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Richard Stallman's Political Notes

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Doctors for delusion

lundi 25 janvier 2021 à 01:00

One of the perpetrators of the attack on the Capitol was also the head of an organization that could be called Doctors for Delusion.

New Guantanamo trial

lundi 25 janvier 2021 à 01:00

The US Army is planning to start another bogus Guantanamo trial. The suspects are accused of specific crimes of terrorism, and they may actually be guilty. It would be good to try them, provided the trials are fair. However, Guantanamo does not hold real trials; its kangaroo courts are inherently unfair.

Have the suspects been tortured? A trial based on so-called evidence obtained by torture cannot be valid, since torture extracts false confessions.

They have been in prison for 17 years. To make people wait that long for trial is an injustice in itself. A terrorists who was convicted and sentenced years ago in Indonesia for one of these bombings is now being released. I suggest giving these suspects clemency, saying that 17 years is enough.

Another solution might be to extradite them to Indonesia. If there is no extradition treaty, they might choose to go to Indonesia for trial, so they can serve their sentences and be released, rather than stay in Guantanamo forever.

Election-stealer senators

lundi 25 janvier 2021 à 01:00

It looks like the election-stealer senators will not be expelled. So there is a campaign to deny them committee assignments.

Would that punishment achieve anything but to give them a chance to demonstrate defiance?

I do not know the rules that govern Senate committee assignments or how easily they can be set aside by 50 senators plus the vice president. Would denying those senators committee assignments imply giving extra committee assignments to other Republicans? Or would it mean Republicans get less than half the committee assignments? How can the senate move forward without an organizing resolution?

Firing of civil service employees

lundi 25 janvier 2021 à 01:00

Biden has reverted the wrecker's order to give the president the power to fire civil service employees and replace them with his own loyal flunkies.

That's good as far as it goes, but we need a law to prevent future presidents from trying the same trick again. Meanwhile, what about the flunkies that the wrecker opt in? Has Biden pushed them out? Can he push them out?

Neonicotinoid and sleep cycles

lundi 25 janvier 2021 à 01:00

Neonicotinoid insecticides in small quantities interfere with the sleep cycles of bees and fruit flies.

The reason they tested this on fruit flies is that those are the principal insect species for scientific study, studied more and understood better than any other species of insect. Easy to raise, too. Then they tested a species of bee as well because we are very concerned about bees.