ee7dcbabe2ee40
title: Privatize medical treatment for the NHS
uri: Privatize-medical-treatment-for-the-NHS
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#8_July_2021_%28Privatize_medical_treatment_for_the_NHS%29

content:
<p>

Tories want to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2021/jul/06/health-bill-could-see-nhs-contracts-awarded-without-tender-process">privatize actual medical treatment</a> for the NHS, and
issue contracts in an informal way that facilitates corruption and
fails to assure competence.


feed_id: 589d9d2ce6b74554f79f84d8b608945f
title: Right-wing threat against El Jueves
uri: Right-wing-threat-against-El-Jueves
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#8_July_2021_%28Right-wing_threat_against_El_Jueves%29

content:
<p>

The right-wing extremist party Vox made a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jul/06/spains-far-right-vox-party-under-fire-for-veiled-twitter-threat-against-editor">hardly-veiled threat of violence</a>
against the editor of El Jueves.
<p>
¡Viva El Jueves!  I often need help to understand it, but once explained,
I enjoy some of it.


feed_id: 7a6e08303448714003a45fa85e2d0736
title: Great Salt Lake is shrinking
uri: Great-Salt-Lake-is-shrinking
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#8_July_2021_%28Great_Salt_Lake_is_shrinking%29
content:
<p>

The Great Salt Lake is <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jul/06/utah-great-salt-lake-shrinking-drought">rapidly shrinking</a>, leaving a dry lake bed
full of arsenic-laden sand that will blow away and poison people.


feed_id: 9c07f6a1412aba340092cb3f2bb7e0aa
title: Trial of Carlos DeLuna
uri: Trial-of-Carlos-DeLuna
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#8_July_2021_%28Trial_of_Carlos_DeLuna%29
content:
<p>

The trial that sentenced Carlos DeLuna to death was an example of
complete <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2021/jul/05/carlos-deluna-innocent-man-executed-murder-documentary">contempt for justice and the rights of the accused</a>.  A proper
investigation would have supported his claim of innocence, but nobody
bothered to investigate.
<p>
This sort of thing (which is not unusual) is one of the reasons to
abolish the death penalty, but not only that.  To convict anyone of
anything with such a shoddy trial, regardless of the severity of the
crime, invites wrong verdicts.  We should change the system so this
does not happen any more.


feed_id: f475c9d62dd8b4904657fe88b1eebd9f
title: UK deportations
uri: UK-deportations
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#8_July_2021_%28UK_deportations%29
content:
<p>

The UK will <a href="https://stallman.org/glossary.html#bully">bully</a> countries into cooperating with deportation of their
nationals, by <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2021/jul/06/uk-to-block-visas-from-countries-refusing-to-take-back-undocumented-migrants">denying visas</a> to other people from those countries.
<p>
It feels like hostage-taking to me.


feed_id: c01f00a84ab2fdad9995650eb9ed15be
title: Prisoners in their own homes
uri: Prisoners-in-their-own-homes
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#8_July_2021_%28Prisoners_in_their_own_homes%29
content:
<p>

The UK's foolhardy decision to eliminate all Covid-19 distancing rules
will make a many people <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2021/jul/06/freedom-day-fear-elderly-people-charities-warn-england-covid">prisoners in their homes</a> for a long time.
<p>
Wearing a mask is a small sacrifice.


feed_id: 820ef22a568f3cbbf2baa4dda2aaf353
title: Elimination of planning rules
uri: Elimination-of-planning-rules
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#8_July_2021_%28Elimination_of_planning_rules%29
content:
<p>

The reason Britain builds too few houses is that investors who own
houses and building sites prefer to hold on to them for later.  The
Tories don't want to change this.  Instead they <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/jul/06/government-reforms-planning-laws-help-housing-crisis">plan to deregulate</a> &mdash;
to eliminate planning rules.
<p>
This will create a big windfall for those investors, and a thousand
local forms of pollution and trouble, but won't do much to reduce
housing prices.


feed_id: 27acac658884d25b0f31e9a3b9e85292
title: The US case against Assange
uri: The-US-case-against-Assange
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#8_July_2021_%28The_US_case_against_Assange%29
content:
<p>

The US case against Assange has now lost any way to pretend to be
valid.  The US <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2021/07/03/redeem-american-ideals-us-government-must-end-political-prosecution-julian-assange">must drop the case</a>.
<p>
The case has been <a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2016-jan-apr.html#7_February_2016_(UN:_Assange's_rights_violated_by_UK_and_Sweden)">based on contempt for law and human rights</a> all
along.


feed_id: 0b7d712bef9b52f63c3da6ff28ba0ec2
title: WiFi 802.11bf
uri: WiFi-802-11bf
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#8_July_2021_%28WiFi_802.11bf%29
content:
<p>

A proposed new WiFi standard, 802.11bf, would allow WiFi devices to
<a href="https://www.theregister.com/2021/03/31/wifi_devices_monitoring/">sense the position of people</a> and how they are moving.  Even from
someone else's apartment.  Perhaps even sensing how your fingers are
moving over the keyboard and what keys they are pressing.
<p>
This seems to me like a disaster.  I expect that Amazon and other
companies will sell "connected" products containing such WiFi
interfaces, and set them up to watch everyone in range and report.


feed_id: 4fd348c65a5010e94d769b302ea7c44c
title: Art works looted by King Leopold
uri: Art-works-looted-by-King-Leopold
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#8_July_2021_%28Art_works_looted_by_King_Leopold%29
content:
<p>

Belgium plans to return the art works looted by King Leopold from the
Congo, but instead of physically shipping them there, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-belgium-congo-art/belgium-begins-long-road-to-returning-looted-congolese-art-works-idUSKCN2EC1OH">Belgium will
rent them</a> so as to continue displaying them where they are.
<p>
One can think of this as reparations for the thefts.  It could benefit the
Congolese more than physical possession of the art works would.


feed_id: fd12698005d1ae2e4a48c9b921720698
title: Regulation in Israel
uri: Regulation-in-Israel
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#8_July_2021_%28Regulation_in_Israel%29
content:
<p>

Bennett wants to <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/israel-regulation-int/pm-bennett-seeks-to-energise-israeli-economy-by-slashing-regulations-idUSKCN2EC1KA">eliminate lots of regulation in Israel</a> to "boost the
economy."
<p>
Rich people are always glad to give you the benefit of a little more
of the mythical trickle-down that's going to resykt from giving them
more leeway and power.


feed_id: 99998eeaa75e4dcff85a9d0b5468ea53
title: Abortion as a recruiting issue
uri: Abortion-as-a-recruiting-issue
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#8_July_2021_%28Abortion_as_a_recruiting_issue%29
content:
<p>

For organized Christian fanatics, abortion is <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jul/06/anti-abortion-activists-operation-save-america">just a recruiting issue</a>.
They explicitly advocate theocracy and killing whoever disagrees with them.
Their attitude towards truth resembles the one that other Christians
long ago ascribed to Pontius Pilate.


feed_id: 9a8c6e85580535a1255d6e197301ed0a
title: Spouses from Palestine
uri: Spouses-from-Palestine
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#8_July_2021_%28Spouses_from_Palestine%29
content:
<p>

A victory against apartheid in Israel: Arab citizens will be allowed
to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jul/06/israeli-pm-suffers-setback-in-vote-on-arab-citizenship-rights-law">bring spouses from Palestine</a> to live with them and become citizens.


feed_id: d593e1cc85a0d8c040f5664bb30835ad
title: Denial of the Capitol attack
uri: Denial-of-the-Capitol-attack
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#8_July_2021_%28Denial_of_the_Capitol_attack%29
content:
<p>

*Republicans’ effort to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jul/06/republicans-effort-to-deny-the-capitol-attack-is-working-and-its-dangerous">deny the Capitol attack is working</a> &mdash; and it’s
dangerous.*


feed_id: 5c45d735c36ff87a68939a271aaca71c
title: Why Covid-19 is worse than flu
uri: Why-Covid-19-is-worse-than-flu
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#8_July_2021_%28Why_Covid-19_is_worse_than_flu%29
content:
<p>

The <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jul/05/why-living-with-covid-would-not-be-the-same-as-flu">reasons why</a> Covid-19 is much worse than seasonal flu.


feed_id: 8b2220d4e885ddf4b1b0676b71dbe29b
title: Rushed deportation
uri: Rushed-deportation
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#8_July_2021_%28Rushed_deportation%29
content:
<p>

The UK government rushed to deport an asylum seeker to Darfur without
waiting for per legally required hearings.  A court ordered the
government to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/jul/06/asylum-seeker-removed-by-priti-patel-must-be-brought-back-to-uk">bring per back to Britain</a>, if at all possible, so as to
finish respecting per legal rights.


feed_id: 3223172d46794618028565ee2c13eea5
title: Experts urge delay of reopening
uri: Experts-urge-delay-of-reopening
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#8_July_2021_%28Experts_urge_delay_of_reopening%29
content:
<p>

*Global experts urge [Bogus] Johnson to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jul/08/extreme-temperatures-kill-5-million-people-a-year-with-heat-related-deaths-rising-study-finds">delay ‘dangerous’ Covid reopening</a>.*
<p>
The idea of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/jul/07/living-with-the-virus-uk-vaccinated-covid-cases">"living with the virus"</a> is advocated by plutocratists who
callously disregard the suffering, death or disability this causes,
mainly to the non-rich.
<p>
I suggest relaxing regulations on a city-by-city basis according to
what fraction of people in the city have been vaccinated.  That would
lead people to get vaccinated.
<p>
In order for that to be fair, the government must make sure that
people all across the UK have equal access to vaccination.  It would
be wrong to impede vaccination based on (say) race or class, and then
use that as an excuse to punish people for what is not their fault.


feed_id: f6b517fdb99f351f994d49be1cbfa755
title: Global heating and the heatwave
uri: Global-heating-and-the-heatwave
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#8_July_2021_%28Global_heating_and_the_heatwave%29
content:
<p>

*Scientists said [global heating] had made such a heat wave in the [US northwest] <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-global-climate-heatwaves/heat-wave-in-pacific-northwest-could-soon-repeat-due-to-climate-change-research-idUSKCN2ED2L5">150 times more likely</a>.*
<p>
With current trends, *an event so extreme could start
occurring every five to 10 years by the 2040s, they warned.*


feed_id: 5976f2a9d6aff18101a191fcadddaf6a
title: 8 Years in prison
uri: 8-Years-in-prison
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#8_July_2021_%288_Years_in_prison%29
content:
<p>

*As Big Oil Execs Roam Free, Climate Activist Gets <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/07/05/big-oil-execs-roam-free-climate-activist-gets-8-years-prison">8 Years in Prison</a>.*


feed_id: bb48ee16692cdd1c20c105c05ecdb9ee
title: Kidnapped in Moscow
uri: Kidnapped-in-Moscow
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#8_July_2021_%28Kidnapped_in_Moscow%29
content:
<p>

Belarus oppositionists were kidnapped in Moscow and brought immediately to
Belarus <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/06/europe/belarus-abduction-youras-ziankovich-intl-cmd/index.html">without even an extradition hearing</a>,
and accused of plotting to assassinate Lukashenko.
<p>
Since then, they have been held incommunicado.


feed_id: f7a99922c22308a02b4f0c603e54a214
title: Trout addicted to methamphetamine
uri: Trout-addicted-to-methamphetamine
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#8_July_2021_%28Trout_addicted_to_methamphetamine%29
content:
<p>

Trout in some rivers are <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/06/europe/trout-drug-addiction-scli-intl-scn/index.html">addicted to the methamphetamine</a> that flows
into them after humans use some.


feed_id: cedb36dd79c55e5bbd2ef5db272953d6
title: Hounding poor people
uri: Hounding-poor-people
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#8_July_2021_%28Hounding_poor_people%29
content:
<p>

Republicans have redirected the Social Security Administration to
<a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2021/07/06/program-integrity-cruel-attack-social-security-beneficiaries">hound poor people</a>
to whom it has given extra money by mistake.  It can
demand the impossible, such as to return within a month thousands of
dollars that the agency overpaid them over periods of many years.
<p>
Poverty has become so widespread in the US that most Americans can't come up
with $500 in an emergency.  The poor people that Social Security helps
can't pay these debts.
<p>
And they should not have to.  The first step to correct this is to
make the agency, not the benefits receiver, responsible for the
agency's mistakes.


feed_id: 5d655d968e82b6255268febae14295b8
title: Build economies
uri: Build-economies
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#8_July_2021_%28Build_economies%29
content:
<p>

*We Need to <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2021/07/06/we-need-build-economies-not-walls-stop-migration">Build Economies &mdash; Not Walls</a> &mdash; to Stop Migration.*


feed_id: f81b5315e6e4fd0aebc935194f70b2ae
title: Face recognition in schools
uri: Face-recognition-in-schools
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#8_July_2021_%28Face_recognition_in_schools%29
content:
<p>

The Santa Fe (Texas) school district ran nonfree face recognition software
and <a href="https://themarkup.org/privacy/2021/07/06/this-manual-for-a-popular-facial-recognition-tool-shows-just-how-much-the-software-tracks-people">handed copies of 5,000 photos of students</a> to the developer.
That alone should be illegal &mdash; schools must <em>never</em> hand student
personal data to <em>any</em> company, except grade transcripts when students
request that.
<p>
But the schools did worse than that &mdash; they operated cameras and
identified students by their faces.  "Overall, we had over 164,000
detections the last 7 days running the pilot. We were able to detect
students on multiple cameras and even detected one student 1100
times!" said a salesman.
<p>
Maybe it is acceptable, under strict limits, for stores to try to
detect thieves already known to them.  But it is not acceptable for a
store to distribute such photos to any other person or entity, because
blacklist networks are too dangerous to society.
<p>
It <a href="https://gnu.org/philosophy/surveillance-vs-democracy.html">should be illegal</a> to operate a camera viewing a place the public is
admitted to, that systematically collects or transmits identifiable
face images of some or all of the people it sees.
Because doing that much would enable someone else to run face
recognition on them.


feed_id: 9cc112e06cb8b0c35f041e78f25fbb87
title: Four day work week
uri: 2021-07-09-Four-day-work-week
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#8_July_2021_%28Four_day_work_week%29
content:
<p>

Iceland is turning to a <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/07/06/overwhelming-success-researchers-praise-icelands-four-day-work-week-trials">four-day work week</a>, with the help of pressure
from unions.
<p>
I personally don't think I could endure anything less than a seven-day
work week, but that's because my work is the heart of my life.


feed_id: a0eab4e9886246eec8601e4ecf8c351d
title: (satire) Making an actual product
uri: (satire)-Making-an-actual-product
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#8_July_2021_%28%28satire%29_Making_an_actual_product%29

content:
<p>

(satire) *Struggling Tech Company <a href="https://www.theonion.com/struggling-tech-company-almost-desperate-enough-to-star-1847236267">Almost Desperate Enough</a> To Start
Making Actual Product.*


feed_id: 180ae76821786207748a277a45fd6856
title: (satire) Truly being seen
uri: (satire)-Truly-being-seen
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#8_July_2021_%28%28satire%29_Truly_being_seen%29
content:
<p>

(satire) *Study: <a href="https://www.theonion.com/study-truly-being-seen-still-ranks-among-worst-possi-1847236373">"Truly Being Seen"</a> Still Ranks Among Worst Possible
Experiences In Human Existence.*


feed_id: b5b6be77de49693c67eb7fb12d89496b
title: Florida structurally unsound
uri: Florida-structurally-unsound
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#8_July_2021_%28Florida_structurally_unsound%29
content:
<p>

(satire) *21 Million Floridians Evacuated After <a href="https://www.theonion.com/21-million-floridians-evacuated-after-state-deemed-stru-1847236096">State Deemed Structurally Unsound</a>.*


feed_id: e0d4f83b9d698a21337fb121a1e7d702
title: Undercounting of civilian casualties
uri: Undercounting-of-civilian-casualties
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#8_July_2021_%28Undercounting_of_civilian_casualties%29

content:
<p>

Progressives in Congress called on the Pentagon to <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/07/06/warren-and-khanna-demand-probe-undercounting-civilians-killed-us-military">investigate apparent
undercounting</a> of the civilian casualties of US military combat.


feed_id: 7532e12d312ce57e5b2ce2e495c67284
title: Damaging Seneca lake
uri: Damaging-Seneca-lake
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#8_July_2021_%28Damaging_Seneca_lake%29
content:
<p>

Waste heat from a power plant that powers a bitcoin mine is <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/science/environment/some-locals-say-bitcoin-mining-operation-ruining-one-finger-lakes-n1272938?cid=sm_npd_nn_tw_ma">damaging Seneca Lake</a> in New York State.


feed_id: 24baae73d1a89fb27b705b6ec03efc4b
title: Despite vaccine
uri: Despite-vaccine
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#9_July_2021_%28Despite_vaccine%29
content:
<p>
Indonesia has been using Chinese vaccine, and it's better than nothing,
but a substantial number of medical personnel <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-indonesia-healthca/covid-infections-imperil-indonesias-vaccinated-health-workers-and-hospitals-idUSKCN2ED0N1">have caught Covid-19 anyway
and cannot work</a>.


feed_id: 703f6d53bd5874f6a4a40693216da4e6
title: Successful gun violence prevention groups
uri: Successful-gun-violence-prevention-groups
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#9_July_2021_%28Successful_gun_violence_prevention_groups%29

content:
<p>
*   Unlike in previous decades, there are <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jul/07/us-crime-rates-violence-prevention">many successful US gun violence
   prevention groups with a record of saving lives</a>.*


feed_id: f454a2a82c33727a9f40e80b56cf63c0
title: Climate crisis classes
uri: Climate-crisis-classes
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#9_July_2021_%28Climate_crisis_classes%29
content:
<p>
*The climate crisis will create two classes: <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/jul/07/global-heating-climate-crisis-heat-two-classes">those who can flee [for
the time being], and those who cannot</a>.*


feed_id: f9de01e8e9659b938fc865f7245100df
title: Shortage of truck drivers
uri: Shortage-of-truck-drivers
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#9_July_2021_%28Shortage_of_truck_drivers%29
content:
<p>
The UK has a shortage of truck drivers.  The government chose the dangerous
solution of letting each driver drive more hours per day, rather than the safe
solution <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-britain-logistics/uk-relaxes-trucking-rules-to-ease-shortage-of-drivers-idUSKCN2ED1CN">of allowing more EU citizens to live there and drive trucks</a>.


feed_id: 904dd8f6fdb5ef320b665a499f204626
title: Women taking up arms
uri: Women-taking-up-arms
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#9_July_2021_%28Women_taking_up_arms%29
content:
<p>
Afghan women <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jul/07/armed-afghan-women-take-to-streets-in-show-of-defiance-against-taliban">have taken up arms to fight the Taliban</a>.
  Now they need military training.

<p>
These women provide exactly what has been missing from the fight
against the Taliban: people as strongly committed as the Taliban
themselves.  If they had got started 10 years ago, if they now
numbered tens of thousands, they could win the war.

<p>
It's sad to see them only now when there is little chance left.


feed_id: 4938cfae2cc190117970041a38042b70
title: Connected surveillance cameras
uri: Connected-surveillance-cameras
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#9_July_2021_%28Connected_surveillance_cameras%29
content:
<p>
The new mayor of Boston has cancelled a regional plan to fill the
whole metropolitan area <a href="https://www.bostonglobe.com/2021/07/07/metro/city-boston-nixes-proposal-vast-surveillance-network">with connected surveillance cameras</a>.

<p>
The reason they did not know how many cameras Cambridge would contribute is,
I believe, that Cambridge has an ordinance requiring city council approval
for all surveillance technology.

<p>
It is a good thing to defeat an initiative for massive surveillance,
but there are already many surveillance systems here.  We need to get
rid of them and establish laws to prohibit replacing them.


feed_id: 2efc23791e03d809c04b297bb9f1bb8b
title: New Covid restrictions
uri: New-Covid-restrictions
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#9_July_2021_%28New_Covid_restrictions%29
content:
<p>
Greece has put restrictions <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-greece-nightlife/greek-bars-and-clubs-face-new-covid-19-curbs-as-summer-starts-idUSKCN2ED1NA">on bars and restaurants once again</a>,
  demonstrating how foolish it was to eliminate them completely.

<p>
I have the impression most governments are manic-repressive about
Covid.  They get intoxicated with hope, and throw caution to the
winds.  After the predictable results of that, they are compelled to
start pulling on the reins.  The repetition of this cycle builds up a
feeling of unwillingness to obey restrictions.


feed_id: 58f5cc7714642d71362d158319277b10
title: Arrest of poet
uri: Arrest-of-poet
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#9_July_2021_%28Arrest_of_poet%29
content:
<p>
*Kuwait arrests poet activist <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-kuwait-politics-arrests/kuwait-arrests-poet-activist-for-insulting-emir-family-says-idUSKCN2ED1PO">for 'insulting' emir</a>.*


feed_id: b9f2833f51e2a00e1830ac072cb79d8d
title: Punishing abusing thugs
uri: Punishing-abusing-thugs
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#9_July_2021_%28Punishing_abusing_thugs%29
content:
<p>
*Colombia’s government must hold genuine dialogue with civil society
and <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-colombia-protests/colombia-must-hold-dialogue-punish-police-abuse-rights-panel-says-idUSKCN2ED21P">ensure punishment for [state thugs] who have committed abuses</a>,*
   according to the OAS human rights commission.  They committed these
crimes against against protesters in the recent protests, and bystanders.


feed_id: af55a9be17ea179d96d1b7a56f689b33
title: Destroying of tents
uri: Destroying-of-tents
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#9_July_2021_%28Destroying_of_tents%29
content:
<p>
Israel destroyed Palestinians' tents <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-israel-palestinians-demolition/israel-tears-down-bedouin-tents-in-palestinian-village-idUSKCN2ED1DF">in a place near the Jordan River</a>.
  For many years, Israel has tried to make it very difficult for any
Palestinians to live near the river, <a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2017-sep-dec.html#19_November_2017_(Annexation_of_Jordan_Valley)">attempting to clear them all out</a>.
  Declaring their land a "closed military zone" <a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2013-jan-apr.html#15_January_2013_(Netanyahu_arrests_tent_village_protesters)">is a frequent tactic</a>.


feed_id: 32053fd756b3377771350a9087c68432
title: Assassination of president
uri: Assassination-of-president
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#9_July_2021_%28Assassination_of_president%29
content:
<p>
The president of Haiti was shot by gunmen <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-haiti-president-usa-assassins/haitian-assassins-falsely-claimed-to-be-u-s-drug-agents-envoy-to-u-s-says-idUSKCN2ED24D">that said they were DEA
agents</a>.

<p>
I don't think they were really DEA agents, because <a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2019-jan-apr.html#1_April_2019_(Jovenel_Moise)">it was the US that
installed Moise as president</a>,
                              and I think the US could have put in some
other president without shooting Moise.

<p>
Haiti effectively has no government now.  There is <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jul/07/crisis-threatens-to-engulf-a-leaderless-haiti-mired-in-and-corruption">no one officially
eligible to take over as president</a>.

<p>
Here's more about <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jul/07/haiti-president-jovenel-moise-reportedly-assassinated">the constitutional irregularities of Moise's regime</a>.

<p>
The result will probably be chaos.

<p>
After the state has been a US puppet for so long, I think it would be
difficult for anyone to exercise authority with much legitimacy,


feed_id: 5106e4b5722d70bd25c96fef099f9fdc
title: Guerrilla resistance to the coup
uri: Guerrilla-resistance-to-the-coup
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#9_July_2021_%28Guerrilla_resistance_to_the_coup%29
content:
<p>
About <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-myanmar-politics-turmoil-analysis/analysis-myanmar-turmoil-deepens-as-clashes-spread-idUSKCN2ED264">the guerrilla resistance to the coup in Burma</a>.

<p>
It seems clear that the army doesn't take care to avoid killing nearby
civilians when it fights a battle.  It acts like an occupying army in
its own country.

<p>
I wonder what the soldiers will do about that.  Surely some must be
very uncomfortable with the situation.


feed_id: 1be40c8dbf33b9c783fb7a8ce85b7546
title: Switching to paper voting
uri: Switching-to-paper-voting
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#9_July_2021_%28Switching_to_paper_voting%29
content:
<p>
Bolsonaro wants Brazil to switch to paper voting, instead of the
computerized system <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-brazil-bolsonaro-election/brazils-bolsonaro-says-he-may-not-accept-2022-election-under-current-voting-system-idUSKCN2ED28N">whose security can't be verified</a>.

<p>
Brazil ought to use paper ballots, but I can't believe that Bolsonaro
wants an honest election.  I expect that he has something bad in mind.


feed_id: 9806eb5843bdff20847affe75945b3b9
title: Sick pay
uri: Sick-pay
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#9_July_2021_%28Sick_pay%29
content:
<p>
Victoria (an Australian state) <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/jul/08/casual-workers-to-get-government-funded-sick-leave-in-victorian-trial">will offer sick pay to workers in
insecure jobs</a>.
  It is crucial to enable them to stay home if they get sick.

<p>
This is a good step, but not enough.  Employers for whom
a person regularly works should be required to formalize
that relationship and give sick pay.


feed_id: df2d8315a29babd6ededd997c2145268
title: Extreme temperatures
uri: Extreme-temperatures
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#9_July_2021_%28Extreme_temperatures%29
content:
<p>
*Extreme temperatures <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jul/08/extreme-temperatures-kill-5-million-people-a-year-with-heat-related-deaths-rising-study-finds">kill 5 million people a year</a>.*

<p>
In the past, more have died from cold than from heat,
but <a href="https://stallman.org/glossary.html#global heating">global heating</a> is increasing the latter.


feed_id: 6da61514d080895605a55e2aad06c0c0
title: Extreme rain events
uri: Extreme-rain-events
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#10_July_2021_%28Extreme_rain_events%29
content:
<p>

Extreme rain events are <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jul/07/human-activity-influencing-global-rainfall-study-finds">mostly due to global heating</a>.


feed_id: 2abc71be35f7db7338ed84ccfb2c3c98
title: Suppressing the Delta variant
uri: Suppressing-the-Delta-variant
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#10_July_2021_%28Suppressing_the_Delta_variant%29
content:
<p>

Various countries that had suppressed Covid-19 successfully are <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jul/07/asia-pacific-sees-sharp-rise-in-covid-infections-as-delta-strain-threatens-new-wave">struggling to suppress</a> the Delta variant.


feed_id: d2df4be091e94e46e2b82b6bf607e988
title: Official repression in Belarus
uri: Official-repression-in-Belarus
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#10_July_2021_%28Official_repression_in_Belarus%29
content:
<p>

Lukashenko is <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/may/25/belarus-journalist-raman-pratasevich-father-says-video-confession-carried-out-under-duress">closing all gaps</a> in the official repression in Belarus.
<p>
He had a news site editor <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-belarus-politics-media/belarus-blocks-newspaper-that-covered-protests-detains-editor-idUSKCN2EE1FL">arrested for covering last year's protests</a>, and blocked access to the news site.


feed_id: 25cf0bec3cd6914f8f68e05bb9ddc349
title: Republican party's goal
uri: Republican-party-s-goal
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#10_July_2021_%28Republican_party%27s_goal%29
content:
<p>

A Republican congresscritter told supporters that the party's <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/07/07/leaked-video-gop-congressman-admits-his-party-wants-chaos-and-inability-get-stuff">goal is
sabotage</a>: "18 more months of chaos and the inability to get stuff
done."
<p>
We who oppose them must not sink to their level.  But they are
conscious enemies of our country, and of our democracy, and this
justifies many tactics that are somewhat bad, and that ordinarily we
should scruple to sink to.  For instance, <a href="https://www.stallman.org/archives/2021-jan-apr.html#20_April_2021_(Urgent:_Washington_DC_statehood_bill)">making Washington DC a state</a>
(rather than authorizing its residents to vote in Maryland), and <a href="https://www.stallman.org/archives/2021-jan-apr.html#25_April_2021_(Urgent:_Fix_the_Supreme_court)">increasing or decreasing the size
of the Supreme Court</a>.
<p>
As long as we remain solidly more scrupulous than they are, we should
fight to win.


feed_id: 4f549c584b8601921a1b4a42765f665e
title: (satire) Reinforce bones with steel
uri: (satire)-Reinforce-bones-with-steel
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#10_July_2021_%28%28satire%29_Reinforce_bones_with_steel%29

content:
<p>

(satire) *[Governor] Ron DeSantis Requires Florida Residents To
<a href="https://www.theonion.com/ron-desantis-requires-florida-residents-to-reinforce-bo-1847238997">Reinforce Bones With Steel, Concrete</a>.*
<p>
It worked for Miles Vorkosigan, so why not?


feed_id: 98175dfbeadf4f9bd35ccc215f40d4f1
title: Danger of prosecuting news publishers
uri: Danger-of-prosecuting-news-publishers
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#10_July_2021_%28Danger_of_prosecuting_news_publishers%29

content:
<p>

The LA Times mentioned, unusually, the <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2021/07/07/trump-started-war-journalism-bidens-justice-department-has-yet-end-it">danger of prosecuting news publishers</a>
like Julian Assange.
The article did not mention that one of the main witnesses against
him has admitted that he <a href="https://www.stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#6_July_2021_(False_testimony_against_Assange)">fabricated his testimony</a> in connection with
a deal with the FBI. Has the LA Times mentioned that?


feed_id: 8c8b5fff17f5c5fd8fc1b6107113dc49
title: Strange virus
uri: Strange-virus
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#10_July_2021_%28Strange_virus%29
content:
<p>

*The <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2021/07/07/strange-virus-attacking-republican-governors">Strange Virus</a> Attacking Republican Governors.*
Warning, it's very snarky.
<p>
What those governors are doing is entirely rational: they are repeating
some Big Lies to suck more people into the lunatic death cult which is
the Republican Party.


feed_id: 95d9af074bf7e93498acabce7b44d150
title: Springs drying up
uri: Springs-drying-up
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#10_July_2021_%28Springs_drying_up%29
content:
<p>

Two years of preparation for the Adani Carmichael coal mine in
Queensland have pumped out so much groundwater that <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/jul/08/drop-in-aquifer-levels-near-adani-mine-sparks-concern-for-sacred-wetlands">springs in the
region are drying up</a>.
<p>
The reason this mine should not exist is that it's a coal mine and
will speed <a href="https://stallman.org/glossary.html#global heating">global heating</a> disaster, but the planet-roaster government
of Australia doesn't care about 30 years from now.  There is a chance
that the damage to groundwater can be used to stop the mine.


feed_id: f98ded774582c60621bad56ff8d1d672
title: Global minimum tax
uri: Global-minimum-tax
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#10_July_2021_%28Global_minimum_tax%29
content:
<p>

*Top Economist Warns 15% Global Minimum Tax on Corporations Is <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/07/07/top-economist-warns-15-global-minimum-tax-corporations-way-too-low">'Way Too Low'</a>.*


feed_id: e1bcdfed0bbdf95b3667f979f1e2151a
title: Cambridge deal with the UAE
uri: Cambridge-deal-with-the-UAE
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#10_July_2021_%28Cambridge_deal_with_the_UAE%29
content:
<p>

Cambridge University wants to avoid the risks of the present Covid
situation by making an enormous <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/education/2021/jul/07/cambridge-university-accused-of-faustian-pact-in-planned-400m-deal-with-uae">deal with the UAE</a>.
<p>
Such deals tend to be extremely corrupting to the university.


feed_id: 395ecf9117fb06cafb553ef2689f5894
title: Right to repair farm equipment
uri: Right-to-repair-farm-equipment
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#10_July_2021_%28Right_to_repair_farm_equipment%29
content:
<p>

Biden will make executive orders for the <a href="https://www.agriculture.com/news/machinery/biden-backs-right-to-repair-from-tractors-to-tech">right to repair farm
equipment</a>.
<p>
I support the right to repair, of course, but the best way to achieve
that is as part of insisting on free software in the machinery.  We
need to make this a step towards further gains, rather that letting
people think that it's the full solution.


feed_id: 47a2c2c1f5e38a6bbf46cc5c0d4c6b56
title: Political distortion
uri: Political-distortion
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#10_July_2021_%28Political_distortion%29
content:
<p>

EPA scientists report that <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/07/07/war-science-persists-within-biden-epa-staffers-allege-chemical-reports-altered">political distortion of their work</a> continues.


feed_id: 2e6c2e98f87abb917022b78562c71cf6
title: (satire) Haiti constitutional crisis
uri: (satire)-Haiti-constitutional-crisis
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#10_July_2021_%28%28satire%29_Haiti_constitutional_crisis%29

content:
<p>

(satire) *Haiti Faces <a href="https://www.theonion.com/haiti-faces-constitutional-crisis-after-assassinated-pr-1847246623">Constitutional Crisis</a> After Assassinated
President Refuses To Step Down.*


feed_id: 2348e38b91f7e29835323c173998caa5
title: Imprisoned immigrant minors
uri: 2021-07-11-Imprisoned-immigrant-minors
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#10_July_2021_%28Imprisoned_immigrant_minors%29
content:
<p>

Whistleblowers report imprisoned immigrant minors are being <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/07/07/whistleblowers-alleged-kids-mistreated-servepro-contractors-hired-oversee-detention">abused by
subcontracted prison workers</a>.
<p>
Subcontracting undermined accountability.  Its purpose is to pay workers less
and mistreat them, but it also affects the people that depend on those workers.
<p>
We must make subcontracting in-usual again.


feed_id: 2738c423baf90ccc3fb6cfdf8e74e9dc
title: Underwater fracking
uri: Underwater-fracking
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#10_July_2021_%28Underwater_fracking%29
content:
<p>

Underwater fracking in the Gulf of Mexico <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/07/07/unacceptable-66-million-gallons-toxic-fracking-waste-dumped-gulf-mexico-2010">releases large quantities
of liquid chemicals</a> into the water.  What effect the chemicals have
on wildlife, or humans that eat the wildlife, is unknown.
<p>
Since we need to <a href="https://www.stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#12_June_2021_(Danger_of_extracting_fossil_fuels)">cut down fossil fuel extraction</a> anyway,
let's start with the particularly dangerous methods, including this one.


feed_id: 77a4d52d2800218a8c2b3718c28f471e
title: Website to sign up for child tax credit
uri: Website-to-sign-up-for-child-tax-credit
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#10_July_2021_%28Website_to_sign_up_for_child_tax_credit%29

content:
<p>

The federal government made an unjust website to let poor families
sign up for the increased child tax credit.  That was developed
Intuit, which may have been trying to ensure poor families did not
have a way to do without Intuit's services.  Aside from being made
very hard to use, it was also designed to treat users unjustly:
it won't work unless you run nonfree software while you use it.
<p>
A group of activists <a href="https://www.peoplespolicyproject.org/2021/06/23/it-took-two-days-to-make-a-good-ctc-website/">developed a convenient site</a> to do the same job.
Alas, it is equally unjust, and for the same reason: it won't work
unless you run nonfree software while you use it.
<p>
Filling out forms is generally fairly easy to do in a non-Javascript
web site.  How easy it would have been to make a new site that would
have been both convenient and just!  But they did not think about the
latter.
<p>
If you're a good web developer, maybe you'd like to do it.
Perhaps the People's Policy Project will tell you what you need to know
to design a sample web site that doesn't require Javascript code.


feed_id: 7b6be21e536c0c68e06aea4906b40cd8
title: Climate science's underestimated risks
uri: Climate-science-s-underestimated-risks
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#10_July_2021_%28Climate_science%27s_underestimated_risks%29

content:
<p>

* Politicians must respond to the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/jul/08/the-guardian-view-on-the-heat-dome-burning-through-the-models">latest warnings that climate science
has underestimated risks</a>.*
<p>
I expect they will respond to the newly discovered risk as half-heartedly
as they are <a href="https://www.stallman.org/archives/2021-jan-apr.html#19_April_2021_(Committing_to_curb_global_heating)">responding to the previously known risks</a>.


feed_id: 118fcff5979a0ad18825ac200c75773e
title: Mice and rats to use for biological experiments
uri: Mice-and-rats-to-use-for-biological-experiments
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#10_July_2021_%28Mice_and_rats_to_use_for_biological_experiments%29

content:
<p>

An <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/jul/09/australian-supplier-of-lab-animals-to-close-sparking-fresh-debate-about-use-of-mice-and-rats-in-research">incoherent article</a> celebrates the forthcoming inability to obtain,
in Australia, specialized genetic variant strains of mice and rats
to use for biological experiments.
<p>
The article seems to presume that these mice and rats are used in
superfluous, redundant, required product tests that are not really
necessary, so if they are not available, the problem will be addressed
by removing the requirements for them.
<p>
Redundant product tests used to be required, and maybe sometimes still
are, but I don't think such tests are where specialized genetic
variants are used.  Those are often used for experiments to figure out
unknown biology &mdash; and you can't do that with models.
<p>
Australia and other countries should maintain their capacity to
elucidate biological systems with experiments on mice and rats.  If
you wish to die for a mouse, go ahead, but don't pressure others to do
likewise.


feed_id: 31b7cef809993b0298b4b34d26d8302c
title: Protection from climate crisis harm
uri: Protection-from-climate-crisis-harm
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#10_July_2021_%28Protection_from_climate_crisis_harm%29

content:
<p>

*Australian government must <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jul/08/australian-government-must-protect-young-people-from-climate-crisis-harm-court-declares">protect young people</a> from climate crisis harm,
court declares.*
<p>
Australia's government consists of <a href="https://stallman.org/glossary.html#planet">planet roasters</a>, and they will
do their damnedest to reverse the decision.  But if they fail at that,
it may do some good.


feed_id: ff97c342e35580d72e2f33ab1d9e28c7
title: Corruption and violence of Haitian politicians
uri: Corruption-and-violence-of-Haitian-politicians
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#10_July_2021_%28Corruption_and_violence_of_Haitian_politicians%29

content:
<p>

On the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jul/08/haiti-reels-murder-president-police-hunt-assassins-jovenel-moise">corruption and violence</a> of Haitian politicians in general,
president Moise included.


feed_id: 196182cce80b2833abffe2a0d41594a8
title: Rehiring of New York cops
uri: Rehiring-of-New-York-cops
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#10_July_2021_%28Rehiring_of_New_York_cops%29
content:
<p>

*New York Regulations Allow Cops <a href="https://theintercept.com/2021/07/08/new-york-police-decertification/">Stripped of Training Credentials to
 Be Rehired</a>.*


feed_id: 88f08daaef08e576b9fc896bec3f01e6
title: Blowing up homes of Palestinians
uri: Blowing-up-homes-of-Palestinians
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#10_July_2021_%28Blowing_up_homes_of_Palestinians%29
content:
<p>

Israel continues to practice collective punishment by <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/israel-palestinians-violence-int/israel-demolishes-family-home-of-suspected-palestinian-attacker-idUSKCN2EE11A">blowing up the homes
of Palestinians</a> that are accused of participating in attacks.


feed_id: 686e1ee54472a6d0aa671075cae68354
title: Canada's forced boarding schools
uri: Canada-s-forced-boarding-schools
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#10_July_2021_%28Canada%27s_forced_boarding_schools%29

content:
<p>

Whistleblowers and victims have tried to inform the public about the
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/jul/08/canada-indigenous-children-deaths-residential-schools">cruelty and deadliness</a> of Canada's forced boarding schools since the
early 1900s. They had to push against a current of legitimization.


feed_id: 9c5e67c0046554d418c2a8277a3af3e6
title: Jump in global hunger
uri: Jump-in-global-hunger
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#10_July_2021_%28Jump_in_global_hunger%29
content:
<p>

*Higher food prices help fuel <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-wfp-hunger/higher-food-prices-help-fuel-40-jump-in-global-hunger-un-agency-idUSKCN2EE1C7">40% jump in global hunger</a> &mdash; UN agency.*


feed_id: 0cbaea21ffb8c8a7df14d623463c8507
title: Deal to send Assange to Australian prison
uri: Deal-to-send-Assange-to-Australian-prison
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#10_July_2021_%28Deal_to_send_Assange_to_Australian_prison%29

content:
<p>

The US made a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/2021/jul/08/julian-assange-fiancee-rejects-us-proposals-over-possible-extradition">deceptive proposal</a> to send Assange to an Australian
prison for the rest of his life after a decade or two in US prisons,
during which time he might be kept in ordinary prison conditions provided
the government doesn't change its mind.
<p>
This deal says, basically, "We can cheat you and say it wasn't
cheating."


feed_id: f919209080dae6a14663643e6e4638cc
title: Malaria and dengue fever
uri: Malaria-and-dengue-fever
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#10_July_2021_%28Malaria_and_dengue_fever%29
content:
<p>

*More than 8 billion people could be at <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-olympics-2020/organisers-to-ban-olympic-spectators-as-tokyo-declares-coronavirus-emergency-report-idUSKCN2EE03D">risk of malaria and dengue fever</a>
by 2080 if greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise unabated,*
That would be most of humanity.


feed_id: 4f8b20225e4b49cd95727b8c16361dcb
title: Urgent: End use of US funds to oppress Palestinians
uri: Urgent-End-use-of-US-funds-to-oppress-Palestinians
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#11_July_2021_%28Urgent%3A_End_use_of_US_funds_to_oppress_Palestinians%29

content:
<p>

US citizens: call on Congress <a href="https://actionnetwork.org/forms/sign-now-demand-us-taxpayer-dollars-not-be-used-to-terrorize-and-oppress-palestinians">not to allow Israel to use US funds to
terrorize and oppress Palestinians</a>.

<p>The Capitol Switchboard number is 202-224-3121.</p>
<p>If you call, please spread the word!<p>


feed_id: 08e3c14a8be55b2f5ee6ab5873cf3c08
title: Urgent: Stop supporting Republican supporters of insurrection
uri: Urgent-Stop-supporting-Republican-supporters-of-insurrection
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#11_July_2021_%28Urgent%3A_Stop_supporting_Republican_supporters_of_insurrection%29

content:
<p>

US citizens: call on companies to <a href="http://act.democracyforamerica.com/sign/stop_donations_to_insurrectionists/">stop supporting Republican
supporters</a> of insurrection.


feed_id: 8ee3e06a4211effe428bc9cd87828a03
title: Urgent: Reject infrastructure deal without climate defense
uri: Urgent-Reject-infrastructure-deal-without-climate-defense
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#11_July_2021_%28Urgent%3A_Reject_infrastructure_deal_without_climate_defense%29

content:
<p>

US citizens: call on Congress to <a href="http://act.boldprogressives.org/survey/petition_no_climate_no_deal/">reject any infrastructure deal without climate
defense</a>.

<p>The Capitol Switchboard number is 202-224-3121.</p>
<p>If you call, please spread the word!<p>


feed_id: b87346066eace100ab315c527ca21654
title: Urgent: Low-risk prisoners
uri: Urgent-Low-risk-prisoners
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#11_July_2021_%28Urgent%3A_Low-risk_prisoners%29
content:
<p>

US citizens: call on Biden to let 4,000 low-risk federal prisoners,
already released, <a href="https://action.aclu.org/send-message/4000-people-could-be-sent-back-prison-contact-biden-now">finish their sentences at home</a> rather than making them
return to prison

<p>The White House comments line is 202-456-1111.</p>
<p>If you call, please spread the word!</p>


feed_id: c7b6c523fdde716c812c0a8bcef803b4
title: Urgent: Sunrise Movement's national day of action
uri: Urgent-Sunrise-Movement-s-national-day-of-action
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#11_July_2021_%28Urgent%3A_Sunrise_Movement%27s_national_day_of_action%29

content:
<p>

US citizens: <a href="https://jahoti.tilde.team/events/hostanactionjuly15th_index.html">join the Sunrise Movement's national day of action</a> (July
15) for government action to save Earth's climate.


feed_id: 0b96ab0c3d74ff2092f69f62b0ab1ce0
title: Cops in Haiti
uri: Cops-in-Haiti
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#11_July_2021_%28Cops_in_Haiti%29
content:
<p>

Cops in Haiti say they have shot several people and captured several,
and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jul/08/haiti-president-assassination-arrests-gunmen-latest">assert they are some of the group that killed President Moise</a>.
<p>
Others say that Moise's own <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jul/10/doubts-raised-about-who-was-behind-the-assassination-of-haitis-president">bodyguards shot him</a>.
<p>
It may not be easy to find out who really did it, in the chaotic environment
of Haiti where corruption and dishonesty prevail.
<p>
If Republicans succeed in rigging the 2022 election, they will turn 
the US into the same sort of place.


feed_id: 50e290c6e21eabfe20f59e76f086a442
title: Vulnerable Afghan women
uri: Vulnerable-Afghan-women
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#11_July_2021_%28Vulnerable_Afghan_women%29
content:
<p>

*U.S. <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-afghanistan-conflict-women/u-s-considers-visas-for-vulnerable-afghan-women-after-military-exit-idUSKCN2EE04F">considers visas for vulnerable Afghan women</a> after military exit.*
<p>
Please don't spend too much time considering it &mdash; it will be needed soon.


feed_id: 23fd5e2fa5932897464ff0a3b8b54531
title: Prenatal test
uri: Prenatal-test
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#11_July_2021_%28Prenatal_test%29
content:
<p>

*Prenatal test developed with Chinese military <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jul/08/prenatal-test-developed-with-chinese-military-stores-gene-data-of-millions-of-women">stores gene data of millions of women</a>.*
The company will have to provide this data to the Chinese government
if demanded &mdash; officially "if necessary for national security", but in
practice in China there is no such thing as refusing.
<p>
The US considers it a threat to US national security for a Chinese
company to collect world-wide genetic data, especially about
Americans.  I agree.  However, China is not the only government that
can collect DNA, sequence it, and use the data against people.  Any
government could.
<p>
The UK has a system to <a href="https://www.stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#7_July_2021_(DNA-sequencing_of_babies)">collect the DNA of every newborn baby</a>.
Over time, that will grow into a national genetic database.
This is dangerous too.  And, unlike the Chinese company, this
system does not try to anonymize people.  (As we know, anonymized data
is easier to deanonymize than one tends to suppose.)
<p>
Correlating people's DNA with medical problems can do wonders
for medical research.  We need to develop a system to make this
possible while protecting privacy.


feed_id: 99ec5362a7eb66b490758948537642b8
title: Diverting attention
uri: 2021-07-12-Diverting-attention
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#11_July_2021_%28Diverting_attention%29
content:
<p>

China diverts attention from its crushing of the Tibetans and the Uyghurs
by <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/07/china/china-canada-australia-human-rights-diplomacy-intl-mic-hnk/index.html">citing the way the US and Canada crushed indigenous people</a> in the past.
<p>
The comparison is valid, and if we look at this as a matter of
competition between powers, it's poetic justice.  But if the point is
to save people from repression and injustice, historic whataboutism is
a distraction.  Ending the unjust treatment of indigenous people today
is a real cause, but encouraging a new imperialism is not going to
help them.  China will lure them, use them, and spit them out, even
faster and more blatantly than the US has done.


feed_id: 1a2091422c6c2377e147ab5b37f30d0b
title: NHS backlog
uri: NHS-backlog
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#11_July_2021_%28NHS_backlog%29
content:
<p>

The NHS is so underfunded that its backlog of treatments has <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2021/jul/08/nhs-england-waiting-list-reaches-record-high-second-straight-month">set a record
twice in a row</a>.
<p>
The immediate causes is relaxing Covid-reducing measures exactly as
the Delta variant comes to dominate, but this meets the <a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2020-jul-oct.html#3_September_2020_(Death_spiral)">weakness that
Tories have built</a> up <a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2020-jul-oct.html#3_September_2020_(Death_spiral)">step by step</a>.


feed_id: 1bc6c16851dd9500622a8193d050fc4f
title: ALEC politicians
uri: ALEC-politicians
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#11_July_2021_%28ALEC_politicians%29
content:
<p>

*[Some] ALEC Politicians <a href="https://www.exposedbycmd.org/2021/07/08/alec-politicians-belong-to-neo-confederate-organization/">Belong to Neo-Confederate Organization</a>.*


feed_id: 66fcf103ce11c1fb7d60d006dfb05939
title: Commission to validate carbon offset schemes
uri: Commission-to-validate-carbon-offset-schemes
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#11_July_2021_%28Commission_to_validate_carbon_offset_schemes%29

content:
<p>

Businesses are proposing to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jul/08/business-and-finance-group-reveals-plans-for-carbon-offset-regulator">establish a commission</a> to validate carbon
offset schemes. Greenpeace says it won't be strict enough.


feed_id: 08136012aaf818e28e7399f14a1d8a22
title: Harm from cruise ships
uri: Harm-from-cruise-ships
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#11_July_2021_%28Harm_from_cruise_ships%29
content:
<p>

*   Cruise ships <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/jul/08/massive-tax-exempt-cruise-ships-damage-environment">kill whales, leak gray water, and are largely exempt from
   US taxation</a>. When they violate the law, they pay the equivalent of a
   parking ticket.*


feed_id: dc7b16941373188a8cfc239d7b6f0951
title: Trudeau's love of fossil fuel
uri: Trudeau-s-love-of-fossil-fuel
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#11_July_2021_%28Trudeau%27s_love_of_fossil_fuel%29
content:
<p>

*Justin Trudeau’s love of fossil fuel will only <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/jul/08/trudeau-love-fossil-fuel-makes-canada-extreme-weather-worse">make Canada’s extreme
weather worse</a>.*


feed_id: e716f4666e48780abbdd5dda3d9f7833
title: Declining birth rates
uri: Declining-birth-rates
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#11_July_2021_%28Declining_birth_rates%29
content:
<p>

*Why declining birth rates are <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/jul/08/why-declining-birth-rates-are-good-news-for-life-on-earth">good news for life on Earth</a>.*
<p>
I disagree with one point.  I think we need to reduce the human
population more than 20% per generation.  If in the short term that
leads to somewhat less quality of life, by the 22nd century it will
enable us to distress Earth's natural ecosystems.


feed_id: 97ecaff2b7f1351d19253126ca7d26bc
title: Heat dome in Canada
uri: Heat-dome-in-Canada
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#11_July_2021_%28Heat_dome_in_Canada%29
content:
<p>

*‘Heat dome’ probably <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jul/08/heat-dome-canada-pacific-northwest-animal-deaths">killed 1bn marine animals</a> on Canada coast, experts say.*
<p>
I am skeptical of what that number means, because if you adopt a
smaller lower bound on size for taking notice of an animal, you could
take in twice as many animals.
<p>
Nonetheless, the destruction was enormous, and it may even change
ecosystems.


feed_id: e446c159a8db1bc878cca007574cf952
title: Pressure for intervention in Haiti
uri: Pressure-for-intervention-in-Haiti
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#11_July_2021_%28Pressure_for_intervention_in_Haiti%29

content:
<p>

There is pressure for the US to <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/07/08/haiti-assassination-raises-red-flags-among-observers-fluent-history-us-intervention">intervene in Haiti</a> again.
<p>
Previous interventions removed President Aristide, brought him back
to be president again, kidnapped him again and sent him into exile,
installed President Martelly, and installed President Moise.
Martelly and Moise were never elected by free and fair elections.


feed_id: 221fb01cfcbe24a9fe196044105d56ae
title: California's digital vaccination certificates
uri: California-s-digital-vaccination-certificates
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#11_July_2021_%28California%27s_digital_vaccination_certificates%29

content:
<p>

The EFF says that California's digital vaccination certificates <a href="https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2021/06/decoding-californias-new-digital-vaccine-records-and-potential-dangers">are
safe for privacy</a> as long as you avoid the QR codes.


feed_id: a8eac08555bf9ae097cbde4b3e33896e
title: Influencers
uri: 2021-07-12-Influencers
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#12_July_2021_%28Influencers%29
content:
<p>
*In Vietnam, where the state is fighting a fierce online battle
against political dissent, social media "influencers" <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-facebook-vietnam-force47-insight/how-vietnams-influencer-army-wages-information-warfare-on-facebook-idUSKCN2EF0JJ">are more likely
to be soldiers than celebrities</a>.*

<p>
I can't understand why many people &mdash; or why anyone &mdash; chooses to be influenced
by people known to have the goal of influencing them for ulterior purposes.


feed_id: 5e2670244eb41024233bff1a262c6998
title: Forever chemicals
uri: Forever-chemicals
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#12_July_2021_%28Forever_chemicals%29
content:
<p>
*Toxic ‘forever chemicals’ <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jul/09/toxic-forever-chemicals-plastic-food-containers">are contaminating plastic food containers</a>.*


feed_id: a72dfd44ff6b71ef4142cc6ea01ce9fc
title: Big Pharma spending
uri: Big-Pharma-spending
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#12_July_2021_%28Big_Pharma_spending%29
content:
<p>
*Big Pharma Firms <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/07/08/big-pharma-firms-spent-more-enriching-investors-rd-report">Spent More Enriching Investors Than on R&D</a>.*


feed_id: a9f4dc9c2d17fe25f01308477a94cf30
title: Persistent drought
uri: Persistent-drought
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#12_July_2021_%28Persistent_drought%29
content:
<p>
Deepening persistent drought is causing Las Vegas <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jul/09/las-vegas-climate-change-drought-water-conservation">to work hard to
reduce water use</a>.
  Whether it will be able to do this enough is not clear.


feed_id: 28d2fc713822c504df12b3f33351c86b
title: Kill of military and real estate agent
uri: Kill-of-military-and-real-estate-agent
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#12_July_2021_%28Kill_of_military_and_real_estate_agent%29

content:
<p>
Someone killed an Afghan Air Force pilot <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-afghanistan-conflict-pilots-special-r/special-report-afghan-pilots-assassinated-by-taliban-as-u-s-withdraws-idUSKCN2EF11F">as well as the real estate agent
he was working with</a>.

<p>
Shooting people for accepting soldiers as clients is terrorism.


feed_id: f8096237403e85e84e62e07467386e62
title: Covid-tracking
uri: Covid-tracking
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#12_July_2021_%28Covid-tracking%29
content:
<p>
Covid-tracking in England is showing so many contacts that people
can't possibly self-isolate so often.  <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2021/jul/09/nhs-covid-app-sensitivity-tweak-reduce-alerts-keep-people-using">What does this mean</a>?

<p>
To me it says that the disease is spreading too fast for contact tracing
to be effective.  England needs to reduce the contact between people.

<p>
This article about Australia <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jul/09/gladys-berejiklian-faces-instability-within-as-a-covid-storm-brews-outside">shows what is needed</a>.


feed_id: d6f45e8107bb4a2eab74f3a9b46cc60d
title: Colonization
uri: Colonization
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#12_July_2021_%28Colonization%29
content:
<p>
The UN special rapporteur argues that Israeli colonization of
Palestinian territory <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-israel-palestinians-un-rights/israeli-settlements-amount-to-war-crime-u-n-rights-expert-idUSKCN2EF1EO">amounts to a war crime</a>.


feed_id: 7cc2c2ef7e15e046b9da72ffda936250
title: Admitting only vaccinated visitors
uri: Admitting-only-vaccinated-visitors
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#12_July_2021_%28Admitting_only_vaccinated_visitors%29

content:
<p>
Malta will admit visitors <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-malta/malta-bans-all-visitors-who-arent-fully-vaccinated-against-covid-idUSKCN2EF1OG">only if they are vaccinated against Covid-19</a>.


feed_id: a0ab8991d0d1b147b84a0b37c1b52229
title: Locked in workers
uri: Locked-in-workers
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#12_July_2021_%28Locked_in_workers%29
content:
<p>
More than 50 workers in a factory in Bangladesh <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jul/09/bangladesh-factory-fire-kills-people-dhaka">died in a fire because the
owner had them locked inside</a>.

<p>
Bangladesh should start prosecuting factory owners and managers simply
for locking workers in &mdash; even when there is no fire.


feed_id: 51653ac39cbf06b6eb00e160cda82112
title: Regulations on groups
uri: Regulations-on-groups
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#12_July_2021_%28Regulations_on_groups%29
content:
<p>
The Netherlands has resumed some regulations on groups of people
<a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-netherlands/dutch-reimpose-covid-curbs-as-cases-jump-in-young-adults-idUSKCN2EF10K">to slow the spread of Covid-19</a>.

<p>
Many governments were foolishly eager to throw off all restraints,
but the problem is not over.


feed_id: d709fc230c1b9974174d1bc17c62f3e7
title: Minister personal wealth
uri: Minister-personal-wealth
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#12_July_2021_%28Minister_personal_wealth%29
content:
<p>
*Mexico prosecutors open probe <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mexico-corruption/mexico-prosecutors-open-probe-into-personal-wealth-of-ex-minister-idUSKCN2EF27H">into personal wealth of ex-minister</a>.*


feed_id: ab12c7ac2a315ebb140bb73247cdc6b2
title: Protecting personal data
uri: Protecting-personal-data
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#12_July_2021_%28Protecting_personal_data%29
content:
<p>
China is taking firm actions to protect Chinese people's personal
data <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/07/tech/china-didi-data-tech-crackdown-intl-hnk/index.html">from US access and from some kinds of misuse</a>.

<p>
The most dangerous misuse of personal data in China is misuse by
Chinese governments.  China's policies will not protect people from
much of that.

<p>
Insisting on storing people's personal data within their own country
has good and bad effects &mdash; it protects them from many kinds of
mistreatment, while denying them protection from from mistreatment by
the power that can hurt them most.

<p>
In total, is its effect good or bad?  That depends on how repressive
your country is, especially against people who criticize.  Most countries
are becoming more repressive &mdash; some quickly, some more gradually.


feed_id: 8e0bed7e2be00a851981af9ee75d84f1
title: Stabbing thug
uri: Stabbing-thug
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#12_July_2021_%28Stabbing_thug%29
content:
<p>
A man in Hong Kong <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jul/05/hong-kong-police-say-mourning-officers-attacker-is-no-different-to-backing-terrorism">stabbed himself fatally after attacking a cop</a>.
  This was on the anniversary of China's declaration of its repression.

<p>
The <a href="https://stallman.org/glossary.html#thug">thug</a> department says this was "terrorism".  Was it terrorism, or
was it rebellion?

<p>
Terrorism is making war on civilians.  In Hong Kong, the cops have
provided armed force for Chinese repression.  I consider that that
makes them occupation forces rather than civilians.  Therefore, I
would say this attack was rebellion, not terrorism.

<p>
If I thought that Hong Kongers had a chance of defeating Chinese
forces and freeing Hong Kong, I would encourage them to try.  I don't
see any way the Hong Kongers could possibly win, so think it would be
irresponsible to encourage a rebellion there.  But I can't say it
would be morally wrong.


feed_id: d48ee7f64076ec13bc7a97645224f890
title: Family farms
uri: 2021-07-12-Family-farms
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#12_July_2021_%28Family_farms%29
content:
<p>
What family farms would like to get from US farm policies, <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2021/07/08/family-farms-can-help-solve-climate-change">if it
isn't redirected to subsidize factory farms</a>.


feed_id: 391896488589a59b05ea3c524c8e71cc
title: Silence is deafening
uri: Silence-is-deafening
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#13_July_2021_%28Silence_is_deafening%29
content:
<p>
Ralph Nader: *Today the silence is deafening. Just try calling your members of
Congress, not as one of their donors or golf companions, <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2021/07/10/try-calling-them-challenge-governments-autocratic-incommunicados">but as a
serious informed citizen</a>.*


feed_id: 0918f8de57a46fa85e7f1fc675cfd674
title: Urgent: Reality Winner
uri: Urgent-Reality-Winner
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#13_July_2021_%28Urgent%3A_Reality_Winner%29
content:
<p>
US citizens: <a href="https://standwithreality.org/action-to-take/official-reality-winner-clemency-petition-to-president-biden/">urge clemency</a> for Reality Winner.


feed_id: 5ebef4933b703b82443247c56f897e2b
title: Response to refugees
uri: Response-to-refugees
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#13_July_2021_%28Response_to_refugees%29
content:
<p>
The UK is considering an Australia-style response to refugees: if you are
too persecuted to get a passport and a UK visa, and you ask for asylum there,
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/jul/11/after-priti-patel-has-finshed-which-refugees-will-carry-a-torch-for-britain">you'll be sent back to where they persecute you</a>.


feed_id: e416e6f3ef19334b8e50cce12afe06aa
title: Searching for PISSI
uri: Searching-for-PISSI
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#13_July_2021_%28Searching_for_PISSI%29
content:
<p>
A journalist reports on accompanying Iraqi counterinsurgency forces
that were searching for PISSI guerrillas, and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jul/11/isis-fighters-regroup-in-the-heart-of-iraq">not having much success
at finding them</a>.


feed_id: c5ae03c3ed9c90602ad79cdd3652f840
title: Keeping Covid out
uri: Keeping-Covid-out
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#13_July_2021_%28Keeping_Covid_out%29
content:
<p>
Taiwan has done a good job of keeping Covid-19 out, even counting <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/commentisfree/2021/jul/11/my-year-in-taiwan-shows-the-virus-will-exploit-any-hint-of-complacency">the time
that defeating the latest outbreak is taking</a>.


feed_id: 706b21003fe031c31b6b9a3e1e2fab04
title: Two children per family
uri: Two-children-per-family
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#13_July_2021_%28Two_children_per_family%29
content:
<p>
Uttar Pradesh <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-india-population-state/indias-most-populous-state-seeks-to-promote-two-child-policy-idUSKBN2EG0D2">is considering a two-children-per-family law</a>.

<p>
Reducing the number of births would be a good goal, but doing it by
punishing the children when a family is overlarge is a cruel method of
doing so.


feed_id: b1e8f68c91d857bb4215cf21ab23ac54
title: Using migrants
uri: Using-migrants
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#13_July_2021_%28Using_migrants%29
content:
<p>
Belarus is recruiting migrants to send overland into Lithuania.  Now Lithuania
<a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-belarus-politics-migrants-lithuania/u-s-concerned-by-flow-of-migrants-from-belarus-to-lithuania-idUSKBN2EH080">is building a border wall</a>.

<p>
Previously, Turkey <a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2016-jan-apr.html#13_February_2016_(Erdogan_trying_to_blackmail_Europe)">exploited the contradiction</a>
                                               between Europe's adherence
to the principle of giving refugees asylum and its fear of giving it to more
than a few refugees.


feed_id: 7da9935ae3a651b9b8f166951466769c
title: Right-wing fanatics
uri: Right-wing-fanatics
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#13_July_2021_%28Right-wing_fanatics%29
content:
<p>
Right-wing fanatics in Georgia (in the Caucasus) <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-georgia-lgbt-pride/georgia-probes-death-of-journalist-beaten-during-attacks-on-lgbt-supporters-idUSKBN2EH07V">attacked people who
were organizing a pride parade, and journalists, and killed one of
them</a>.


feed_id: d3054ed1970b96ac459e77059ea1bcad
title: Antiabortion law
uri: Antiabortion-law
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#13_July_2021_%28Antiabortion_law%29
content:
<p>
A new Texas antiabortion law is designed to make it difficult to
challenge in court in advance, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/09/us/abortion-law-regulations-texas.html?smid=tw-share">because there is no way to determine
who to sue about the question</a>.


feed_id: 849a2578b4b53c3039fb9228f3c41098
title: Response to voter suppression laws
uri: Response-to-voter-suppression-laws
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#13_July_2021_%28Response_to_voter_suppression_laws%29

content:
<p>
The Democratic National Committee's response to Republican voter
suppression laws <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/07/09/dnc-strategy-denounced-clueless-and-depressing-amid-gop-assault-voting-rights">is pathetically weak</a>:
  let's each try harder to overcome the obstacles.

<p>
This fails to use the power of collective action.


feed_id: d72944212467b6a05d43a04914492bbc
title: Investments destroying the Amazon forest
uri: Investments-destroying-the-Amazon-forest
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#13_July_2021_%28Investments_destroying_the_Amazon_forest%29

content:
<p>
Big banks must exclude "investments" <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/07/09/amazon-rainforest-tipping-point-big-banks-told-end-fossil-fuel-financing">that destroy the Amazon forest</a>.


feed_id: 4c367798bb4e8669c2e2dc558c9a17b1
title: Criminalizing homeless people
uri: Criminalizing-homeless-people
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#13_July_2021_%28Criminalizing_homeless_people%29
content:
<p>
*[The Tories'] police bill <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2021/jul/08/police-bill-risks-criminalising-homeless-people-warn-uk-charities">risks criminalizing homeless people</a>, warn UK charities.*

<p>
It looks like this proposed law is meant to spread repression
against the non-rich, non-powerful in all possible directions at once.


feed_id: 2458a5565e28341bad9313c340bbb667
title: Climate deniers
uri: Climate-deniers
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#13_July_2021_%28Climate_deniers%29
content:
<p>
*How the BBC let climate deniers <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/jul/08/bbc-climate-change-deniers-fossil-fuel-broadcasters">walk all over it</a>.*


feed_id: 5b242d63441225e785a4dcce94392d46
title: Impossible weather
uri: Impossible-weather
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#13_July_2021_%28Impossible_weather%29
content:
<p>
Meteorologists believed that the recent northwest heat wave was impossible.
Global heating <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/2021/jul/07/world-must-step-up-preparations-for-extreme-heat">is having effects far worse than expected</a>.

<p>
For the short term we must prepare to cope with such heatwaves.  But
that path does not lead to survival in the long term if we fail to
curb <a href="https://stallman.org/glossary.html#global heating">global heating</a>.  Each additional degree of extreme heat locally
will require a lot more work to cope with.  And since local extreme
heat could hit any locality, we will need to build up these
precautions everywhere.  We don't even know what will be sufficient,
ten years from now.

<p>
How do we prepare for the danger of a regional power outage that may
occur <a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2018-jul-oct.html#4_August_2018_(Fatal_weather_in_2070)">while the weather outside is fatal in an hour</a>?
  Should we give build for each building an underground shelter deep
enough to keep people safe from fever for days?  That would be a new
twist on the Cold War.

<p>
And how will human beings put out wildfires in fatal weather?  That
work has to be done outside.  Will firefighters have to wear cooling
suits?

<p>
We could do lots of things like that, in the wealthy countries, one
for each aspect of the harm done by <a href="https://stallman.org/glossary.html#global heating">global heating</a>.  But it is a
foolish approach.  If you think curbing <a href="https://stallman.org/glossary.html#global heating">global heating</a> is "expensive,"
you don't understand <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/07/09/flooded-nyc-subways-exemplify-why-climate-key-infrastructure-fight">how expensive it will be to compensate for
failing to do so</a>.
  Indeed, we won't be able to compensate for more than a few decades.
 Curbing <a href="https://stallman.org/glossary.html#global heating">global heating</a> will be much cheaper and
give far better results.


feed_id: 7e01ca2e8181ddc95f7a905aa46d7034
title: Preparing for future pandemics
uri: Preparing-for-future-pandemics
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#13_July_2021_%28Preparing_for_future_pandemics%29
content:
<p>
Experts told the G20 meeting that those countries need to spend
75 billion dollars over 5 years <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-g20-economy-pandemic-investment/find-75-billion-to-head-off-next-pandemic-top-panel-tells-g20-idUSKCN2EF1U2">to prepare to confront future pandemics</a>.


feed_id: 8c2adb82563cca043459af790e7b5598
title: Cancel culture is like disinformation
uri: Cancel-culture-is-like-disinformation
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2021-may-aug.html#14_July_2021_%28Cancel_culture_is_like_disinformation%29

content:
<p>
An argument that cancel culture is like disinformation, in that both are
forms of manipulation <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/07/jonathan-rauch-americas-competing-totalistic-ideologies/619386/">that try to impose a "totalistic" culture that
tolerates no dissent</a>.

<p>
At present, the right wing uses disinformation while the left uses
cancellation, but neither method is intrinsically tied to a political
position.  Rather, any side's ability to use these forms of
manipulation can use depends on what strengths it has at hand.


