# articles

feed_id: 78ff9ff5cce6c17c090637d18187486d
title: Guatemala's judicial system
uri: Guatemala-s-judicial-system
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#25_October_2015_%28Guatemalas_judicial_system%29
content:
<p>
UN help has enabled Guatemala to make its formerly corrupt and useless
judicial system
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2015/oct/20/guatemala-teach-fragile-states-about-cleaning-up-justice-system-presidential-runoff">work
honestly</a>.


feed_id: cc81e7b6a1ee540eb1b9d35f28de5dcd
title: Saudi death sentences
uri: Saudi-death-sentences
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#25_October_2015_%28Saudi_death_sentences%29
content:
<p>
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2015/10/21/72-saudi-death-sentences-handed-down-non-violent-crimes">72%
of Saudi Death Sentences Handed Down for Non-Violent Crimes</a>.


feed_id: 4701324b7c60788a6dba7729382af08f
title: Fewer acorns from oak trees
uri: Fewer-acorns-from-oak-trees
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#25_October_2015_%28Fewer_acorns_from_oak_trees%29
content:
<p>
When spring is warm, oak trees produce
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/oct/21/plantwatch-simons-oaks-acorns-spring-flowering-pollination-climate-change">fewer
acorns</a>.


feed_id: 5f998fd8ea73b96621115f904a8f10d2
title: Investigation of Wisconsin Governor
uri: Investigation-of-Wisconsin-Governor
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#25_October_2015_%28Investigation_of_Wisconsin_Governor%29

content:
<p>
The Wisconsin Government Accountability Board members used private
email accounts (which was lawful) while trying to investigate Governor
Walker, because they couldn't trust their state email accounts not to
be monitored by his men.
<p>
Having arbitrarily quashed the investigation (apparently because
Walker was guilty), Walker's Republican allies in the legislature are
<a href="http://www.prwatch.org/news/2015/10/12956/GAB-private-email-too">citing
this as an excuse to eliminate the Government Accountability
Board</a>.
<p>
No constitutional arrangements are strong enough to prevent shameless
scoundrels from destroying them.


feed_id: 2d95eb20cdf86408114fe879556939f4
title: Urgent: reject GMO wheat
uri: Urgent-reject-GMO-wheat
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#25_October_2015_%28Urgent%3A_reject_GMO_wheat%29
content:
<p>US citizens: <a href="http://action.greenamerica.org/blastContent.jsp?email_blast_KEY=1333206">call on the USDA</a> to reject GMO wheat.


feed_id: 6a8129f026760979717a00c1629d3503
title: Urgent: cancel purchase of F-35
uri: Urgent-cancel-purchase-of-F-35
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#25_October_2015_%28Urgent%3A_cancel_purchase_of_F-35%29

content:
<p>Everyone: call on Justin Trudeau to cancel Canada's purchase of the <a href="http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/prime-minister-designate?source=c.em&r_by=1135580">overpriced and troublesome F-35 fighter.</a>


feed_id: 254d3a68cd088b61feae3c93715909e7
title: Urgent: the killing of Tamir Rice
uri: Urgent-the-killing-of-Tamir-Rice
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#25_October_2015_%28Urgent%3A_the_killing_of_Tamir_Rice%29

content:
<p>Everyone: <a href="http://act.colorofchange.org/sign/da-mcginty-step-aside/?t=1015&akid=4921.1242918.KRAXB1
">call for a special prosecutor</a> for the killing of Tamir Rice.


feed_id: c1433480c6e8f5459eea9a11d6f20ea0
title: Phone and internet data retention
uri: Phone-and-internet-data-retention
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#25_October_2015_%28Phone_and_internet_data_retention%29

content:
<p><a href="https://lawfareblog.com/german-bundestag-passes-new-data-retention-law">Germany</a> has instituted phone and internet data retention again.  The new retention is shorter and has safeguards that might protect
against the danger.  However, it may also criminalize receiving leaked
information from whistleblowers.


feed_id: 14bd83b06645929fc4ec3aa00a48fb06
title: Model for democratic socialism
uri: Model-for-democratic-socialism
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#25_October_2015_%28Model_for_democratic_socialism%29

content:
<p>There is no need to point to Scandinavia as a model for democratic socialism.
<p>The ideas have been <a href="http://www.thenation.com/article/how-bernie-sanders-should-talk-about-democratic-socialism/
">advocated in the US</a> for centuries.


feed_id: c05cdfa9c68bb1ee4461f4cc18a64c86
title: Fanatical Muslims in Indonesia
uri: Fanatical-Muslims-in-Indonesia
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#25_October_2015_%28Fanatical_Muslims_in_Indonesia%29

content:
<p>Fanatical Muslims in Aceh, Indonesia, attacked a Protestant church, <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/23/religious-violence-flares-in-indonesia-as-mob-torches-aceh-church">as part of a campaign to dismantle them.</a>
<p>Shari'a law tramples human rights.  It hits women especially hard, but
it hits men also.  It is an inexcusable injustice.


feed_id: a3c2215345e8d7600dc3f2de3adaf9c4
title: Global heating endangers snow leopards
uri: Global-heating-endangers-snow-leopards
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#25_October_2015_%28Global_heating_endangers_snow_leopards%29

content:
<p>Global heating endangers snow leopards: the snow they blend in with is <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/oct/23/snow-leopards-at-risk-himalayas-face-climate-change-crisis">melting.</a>


feed_id: 4d40c3460cb4699a37e330e918fbe63a
title: Tory voter suppression
uri: Tory-voter-suppression
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#25_October_2015_%28Tory_voter_suppression%29
content:
<p>A Tory voter suppression scheme may be <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/oct/23/watchdog-urges-peers-block-plans-19m-names-electoral-roll">thwarted.</a>


feed_id: a9c4123d3283fb5ecf73d72b97be5beb
title: Social pressure for political correct speech
uri: Social-pressure-for-political-correct-speech
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#25_October_2015_%28Social_pressure_for_political_correct_speech%29

content:
<p>Ben Carson wants the US government to <a href="http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/10/21/1436858/-Ben-Carson-hates-political-correctness-so-much-he-wants-the-government-to-police-campus-speech?detail=email">censor universities</a> to resist social pressure for political correct speech.


feed_id: 9248aa3fcad7846b74dfd265ac4b7489
title: Properties confiscated by Nazis
uri: Properties-confiscated-by-Nazis
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#25_October_2015_%28Properties_confiscated_by_Nazis%29

content:
<p>Stephan Templ reminded Austria about properties confiscated from
Austrian Jews by Nazis; the state seems to have punished him by convicting
him of a <a href="http://www.thenation.com/article/this-man-was-jailed-for-seeking-restitution-of-property-stolen-by-the-nazis/
">theoretical crime that didn't really occur.</a>


feed_id: e4794f87a7fdca9af4487fd5f23e0e31
title: Protect Palestinians under occupation
uri: Protect-Palestinians-under-occupation
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#25_October_2015_%28Protect_Palestinians_under_occupation%29

content:
<p>Proposing an <a href="http://www.thenation.com/article/palestine-besieged/">international force</a> to protect Palestinians under Israeli occupation.


feed_id: ce4483774eea4a3d4941ae6b0acba267
title: 14 days to argue against a fine
uri: 14-days-to-argue-against-a-fine
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#25_October_2015_%2814_days_to_argue_against_a_fine%29

content:
<p>The UK says it will give <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/money/2015/oct/22/benefit-sanction-warning-period-to-be-trialled
">unemployed people</a> 14 days to argue against a fine before imposing the fine.
<p>This change may make the system less cruel, but it may still run
people ragged.


feed_id: a333cdb589240a4b4424fc36c96194f1
title: Filtering the internet in Yemen
uri: Filtering-the-internet-in-Yemen
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#25_October_2015_%28Filtering_the_internet_in_Yemen%29

content:
<p><a href="http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2015/10/22/yemen-rebels-using-canadian-software-to-censor-internet.html
">The Houthis</a> are filtering the internet in Yemen.
<p>I suppose that their main enemy, Saudi Arabia, filters the internet too.


feed_id: 9603811f7e9842ff856034223b2eb3ad
title: Generic replacement for Daraprim
uri: Generic-replacement-for-Daraprim
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#25_October_2015_%28Generic_replacement_for_Daraprim%29

content:
<p>A company has found a way to sell a generic replacement for Daraprim
and <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Theres-now-a-1-a-pill-competitor-to-pharma-CEO-Martin-Shkrelis-750-a-pill-drug/articleshow/49499385.cms">undercut Shkreli's gouging price.</a>


feed_id: a2e0d194d5c64372a28a654a4de64018
title: Extra money to NHS
uri: Extra-money-to-NHS
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#25_October_2015_%28Extra_money_to_NHS%29
content:
<p>The Tories promised extra money to the UK's NHS, taking it from public
health services.  Cutting them will put extra burden on the NHS and <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/oct/23/public-health-cuts-undermine-nhs-funding-boost-letter">cancel out the benefit.</a>


feed_id: 267ae0bff7ded850ae43a04327afd431
title: Future demand for fossil fuels
uri: Future-demand-for-fossil-fuels
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#25_October_2015_%28Future_demand_for_fossil_fuels%29

content:
<p>The International Energy Agency projects future demand for fossil fuels
which are <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/oct/23/are-fossil-fuel-companies-using-iea-reports-to-talk-up-demand
">systematically exaggerated.</a>  Fossil fuel companies use these figures
to influence government policies.
<p>The Tories are <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/oct/23/tories-kill-renewable-energy-boom
">killing off</a> the UK's booming renewable energy sector.


feed_id: cbf194ab1ed2864d2d8dedf4168ce27b
title: National Defense Authorization Act
uri: National-Defense-Authorization-Act
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#25_October_2015_%28National_Defense_Authorization_Act%29

content:
<p>Obama <a href="https://theintercept.com/2015/10/23/rare-obama-veto-keeps-his-options-open-for-closing-gitmo/
">vetoed</a> the National Defense Authorization Act because of provisions
that would interfere with closing Guantanamo prison.
<p>We often use "Guantanamo prison" as a stand-in for the unjust and
un-American practice of imprisonment without trial.  It is not clear
whether, when Obama talks about "closing Guantanamo prison", he means
ending imprisonment without trial, or just moving it elsewhere.


feed_id: d1442e8ca6c604ab8b468ffffd9f0c25
title: UK fawns on China's repressive rulers
uri: UK-fawns-on-China-s-repressive-rulers
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#25_October_2015_%28UK_fawns_on_China%27s_repressive_rulers%29

content:
<p>As the UK fawns on China's repressive rulers, <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/23/frankly-disgusted-british-cyclist-challenges-xi-jinping-supporters-paul-powlesland">one British lawyer confronted participants</a> in the expensive support rally that Chinese officials organized in London.
<p>If you want to see the video, please don't let it lead you to run
nonfree software (Flash or JS code) or be used by <a href="https://www.stallman.org/facebook.html">Facebook.</a>


feed_id: c67cd56dc8f7f7592a4800d7dee0e132
title: Demonizing whistleblowers
uri: Demonizing-whistleblowers
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#25_October_2015_%28Demonizing_whistleblowers%29
content:
<p>A UN special rapporteur takes governments including the US to task
for <a href="https://theintercept.com/2015/10/23/u-n-report-calls-on-governments-to-protect-whistleblowers-like-snowden-not-prosecute-them/">demonizing whistleblowers they ought to protect.</a>


feed_id: 2a59c739fdc87a9bb799ed876eef7671
title: US-supported massacre in El Salvador
uri: US-supported-massacre-in-El-Salvador
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#25_October_2015_%28US-supported_massacre_in_El_Salvador%29

content:
<p>Just after University of Washington Center for Human Rights sued the CIA
about a possibly US-supported massacre in El Salvador, someone <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/23/el-salvador-civil-war-classified-files-stolen">stole its computer</a> which held testimony from survivors of the massacre.
<p>The article does not say whether they had a backup copy elsewhere.
They are afraid that the stolen data could be used for reprisals.
It is too bad they did not encrypt the data with GPG.
<p>They did have backups, but apparently <a href="http://www.commondreams.org/news/2015/10/22/files-lawsuit-against-cia-stolen-disturbing-university-break">did not keep the files encrypted.</a>


feed_id: f0d3a88e4363d318a9c37303b16c5f8c
title: "Moral case for coal"
uri: Moral-case-for-coal
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#25_October_2015_%28Moral_case_for_coal%29
content:
<p>Australia's "moral case for coal" was developed by a PR flack for the Koch brothers as a last-ditch attempt to keep humanity headed towards <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/oct/23/there-is-no-moral-case-for-coal-in-australia-just-an-imported-pr-line">maximal climate mayhem.</a>


feed_id: f69b8ae00317a7cedbefb250e3a9f6d5
title: Prison for Exxon Execs?
uri: Prison-for-Exxon-Execs
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#25_October_2015_%28Prison_for_Exxon_Execs_%29
content:
<p>Prison for Exxon Execs? Lawmakers Seek Probe of Oil Giant for <a href="http://www.democracynow.org/2015/10/21/prison_for_exxon_execs_calls_grow">Hiding Knowledge of Climate Change.</a>


feed_id: 192664e6cb4d5d94181090ec93303351
title: 1965 Indonesian massacre
uri: 1965-Indonesian-massacre
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#25_October_2015_%281965_Indonesian_massacre%29
content:
<p>Government pressure forced a <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/oct/23/indonesian-writers-festival-forced-to-cancel-events-linked-to-1965-massacre">writers' festival in Bali</a> to cancel events concerning the massacre of a million Indonesians in 1965.


feed_id: 3ad91adb0f9b2d2d75ce6321e7a57a4f
title: Signs of hunger
uri: Signs-of-hunger
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#25_October_2015_%28Signs_of_hunger%29
content:
<p>The American Academy of Pediatrics says doctors should <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/oct/23/doctors-child-patients-hunger-food-pediatricians">check their child patients</a> for signs of hunger.
<p>This is the result of the plutocratist policies that have spread poverty
in the US.


feed_id: b9696a6c92e71c7d7f299e5c623ef446
title: Accused of witchcraft
uri: Accused-of-witchcraft
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#25_October_2015_%28Women_accused_of_witchcraft%29
content:
<p>In Papua New Guinea, women <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/23/witchcraft-papua-new-guinea-students-share-video-appearing-show-torture#img-1">accused of being witches</a> are tortured,
sometimes to death.</p><p></p>


feed_id: 481455a03438c0f425c39b1a4ed2a9f7
title: Urgent: don't hide truth from investors
uri: Urgent-don-t-hide-truth-from-investors
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#26_October_2015_%28Urgent%3A_don%27t_hide_truth_from_investors%29

content:
<p>US citizens: Tell the Securities and Exchange Commission: <a href="https://act.credoaction.com/sign/SEC_FASB_disclosure
">Don't help Wall Street hide the truth from investors.</a>


feed_id: 0858494df49d8189f12b585bfb9736ca
title: Urgent: oppose CISA
uri: 2015-10-27-Urgent-oppose-CISA
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#26_October_2015_%28Urgent%3A_oppose_CISA%29
content:
<p>US citizens: phone your senators <a href="http://act.freepress.net/call/internet_senate_cisa/?t=1001&akid=5398.9489429.Ju46Ux
">to oppose CISA.</a>


feed_id: b78f191e67d39b676d831235370bd9b0
title: Urgent: stop dehumanizing Palestinians
uri: Urgent-stop-dehumanizing-Palestinians
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#26_October_2015_%28Urgent%3A_stop_dehumanizing_Palestinians%29

content:
<p>Everyone: <a href="https://jewishvoiceforpeace.org/tellthenyt/">call on the New York Times</a> to stop dehumanizing Palestinians
and cease covering the Israeli-Palestinian violence in a one-sided way.


feed_id: e278db2fb2725d26aedc9de16cefac0a
title: Urgent: oppose the DARK Act
uri: Urgent-oppose-the-DARK-Act
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#26_October_2015_%28Urgent%3A_oppose_the_DARK_Act%29
content:
<p>US citizens: phone your senators <a href="http://salsa3.salsalabs.com/o/1881/p/salsa/web/common/public/content?content_item_KEY=14115">to oppose the DARK Act.</a>
<p>The Capitol Switchboard numbers are 202-224-3121, 888-818-6641 and 888-355-3588.


feed_id: 89bbb2a11f031266e8662a2ff2f9d385
title: Repression of West Papua
uri: Repression-of-West-Papua
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#26_October_2015_%28Repression_of_West_Papua%29
content:
<p>Indonesia's repression of West Papua includes <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2015/oct/22/west-papua-women-indonesian-rule-violence">frequent rapes of the indigenous women.</a>
<p>As a practical matter, journalists are still effectively excluded.


feed_id: 79eb91100e754176e9d5bfa497bcf752
title: "Stop and frisk" scheme
uri: Stop-and-frisk-scheme
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#26_October_2015_%28Stop_and_frisk_scheme%29
content:
<p>The US Border Patrol operates checkpoints inside US territory as an
<a href="http://www.acluaz.org/sites/default/files/documents/Record_of_Abuse_101515_0.pdf
">arbitrary and irresponsible "stop and frisk" scheme,</a> which appears to
be intended to catch drugs rather than unauthorized aliens.  And it
does not keep proper records of what it does.
<p>If they want to search your car, all they need to do is tell the
"drug-sniffing dog" to act as if it had sniffed some drugs.


feed_id: 6437b00a86efad38fc2afffa9f2dcd57
title: Falsified "benefits of coal"
uri: Falsified-benefits-of-coal
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#26_October_2015_%28Falsified_benefits_of_coal%29
content:
<p>The International Energy Agency is about to publish a <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/oct/23/iea-report-on-benefits-of-coal-is-deeply-misleading">report</a> lauding falsified "benefits of coal", as a "disinformation tool".


feed_id: 240092cd572d03965214db2e3bf54108
title: "Caring" for old people with robots
uri: Caring-for-old-people-with-robots
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#26_October_2015_%28Caring_for_old_people_with_robots%29

content:
<p>To save money, companies propose to "care for" old people with robots
and no human contact — <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/oct/24/growing-old-silicon-valley-prescription-for-misery">while spying on and managing their every move.</a>


feed_id: 5705a1699bf95d28cfe2a3d015e4d8ff
title: Manipulating elections through search results
uri: Manipulating-elections-through-search-results
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#26_October_2015_%28Manipulating_elections_through_search_results%29

content:
<p>Google can easily manipulate election outcomes through search results.
<p>It might be doing so <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-robert-epstein/googles-hypocrisy_b_8253332.html">without anyone's intentionally trying.</a>


feed_id: 8925ee51f356fbf7e933955ce77984c3
title: UK sabotages protests
uri: UK-sabotages-protests
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#26_October_2015_%28UK_sabotages_protests%29
content:
<p>The UK systematically sabotages protests by arresting
protesters and giving them bail conditions <a href="http://www.lawgazette.co.uk/analysis/comment-and-opinion/misuse-of-bail-conditions/5046429.fullarticle">barring them from future protests.</a>


feed_id: 374028c5c5fbd5e82fb3c54a5170b68b
title: Roll-back of tuition fees increase
uri: Roll-back-of-tuition-fees-increase
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#26_October_2015_%28Roll-back_of_tuition_fees_increase%29

content:
<p><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/news/2015/10/23/mass-struggle-works-south-african-student-uprising-wins-tuition-hike-freeze
">South African students</a> protested massively and won roll-back of a tuition fees
increase.


feed_id: babc7d600edf9c3275feb0093bd406db
title: Fired under government pressure
uri: Fired-under-government-pressure
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#26_October_2015_%28Fired_under_government_pressure%29

content:
<p>Under US government pressure, professors are being fired for <a href="https://reason.com/blog/2015/10/23/overbroad-sexual-harassment-codes-threat">academic discussion of issues relating to sex.</a>


feed_id: 4a30283fe4a144d7f2b29bf111591ff5
title: Lobbyists' in Democratic convention
uri: Lobbyists-in-Democratic-convention
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#26_October_2015_%28Lobbyists%27_in_Democratic_convention%29

content:
<p>The Democratic National Committee is now giving lobbyists <a href="http://www.commondreams.org/news/2015/10/23/were-baaack-dnc-reverses-ban-corporate-cash-fund-convention">privileged participation in next year's convention.</a>


feed_id: fe1862a7080188bd7285f6ab14c78c9c
title: Press repeats Ryan claims
uri: Press-repeats-Ryan-claims
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#26_October_2015_%28Press_repeats_Ryan_claims%29
content:
<p>Paul Ryan, hypocrite and bullshit artist, often gets the press to
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/views/2015/10/23/paul-ryan-liar-hypocrite-charlatan-and-right-wing-extremist
">repeat his claims uncritically.</a>


feed_id: 6feb6931c584ff5f910820c8350d42b4
title: Kidnap and torture of Colombian union organizers
uri: Kidnap-and-torture-of-Colombian-union-organizers
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#26_October_2015_%28Kidnap_and_torture_of_Colombian_union_organizers%29

content:
<p><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/24/colombia-oilo-wars--kidnapped-chained-and-blindfolded-i-cant-go-bac-gilberto-torres">Oil companies in Colombia</a> work with the paramilitares to kidnap and
torture union organizers.
<p>Leaked Map <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/andes-to-the-amazon/2015/oct/24/leaked-map-reveals-big-gas-eyeing-most-biodiverse-place-on-earth">Reveals</a> Big Gas Eyeing Most Biodiverse Place on Earth.


feed_id: f077ddf811605c57af43a70db16c93a1
title: Worked to death in Saudi Arabia
uri: Worked-to-death-in-Saudi-Arabia
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#26_October_2015_%28Worked_to_death_in_Saudi_Arabia%29

content:
<p>Domestic workers in Saudi Arabia take a risk they will be <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2015/oct/24/the-vanished-filipino-domestic-workers-working-abroad">worked to death.</a>


feed_id: 36dfde793726afa311da2c83048bea05
title: Lego censors Ai Weiwei
uri: Lego-censors-Ai-Weiwei
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#26_October_2015_%28Lego_censors_Ai_Weiwei%29
content:
<p>Lego refused to sell in bulk to <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2015/oct/24/artist-ai-weiwei-banned-by-lego-to-build-artwork-australian-exhibition">Ai Weiwei</a> for an art project.
<p><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2015/oct/25/ai-weiwei-swamped-by-lego-donation-offers-after-ban-on-use-for-political-artwork">Fortunately,</a> others have offered to give him the Lego pieces he needs
for that art work.
<p>Shame on Lego for censorship.


feed_id: 752e2d073a4d3bb154daa821287e0fd0
title: Our chance to defeat Polio
uri: Our-chance-to-defeat-Polio
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#26_October_2015_%28Our_chance_to_defeat_Polio%29
content:
<p>Our Chance to Defeat Polio <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/oct/24/our-chance-to-defeat-polio-once-and-for-all
">Once And for All.</a>


feed_id: acc45abf6358cbc233da38cb5f64c1b1
title: Iranian exile Shappi Khorsandi
uri: Iranian-exile-Shappi-Khorsandi
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#26_October_2015_%28Iranian_exile_Shappi_Khorsandi%29

content:
<p>Iranian exile Shappi Khorsandi talks about growing up in London and worrying <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/oct/23/shappi-khorsandi-my-family-values">that her father would be assassinated.</a>


feed_id: 88502589e83285213ddd37a94d313213
title: Shao Jiang's house raided
uri: Shao-Jiang-s-house-raided
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#26_October_2015_%28Shao_Jiang%27s_house_raided%29
content:
<p>Shao Jiang protested at Tiananmen Square, then fled to Britain.  <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/uk-accused-of-doing-chinas-bidding-after-police-raid-home-of-tiananmen-square-surviv
or-over-peaceful-a6704911.html">UK thugs raided his house,</a> apparently because he protested the visit of Chinese strongman Xi Jinping.
<p>He was arrested too, just for holding a sign.  Protesters who held
Tibetan flags to protest Xi Jinping's visit to London <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/oct/23/activists-condemn-arrest-tibetan-pair-waving-flag-xi-jinping-met-police-chinese-president">were also violently arrested.</a>
<p>Looks like Britain has a new "special relationship".  Will Cameron become
Xi's poodle?
<p>UK thugs arrested housing activist Lisa McKenzie for allegedly helping someone
else <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/oct/22/lawyers-criticise-decision-to-prosecute-housing-protester
">put a sticker on a building.</a>
<p>McKenzie says they picked her out because of her organizing role in
the campaign.


feed_id: fdc438c0028e73b3d52c972a747caa6f
title: EU breaks environmental pledge
uri: EU-breaks-environmental-pledge
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#26_October_2015_%28EU_breaks_environmental_pledge%29

content:
<p>TTIP: EU Negotiators Appear to Break Environmental Pledge in <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/oct/23/ttip-eu-negotiators-appear-to-break-environmental-pledge-in-leaked-draft">Leaked Draft.</a>
<p><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/news/2015/10/23/leaked-doc-shows-toxic-trade-deal-putting-environmental-safeguards-chopping-block">More info.</a>


feed_id: a2f2d11fbe5847b18f20f0fa53456b87
title: Civilians killed by US drone strikes
uri: Civilians-killed-by-US-drone-strikes
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#26_October_2015_%28Civilians_killed_by_US_drone_strikes%29

content:
<p>The New York Times and Washington Post are <a href="http://www.commondreams.org/views/2015/10/22/new-york-times-and-washington-post-are-ignoring-civilians-killed-us-drone-strikes">Ignoring Civilians Killed by US Drone Strikes.</a>


feed_id: a13cb1ca358754b48aead040b067faa6
title: Give up confidentiality for medical data
uri: Give-up-confidentiality-for-medical-data
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#26_October_2015_%28Give_up_confidentiality_for_medical_data%29

content:
<p>A drug company will require patients, <a href="http://cardiobrief.org/2015/10/22/amgen-requires-patients-in-repatha-copay-program-to-surrender-their-privacy/">unless they pay the exorbitant full price,</a> to give up confidentiality for their medical data.
<p>This is an illustration of why "you must get the subject's permission"
is not good enough to protect privacy.


feed_id: 6e250bb9b1a56bccd603fa67c294f552
title: Fires started in Indonesia
uri: Fires-started-in-Indonesia
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#26_October_2015_%28Fires_started_in_Indonesia%29
content:
<p>Large fires in Indonesia are <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/oct/23/is-indonesias-fire-crisis-connected-palm-oil-in-snack-food">deliberately started</a> in order to eliminate rainforests to make room for palm oil plantations.
<p>This not only causes respiratory illness, even in Singapore and Malaysia;
it also emits so much CO2 that it is globally significant.
<p>A large Indonesian palm oil producer has <a href="http://act.sumofus.org/go/8504?t=1001&akid=14500.881131.XN78nV">adopted a policy to protect forests.</a>
<p>This is just a first step, since we can't take for granted that
companies will keep their promises.


feed_id: e35f4e03db291aac0027502031e9f101
title: Pro-Israeli fanatics
uri: Pro-Israeli-fanatics
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#26_October_2015_%28Pro-Israeli_fanatics%29
content:
<p>Pro-Israeli fanatics <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/oct/23/buzzfeed-journalist-attacked-paris-david-perrotin-ldj-afp">attacked a journalist in Paris.</a>


feed_id: 9ffab723683ef7b0f0564be0ab22097e
title: Convicted executives of failed banks
uri: Convicted-executives-of-failed-banks
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#26_October_2015_%28Convicted_executives_of_failed_banks%29

content:
<p><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/further/2015/10/22/jailing-banksters-continued-iceland-not-us-duh
">Iceland</a> has convicted the executives of failed banks for their frauds,
and sentenced them to prison.


feed_id: 2cb19f7d2c438cf3206adc5f689a1cb8
title: Israel provoked Palestinians
uri: Israel-provoked-Palestinians
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#26_October_2015_%28Israel_provoked_Palestinians%29
content:
<p>Uri Avnery <a href="http://zope.gush-shalom.org/home/en/channels/avnery/1445619822/">reports</a> on how Israel provoked Palestinians to the string of knife attacks, and how Israelis lynched an innocent man in response to one of them.


feed_id: 7292e8e51a9911fd9ca1f4327b66509e
title: China's long game
uri: China-s-long-game
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#26_October_2015_%28China%27s_long_game%29
content:
<p>The Best Lesson China Could Teach Europe: <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/oct/23/europe-china-beijing-european-nations">How to Play the Long Game.</a>
<p>Although democracy is pretty sick in Europe and the US, there remains
much more than in China.


feed_id: 904965f569cd98aadd47ce361dfbe073
title: ACLU's lawsuit against NSA
uri: ACLU-s-lawsuit-against-NSA
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#26_October_2015_%28ACLU%27s_lawsuit_against_NSA%29
content:
<p>A US court quashed the ACLU's lawsuit against NSA's massive surveillance
on the grounds that <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/oct/23/aclu-nsa-surveillance-lawsuit-dismissed
">the NSA doesn't admit it does the massive surveillance.</a>


feed_id: 5b37fe50e2c6f7adda2ddcbed3587b16
title: Weak supervision of charter schools
uri: Weak-supervision-of-charter-schools
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#26_October_2015_%28Weak_supervision_of_charter_schools%29

content:
<p>US government money is handed to charter schools <a href="http://www.commondreams.org/news/2015/10/21/landmark-look-us-charter-system-reveals-waste-fraud-ghost-schools">(privatized "public schools")</a> with weak supervision.  Millions have gone to schools that
never even opened.


feed_id: 2fba0bd5faccac85ba35a64965ae9303
title: Marijuana research
uri: Marijuana-research
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#26_October_2015_%28Marijuana_research%29
content:
<p>US government restrictions are <a href="http://www.commondreams.org/news/2015/10/21/us-government-accused-stifling-medical-marijuana-research">blocking research into the effects of marijuana.</a>


feed_id: e0b378aba0da23f452553cbaf319f800
title: Ryan wants to abolish large parts of US government
uri: Ryan-wants-to-abolish-large-parts-of-US-government
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#26_October_2015_%28Ryan_wants_to_abolish_large_parts_of_US_government%29

content:
<p>Paul Ryan wants to abolish large parts of the US government —
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/views/2015/10/21/paul-ryan-wants-shut-down-government-permanently
">the parts that help people rather than killing people.</a>


feed_id: f85e88ad6579e710be95de591e0c2d0e
title: Second-hand smoke and tooth decay
uri: Second-hand-smoke-and-tooth-decay
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#26_October_2015_%28Second-hand_smoke_and_tooth_decay%29

content:
<p>Second-hand smoke seems to encourage <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/oct/21/passive-smoking-babies-doubles-risk-later-tooth-decay">tooth decay in babies.</a>


feed_id: d15e396354ef9a802cec1e75aa6daecd
title: Resentment for US conquest of Iraq
uri: Resentment-for-US-conquest-of-Iraq
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#27_October_2015_%28Resentment_for_US_conquest_of_Iraq%29

content:
<p>Iraqi PISSI fighters that have been captured usually don't understand
Islam very well, and most of them are motivated by <a href="http://www.thenation.com/article/what-i-discovered-from-interviewing-isis-prisoners/">resentment for the US conquest of Iraq.</a>


feed_id: ef0373070019f36ab9ceb3909706ca61
title: Disintegration of Libya
uri: Disintegration-of-Libya
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#27_October_2015_%28Disintegration_of_Libya%29
content:
<p>Arguing that the disintegration of Libya was <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/oct/22/how-west-broke-libya-gaddafi-national-unity">inevitable</a> once Ghadhafi was overthrown.
<p>This may have been true — but the article overlooks the point that
the west did not start the civil war in Libya.  Libyans did that.
The western intervention initially prevented Ghadhafi from massacring
the rebels of Benghazi, then was redirected toward defeating him.
<p>You can argue that Libya would be better off today if Ghadhafi had
reimposed his power and killed the rebels.  The author of the article
would probably assert that.  I can't say it wasn't true.  However, we
must be skeptical of the hindsight that claims something was
predictable.


feed_id: 3455c67f839cee225f21b25fc128e69c
title: Liberal Party in Canada
uri: Liberal-Party-in-Canada
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#27_October_2015_%28Liberal_Party_in_Canada%29
content:
<p>The Liberal Party in Canada probably has no intention of giving
Canada the progressive vision it appeared to promise, but perhaps
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/true-north/2015/oct/22/trudeaus-bold-change-pledge-was-a-ruse-but-canada-now-has-a-fighting-chance">Canadians can pressure it to do so.</a>
<p>There is nothing to lose by trying.


feed_id: 78c3b36987dad055e581480e99f31992
title: Phone calls for prisoners
uri: Phone-calls-for-prisoners
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#27_October_2015_%28Phone_calls_for_prisoners%29
content:
<p>The FCC has slashed the cost of interstate phone calls for prisoners <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/oct/22/regulators-slash-price-prison-calls-fcc">by a factor of as much as 100.</a>  They remain shockingly expensive by modern standards.
<p>Meanwhile, gouging is still allowed on phone calls within a state.


feed_id: 6925661cfac5919d15160515c61ca343
title: Putin mistranslated
uri: Putin-mistranslated
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#27_October_2015_%28Putin_mistranslated%29
content:
<p>What Putin says appears much nastier when <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/oct/22/understanding-vladimir-putin-russian-language-kremlin">mistranslated.</a>


feed_id: bb858ca258286ebf15d57cab9c291e97
title: Kurdish fighters captured by PISSI
uri: Kurdish-fighters-captured-by-PISSI
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#27_October_2015_%28Kurdish_fighters_captured_by_PISSI%29

content:
<p><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/22/us-special-forces-free-kurdish-hostages-isis-iraq
">US troops joined with Kurds</a> to rescue Kurdish fighters captured by PISSI.
<p>The rescue is a good outcome, and I hope the US will cooperate
increasingly with the peshmerga.  However, I hope this does not mean
the start of a continuing US ground intervention.


feed_id: c154ffb846b857f6c3507f55faee1b69
title: If Jesus lived in UK today
uri: If-Jesus-lived-in-UK-today
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#27_October_2015_%28If_Jesus_lived_in_UK_today%29
content:
<p>If Jesus lived in the UK today, <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/belief/2015/oct/22/under-this-government-jesus-would-have-been-done-for-extremism">he's be punished for "extremism".</a>
<p>Christians have committed plenty of extremist oppression, when they
have political power, but I am not sure that can be blamed on Jesus,
given that we know little about what he actually said and did.  The
earliest documents were written many decades after he died.


feed_id: d0bde8b7845f27e714b2448a73218472
title: Palau's protected marine area
uri: Palau-s-protected-marine-area
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#27_October_2015_%28Palau%27s_protected_marine_area%29

content:
<p>Palau is creating a <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/oct/22/palau-approves-huge-pacific-marine-sanctuary
">giant protected marine area.</a>


feed_id: 516c6b140398a4dcfeb73f52ff85dbdd
title: Bombed hospitals in Syria
uri: Bombed-hospitals-in-Syria
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#27_October_2015_%28Bombed_hospitals_in_Syria%29
content:
<p>Russia has bombed <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/22/three-syrian-hospitals-bombed-since-russian-airstrikes-began-doctors-say">three hospitals in Syria,</a> so far.


feed_id: e8234985a379ba7912060325a2f0344e
title: Timber from illegal logging
uri: Timber-from-illegal-logging
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#27_October_2015_%28Timber_from_illegal_logging%29
content:
<p>The EU's program to stop import of timber from illegal logging <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/oct/22/europe-failing-to-clamp-down-on-illegal-logging-report-warns">is not working.</a>


feed_id: c3bb512151b30510b1ac33110b5f45f6
title: Genetic engineering and software development
uri: Genetic-engineering-and-software-development
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#27_October_2015_%28Genetic_engineering_and_software_development%29

content:
<p>Why genetic engineering <a href="http://ieet.org/index.php/IEET/more/hanley20151022">is not much like software development.</a>


feed_id: 2943de6bbd3fca913f098e7f95e55bfc
title: Fight climate change for global stability
uri: Fight-climate-change-for-global-stability
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#27_October_2015_%28Fight_climate_change_for_global_stability%29

content:
<p>Fight Climate Change for Global Stability, <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/oct/22/fight-climate-change-for-global-stability-says-us-defence-and-diplomacy-leaders">Say US Defence And Diplomacy Leaders.</a>


feed_id: fb87f1713e09adc7127679c9b4e97189
title: Ozone limits too high
uri: Ozone-limits-too-high
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#27_October_2015_%28Ozone_limits_too_high%29
content:
<p>The EPA disregarded medical advice and proposed limits for ozone
that are <a href="http://earthjustice.org/news/press/2015/epa-rejects-doctors-advice-on-limits-for-ozone-pollution?utm_source=crm&utm_content=PlainLink1">too high to avoid causing health problems.</a>


feed_id: 4fc4138fed967bcf66ed7c9852bd57a4
title: Urgent: cancel Keystone XL
uri: Urgent-cancel-Keystone-XL
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#27_October_2015_%28Urgent%3A_cancel_Keystone_XL%29
content:
<p>US citizens: tell Obama to stop farting around and <a href="https://act.credoaction.com/sign/kxl_do_it_already">cancel the Keystone XL pipeline.</a>


feed_id: a13af3127067f63258b1b5a557f6cedd
title: Urgent: stop McTeachers Nights
uri: Urgent-stop-McTeachers-Nights
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#27_October_2015_%28Urgent%3A_stop_McTeachers_Nights%29

content:
<p>Everyone: call on McDonald's to stop the McTeachers Nights where <a href="https://stallman.org/petitions/petition-mcteacher/">school teachers teach bad eating habits to their students.</a>


feed_id: 663910446db618af1e47ce5e189e66c9
title: Urgent: undersea oil drilling
uri: Urgent-undersea-oil-drilling
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#27_October_2015_%28Urgent%3A_undersea_oil_drilling%29

content:
<p>US citizens: <a href="https://secure.nrdconline.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=3881">call on Obama</a> not to allow more undersea oil drilling in US waters.


feed_id: 628e1b12bb084e55d5339aae86bf8020
title: Urgent: Felda uses slave labor
uri: Urgent-Felda-uses-slave-labor
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#27_October_2015_%28Urgent%3A_Felda_uses_slave_labor%29

content:
<p>Everyone: call on Standard Chartered <a href="http://action.sumofus.org/a/standard-chartered-palm-oil/">not to lend money to Felda,</a> which uses slave labor.


feed_id: b4bad2a8901ab87babfe8f39cba702bc
title: UK thugs assume blacks are criminals
uri: UK-thugs-assume-blacks-are-criminals
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#27_October_2015_%28UK_thugs_assume_blacks_are_criminals%29

content:
<p>The president of the National Black Police Association has <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/oct/24/janet-hills-national-black-police-association-president-interview">direct experience</a> with how UK thugs assume blacks are criminals.


feed_id: 52008560c67e677415dba95fd20e08ca
title: Thugs beat up Donovan Gardner
uri: Thugs-beat-up-Donovan-Gardner
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#27_October_2015_%28Thugs_beat_up_Donovan_Gardner%29
content:
<p>As thugs beat up helpless Donovan Gardner, TV comentators
disagreed about <a href="http://www.countercurrents.org/onesto221015.htm">whether this abuse was justified.</a>


feed_id: 74e25a5dc0735a6def4a06807d2444e0
title: Radioactive waste caught fire
uri: Radioactive-waste-caught-fire
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#27_October_2015_%28Radioactive_waste_caught_fire%29
content:
<p>An old <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/oct/25/radioactive-waste-dump-fire-reveals-nevada-troubled-past
">radioactive waste dump</a> in Nevada caught fire.


feed_id: ecaeb5761b3f4a7770d33b52d14c2b82
title: UK welcomes neo-Nazi
uri: UK-welcomes-neo-Nazi
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#27_October_2015_%28UK_welcomes_neo-Nazi%29
content:
<p>The UK Gets Set to Welcome Ukrainian Neo-Nazi <a href="http://thetruthspeaker.co/2015/10/20/the-uk-gets-set-to-welcome-ukrainian-neo-nazi-andriy-parubiy/">Andriy Parubiy.</a>


feed_id: 41233aa8e91f91f3d47e056e203c444b
title: Syrian refugees
uri: 2015-10-28-Syrian-refugees
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#27_October_2015_%28Syrian_refugees%29
content:
<p>Why Syrian refugees <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/2015/oct/25/six-reasons-why-syrians-are-fleeing-to-europe-in-increasing-numbers">increasingly try to get to Europe.</a>


feed_id: 91a2765bd1a6e94094e5e8ec898dde7e
title: PISSI and the conquest of Iraq
uri: PISSI-and-the-conquest-of-Iraq
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#27_October_2015_%28PISSI_and_the_conquest_of_Iraq%29

content:
<p>B'liar admits that without the conquest of Iraq, which he and Dubya
engineered, <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/25/tony-blair-is-right-without-the-iraq-war-there-would-be-no-isis
">PISSI would not exist.</a>


feed_id: 2820e00c2b61e772bb710967db7b4394
title: Flaws in car software
uri: Flaws-in-car-software
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#27_October_2015_%28Flaws_in_car_software%29
content:
<p>Congress threatens to <a href="http://www.wired.com/2015/10/terrell-mcsweeny-white-hat-car-hacking-makes-cars-safer/
">prohibit</a> security research into flaws in car software.
<p>The article fails to mention the car owner, but that person should
also be allowed to study and change the software in the car.
<p>Here are <a href="https://cdt.org/blog/draft-car-safety-bill-goes-in-the-wrong-direction/
">recommendations</a> for changing the bill.


feed_id: b4ac0861102648428a7782976a0eb0cf
title: Car-to-car communication
uri: Car-to-car-communication
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#27_October_2015_%28Car-to-car_communication%29
content:
<p>It is not easy to design car-to-car communication systems <a href="http://spectrum.ieee.org/cars-that-think/transportation/advanced-cars/researchers-prove-connected-cars-can-be-tracked">that don't allow tracking all the cars.</a>


feed_id: 0920e22f373d1e8bea3fe14e0b321abf
title: Send fewer to prison
uri: Send-fewer-to-prison
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#27_October_2015_%28Send_fewer_to_prison%29
content:
<p>Some US <a href="http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2015/10/bunch-countrys-top-cops-want-stop-locking-everybody
">thug officials</a> want to send fewer criminals (and non-criminals) to prison.


feed_id: d4e05ff9343bb517b78f8f221c1b32da
title: Resentment for US conquest of Iraq
uri: 2015-10-28-Resentment-for-US-conquest-of-Iraq
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#27_October_2015_%28Resentment_for_US_conquest_of_Iraq%29

content:
<p>Iraqi PISSI fighters that have been captured usually don't understand
Islam very well, and most of them are motivated by <a href="http://www.thenation.com/article/what-i-discovered-from-interviewing-isis-prisoners/">resentment for the US conquest of Iraq.</a>
<p>The US-backed <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/oct/22/yemen-peace-conflict-al-qaida-isis">destruction of Yemen</a> could motivate lots more bitter young men to fight for PISSI in the same way.


feed_id: 9f883d946c53390d8ce16b47e52cc558
title: Ozone limits too high
uri: 2015-10-28-Ozone-limits-too-high
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#27_October_2015_%28Ozone_limits_too_high%29
content:
<p>The EPA disregarded medical advice and proposed limits for ozone
that are <a href="http://earthjustice.org/news/press/2015/epa-rejects-doctors-advice-on-limits-for-ozone-pollution">too high to avoid causing health problems.</a>


feed_id: 440bc3568f27f4629e982b205b6d9478
title: Urgent: oppose CISA
uri: 2015-10-28-Urgent-oppose-CISA
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#26_October_2015_%28Urgent%3A_oppose_CISA%29
content:
<p>US citizens: phone your senators <a href="http://act.freepress.net/call/internet_senate_cisa/">to oppose CISA.</a>


feed_id: 9b3418615bd9160e56876d4f2644315e
title: Fires started in Indonesia
uri: 2015-10-28-Fires-started-in-Indonesia
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#26_October_2015_%28Fires_started_in_Indonesia%29
content:
<p>Large fires in Indonesia are <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/oct/23/is-indonesias-fire-crisis-connected-palm-oil-in-snack-food">deliberately started</a> in order to eliminate rainforests to make room for palm oil plantations.
<p>This not only causes respiratory illness, even in Singapore and Malaysia;
it also emits so much CO2 that it is globally significant.
<p>A large Indonesian palm oil producer has <a href="http://act.sumofus.org/go/8504">adopted a policy to protect forests.</a>
<p>This is just a first step, since we can't take for granted that
companies will keep their promises.


feed_id: 93a5dbe9495e93838db0cd666fbb682c
title: Urgent: the killing of Tamir Rice
uri: 2015-10-28-Urgent-the-killing-of-Tamir-Rice
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#25_October_2015_%28Urgent%3A_the_killing_of_Tamir_Rice%29

content:
<p>Everyone: <a href="http://act.colorofchange.org/sign/da-mcginty-step-aside/">call for a special prosecutor</a> for the killing of Tamir Rice.


feed_id: 8dee50362544326bcceafaf9a530e2c4
title: Thugs beat up Donovan Gardner
uri: 2015-10-28-Thugs-beat-up-Donovan-Gardner
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#27_October_2015_%28Thugs_beat_up_Donovan_Gardner%29
content:
<p>As thugs beat up helpless Donovan Gardner, TV commentators
disagreed about <a href="http://www.countercurrents.org/onesto221015.htm">whether this abuse was justified.</a>


feed_id: 66aa90dac8abb5b25965a16b27566d2a
title: Shao Jiang's house raided
uri: 2015-10-28-Shao-Jiang-s-house-raided
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#26_October_2015_%28Shao_Jiang%27s_house_raided%29
content:
<p>Shao Jiang protested at Tiananmen Square, then fled to Britain.  
<a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/uk-accused-of-doing-chinas-bidding-after-police-raid-home-of-tiananmen-square-survivor-over-peaceful-a6704911.html">UK 
thugs raided his house</a>, apparently because he protested the visit
of Chinese strongman Xi Jinping.
<p>
He was arrested too, just for holding a sign.  Protesters who held
Tibetan flags to protest Xi Jinping's visit to London 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/oct/23/activists-condemn-arrest-tibetan-pair-waving-flag-xi-jinping-met-police-chinese-president">were 
also violently arrested.</a>
<p>Looks like Britain has a new "special relationship".  Will Cameron become
Xi's poodle?
<p>UK thugs arrested housing activist Lisa McKenzie for allegedly
helping someone else 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/oct/22/lawyers-criticise-decision-to-prosecute-housing-protester">put
a sticker on a building.</a>
<p>McKenzie says they picked her out because of her organizing role in
the campaign.


feed_id: 93153ddebcab8a658f6a9cbf955560f3
title: Election in Haiti
uri: Election-in-Haiti
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#28_October_2015_%28Election_in_Haiti%29
content:
<p>
<a href="http://www.ezilidanto.com/zili/2015/10/the-october-25th-us-election-masquerade-in-haiti/">The
background</a> of Sunday's election in Haiti.


feed_id: 17d78c9799eb58605c28ed3b2250688b
title: iThing users' data
uri: iThing-users-data
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#28_October_2015_%28iThing_users_data%29
content:
<p>
The US government argues, in court, that Apple is obliged to 
<a href="http://www.osnews.com/story/28918/DoJ_to_Apple_iOS_is_licensed_so_we_can_force_you_to_decrypt">make
iThings decrypt users' data</a> because Apple claims it owns the
software running in them.


feed_id: 5d9a29a8eb6216b497852387b2c460f4
title: Government searches in Wisconsin
uri: Government-searches-in-Wisconsin
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#28_October_2015_%28Government_searches_in_Wisconsin%29

content:
<p>
In Wisconsin, many government searches were carried out
<a href="https://reason.com/archives/2015/10/21/forced-silence">ordering
the targets not to tell anyone</a>, not even their lawyers.
<p>
Some of these searches appear to have been part of the investigation
of Governor Walker for campaign finance violation.  It was correct to
investigate them, but people should not have been told not to tell
their lawyers about it.


feed_id: 435cd9b2a8d294de70a2c53685728206
title: Israel using excessive force
uri: Israel-using-excessive-force
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#28_October_2015_%28Israel_using_excessive_force%29
content:
<p>
The US government hinted that Israel was 
<a href="http://news.antiwar.com/2015/10/15/israel-furious-after-us-calls-crackdown-on-palestinians-excessive-force/">using
excessive force against Palestinian protesters</a>, but timidly pulled
back after a reprimand from Netanyahu.
<p>
Alarm Grows over 
<a href="https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/charlotte-silver/alarm-grows-over-summary-executions-palestinians">Summary
Executions of Palestinians</a>.
<p>
Sometimes it is necessary to shoot a person who is trying to kill
others.  The problem is that Israeli troops do this whether or not it
is necessary, even to innocent victims.


feed_id: 95cc40600448dcdaae018b224c8df05d
title: Israel pushing Palestinians
uri: Israel-pushing-Palestinians
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#28_October_2015_%28Israel_pushing_Palestinians%29
content:
<p>
Israel 
<a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/10/israel-stop-palestinians-protesting-151018063934914.html">arrests
Palestinian activists to prevent protests</a>.
<p>
Netanyahu is trying to push Palestinians to use violence because that
<a href="http://972mag.com/palestinians-mustnt-fall-into-this-trap-again/112765/">makes
it easy to put them in the wrong</a>.  Israelis can get away with
violence against Palestinians, by 
<a href="https://www.stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#11_August_2015_(Investigation_of_war_crimes_in_Gaza)">the
state</a> and by 
<a href="https://www.stallman.org/archives/2012-may-aug.html#18_July_2012_(Israeli_laws)">groups
of fanatics</a>, but the world condemns all Palestinians when some of
them are violent.


feed_id: 967fe4d5b12385b9b1b6c73b88c6ebaf
title: Concentration of wealth by policy
uri: Concentration-of-wealth-by-policy
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#28_October_2015_%28Concentration_of_wealth_by_policy%29

content:
<p>
Poverty today is not a natural problem — it results from
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/oct/19/un-poor-wealth-sustainable-development-goals">plutocratic
policies that concentrate wealth</a>.


feed_id: 191122718fa12495b894fa670569dfb9
title: Europe
uri: Europe
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#28_October_2015_%28Europe%29
content:
<p>
Europe Is 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/oct/18/eu-referendum-paul-mason">Becoming
an Undemocratic Continent</a> Where Force Matters More Than Law.


feed_id: 3a0ad9302c660a2b7f57f249cf901e77
title: Prohibitions on sleeping in the UK
uri: Prohibitions-on-sleeping-in-the-UK
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#28_October_2015_%28Prohibitions_on_sleeping_in_the_UK%29

content:
<p>
As cruel policies make more Britons homeless, 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/oct/25/homeless-people-newport-angry-council-ban-rough-sleeping">US-style
prohibitions on sleeping</a> are following.
<p>
The article says that this ban would only apply to people who are
offered a place to sleep and refuse it.  Not many homeless people
would refuse a decent place to sleep, so why bother to prohibit this?
There has got to be some sort of catch in it.


feed_id: dab9b1c6d08708d898ae988eedec6e7e
title: Putin's control over Russian media
uri: Putin-s-control-over-Russian-media
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#28_October_2015_%28Putins_control_over_Russian_media%29

content:
<p>
Putin directly controls nearly all Russian media, the few exceptions
being foreign-owned, and Putin is now 
<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/vladimir-putin-russia-news-media_56215944e4b0bce34700b1df">getting
rid of those</a>.


feed_id: 696b7316a54d3dca5992848c31c67d01
title: Urgent: Black Lives Matter
uri: Urgent-Black-Lives-Matter
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#29_October_2015_%28Urgent%3A_Black_Lives_Matter%29
content:
<p>
US citizens: 
<a href="http://iam.colorofchange.org/petitions/democracy-requires-real-and-more-debate-demand-dnc-offer-a-blacklivesmatter-presidential-debate/">call
for a Democratic presidential debate</a> about Black Lives Matter.


feed_id: 758edf0e521f8cdf3e5eded0535701f9
title: Urgent: Investigation of CIA torture
uri: Urgent-Investigation-of-CIA-torture
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#29_October_2015_%28Urgent%3A_Investigation_of_CIA_torture%29

content:
<p>
US citizens: 
<a href="https://action.aclu.org/secure/cia-torture">call for a
special prosecutor</a> to investigate CIA torture.


feed_id: dc10b66102bcdf796ac4cbb7c0a3d29b
title: Urgent: Reject Jewish National Fund
uri: Urgent-Reject-Jewish-National-Fund
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#29_October_2015_%28Urgent%3A_Reject_Jewish_National_Fund%29

content:
<p>
Everyone (but particularly Jews and those of Jewish descent): 
<a href="http://www.jewishvoiceforpeace.org/nojnf">reject the Jewish
National Fund</a>, which funds land-grabbing and practices housing
discrimination.


feed_id: fe9450f04913cedbd23163af3b03b27d
title: Urgent: Oppose DARK Act
uri: 2015-10-29-Urgent-Oppose-DARK-Act
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#29_October_2015_%28Urgent%3A_Oppose_DARK_Act%29
content:
<p>
US citizens: 
<a href="https://act.credoaction.com/sign/senate_dark_act">call on
Democratic senators</a> to stand firm against the DARK Act.


feed_id: 2e9df6794274ce54cd88f4265cbef1a0
title: Facebook lobbying for CISA
uri: Facebook-lobbying-for-CISA
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#29_October_2015_%28Facebook_lobbying_for_CISA%29
content:
<p>
Facebook Quietly 
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2015/10/26/facebook-quietly-lobbying-cisa-while-being-shielded-trade-associations">Lobbying
for CISA While Being Shielded by Trade Associations</a>.


feed_id: 47ff1cd238bfa79e0f98270cee1e5925
title: Tory fracking plans
uri: Tory-fracking-plans
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#29_October_2015_%28Tory_fracking_plans%29
content:
<p>
The Tories plan to permit fracking 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/oct/26/tory-u-turn-on-fracking-regulations-will-leave-safeguards-totally-inadequate">in
areas important to water supply and biodiversity</a>.


feed_id: 287c48740f556af2dbcd0bd30300a684
title: Coal mining
uri: 2015-10-29-Coal-mining
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#29_October_2015_%28Coal_mining%29
content:
<p>
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/oct/27/prominent-australians-ask-world-leaders-to-consider-ban-on-new-coalmines">Calling
for a world-wide ban</a> on expansion of coal mining.


feed_id: 26d214f8b84a2af030332665b80e4fee
title: Higher education in the US
uri: Higher-education-in-the-US
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#29_October_2015_%28Higher_education_in_the_US%29
content:
<p>
Higher Education [in the US]: 
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/views/2015/10/26/higher-education-capitalism-its-most-despicable">Capitalism
At Its Most Despicable</a>.


feed_id: 481f245d2db07aac6b9c6b8e28f89f32
title: Carcinogenic foods
uri: Carcinogenic-foods
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#29_October_2015_%28Carcinogenic_foods%29
content:
<p>
The World Health Organization warns that 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/oct/26/bacon-ham-sausages-processed-meats-cancer-risk-smoking-says-who">bacon,
sausages and ham are carcinogenic</a>.
<p>
Although there is strong evidence that they sometimes cause cancer,
the magnitude of the risk is 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/science/sifting-the-evidence/2015/oct/26/meat-and-tobacco-the-difference-between-risk-and-strength-of-evidence">much
less than the danger of smoking</a>.


feed_id: 4191a0666a2090157e1d3efb3fcc18bb
title: Russian submarines patrolling communication cables
uri: Russian-submarines-patrolling-communication-cables
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#29_October_2015_%28Russian_submarines_patrolling_communication_cables%29

content:
<p>
The US says that Russian submarines are 
<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/26/world/europe/russian-presence-near-undersea-cables-concerns-us.html?_r=1">patrolling
intensely</a> around undersea communication cables.
<p>
This may be true, but I doubt that Russia is interested in cutting
these cables.  What would be the point of doing so?  That would
alienate the whole world, not just the US.
<p>
Standard intelligence strategy is, "Don't block the enemy's
communication, listen to them."  We already know that the NSA taps
cables; I suppose Russia is looking for ways to do likewise.


feed_id: aeb0be4b984a6f0c20d7c55f01a547bd
title: High rents in London
uri: High-rents-in-London
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#29_October_2015_%28High_rents_in_London%29
content:
<p>
With the high rents in London, people 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/oct/26/overcrowding-sharing-bed-housing">can't
even afford private beds</a>.


feed_id: be12f46c9e1f7f6f7fd743027297e188
title: Protesters block large UK coal mine
uri: Protesters-block-large-UK-coal-mine
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#29_October_2015_%28Protesters_block_large_UK_coal_mine%29

content:
<p>
Protesters have 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/oct/26/anti-coal-protesters-target-climate-change-sceptic-peer-matt-ridley">blocked
a large UK coal mine</a> owned by a global heating denialist.


feed_id: 618e939973fd28a46b648a086cf1d975
title: Solar-thermal electric plants in Morocco
uri: Solar-thermal-electric-plants-in-Morocco
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#29_October_2015_%28Solar-thermal_electric_plants_in_Morocco%29

content:
<p>
Morocco is building large solar-thermal electric plants
that can 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/oct/26/morocco-poised-to-become-a-solar-superpower-with-launch-of-desert-mega-project">keep
producing electricity for hours after sundown</a>.
<p>
The idea of exporting solar electricity from Morocco to Saudi Arabia
seems silly to me, simply because it would be more efficient to site
the solar generators in Saudi Arabia than to transmit the electricity
there from afar.  Can the electricity be used to condense water
out of the air and grow plants?


feed_id: d0b76462a6b82f548917bd65df1e91d3
title: South Park explains gentrification
uri: South-Park-explains-gentrification
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#29_October_2015_%28South_Park_explains_gentrification%29

content:
<p>
South Park explains 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/cities/2015/oct/26/what-south-park-teaches-us-about-gentrification">gentrification</a>.
<p>
Once in India I stayed in a hotel called South Park.  Apparently the
TV show was not known there.  There is also a chain of fine Bengali
restaurants in India called "Oh! Calcutta!".  The people who work
there do not know about either the theater piece or the painting that
made the name notorious.  It was a lot of fun giving them copies of
the painting and the publicity photo of the theater piece.


feed_id: ebb9b00a7b651ae543cc650dc3654e64
title: Prosecution of women for being raped
uri: Prosecution-of-women-for-being-raped
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#29_October_2015_%28Prosecution_of_women_for_being_raped%29

content:
<p>
The UAE 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/26/hundreds-of-women-prosecuted-for-extramarital-sex-in-uae-finds-bbc">prosecutes
many women for being raped</a>.
<p>
This is among the most extreme of the many injustices of Islamic law,
which generally displays contempt for human rights, especially those
of women.


feed_id: 3152a18df63e1f634651cf816b50a03b
title: Planned Parenthood raids
uri: Planned-Parenthood-raids
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#29_October_2015_%28Planned_Parenthood_raids%29
content:
<p>Texas raids on Planned Parenthood are 
<a href="http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/10/23/1437918/-In-raid-of-Planned-Parenthood-offices-Texas-officials-seek-confidential-patient-records?detail=email">
collecting patients' health records</a>.
</p>


feed_id: e482630d6d804e49356ed5013400d36d
title: Americans worry about everything but climate
uri: Americans-worry-about-everything-but-climate
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#29_October_2015_%28Americans_worry_about_everything_but_climate%29

content:
<p>Americans worry about nearly 
<a href="http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2015/10/americans-less-concerned-about-climate-change-than-reptiles-tornadoes-credit-card-fraud-nuclear-war-mass-surveillance-economic-collapse-or-obamacare.html">
all sorts of problems</a>
 more than about climate mayhem.
</p>
<p>I suppose that's because they have short time horizons.
The danger of global heating will grow across decades, but unless
you're living in certain drought areas, the chances it will hurt you
in the US in the next few years are small.</p>


feed_id: 59d94baf1edc925a21703c391e0ced75
title: Charged for assault with baby carrot
uri: Charged-for-assault-with-baby-carrot
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#29_October_2015_%28Charged_for_assault_with_baby_carrot%29

content:
<p>A student who 
<a href="http://wtvr.com/2015/10/22/baby-carrot-assault-charge/">
threw a baby carrot</a>
 at a teacher faces criminal charges.
</p>
<p>This is the school-to-prison pipeline at work.</p>


feed_id: ffeead809d3c88fe7696bf6ee35b8074
title: US admiral punished by promotion
uri: US-admiral-punished-by-promotion
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#29_October_2015_%28US_admiral_punished_by_promotion%29

content:
<p>US Admiral Losey 
<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/powerful-admiral-punishes-suspected-whistleblowers-still-gets-promotion/2015/10/21/8a9e757e-7342-11e5-8248-98e0f5a2e830_story.html">
punished subordinates</a>
 for no reason, but his punishment is a promotion.
</p>


feed_id: 4b4fba51f6e97bd5eebd8d52fe917f8f
title: Value of CEOs
uri: Value-of-CEOs
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#29_October_2015_%28Value_of_CEOs%29
content:
<p>CEOs get too much credit (and blame) for a company's success (or
failure).  In 70% of the cases, the results 
<a href="http://boingboing.net/2015/10/23/70-of-ceos-effect-on-compan.html">
were due to chance</a>.
</p>


feed_id: 94a7b95515954533399024c1f06446e3
title: Obama campaigns against debt relief
uri: Obama-campaigns-against-debt-relief
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#29_October_2015_%28Obama_campaigns_against_debt_relief%29

content:
<p>The Obama regime 
<a href="http://readersupportednews.org/news-section2/318-66/33068-obama-administration-urges-no-bankruptcy-relief-for-student-debt">
campaigns against debt relief</a>
 for US students.
</p>


feed_id: 457a9f6b84271c48bb0e15aa273e8f25
title: Bankster crime impossible to prosecute
uri: Bankster-crime-impossible-to-prosecute
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#29_October_2015_%28Bankster_crime_impossible_to_prosecute%29

content:
<p>Modern bankster crime is often 
<a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-10-21/has-it-become-impossible-to-prosecute-white-collar-crime-">
impossible to prosecute</a>
 because it is so complex that juries can't understand it.
</p>
<p>Such complexity provides many places for fraud to hide, so I suggest
regulating banks by limiting them to the simpler practices of the
past.</p>


feed_id: e033ae6b33e1b1d4fa60e9e36cfe73b1
title: UK to remove children based on secret evidence
uri: UK-to-remove-children-based-on-secret-evidence
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#29_October_2015_%28UK_to_remove_children_based_on_secret_evidence%29

content:
<p>The UK's extremist government plans to 
<a href="https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20151013/11125332527/uk-goes-full-orwell-government-to-take-children-away-parents-if-they-might-become-radicalized.shtml">
take children away</a>
 from their parents, if the parents are suspected of possibly 
radicalizing them in the future.  This will be done based 
on secret evidence that the parents cannot challenge.
</p>


feed_id: cb84f72df5f1c8cc0cafbc40c33b48f9
title: Rules for workers' compensation
uri: Rules-for-workers-compensation
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#29_October_2015_%28Rules_for_workers%27_compensation%29

content:
<p>US companies have found a way to 
<a href="http://www.propublica.org/article/inside-corporate-americas-plan-to-ditch-workers-comp">
write their own rules for</a>
 workers' compensation, which enables them to pay less or even nothing to
workers
that are injured.
</p>


feed_id: 305c902a83d051f6080d59dd80ddbed8
title: Saudi prince evades justice
uri: Saudi-prince-evades-justice
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#29_October_2015_%28Saudi_prince_evades_justice%29
content:
<p>A Saudi prince, accused of rape by his domestic servants, has
<a href="http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-saudi-prince-beverly-hills-20151019-story.html">
inexplicably not been charged</a>
 with rape.
</p>
<p>One must suspect political influence was brought to bear.</p>


feed_id: d7147d38e2b0e0cef7b4ccb16511122a
title: Church arsons in St Louis area
uri: Church-arsons-in-St-Louis-area
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#29_October_2015_%28Church_arsons_in_St_Louis_area%29

content:
<p>Arsonists have burned 
<a href="http://usuncut.com/black-lives-matter/black-churches-burning-ferguson-area/">
five black people's churches</a>
 in the St Louis area.
</p>


feed_id: e41e6409b2d109632674d29a0b0c906f
title: Car pollution cap
uri: Car-pollution-cap
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#29_October_2015_%28Car_pollution_cap%29
content:
<p>
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/oct/27/uk-germany-and-france-lobbying-for-weakened-cap-on-toxic-car-pollution">
UK, Germany And France Lobbying for Weakened Cap on Toxic Car
Pollution.</a>
</p>
<p>Companies always argue that they will make less money
if we don't give them more and more and more leeway.</p>


feed_id: dda24610c3e9956aef1b6724af4805b3
title: Sanders' political revolution
uri: Sanders-political-revolution
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#29_October_2015_%28Sanders%27_political_revolution%29

content:
<p>
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/views/2015/10/27/bernie-sanders-actually-quite-serious-about-political-revolution-thing">
Bernie Sanders Is Actually Quite Serious About This 'Political
Revolution' Thing.</a>
</p>
<p>He sees the same factors that have made many Americans cynical,
but instead of responding with defeatism, he calls on Americans to
do what is required to overcome them.  Americans, do it!</p>


feed_id: ee03c55c39634c1b606ab337ad23c0fa
title: Heating harms productivity
uri: Heating-harms-productivity
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#29_October_2015_%28Heating_harms_productivity%29
content:
<p>Society has done little to adapt to the global heating of the past
50 years or reduce the harm it has done to productivity.
</p>


feed_id: bc1247a05ec577e9a057a857482bd420
title: Bombing campaign in Yemen
uri: Bombing-campaign-in-Yemen
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#29_October_2015_%28Bombing_campaign_in_Yemen%29
content:
<p>Saudi bombs <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/27/yemen-hospital-hit-by-saudi-led-airstrikes">destroyed</a> an MSF hospital in Yemen.  The article does not tell us whether the attack was an accident.
<p>Over 90% of the people killed by this bombing campaign — and by
the other explosive weapons of both sides — are <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/2015/oct/27/yemen-deaths-93-civilian-this-must-change">civilians.</a>
<p>Since this bombing campaign is endorsed and supported by the US, the US
is indirectly responsible.  If the US and Saudi Arabia had not launched
this campaign, the Houthis would have won the war in Yemen and there would
be less fighting there now — perhaps none.


feed_id: ad10ae04d1cb080c476a9d848c19a48d
title: Dam in Cambodia
uri: Dam-in-Cambodia
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#29_October_2015_%28Dam_in_Cambodia%29
content:
<p>Local and foreign activists have blocked construction of a dam in Cambodia <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/2015/oct/27/cambodia-peaceful-direct-action-has-saved-one-of-our-most-beautiful-forests">that would have harmed endangered species.</a>


feed_id: 08ac6fc71778cd36934edc15832cce4f
title: Al-Sisi's UK visit
uri: Al-Sisi-s-UK-visit
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#29_October_2015_%28Al-Sisi%27s_UK_visit%29
content:
<p>UK opposition leaders call for <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/27/john-mcdonnell-uk-egyptian-president-visit-abdel-fatah-al-sisi">cancellation</a> of the invitation for al-Sisi to visit the UK.


feed_id: 74bbcc0e838da03b1d3912058f41f0ef
title: Indonesia returning to censorship
uri: Indonesia-returning-to-censorship
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#29_October_2015_%28Indonesia_returning_to_censorship%29

content:
<p>Indonesia is returning to the censorship of the Suharto era, <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/commentisfree/2015/oct/27/censorship-is-returning-to-indonesia-in-the-name-of-the-1965-purges">under the influence of the military and Islamists.</a>
<p>An Indonesian exile was deported to Sweden for trying to visit the
mass grave of his family, slaughtered in the massacre of 50 years ago.
Assuming he was an Indonesian citizen who fled, I wonder on what
excuse they could deport him from Indonesia.  Did Indonesia revoke
his citizenship when it was unable to murder him?


feed_id: 04543ee0fee7612f25635293be4b75ab
title: 'Too much medicine'
uri: Too-much-medicine
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#29_October_2015_%28%27Too_much_medicine%27%29
content:
<p>When Is Saving a Life 'Too Much Medicine'?  <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/oct/27/when-is-saving-a-life-too-much-medicine-this-is-a-lifelong-test-for-doctors">This Is a Lifelong Test for Doctors.</a>
<p>It seems to me that Davey died as a person long before he arrived in
the hospital.  His wife must have spent some time taking care of a
zombie (though not dangerous like fictional ones) because she couldn't
bear to recognize that that's what he had become.
<p>I saw my father once after he had got Alzheimer's, and he could barely
recognize me.  I concluded that he was dead.  It was painful to see
him that way, but since he was not going to remember it, it wasn't
doing him any good; and didn't mean anything to me except to show me
that he was dead.  I missed him but there was no point visiting his
occasionally walking corpse.


feed_id: 45b8b98c95dd072342c57dd940ae3a47
title: Portugal's right wing party
uri: Portugal-s-right-wing-party
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#29_October_2015_%28Portugal%27s_right_wing_party%29
content:
<p>Although the anti-austerity parties have a majority in Parliament,
Portugal's president asked the right wing party <a href="http://www.counterpunch.org/2015/10/26/the-pantomime-of-democracy-portugals-coup-against-anti-austerity/">to form a government</a> (which it can't possibly succeed at).


feed_id: b89c567e752d64b9e8b73a76e0a7951a
title: Thug manhandled student
uri: Thug-manhandled-student
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#29_October_2015_%28Thug_manhandled_student%29
content:
<p>A thug, apparently with a chip on his shoulder, <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/oct/27/south-carolina-sheriffs-deputy-on-leave-after-forceful-classroom-arrest">grabbed a high school student and manhandled her</a> when she did not obey his demand for her to leave her desk.
<p>This is the school-to-prison pipeline at work.
<p>What was the thug doing in the school?  Was there any legitimate reason
for him to be present there?


feed_id: 8650b132ce24806321eca24503bd2610
title: Postal banking in the US
uri: Postal-banking-in-the-US
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#29_October_2015_%28Postal_banking_in_the_US%29
content:
<p>Sanders explains the <a href="http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2015/10/26/campaign-issue-how-other-half-banks">need</a> for postal banking in the US.


feed_id: 6cda762776fab25c4d11faf626b3f540
title: Egypt arrests journalists
uri: Egypt-arrests-journalists
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#29_October_2015_%28Egypt_arrests_journalists%29
content:
<p><a href="http://www.cpj.org/2015/10/egypt-arrests-three-journalists-in-five-days-where.php">Egypt Arrests Three Journalists in Five Days,</a> Whereabouts of Two Unknown.


feed_id: 5c09e4f83cf00bc6c3c5e88c5206b579
title: Heating-denialist congressman
uri: Heating-denialist-congressman
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#29_October_2015_%28Heating-denialist_congressman%29
content:
<p>A heating-denialist congressman wants to investigate NOAA's emails
about calibrating older and newer temperature measurements.
<p><a href="http://arstechnica.com/science/2015/10/us-congressman-subpoenas-noaa-climate-scientists-over-study/">He doesn't like the results they demonstrate.</a>


feed_id: 54e3265f1fb7205447beeefac8368f65
title: NSA spy trojan
uri: NSA-spy-trojan
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#29_October_2015_%28NSA_spy_trojan%29
content:
<p>Top German Official <a href="http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2015/10/top-german-official-infected-by-highly-advanced-spy-trojan-with-nsa-ties/">(or rather his computer)</a> Infected by Highly Advanced Spy Trojan with NSA Ties.


feed_id: c7979c7f06607d74766b38a7b805a501
title: "Building bridges" between Israel and Palestine
uri: Building-bridges-between-Israel-and-Palestine
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#29_October_2015_%28Building_bridges_between_Israel_and_Palestine%29

content:
<p>It is too late for <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/26/cultural-bridges-with-israel-have-failed
">"building bridges"</a> between Israel and Palestine to do any good.  Substituting that for pressure is misguided.
<p>I used to try to invite Israelis and Palestinians to work together on
free software, hoping this would aid the cause of peace.  But Israel
since 2000 has become too right-wing for anything like this to help.


feed_id: 4fa9af1a29b072c684b799ede33b483c
title: Biggest hurricane in western hemisphere
uri: Biggest-hurricane-in-western-hemisphere
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#29_October_2015_%28Biggest_hurricane_in_western_hemisphere%29

content:
<p>The biggest hurricane ever seen in the western hemisphere was the result of <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/26/hurricane-patricia-el-nino-storm-mexico-us">El Nino piled on global heating.</a>
<p>El Ninos come and go, but we are driving the base temperature they
rest on steadily upward.  In a few decades, the current record sea
temperature will be incredibly low for this time of the year.


feed_id: 163b8f45c054746304508ddb02f0e153
title: Active MSF hospital
uri: Active-MSF-hospital
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#29_October_2015_%28Active_MSF_hospital%29
content:
<p>More evidence <a href="http://www.commondreams.org/news/2015/10/26/evidence-mounts-us-military-knew-they-were-bombing-active-hospital">suggests</a> that the US military knew the target was an active MSF hospital.


feed_id: b5b4688551d163381f2eec1385e14005
title: Anti-austerity parties in Portugal
uri: Anti-austerity-parties-in-Portugal
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#29_October_2015_%28Anti-austerity_parties_in_Portugal%29

content:
<p>Anti-austerity parties have won a <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/26/portugal-political-crisis-leftists-vow-topple-government">majority</a> in Portugal's parliament.


feed_id: 28e745a6ebf78c4323505e10fb62b999
title: Netanyahu's bizarre gaffe
uri: Netanyahu-s-bizarre-gaffe
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#29_October_2015_%28Netanyahu%27s_bizarre_gaffe%29
content:
<p>Netanyahu's bizarre gaffe — scanning the horizon with binoculars
without removing the lens caps — <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/oct/26/frightful-glimpse-binyamin-netanyahu-mind">shows the dishonesty of his character.</a>


feed_id: a2735bfdb9313a881fded3279d7c5326
title: Heat waves in the Persian Gulf
uri: Heat-waves-in-the-Persian-Gulf
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#29_October_2015_%28Heat_waves_in_the_Persian_Gulf%29

content:
<p>By 2070, global heating could expose the land around the Persian Gulf
to heat waves that are <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/oct/26/extreme-heatwaves-could-push-gulf-climate-beyond-human-endurance-study-shows">fatal to humans.</a>


feed_id: fffc7cbfd0cda7532965d4748910edcb
title: Journalists in Yemen
uri: Journalists-in-Yemen
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#29_October_2015_%28Journalists_in_Yemen%29
content:
<p>Journalists are being repressed heavily in <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/oct/26/yemen-war-journalists-silenced-conflict-reporters-activists-abduction-torture">Yemen.</a>


feed_id: aa262ba0e915445b5f88acaa1d8b3aeb
title: Shao Jiang will not be charged
uri: Shao-Jiang-will-not-be-charged
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#30_October_2015_%28Shao_Jiang_will_not_be_charged%29

content:
<p>London protester Shao Jiang 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/28/china-protesters-in-heavy-handed-arrest-released-without-charge">
will face no charges</a>.
</p>
<p>The minister in charge of thugs refused to comment on the arrest of
Shao Jiang, saying that to do so would interfere with the
"investigation".  This is obvious bullshit for two reasons; but now
that there is no more "investigation", what excuse will he give?</p>


feed_id: eaa126c44889e8a1cc1ae096f34a51f1
title: Fire season in US west getting longer
uri: Fire-season-in-US-west-getting-longer
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#30_October_2015_%28Fire_season_in_US_west_getting_longer%29

content:
<p>The 
<a href="http://daily.jstor.org/fire-season-getting-longer-longer/">
lengthening fire season</a>
 in the US west, caused by global heating,
is replacing forests with shrubs.
</p>


feed_id: b47b537ebcde35f63c693deabc528747
title: Sanders proposes to remove marijuana from Schedule I
uri: Sanders-proposes-to-remove-marijuana-from-Schedule-I
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#30_October_2015_%28Sanders_proposes_to_remove_marijuana_from_Schedule_I%29

content:
<p>Bernie Sanders proposes to 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/oct/28/bernie-sanders-remove-marijuana-federal-dangerous-drug-list">
remove marijuana from Schedule I</a>,
 so that states could legalize it and it could easily be prescribed.
</p>


feed_id: 7c63b6d609084898ef0790de4f56d11b
title: EU caves in to auto industry
uri: EU-caves-in-to-auto-industry
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#30_October_2015_%28EU_caves_in_to_auto_industry%29
content:
<p>
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/oct/28/eu-emissions-limits-nox-car-manufacturers">
EU Caves In to Auto Industry Pressure for Weak Emissions Limits.</a>
</p>


feed_id: 94cc7e51ddf96b70b376eb7403252c4a
title: Clinton remains a militarist
uri: Clinton-remains-a-militarist
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#30_October_2015_%28Clinton_remains_a_militarist%29
content:
<p>Clinton remains a militarist, and 
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/views/2015/10/28/hillary-clinton-hasnt-learned-thing-iraq">
wants more US intervention</a>
 in Syria now.
</p>


feed_id: 4f376bafa7b8c76de334c2e9b0ff8104
title: Abbas appeals to UN for protection
uri: Abbas-appeals-to-UN-for-protection
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#30_October_2015_%28Abbas_appeals_to_UN_for_protection%29

content:
<p>
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/28/mahmoud-abbas-appeals-un-international-protection-for-palestinians">
Mahmoud Abbas Appeals to UN for International Protection for
Palestinians.</a>
</p>


feed_id: 8d413913127c13030cd701957596b133
title: UK destroying public libraries
uri: UK-destroying-public-libraries
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#30_October_2015_%28UK_destroying_public_libraries%29

content:
<p>Now the UK is 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/oct/28/house-lords-cuts-local-library-services">
destroying</a>
 public libraries.
</p>


feed_id: 1a82f9616db80e7e05ca018134d7d597
title: Massacres committed by Mexican thugs
uri: Massacres-committed-by-Mexican-thugs
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#30_October_2015_%28Massacres_committed_by_Mexican_thugs%29

content:
<p>Survivors report 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/28/mexico-shootings-police-killed-civilians-report">
two massacres</a>
 committed by Mexican thugs.
</p>


feed_id: 7a4a3cb57581bf86dcebd3c1ebb6a540
title: Violence against art and humans
uri: Violence-against-art-and-humans
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#30_October_2015_%28Violence_against_art_and_humans%29

content:
<p>"When Isis 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/jonathanjonesblog/2015/oct/28/isis-palmyra-temple-baalshamin-three-captives-attack-violence-art-humanity">
blew up three captives</a>
 tied to the Temple of Baalshamin's
columns, it proved the inseparability of violence against art and
violence against humans."
</p>


feed_id: 667a08f65a731eb2c031c00616e6dd7b
title: Thugs' contempt for rape victims
uri: Thugs-contempt-for-rape-victims
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#30_October_2015_%28Thugs%27_contempt_for_rape_victims%29

content:
<p>When victims of domestic violence or rape call thugs for help,
they 
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/views/2015/10/28/domestic-violence-and-sexual-assault-survivors-should-feel-safe-seeking-police-help">
often receive contempt</a>
 or even legal trouble.
</p>


feed_id: 6b2a1687b8af4d752734ba0668cd3821
title: If Exxon told the truth about global heating
uri: If-Exxon-told-the-truth-about-global-heating
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#30_October_2015_%28If_Exxon_told_the_truth_about_global_heating%29

content:
<p>
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/oct/28/imagine-if-exxon-had-told-the-truth-on-climate-change">
Imagine If Exxon Had Told the Truth on Climate Change.</a>
</p>
<p>For one thing, activists wouldn't be using the term "climate change",
which was 
<a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2014-may-aug.html#16_June_2014_(Destroyed_by_global_heating)">
imposed by political supporters of Big Oil</a>
 precisely because it is vague and doesn't clearly present the danger.
</p>


feed_id: 12cbdd4faf3c025204cf783167a485e5
title: Slave labour in the supply chain
uri: Slave-labour-in-the-supply-chain
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#30_October_2015_%28Slave_labour_in_the_supply_chain%29

content:
<p>The UK will require large companies to 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/28/uk-companies-proof-no-links-slave-labour-supply-chain">
publish the policies they use</a>
 to avoid buying from firms that use slave labor.
</p>
<p>This will not automatically end the problem, since these policies may
have clever loopholes and may not really be carried out.  Or they may
be null.  Nonetheless, this may help.</p>
<p>It would be more effective to prohibit the importation of goods made
with slave labor.</p>


feed_id: a2704f3983099619a356919218bbaf33
title: Why are drugs illegal?
uri: Why-are-drugs-illegal
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#30_October_2015_%28Why_are_drugs_illegal%3F%29
content:
<p>David Nutt: 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/oct/28/why-are-drugs-illegal-google-answer">
Why are drugs illegal</a>?
</p>
<p>David Nutt was a scientist advisor to the UK government about drug
policy.
</p>


feed_id: eede54b03bf3ebd09f16f01092a72b1a
title: Turkish thugs attack media offices
uri: Turkish-thugs-attack-media-offices
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#30_October_2015_%28Turkish_thugs_attack_media_offices%29

content:
<p>The Turkish government's thugs 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/28/turkish-police-storm-opposition-media-offices-as-election-looms">
attacked the offices</a>
 of an opposition media group with TV channels.
</p>
<p>It is talking about prosecuting more newspapers after the election.</p>


feed_id: 447068651688a6f931cb968d2754cab4
title: Animal dung and the ecosystem
uri: Animal-dung-and-the-ecosystem
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#30_October_2015_%28Animal_dung_and_the_ecosystem%29
content:
<p>Large animals' dung fertilizes plants; by killing them off, humans have
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/oct/28/attitudes-poo-life-on-earth-mass-extinction-bodily-functions">
damaged ecosystems</a>.
</p>


feed_id: d12218e5eb29b8923c9bcc769eac2d2a
title: Helping Eritreans
uri: Helping-Eritreans
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#30_October_2015_%28Helping_Eritreans%29
content:
<p>Arguing that it is a mistake to try to help Eritreans to remain
in Eritria, because 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2015/oct/28/eritrea-afewerki-regime-human-rights-glenys-kinnock">
the state is too oppressive</a>.
</p>
<p>What should we do in such situations?  There is the obvious option
of invading, but how can we tell if that would make things worse?</p>


feed_id: 6e5b5c66fae454805f722602819734ac
title: SE Asia to lose labour productivity to global heating
uri: SE-Asia-to-lose-labour-productivity-to-global-heating
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#30_October_2015_%28SE_Asia_to_lose_labour_productivity_to_global_heating%29

content:
<p>Southeast Asia could 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/28/too-hot-to-work-climate-change-south-east-asia-economies-at-risk">
lose 16% of its labour productivity in 30 years</a>
 due to the effects of global heating.
</p>
<p>I am not sure if this really applies to Singapore, because people live
and work in air conditioned areas there.</p>


feed_id: d2c58727006da6ad6292ce632ef7a696
title: Curbing global heating creates jobs
uri: Curbing-global-heating-creates-jobs
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#30_October_2015_%28Curbing_global_heating_creates_jobs%29

content:
<p>Curbing global heating provides a way to 
<a href="http://www.thenation.com/article/think-we-cant-stabilize-the-climate-while-fostering-growth-think-again/">
make lots of jobs</a>
 — economic growth focused on the non-rich.
</p>


feed_id: c4b57e33df0fd298ac4a20cfe979e004
title: Urgent: attacks against Planned Parenthood
uri: Urgent-attacks-against-Planned-Parenthood
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#30_October_2015_%28Urgent%3A_attacks_against_Planned_Parenthood%29

content:
<p>US citizens: call for an <a href="https://act.credoaction.com/sign/PP_Attacks_DOJ">terrorism investigation</a> into the series of
attacks against Planned Parenthood facilities.


feed_id: 52a4c858daea6fe0661cef22e7623d00
title: Prosecuted US thugs
uri: Prosecuted-US-thugs
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#30_October_2015_%28Prosecuted_US_thugs%29
content:
<p>A dozen US thugs have been prosecuted this year, <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/oct/26/police-shootings-charges-reach-10-year-high">yet the proportion of deaths leading to charges remains small.</a>
<p>Few of the thugs that are prosecuted are <a href="https://reason.com/blog/2015/10/27/police-prosecutions-have-increased-but-c
">convicted.</a>
<p>The UK seems to make a much firmer line towards <a href="https://www.stallman.org/archives/2015-mar-jun.html#12_June_2015_(UK_thugs_being_prosecuted)">thugs that commit crimes.</a>


feed_id: 1da94aba41f99dbc0984f462b682e77f
title: Permanent oppression of Palestinians
uri: Permanent-oppression-of-Palestinians
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#30_October_2015_%28Permanent_oppression_of_Palestinians%29

content:
<p>Netanyahu says he intends to continue Israel's occupation of Palestine <a href="http://mondoweiss.net/2015/10/netanyahu-territory-foreseeable">indefinitely.</a>
<p>By rejecting both an independent state of Palestine and equal rights
in Israel for Palestinians, he chooses permanent oppression,
and no longer even hides it.
<p>Palestinians have no partner for peace, so they are turning towards the idea of a <a href="http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4715173,00.html">competition of birthrates.</a>
<p>The ultra-orthodox Israelis and the right-wing fanatics are competing
back, bringing the prospect of an overpopulated country which can't
survive at all, especially if global heating goes to work.


feed_id: b4c92cde0741ddcb08c5ba140bf4d522
title: Chevron paid judge to lie
uri: Chevron-paid-judge-to-lie
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#30_October_2015_%28Chevron_paid_judge_to_lie%29
content:
<p>Chevron's US case against Ecuador (to avoid paying the damages Chevron
owes for pollution from oil wells) was based on one corrupt witness, a
former judge in Ecuador, <a href="http://amazonwatch.org/news/2015/1026-game-over-chevrons-rico-case-spectacularly-implodes-as-corrupt-ex-judge-admits-to-making-it-up">who has now testified that Chevron paid him to lie.</a>
<p>It appears that the US judge that presided over the trial split hairs so as
to find in Chevron's favor despite the untrustworthiness of this witness.
<p>I wonder what convinced him to do that.


feed_id: 10b71d59132aca7def180f4ca75ca690
title: Global heating could start wars
uri: Global-heating-could-start-wars
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#30_October_2015_%28Global_heating_could_start_wars%29

content:
<p>The Pentagon is very concerned that <a href="http://www.thenation.com/article/syria-may-be-the-first-climate-change-conflict-but-it-wont-be-the-last/">global heating could start more wars in the near future.</a>


feed_id: ec4335e00f9da5ebb2266a566f125a6c
title: Legal aid for ex-cons
uri: Legal-aid-for-ex-cons
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#30_October_2015_%28Legal_aid_for_ex-cons%29
content:
<p>The US must give all ex-cons legal aid in getting over the <a href="http://www.thenation.com/article/criminal-justice-reform-legislation-is-missing-one-crucial-piece/">barrier</a> separating them from a life of non-crime.
<p>While I agree, I think we need to do much more.  Mere legal aid won't
enable ex-cons to have an option other than stealing food.


feed_id: 0306de27bb3994ce6b09375adca16c10
title: Shao Jiang and his wife
uri: Shao-Jiang-and-his-wife
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#30_October_2015_%28Shao_Jiang_and_his_wife%29
content:
<p>London thugs have not told protester Shao Jiang and his wife what <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/oct/27/wife-xi-jinping-protester-shao-jiang-met-police-london-arrests">"conspiracy"</a> they suspect him of.


feed_id: b81972760b9dd2565f4fe2875d9d8e70
title: "Health savings accounts"
uri: Health-savings-accounts
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#30_October_2015_%28Health_savings_accounts%29
content:
<p>Ben Carson <a href="http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/10/26/1439490/-Physician-Ben-Carson-wants-to-do-away-with-Medicare-and-Medicaid?detail=email">wants to abolish Medicare and Medicaid.</a>  He would replace these with "health savings accounts", which only America's shrinking middle class could afford to put money in.
<p>He also compares women that want abortions to <a href="http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/10/25/1438987/-Ben-Carson-Rape-victims-demanding-abortions-are-like-slave-owners?detail=email">slave owners.</a>


feed_id: 48c14a07c427bd6bce6b05797d35bfe2
title: Boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israel
uri: Boycott-divestment-and-sanctions-against-Israel
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#30_October_2015_%28Boycott%2C_divestment_and_sanctions_against_Israel%29

content:
<p>France has made it a <a href="https://theintercept.com/2015/10/27/criminalization-of-anti-israel-activism-escalates-this-time-in-the-land-of-the-charlie-hebdo-free-speech-march">crime</a> to advocate boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israel.  France has adopted the bogus position that this constitutes anti-semitism.  (In fact, the campaign explicitly rejects the idea of boycotting Israeli individuals, let alone Jews in general.)
<p>You can't find a clearer form of political repression than that.
<p>As it happens, France still permits advocating sanctions against any
other country, but that does not alter the principle at stake here.


feed_id: 6666949487d2026c72b268670bc2a425
title: Protest against thug murders
uri: Protest-against-thug-murders
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#30_October_2015_%28Protest_against_thug_murders%29
content:
<p>Director Quentin Tarantino joined a protest against thug murders, saying <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/oct/26/quentin-tarantino-joins-police-brutality-protest-in-new-york">"I'm on the side of the murdered."</a>  New York thugs respond by calling for a boycott of his films.
<p>What is notable here is the way thugs organize to attack anyone that
doesn't bend over backwards to overlook their violence.
<p>I recommend staying away from Tarantino's films, because I find the
(fortunately fictional) violence in them hard to bear.


feed_id: 2c0996e775cb56f47dcdb5d3e3452f23
title: Meta-analyses of antidepressants
uri: Meta-analyses-of-antidepressants
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#30_October_2015_%28Meta-analyses_of_antidepressants%29

content:
<p>Meta-analyses of tests of antidepressants have been pervasively corrupted by influence of big pharma companies, <a href="http://www.salon.com/2015/10/25/how_big_pharma_influences_fda_trials_to_push_its_own_antidepressants_partner/">and that affects their results.</a>


feed_id: 795a34e828a0a4440793c7627aabc1f0
title: Senate rejects CISA amendments
uri: Senate-rejects-CISA-amendments
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#30_October_2015_%28Senate_rejects_CISA_amendments%29

content:
<p>Senate Rejects All CISA Amendments Designed To Protect Privacy, <a href="http://www.commondreams.org/views/2015/10/27/senate-rejects-all-cisa-amendments-designed-protect-privacy-reiterating-its">Reiterating That It's A Surveillance Bill.</a>


feed_id: bc7d4f17fe86c095e5725882bdad320b
title: Prosecution of Leopoldo Lopez
uri: Prosecution-of-Leopoldo-Lopez
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#30_October_2015_%28Prosecution_of_Leopoldo_Lopez%29
content:
<p>A Venezuelan prosecutor says that the government planned to prosecute Leopoldo Lopez <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/27/venezuela-prosecutor-opposition-leader-leopoldo-lopez-government-plot">before his supposed crime was supposedly committed.</a>


feed_id: 5a8a26ebbaa922c4ec1ee66e2b74711e
title: Thug that shot Zachary Hammond
uri: 2015-10-30-Thug-that-shot-Zachary-Hammond
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#30_October_2015_%28Thug_that_shot_Zachary_Hammond%29

content:
<p>The thug that shot Zachary Hammond <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/oct/27/south-carolina-officer-no-criminal-charges-zachary-hammond">will not face charges</a> even though video contradicted his statements about the reason.
<p>It appears Hammond was really committing a crime, and had driven his
car at the thug (which was a real threat to him), but the threat had
already ceased when the thug killed him.


feed_id: b8414aac71a07b466af0db04bbe671a2
title: Germaine Greer
uri: Germaine-Greer
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#30_October_2015_%28Germaine_Greer%29
content:
<p>I Get Why Women Are Angry — But I Still Want to Listen to <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/oct/27/germaine-greer-transphobia-cardiff-feminism-inclusive">Germaine Greer.</a>


feed_id: c0e93065909e904e1495fba422f6691f
title: Sugar and children's health
uri: Sugar-and-children-s-health
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#30_October_2015_%28Sugar_and_children%27s_health%29
content:
<p>A <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/oct/27/science-new-study-case-sugar-tax">conclusive experiment</a> shows that sugar is much worse for children's health than the equal number of calories from other sources.
<p>This argues for imposing a tax on sugary drinks.
<p>Note that <a href="https://www.stallman.org/archives/2014-sep-dec.html#21_September_2014_(Artificial_sweeteners)">sugar substitutes</a> are also bad for people.


feed_id: 0b2f6bbbffdf28b8d4881f6c2ed26198
title: Torture and massive surveillance
uri: Torture-and-massive-surveillance
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#30_October_2015_%28Torture_and_massive_surveillance%29

content:
<p>US courts used flimsy excuses to <a href="https://theintercept.com/2015/10/27/two-aclu-defeats-highlight-judiciarys-lopsided-deference-to-executive-branch-secrecy/">deny justice</a> in cases about torture and massive surveillance.


feed_id: 85c22e82dd947f0ca4e7c4d4c95c1d8e
title: Global carbon price
uri: Global-carbon-price
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#30_October_2015_%28Global_carbon_price%29
content:
<p>The Paris conference has <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/oct/27/paris-climate-deal-global-carbon-price-christiana-figueres-un">given up</a> on establishing a global carbon price.  It seems they are not even thinking about the carbon tax that we
really need.


feed_id: b938f4ab7cb4115776245c8e6ef22e5b
title: European "network neutrality"
uri: European-network-neutrality
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#30_October_2015_%28European_network_neutrality%29
content:
<p>The European Parliament adopted a "network neutrality" directive that is <a href="http://www.laquadrature.net/en/Net-Neutrality-Major-Setback-for-Internet">too weak and vague to do much good.</a>


feed_id: af12cfa35183a8b6fbd26fc76ad79482
title: Ground combat against PISSI
uri: Ground-combat-against-PISSI
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#30_October_2015_%28Ground_combat_against_PISSI%29
content:
<p>Obama is planning to <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/27/us-air-strikes-ground-raids-syria-iraq-isis-islamic-state">increase US ground combat against PISSI.</a>
<p>US troops cannot defeat PISSI on the ground, just as they could not
defeat the Sunni resistance in Iraq in the last decade.  They can only
suppress it locally temporarily.
<p>However, he is also willing to include Iran in negotiations about the <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/27/irans-invitation-to-syria-talks-marks-significant-shift-for-us-and-allies">future of Syria.</a>
<p>This might unblock some log jam.


feed_id: 1f90d59684b10c0045430612054248ce
title: Urgent: Richland schools
uri: Urgent-Richland-schools
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#31_October_2015_%28Urgent%3A_Richland_schools%29
content:
<p>Everyone: call on the Richland schools <a href="https://action.aclu.org/secure/assault-schools-math-doesnt-add
">to change the practices hat put students in danger from thugs in their schools.</a>
<p>Here's the <a href="http://www.thenation.com/article/a-short-history-of-cops-terrorizing-students/
">historical background</a> of these practices,  which created today's school-to-prison pipeline.


feed_id: 5c08f45233fa35814e2b89a5e8266c96
title: Urgent: prosecute thug that attacked student
uri: Urgent-prosecute-thug-that-attacked-student
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#31_October_2015_%28Urgent%3A_prosecute_thug_that_attacked_student%29

content:
<p>Everyone: call for <a href="http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/charge-deputy-ben-fields?source=mo&id=134387-2794606-h%3DyxgPx&t=32">prosecution</a> of the thug that grabbed and attacked the sitting high school student.


feed_id: 210450983d171a67fb52f5df4d057741
title: Urgent: government contractors
uri: Urgent-government-contractors
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#31_October_2015_%28Urgent%3A_government_contractors%29

content:
<p>US citizens: call on Obama to require government contractors to <a href="http://signforgood.com/contractors/?code=CAI">disclose their political spending.</a>


feed_id: b8b96ec41bc699bf2fe936c4936d69ac
title: Urgent: cancel approval of sulfoxaflor
uri: Urgent-cancel-approval-of-sulfoxaflor
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#31_October_2015_%28Urgent%3A_cancel_approval_of_sulfoxaflor%29

content:
<p>Everyone: call on the European Commission to <a href="http://action.sumofus.org/a/eu-ban-sulfoxaflor/?akid=14603.881131.34zz5C&rd=1&sub=fwd&t=1002">cancel its approval</a> of a new neonicotinoid pesticide, sulfoxaflor.


feed_id: 42e6d91ac9447360d7c172162271cb5a
title: Afghans flee to Europe
uri: Afghans-flee-to-Europe
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#31_October_2015_%28Afghans_flee_to_Europe%29
content:
<p>Thousands of Afghans flee each day, trying to get to Europe.
<p><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2015/oct/29/afghan-exodus-grows-taliban-gain-ground-refugees">They fear the Taliban will win.</a>
<p>If all of them joined militias to fight the Taliban, they would defeat
it.  But the government does not inspire that kind of loyalty.


feed_id: 859ff5aca386bbe5a6b83931b0996d6a
title: North Korea sent forced laborers to foreign countries
uri: North-Korea-sent-forced-laborers-to-foreign-countries
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#31_October_2015_%28North_Korea_sent_forced_laborers_to_foreign_countries%29

content:
<p>Reportedly North Korea has sent 50,000 people as <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/29/north-korea-workers-forced-labour-abroad-un-report">forced laborers to foreign countries,</a> including well-known tyrannies, but also Poland.
<p>How could this be occurring in Poland, a part of the EU?


feed_id: 4fa77a960011599b9f5a803aa65b006e
title: Library director arrested
uri: Library-director-arrested
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#31_October_2015_%28Library_director_arrested%29
content:
<p>The director of the Library of Ukrainian Literature, in Moscow, has been arrested <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/29/russian-police-detain-natalya-sharina-ukrainian-library-director-moscow">because the library has banned books.</a>


feed_id: 971619bdc1955ceaec16c48a36cb0d77
title: Poachers kill vultures
uri: Poachers-kill-vultures
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#31_October_2015_%28Poachers_kill_vultures%29
content:
<p>Poachers that kill mammals in Africa kill vultures too.  <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/oct/29/vultures-nearing-extinction-in-africa">The lack of vultures can cause disaster.</a>


feed_id: 2a0cacb4ea478ff25d9b3daeffe329c7
title: Indonesia is biggest CO2 emitter
uri: Indonesia-is-biggest-CO2-emitter
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#31_October_2015_%28Indonesia_is_biggest_CO2_emitter%29

content:
<p><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/29/indonesia-fires-widodo-haze-zone-country-becomes-world-top-polluter
">Indonesia is temporarily the biggest CO2 emitter</a> due to large forest fires that were intentionally set for the purpose of deforestation.
<p>The motive for the deforestation is to produce palm oil.
<p>The deepest lesson here is that if we don't take strong measures,
there will be less and less room for anything but human activities to
survive, until eventually global heating destroys civilization.  Then
a large fraction of the human population will die, and the rest will
swelter in poverty.


feed_id: d0fd54ceae08d436c8eac4abbaed89f8
title: Selahattin Demirtas and HD Party
uri: Selahattin-Demirtas-and-HD-Party
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#31_October_2015_%28Selahattin_Demirtas_and_HD_Party%29

content:
<p>The history of <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/29/selahattin-demirtas-kurdish-turkey
">Selahattin Demirtas and the HD Party.</a>
<p>Erdogan's men blame the two most notorious bombings of Kurds on <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/19/ankara-suicide-bomber-was-brother-of-suspect-in-previous-attack-turkey-says">PISSI,</a>  and this could be true, but it doesn't mean Erdogan's men were not involved.  Turkey under Erdogan has given PISSI <a href="https://www.stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#28_August_2015_(Turkey_helping_PISSI)">considerable support,</a> including allowing free passage to jihadi recruits.
<p>Erdogan's censorship has <a href="https://theintercept.com/2015/10/29/attacks-on-the-press-escalate-ahead-of-turkish-elections/
">convinced most of the public</a> that the Kurds carried out the bombing.
<p>This reminds me of how Dubya's support from right-wing US mass media
convinced many Americans that <a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2003-sep-dec.html#15%20November%202003%20(more)">Saddam Hussein collaborated with al-Qa'ida.</a>


feed_id: 77fcfab6ee6ee2f4f6136bf4c6ca7a16
title: Refugee in Australia hanged himself
uri: Refugee-in-Australia-hanged-himself
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#31_October_2015_%28Refugee_in_Australia_hanged_himself%29

content:
<p>A refugee in Australia hanged himself <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2015/oct/29/asylum-seeker-found-hanged-at-brisbane-airport-feared-deportation">because he feared being deported.</a>


feed_id: fb6440bce849e95c623fea587b3bf5fc
title: Thugs seized journalist's laptop
uri: Thugs-seized-journalist-s-laptop
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#31_October_2015_%28Thugs_seized_journalist%27s_laptop%29

content:
<p>UK thugs seized the laptop of a BBC journalist who was <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/oct/28/uk-police-terrorism-act-newsnight-journalist-secunder-kermani-laptop">interviewing people in PISSI.</a>


feed_id: 065a4525e08f52a81e633979845660fc
title: US national dept
uri: US-national-dept
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#31_October_2015_%28US_national_dept%29
content:
<p>The US could deal with its national debt by making a few <a href="http://www.truth-out.org/opinion/item/33416-how-obama-could-beat-the-debt-ceiling-and-go-out-a-hero">trillion-dollar platinum coins.</a>
<p>If the US expanded its money supply too far, whether this way or via
debt as it currently does, eventually that would cause high inflation.
But there is a substantial way to go before that happens.


feed_id: 60c4343fa3770577efdf160b43441914
title: Nuclear was averted in 1962
uri: Nuclear-was-averted-in-1962
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#31_October_2015_%28Nuclear_was_averted_in_1962%29
content:
<p>In 1962, during the Cuban missile crisis, a US nuclear missile team
received erroneous orders to launch.  The commander of that team saw
something fishy and verified they were sent by mistake, <a href="https://theintercept.com/2015/10/28/how-one-air-force-captain-saved-the-world-from-accidental-nuclear-war-53-years-ago-today/">thus averting a nuclear war.</a>
<p>There have been many other near escapes, including that of the bombs
that could easily have detonated <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/20/usaf-atomic-bomb-north-carolina-1961">when they fell over the US.</a>
<p>We can't rely on lucking out every time, so we can't regard
the current <a href="https://www.stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#05_July_2015_(Urgent:_Ceremony_at_Hiroshima)">nuclear deterrent situation as safe.</a>


feed_id: 82de908af19c0f684567d7e348d7b586
title: NSA snooping collateral damage
uri: NSA-snooping-collateral-damage
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#31_October_2015_%28NSA_snooping_collateral_damage%29

content:
<p>
Challenging the NSA to say 
<a href="https://theintercept.com/2015/10/29/privacy-groups-challenge-director-of-national-intelligence-to-uphold-transparency-promise/">how
many Americans it snoops on</a> as collateral damage.


feed_id: 064806935a8e256c3746a19fff5a7c84
title: Asylum for Edward Snowden
uri: Asylum-for-Edward-Snowden
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#31_October_2015_%28Asylum_for_Edward_Snowden%29
content:
<p>
The European Parliament voted symbolically 
<a href="https://theintercept.com/2015/10/29/european-parliament-says-snowden-should-be-welcomed-in-europe/">in
favor of offering asylum to Edward Snowden</a>.  It has no power to
actually do this, but it is good to endorse his cause so visibly.
<p>
I think the US should welcome Snowden home with a medal.


feed_id: 0320cc32333b491a0c0b8849489db7b2
title: Deforestation and Ebola
uri: 2015-10-31-Deforestation-and-Ebola
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#31_October_2015_%28Deforestation_and_Ebola%29
content:
<p>
Deforestation
"<a href='http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/29/deforestation-might-have-started-west-africas-ebola-outbreak'>May
Have Started West Africa's Ebola Outbreak</a>".


feed_id: e745b9d80f909599720dbb3d28da9760
title: Soviet Union sentimentalized in Russia
uri: Soviet-Union-sentimentalized-in-Russia
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#31_October_2015_%28Soviet_Union_sentimentalized_in_Russia%29

content:
<p>
In Russia, everything about the Soviet Union is being 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/29/russia-gulag-camps-putin-nationalism-soviet-history">sentimentalized</a>,
even prison camps and executions.


feed_id: d0efd23a1d42af500f5f8fcc16f9d8b6
title: Solitary confinement in California
uri: Solitary-confinement-in-California
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#31_October_2015_%28Solitary_confinement_in_California%29

content:
<p>
California has limited solitary confinement in prisons, but it is
<a href="https://theintercept.com/2015/10/29/solitary-in-california-jails-still-hellish-despite-state-reforms/">still
done in jails</a>, where many of the inmates have not been convicted
of a crime.  Sometimes it is done "for their protection".


feed_id: cd1d6f3145e4472ff2c340c6a4500240
title: China relaxes one-child policy
uri: China-relaxes-one-child-policy
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#31_October_2015_%28China_relaxes_one-child_policy%29

content:
<p>
China has relaxed the one-child policy, 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/29/china-abandons-one-child-policy-what-does-it-mean-to-you">allowing
all families to have two children</a>.
<p>
This policy has done tremendous good for the Chinese people, and for
the world as a whole.  Perhaps China has gone through the demographic
transition and the policy is not needed any more.  If so, that's nice,
and partly the consequence of having that policy.
<p>
The "demographic catastrophe" is an exaggeration.  If there is a
shortage of labor in China, factories can move to India, which has
plenty of poor people who could use jobs.
<p>
With modern medical care, old people who are still well can delay
their retirement.  If there is truly a shortage of labor in China,
those older workers can fill the gap.  That won't cause harm.
<p>
The situation where delaying people's retirement is unjustified is
when there are too few jobs, as in the US.  In these circumstances,
requiring old people to keep working 
<a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2010-jul-oct.html#9%20September%202010%20(Big%20labour%20protests%20in%20France)">forces
younger people into unemployment</a>.
<p>
As for men that can't find female mates, they should learn to share.


feed_id: ae63eb41844416f96b7b6e2877f738c3
title: B'liar's lies
uri: B-liar-s-lies
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#31_October_2015_%28Bliars_lies%29
content:
<p>
Laying out 
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/views/2015/10/29/we-dont-need-wait-chilcot-blair-lied-us-about-iraq-heres-evidence">the
evidence</a> proving that Tony B'liar lied about Iraq's weapons
programs to create an excuse for the war he and Dubya had already
decided to launch.


feed_id: b5f85c215e0702af63d37c082754cd27
title: Reduced US military spending
uri: Reduced-US-military-spending
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#31_October_2015_%28Reduced_US_military_spending%29
content:
<p>
If the US reduces its military spending, 
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/views/2015/10/29/what-comes-after-empire">what
other related policy changes should it make</a>?


feed_id: 3650a7ea23343f81a7177925fb5ec49f
title: Corporate-supremacy treaties
uri: 2015-10-31-Corporate-supremacy-treaties
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#31_October_2015_%28Corporate-supremacy_treaties%29
content:
<p>
Alfred-Maurice de Zayas says that corporate-supremacy treaties such as
the TPP 
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/views/2015/10/29/current-trade-treaties-revolution-against-law">contradict
the UN charter</a>.  This could be used to argue that parts of them
are void.


feed_id: d728cbf0d394ed60d3afaf585accbe5a
title: Tory contempt for Britons that go hungry
uri: Tory-contempt-for-Britons-that-go-hungry
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#31_October_2015_%28Tory_contempt_for_Britons_that_go_hungry%29

content:
<p>
The Tories express 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/oct/29/hospital-food-banks-benefits-survival">open
contempt for Britons that go hungry</a>, and the food banks that help
them when the state will not.
<p>
Aneurin Bevan had it right: the 
<a href="media/62a79bb0.anuran-bevan.jpg" data-original-source="https://stallman.org/images/anuran-bevan.jpg">Tories are
lower than vermin</a>.
<p>
I hope they are sentenced to experience the same hunger, some day.
But not their children.


feed_id: 32023d47e8ee9353e60bdcdef7c5c45d
title: Koch brothers want to permit more corruption
uri: Koch-brothers-want-to-permit-more-corruption
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#31_October_2015_%28Koch_brothers_want_to_permit_more_corruption%29

content:
<p>
The Koch brothers are 
<a href="http://www.prwatch.org/news/2015/10/12959/kochs-wi-corruption-measures">running
a campaign in Wisconsin</a> for laws to permit more corruption.


feed_id: dbb6decfad521518962a92f209e4ee70
title: Urgent: Richland schools
uri: 2015-10-31-Urgent-Richland-schools
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#31_October_2015_%28Urgent%3A_Richland_schools%29
content:
<p>Everyone: call on the Richland schools 
<a href="https://action.aclu.org/secure/assault-schools-math-doesnt-add">to 
change the practices hat put students in danger from thugs in their schools.</a>
<p>Here's the 
<a href="http://www.thenation.com/article/a-short-history-of-cops-terrorizing-students/">historical 
background</a> of these practices,  which created today's school-to-prison pipeline.


feed_id: 116b7a42990300b509f74c8a6fa2612a
title: Urgent: prosecute thug that attacked student
uri: 2015-10-31-Urgent-prosecute-thug-that-attacked-student
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#31_October_2015_%28Urgent%3A_prosecute_thug_that_attacked_student%29

content:
<p>Everyone: call for 
<a href="http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/charge-deputy-ben-fields">prosecution</a> 
of the thug that grabbed and attacked the sitting high school student.


feed_id: 3331927fc878c95b0546a36d5f5e7d8b
title: Urgent: cancel approval of sulfoxaflor
uri: 2015-10-31-Urgent-cancel-approval-of-sulfoxaflor
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#31_October_2015_%28Urgent%3A_cancel_approval_of_sulfoxaflor%29

content:
<p>Everyone: call on the European Commission to <a href="http://action.sumofus.org/a/eu-ban-sulfoxaflor/">cancel 
its approval</a> of a new neonicotinoid pesticide, sulfoxaflor.


feed_id: 16f97949874a91d5754c5d5a94535fea
title: Afghans flee to Europe
uri: 2015-10-31-Afghans-flee-to-Europe
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#31_October_2015_%28Afghans_flee_to_Europe%29
content:
<p>Thousands of Afghans flee each day, trying to get to Europe.
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2015/oct/29/afghan-exodus-grows-taliban-gain-ground-refugees">They 
fear the Taliban will win</a>.
<p>If all of them joined militias to fight the Taliban, they would defeat
it.  But the government does not inspire that kind of loyalty.


feed_id: 20eb13d982d8a6a6cce9ab52c45a53a2
title: Selahattin Demirtas and HD Party
uri: 2015-10-31-Selahattin-Demirtas-and-HD-Party
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#31_October_2015_%28Selahattin_Demirtas_and_HD_Party%29

content:
<p>The history of 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/29/selahattin-demirtas-kurdish-turkey">Selahattin 
Demirtas and the HD Party.</a>
<p>Erdogan's men blame the two most notorious bombings of Kurds on <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/19/ankara-suicide-bomber-was-brother-of-suspect-in-previous-attack-turkey-says">PISSI,</a>  and this could be true, but it doesn't mean Erdogan's men were not involved.  Turkey under Erdogan has given PISSI <a href="https://www.stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#28_August_2015_(Turkey_helping_PISSI)">considerable support,</a> including allowing free passage to jihadi recruits.
<p>Erdogan's censorship has 
<a href="https://theintercept.com/2015/10/29/attacks-on-the-press-escalate-ahead-of-turkish-elections/">convinced 
most of the public</a> that the Kurds carried out the bombing.
<p>This reminds me of how Dubya's support from right-wing US mass media
convinced many Americans that <a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2003-sep-dec.html#15%20November%202003%20(more)">Saddam Hussein collaborated with al-Qa'ida.</a>


feed_id: 9441c95c156656ba83477c0b7bf87fc8
title: Clinton remains a militarist
uri: 2015-10-31-Clinton-remains-a-militarist
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#30_October_2015_%28Clinton_remains_a_militarist%29
content:
<p>Clinton remains a militarist, and 
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/views/2015/10/28/hillary-clinton-hasnt-learned-thing-iraq">wants 
more US intervention</a> in Syria now.
</p>


feed_id: b7a2171f8de6a3e2bfda4e51d7f1687f
title: Massacres committed by Mexican thugs
uri: 2015-10-31-Massacres-committed-by-Mexican-thugs
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#30_October_2015_%28Massacres_committed_by_Mexican_thugs%29

content:
<p>Survivors report 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/28/mexico-shootings-police-killed-civilians-report">two 
massacres</a> committed by Mexican thugs.
</p>


feed_id: 73b6015d8990708648d3529a622ed5db
title: Violence against art and humans
uri: 2015-10-31-Violence-against-art-and-humans
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#30_October_2015_%28Violence_against_art_and_humans%29

content:
<p>"When Isis 
<a href='http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/jonathanjonesblog/2015/oct/28/isis-palmyra-temple-baalshamin-three-captives-attack-violence-art-humanity'>blew 
up three captives</a> tied to the Temple of Baalshamin's columns, it
proved the inseparability of violence against art and violence against
humans."
</p>


feed_id: 9e1b61365a4bd14574149658747e231c
title: Thugs' contempt for rape victims
uri: 2015-10-31-Thugs-contempt-for-rape-victims
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#30_October_2015_%28Thugs%27_contempt_for_rape_victims%29

content:
<p>When victims of domestic violence or rape call thugs for help, they
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/views/2015/10/28/domestic-violence-and-sexual-assault-survivors-should-feel-safe-seeking-police-help">often 
receive contempt</a> or even legal trouble.
</p>


feed_id: bebfa414681f2ed609518fa4d41bd549
title: If Exxon told the truth about global heating
uri: 2015-10-31-If-Exxon-told-the-truth-about-global-heating
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#30_October_2015_%28If_Exxon_told_the_truth_about_global_heating%29

content:
<p>
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/oct/28/imagine-if-exxon-had-told-the-truth-on-climate-change">Imagine 
If Exxon Had Told the Truth on Climate Change.</a>
</p>
<p>For one thing, activists wouldn't be using the term "climate
change", which was 
<a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2014-may-aug.html#16_June_2014_(Destroyed_by_global_heating)">imposed
by political supporters of Big Oil</a> precisely because it is vague
and doesn't clearly present the danger.
</p>


feed_id: 69edd92eb897787a9452bafbe7588c0d
title: Slave labour in the supply chain
uri: 2015-10-31-Slave-labour-in-the-supply-chain
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#30_October_2015_%28Slave_labour_in_the_supply_chain%29

content:
<p>The UK will require large companies to 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/28/uk-companies-proof-no-links-slave-labour-supply-chain">publish 
the policies they use</a> to avoid buying from firms that use slave 
labor.
</p>
<p>This will not automatically end the problem, since these policies
may have clever loopholes and may not really be carried out.  Or they
may be null.  Nonetheless, this may help.</p>
<p>It would be more effective to prohibit the importation of goods
made with slave labor.</p>


feed_id: f2570e45a819d9c200bcfd735e4fee32
title: Why are drugs illegal?
uri: 2015-10-31-Why-are-drugs-illegal
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#30_October_2015_%28Why_are_drugs_illegal%3F%29
content:
<p>David Nutt: 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/oct/28/why-are-drugs-illegal-google-answer">Why 
are drugs illegal</a>?
</p>
<p>David Nutt was a scientist advisor to the UK government about drug
policy.
</p>


feed_id: b5cf02c589d6a51a2ec706919ac9e59f
title: Turkish thugs attack media offices
uri: 2015-10-31-Turkish-thugs-attack-media-offices
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#30_October_2015_%28Turkish_thugs_attack_media_offices%29

content:
<p>The Turkish government's thugs 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/28/turkish-police-storm-opposition-media-offices-as-election-looms">attacked 
the offices</a> of an opposition media group with TV channels.
</p>
<p>It is talking about prosecuting more newspapers after the
election.</p>


feed_id: 6eaefedf59c1d6e4440a8c918d00bb30
title: Animal dung and the ecosystem
uri: 2015-10-31-Animal-dung-and-the-ecosystem
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#30_October_2015_%28Animal_dung_and_the_ecosystem%29
content:
<p>Large animals' dung fertilizes plants; by killing them off, humans have
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/oct/28/attitudes-poo-life-on-earth-mass-extinction-bodily-functions">damaged 
ecosystems</a>.
</p>


feed_id: 9b8eeea621030e4631b37dd9695ebe27
title: Helping Eritreans
uri: 2015-10-31-Helping-Eritreans
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#30_October_2015_%28Helping_Eritreans%29
content:
<p>Arguing that it is a mistake to try to help Eritreans to remain
in Eritria, because 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2015/oct/28/eritrea-afewerki-regime-human-rights-glenys-kinnock">the 
state is too oppressive</a>.
</p>
<p>What should we do in such situations?  There is the obvious option
of invading, but how can we tell if that would make things worse?</p>


feed_id: a6a816bdb480d71fe067c44faa49960c
title: SE Asia to lose labour productivity to global heating
uri: 2015-10-31-SE-Asia-to-lose-labour-productivity-to-global-heating
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#30_October_2015_%28SE_Asia_to_lose_labour_productivity_to_global_heating%29

content:
<p>Southeast Asia could 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/28/too-hot-to-work-climate-change-south-east-asia-economies-at-risk">lose 
16% of its labour productivity in 30 years</a> due to the effects of 
global heating.
</p>
<p>I am not sure if this really applies to Singapore, because people
live and work in air conditioned areas there.</p>


feed_id: bdd12e83da6076ea0857d9784c979c94
title: Curbing global heating creates jobs
uri: 2015-10-31-Curbing-global-heating-creates-jobs
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#30_October_2015_%28Curbing_global_heating_creates_jobs%29

content:
<p>Curbing global heating provides a way to 
<a href="http://www.thenation.com/article/think-we-cant-stabilize-the-climate-while-fostering-growth-think-again/">make 
lots of jobs</a> — economic growth focused on the non-rich.
</p>


feed_id: 5ad3656367b37ce7acd9bcf2308e3aec
title: Urgent: Replace CNN commentator
uri: Urgent-Replace-CNN-commentator
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#01_November_2015_%28Urgent%3A_Replace_CNN_commentator%29

content:
<p>
Everyone: 
<a href="http://act.colorofchange.org/sign/CNNDropHarryHouck/">call on
CNN</a> to replace commentator Harry Houck, who never saw a violent
thug he didn't like.


feed_id: 617c49a6815a81d1b8ee9dafc1e4e781
title: Criminalizing criticism
uri: Criminalizing-criticism
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#01_November_2015_%28Criminalizing_criticism%29
content:
<p>
Criminalizing criticism of officials
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/global/2015/oct/30/malaysia-risks-a-political-meltdown-with-its-attack-on-free-speech">threatens
democracy in Malaysia</a>.
<p>
Democracy in Malaysia was never very strong, which makes it even more
vulnerable now.


feed_id: 30d86593247fa3dafea044a3626991c4
title: Large forest fire in the Amazon
uri: Large-forest-fire-in-the-Amazon
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#01_November_2015_%28Large_forest_fire_in_the_Amazon%29

content:
<p>
A large forest fire is 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/30/vast-amazon-wildfire-destroys-forest-in-brazil-and-threatens-uncontacted-tribe">burning
in the Amazon "rainforest"</a>, and has been burning for two months.
This suggests o me that there is not as much rain as there normally
used to be.
<p>
Large parts of Brazil have suffered from an 
<a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jan-apr.html#27_January_2015_(Brazil_imposes_water_rationing)">unprecedented
drought</a>.
<p>
Global heating could play some role in this, but the cutting down of
much of the forests are responsible for both.


feed_id: 913c599b3ff841bb9361419b602c0d64
title: Current carbon pledges
uri: Current-carbon-pledges
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#01_November_2015_%28Current_carbon_pledges%29
content:
<p>
The UN says that current carbon pledges will probably keep global
heating to 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/oct/30/worlds-climate-pledges-likely-to-lead-to-less-than-3c-of-warming-un">under
3C</a>.
<p>
That is still taking too big a risk.  Even the 2C target is somewhat
arbitrary, since we don't know it will avoid disaster (or
positive-feedback tipping points that would push warming further).
<p>
In addition, without an enforcement mechanism, we can't be confident
all the countries will carry out their unilateral pledges.


feed_id: ec9b80b2464b4427dd2f577168fc0b09
title: Internet censorship in US universities
uri: Internet-censorship-in-US-universities
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#01_November_2015_%28Internet_censorship_in_US_universities%29

content:
<p>
<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/2015/10/26/national-coalition-in-favor-of-campus-censorship/">Various
organizations demand internet censorship in US universities</a> to
eliminate racist statements and insults.
<p>
I find some of those statements disgusting — others are merely
foolish — but censorship is far more disgusting.
<p>
The scariest thing is that this sort of censorship has already become
deeply implanted in many otherwise free countries.  And in some of
them, such as France and the UK, it is spreading to other kinds of
censorship.


feed_id: 4c698d354cb25a78ee9b0a85d27597f9
title: Jailed for talking to children
uri: Jailed-for-talking-to-children
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#01_November_2015_%28Jailed_for_talking_to_children%29

content:
<p>
Pennsylvania has jailed a man for 
<a href="https://reason.com/blog/2015/10/29/autistic-man-jailed-for-talking-to-kids">telling
children on the street that he was on the way to a cabin in the
woods</a>.
<p>
A paranoid US parent, who has probably heard exaggerated stories about
the
<a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jan-apr.html#07_March_2015_(Kidnaping_by_strangers_extremely_rare)">nearly
nonexistent "stranger danger"</a>, reported this as suspicious.
<p>
Perhaps thugs regarded the man as dangerous because he is autistic
and could not rebut the suspicion.


feed_id: cb820d67d2974d54fa5a77af5adb817f
title: Haiti's election
uri: Haiti-s-election
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#01_November_2015_%28Haitis_election%29
content:
<p>
Haiti's "president" Martelly is
<a href="http://www.thenation.com/article/can-haitis-corrupt-president-hold-on-to-power/">trying
to impose a successor by rigging the election</a>.
<p>
The US imposed Martelly through 
<a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2011-may-aug.html#11_June_2011_(Haiti_Cable_Faudulent_Election)">blatant contempt for the Haitian
electoral system</a>.


feed_id: adf96bda13155aee45945a460de609f2
title: Guber for piecework "journalists"
uri: Guber-for-piecework-journalists
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#01_November_2015_%28Guber_for_piecework_journalists%29

content:
<p>
Following Guber, a new service 
<a href="http://www.thenation.com/article/is-complicity-now-the-entry-fee-for-critique/">matches
up PR companies with piecework "journalists"</a> that will take pay to
write their press releases into "news articles".
<p>
I call it 
<a href="https://stallman.org/uber.html">"Guber"</a> because it pays
drivers peanuts, but there are many reasons why we should refuse ever
to use Guber.


feed_id: a663a2c7035da8c8f016d8ec0d354e6d
title: Censorship on the rise
uri: Censorship-on-the-rise
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#01_November_2015_%28Censorship_on_the_rise%29
content:
<p>
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/news/2015/10/28/censorship-rise-global-internet-freedom-continues-downward-spiral">Censorship
on Rise as Global Internet Freedom Continues Downward Spiral</a>.


feed_id: 5b42f6537a2b9a48bea6a4f2d05dfc74
title: Gulf of Maine too warm for cod
uri: Gulf-of-Maine-too-warm-for-cod
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#01_November_2015_%28Gulf_of_Maine_too_warm_for_cod%29

content:
<p>
The Gulf of Maine is now 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/oct/30/water-too-warm-for-cod-in-us-gulf-of-maine-as-stocks-near-collapse">too
warm for cod to live there</a>.
<p>
This area of the sea used to be a major cod fishery, though they were
mostly wiped out by overfishing a few decades ago.  Massachusetts must
now replace the 
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sacred_Cod">Sacred Cod</a> with
Sacred Car.


feed_id: f25a9bf91932886baa2d8d3469767e9d
title: "Sanctions" against the unemployed
uri: Sanctions-against-the-unemployed
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#01_November_2015_%28Sanctions_against_the_unemployed%29

content:
<p>The UK <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/oct/26/benefit-sanctions-government-jobseekers-appeals">refused to investigate</a> whether "sanctions" against the unemployed are achieving any of their supposed purposes.


feed_id: d015802eb979dcc2fd6ac2c6f0b01080
title: Throw stones and we hit you with gas
uri: Throw-stones-and-we-hit-you-with-gas
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#01_November_2015_%28Throw_stones_and_we_hit_you_with_gas%29

content:
<p>Israeli troops told Palestinians: "Throw stones and <a href="http://www.commondreams.org/further/2015/10/30/we-will-gas-you-until-you-die">we will hit you with gas until you all die</a> — the youth, the children, the old people…You will all die. We will not leave any of you alive."
<p>Palestinians are already being killed regularly by tear gas.


feed_id: efbb9fb2d3be33dec53edcefcd62ce6a
title: State court elections
uri: State-court-elections
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#01_November_2015_%28State_court_elections%29
content:
<p>Money Flooding State Court Elections <a href="http://www.commondreams.org/views/2015/10/31/money-flooding-state-court-elections-threatens-promise-equal-justice">Threatens the Promise of Equal Justice.</a>


feed_id: 205efe37db47c37ba2ce6ea9628fce50
title: US options in Syria
uri: US-options-in-Syria
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#01_November_2015_%28US_options_in_Syria%29
content:
<p>How <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/oct/31/after-obamas-changes-tack-syria-what-would-the-presidential-candidates-do">presidential candidates</a> stand on the US options in Syria, which all have major drawbacks.
<p>The article has one section entitled "'Safe zones' and special forces", but the section discusses only the safe zones, not special forces.


feed_id: b85640adfe3fe3c3805988a0fabd4e55
title: Borrowing money to get an abortion
uri: Borrowing-money-to-get-an-abortion
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#01_November_2015_%28Borrowing_money_to_get_an_abortion%29

content:
<p>Women in Ireland and Northern Ireland have to borrow money <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/31/abortion-ireland-northern-ireland-women-travel-england-amelia-gentleman">so they can travel to England to get an abortion.</a>
<p>The way to end the stigma placed in Ireland on abortion is for women
to talk about their abortions unapologetically.  It is imperative for
women in Ireland to stop acting ashamed.


feed_id: d74eef57c436c6bd911671ccfc91dd08
title: Doing business with Al-Sisi
uri: Doing-business-with-Al-Sisi
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#01_November_2015_%28Doing_business_with_Al-Sisi%29
content:
<p>Al-Sisi offers Britain the <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/31/why-is-david-cameron-welcoming-egypt-autocrat-president-sisi-to-london">sort of tyrant</a> that Britain is accustomed to doing business with.
<p>"I got 643 days of torture [in Egypt]. My tormentor gets <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/oct/31/643-days-torture-cameron-general-sisi-egyptian-radicalisation">Cameron's red carpet."</a>


feed_id: 34eceb4953d1d866682a6a4766729374
title: Tap water not safe
uri: Tap-water-not-safe
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#01_November_2015_%28Tap_water_not_safe%29
content:
<p>Parts of the US no longer have tap water that is <a href="http://www.thenation.com/article/what-if-your-tap-water-was-too-polluted-to-drink/">safe to drink.</a>


feed_id: 335417c13cf926c7804be0b6f2f6a932
title: Thugs' persecution
uri: Thugs-persecution
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#01_November_2015_%28Thugs%27_persecution%29
content:
<p>Lesbians occasionally bear, like blacks, <a href="http://dailykos.com/story/2015/10/29/1442109/-After-a-public-kiss-vacationing-lesbian-couple-violently-arrested-in-Hawaii-by-off-duty-cop?detail=email">the brunt of thugs' persecution.</a>


feed_id: 3cf76bb1a0e2eba7dd6258b8954e3dd1
title: Transparency and privacy
uri: Transparency-and-privacy
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#01_November_2015_%28Transparency_and_privacy%29
content:
<p>Transparency for the State, <a href="https://www.opendemocracy.net/can-europe-make-it/simona-levi/transparency-for-state-privacy-for-rest-of-us">Privacy for the Rest of Us.</a>


feed_id: e3513bb52cdc067ac407d5c142bbc2f3
title: Diets and weight loss
uri: Diets-and-weight-loss
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#01_November_2015_%28Diets_and_weight_loss%29
content:
<p>Diets generally <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/oct/30/low-fat-diets-slammed-major-new-report">do not achieve much weight loss.</a>
<p>Low-fat diets are the least effective, but perhaps that is becuase
low-fat food products have added sugar.


feed_id: 58ad71fdd37e2e91b45d708e3506848f
title: Ending the death penalty
uri: Ending-the-death-penalty
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#01_November_2015_%28Ending_the_death_penalty%29
content:
<p><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2015/10/29/sanders-calls-end-death-penalty-during-senate-speech-criminal-justice-reform">Sanders calls</a> for ending the death penalty, legalizing marijuana, reducing incarceration, and helping ex-cons get back into society.


feed_id: 6a42206e1a23a8adac8433f4f1dc0c03
title: Repression in US public schools
uri: Repression-in-US-public-schools
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#01_November_2015_%28Repression_in_US_public_schools%29

content:
<p>The thug's vicious attack on a sitting high school girl is the extreme
example of a systematic repression imposed in US public schools
generally.  Any student can be punished or suspended for minor or even
fantasy "wrongs", <a href="http://www.commondreams.org/views/2015/10/29/how-assault-spring-valley-high-brutally-demonstrates-school-prison-pipeline">but black students generally face worse treatment.</a>
<p>Suspension from school is extremely frequent: high schools suspend, each year,
almost as many students as they graduate.  Smaller punishments are probably
far more frequent.
<p>This system resembles a training program for living in an occupied
country, and students could understand it as such.  The thugs in the
schools are soldiers in the occupying army, and the school officials
are the local collaborators, quislings (that's why they order quizzes).
<p>The teachers are mostly sincere, trying to provide what education they
can under the occupation which they cannot defy, but that is easier
said than done.
<p>The goal is to make trouble for the occupation without letting the
soldiers figure out who did it or how.


feed_id: 086bcf28b618668f4d98383959343f21
title: US to assist Syrian Kurds
uri: US-to-assist-Syrian-Kurds
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#01_November_2015_%28US_to_assist_Syrian_Kurds%29
content:
<p>Obama is sending a <a href="https://theintercept.com/2015/10/30/us-to-send-special-operations-forces-to-syria/">contingent of US special forces</a> to assist the Syrian Kurds.
<p>This seems like a good idea to me.  A limited amount of help for the
Kurds could make a big difference for them in fighting <a href="https://www.stallman.org/archives/2014-sep-dec.html#29_September_2014_(PISSI)">PISSI,</a>  while avoiding the harm that a large US intervention force would do.
<p>If the Kurds can cut off PISSI from the Turkish border, it would crimp
PISSI's funds (obtained by selling oil) and recruitment (foreign
recruits come through Turkey).
<p><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/oct/30/us-special-forces-syria-obamas-latest-broken-foreign-policy-promise
">Obama should ask Congress for approval</a> of the US intervention against PISSI.  I expect he would easily get approval.  The point is to maintain the system of checks and balances.


feed_id: b87745ccd7adf5baa95abeffa1d058e2
title: Suspected of setting fire to churches
uri: Suspected-of-setting-fire-to-churches
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#01_November_2015_%28Suspected_of_setting_fire_to_churches%29

content:
<p>A black man is suspected of <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/oct/30/st-louis-arson-black-churches-suspect-arrested
">setting fire to churches near Ferguson.</a>


feed_id: 0ab4dc42fdddecfa1aa6db95202e76e6
title: Netanyahu's realm of lunacy
uri: Netanyahu-s-realm-of-lunacy
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#01_November_2015_%28Netanyahu%27s_realm_of_lunacy%29

content:
<p>Uri Avnery says: in blaming the holocaust on a factional Palestinian
leader, Netanyahu went beyond the realm of dishonesty and
manipulation, <a href="http://zope.gush-shalom.org/home/en/channels/avnery/1446219610/">into the realm of lunacy.</a>


feed_id: d88e7b66ab6f86284ae49cb63bd3e453
title: Pregnant refugee Abyan
uri: Pregnant-refugee-Abyan
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#01_November_2015_%28Pregnant_refugee_Abyan%29
content:
<p>Australia will give pregnant refugee Abyan <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2015/oct/28/abyan-pregnant-refugee-on-nauru-will-return-to-australia-for-medical-treatment">another chance to get an abortion.</a>


feed_id: 6964b2c59e4bd5e4504ef3615cb617da
title: US foreign policy lies
uri: US-foreign-policy-lies
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#01_November_2015_%28US_foreign_policy_lies%29
content:
<p>Even Sanders goes along with <a href="https://consortiumnews.com/2015/10/27/bowing-to-silly-us-propaganda/">official US foreign policy lies</a> some of the time.
<p>Chavez won elections honestly, but his successor, Maduro, represses
the opposition increasingly as it grows in strength.
<p>Sanders doesn't do everything right, but he's a lot better even on
foreign policy issues than the other candidates.


feed_id: 02f20d6779763d546d0648263574e000
title: Extremism is a form of patriarchy
uri: Extremism-is-a-form-of-patriarchy
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#01_November_2015_%28Extremism_is_a_form_of_patriarchy%29

content:
<p>Sara Khan tries to convince British Muslim girls to <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/28/sara-khan-stop-these-muslim-girls-making-worst-mistake-of-their-lives-isis">reject extremism</a> because it is a form of patriarchy.
<p>I strongly dislike religious extremism, in any religion, even in the
Church of Emacs.  However, people have a right to profess those views,
and it is wrong to prohibit them.  The UK government has trashed so
many human rights already that I expect the worst.


feed_id: d42881797693a2783adec33838151520
title: Neonicotinoids harm bees
uri: 2015-11-01-Neonicotinoids-harm-bees
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#01_November_2015_%28Neonicotinoids_harm_bees%29
content:
<p>A scientific review finds that <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/oct/28/strong-consensus-that-neonicotinoids-harm-bees-analysis-shows">experiments demonstrate</a> that neonicotinoids harm bees, but it is not yet proved that they are responsible for colony collapse.
<p>Since bees are crucial to agriculture, and to the survival of many
species of plants, we can't afford to risk it.


feed_id: ee15383c688c400277cf6bd38f5af743
title: Recording of browsing history
uri: Recording-of-browsing-history
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#01_November_2015_%28Recording_of_browsing_history%29

content:
<p>The UK government is about to demand <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/law/2015/oct/30/uk-internet-providers-may-yet-be-required-to-keep-your-browsing-data">ISPs record everyone's browsing history.</a>


feed_id: 3b640b7a66824010d0c24b39d87c09d3
title: New St Louis stadium
uri: New-St-Louis-stadium
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#01_November_2015_%28New_St_Louis_stadium%29
content:
<p>An NFL team wants to <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/oct/30/st-louis-investment-football-stadium-rams
">drain St Louis of millions</a> for a new stadium;  a movement of citizens opposes the fans.
<p>NFL teams are businesses.  It's too bad so many Americans direct their
loyalty at businesses.


feed_id: a2f59cd3b41a705a6cba88c71c9baa0e
title: Indian "climate of intolerance"
uri: Indian-climate-of-intolerance
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#01_November_2015_%28Indian_climate_of_intolerance%29

content:
<p>Major Indian historians have condemned the "climate of intolerance"
that encourages violence and censorship of dissent from <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/oct/30/indian-historians-romila-thapar-irfan-habib-protest-government">Hindu nationalist ideology and myths.</a>


feed_id: 5e6ca27e34b8e6ca39ef78d45c62189e
title: Market-dominated university system
uri: Market-dominated-university-system
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#01_November_2015_%28Market-dominated_university_system%29

content:
<p>UK students will protest to oppose the adoption of a <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/oct/30/market-forces-education-system-conservative-privatised-students-march">US-style market-dominated university system.</a>


feed_id: 4bcb846fe7253a109d613815bc5ae5ef
title: Shaker Aamer returned to Britain
uri: Shaker-Aamer-returned-to-Britain
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#01_November_2015_%28Shaker_Aamer_returned_to_Britain%29

content:
<p>Shaker Aamer has been <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/30/shaker-aamer-lands-back-in-uk-14-years-in-guantanamo-bay">released from Guantanamo</a> and has returned to Britain.
<p>Rebellious officials in the Pentagon <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/30/shaker-aamer-freed-guantanamo-the-story-behind-the-five-year-delay">delayed his release for 5 years</a> by refusing to let him go back to the UK.
<p>He is going to <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/30/shaker-aamer-to-seek-damages-over-guantanamo-bay-incarcaration
">sue the British government</a> for complicity in his imprisonment and torture.
<p>He certainly deserves compensation, but if the UK government settles the case
to avoid exposure of its wrongs, that will not do justice.


feed_id: 5795046a94938f49cd5e519026b24070
title: "Unarmed civilian protection"
uri: Unarmed-civilian-protection
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#01_November_2015_%28Unarmed_civilian_protection%29
content:
<p>"Unarmed civilian protection" persuades armed groups in South Sudan
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/2015/oct/30/the-unarmed-civilians-bringing-peace-to-south-sudan">to refrain from violence,</a> at least some of the time.


feed_id: a5c4e3f6ede917fb31a0d2d8b8708789
title: Assad fired missiles at a market
uri: Assad-fired-missiles-at-a-market
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#01_November_2015_%28Assad_fired_missiles_at_a_market%29

content:
<p>Assad's forces <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/30/syrian-missile-attack-market">fired missiles at a market</a> and killed at least 40 people.  I would expect most of them were civilians.


feed_id: f3fa9d5fc74cfc5d3d0d19cbe697de0d
title: Indonesia is burning
uri: Indonesia-is-burning
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#01_November_2015_%28Indonesia_is_burning%29
content:
<p><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/oct/30/indonesia-fires-disaster-21st-century-world-media">Indonesia Is Burning.</a>  So Why Is the World Looking Away?


feed_id: db799216db8d3166453ae7cc98332343
title: Urgent: no tax break for BP
uri: Urgent-no-tax-break-for-BP
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#01_November_2015_%28Urgent%3A_no_tax_break_for_BP%29

content:
<p>US citizens: insist that BP get <a href="http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/no-more-tax-deductions-1">no tax break from its damage payments.</a>


feed_id: 4319fff3bc57eb56ddfc9c1662752001
title: Urgent: the People's Climate Test
uri: Urgent-the-People-s-Climate-Test
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#01_November_2015_%28Urgent%3A_the_People%27s_Climate_Test%29

content:
<p>US citizens: <a href="https://stallman.org/petitions/petition-climate-test/">call on Obama</a> to adopt the People's Climate Test.


feed_id: 200d2c36b9a9e2ffd917e18929a0c644
title: Urgent: rules for labeling meat
uri: Urgent-rules-for-labeling-meat
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#01_November_2015_%28Urgent%3A_rules_for_labeling_meat%29

content:
<p>US citizens: call on the Senate to maintain the rules for <a href="http://act.credoaction.com/sign/meat_labeling">labeling meat by country of origin.</a>


feed_id: 86cc05ccfea74d22905de0a8590ba3d3
title: Forest fires make people sick
uri: Forest-fires-make-people-sick
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#01_November_2015_%28Forest_fires_make_people_sick%29

content:
<p>Indonesia's forest fires, a scheme for deforestation, have made <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/26/indonesias-fires-crime-against-humanity-hundreds-of-thousands-suffer">half a million people</a> sick in the region.


feed_id: c116d4ce3462d9efcf82729062f53c53
title: Publishers and writers attacked in Bangladesh.
uri: Publishers-and-writers-attacked-in-Bangladesh
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#01_November_2015_%28Publishers_and_writers_attacked_in_Bangladesh.%29

content:
<p>Four more secularist publishers and writers have been <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/31/faisal-abedin-deepan-bangladesh-secular-publisher-hacked-to-death">attacked in Bangladesh.</a>


feed_id: f67c768d482ad22cebdfe14878396786
title: A limit on standardized tests
uri: A-limit-on-standardized-tests
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#01_November_2015_%28A_limit_on_standardized_tests%29

content:
<p>Obama said he has become disenchanted with standardized tests, and proposes a limit on them — <a href="http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2015/10/obama-standardized-testing">but not a real reduction.</a>
<p>The issue is not how many hours students spend <em>taking</em> the
tests, but how much their studies are shaped around the tests, and
how the tests are used.  <a href="http://www.commondreams.org/news/2015/10/25/will-new-plan-testing-caps-bring-end-disastrous-bush-obama-education-policies">Bigger policy changes are needed.</a>


feed_id: dd27f0e0954d3ee0c98a100524a77cbe
title: Black Lives Matter protests
uri: 2015-11-02-Black-Lives-Matter-protests
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#01_November_2015_%28Black_Lives_Matter_protests%29
content:
<p>The FBI director admits he has <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/oct/26/fbi-director-ferguson-effect-crime-policing-james-comey">no objective basis</a> for claiming that Black Lives Matter protests caused a recent increase in crime.  But he will blame them anyway.
<p>He also blames the fact that people can use videos to demonstrate the
crimes that thugs commit.  His argument is that anything that makes
thugs hesitate to beat people up and lie about it constitutes an
impediment to their work.


feed_id: 6f2c8cea3b14fac3d477465ba10653b5
title: Forest fires threaten Orangutans
uri: Forest-fires-threaten-Orangutans
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#01_November_2015_%28Forest_fires_threaten_Orangutans%29

content:
<p>Indonesia's Forest Fires Threaten <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/oct/26/indonesias-forest-fires-threaten-a-third-of-worlds-wild-orangutans">a Third of World's Wild Orangutans.</a>


feed_id: 8d4c813c3f2d7581640b6bcb0debf008
title: Diets and weight loss
uri: 2015-11-02-Diets-and-weight-loss
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#01_November_2015_%28Diets_and_weight_loss%29
content:
<p>Diets generally <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/oct/30/low-fat-diets-slammed-major-new-report">do not achieve much weight loss.</a>
<p>Low-fat diets are the least effective, but perhaps that is because
low-fat food products have added sugar.


feed_id: c5cae8997d5a9dd25e8c77efe2656352
title: Marijuana
uri: 2015-11-02-Marijuana
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#2_November_2015_%28Marijuana%29
content:
<p>Ohio 
<a href="http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2015/11/marijuana-millionaires">
proposes</a>
 to legalize selling marijuana, only for certain specific
companies that have invested in advance.
</p>


feed_id: 9012484837def5db56b965e536ebbee5
title: Anti-Knowledge
uri: Anti-Knowledge
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#2_November_2015_%28Anti-Knowledge%29
content:
<p>The 'anti-Knowledge' of the elites in Washington

<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/views/2015/11/01/anti-knowledge-elites">
goes unchallenged</a>
 by the established press.
</p>


feed_id: 543857f311f1f767a8256d1f57860e96
title: Racial profiling
uri: 2015-11-02-Racial-profiling
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#2_November_2015_%28Racial_profiling%29
content:
<p>Standardized tests 
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/views/2015/10/26/standardized-tests-are-form-racial-profiling">
can have the effect</a>
 of racial profiling.
</p>
<p>The English Regent's Exam tests for a real skill, and the people who
fail that test really lack that skill.  Is that important?  That
depends on what they are going to do.</p>
<p>I speak French well enough to give speeches, have useful meetings with
public officals, and write articles for publication (though they
require editing by others).  But I could not pass the French
equivalent of the English Regent's Exam, because there are many French
words and idiomatic expressions I don't know, and many references I
would not catch.</p>
<p>Would my failure on that hypothetical test be significant?  Is my
command of French adequate or not?  That depends on what activity I am
going to do.  For understanding le Canard enchainé, I am hopelessly
incompetent; for championing free software in French, I seem
reasonably capable.</p>
<p>Likewise, whether someone's failure on the English Regent's Exam is a
real shortcoming depends on what you want that person to do.  If it is
to have sophisticated conversations in English the way an educated
native speaker can, it is a real shortcoming and you should look for
someone else.  For college study in a field other than English, the
failure at that exam may not matter.
</p>


feed_id: aa7f0d4353dde24288ba0c9174fa4ca8
title: SXSW
uri: SXSW
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#2_November_2015_%28SXSW%29
content:
<p>SXSW cancelled panels about online harassment, giving way to online
harassment.  In response to criticism, 
<a href="http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2015/10/sxsw-interactive-changes-tune-announces-day-long-online-harassment-summit/">
it has brought</a>
 them back, and
added more.
</p>
<p>Gamergate Didn't Fade Into Obscurity.  We Just 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/oct/28/gamergate-didnt-fade-into-obscurity-harassment-women-sxsw-panel">
Stopped Noticing</a>
 Its Existence.
</p>
<p>It is cowardly to cancel an event because of threats —
especially online threats, which are generally nothing but bombast.
</p>


feed_id: 429c8975b46442a815bc70a80df9bf08
title: UK's ash trees
uri: UK-s-ash-trees
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#2_November_2015_%28UK%27s_ash_trees%29
content:
<p>A fungus 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/oct/31/ash-dieback-gm-genetic-modification-woodland-crisis">
is going to kill</a>
 90% of the UK's ash trees.  Should genetic
modification be used to make ash trees that can survive the fungus?
</p>
<p>It seems plausible to me.  These trees won't be fed to people, and
pesticide won't be used on them; that eliminates two of the main
issues.  Furthermore, since the wild type is being wiped out anyway,
there is no need to be concerned that it will be contaminated by the
inserted gene.
</p>


feed_id: 1bd8cce6f47b6f6c6495d249572cf051
title: Female Bosses
uri: Female-Bosses
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#2_November_2015_%28Female_Bosses%29
content:
<p>Hurrah for Female Bosses, But 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/nov/01/hurrah-for-female-bosses-dont-forget-their-cleaners">
Let's Not Forget</a>
 Their Cleaners.
</p>
<p>I would go further.  What matters about the people corporate
boardrooms is not their gender, but that they have too much power and
get too much money.  The poorly-paid female employees, and male
employees too, deserve a higher wage.
</p>


feed_id: 3b2b0428abfbecda0501b9f8e28399e7
title: Phone call metadata
uri: 2015-11-02-Phone-call-metadata
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#2_November_2015_%28Phone_call_metadata%29
content:
<p>The state 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/mar/13/phone-call-metadata-does-betray-sensitive-details-about-your-life-study">
can learn</a>
 a lot about you from your phone call metadata.
</p>


feed_id: d9c1275ef032c7c4bcf2164a8b150de6
title: Spying Systems
uri: Spying-Systems
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#2_November_2015_%28Spying_Systems%29
content:
<p>6 Spooky Ways Local Law Enforcement 
<a href="https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2015/10/6-spooky-ways-local-law-enforcement-watching-you">
Is Watching</a>
 You.
</p>
<p>I think we must 
<a href="http://gnu.org/philosophy/surveillance-vs-democracy.html">
prohibit</a>
 several of these systems.
</p>


feed_id: 8596a910a82413fa5db77b69ddef842f
title: UN Climate Summit
uri: UN-Climate-Summit
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#2_November_2015_%28UN_Climate_Summit%29
content:
<p>Upcoming UN Climate Summit
 <a href="http://phys.org/news/2015-10-upcoming-climate-summit-overlook-china.html?utm_source=menu&utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=item-menu">
Can't Overlook</a>
 China's Support of Global Coal Power.
</p>


feed_id: 19f2d859af5d73314dd21da916602e68
title: Thugs
uri: 2015-11-02-Thugs
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#2_November_2015_%28Thugs%29
content:
<p>When US officials prosecute thugs, 
<a href="https://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/01/27/1360537/-Indisputable-proof-that-prosecutors-and-politicians-are-penalized-when-they-hold-police-accountable?detail=emailclassic">
thugs organize retaliation</a>
, in the
form of private and even official noncooperation, as well as frame-ups.
</p>
<p>This is why they all deserve the name of "thugs".  Anyone in
Albuquerque who claims the honorable title of "police officer" should
validate that claim by publicly denouncing these retaliation campaigns
and affirming that thugs shouldn't get away with murder.</p>


feed_id: 2b685294b55961458a9c713730126595
title: Wall Street banks
uri: Wall-Street-banks
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#2_November_2015_%28Wall_Street_banks%29
content:
<p>Moving your money out of the big Wall Street banks 
<a href="https://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/11/18/1037817/-How-Move-Your-Money-Could-Hurt-Wall-Street-By-As-Much-As-8-TRILLION?detail=emailclassic">
can be 20 times
as effective as it appears</a>
.
</p>


feed_id: bcb9ed26c0e88d7caf9d98139a9c93af
title: Library of Congress
uri: Library-of-Congress
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#2_November_2015_%28Library_of_Congress%29
content:
<p>The Library of Congress 
<a href="http://boingboing.net/2015/10/27/librarian-of-congress-grants-l.html">
approved</a>
 several specific three-year exemptions
to the DMCA's prohibition on breaking DRM (digital restrictions
management).
</p>
<p>However, since the exemptions do not allow distributing the means to
actually do so, they may in some cases be impossible to take advantage
of.</p>
<p>The campaigns for these exemptions are a harmful distraction which
saps energy from what we really need: to repeal what the DMCA says
about DRM.  It should be a crime to make systems with DRM.</p>
<p>The article uses the ill-advised term "digital locks" to refer
to digital restrictions mechanisms.  See the explanation
of why that term is a bad analogy, and please join me in not using
it.</p>


feed_id: 2623addad7a70657d2ed8f74e51a02ed
title: Corporations United
uri: Corporations-United
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#2_November_2015_%28Corporations_United%29
content:
<p>The Corporations United (*) decision 
<a href="http://sfist.com/2015/10/26/ron_conway_instructed_the_ceos_of_e.php">
allows companies to tell their
employees how to vote</a>
, and one big investor is trying to do this
through all the companies he invests in.
</p>
<p>This shows why we need a constitutional amendment that denies across
the board that corporations are entitled to human rights — not
just in regard to campaign spending.</p>
<p>* The front group used the misleading term "Citizens United"; there is
no reason for us to join it in misleading people about what it
represented.</p>


feed_id: bd92cfd91dfebd1cc5b5c3e6dfc0a23b
title: Republicans
uri: 2015-11-02-Republicans
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#2_November_2015_%28Republicans%29
content:
<p>Republicans in several state legislatures 
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/views/2015/10/30/preempting-democracy-whats-not-being-voted-november-sinister">
have passed laws</a>
 to pre-empt
cities from regulating areas such as minimum wage and fracking; and they
remove local voter initiatives from the ballot, so that the city cannot
challenge the validity of the state's pre-emption.
</p>


feed_id: 66f0e59407f5d8ae6a911caebd27579d
title: NSA
uri: 2015-11-02-NSA
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#2_November_2015_%28NSA%29
content:
<p>A German investigation 
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/news/2015/10/30/new-probe-reveals-nsa-targeted-entire-staffs-eu-governments">
has determined</a>
 that the NSA spied pervasively on
the German government.
</p>


feed_id: a0df1b1bf753eb949f40de00a3a6773a
title: Intellectual Freedom in UK
uri: Intellectual-Freedom-in-UK
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#2_November_2015_%28Intellectual_Freedom_in_UK%29
content:
<p>Intellectual freedom in in the UK 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/nov/01/universities-enlightenment-values">
is threatened</a>
 by the right-wing state
and by left-wing students.
</p>


feed_id: d04eb7bb8742bca73421fd70027708e8
title: Somalia
uri: Somalia
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#2_November_2015_%28Somalia%29
content:
<p>Now that the Somali pirates have been suppressed, illegal foreign
fishing
boats 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/31/somalia-fishing-flotillas-pirates-comeback">
have returned</a>
 to the area.
</p>


feed_id: a57f624302a2dbef479a4f8eb5005082
title: Shaker Aamer
uri: 2015-11-02-Shaker-Aamer
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#2_November_2015_%28Shaker_Aamer%29
content:
<p>Shaker Aamer 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/31/shaker-aamer-faces-years-rehab-guantanamo">
suffers</a>
 from PTSD and will need years of treatment.
</p>


feed_id: 0977de94b2210b72f94c780c02dedeb2
title: Urgent: Prosecution of Exxon
uri: Urgent-Prosecution-of-Exxon
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#03_November_2015_%28Urgent%3A_Prosecution_of_Exxon%29

content:
<p>
US citizens: 
<a href="http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/prosecute-exxon-for-delibera">call
for prosecution</a> of Exxon for fraudulently denying global heating.


feed_id: c6bf7705df7d5df974319edb6cc64ce4
title: Urgent: Discharge petition for gun-control
uri: Urgent-Discharge-petition-for-gun-control
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#03_November_2015_%28Urgent%3A_Discharge_petition_for_gun-control%29

content:
<p>
US citizens: 
<a href="https://act.credoaction.com/sign/Pelosi_NRA">call on
Pelosi</a> to file a discharge petition for a gun-control bill.
<p>
This discharge petition is a step towards reducing the number of
discharges of guns.


feed_id: fbffb668146b2cc4e7ac20d02624c889
title: LA thug sentenced to prison
uri: 2015-11-03-LA-thug-sentenced-to-prison
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#03_November_2015_%28LA_thug_sentenced_to_prison%29
content:
<p>
An LA thug has been sentenced to prison because he 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/nov/02/los-angeles-jail-beating-sheriff-deputy-convicted">let
his deputies beat up a man</a> who came to visit his brother in jail.
<p>
The rule that visitors can't bring portable phones may be legitimate,
but there is no reason to beat them up if they have one.  Anyway,
doesn't each prisoner have a cell phone?


feed_id: 9f34085192e85ac41056b40b9ce88905
title: Pentagon spending
uri: Pentagon-spending
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#03_November_2015_%28Pentagon_spending%29
content:
<p>
Pentagon Spent $43m on 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/02/afghanistan-gas-station-pentagon-natural-gas">'World's
Most Expensive Gas Station' in Afghanistan</a>.


feed_id: 24c47914aa3d309e8abcbb54f2c4d35a
title: The Migrant Crisis
uri: The-Migrant-Crisis
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#03_November_2015_%28The_Migrant_Crisis%29
content:
<p>
There's 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/nov/02/answer-migration-crisis-refugees-europe">No
Perfect Answer to the Migrant Crisis</a>.  We need to change foreign
policies that have destabilized so many countries and driven millions
to flee.


feed_id: 73a823d54f000d08f52ac9ed38543e84
title: Replacements for chlorofluorocarbons
uri: Replacements-for-chlorofluorocarbons
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#03_November_2015_%28Replacements_for_chlorofluorocarbons%29

content:
<p>
The replacements for ozone-destroying chlorofluorocarbons 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/nov/02/potent-greenhouse-gases-should-have-no-place-in-our-air-conditioning-units">turn
out to be powerful greenhouse gases</a>; we need to switch again.


feed_id: 437d86f06c1403122b699f295e2ac377
title: Conviction based on secret evidence
uri: Conviction-based-on-secret-evidence
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#03_November_2015_%28Conviction_based_on_secret_evidence%29

content:
<p>
Wang Yam was convicted of 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/law/2015/nov/02/chinese-dissident-convicted-of-in-secret-trial-appeals">murder
in the UK by a secret court</a>.  Why is the evidence secret?  That's
a secret too.
<p> Wang Yam is now trying to appeal to the European Court of Human
Rights, but the government has arbitrarily vetoed this.


feed_id: 071db629e953f965d40e2b1464d67321
title: Discussion of sex-work trafficking in Wisconsin
uri: Discussion-of-sex-work-trafficking-in-Wisconsin
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#03_November_2015_%28Discussion_of_sex-work_trafficking_in_Wisconsin%29

content:
<p>
A discussion of sex-work trafficking in Wisconsin has been totally
confused, because it is based on blindly 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/nov/02/hub-human-trafficking-underground-sex-trade-milwaukee">labeling
work by teenagers as "trafficking", and equating their customers to
pimps</a>.
<p>
Thus, when the article talks of "rescuing" minors from sex work, we
can't tell how many have indeed been rescued from pimps, and how many
saw their customers arrested and felt compelled to pretend to be
grateful.
<p>
No good can come from willful blindness about this difference.
<p>
Minors that do sex work are called "trafficked" even if they do it by
choice and have the option to stop at any time.  No wonder that,
according to the article, many of the minors that are "rescued" from
"trafficking" choose freely to go back to it.  Maybe they chose it
freely the first time, too.
<p>
The article acknowledges that they do this because their other options
are very bad.  That's where they could use some help.  But the state
of Wisconsin won't give them that.
<p>
I wonder how much of their problems are due to Wisconsin's Governor
Walker and his 
<a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2011-jul-oct.html#12_October_2011_(Republican_Budget)">attacks
on aid to the disadvantaged</a>, as well as 
<a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#15_October_2015_(Voting_in_Wisconsin)">political
ethics requirements</a> and 
<a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#24_July_2015_(Wisconsin_Supreme_Court)">campaign
finance laws</a>.
<p>
His policies are just the thing to force poor people into some sort of
underground economy.


feed_id: b012c3003ac3a8056831bb1062a204ae
title: The Antarctic ice sheet
uri: The-Antarctic-ice-sheet
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#03_November_2015_%28The_Antarctic_ice_sheet%29
content:
<p>
The Antarctic ice sheet is gaining thickness inland due to 
<a href="http://www.upi.com/Science_News/2015/10/31/NASA-study-Net-gains-for-Antarctic-ice-sheets/9711446321864/">increased
precipitation there</a>.
<p>
This doesn't alter the observed rise in sea level, so it means the
increase is coming from some other unknown source.


feed_id: 509d340f4561d8c3d54d2d72f556d416
title: "Sequester" imposed as "compromise"
uri: Sequester-imposed-as-compromise
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#03_November_2015_%28Sequester_imposed_as_compromise%29

content:
<p>
SCROTUS and Obama imposed the "sequester" as a "compromise" to cut the
US budget in all areas.  Now they have a new "compromise" that expands
the war budget, while 
<a href="https://consortiumnews.com/2015/10/31/obama-keeps-pentagon-spigot-open/">threatening
Social Security and Medicare</a>.
<p>
Selling oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, when the low price
suggests buying it instead, is sabotage of the treasury.  "Buy high,
sell low" is stupid, except when (as here) it is worse than stupid.
Ultimately, plutocratist politicians betray the country to their
paymasters.
<p>
SCROTUS stands for Sleazy Congressional Republicans Of The United
States.


feed_id: 75b7c3a472236ba81f3c1e0ef40f8fac
title: Buddhist extremists in Burma
uri: Buddhist-extremists-in-Burma
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#03_November_2015_%28Buddhist_extremists_in_Burma%29
content:
<p>
In Burma, Buddhist extremists 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2015/nov/02/myanmar-womens-fight-against-verbal-taboo-symbolises-wider-rights-battle">attack
women's rights, sex education, and any discussion about sex</a>.
<p>
The Buddha would advise those monks to question their attachment to
those prejudices.
<p>
I expect there is a word in Burmese for "vagina", but it was omitted
from the dictionary because it is considered too rude.


feed_id: d12bec31c405c3f2ff046166fb211313
title: Mandatory fun
uri: Mandatory-fun
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#03_November_2015_%28Mandatory_fun%29
content:
<p>
Mandatory, organized fun as part of a job is a form of 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/nov/02/kermit-workplace-office-play-fun-exploitation">manipulation</a>.
<p>
Japanese companies pushed this to extreme lengths.  Someone I know,
who had no tolerance for alcohol and had to avoid it, had no choice
but to work for a government lab, because all companies would require
him to get drunk as part of "leisure" activities.


feed_id: 60c54eac18be168e7db7e1cf931629f4
title: Renewable energy investment cut
uri: Renewable-energy-investment-cut
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#03_November_2015_%28Renewable_energy_investment_cut%29

content:
<p>
The suppository of all carbon emissions, Tony Abbott, succeeded in cutting
renewable energy investment in Australia by 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/nov/02/clean-energy-investment-in-australia-fell-by-31-under-tony-abbott">almost
1/3</a>.


feed_id: fe74fb5e058e77d1c12d1e4c72ffe9bc
title: Global heating
uri: 2015-11-03-Global-heating
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#03_November_2015_%28Global_heating%29
content:
<p>
Even 2C of global heating will do great harm.  Drastic action is
needed to avoid climate mayhem, and it 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/nov/02/atomsphere-hope-tim-flannery-planet-remade-oliver-moron-review">doesn't
look like leaders are prepared to do it</a>.
<p>
It isn't certain that 2C of heating is possible.  It might be that
once warming goes beyond 1.5C (or 1.75, or 1.25, or some such amount),
a positive feedback will kick in and push the heating up to 2.5C (or
3C, or 4C, or 5C, or some such amount).  We are playing with fire, and
the only certainty is that we must stop.


feed_id: cd764d2c08c5a7f3b8daf3f4f6c0af2f
title: Ukraine's Russia-supported rebels
uri: Ukraine-s-Russia-supported-rebels
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#03_November_2015_%28Ukraines_Russia-supported_rebels%29

content:
<p>
Ukraine's Russia-supported rebels are 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/02/ukraine-ghost-brigade-ukraine-rebels">unhappy
now that Putin is dialing down that war</a>.


feed_id: f9aa25bcaa02fdfbb7e0927bb6ef11ae
title: Election rigging in Haiti
uri: Election-rigging-in-Haiti
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#03_November_2015_%28Election_rigging_in_Haiti%29
content:
<p>
Haitian President Martelli is 
<a href="http://sentinel.ht/2015/10/29/election-fraud-red-cross-throws-health-ministry-under-the-bus/">using
government vehicles painted with Red Cross markings</a> to carry false
ballots to rig the election.


feed_id: f3d2148a9516afc533a3f0ce16f22144
title: Global heating and the Pacific Islands
uri: Global-heating-and-the-Pacific-Islands
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#03_November_2015_%28Global_heating_and_the_Pacific_Islands%29

content:
<p>
Pacific Islands Make 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/nov/02/pacific-islands-make-last-ditch-plea-to-world-before-paris-climate-change-talks">Last-Ditch
Plea to World Before Paris Climate Change Talks</a>.
<p>
They will be inundated, and their people have no recognized right to
go anywhere else.


feed_id: ce046c12b2358b6091dfd6cb105a5baa
title: Turkey's election
uri: Turkey-s-election
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#03_November_2015_%28Turkeys_election%29
content:
<p>
Erdo&gbreve;an's party won the 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/01/turks-could-pay-high-price-for-stability-promised-erdogan">election
in Turkey</a>.  His war and his repression of the press have paid off,
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/nov/01/turkey-election-choice-democracy-autocracy-erdogan">leading
Turkey towards tyranny</a>.
<p>
Monitors say that 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/02/turkeys-elections-campaign-unfair-say-international-monitors">Turkey's
election was unfair</a>.


feed_id: d90c2b2189706732fc398c3b286cec7b
title: Money from Haiti's supposedly empty treasury
uri: Money-from-Haiti-s-supposedly-empty-treasury
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#03_November_2015_%28Money_from_Haitis_supposedly_empty_treasury%29

content:
<p>
Haiti's US-imposed president Martelli unilaterally 
<a href="http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/haiti/article42010398.html">gave
each minister a golden parachute of $46,000</a>, although the treasury
is supposed to be empty.


feed_id: 285f57d824e56ae946098f90eca5fc36
title: School thug's violent attack on teenager
uri: School-thug-s-violent-attack-on-teenager
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#03_November_2015_%28School_thugs_violent_attack_on_teenager%29

content:
<p>
The 
<a href="https://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/10/29/1441968/-The-Truth-about-the-Spring-Valley-Officer-Slam-Assault-on-a-Teen-Girl">whole
dirty story</a> about the school thug's violent attack on the orphaned
teenager because she would not give her phone to the teacher.
<p>
The teacher, the principal, and then the thug, were all defending the
principle of total obedience.


feed_id: 6b3a204a6eeb9738d53121c7000d3297
title: Wolf-whistles and compliments
uri: Wolf-whistles-and-compliments
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#03_November_2015_%28Wolf-whistles_and_compliments%29

content:
<p>
The 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/31/picasso-muse-francoise-gilot-frank-views-wolf-whistles">clash
of two world-views</a> about wolf-whistles and compliments.
<p>
In the posted highlights of the hours of 
<a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2014-nov-feb.html#05_November_2014_(Catcalling)">video
made by a woman walking in New York City</a>, some men were very pushy
and wouldn't take no for an answer.  That's clearly harassment.  Even
some brief remarks were harsh in their attitude.  It is unkind to
treat someone that way.
<p>
However, there is no need to consider kind complements as harassment.
This is not a subjective question.  You can get offended when someone
says "hello", but that doesn't mean we consider your offense justified.


feed_id: 4068595bfcf7e38e3e91de5bfb0af13e
title: Billionaires suppress criticism
uri: Billionaires-suppress-criticism
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#03_November_2015_%28Billionaires_suppress_criticism%29

content:
<p>
Billionaires including the Koch brothers 
<a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/Business/Robert-Reich/2015/0408/How-the-Koch-brothers-and-the-super-rich-are-buying-their-way-out-of-criticism">suppress
criticism by donating money</a> to universities, museums, public TV,
etc.
<p>
The Gates Foundation has done something similar 
<a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2011-mar-jun.html#25_April_2011_(Ruse_of_Philanthropy)">in
the field of US education</a>.
<p>
For a university to do what Florida State University did, and let
donors choose their professors, is a despicable surrender.
It would be well for students there to picket the economics
department ever year for this.


feed_id: 734c8e2b774135a136f7c0df450cc991
title: Racial profiling
uri: 2015-11-03-Racial-profiling
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#2_November_2015_%28Racial_profiling%29
content:
<p>Standardized tests 
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/views/2015/10/26/standardized-tests-are-form-racial-profiling">
can have the effect</a>
 of racial profiling.
</p>
<p>The English Regent's Exam tests for a real skill, and the people who
fail that test really lack that skill.  Is that important?  That
depends on what they are going to do.</p>
<p>I speak French well enough to give speeches, have useful meetings with
public officials, and write articles for publication (though they
require editing by others).  But I could not pass the French
equivalent of the English Regent's Exam, because there are many French
words and idiomatic expressions I don't know, and many references I
would not catch.</p>
<p>Would my failure on that hypothetical test be significant?  Is my
command of French adequate or not?  That depends on what activity I am
going to do.  For understanding le Canard enchainé, I am hopelessly
incompetent; for championing free software in French, I seem
reasonably capable.</p>
<p>Likewise, whether someone's failure on the English Regent's Exam is a
real shortcoming depends on what you want that person to do.  If it is
to have sophisticated conversations in English the way an educated
native speaker can, it is a real shortcoming and you should look for
someone else.  For college study in a field other than English, the
failure at that exam may not matter.
</p>


feed_id: d8587b37ae68404e04ca9c297f05cb14
title: Urgent: attacks against Planned Parenthood
uri: 2015-11-03-Urgent-attacks-against-Planned-Parenthood
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#30_October_2015_%28Urgent%3A_attacks_against_Planned_Parenthood%29

content:
<p>US citizens: call for a <a href="https://act.credoaction.com/sign/PP_Attacks_DOJ">terrorism investigation</a> into the series of
attacks against Planned Parenthood facilities.


feed_id: 257ddf55a97a4fc97f04cf26232b7923
title: Urgent: Close loophole
uri: Urgent-Close-loophole
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#04_November_2015_%28Urgent%3A_Close_loophole%29
content:
<p>
US citizens: call for closing the 
<a href="http://action.civilrights.org/site/Survey?ACTION_REQUIRED=URI_ACTION_USER_REQUESTS&SURVEY_ID=5161">carried
interest loophole</a>.


feed_id: bdd7f422b1e3bbc790245a8c2651464e
title: Retreat of ice in Western Antarctica
uri: Retreat-of-ice-in-Western-Antarctica
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#04_November_2015_%28Retreat_of_ice_in_Western_Antarctica%29

content:
<p>
Researchers say that ice in Western Antarctica is 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/02/melting-ice-in-west-antarctica-could-raise-seas-by-3m-warns-study">irreversibly
retreating</a> — there is no way to prevent it from raising sea
level by 3 meters, though that will take centuries.


feed_id: 89ab1a72ec79fee759c0a952fa933da9
title: US foreign policy
uri: US-foreign-policy
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#04_November_2015_%28US_foreign_policy%29
content:
<p>
In many countries, the US practices a foreign policy that is 
<a href="https://reason.com/archives/2015/11/01/the-wickedness-of-our-foreign-policy">wicked
(and absurd too)</a>.


feed_id: ef76e4b4dff3863b1946eb58dd299263
title: Inequality
uri: 2015-11-04-Inequality
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#04_November_2015_%28Inequality%29
content:
<p>
<a href="https://www.foe.co.uk/blog/why-every-environmentalist-should-care-about-inequality">Why
Every Environmentalist Should Care about Inequality</a>.


feed_id: f1d41be860f3dcdfe1907030180da0e3
title: Domestic violence
uri: 2015-11-05-Domestic-violence
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#5_November_2015_%28Domestic_violence%29
content:
<p>The UK government is treating help for women facing domestic violence <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/womens-blog/2015/nov/03/the-demise-of-womens-charity-eaves-should-worry-us-all">as it is treating renewable energy</a>.</p><p></p>


feed_id: c9fa938f7d25d81b15db7b6539630dc6
title: Jewish-Arab peace
uri: Jewish-Arab-peace
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#4_November_2015_%28Jewis-Arab-peace-and-justice-party%29

content:
<p>Calling for a <a href="http://www.challenge-mag.com/en/article__398">Jewish-Arab peace and justice party</a> in Israel.</p><p></p>


feed_id: 4805d34f9d40e7bf2873effd11805c0e
title: Birth control education
uri: Birth-control-education
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#4_November_2015_%28Birth_control_education%29
content:
<p>Non-extremist imams in Afghanistan <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/04/afghanistan-imams-defy-taliban-spread-contraception-condoms">teach the use of birth control.</a></p><p></p>


feed_id: 9fe9ae5239602a32264cdcda5f72113f
title: Banned book in Ukrainian library
uri: Banned-book-in-Ukrainian-library
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#04_November_2015_%28Banned_book_in_Ukrainian_library%29

content:
<p>Russia says <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/nov/03/ukrainian-literature-library-moscow-raided-anti-extremist-police
">it arrested the director of the Ukrainian library</a> because it had a banned book.  The deputy director says that the banned book in question was not theirs; that Russian thugs planted it to frame them.
<p>We don't need to ask which one is telling the truth, because the
Russian state is wrong either way.  It is wrong to ban books.


feed_id: 1071b2e87fd04258ccd177eb07f05867
title: Selling "smart guns" in the US
uri: Selling-smart-guns-in-the-US
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#04_November_2015_%28Selling_smart_guns_in_the_US%29
content:
<p>Companies that try to sell "smart guns" (with access control) in the
US have faced <a href="http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2015/10/smart-guns-new-jersey-law">violent threats.</a>
<p>The access control in these guns is not DRM, because it is under the control of the gun owner.


feed_id: c992b366888f857936ff23f4e8e5291e
title: Replacing the FISA court
uri: Replacing-the-FISA-court
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#04_November_2015_%28Replacing_the_FISA_court%29
content:
<p>Chelsea Manning calls for replacing the FISA court with courts that will make it their mission to <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/nov/03/end-fisa-courts-due-process-chelsea-manning">resist unreasonable searches.</a>
<p>Limiting access to digital dossiers is not sufficient to protect
whistleblowers from being identified.  We need to <a href="http://gnu.org/philosophy/surveillance-vs-democracy.html
">redesign digital systems</a> so that they don't collect digital dossiers, except about
court-designated targets.


feed_id: 71aa675deb3ac62bd5e8589b5da69d1b
title: Detroit thug prosecuted
uri: Detroit-thug-prosecuted
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#04_November_2015_%28Detroit_thug_prosecuted%29
content:
<p>A thug from near Detroit shows how much violence a thug can get away with in the US.  <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/nov/03/detroit-police-robocop-traffic-stop-beating-floyd-dent-trial">Finally he is being prosecuted.</a>


feed_id: 3713e983372a6e0b62fcfbbf04ff946c
title: UK transfers spending from poor people
uri: UK-transfers-spending-from-poor-people
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#04_November_2015_%28UK_transfers_spending_from_poor_people%29

content:
<p>As UK transfers its spending from poor people to nuclear power plants, more people are homeless.  In once city, <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/nov/03/rough-sleepers-manchester-food-volunteers-homeless">volunteers have organized to give
them breakfast.</a>
<p>That will work for a while, but as the Tories continue cutting further, many of those now giving will join the hungry or the homeless.
<p>As Aneurin Bevan said, <a href="media/64164a49.anuran-bevan.jpg" data-original-source="https://www.stallman.org/images/anuran-bevan.jpg">the Tories are lower than vermin.</a>


feed_id: 1ff061810db2e298f0297daaf623db17
title: Apples censored Chaos Congress app
uri: Apples-censored-Chaos-Congress-app
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#04_November_2015_%28Apples_censored_Chaos_Congress_app%29

content:
<p>Apple censored an app to display videos presented at the Chaos
Communications Congress <a href="http://www.theregister.co.uk/2015/11/02/apple_clubs_chaos_communication_congress_app_bods_say/">because it did not censor presenters as Apple demands.</a>
<p>Apple's censorship is wrong, now as always, and designing computers as
platforms for censorship should be illegal.
<p>However, it is also wrong to make proprietary apps for the iThing.
The Chaos Computer Club should do its streaming on the World Wide Web
using a freedom-respecting video format.


feed_id: 13f7b9d9ef665ad37b83fcfd4c4ce100
title: TransCanada and Keystone XL
uri: TransCanada-and-Keystone-XL
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#04_November_2015_%28TransCanada_and_Keystone_XL%29
content:
<p>TransCanada has tried to delay its application to build the Keystone XL
pipeline, <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/nov/03/transcanada-seeks-keystone-xl-delay-taking-decision-off-obamas-hands">hoping to defer the decision to the next president.</a>
<p>Perhaps it is betting the next president will be bought.  Or perhaps
it's no longer profitable.  Obama may still be able to veto it if he
wishes.
<p>I often referred to Keystone XL as the "planet-roaster pipeline",
because it would enable the export of a decisively dangerous
amount of tar sends oil.
<p>This does not mean that avoiding the Keystone XL will make us safe.
We need to leave 80% of the world's known fossil fuels in the ground,
just to keep global heating to under 2C.  There are many fossil fuel
projects that could roast our planet, many chances to fail.
<p>In the real World Series, humanity vs plutocrats, humanity is losing.
We need to win nearly every game from here on.


feed_id: 0f65a24b2169c356dbf196c88667760d
title: "Cloud passports"
uri: Cloud-passports
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#04_November_2015_%28Cloud_passports%29
content:
<p>Australia's latest horrible idea: <a href="http://www.theage.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/australia-to-trial-cloud-passports-in-worldfirst-move-20151028-gkkkr3.html">passports that are only data in a server.</a>
<p>They call them "cloud passports", using the standard buzzword.
There is no "cloud" — only other people's computers.
<p>The passport data would be stored in some computer, but whose?
And how will that computer be run?
<p>Storing passports as data in some server will eliminate the problem
that tens of thousand of passports are lost or stolen (mostly lost)
individually, and introduce the problem that millions could be stolen
at once digitally.
<p>I suspect this will also involve a lot more biometric data than now.


feed_id: e208f3b14443abdd3dc0d18957b2b0e5
title: Imprisonment for criticizing chief minister
uri: Imprisonment-for-criticizing-chief-minister
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#04_November_2015_%28Imprisonment_for_criticizing_chief_minister%29

content:
<p>An Indian singer faces possible life imprisonment for <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/03/indian-folk-singer-sedition-charges-s-kovan">criticizing the chief minister of Tamil Nadu state.</a>
<p>The chief minister, in India, is the equivalent of a governor in the US.
<p>I don't agree with the singer's position in favor of banning alcohol.
I have no idea whether the chief minister profits from sales of
alcohol.  It is not clear whether the singer accused the chief minister
personally, or the state government, of getting profits from alcohol.
<p>What is important is that saying such things must not be a crime.


feed_id: b5b35fcacd1cd158d9cd1e2e891e3b70
title: Drink less soda
uri: Drink-less-soda
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#04_November_2015_%28Drink_less_soda%29
content:
<p><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/news/2015/nov/03/obese-soda-sugar-tax-mexico
">Soda companies</a> fund "health" organizations to corrupt them so that
they won't take action to lead people to drink less soda.  They also
promote campaigns for people to exercise more, so as to deny space
to campaigns to drink less soda.
<p>Soda with sugar leads to obesity, but <a href="https://www.stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#30_October_2015_(Sugar_and_children's_health)">soda with sugar substitutes is not innocuous;</a> they tend to confuse the brain.


feed_id: cbf70a686b54a0aba3c8955265ab0621
title: UN Climate Summit
uri: 2015-11-05-UN-Climate-Summit
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#2_November_2015_%28UN_Climate_Summit%29
content:
<p>Upcoming UN Climate Summit
<a href="http://phys.org/news/2015-10-upcoming-climate-summit-overlook-china.html">Can't 
Overlook</a> China's Support of Global Coal Power.
</p>


feed_id: aacd777fc7e7cb645be047bb2953983d
title: US thug suicide
uri: US-thug-suicide
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#5_November_2015_%28US_thug_suicide%29
content:
<p>A US thug committed suicide, making it look like murder, because 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/nov/04/illinois-officer-staged-suicide-embezzling-money-charles-joseph-gliniewicz">
he
was about to be caught stealing</a>
 from charity.
</p>
<p>Other thugs tried to use this to condemn Black Lives Matter.
</p>


feed_id: 360710ba4b1899f1685dd9121a59ff43
title: Sanders
uri: 2015-11-05-Sanders
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#5_November_2015_%28Sanders%29
content:
<p>Sanders 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/nov/04/bernie-sanders-climate-campaign-fossil-fuel-extraction">
has proposed</a>
 a bill to close off fossil fuel extraction from
US public lands.
</p>


feed_id: dfc1b17e19c7bdf469bc3398e323ac07
title: Fracking
uri: 2015-11-05-Fracking
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#5_November_2015_%28Fracking%29
content:
<p>The UK 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/nov/04/uk-government-axes-plans-for-fracking-in-protected-nature-sites">
has cancelled</a>
 its push to impose fracking in "Sites of Special
Scientific Interest".
</p>
<p>That's good, but fracking elsewhere can poison the water for people
and farms.
</p>


feed_id: 01cfab62954a396d0e9d7f66ea853080
title: Vatican
uri: Vatican
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#5_November_2015_%28Vatican%29
content:
<p>Corruption and peculation 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/04/vatileaks-scandal-catholic-church-pope-francis">
are rife</a>
 in the Vatican.
</p>


feed_id: f890f9ea36779b765bf3957c054d0409
title: Koch brother
uri: Koch-brother
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#5_November_2015_%28Koch_brother%29
content:
<p>A Koch brother 
<a href="http://www.prwatch.org/news/2015/11/12966/kochs-morning-joe">
admits</a>
 that he expects something in return for his
campaign contributions.
In fact, he gets plenty for them.
</p>


feed_id: eb4c32717b1f2d76537695755d971f2e
title: Iran's religion
uri: Iran-s-religion
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#5_November_2015_%28Iran%27s_religion%29
content:
<p>Iran 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/nov/04/poets-lobby-iran-to-pardon-pair-convicted-of-insulting-religion">
admits</a>
 sentencing two poets to around 10 years in prison for
"insulting religion".
</p>
<p>If you want to see a worse insult against Iran's religion, their
sentence is one.</p>
<p>If their appeals are not successful, it may be time for an
international poetry campaign to insult Iran's religion for its
censorship.
</p>


feed_id: eb1b0d2d52d32998d9bd9fc53424a5e0
title: Indonesia
uri: 2015-11-05-Indonesia
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#5_November_2015_%28Indonesia%29
content:
<p>British journalists 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/04/british-journalist-indonesia-rebecca-prosser-neil-bonner">
were sentenced to short prison terms</a>
 for making a
documentary in Indonesia that the Indonesian government didn't like.
Their local employees might be jailed for years.
</p>
<p>In the name of avoiding inconveniences, 
<a href="http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/10/31/ahok-limits-freedom-expression.html">
public protests in Jakarta have
been limited to unusual "free speech zones"</a>
 and required to keep quiet.
</p>
<p>Shame on Indonesia for this censorship.</p>


feed_id: 521cb83cde90f7dc68e883aa20b3dc58
title: Renewable energy
uri: 2015-11-05-Renewable-energy
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#5_November_2015_%28Renewable_energy%29
content:
<p>Renewable energy not only helps avoid disaster, 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/public-leaders-network/2015/nov/04/100-renewables-cleaner-equality-fossil-fuels-energy">
it also helps spread
the wealth</a>
.
</p>


feed_id: bf9d9d911249ab3beb24c8b1a801a330
title: Nauru
uri: 2015-11-05-Nauru
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#5_November_2015_%28Nauru%29
content:
<p>Australia 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/04/australia-urges-nauru-to-uphold-rule-of-law-and-stop-censorship">
says</a>
 it is unhappy about the multiple human rights violations
of Nauru.
</p>
<p>If Australia were serious about this, it could easily make Nauru
change its policies.  I suspect that Australia has encouraged these
policies so as to cover up the treatment meted out to the refugees
Australia sends to Nauru.
</p>


feed_id: 8c019b6a7eb4c59659cd37bee4d9fc05
title: Ohio and marijuana
uri: Ohio-and-marijuana
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#5_November_2015_%28Ohio_and_marijuana%29
content:
<p>Ohio voters 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/nov/04/ohio-rejects-legalized-marijuana-issue-3">
defeated a corrupt proposal</a>
 to legalize marijuana,
perhaps because they didn't like the corrupt aspect.
</p>


feed_id: dd78c555e6cbe3499e40d48d581c8a85
title: Beer brewing
uri: Beer-brewing
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#5_November_2015_%28Beer_brewing%29
content:
<p>Traditional beer brewing 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/04/climate-change-blamed-for-putting-belgium-beer-business-at-riska">
has ceased to function</a>
 in Belgium because of
global heating.
</p>


feed_id: 419a009b8195b0afb0ad8b6b025527f5
title: PM of Romania
uri: PM-of-Romania
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#5_November_2015_%28PM_of_Romania%29
content:
<p>The prime minister of Romania 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/04/romanian-government-resigns-nightclub-fire-victor-ponta">
has resigned</a>
 because of protests against
corruption.
</p>


feed_id: f695509e5293a1f39ce7749bf2ca9c88
title: Chinese coal consumption
uri: Chinese-coal-consumption
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#5_November_2015_%28Chinese_coal_consumption%29
content:
<p>China 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/04/china-underreporting-coal-consumption-by-up-to-17-data-suggests">
appears to be underreporting</a>
 coal consumption by as much as 17%.
</p>


feed_id: 1d2b49c51155694035bd34256cc942a4
title: Australia's government
uri: 2015-11-05-Australia-s-government
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#5_November_2015_%28Australia%27s_government%29
content:
<p>Australia's right-wing government is no longer led by a suppository,
but it still plans increased dooH niboR.  Now 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2015/nov/04/acoss-raising-gst-to-15-percent-cost-poorest-families">
it plans a big increase
in VAT (a kind of sales tax)</a>
, which will put the burden mainly on the
poor.
</p>
<p>What's really called for is an increase in income tax for high
earners,
or the progressive income tax on businesses that 
<a href="https://stallman.org/articles/progressive-tax-on-business-gross-income.html">
I've proposed</a>
.
</p>


feed_id: 73f6af4e0246fa95557dc0c37f933e5d
title: University education
uri: University-education
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#5_November_2015_%28University_education%29
content:
<p>Students 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/nov/04/free-higher-education-marching-students-university-jeremy-corbyn">
protested</a>
 today in London demanding a return to gratis university
education.
</p>


feed_id: 13b24d75a4fbd184bab51f8d80809df3
title: Taliban
uri: Taliban
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#5_November_2015_%28Taliban%29
content:
<p>The Taliban 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/media/greenslade/2015/nov/04/of-pakistani-journalist-claimed-by-taliban">
have an assassination program</a>
 for journalists.
</p>


feed_id: 5a9560d7f9c218d77736273e366c5c90
title: Encryption
uri: 2015-11-05-Encryption
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#5_November_2015_%28Encryption%29
content:
<p>The UK 
<a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/terrorism-in-the-uk/11970391/Internet-firms-to-be-banned-from-offering-out-of-reach-communications-under-new-laws.html">
plans to ban</a>
 companies from offering encryption they can't break.
</p>
<p>If big companies surrender to this, other countries will make the same
demand.</p>
<p>The UK's 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/04/investigatory-powers-bill-the-key-points">
new attack on privacy</a>
, spelled out.
</p>


feed_id: 42ee48504d98824a81870bd30c9646c3
title: Food waste
uri: 2015-11-05-Food-waste
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#5_November_2015_%28Food_waste%29
content:
<p>Conservative food use-by dates 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/nov/04/supermarkets-use-by-dates-food-waste">
tend to generate</a>
 food waste.
</p>
<p>I would not blame the supermarkets so much.  They will face public
criticism when goods don't last to their "use by" dates.</p>
<p>It is no use urging people to learn and remember rules about how long
food lasts.  The fraction of people who regularly cook is much less
nowadays, and those who don't do this won't be motivated to learn them.
We will inevitably depend on what the supermarket says.</p>


feed_id: ed7e8bc33850722de0ef0fd84ae12a46
title: US thugs
uri: 2015-11-05-US-thugs
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#5_November_2015_%28US_thugs%29
content:
<p>When US thugs rape, the 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/nov/04/police-like-most-its-hard-to-report-and-aimed-at-the-disadvantaged">
victims hardly ever report it</a>
.
They believe, and I suspect they are right, that the other thugs
will defend the rapists.
</p>


feed_id: 1b9069d4c75286014476ce82b0943ab9
title: Monsanto
uri: 2015-11-05-Monsanto
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#5_November_2015_%28Monsanto%29
content:
<p>The EPA concluded that glyphosate is not an endocrine disruptor, but
the evidence 
<a href="https://theintercept.com/2015/11/03/epa-used-monsanto-funded-research/">
was provided by Monsanto</a>
, which means we can't rely on
it.
</p>


feed_id: cd0e2d01e533755b1ccc6a271619975a
title: Lead generators
uri: Lead-generators
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#5_November_2015_%28Lead_generators%29
content:
<p>People who do Google searches for "need money fast" 
<a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2015/11/google-searches-privacy-danger/413614/?single_page=true">
see ads for
companies called "lead generators"</a>
 that put them on a list of
potential suckers.
</p>
<p>If you do a Google search in a way that doesn't hide who and where you
are,
including use of Tor, not specifying any account, and blocking cookies,
you do seem to be a sucker.
</p>


feed_id: c270693d3a3a2d4a869c89442e8f9a0b
title: Israeil "settler"
uri: Israeil-settler
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#5_November_2015_%28Israeil_settler%29
content:
<p>A fanatical Israeli "settler" 
<a href="http://972mag.com/watch-masked-settler-tries-to-stab-rabbi-for-human-rights/113146/">
set fire</a>
 to Palestinians' olive trees
while a team from Rabbis for Human Rights was trying to protect them
by serving as witnesses.  Official firefighters did not arrive soon,
so the president of Rabbis for Human Rights tried to put the fire out
himself.  The fanatic did not like this and tried to stab him.
</p>
<p>The thugs took their time arriving, making sure the fanatic could get
away, and then called the Rabbis presence a "provocation" against the
fanatics.</p>
<p>I have to wonder if the firemen stayed away because coming to put out
this fire would have been considered a "provocation".
</p>


feed_id: 7d4c8a999339b62d7b16b37d4dbff8c5
title: Arabs in Jerusalem
uri: Arabs-in-Jerusalem
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#5_November_2015_%28Arabs_in_Jerusalem%29
content:
<p>Israel has been slowly cutting off the non-central parts of Jerusalem
where
Arabs live, and those Arabs themselves.  Recently 
<a href="http://972mag.com/netanyahus-transfer-plan-turning-dispossession-into-tradition/113474/">
it became clear</a>
 that this
is aimed at the goal of cutting them all off.
</p>


feed_id: 0bc212eb856c94d6a60210698f90e96a
title: Israel
uri: 2015-11-05-Israel
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#5_November_2015_%28Israel%29
content:
<p>East Jerusalem has one hospital, so wounded Palestinian protesters all
go there.  Israel 
<a href="https://electronicintifada.net/content/israel-raids-hospital-blocks-medical-care-jerusalem/14971">
has recenly been raiding the hospital</a>
 and harassing
the doctors, even shooting tear gas inside the hospital.
</p>
<p>They could kill patients that way.</p>


feed_id: c552a398881965050a54c4ce461da878
title: Qadhafi
uri: Qadhafi
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#5_November_2015_%28Qadhafi%29
content:
<p>Qadhafi's forces 
<a href="http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2011/04/14/false_pretense_for_war_in_libya/">
did not massacre civilians</a>
 in the Libyan rebel cities
they recaptured.
</p>
<p>When Clinton warned there would be a massacre in Benghazi, this claim

<a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/jan/29/hillary-clinton-libya-war-genocide-narrative-rejec/">
had no support</a>
 from intelligence.
</p>
<p>The intervention was,
it seems, 
<a href="http://belfercenter.ksg.harvard.edu/publication/23387/lessons_from_libya.html">
intended simply to remove Qadhafi from
power</a>
.  Although for a time it appeared to lead towards democracy,
it led to chaotic violence that spread beyond Libya.
</p>
<p>I've decided to spell the name "Qadhafi" because that follows the
standard
transliteration of Arabic.  "Gaddafi" is more common, but not correct.
</p>


feed_id: 1aac950e6aa39a8ebb8076a062e5d273
title: Liberal media
uri: Liberal-media
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#5_November_2015_%28Liberal_media%29
content:
<p>Right-wing US policians 
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/views/2015/11/02/reviving-liberal-media-myth">
invented</a>
 the "liberal media" claim in the
1950s.  In fact, the US mass media were predominantly right-wing then,
before, and since.
</p>


feed_id: ee6f01509c0440f978a9679acdbaaf23
title: "Death to America"
uri: Death-to-America
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#5_November_2015_%28Death_to_America%29
content:
<p>Ayatollah Khamenei 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/03/ayatollah-khamenei-iran-death-to-america">
says</a>
 that the slogan "Death to America" refers to
US policies and arrogance, not the the American nation.
</p>
<p>This makes a big difference.  If Iran declares a wish for genocide
against Americans, we would have to consider Iran an enemy.  But when
it condemns only how the US government treats and has treated Iran
(and possibly some other countries), Americans can easily recognize
valid points in that criticism.  This provides a basis for patriotic
Americans to push for the changes in the US needed for reconciliation
with Iran.</p>
<p>The remaining cause of friction between the US and Iran has to do with
the Iranian regime's oppression of Iranians.  Progressive Americans
really care about these injustices.  US plutocrats probably don't.
If the US were to support Iran totally, that would be wrong,
just as it is wrong for the US to support Saudi Arabia and Egypt
today.</p>
<p>When Khamanei dies, there may be an opportunity for diplomats to
lead
both countries to correct their wrongs.</p>


feed_id: 0b728fbd7af3243c2dec410ac6df8d9f
title: China moves to clean energy
uri: China-moves-to-clean-energy
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#5_November_2015_%28China_moves_to_clean_energy%29
content:
<p>Christiana Figueres, the UN's head climate official, says that China

<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/nov/03/us-china-clean-energy-economy-climate-change">
is trying very hard to move</a>
 to clean energy, while the US is
dragging
its feet.
</p>
<p>In China, the state is a plutocrat.  In the US, private plutocrats
control the state.  As a result, China is capable of making an
investment for long-term good, while the US is blocked by the
plutocrats.</p>


feed_id: 98e8b003e641c95ae6de5019cf80352f
title: Science of the Seance
uri: Science-of-the-Seance
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#6_November_2015_%28Science_of_the_Seance%29
content:
<p>
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/science/blog/2015/oct/30/science-of-the-seance-why-speaking-to-spirits-is-talking-to-yourself">
Science of the Seance</a>
: Why Speaking to Spirits is Talking to Yourself.
</p>
<p>It seems unjust to convict Anna Stubblefield of sexual assault, since
she believed she had been given positive consent.
</p>


feed_id: 1cb505bb62b5e7746eb6a0edf71ce961
title: Australia's face database
uri: Australia-s-face-database
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#6_November_2015_%28Australia%27s_face_database%29
content:
<p>Australia's face database 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/global/2015/nov/05/act-attorny-general-new-facial-recognition-scheme-gives-police-unprecedented-access-to-personal-information">
lends itself to creeping tyranny</a>
, and there is
nothing to block the creep.
</p>


feed_id: 5ae6b194e2e3b2a76fcb104757e52f3f
title: Ravil Mingazov
uri: Ravil-Mingazov
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#6_November_2015_%28Ravil_Mingazov%29
content:
<p>A Guantanamo prisoner, Ravil Mingazov, 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/nov/05/russian-guantanamo-detainee-uk-ravil-mingazov-shaker-aamer">
wants to join his family</a>
 in
England.  A US court found there was no evidence to justify holding
him in prison.
</p>


feed_id: 8ab465ef9a24db90928740774748321b
title: Thugs using tasers
uri: Thugs-using-tasers
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#6_November_2015_%28Thugs_using_tasers%29
content:
<p>Many US thug departments 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/nov/05/police-tasers-deaths-the-counted">
are sloppy about using tasers</a>
, and every so
often this kills someone — usually someone who was unarmed and
no danger to anyone.
</p>


feed_id: 3dd6bd80341dc5d8a85dd16fdd9153af
title: Blacks excluded from juries
uri: Blacks-excluded-from-juries
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#6_November_2015_%28Blacks_excluded_from_juries%29
content:
<p>US prosecutors 
<a href="http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2015/11/timothy-foster-supreme-court-smoking-gun-black-jurors">
systematically exclude</a>
 blacks from juries using various
forms of deceit.
</p>


feed_id: e608313532ea6168d117c81348a8951e
title: Censorship in Lebanon
uri: Censorship-in-Lebanon
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#6_November_2015_%28Censorship_in_Lebanon%29
content:
<p>Censorship of criticism of religion 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/nov/05/lebanese-comic-fights-for-survival-free-speech-sanctions-samarkand-crowdfunding">
afflicts Lebanon</a>
 too.
</p>


feed_id: b7283f1955e1121046792ad3e78380e1
title: US Special Forces
uri: US-Special-Forces
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#6_November_2015_%28US_Special_Forces%29
content:
<p>A US special forces team in Afghanistan 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/05/afghanistan-bodies-us-military-base-a-team-investigation">
seems to have tortured</a>
 dozens
of prisoners and killed 17 of them.
</p>


feed_id: 5d90920f9ca9ec41ff56cbfe151ba02d
title: UK's snooping bill
uri: UK-s-snooping-bill
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#6_November_2015_%28UK%27s_snooping_bill%29
content:
<p>The UK's snooping bill 
<a href="https://theintercept.com/2015/11/05/seven-major-takeaways-from-the-u-k-s-proposed-surveillance-rules/">
offers "protections" with loopholes</a>
 so big
that they are hardly meaningful.
</p>
<p>The bill 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/04/broad-support-gives-way-to-alarm-over-mays-surveillance-bill">
is deceptive</a>
, presenting so-called safeguards
that are not what they appear to be.
</p>


feed_id: a46b4741522cf1b99e8a85ec52d7570e
title: Curbing global heating
uri: 2015-11-06-Curbing-global-heating
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#6_November_2015_%28Curbing_global_heating%29
content:
<p>A tax on flying 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/nov/05/thomas-piketty-proposes-flight-tax-to-raise-climate-funds">
could raise a lot of money</a>
 for dealing with global heating.
</p>
<p>But we would be fools to spend it on "adapting" when we could instead
spend
it on 
<a href="http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2015/11/global-climate-action-windfall-us">
curbing the problem</a>
 itself.</p>
<p>Curbing global heating is a very profitable investment.
The US should go in a lot more.</p>


feed_id: 6750103d2e6e7a085440916978268220
title: Global heating warning
uri: Global-heating-warning
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#6_November_2015_%28Global_heating_warning%29
content:
<p>Scientists 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/climate-consensus-97-per-cent/2015/nov/05/scientists-warned-the-president-about-global-warming-50-years-ago-today">
warned President Johnson</a>
 about global heating in 1965.
</p>


feed_id: 6fa81391baf07b6408130aa1bcb60d86
title: Corals
uri: Corals
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#6_November_2015_%28Corals%29
content:
<p>A research project 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/nov/05/scientists-attempt-to-breed-super-coral-to-save-threatened-reefs">
is trying to breed</a>
 corals that can cope with heat
and acidity.
</p>
<p>If the project is successful, it might preserve a few of the hundreds
of species of corals.  It's better than nothing, but it would be far
better
to curb our CO2 emissions.</p>


feed_id: f06a20fc1962b17b47f0acd15552874d
title: Sculpture in honor of Ken Saro-Wiwa
uri: Sculpture-in-honor-of-Ken-Saro-Wiwa
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#6_November_2015_%28Sculpture_in_honor_of_Ken_Saro-Wiwa%29

content:
<p>A sculpture in honor of Nigerian activist Ken Saro-Wiwa, who was
executed by a military dictatorship 20 years ago, 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/nov/05/ken-saro-wiwa-memorial-art-bus-denied-entry-to-nigeria">
was seized</a>
 by the
Nigerian government on account of its political message.
</p>


feed_id: 6c3d30908f80c63898c6ec54fb6dc179
title: High rents
uri: High-rents
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#6_November_2015_%28High_rents%29
content:
<p>San Francisco voters 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/nov/04/san-francisco-voters-reject-proposition-f-restrict-airbnb-rentals">
rejected</a>
 an initiative to limit how many days per
month a room can be rented out.
</p>
<p>I am not sure this would have helped the problem of high rents at all,
but at best it would have done a tiny bit.</p>
<p>What San Francisco needs is lots and lots of housing construction.
But the home owners don't want that.</p>


feed_id: caa415bcab8136d6346abbc9d2d25f4e
title: Automated jobs
uri: Automated-jobs
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#6_November_2015_%28Automated_jobs%29
content:
<p>Bank of America says that half the jobs in the US 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/nov/05/robot-revolution-rise-machines-could-displace-third-of-uk-jobs">
might be automated</a>

in the next 20 years.
</p>
<p>Plutcratist rulers will use this as an
opportunity to cut wages for
the remaining jobs, and will shuffle the surplus humans around until
they die.
</p>


feed_id: d5d842e96a4432792fba211939ba2e03
title: Louisiana thugs
uri: Louisiana-thugs
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#6_November_2015_%28Louisiana_thugs%29
content:
<p>Louisiana thugs 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/nov/04/six-year-old-boy-louisiana-possibly-killed-by-police">
shot</a>
 at driver Chris Few, and killed him and his son.
</p>
<p>The are obfuscating the situation by saying that maybe Few had a gun
and shot his own son, but this seems to be pure fabrication.
</p>


feed_id: 33afdeb81b5e8df21cabdd9ae26a2fcf
title: Fingerprints in EU
uri: Fingerprints-in-EU
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#6_November_2015_%28Fingerprints_in_EU%29
content:
<p>The EU 
<a href="https://edri.org/smart-borders-package-unproportionate-unnecessary-data-collection/">
is proposing</a>
 to take the fingerprints of visitors to the EU.
</p>
<p>I think that would mean a lot of countries I would never visit again.
</p>


feed_id: 7751a063d96b74b1b06a4953f2caad3f
title: Federal war on marijuana
uri: Federal-war-on-marijuana
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#6_November_2015_%28Federal_war_on_marijuana%29
content:
<p>Sanders 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/nov/04/bernie-sanders-marijuana-bill-federal-law-senate">
has introduced</a>
 legislation to end the federal war on marijuana,
leaving the decision about its legality clearly to the states.
</p>


feed_id: 18f69f0335b6e20fbd3fedbe042253e8
title: Thug
uri: Thug
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#6_November_2015_%28Thug%29
content:
<p>The thug who attacked and paralyzed Sureshbhai Patel, an old man who
was simply walking next to his son's house, 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/nov/04/alabama-police-indian-man-second-mistrial">
has had a deadlocked jury</a>

for the second time.
</p>
<p>This indicates that some aspect of the
system needs to be changed.
</p>


feed_id: 4cd5531a2ad08269dea06b1a280d8449
title: Corporate tax dodging
uri: 2015-11-06-Corporate-tax-dodging
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#6_November_2015_%28Corporate_tax_dodging%29
content:
<p>The EU 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/nov/04/a-year-after-luxleaks-it-is-high-time-for-eu-action-on-corporate-tax-dodging">
must stop</a>
 member states from competing to offer businesses the biggest
opportunities for tax dodging.
</p>


feed_id: 81aec6e3e8514d9381719dd6a7ec0a2c
title: Murdoch
uri: Murdoch
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#6_November_2015_%28Murdoch%29
content:
<p>Murdoch 
<a href="http://reverbpress.com/business/rupert-murdoch-national-geographic-layoffs/">
has fired</a>
 hundreds of employees of the "National Geographic"
magazine, which he bought from the National Geographic Society.
This suggests that all the worst fears about what he would do it
are true.
</p>


feed_id: 7e7065edb0222e12cfb07ceb240207b6
title: VolksWagen
uri: VolksWagen
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#6_November_2015_%28VolksWagen%29
content:
<p>VW 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/nov/04/vw-q-and-a-new-revelations">
says</a>
 that some of its cars emit more CO2 in real use than in tests.
</p>


feed_id: 5a1e2753a3c7859cfeb9e73c1d4cf261
title: Burma
uri: Burma
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#6_November_2015_%28Burma%29
content:
<p>The Rohingya minority in Burma 
<a href="http://www.thenation.com/article/how-the-rohingya-have-been-excluded-from-myanmars-landmark-elections/">
have been blocked</a>
 from voting and from running
for office.
</p>


feed_id: 4e976e1a92869a7ec1f3925c78241250
title: Keystone XL pipeline
uri: 2015-11-06-Keystone-XL-pipeline
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#6_November_2015_%28Keystone_XL_pipeline%29
content:
<p>The US 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/nov/04/us-denies-transcanada-request-delay-keystone-pipeline">
rejected</a>
 TransCanada's request to delay consideration of the
Keystone XL pipeline.
This means that Obama can make the decision, if he does not delay it
instead.
</p>


feed_id: 53ca18b6448ac1fd9d52e52c37571865
title: Marijuana legal in Mexico
uri: Marijuana-legal-in-Mexico
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#6_November_2015_%28Marijuana_legal_in_Mexico%29
content:
<p>Mexico's Supreme Court 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/04/mexico-supreme-court-recreational-marijuana-legal">
ruled</a>
 that growing and smoking marijuana are legal.
</p>


feed_id: 5cf6657ffa687c0604c30b27eee9be60
title: PISSI
uri: 2015-11-06-PISSI
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#6_November_2015_%28PISSI%29
content:
<p>PISSI 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/04/bomb-brought-down-russian-airliner-egypt-analysis">
may have brought down</a>
 a Russian airliner with a bomb smuggled on
board.
</p>
<p>It may have been difficult, but if they did it, it was not impossible.
</p>


feed_id: 7ab07f5859c9c4dbc1d9a32042949a69
title: Clinton
uri: 2015-11-06-Clinton
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#6_November_2015_%28Clinton%29
content:
<p>Clinton 
<a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2015/11/hillary_clinton_keeps_smearing_bernie_sanders_as_a_sexist_now_she_is_reaching.html">
distorts</a>
 Sanders' words as an excuse to call him racist and sexist.
</p>


feed_id: 63bfad7b1a676eed83d3b15b86d33d63
title: Maldives
uri: Maldives
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#6_November_2015_%28Maldives%29
content:
<p>To prevent an opposition rally, the Maldives government 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/04/maldives-declares-state-of-emergency">
has declared</a>
 a
"state of emergency".
</p>
<p>The leader of the opposition is the legitimately elected president, who

<a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#12_September_2015_%28Snooping_by_Maldives_government%29">
was
removed</a>
 in a coup.
</p>


feed_id: b2c3bf216d8c4f05e33d5a716e5dafe4
title: al-Sisi
uri: al-Sisi
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#6_November_2015_%28al-Sisi%29
content:
<p>Egyptians 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/04/hundreds-protest-at-david-camerons-welcome-of-egyptian-president">
protested</a>
 al-Sisi in London, since he has crushed all dissent
in Egypt.
</p>


feed_id: b0fb6889042c5501c295647cbad6253a
title: Wikipedia editing
uri: Wikipedia-editing
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#06_November_2015_%28Wikipedia_editing%29
content:
<p>
A supporter of Deepak Chopra criticizes 
<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ryan-castle/wikipedia-deepak-chopra-o_b_8449394.html">Wikipedia's
practice in editing the page about him</a>.
<p>
Chopra's metaphysical statements are unsupported by what is actually
known in quantum physics.  They are extraordinary claims, and would
require extraordinary proofs.  Proofs would entail a systematic series
of experiments that Chopra hasn't reported doing.  This is
pseudoscience, and it is good that Wikipedia makes this clear.
<p>
It is also true that patients may die from using "alternative
medicine" instead of scientific medicine — Steve Jobs is perhaps
the most famous example of this, though we are arguably 
<a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2011-sep-dec.html#27_October_2011_(Steve_Jobs)">better 
off without him</a> — and it is Wikipedia's responsibility to 
point this out.
<p>
However, some of the practices described in the article do seem wrong
to me.  Two clear examples are those about the Yoga section and the
bibliography.  That's why I am posting this note.
<p>
Real scientists sometimes propose 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/news/2015/nov/04/relativity-quantum-mechanics-universe-physicists">strange 
metaphysical hypotheses</a>, but they recognize that these are
speculative and don't present them as certain truths.
<p>
I am disappointed that the article refers to Wikipedia as "open
source", thus misrepresenting the meaning of "free" in "free
encyclopedia".


feed_id: 672c06b4aa7fbf7f886328dac513330b
title: Very urgent: No Trump on SNL
uri: Very-urgent-No-Trump-on-SNL
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#06_November_2015_%28Urgent%3A_No_Trump_on_SNL%29
content:
<p>
Everyone: 
<a href="http://act.colorofchange.org/sign/Trump_SNL/">call on NBC</a> 
not to have Donald Trump host Saturday Night Live.


feed_id: 1c17cfc8d018de6af958c5f392054791
title: Automated jobs
uri: 2015-11-07-Automated-jobs
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#6_November_2015_%28Automated_jobs%29
content:
<p>Bank of America says that half the jobs in the US 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/nov/05/robot-revolution-rise-machines-could-displace-third-of-uk-jobs">
might be automated</a>

in the next 20 years.
</p>
<p>Plutocratist rulers will use this as an
opportunity to cut wages for
the remaining jobs, and will shuffle the surplus humans around until
they die.
</p>


feed_id: 36bb1b4db4998655ebb813716c9c51f2
title: Louisiana thugs
uri: 2015-11-07-Louisiana-thugs
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#6_November_2015_%28Louisiana_thugs%29
content:
<p>Louisiana thugs 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/nov/04/six-year-old-boy-louisiana-possibly-killed-by-police">shot</a>
at driver Chris Few, and killed him and his son.
</p>
<p>The are obfuscating the situation by saying that maybe Few had a
gun and shot his own son, but this seems to be pure fabrication.
</p>
<p>The thugs have admitted that Few was not shooting at them (he
didn't have a gun).  They claimed Few was backing up his car towards
them, but the evidence shows 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/nov/05/louisiana-police-deny-car-reversing-six-year-old-shot">that 
was false too</a>.
</p>


feed_id: 9f3948c0a76b832c5c9757585b789f49
title: Beer brewing
uri: 2015-11-07-Beer-brewing
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#5_November_2015_%28Beer_brewing%29
content:
<p>Traditional beer brewing 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/04/climate-change-blamed-for-putting-belgium-beer-business-at-risk">has 
ceased to function</a> in Belgium because of global heating.
</p>


feed_id: ca83a5d09eb5a54d19175d1506749fb4
title: Monsanto
uri: 2015-11-07-Monsanto
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#5_November_2015_%28Monsanto%29
content:
<p>The EPA concluded that glyphosate is not an endocrine disruptor, but
the evidence 
<a href="https://theintercept.com/2015/11/03/epa-used-monsanto-funded-research/">was 
provided by Monsanto</a>, which means we can't rely on it.
</p>


feed_id: 76e0a0a7d634575674dd3c0cf6b30f2d
title: Israeli "settler"
uri: Israeli-settler
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#5_November_2015_%28Israeli_settler%29
content:
<p>A fanatical Israeli "settler" 
<a href="http://972mag.com/watch-masked-settler-tries-to-stab-rabbi-for-human-rights/113146/">set
fire</a> to Palestinians' olive trees while a team from Rabbis for
Human Rights was trying to protect them by serving as witnesses.
Official firefighters did not arrive soon, so the president of Rabbis
for Human Rights tried to put the fire out himself.  The fanatic did
not like this and tried to stab him.
</p>
<p>The thugs took their time arriving, making sure the fanatic could get
away, and then called the Rabbis presence a "provocation" against the
fanatics.</p>
<p>I have to wonder if the firemen stayed away because coming to put out
this fire would have been considered a "provocation".
</p>


feed_id: 139728da13084aaa2ce1b09d5aafbced
title: Israel
uri: 2015-11-07-Israel
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#5_November_2015_%28Israel%29
content:
<p>East Jerusalem has one hospital, so wounded Palestinian protesters all
go there.  Israel 
<a href="https://electronicintifada.net/content/israel-raids-hospital-blocks-medical-care-jerusalem/14971">
has recently been raiding the hospital</a>
 and harassing
the doctors, even shooting tear gas inside the hospital.
</p>
<p>They could kill patients that way.</p>


feed_id: 8b4136988d8d94bc7f21ba621572e973
title: Liberal media
uri: 2015-11-07-Liberal-media
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#5_November_2015_%28Liberal_media%29
content:
<p>Right-wing US politicians 
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/views/2015/11/02/reviving-liberal-media-myth">
invented</a>
 the "liberal media" claim in the
1950s.  In fact, the US mass media were predominantly right-wing then,
before, and since.
</p>


feed_id: a83c809dc82d6417e7082d8015c66660
title: Wikipedia editing
uri: 2015-11-07-Wikipedia-editing
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#06_November_2015_%28Wikipedia_editing%29
content:
<p>
A supporter of Deepak Chopra criticizes
<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ryan-castle/wikipedia-deepak-chopra-o_b_8449394.html">Wikipedia's
practice in editing the page about him</a>.
<p>
Chopra's metaphysical statements are unsupported by what is actually
known in quantum physics.  They are extraordinary claims, and would
require extraordinary proofs.  Proofs would entail a systematic series
of experiments that Chopra hasn't reported doing.  This is
pseudoscience, and it is good that Wikipedia makes this clear.
<p>
It is also true that patients may die from using "alternative
medicine" instead of scientific medicine — Steve Jobs is perhaps
the most famous example of this, though we are arguably 
<a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2011-sep-dec.html#27_October_2011_(Steve_Jobs)">better 
off without him</a> — and it is Wikipedia's responsibility to 
point this out.
<p>
However, some of the practices described in the article do seem wrong
to me.  Two clear examples are those about the Yoga section and the
bibliography.  That's why I am posting this note.
<p>
Real scientists sometimes propose 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/news/2015/nov/04/relativity-quantum-mechanics-universe-physicists">strange 
metaphysical hypotheses</a>, but they recognize that these are
speculative and don't present them as certain truths.
<p>
I am disappointed that the article refers to Wikipedia as "open
source", thus misrepresenting the meaning of "free" in "free
encyclopedia".


feed_id: 224b1d1b9ac58da4693221423ae796f7
title: Urgent: Peace negotiations for Syria
uri: Urgent-Peace-negotiations-for-Syria
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#07_November_2015_%28Urgent%3A_Peace_negotiations_for_Syria%29

content:
<p>
US citizens: 
<a href="http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/stand-with-jim-himes-1">call
on congress</a> to support peace negotiations for Syria and support
compromise rather than continued war.


feed_id: a4a5c834665e112e0e4a153c712bf101
title: Urgent: Investigate Exxon's lies
uri: Urgent-Investigate-Exxon-s-lies
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#07_November_2015_%28Urgent%3A_Investigate_Exxons_lies%29

content:
<p>
US citizens: 
<a href="http://act.climatetruth.org/sign/exxon_investigate/">call for
an investigation</a> with a view to prosecuting Exxon for lying about
the danger of global heating.


feed_id: 399273b4f6bf269fcbd1d2446e117bc5
title: President Bush 1 bored without war
uri: President-Bush-1-bored-without-war
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#07_November_2015_%28President_Bush_1_bored_without_war%29

content:
<p>
President Bush 1 
<a href="https://theintercept.com/2015/11/05/george-h-w-bush-was-so-bored-by-peace-he-wanted-to-quit/">felt
bored with his job</a> once he didn't have a war to make it exciting.


feed_id: f0b4fb4a647409e61d75d193973ca68c
title: UK ministers uninformed about digital snooping
uri: UK-ministers-uninformed-about-digital-snooping
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#07_November_2015_%28UK_ministers_uninformed_about_digital_snooping%29

content:
<p>
Nick Clegg, former UK deputy prime minister, says that 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/05/nick-clegg-cabinet-mass-surveillance-british-spying">very
few ministers were informed</a> about massive digital snooping.


feed_id: e90c0fe3486a13cbc158aca88cf45cae
title: False "intelligence" about WMDs
uri: False-intelligence-about-WMDs
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#07_November_2015_%28False_intelligence_about_WMDs%29

content:
<p>
The US government funded the Iraqi National Congress which 
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/views/2015/11/05/americas-chalabi-legacy-lies">generated
false "intelligence"</a> that reported Saddam Hussein had weapons of
mass destruction.
<p>
This gave the Bush regime raw material for its distorted intelligence
reports, which we now know were used to provide "reasons" for a war
that Bush had already decided to launch (but pretended he had not).


feed_id: 4f8d375c855ffcdcc260043a8534354d
title: Afghan gov't makes deal with corrupt banker
uri: Afghan-gov-t-makes-deal-with-corrupt-banker
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#07_November_2015_%28Afghan_govt_makes_deal_with_corrupt_banker%29

content:
<p>
The Afghan government 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/05/afghan-government-signs-huge-property-deal-shamed-ex-banker">made
a business deal with a banker that is in prison for corruption</a>.


feed_id: 6b33a2d16f58b38345e50f05b6914a51
title: UK to kill renewable energy products
uri: UK-to-kill-renewable-energy-products
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#07_November_2015_%28UK_to_kill_renewable_energy_products%29

content:
<p>
The UK's planet-roasting government 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/nov/05/treasury-tax-plans-will-decimate-community-energy-projects">plans
to kill off community-scale renewable energy products</a>.


feed_id: 1ef08f421deec6e875c68007a5b77297
title: Text of the TPP
uri: Text-of-the-TPP
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#07_November_2015_%28Text_of_the_TPP%29
content:
<p>
Obama has published the text of the TPP, and it would 
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2015/11/05/tpp-text-reveals-broad-new-powers-attack-food-safety-food-labeling-laws">give
foreign companies the power to demand relaxation of food
inspection</a>, even to demand approval of GMOs and demand that they
not be labeled.
<p>
It's literally a treaty to allow Treacherous Plutocratic Poison.
<p>
It provides 
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2015/11/05/tpp-text-confirms-handout-fossil-fuels">handouts
to fossil fuel companies</a>.  For instance, they could sue states and
cities that ban fracking.
<p>
It 
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2015/11/05/final-tpp-text-confirms-worst-fears-shadowy-agreement-poses-grave-threat">criminalizes
whistleblowers</a> that reveal a company's criminal "trade secrets",
such as for instance that cigarette companies knew that their products
caused cancer and that Exxon knew its products caused global heating.
<p>
This in addition to prohibiting breaking digital handcuffs
<p>
It's too bad that article adopts enemy propaganda terms such as
<a href="https://gnu.org/philosophy/words-to-avoid.html#Protection">"protection"</a>,
<a href="https://gnu.org/philosophy/words-to-avoid.html#DigitalRightsManagement">"Digital
Rights Management"</a>, and weak terms such as 
<a href="https://gnu.org/philosophy/words-to-avoid.html#DigitalLocks">"digital
locks"</a>.
<p>
Sanders points out that companies could demand 
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2015/11/05/bad-trade-deal-worse-i-thought-sanders-says">"compensation"
for increases in the minimum wage</a>.
<p>
Here are 
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2015/11/05/secret-tpp-text-unveiled-its-worse-we-thought">many
other bad things</a> that have just been discovered in the text.
<p>
This should be no surprise.  The TPP was designed to be a corporate
supremacy treaty, mislabeled as a "trade agreement", and that's what
was designed.


feed_id: 325d2ef26a1855f9ccc651bb88898179
title: Investigation of drug companies sabotaged
uri: Investigation-of-drug-companies-sabotaged
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#07_November_2015_%28Investigation_of_drug_companies_sabotaged%29

content:
<p>
A SCROTUS has sabotaged a congressional 
<a href="https://theintercept.com/2015/11/05/chaffetz-uses-house-chairmanship-to-shield-his-big-pharma-backers/">investigation
into drug companies that greatly increase prices</a>.


feed_id: 56181799b54495d76ccc6519b34aa9f0
title: Cheney wanted to use nuclear weapons
uri: Cheney-wanted-to-use-nuclear-weapons
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#07_November_2015_%28Cheney_wanted_to_use_nuclear_weapons%29

content:
<p>
Cheney 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/nov/05/george-bush-sr-book-reveals-a-more-dangerous-dick-cheney-than-anyone-knew">wanted
to use nuclear weapons</a> against Iraq and Iran.


feed_id: c88824a88751f47308a496e243c68bb8
title: Arrogance of US thugs
uri: Arrogance-of-US-thugs
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#07_November_2015_%28Arrogance_of_US_thugs%29
content:
<p>
US thugs have organized 
<a href="http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2015/11/police-unions-quentin-tarantino-boycott">pressure
campaigns against prominent people that criticize them</a> even a
little.
<p>
They are arrogant as well as 
<a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2015-mar-jun.html#19_May_2015_(The_not-just-for-border_patrol)">dishonest</a>.


feed_id: ff266c89f24b1b033b6fccb6ee576d16
title: Restoring the Voting Rights Act
uri: Restoring-the-Voting-Rights-Act
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#07_November_2015_%28Restoring_the_Voting_Rights_Act%29

content:
<p>
Another variation on restoring the Voting Rights Act has been 
<a href="http://www.thenation.com/article/congressional-democrats-launch-a-new-strategy-to-restore-the-voting-rights-act/">proposed</a>.
<p>
Most Republican officials are 
<a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#06_August_2015_(Voter_suppression)">in
favor of voter suppression</a>.  They want power, and regard democracy
as an obstacle.  They appointed people to the Supreme Court that would
overturn crucial parts of the Voting Rights Act, and having won that
victory over poor and minority US citizens, they are not going to give
it up.


feed_id: 2229bc31b764264a92b2fb768a086a92
title: Restrictions on Palestinians in Hebron
uri: Restrictions-on-Palestinians-in-Hebron
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#07_November_2015_%28Restrictions_on_Palestinians_in_Hebron%29

content:
<p>
"It Will Become a Prison": Palestinians of Hebron Required to
"Register" in Preparation for 
<a href="http://www.globalresearch.ca/it-will-become-a-prison-palestinians-of-hebron-required-to-register-in-preparation-for-severe-new-restrictions/5486090">Severe
New Restrictions</a>.
<p>
This is in the name of "protecting" a group of Israeli fanatics that
insisted on living in the middle of an Arab town, and got the
government's support to keep them there at any cost (to Palestinians).
<p>
Meanwhile, Israel 
<a href="http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=768624">closed a
Palestinian radio station in Hebron</a>, accusing it of "incitement"
to violence.
<p>
The 
<a href="http://www.middleeasteye.net/columns/palestinians-have-become-unreasonably-reasonable-876615094">Israeli
actions that support keeping those fanatics in Hebron</a> do more to
incite Palestinian violence than any radio station could.
<p>
A former Israeli soldier, who was stationed in Hebron, says more or
less the 
<a href="http://972mag.com/the-only-way-to-end-the-violence-in-hebron/113525/">same
thing</a>.
<p>
The Israeli's use of a colony in Hebron as the base for continued
ethnic cleansing of the surrounding neighborhood of Hebron is a
microcosm of the 
<a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2012-jan-apr.html#29_March_2012_(One_or_Two)">policy
of the occupation as a whole</a>.
<p>
Israel 
<a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/10/israel-legalises-hundreds-settler-homes-west-bank-151030134726848.html">continues
authorizing additional extensions</a> of its colonies in Palestine.


feed_id: ff0b865572b601cc80a2ade27f64c039
title: Interview with Chomsky
uri: Interview-with-Chomsky
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#8_November_2015_%28Interview_with_Chomsky%29
content:
<p>An 
<a href="http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/33519-the-empire-of-chaos-an-interview-with-noam-chomsky">
interview</a>
 with Noam Chomsky.
</p>


feed_id: 5a79b061e91be354181fd3014f06442f
title: FBI claims to have given up on demanding back doors
uri: FBI-claims-to-have-given-up-on-demanding-back-doors
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#8_November_2015_%28FBI_claims_to_have_given_up_on_demanding_back_doors%29

content:
<p>The FBI says it has 
<a href="http://www.theregister.co.uk/2015/11/05/fbi_gives_up_on_backdoor_plan/">
given up on demanding back doors</a>
 in encryption software.
</p>
<p>That doesn't mean it won't try again next year.</p>


feed_id: cc696bc854cc4b90790808f827fd66c1
title: Danger of increasing rubber production
uri: Danger-of-increasing-rubber-production
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#8_November_2015_%28Danger_of_increasing_rubber_production%29

content:
<p>Increasing rubber production could lead to 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2015/nov/06/rubber-tyres-russian-dandelions-sustainability-timberland-shoes-waste">
massive deforestation</a>
 and extinction of many species.
</p>


feed_id: eca58930237aa4a3c33735b9fc97557c
title: Ben Carson's crazy religion
uri: Ben-Carson-s-crazy-religion
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#8_November_2015_%28Ben_Carson%27s_crazy_religion%29
content:
<p>Ben Carson's religion is 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/nov/06/seventh-day-adventists-put-faith-over-science-and-reason-ben-carson">
more crazy than fundamentalist</a>.
</p>


feed_id: 50fba667e3c121ae8c2930b6d25930a1
title: Arundhati Roy on murder of secularists in India
uri: Arundhati-Roy-on-murder-of-secularists-in-India
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#8_November_2015_%28Arundhati_Roy_on_murder_of_secularists_in_India%29

content:
<p>Arundhati Roy says she was not shocked by murder of secularists in
India,
because that's 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/nov/06/returning-award-ashamed-india-arundhati-roy">
what she expected</a>
 of this government.
</p>


feed_id: 45345a0537a48b0c61144a23a51dd4b9
title: Opponents of new constitution in Nepal stage import blockade
uri: Opponents-of-new-constitution-in-Nepal-stage-import-blockade
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#8_November_2015_%28Opponents_of_new_constitution_in_Nepal_stage_import_blockade%29

content:
<p>Opponents of Nepal's new constitution are trying to force it to
change the constitution by 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2015/nov/06/nepal-government-humanitarian-crisis-india-border-blockade-deputy-prime-minister-kamal-thapa">
blockading imports</a>
 from India.
</p>


feed_id: 0307cf27d24934cd3dffeeea65a0252d
title: Could Assad become Schröinger's Dictator?
uri: Could-Assad-become-Schröinger-s-Dictator
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#8_November_2015_%28Could_Assad_become_Schr%26ouml%3Binger%27s_Dictator%3F%29

content:
<p>Could Assad become 
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/views/2015/11/05/schrodinger-solution-syria">
Schrödinger's dictator</a>,
 politically alive and politically dead at the same time?
</p>


feed_id: a7cfebe68ef945606234cfe30614bc40
title: St. Louis lawsuit targets fine system
uri: St-Louis-lawsuit-targets-fine-system
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#8_November_2015_%28St._Louis_lawsuit_targets_fine_system%29

content:
<p>
<a href="https://reason.com/blog/2015/11/05/lawsuit-targets-rapacious-city-fine-syst">
Lawsuit Targets Rapacious City Fine System in St. Louis Community.</a>
</p>


feed_id: 04f6bffd7f24e2f96bfcec23cbc1e635
title: Israeli videos of violence against Palestinians
uri: Israeli-videos-of-violence-against-Palestinians
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#8_November_2015_%28Israeli_videos_of_violence_against_Palestinians%29

content:
<p>Israelis 
<a href="http://www.thenation.com/article/israels-descent-into-jingoistic-orgies-of-feeling/">
revel in videos</a>
 in which real soldiers or thugs, egged on by rabid
mobs, really shoot harmless Palestinians.
</p>
<p>Arabs in Israel know that anyone can murder them with impunity.
All of Israel is Ferguson for them.</p>


feed_id: c021f0ffee07a9ce5e5c410a79610d79
title: TPP allows banks to sue for compensation
uri: TPP-allows-banks-to-sue-for-compensation
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#8_November_2015_%28TPP_allows_banks_to_sue_for_compensation%29

content:
<p>The TPP will allow banks to 
<a href="https://theintercept.com/2015/11/06/ttp-trade-pact-would-give-wall-street-a-trump-card-to-block-regulations/">
sue for "compensation"</a>
 for any regulations they don't like, including possible reinstatement
of the Glass Seagall Act.
</p>


feed_id: 72e4cb2228dc4e471a4f080c100ad4c7
title: US policies drive people to suicide
uri: US-policies-drive-people-to-suicide
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#8_November_2015_%28US_policies_drive_people_to_suicide%29

content:
<p>Cruel US policies are driving many middle-aged white males to 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/commentisfree/2015/nov/06/the-guardian-view-on-american-mortality-the-price-of-a-ruthless-economy">
commit suicide</a>.
</p>
<p>Sad to say, the relatives of these men probably won't associate
the effect with the right-wing cause.</p>
<p>The article speculates that blacks are better able to cope with
poverty;
they may be psychologically or socially ready for it.</p>


feed_id: f0afffb2ca0489c3ec773403f33a9d48
title: Carson lied in autobiography
uri: Carson-lied-in-autobiography
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#8_November_2015_%28Carson_lied_in_autobiography%29
content:
<p>Ben Carson 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/nov/06/ben-carson-campaign-lies-west-point-admission-memoir">
admitted lying</a>
 in his autobiography about being offered a scholarship to West Point.
</p>
<p>Such lies have ruined many a career, but right-wing crazies are often
immune.</p>


feed_id: 03500d2e012ee6596d4631848ae18141
title: Sanders and Warren propose to close tax loophole
uri: Sanders-and-Warren-propose-to-close-tax-loophole
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#8_November_2015_%28Sanders_and_Warren_propose_to_close_tax_loophole%29

content:
<p>Senators Sanders and Warren proposed a bill that would 
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/news/2015/11/05/help-hard-hit-seniors-warrensanders-bill-would-boost-social-security">
close a tax loophole</a>
 for hedge funds and give the money to retired people, disabled people,
and
veterans.
</p>
<p>Some of the added tax money would go into the Social
Security trust fund.</p>


feed_id: 511f0d58afc356142b94329f05f3816c
title: Summary of TPP injustices
uri: Summary-of-TPP-injustices
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#8_November_2015_%28Summary_of_TPP_injustices%29
content:
<p>
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/news/2015/11/05/worse-we-thought-tpp-total-corporate-power-grab-nightmare">
One page</a>
 summarizes many specific injustices and damage of the TPP.
</p>
<p>This is in addition to the general injustice of allowing companies to
sue governments for reducing their profits.</p>


feed_id: 1efb6652a8ed840ed6887370f4248db4
title: Experiment finds secular children more altruistic and judgmental
uri: Experiment-finds-secular-children-more-altruistic-and-judgmental
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#8_November_2015_%28Experiment_finds_secular_children_more_altruistic_and_judgmental%29

content:
<p>A 
<a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/religious-children-are-more-selfish-than-atheist-children-say-us-neuroscientists-a6723596.html">
psychological experiment</a>
 found that children from secular families
are more altruistic and more harsh in judging other people than
children from Christian and Muslim families.
</p>
<p>Since many psychological studies turn out to be irreproducible
results,
I would not treat this as thoroughly established based on one study.</p>


feed_id: b31379fc13a38b60604be21d557e6674
title: Obama rejects Keystone XL pipeline
uri: Obama-rejects-Keystone-XL-pipeline
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#8_November_2015_%28Obama_rejects_Keystone_XL_pipeline%29

content:
<p>Obama 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/nov/06/obama-rejects-keystone-xl-pipeline">
has rejected</a>
 the Keystone XL pipeline.
</p>
<p>Although he ultimately made the right decision, the fact that he took
years to make it means that this is not greatly to his credit.</p>
<p>Obama now has a bigger climate decision to make, in the Paris climate
summit, and so far he is not pushing very hard to avoid disaster.</p>
<p>
<1>The Keystone XL Pipeline Defeat Is One Goal in the Game, And We're Way
Behind.</a>
</p>


feed_id: 20df79c924beefb831effbade3207dfe
title: UN predicts millions of climate refugees
uri: UN-predicts-millions-of-climate-refugees
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#8_November_2015_%28UN_predicts_millions_of_climate_refugees%29

content:
<p>The UN predicts 
<a href="http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/33456-more-denial-more-problems-un-predicts-millions-of-climate-refugees-to-come">
millions of climate refugees</a>.
</p>


feed_id: 7e05fe2d703932ff20268ad793f7db91
title: UK threatened to act against Muslim Brotherhood
uri: UK-threatened-to-act-against-Muslim-Brotherhood
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#8_November_2015_%28UK_threatened_to_act_against_Muslim_Brotherhood%29

content:
<p>The UK took action against the Muslim Brotherhood 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/06/uae-told-uk-crack-down-on-muslim-brotherhood-or-lose-arms-deals">
under pressure from a threat</a>
 by the UAE to cut arms purchases.
</p>


feed_id: 4c19ed145759fd6633bdd824f4815b58
title: Urgent: boycott, divestment and sanctions against Saudi Arabia
uri: Urgent-boycott-divestment-and-sanctions-against-Saudi-Arabia
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#8_November_2015_%28Urgent%3A_boycott%2C_divestment_and_sanctions_against_Saudi_Arabia%29

content:
<p>US citizens: 
<a href="https://stallman.org/petitions/petition-saudi/">
call for</a>
 boycott, divestment and sanctions against Saudi Arabia.
</p>


feed_id: 43536112a087ee5ea6b633211a01b5a6
title: Illegal oil palms on burned forest lands
uri: Illegal-oil-palms-on-burned-forest-lands
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#8_November_2015_%28Illegal_oil_palms_on_burned_forest_lands%29

content:
<p>Palm oil palms have already been 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/nov/06/illegally-planted-palm-oil-already-growing-on-burnt-land-in-indonesia">
illegally planted</a>
 on recently burned Indonesian forest areas.
</p>
<p>If complicated supply chains make it hard to stop this, then the
supply chains must be simplified, whether the companies want this or
not.  Since the CO2 emissions from these fires threaten all
civilization, force is certainly justified.</p>


feed_id: f7e5648225dc767033f31c4b804a4e8c
title: Google location history and law enforcement
uri: Google-location-history-and-law-enforcement
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#8_November_2015_%28Google_location_history_and_law_enforcement%29

content:
<p>Now that Google has made location tracking a feature, the state can
<a href="https://theintercept.com/2015/11/06/how-law-enforcement-can-use-google-timeline-to-track-your-every-move/">
subpoena a person's location history</a>
 going back years.
</p>
<p>Communicating with a service from your own computer using a mobile
device,
and not going through Tor, is for suckers.</p>


feed_id: bf151fab51b766c2548746df5e9a43ce
title: EU snooping borders
uri: EU-snooping-borders
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#8_November_2015_%28EU_snooping_borders%29
content:
<p>
<a href="https://www.accessnow.org/blog/2015/11/05/smart-borders-the-little-package-that-couldnt-protect-your-rights">
Injustices</a>
 in the EU's proposal for snooping borders.
</p>


feed_id: b632865806a598b70e0c23afb8181c51
title: India orders Greenpeace India to shut down
uri: India-orders-Greenpeace-India-to-shut-down
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#8_November_2015_%28India_orders_Greenpeace_India_to_shut_down%29

content:
<p>India has ordered Greenpeace India to 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/nov/06/greenpeace-says-india-has-cancelled-its-legal-registration">
shut down</a>.
</p>


feed_id: 808b92d317c8fa96f770cbe4556ea6e0
title: Emission target pledges only half of what is needed
uri: Emission-target-pledges-only-half-of-what-is-needed
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#8_November_2015_%28Emission_target_pledges_only_half_of_what_is_needed%29

content:
<p>The carbon pledges of the world's countries are 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/nov/06/world-only-half-way-meeting-emissions-target-with-current-pledges">
only half</a>
 what's probably needed to remain under 2C of heating.
</p>


feed_id: 6005c35cd2590e69ac0ab96b3682b159
title: No Israel-Palestine peace deal while Obama in office
uri: No-Israel-Palestine-peace-deal-while-Obama-in-office
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#8_November_2015_%28No_Israel-Palestine_peace_deal_while_Obama_in_office%29

content:
<p>Obama has acknowledged that there is 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/06/us-officials-rule-out-israel-peace-deal-obama-netanyahu">
no prospect of a peace deal</a>
 between Israel and Palestine while Obama remains in office.
</p>
<p>The reason for this is that Obama has no intention of doing what is
required for a peace deal: putting pressure on the Israeli government.
<a href="https://stallman.org/notes/2015-jul-oct.html#30_October_2015_(Permanent_oppression_of_Palestinians)">
Netanyahu is against peace</a>,
 and will reject it as long as the US lets him get away with that.
</p>9


feed_id: d398c2ac8b44780edea7607947ead074
title: Only renewable electricity in Lower Austria
uri: Only-renewable-electricity-in-Lower-Austria
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#8_November_2015_%28Only_renewable_electricity_in_Lower_Austria%29

content:
<p>Lower Austria, one of the states in Austria, now uses 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/06/all-electricity-in-austrias-largest-state-now-produced-from-renewables">
only renewable electricity</a>.
</p>
<p>This does not mean it has eliminated greenhouse gas emissions.  It
still
burns fossil fuel for other purposes, and that must be reduced next.</p>


feed_id: 316ff18150988b354d20f02bf20d1058
title: Netanyahu spokesman calls Iran deal 'antisemitism'
uri: Netanyahu-spokesman-calls-Iran-deal-antisemitism
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#8_November_2015_%28Netanyahu_spokesman_calls_Iran_deal_%27antisemitism%27%29

content:
<p>Netanyahu's new spokesman called the Iran nuclear deal 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/nov/06/us-angry-comments-obama-israeli-pm-spokesman">
"antisemitism."</a>
</p>
<p>This is part of Israel's persistant dishonest campaign of labeling
anything but blanket support for Israeli policy as "antisemitism".</p>


feed_id: 25e32f85168901082b1e8d43ca137f23
title: Nuclear energy too slow to develop
uri: Nuclear-energy-too-slow-to-develop
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#8_November_2015_%28Nuclear_energy_too_slow_to_develop%29

content:
<p>Nuclear energy is 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/nov/06/call-me-emotional-if-you-like-but-my-anti-nuclear-arguments-are-based-on-evidence">
too slow to develop to play</a>
 a substantial role in
avoiding global heating disaster.  It is so expensive that it sucks
money away from the efficient renewable energy that we should be
building as fast as possible.
</p>


feed_id: 43f760645e6a7291b5287d9cbc3d0eea
title: Exxon investigated by New York State
uri: Exxon-investigated-by-New-York-State
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#8_November_2015_%28Exxon_investigated_by_New_York_State%29

content:
<p>New York State is 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/nov/05/exxonmobil-investigation-climate-change-peabody">
investingating</a>
 Exxon's climate lies.
</p>


feed_id: 39e7eff364f3161f5168e7532e7d59be
title: VW admits to deception about fuel consumption
uri: VW-admits-to-deception-about-fuel-consumption
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#8_November_2015_%28VW_admits_to_deception_about_fuel_consumption%29

content:
<p>Volkswagen 
<a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/11/04/us-volkswagen-emissions-co2levels-idUSKCN0SS28B20151104">
admits</a>
 understating the fuel consumption of some car models.
</p>


feed_id: 581d7053f5c8e3588b94b29e6f4abbf8
title: Thugs lies after shooting self
uri: Thugs-lies-after-shooting-self
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#8_November_2015_%28Thugs_lies_after_shooting_self%29

content:
<p>Another US thug 
<a href="http://kxan.com/2015/11/03/arkansas-officer-arrested-after-false-claim-of-being-shot/">
shot himself</a>
 (not fatally) and then claimed someone else had shot him.
</p>
<p>Perhaps this is the true "Ferguson effect": encouraging thugs to lie
even more than before.</p>


feed_id: 9794e8e2de63174033f68ad2b765f34f
title: Incompetence of Theater of Security Agency
uri: Incompetence-of-Theater-of-Security-Agency
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#8_November_2015_%28Incompetence_of_Theater_of_Security_Agency%29

content:
<p>The Theater of Security Agency is 
<a href="http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2015/11/tsa-airport-screeners-ability-to-detect-weapons-declared-pitiful/">
pitifully incompetent</a>
 at finding weapons and explosives.
</p>


feed_id: 469596173d781dbb078ce888d487e8aa
title: Consequences of Iraq war
uri: Consequences-of-Iraq-war
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#8_November_2015_%28Consequences_of_Iraq_war%29
content:
<p>
<a href="http://www.thenation.com/article/us-engagement-in-the-middle-east-is-riskier-than-ever/">
Analyzing the consequences</a>
 of Bush's conquest of Iraq.
</p>


feed_id: fd5042905659eb2c317bc53df6a88dfe
title: Turkish editors charged for edgy headline
uri: Turkish-editors-charged-for-edgy-headline
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#8_November_2015_%28Turkish_editors_charged_for_edgy_headline%29

content:
<p>Two Turkish editors 
<a href="http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkish-magazine-critical-of-erdogan-confiscated-editors-arrested.aspx?PageID=238&NID=90661&NewsCatID=509">
published an edgy headline</a>
 and are charged with starting a rebellion.
</p>
<p>This insane exaggeration reminds me of how 
<a href="https://stallman.org/notes/2012-jul-oct.html#20_September_2012_(Aeron_Swartz)">
Aaron Swartz</a>
 was treated in the US.
</p>
<p>Bogus charges resulting from exaggeration are wrong in any country.</p>


feed_id: 5c2e93fe46f662b38f20028019bcf6e9
title: Urgent: prevent Grand Canyon shopping mall
uri: Urgent-prevent-Grand-Canyon-shopping-mall
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#8_November_2015_%28Urgent%3A_prevent_Grand_Canyon_shopping_mall%29

content:
<p>US citizens: 
<a href="http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/take-action-protect-the">
oppose</a>
 the plan to build a big shopping mall next to the Grand Canyon.
</p>


feed_id: cf3c2b7b7dd9fc7f9eee53b25a092a99
title: Seattle democracy vouchers
uri: Seattle-democracy-vouchers
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#8_November_2015_%28Seattle_democracy_vouchers%29
content:
<p>Seattle's 
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/news/2015/11/04/seattle-voters-approve-first-nation-democracy-vouchers">
innovative public campaign</a>
 funding system lets each voter dispose of $100 to municipal campaigns.
</p>
<p>Also in Seattle, children are 
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/news/2015/11/04/waging-climate-court-battle-brave-youth-refuse-watch-government-do-nothing">
suing the state</a>
 for not limiting CO2 emissions.
</p>
<p>There's a significant chance that global heating, by 2070, will cause
catastrophe, and kill them.</p>


feed_id: 6f73f9f4fc600cb17efe51706aa40346
title: Keeping ex cons out of public housing
uri: Keeping-ex-cons-out-of-public-housing
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#8_November_2015_%28Keeping_ex_cons_out_of_public_housing%29

content:
<p>Obama has slightly 
<a href="http://www.thenation.com/article/public-housing-criminal-record/">
softened the policies</a>
 that usually keep ex cons out of public housing.
</p>
<p>A century ago, ex cons could get most kinds of work, and were not
excluded from most places to live.  This helped them go straight.</p>


feed_id: 340bffc7b7c56107902ddea7d8349b0b
title: Letting kids play on the beach
uri: Letting-kids-play-on-the-beach
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#8_November_2015_%28Letting_kids_play_on_the_beach%29

content:
<p>Vacationing parents 
<a href="https://reason.com/blog/2015/11/04/two-kids-spotted-playing-on-a-beach-cops">
face charges</a>
 for leaving their children on the
beach, from which they would walk back to the campground along a
footpath.
</p>


feed_id: 692a004108fe54eba07d1c9fa0127f09
title: Pentagon pays for patriotism
uri: Pentagon-pays-for-patriotism
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#8_November_2015_%28Pentagon_pays_for_patriotism%29
content:
<p>The Pentagon 
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/news/2015/11/05/patriotism-sale-pentagons-pro-war-propaganda-scheme-pro-sports">
pays professional sports</a>
 to promote a militarist version of "patriotism".
</p>
<p>If patriotism is love of one's country, then the core of patriotism is
campaigning to make that country deserve to be loved.</p>


feed_id: c629b429b06d97a2d0a29425a352830b
title: EU low-tax deals
uri: EU-low-tax-deals
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#9_November_2015_%28EU_low-tax_deals%29
content:
<p>Several EU countries 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/04/secret-tax-archives-uk-joins-move-to-block-meps-access">
want to keep</a>
 their sleazy low-tax deals with
multinational companies secret from investigating MEPs.
</p>


feed_id: 6f58e4932f9ae0ba61d57f9495f50d76
title: Websites leaks Data
uri: Websites-leaks-Data
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#9_November_2015_%28Websites_leaks_Data%29
content:
<p>
<a href="http://motherboard.vice.com/read/9-out-of-10-of-the-internets-top-websites-are-leaking-your-data">
Nine Out of Ten of the Internet\u2019s Top Websites Are Leaking Your
Data</a>
.
To data brokers, that is.</p>
<p>I follow the recommendations at the end of the article.</p>


feed_id: eb42b1fe4e19a1401fd2ad37ba280357
title: Guantanamo
uri: 2015-11-09-Guantanamo
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#9_November_2015_%28Guantanamo%29
content:
<p>Obama wants to "close Guantanamo prison" by 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/nov/07/pentagon-plan-to-close-guantanamo-colorado-prison">
transferring imprisonment
without trial</a>
 to Colorado.
</p>
<p>This would normalize imprisonment without trial, which is bad;
however, it might also make it easier for these prisoners to get the
benefit of the US constitution in the courts.</p>
<p>The US must try or release each of these prisoners.
</p>


feed_id: 289620d6d3cdfa5e7e6fa3f2b5d9f6a4
title: New libre journal
uri: New-libre-journal
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#9_November_2015_%28New_libre_journal%29
content:
<p>The whole staff of the Elsevier's paywalled journal Lingua 
<a href="https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20151103/15475732708/not-just-academics-fed-up-with-elsevier-entire-editorial-staff-resigns-en-masse-to-start-open-access-journal.shtml">
have quit
to start a new libre journal</a>
.
</p>


feed_id: 0dd7b85a3e02e6773bf51584da5b6ecd
title: Facebook bans Tsu
uri: Facebook-bans-Tsu
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#9_November_2015_%28Facebook_bans_Tsu%29
content:
<p>Facebook found another social network to be a source of spam links, so

<a href="https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20151106/10152132736/facebook-bans-tsu-links-entirely-choosing-control-over-user-empowerment.shtml">
it banned all mention</a>
 of that site's name anywhere.
</p>


feed_id: 1bb3b868368afd08935ef7b73c176c56
title: Private prisons
uri: 2015-11-09-Private-prisons
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#9_November_2015_%28Private_prisons%29
content:
<p>A perverse law requires the US government to keep at least 34,000
possibly-unauthorized immigrants in prison at any time, 
<a href="http://www.thenation.com/article/us-keeps-34000-immigrants-detention-each-day-simply-meet-quota/">
regardless of
whether there is any good reason</a>
 to do so.
</p>
<p>The motive for this law seems to be to assure the profits of private
prisons.</p>
<p>Hundreds of prisoners in one of these private prisons are on hunger
strike.  The prison company says there is no hunger strike, but the
leaders of the supposedly nonexistent strike 
<a href="http://fusion.net/story/227041/t-don-hutto-detention-center-tyler-texas-hunger-strike-hundreds/">
are being punished</a>
 with
solitary confinement, persistent cold, isolation from their families,
etc.
</p>
<p>These prisoners have not been convicted of a crime, and some will win
appeals and be granted US residency.  Although the prison executives'
motive for punishing them for not eating is obvious, they have no
grounds to do so.</p>


feed_id: 434d5fc3571c112e3f0b59532da85c68
title: President of Haiti
uri: President-of-Haiti
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#9_November_2015_%28President_of_Haiti%29
content:
<p>Who Will the 
<a href="http://www.ezilidanto.com/zili/2015/11/who-will-the-us-declare-president-of-haiti-this-time/">
U.S. Declare</a>
 President of Haiti This Time?
</p>


feed_id: 12d18f78ae0777ff02308c6ca602574c
title: Bullies
uri: Bullies
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#9_November_2015_%28Bullies%29
content:
<p>A teacher in Kansas showed a film in class to open students' eyes to
what it feels like to be bullied for homosexuality 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/nov/06/kansas-schoolteacher-not-resigning-bullying-film">
has faced bullying from
right-wing parents</a>
, but has decided not to resign.
</p>
<p>Bravo!  Resigning would endorse the bullies' position.
</p>


feed_id: 059099f5fbdf76a7e7b3776b53fa494b
title: UK government
uri: 2015-11-09-UK-government
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#9_November_2015_%28UK_government%29
content:
<p>The UK government 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/money/2015/nov/06/government-proposes-minimum-bedroom-size-for-rental-properties">
plans to prohibit</a>
 renting out a bedroom smaller than
6.5 square meters.
</p>
<p>This will make the housing shortage a little worse, though not as much
as
the other bad things that it is doing.  Rather than subdivide a bedroom,
several people will sleep in the same bed, medieval style.</p>
<p>The government's responsibility is to make enough space for people to
live in
available at a decent price.  As long as it fails to do this, people
will suffer one way or another.
</p>


feed_id: 843c444ae974a4dc2d2a9d41130ad757
title: Death rates increased
uri: Death-rates-increased
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#9_November_2015_%28Death_rates_increased%29
content:
<p>For 15 years, death rates among middle-aged white men in the US 
<a href="http://www.thenation.com/article/now-white-people-are-dying-from-our-terrible-economic-policies-too/">
have
increased</a>
: this now adds up to half a million additional deaths.
</p>
<p>The natural explanation is that dooH niboR policies made their lives
collapse.</p>
<p>It should be noted that blacks still have it even worse.
</p>


feed_id: 55207626cd9a047fda2e5265b53345ad
title: US middle class
uri: 2015-11-09-US-middle-class
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#9_November_2015_%28US_middle_class%29
content:
<p>US retailers recognize that most Americans 
<a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/the-disappearing-middle-class-is-threatening-major-retailers-2015-10">
can't afford</a>
 to buy much.
</p>


feed_id: 3d938128d7b399ede664f69389cbdc10
title: US economy
uri: US-economy
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#9_November_2015_%28US_economy%29
content:
<p>The US economy 
<a href="http://robertreich.org/post/132363519655">
is rigged in many ways to redistribute wealth to the
rich</a>
.
</p>
<p>Let's pass laws to take it back from them.
</p>


feed_id: 4d46375148bd84ccdea57603559b5633
title: MSF hospital bombed
uri: MSF-hospital-bombed
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#9_November_2015_%28MSF_hospital_bombed%29
content:
<p>One day before the US bombed the MSF hospital in Kunduz, a US official
asked if any Taliban were "holed up" there.  The MSF said 
<a href="https://theintercept.com/2015/11/05/day-before-deadly-bombing-u-s-official-asked-if-any-taliban-were-holed-up-at-msf-hospital/">
that the only
Taliban there were disarmed patients</a>
 being treated.
</p>


feed_id: afe62df9bdb8a990fdbf2d32ad0277f2
title: Credit cards
uri: 2015-11-09-Credit-cards
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#9_November_2015_%28Credit_cards%29
content:
<p>US officials 
<a href="https://cdt.org/blog/darts-targeting-of-credit-cards-to-bring-down-website-violates-the-first-amendment/">
continue trying</a>
 to shut down or pressure organizations by
intimidating credit card companies.
</p>
<p>The article makes a mistake when it refers to "johns who engage in
trafficking".  When prostitutes are trafficked, pimps are typically
involved in the crime, but johns probably not.
</p>


feed_id: 90af2d6296a4c162763bd3897b75a7b9
title: Violence excalation in Hebron
uri: Violence-excalation-in-Hebron
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#9_November_2015_%28Violence_excalation_in_Hebron%29
content:
<p>Israeli soldiers shot and killed an old Palestinian woman who was
driving a car in Hebron.  This 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/06/three-israelis-wounded-as-violence-in-hebron-escalates">
seems</a>
 to have provoked retaliation
on various occasions.
</p>


feed_id: 36caa0b4b3411c2ffa0c47b596ed8675
title: Turkey and Syrian rebels
uri: Turkey-and-Syrian-rebels
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#9_November_2015_%28Turkey_and_Syrian_rebels%29
content:
<p>Seymour Hersh reported in 2014 that the sarin attack in Syria,
attributed to Assad's army, 
<a href="http://www.lrb.co.uk/v36/n08/seymour-m-hersh/the-red-line-and-the-rat-line">
was actually a false-flag attack carried
out by Turkey</a>
 in connection with al-Nusra (al-Qa'ida).
</p>
<p>He also said that the US had armed Syrian rebels in cooperation with
Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar since 2012, exporting arms from Libya
by way of the Benghazi consulate.  The US stopped this after the
Benghazi consulate was attacked, but the other three countries
continued.</p>


feed_id: 9222b76078edcc333b932db5404732f1
title: Urgent: close gun sale loopholes
uri: Urgent-close-gun-sale-loopholes
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#09_November_2015_%28Urgent%3A_close_gun_sale_loopholes%29

content:
<p>US citizens: call on Obama to use executive orders <a href="https://act.credoaction.com/sign/Obama_Gun_Actions?t=1001&akid=16031.1183552.O1r18O">to close some gun sale loopholes.</a>


feed_id: c85956bf5b6bcaedcf13615018187e83
title: Urgent: end subsidies for fossil fuels
uri: Urgent-end-subsidies-for-fossil-fuels
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#09_November_2015_%28Urgent%3A_end_subsidies_for_fossil_fuels%29

content:
<p>Everyone: <a href="http://www.commondreams.org/views/2015/11/06/stopfundingfossils-global-campaign-abolish-dirty-fuel-subsidies
">demonstrate on Nov 14</a> to end subsidies for fossil fuels.


feed_id: fe3cd6b31ce8228a30471ba747b06dfc
title: Urgent: don't include fracking in climate "solution"
uri: Urgent-don-t-include-fracking-in-climate-solution
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#09_November_2015_%28Urgent%3A_don%27t_include_fracking_in_climate_solution%29

content:
<p>US citizens: call on officials <a href="https://secure.foodandwaterwatch.org/site/Advocacy;jsessionid=6A276ED241E749F39306F0A84704121F.app359a?pagename=homepage&page=UserAction&id=2403">not to include fracking in any climate "solution".</a>


feed_id: 6993d422559caac8dee0e06399e47e84
title: Urgent: ending gerrymandering
uri: Urgent-ending-gerrymandering
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#09_November_2015_%28Urgent%3A_ending_gerrymandering%29

content:
<p>US citizens: <a href="http://www.signforgood.com/endgerrymandering/?code=independentlines2">stand for ending gerrymandering.</a>


feed_id: 1d64ed8325eb146b29c3004c755b52e4
title: UK's housing crisis
uri: UK-s-housing-crisis
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#09_November_2015_%28UK%27s_housing_crisis%29
content:
<p>The UK's housing crisis could be solved if the disused buildings were made
available to live in.  Instead, <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/oct/19/gary-neville-squatters-rage-housing-homelessness">Tory policy is to put squatters in jail.</a>


feed_id: 71b5220b579e4dcffabb90450665740d
title: McCarthyism in the UK
uri: McCarthyism-in-the-UK
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#09_November_2015_%28McCarthyism_in_the_UK%29
content:
<p>The UK's plans to chase "extremists" out of positions of influence <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/oct/19/new-counter-extremism-strategy-revealed-theresa-may">remind me of McCarthyism.</a>


feed_id: 0d96a101c339d836e0a8333345b6a9e4
title: Journalists in Zimbabwe arrested
uri: Journalists-in-Zimbabwe-arrested
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#09_November_2015_%28Journalists_in_Zimbabwe_arrested%29

content:
<p>Journalists in Zimbabwe were arrested for accusing officials of corruption <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/nov/03/zimbabwean-journalists-arrested-for-linking-police-to-poaching">(participating in hunting of elephants).</a>


feed_id: 459a644021f55b0b635e5d657206b577
title: Local social relationships
uri: Local-social-relationships
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#09_November_2015_%28Local_social_relationships%29
content:
<p>When globalization destroys local social relationships, it sparks
local rivalries; these can attract to previously unimportant religious
or ethnic differences and turn into <a href="http://www.commondreams.org/views/2015/11/03/globalization-and-terror">hatred and violence.</a>


feed_id: 7139dc6f59257a65262e489c4e1df0e4
title: Web services deny users' rights
uri: Web-services-deny-users-rights
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#09_November_2015_%28Web_services_deny_users%27_rights%29

content:
<p>A project sets out to summarize how various web services deny users' rights through their <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/nov/03/ranking-digital-rights-project-data-protection">terms and conditions.</a>
<p>I doubt that competition will be effective for eliminating nasty
conditions.  The overall level of competition in this field is too
low.
<p>I think we need laws to limit what conditions essential digital
services can impose.  And rather than judging violations themselves,
they should have to go to court in order to cut off service to anyone.


feed_id: 45a1d78e89cb242e0bf9e1c3c5fe559b
title: Censorship in Bali
uri: Censorship-in-Bali
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#09_November_2015_%28Censorship_in_Bali%29
content:
<p>The writers festival in Bali was forced to cancel sessions about the 1965 massacre, but people discussed it anyway, and <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/nov/03/ubud-writers-festival-debates-massacre-that-were-not-supposed-to-talk-about
">condemned the censorship.</a>


feed_id: 3724d8bda4bb9a918edda6ff4dffc421
title: "Special" violent intelligence operations
uri: Special-violent-intelligence-operations
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#09_November_2015_%28Special_violent_intelligence_operations%29

content:
<p>Australia's secrecy about "special" violent intelligence operations extends to the point of <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2015/nov/03/theres-no-reporting-on-asio-operations-when-even-the-watchdog-wont-talk">refusing to say whether there have been any.</a>
<p>If an Australian agent on one of these operations kills your child, you will need to escape from Australia before you can safely say so.


feed_id: c65a91568bf78031aa2453098db4b570
title: EU's proposed trade secrets directive
uri: EU-s-proposed-trade-secrets-directive
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#09_November_2015_%28EU%27s_proposed_trade_secrets_directive%29

content:
<p>The EU's proposed trade secrets directive bows down to business at the expense of <a href="https://xnet-x.net/en/trade-secrets-directive/">journalism, workers, and public safety.</a>
<p>Trade secrecy is harmful to the public interest, and one of the
supposed purposes of the patent system is to discourage trade secrecy.
<p>How about discouraging it by not adopting laws to facilitate it?


feed_id: 072a0d150dada28438842f602ac2bcb8
title: Privacy of reading on the internet
uri: Privacy-of-reading-on-the-internet
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#09_November_2015_%28Privacy_of_reading_on_the_internet%29

content:
<p>The UK's threat to the privacy of reading on the internet is <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/nov/08/theresa-may-proposals-privacy-reading-draft-investigatory-powers-bill">extremely dangerous.</a>
<p>So is the surveillance exercised by snooping web sites.  <a href="http://gnu.org/philosophy/surveillance-vs-democracy.html
">We must put an end to all of it.</a>


feed_id: 024ecb24ba035078c1f94f78b4313ae2
title: Thugs face murder charges
uri: Thugs-face-murder-charges
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#09_November_2015_%28Thugs_face_murder_charges%29
content:
<p>The thugs that killed 6-year-old Jeremy Mardis face charges of <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/nov/07/louisiana-officers-boy-shooting">second-degree murder.</a>
<p>They should be prosecuted also for their false accusations.


feed_id: a20b107b9c31a1c6811e422b4a31915c
title: Sell out to fracking
uri: Sell-out-to-fracking
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#09_November_2015_%28Sell_out_to_fracking%29
content:
<p>Denmark's government wanted to sell out to fracking, <a href="http://www.commondreams.org/views/2015/11/07/danish-anti-fracking-success-makes-case-constructive-resistance">but the people organized and blocked it.</a>


feed_id: c9b83aafad383599d4467f2404eb98ad
title: Democratic Socialism
uri: Democratic-Socialism
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#09_November_2015_%28Democratic_Socialism%29
content:
<p><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/views/2015/11/02/democratic-socialism-has-deep-roots-american-life">Many famous Americans</a> do or did support Democratic Socialism.


feed_id: cd76713a66a26363e15e04edbe2fb781
title: Unions reducing inequality
uri: Unions-reducing-inequality
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#09_November_2015_%28Unions_reducing_inequality%29
content:
<p>Unions are very effective at reducing inequality and preventing dooH niboR laws, <a href="http://www.commondreams.org/views/2015/11/02/how-unions-fight-inequality-and-strengthen-democracy">according to an IMF study.</a>


feed_id: 74c92f2b63b0c43c6794cf062852adf4
title: Proposed oil export terminals
uri: Proposed-oil-export-terminals
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#09_November_2015_%28Proposed_oil_export_terminals%29

content:
<p>The summary of public comments about the proposed oil export terminals in Washington State <a href="http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2015/11/02/comments-critical-crude-rail-left-out-environmental-review">mysteriously omits some comments that indicated dangers.</a>


feed_id: 903ec0c621a9fac5b0e3025a81fb774e
title: Shot dead while lying wounded
uri: Shot-dead-while-lying-wounded
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#09_November_2015_%28Shot_dead_while_lying_wounded%29

content:
<p>Mahdi Mohammad Ramadan al-Mohtasib was shot dead by an Israeli soldier <a href="http://www.imemc.org/article/73645">as he lay on the ground, already shot and wounded.</a>


feed_id: a2239b40a47790c129fdddb2325c86f6
title: Bedouin village of al-Araqib
uri: Bedouin-village-of-al-Araqib
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#09_November_2015_%28Bedouin_village_of_al-Araqib%29
content:
<p>Israeli bulldozers have knocked down the Bedouin village of al-Araqib <a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/10/israel-razes-palestinian-village-negev-90th-time-151028121644298.html">90 times in just 5 years.</a>
<p>Each time, the villagers return and rebuild.


feed_id: 1261976e2d7ddfdfd53723a395ecfa7b
title: The 'Ferguson Effect'
uri: The-Ferguson-Effect
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#09_November_2015_%28The_%27Ferguson_Effect%27%29
content:
<p>The 'Ferguson Effect' Is Just <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/nov/05/ferguson-effect-ploy-reduce-scrutiny-police">a Ploy to Reduce Scrutiny of the Police.</a>


feed_id: b7e0e2231696e348f1aaeba6f10a1c13
title: Myths about the "Free market"
uri: Myths-about-the-Free-market
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#09_November_2015_%28Myths_about_the_Free_market%29
content:
<p>Six myths about the <a href="http://www.commondreams.org/views/2015/11/05/busting-six-free-market-fictions">"free market".</a>
<p>The market system is a useful tool, but if all you have is a market
system, everything starts to look like it's for sale.


feed_id: eccddbdee2d3dbe45b7b3b7b30859758
title: Secret imprisoning by Assad
uri: Secret-imprisoning-by-Assad
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#09_November_2015_%28Secret_imprisoning_by_Assad%29
content:
<p>Amnesty accuses Assad's regime of <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/05/amnesty-damns-syrian-regime-over-thousands-of-enforced-disappearances">secretly imprisoning 60,000 people.</a>  Some were tortured.
<p>Their relatives can't get any information about them, except underground.


feed_id: d16ad5a56878ffcb3ad43bb52c3e1412
title: Restrain spies with total access
uri: Restrain-spies-with-total-access
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#09_November_2015_%28Restrain_spies_with_total_access%29

content:
<p>You can't trust judges to <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/nov/04/surveillance-bill-state-security-snoopers-charter">effectively restrain</a> spies equipped with total access.
<p>The experience with the <a href="https://www.stallman.org/archives/2013-may-aug.html#15_July_2013_(FISA_court_rubber-stamps_massive_surveillance)">FISA court</a> shows this is true in the US as well.


feed_id: 7aefe9a0efb9ab0bb0e530e620f19156
title: "Voluntary self-regulation"
uri: Voluntary-self-regulation
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#09_November_2015_%28Voluntary_self-regulation%29
content:
<p>As states bind themselves by treaty not to regulate businesses, they
are left with no tools except to ask them to "voluntarily
self-regulate".  And this method usually fails, because businesses
don't really carry out the self-regulation.
<p>"Governments are liberating global corporations from the rule of law and
leaving them to <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/nov/03/financial-crisis-corporate-power-george-monbiot
">rip the world apart.</a>"


feed_id: bb64adc4ccb5eb37855d0dc8e52d5e9a
title: Snooping agencies' contacts for complaints
uri: Snooping-agencies-contacts-for-complaints
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#09_November_2015_%28Snooping_agencies%27_contacts_for_complaints%29

content:
<p>US snooping agencies were ordered to set up contacts for complaints, <a href="https://theintercept.com/2015/11/04/rights-groups-call-on-u-s-agencies-to-appoint-human-rights-contact/">but they have ignored the order for 17 years.</a>


feed_id: 6a47fbb6697ea5af7c989d747a7d2ee3
title: Curb global heating
uri: Curb-global-heating
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#09_November_2015_%28Curb_global_heating%29
content:
<p>Canadians are already campaigning to press the new prime minister <a href="http://www.commondreams.org/news/2015/11/05/canadians-greet-trudeau-demand-walk-your-talk-climate-change">to take real action to curb global heating.</a>
<p>I wish they would replace the term "climate change", imposed by
Dubya's officials because it downplays the danger, with <a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2014-may-aug.html#16_June_2014_(Destroyed_by_global_heating)">one that does justice to the importance of the issue.</a>


feed_id: c39fad3a9b861be3041eadedbf2655e5
title: Impunity of thugs
uri: 2015-11-10-Impunity-of-thugs
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#09_November_2015_%28Impunity_of_thugs%29
content:
<p>The impunity of thugs in the US goes to absurd lengths: a thug who shot a tased man who was lying on the ground face down was <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/nov/05/pennsylvania-officer-acquitted-murder-david-kassick">acquitted</a> because she said she was afraid of him.
<p>Even if he had had pulled a gun, and shot, he was not likely to hit her
under those circumstances.
<p>Next time, a thug will say, "Yes, he was sitting on the ground with his hands
in the air, but I was afraid he would think deadly thoughts and kill
me with telepathy."  And get acquitted.
<p>US thugs kill so many people because they have been taught to kill
whenever they see even a shadow of a shade of a threat.  We have to
change that training and that attitude.  There are other countries
that teach a <a href="https://www.stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#13_August_2015_(Armed_thugs_in_the_US)">different approach.</a>


feed_id: bcaadbdbf648d558b169a73fa2068d9c
title: MSF hospital bombed
uri: 2015-11-10-MSF-hospital-bombed
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#9_November_2015_%28MSF_hospital_bombed%29
content:
<p>One day before the US bombed the MSF hospital in Kunduz, a US official
asked if any Taliban were "holed up" there.  The MSF said 
<a href="https://theintercept.com/2015/11/05/day-before-deadly-bombing-u-s-official-asked-if-any-taliban-were-holed-up-at-msf-hospital/">
that the only
Taliban there were disarmed patients</a>
 being treated.
<p>The MSF in Kunduz called their US army contact about the attack,
but the attack continued <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/05/msf-hospital-bombing-afghanistan-no-armed-men-taliban
">for 45 more minutes.</a>
<p>MSF reminds the US that <a href="http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2015/11/05/msf-releases-internal-review-kunduz-hospital-attack">wounded patients in a hospital are not legitimate military targets.</a>


feed_id: 9b8c55b91c5715945267386276ea7cdf
title: Urgent: Oppose building oil terminals
uri: Urgent-Oppose-building-oil-terminals
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#10_November_2015_%28Urgent%3A_Oppose_building_oil_terminals%29

content:
<p>
US citizens: 
<a href="https://secure.earthjustice.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=1793">oppose
building oil terminals</a> in Washington State.
<p>
I used this as my text.
<blockquote>
The Keystone XL pipeline has been cancelled.  Please don't allow it to
be replaced with oil trains to Washington State.  We need to keep the
tar sands oil in the ground, to avoid toxic spills and disastrous
global heating.  Oil trains will also cause fires repeatedly.
</blockquote>


feed_id: d1d1d3449b5818cfb128c97084fd4b90
title: Urgent: Protect marine mammals
uri: 2015-11-10-Urgent-Protect-marine-mammals
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#10_November_2015_%28Urgent%3A_Protect_marine_mammals%29

content:
<p>
US citizens: 
<a href="https://secure.nrdconline.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=3899">protect
marine mammals</a>.


feed_id: a39c99827a8b5bd04ebb7d70f6da324f
title: Urgent: Defeat the TPP
uri: Urgent-Defeat-the-TPP
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#10_November_2015_%28Urgent%3A_Defeat_the_TPP%29
content:
<p>
US citizens: 
<a href="https://secure.foodandwaterwatch.org/site/Advocacy?pagename=homepage&page=UserAction&id=2281">call
on Congress</a> to defeat the TPP.
<p>
In the text of the letter, I replaced "Trans-Pacific Partnership" with
"TPP", and added "This is a partnership of corporations to attack
democracy, with some secondary and unimportant effects on trade."


feed_id: 6a3032bfe75424d0dcb3ba269efd29f0
title: SCROTUS delaying appointment of ambassadors
uri: SCROTUS-delaying-appointment-of-ambassadors
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#10_November_2015_%28SCROTUS_delaying_appointment_of_ambassadors%29

content:
<p>
SCROTUS are 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/nov/09/us-ambassadors-in-diplomatic-limbo-as-they-wait-for-senate-aprroval">delaying
the appointment of 32 US ambassadors</a>, as a harassment technique.


feed_id: df2bd4bd4d3d15cbf0754952951af4cd
title: Safety for pedestrians in Mexico
uri: Safety-for-pedestrians-in-Mexico
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#10_November_2015_%28Safety_for_pedestrians_in_Mexico%29

content:
<p>
Mexican real-life "superhero" Peatónito 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/cities/2015/nov/09/unmasked-mexico-city-superhero-wrestling-pedestrian-rights">campaigns
for safety for pedestrians</a>.


feed_id: 9d30368ee5127ce4f8fc824202e248b7
title: The Crotch Brother fights spread of solar power
uri: The-Crotch-Brother-fights-spread-of-solar-power
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#10_November_2015_%28The_Crotch_Brother_fights_spread_of_solar_power%29

content:
<p>
A deceptive campaign in Florida to check the spread of home solar
power just got a boost from a 
<a href="http://www.prwatch.org/news/2015/11/12971/solar-fight-florida-heats-mysterious-donor">secret
donor</a>.
<p>
Since we don't know who the donor is, we can make up a fictional
name for him without lying.  We could call him "John Doe", or "The
Crotch Brother".


feed_id: 339d23c15e5d3b573264902667f2d320
title: Football players on strike
uri: Football-players-on-strike
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#10_November_2015_%28Football_players_on_strike%29
content:
<p>
Black football players at the University of Missouri have gone on
strike 
<a href="http://www.thenation.com/article/black-mizzou-football-players-are-going-on-strike-over-campus-racism/">demanding
the resignation of the university president</a>, who has not done much
against racism on campus.
<p>
They are powerful because they bring in a lot of money to the school,
and they are trying to use this to do some good.  Bravo for them, but
I think it is a shame that many Americans are obsessed with the
artificial struggle of football and thus distracted from the real
struggle against the plutocrats.
<p>
The strike is getting 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/nov/09/missouri-university-black-players-protest-support-grows">support
from others on campus</a>, and the president 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/nov/09/university-of-missouri-president-resigns-tim-wolfe-racial-intolerance">has
resigned</a>.


feed_id: e1f44c43dbd5d063f610c35a11c5fa01
title: Haiti's presidential election
uri: Haiti-s-presidential-election
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#10_November_2015_%28Haitis_presidential_election%29
content:
<p>
One of Haiti's presidential candidates, who came in second in the
first round of voting, says the election was 
<a href="http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/haiti/article43531653.html">rigged
by Martelly</a>.


feed_id: 1bcec458e76b81639e055ea9e7429e2e
title: UK surveillance bill
uri: 2015-11-10-UK-surveillance-bill
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#10_November_2015_%28UK_surveillance_bill%29
content:
<p>
The UK's surveillance bill threatens investigative journalism 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/nov/06/surveillance-bill-threatens-investigative-journalism">by
putting sources in danger</a>.
<p>
Here's a 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/08/may-court-case-police-use-anti-terror-laws">case
in point</a>.
<p>
Another bill would attack journalism on another front, by 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/nov/09/government-foi-review-pa-freedom-of-information-act">hampering
freedom of information access</a>.


feed_id: 12478749d367203971d9297633ae805d
title: Dubya
uri: 2015-11-10-Dubya
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#10_November_2015_%28Dubya%29
content:
<p>
Donald Trump dares to point out that Dubya 
<a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/10/did-george-w-bush-do-all-he-could-to-prevent-911/411175/">left
the US wide open to the September 2001 terrorist attacks</a>, even
cancelling precautions that Clinton had set up.
<p>
This was 
<a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2004-may-aug.html#31%20May%202004%20(Gore%20speech)">more
widely acknowledged 10 years ago than it is now</a>.
<p>
I will not take as certain that Dubya didn't do any worse things in
regard to the attack.  His official investigation of the attacks was
<a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2003-nov-feb.html#17%20November%202003%20(white%20house%20coverup)">weakened</a> 
and then 
<a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2003-nov-feb.html#30%20November%202003%20(Bush%20ties)">corrupted</a>.
<p>
I support the demand for a 
<a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2007-jul-oct.html#05%20September%202007%20(Urgent%20note:%20September%2011)">new
investigation</a>.


feed_id: 2fc529bf9b9b29607c95ca9e87947cca
title: Violence escalation in Hebron
uri: Violence-escalation-in-Hebron
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#9_November_2015_%28Violence_escalation_in_Hebron%29
content:
<p>
Israeli soldiers shot and killed an old Palestinian woman who was
driving a car in Hebron.  This 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/06/three-israelis-wounded-as-violence-in-hebron-escalates">seems</a> 
to have provoked retaliation on various occasions.</p>


feed_id: 74e23d71526b923436a53d8a5daa13eb
title: Netanyahu spokesman calls Iran deal 'antisemitism'
uri: 2015-11-10-Netanyahu-spokesman-calls-Iran-deal-antisemitism
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#8_November_2015_%28Netanyahu_spokesman_calls_Iran_deal_%27antisemitism%27%29

content:
<p>Netanyahu's new spokesman called the Iran nuclear deal 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/nov/06/us-angry-comments-obama-israeli-pm-spokesman">
"antisemitism."</a>
</p>
<p>This is part of Israel's persistent dishonest campaign of labeling
anything but blanket support for Israeli policy as "antisemitism".</p>


feed_id: ea67eeb7acf0f64511107472bd138618
title: Exxon investigated by New York State
uri: 2015-11-10-Exxon-investigated-by-New-York-State
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#8_November_2015_%28Exxon_investigated_by_New_York_State%29

content:
<p>New York State is 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/nov/05/exxonmobil-investigation-climate-change-peabody">
investigating</a>
 Exxon's climate lies.
</p>


feed_id: 1ca1332f3228ba9e3badb105651cb2f3
title: Burmese constitution rigged
uri: Burmese-constitution-rigged
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#10_November_2015_%28Burmese_constitution_rigged%29
content:
<p>
The National League for Democracy won the election for parliament in
Burma, but 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/09/myanmar-election-result-military-aung-san-suu-kyi-govern-analysis">the
constitution has been rigged</a> so as to limit its political power.


feed_id: 8e93c1d11884248a339005bc566cd923
title: Protecting US teens from radicalization
uri: Protecting-US-teens-from-radicalization
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#10_November_2015_%28Protecting_US_teens_from_radicalization%29

content:
<p>
<a href="https://theintercept.com/2015/11/09/how-to-avoid-the-british-school-radicalization-screening-disaster-in-the-united-states/">Suggesting
a way</a> to protect US teens from radicalization that won't backfire.


feed_id: 0610baf5ee055930302f30e856ec2a25
title: 1C of global heating reached
uri: 1C-of-global-heating-reached
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#10_November_2015_%281C_of_global_heating_reached%29
content:
<p>
Global heating has reached 1C, and is 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/nov/09/worlds-climate-about-to-enter-uncharted-territory-as-it-passes-1c-of-warming">still
accelerating</a>.


feed_id: ff90c84398a80858a2f7f4384ab977ac
title: Poor people's children disposable to plutocrats
uri: Poor-people-s-children-disposable-to-plutocrats
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#10_November_2015_%28Poor_peoples_children_disposable_to_plutocrats%29

content:
<p>
For plutocratist politicians, poor people's children are 
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/views/2015/11/09/disposable-children">disposable</a>:
just blame all the consequences of poverty on their parents.


feed_id: 0249194ffcbf81d08e8cbf5636901084
title: Urgent: Keep fossil fuel in the ground
uri: Urgent-Keep-fossil-fuel-in-the-ground
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#10_November_2015_%28Urgent%3A_Keep_fossil_fuel_in_the_ground%29

content:
<p>
US citizens: 
<a href="https://stallman.org/petitions/petition-fuel/">call on
Obama</a> to keep fossil fuels in the ground.


feed_id: 851cfbfc454b12f1fb934692a62afe5e
title: Obama offers to meet Netanyahu
uri: Obama-offers-to-meet-Netanyahu
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#10_November_2015_%28Obama_offers_to_meet_Netanyahu%29

content:
<p>
Obama 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/09/netanyahu-obama-washington-israel-military-aid-iran">offered
Netanyahu a meeting</a>, and used it to show he will do nothing to
pressure Netanyahu to end the 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/09/obama-netanyahu-us-visit-military-aid-israel">perpetual
occupation of Palestine</a>.
<p>
Netanyahu will continue the occupation until he faces enough pressure
to make him change.  If I were president of the US, I would tell
Netanyahu that Israel will get US aid for one purpose only: building
replacements in Israel for the colonies in Palestine, and demolishing
those colonies.


feed_id: 6f191dc810371da38d46f513e04a17ed
title: Enslaved migrants on palm oil plantations
uri: Enslaved-migrants-on-palm-oil-plantations
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#10_November_2015_%28Enslaved_migrants_on_palm_oil_plantations%29

content:
<p>
"Palm oil: why do we care more about orangutans than 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2015/nov/09/palm-oil-migrant-workers-orangutans-malaysia-labour-rights-exploitation-environmental-impacts">migrant
workers</a>?"
<p>
It's simple.  An individual migrant worker has more rights than an
individual orangutan; but orangutans are an endangered species
while humans are reproducing like weeds.
<p>
However, that question is purely theoretical; there is no practical
reason to compare the two, because it's easiest to protect them both.
Anything we do to prevent the enslavement of migrant workers on
palm oil plantations will protect the orangutans, by discouraging the
spread of palm oil plantations.


feed_id: df216e6f599c863f8834e9800017445e
title: Thais accused of "insulting" royals dead
uri: Thais-accused-of-insulting-royals-dead
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#10_November_2015_%28Thais_accused_of_insulting_royals_dead%29

content:
<p>
Two Thais accused of criticizing the royal family have 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/09/thai-fortune-teller-mor-yong-held-under-royal-defamation-law-found-dead">died
in prison</a>.
<p>
Merely accusing them of this "crime" is an injustice.


feed_id: 92e16de7ce7a9e52c4248348ed4e2ee0
title: Corrupt US state legislators
uri: Corrupt-US-state-legislators
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#10_November_2015_%28Corrupt_US_state_legislators%29
content:
<p>
Corruption is 
<a href="http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2015/11/cpi-corruption-index-integrity-states">common</a>
in US state legislators.


feed_id: 6b288deca8a7b90d7f30c4bb764812ab
title: Storm and drought in Europe
uri: Storm-and-drought-in-Europe
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#10_November_2015_%28Storm_and_drought_in_Europe%29
content:
<p>
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/09/storm-and-drought-what-europe-has-to-fear-from-climate-change">Storm
And Drought</a>: What Europe Has to Fear from [global heating].


feed_id: cdf9a4ad9aa999bfa6790dbb80b36430
title: NSA's use of operating system bugs
uri: NSA-s-use-of-operating-system-bugs
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#10_November_2015_%28NSAs_use_of_operating_system_bugs%29

content:
<p>
The NSA reports most of the bugs it finds in operating systems,
but only 
<a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/11/07/us-cybersecurity-nsa-flaws-insight-idUSKCN0SV2XQ20151107">after
a delay while it uses them to attack computers</a>.


feed_id: 056f051d0bc275c8d75cb43d5d7b1482
title: Journalist charged with publishing news
uri: Journalist-charged-with-publishing-news
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#10_November_2015_%28Journalist_charged_with_publishing_news%29

content:
<p>
Hossam Bahgat, Egyptian journalist and human rights activist, has been
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/09/egyptian-journalist-hossam-bahgat-charged-military-prosecutor">charged
with "publishing false news"</a>.
<p>
"False news", in Egypt, means anything that doesn't come from the
state.


feed_id: 9a7eb5110c242f2327f5e0ec02b1094a
title: Yemeni children's game called airstrike
uri: Yemeni-children-s-game-called-airstrike
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#10_November_2015_%28Yemeni_childrens_game_called_airstrike%29

content:
<p>
Yemen: 'The children have a game called airstrike in which they 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/2015/nov/09/yemen-the-children-have-a-game-called-airstrike-in-which-they-fall-to-the-ground">fall
to the ground</a>'.
<p>
How long before they start playing "suicide bomber"?


feed_id: 60c1ae8edb2c37d3f10b55d544c2c2b9
title: Rejection of Keystone XL
uri: Rejection-of-Keystone-XL
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#10_November_2015_%28Rejection_of_Keystone_XL%29
content:
<p>
Obama reportedly decided 2 years ago to reject Keystone XL, but 
<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2015/11/06/obama-set-to-reject-keystone-xl-project-citing-climate-concerns/">waited
for a "politically opportune time" to announce it</a>.
<p>
Curbing global heating is a battle against time.  If he had rejected
Keystone XL earlier, the rejection would have boosted our side
sooner.


feed_id: 50420a15e6cb4a5a4542ae38f454c903
title: Urgent: close gun sale loopholes
uri: 2015-11-11-Urgent-close-gun-sale-loopholes
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#09_November_2015_%28Urgent%3A_close_gun_sale_loopholes%29

content:
<p>US citizens: call on Obama to use executive orders <a href="https://act.credoaction.com/sign/Obama_Gun_Actions">to close some gun sale loopholes.</a>


feed_id: d59f4e31688640433dc62b641c440e23
title: Urgent: don't include fracking in climate "solution"
uri: 2015-11-11-Urgent-don-t-include-fracking-in-climate-solution
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#09_November_2015_%28Urgent%3A_don%27t_include_fracking_in_climate_solution%29

content:
<p>US citizens: call on officials <a href="https://secure.foodandwaterwatch.org/site/Advocacy?pagename=homepage&page=UserAction&id=2403">not to include fracking in any climate "solution".</a>


feed_id: 3d412790cdfe5178de8c98e24b3c1a4f
title: Netanyahu never supported a Palestinian state
uri: Netanyahu-never-supported-a-Palestinian-state
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#12_November_2015_%28Netanyahu_never_supported_a_Palestinian_state%29

content:
<p>Netanyahu Has Never Actually Supported a Palestinian State, <a href="https://theintercept.com/2015/11/09/netanyahu-has-never-actually-supported-a-palestinian-state-despite-what-he-told-obama/">Despite What He Told Obama.</a>


feed_id: 283fb1acec9b8b3fbb3145e9ec5b1aee
title: Saudi Arabia emptied its aquifer
uri: Saudi-Arabia-emptied-its-aquifer
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#12_November_2015_%28Saudi_Arabia_emptied_its_aquifer%29

content:
<p>Saudi Arabia emptied its aquifer for agriculture; now all its wells are dry and it has no more agriculture.  <a href="http://www.motherjones.com/tom-philpott/2015/11/california-saudi-arabia-fruits-and-vegetables">California is following the same path.</a>


feed_id: 8862c4d5ed2d66d0bfd4c3af2eda1637
title: Fraternity Sues Rolling Stone
uri: Fraternity-Sues-Rolling-Stone
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#12_November_2015_%28Fraternity_Sues_Rolling_Stone%29

content:
<p>UVA Fraternity Sues Rolling Stone for $25m over <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/nov/09/university-of-virginia-fraternity-sues-rolling-stone-rape-article">Retracted Rape Article.</a>


feed_id: 40329c83a2fe02e91266e96f39c666f1
title: Speed eviction of families
uri: Speed-eviction-of-families
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#12_November_2015_%28Speed_eviction_of_families%29
content:
<p>Europe's banksters demand Greece <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/nov/09/greece-told-to-do-more-on-reforms-before-it-gets-next-bailout-payment">speed eviction of families that can't pay their mortgages,</a> or its creditors won't get the next next batch aid.
<p>It's a mistake to call these payments "aid", if that means aid for Greece.


feed_id: dc0d24167620c45fda846a8335f1cea5
title: Sex crimes common among US thugs
uri: Sex-crimes-common-among-US-thugs
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#12_November_2015_%28Sex_crimes_common_among_US_thugs%29

content:
<p>
Sex crimes are 
<a href="https://reason.com/blog/2015/11/03/sex-crimes-common-from-us-police">common
among thugs in the US</a>.


feed_id: 0261e1068939f6b3af7a09192b46d727
title: Door to KGB building set on fire
uri: Door-to-KGB-building-set-on-fire
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#12_November_2015_%28Door_to_KGB_building_set_on_fire%29

content:
<p>
A Russian performance artist set fire to the door of the building used
by what was formerly called the KGB, to point out that it's 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/jonathanjonesblog/2015/nov/09/pyotr-pavlensky-is-setting-russias-evil-history-ablaze">still
there and still dangerous</a>.
<p>
The author understates the danger from UK spy organizations.  What
they threaten to do, when they violate privacy, is 
<a href="http://gnu.org/philosophy/surveillance-vs-democracy.html">imprison
journalists' sources and thus endanger democracy</a>.  Even if they
don't torture people like Russian and 
<a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#15_July_2015_(Secrets_of_the_torturers)">US
spy organizations</a>, that is still a terrible threat.  Besides, the
UK spy organizations <em>did</em> 
<a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#11_July_2015_(How_the_UK_handed_dissidents_to_Ghadhafi)">hand
over people to Qadhafi for torture</a>.


feed_id: 704a0c153d2c0487897b5a57d9689bef
title: The Divisive Manipulator Who Charmed the World
uri: The-Divisive-Manipulator-Who-Charmed-the-World
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#12_November_2015_%28The_Divisive_Manipulator_Who_Charmed_the_World%29

content:
<p>
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/09/narendra-modi-the-divisive-manipulator-who-charmed-the-world">Narendra
Modi</a>: the Divisive Manipulator Who Charmed the World.


feed_id: 45057ed158b1059798bbc8fa66edb4b5
title: Employees of HK publisher disappear
uri: Employees-of-HK-publisher-disappear
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#12_November_2015_%28Employees_of_HK_publisher_disappear%29

content:
<p>
Four employees of a Hong Kong publisher have 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/09/hong-kong-publishers-gui-haiming-lu-bo-zhang-zhiping-lin-rongji-missing-china">disappeared</a>,
separately.  This is apparently the work of Chinese agents, perhaps
with the help of Thailand.


feed_id: da4f7328ad6655b815db97771f296760
title: UK's surveillance bill
uri: UK-s-surveillance-bill
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#12_November_2015_%28UKs_surveillance_bill%29
content:
<p>
The UK's surveillance bill would give the state the 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/nov/09/tech-firms-snoopers-charter-end-strong-encryption-britain-ip-bill">power
to order companies to sabotage end-to-end encryption facilities that
they provide to users</a>.
<p>
This is one more reason why you shouldn't trust a nonfree program for
encryption, on top of many other reasons.  Basically, nonfree programs
cannot deserve your trust; they do computing for suckers.


feed_id: 65917bdd961ca7e3ffe1ce9f35bd617b
title: Wasted development aid money
uri: Wasted-development-aid-money
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#12_November_2015_%28Wasted_development_aid_money%29
content:
<p>
Development aid money is mostly wasted since 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/2015/nov/09/five-reasons-donors-give-for-not-funding-local-ngos-directly">only
a tiny fraction goes to the local organizations that actually do
work</a>.


feed_id: 6f0d195054e5197fc3dfcd5458a85976
title: Politicians' excuse for inequality and surveillance
uri: Politicians-excuse-for-inequality-and-surveillance
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#12_November_2015_%28Politicians_excuse_for_inequality_and_surveillance%29

content:
<p>
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/views/2015/11/09/digital-dog-ate-our-civil-liberties-homework-its-just-way-it">Blaming
inequality and massive surveillance on digital technology</a> is a
handy excuse for politicians that want to increase inequality and
surveillance.


feed_id: b5006bd3f9c55644b70cbfb433c0c14f
title: Pollution in Ogoniland
uri: Pollution-in-Ogoniland
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#12_November_2015_%28Pollution_in_Ogoniland%29
content:
<p>
Pollution in Ogoniland is just 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2015/nov/09/anger-environmental-in-oil-rich-polluted-niger-delta-ogoniland-ken-saro-wiwa">as
bad now as it was 20 years ago</a> when Nigeria executed protest
leaders.


feed_id: 0d276914f9d5002f34f6626eb43cacb1
title: Urgent: Israel-Palestine conflict
uri: Urgent-Israel-Palestine-conflict
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#12_November_2015_%28Urgent%3A_Israel-Palestine_conflict%29

content:
<p>US citizens: ask congresscritters to sign the <a href="http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/stand-with-ellison-affirm?source=c.url&r_by=1135580">Ellison-Yarmuth-Dingell letter</a> calling for a political resolution to the Israel-Palestine conflict.


feed_id: 87b0f228b0b60e6fe374f8ac6993316b
title: Urgent: FDA nomination
uri: Urgent-FDA-nomination
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#12_November_2015_%28Urgent%3A_FDA_nomination%29
content:
<p>US citizens: phone your senators to oppose Obama's nomination of <a href="http://act.credoaction.com/call/senate_help_fda_calls/?t=1002&akid=16082.1183552._Fc0CX">Robert Califf</a> to head the Food and Drug Administration.
<p>He is too much in bed with the pharma companies to regulate them properly, and we must suspect he wouldn't want to try.


feed_id: 9b1b110620759166ef9cd99cce87305a
title: Urgent: don't move Guantanamo to the US
uri: Urgent-don-t-move-Guantanamo-to-the-US
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#12_November_2015_%28Urgent%3A_don%27t_move_Guantanamo_to_the_US%29

content:
<p>US citizens: <a href="https://theintercept.com/2015/11/10/congress-overwhelmingly-votes-to-block-guantanamo-closure/
">Phone your congresscritter</a> and say, don't move Guantanamo
prison to the US.  Each prisoner should be tried in a civilian US
court, or freed.
<p>The Capitol Switchboard numbers are 202-224-3121, 888-818-6641 and 888-355-3588.


feed_id: 4762edcd3b5fc050d3ad3f8f03c52a34
title: Urgent: support the SAVE Benefits Act
uri: Urgent-support-the-SAVE-Benefits-Act
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#12_November_2015_%28Urgent%3A_support_the_SAVE_Benefits_Act%29

content:
<p>US citizens: call on members of Congress to support the <a href="http://act.democracyforamerica.com/sign/Cosponsor_SAVE_Benefits/?t=1001&akid=6920.1906019.bvL6ef">SAVE Benefits Act.</a>


feed_id: e7e49953afee67f9a41b9b4da6e0d26f
title: Urgent: methane pollution
uri: Urgent-methane-pollution
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#12_November_2015_%28Urgent%3A_methane_pollution%29
content:
<p>US citizens: <a href="http://new.leftaction.com/action/fracking-pollution">call on the EPA</a> to take strong action against methane pollution.


feed_id: 17b0b00ad2348268f498120bcc4a4383
title: Urgent: reject the TPP
uri: Urgent-reject-the-TPP
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#12_November_2015_%28Urgent%3A_reject_the_TPP%29
content:
<p>US citizens: call on Congress to <a href="http://sierra.force.com/actions/National?actionId=AR0024837&id=70131000001Lk7nAAC&data=fd8f94e31cf95f47a6683df0d107f0a203ccec61076c
4c4aa2edcb88a8c2bd03d949870596c87b36a6cdfa82f3633567&utm_medium=email&utm_source=sierraclub&utm_campaign=internationalclimate
">reject the TPP.</a>


feed_id: 31f99705fec2d53cc2b561187c5339b4
title: Forced medication
uri: Forced-medication
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#12_November_2015_%28Forced_medication%29
content:
<p>A <a href="http://www.truth-out.org/opinion/item/33557-mental-health-bill-caters-to-big-pharma-and-would-expand-coercive-treatments
">mental health bill</a> now in the US Congress would lead to forced medication.


feed_id: b86611d463312fc1306c50db5c48d38d
title: Thugs' unofficial slowdown strike
uri: Thugs-unofficial-slowdown-strike
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#12_November_2015_%28Thugs%27_unofficial_slowdown_strike%29

content:
<p>When thugs say they are deterred from doing their job by the danger citizens' videos will reveal their unjust violence, it amounts to <a href="http://www.truth-out.org/opinion/item/33539-fbi-director-blames-viral-videos-for-police-slowdown">threatening an unofficial slowdown strike</a> to demand restored impunity.


feed_id: 6a60f8b4e35e905c61dfa3293008a6ab
title: UK Snooper's Charter
uri: UK-Snooper-s-Charter
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#12_November_2015_%28UK_Snooper%27s_Charter%29
content:
<p>Where the <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/nov/10/frankie-boyle-theresa-may-internet-surveillance">UK Snooper's Charter</a> is leading.


feed_id: 44a4f85e850f70927b3f3c1a0bca0c7e
title: Facebook app scanning photos
uri: Facebook-app-scanning-photos
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#12_November_2015_%28Facebook_app_scanning_photos%29
content:
<p>Facebook's app has started <a href="http://www.theregister.co.uk/2015/11/10/facebook_scans_camera_for_your_friends/">scanning photos</a> people take with their phones.
<p>The article says "camera", but that word is misleading; cameras do not
have a Facebook app installed in them.  This applies only to phones and 
tablets.
<p>I suspect the face recognition is done by sending the photos to a
Facebook server.  If so, the server could do other things with those
photos.  It could save them and send them to Big Brother.  From now on,
when people want to snap me with a mobile, I will verify it does not
have a Facebook app installed before I say yes.


feed_id: bc11a93e811e6722a1bfa06af6ff647c
title: House Anti-Science Committee
uri: House-Anti-Science-Committee
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#12_November_2015_%28House_Anti-Science_Committee%29
content:
<p>House Anti-Science Committee Attempts to Suppress <a href="http://www.onearth.org/earthwire/house-science-committee-climate-denial
">Climate Change Studies.</a>
<p>One way to fight back is by replacing the weak term that the denialists chose, "climate change", with something stronger such as "global heating" or "climate mayhem".


feed_id: e10c49bd91e3dc8063badbf11d28cfdb
title: Linking as violation of copyright
uri: Linking-as-violation-of-copyright
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#12_November_2015_%28Linking_as_violation_of_copyright%29

content:
<p>The EU is considering a law to declare linking to a page a <a href="https://juliareda.eu/2015/11/ancillary-copyright-2-0-the-european-commission-is-preparing-a-frontal-attack-on-the-hyperlink/">violation of copyright.</a>
<p>It is too bad that the article uses the enemy's propaganda word, <a href="http://gnu.org/philosophy/words-to-avoid.html#Protection
">"protection",</a> to refer to copyright.


feed_id: f39fb506d4df15d4fe9db97690c059b2
title: UK's attack on end-to-end encryption
uri: UK-s-attack-on-end-to-end-encryption
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#12_November_2015_%28UK%27s_attack_on_end-to-end_encryption%29

content:
<p>The UK's attack on end-to-end encryption is serious, and <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/nov/10/why-tech-companies-worried-snoopers-charter-whatsapp-imessage">its denials are clearly lies.</a>  It wants to force computer manufacturers and sellers to sabotage users' computers on demand to make their data decryptable.
<p>However, encryption done in proprietary software <a href="http://gnu.org/philosophy/free-software-even-more-important.html">can't be trusted anyway.</a>  Whether or not a state can force the company to sabotage it, the company might do so on its own initiative at any time.  You can't rationally trust nonfree programs: they do computing for suckers.
<p>When the author says "the services you and I use", apparently assuming
that you and he use software you and he can't rationally trust, he
says he's a sucker and he assumes you are too.


feed_id: 90da7df203197c9922c40d271b7daa4b
title: Blood shed for oil
uri: Blood-shed-for-oil
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#12_November_2015_%28Blood_shed_for_oil%29
content:
<p><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/10/nigeria-ken-saro-wiwa-20-years-niger-delta-crisis">Nigeria Must Own Up</a> to the Blood Shed for Oil.
<p>The officials responsible for the murder of Ogoni environmental activists
20 years ago have not been punished or even censured, and some remain
in positions of power today.


feed_id: 1722e525aeeed56b74ebb49d4903c6fb
title: European Court of Human Rights
uri: European-Court-of-Human-Rights
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#12_November_2015_%28European_Court_of_Human_Rights%29

content:
<p>The European Court of Human Rights ruled against freedom of speech
by <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/nov/10/dieudonne-holocaust-denial-not-protected-under-free-expression-laws">endorsing censorship of opinions and even views about history.</a>  Evidently it doesn't fully support human rights.  Respecting freedom of
speech means respecting the right to state views we oppose.
<p>Antisemitism is prejudice against a group of people which (in the
usual interpretation) includes me.  I disapprove of it, but I respect
people's right to state that opinion or any other.
<p>When a state mandates a specific position on a factual question, that
makes it impossible to discuss that question frankly in that country.


feed_id: 1e101c579729370f56c8d20138f574d5
title: Hossam Bahgat freed
uri: Hossam-Bahgat-freed
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#12_November_2015_%28Hossam_Bahgat_freed%29
content:
<p>Egyptian journalist Hossam Bahgat <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/10/egypt-frees-investigative-journalist-hossam-bahgat">has been freed.</a>
<p>The article does not indicate whether the charges, publishing something that displeased the state, have been dropped.


feed_id: ee99b4ca217a34a89da1adb79174a686
title: Jail for sexting
uri: Jail-for-sexting
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#12_November_2015_%28Jail_for_sexting%29
content:
<p>Teenagers are <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/nov/10/sexting-becoming-the-norm-for-teens-warn-child-protection-experts">threatened by laws</a> that could jail them for sexting or inviting others to sext them.
<p>I think it is unkind to pressure someone to sext, and I would not do
that, even though pressuring is not equivalent to forcing.  However,
it is simply wrong to punish adolescents for sexting, or anything else
sexual that they willingly do.  Sex is the normal preoccupation of
adolescents.


feed_id: 5b151fa9217a5aa31b7cc720bc26df23
title: Leprosy in India
uri: Leprosy-in-India
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#12_November_2015_%28Leprosy_in_India%29
content:
<p>Although leprosy is curable, people in India whose bodies show harm done by the disease face various sorts of <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2015/nov/10/people-leprosy-india-stigma-reinforced-cruel-colonial-law">discrimination and cruelty.</a>
<p>I am shocked by the point about "grounds for divorce".  Does India still require people present "grounds" if they want a divorce?
If so, the change that's needed here is to eliminate that requirement.


feed_id: 0eee5bd13a97a81da1fa1b1789e1ad85
title: Dual citizens convicted of terrorism
uri: Dual-citizens-convicted-of-terrorism
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#12_November_2015_%28Dual_citizens_convicted_of_terrorism%29

content:
<p><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2015/nov/10/law-to-strip-dual-nationals-of-australian-citizenship-set-to-pass-parliament">Australia will take citizenship away</a> from dual citizens convicted of terrorism crimes.
<p>At least it is limited to those actually convicted.  The previous proposal
would have allowed officials to do this without a trial.


feed_id: 05791a4d5770786c1c74007bc6e34766
title: Unauthorized immigrant children
uri: Unauthorized-immigrant-children
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#12_November_2015_%28Unauthorized_immigrant_children%29

content:
<p>A US appeals court <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/nov/10/court-again-blocks-obamas-plan-to-protect-some-undocumented-migrants">overturned Obama's executive order</a> against deporting certain unauthorized immigrant children.
<p>I don't want a large amount of immigration to the US, but people who were
brought as children and have spend many years in the US should be allowed
to become citizens.
<p>The right-wing concern about <a href="https://reason.com/archives/2015/11/07/anchor-babies-aweigh">"anchor babies"</a> is due to a fear that is not based on facts.


feed_id: 3da6ff1d9b527a1e584a744df89b7095
title: Rightwingers Push 'Moral' Coal
uri: Rightwingers-Push-Moral-Coal
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#12_November_2015_%28Rightwingers_Push_%27Moral%27_Coal%29

content:
<p>Rightwingers Push 'Moral' Coal Only After They Doomed a <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/nov/10/rightwingers-push-moral-coal-only-after-they-doomed-a-truly-moral-alternative">Truly Moral Alternative.</a>
<p>The fossil fuel magnates pay lots smart but selfish people to say all
sorts of bogus things in favor of using fossil fuels.  We will see through
them all, but will we do it soon enough to prevent disaster?


feed_id: 8833b3d1f0f5fbf6bbe308bc074f35e6
title: Violent thug received light sentence
uri: Violent-thug-received-light-sentence
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#12_November_2015_%28Violent_thug_received_light_sentence%29

content:
<p>The thug whose gratuitous violence seems to have caused the death of
Matthew Ajibade has received a light sentence <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/nov/09/matthew-ajibade-georgia-student-taser-officer-prison-weekends">including 15 weekends in jail.</a>
<p>Still, if every violent thug were sentenced this way, it might be enough
to deter their violence.


feed_id: b5a6614e3bc0a0276edf646a5eb6a428
title: 250,000 euro fine for Facebook
uri: 250-000-euro-fine-for-Facebook
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#12_November_2015_%28250%2C000_euro_fine_for_Facebook%29

content:
<p>A Belgian court will fine Facebook 250,000 euros per day unless it stops <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/11/09/us-facebook-belgium-idUSKCN0SY27220151109">tracking people that don't have Facebook accounts.</a>
<p>The issue is that Facebook sends some visitors cookies.  It is not
clear that the court realizes that Facebook also tracks people who
<a href="https://www.stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#20_September_2015_(Facebook_surveillance_data)">merely <em>see</em> a "Like" button.</a>


feed_id: aa20e9ae81f673c26db8808eafffcf11
title: Suing the World Bank
uri: Suing-the-World-Bank
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#12_November_2015_%28Suing_the_World_Bank%29
content:
<p><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2015/nov/10/fishermen-farmers-sue-world-bank-lending-arm-ifc-power-plant-india">Indian fishermen and farmers</a> are suing the World Bank for investing in
a giant coal-fired power plant where they live.  The World Bank says it can't
be sued in US courts.
<p>Investing in burning coal is planet-roasting behavior.  Young people,
who may well be killed by climate mayhem, have grounds to use force
to block the activities that threaten their lives.


feed_id: 444d62dd87fd1b9199b2f584a5686ca5
title: EU directive to limit trade in wildlife and toxic waste
uri: EU-directive-to-limit-trade-in-wildlife-and-toxic-waste
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#12_November_2015_%28EU_directive_to_limit_trade_in_wildlife_and_toxic_waste%29

content:
<p>The UK has <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/nov/10/eu-drops-proposed-law-to-tackle-illegal-trade-in-wildlife-and-toxic-waste">killed</a> an EU directive to limit trade in wildlife and toxic waste.


feed_id: 14a39d19234d94ada80ec7c1b918b6f7
title: Saudi boming accusation
uri: Saudi-boming-accusation
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#12_November_2015_%28Saudi_boming_accusation%29
content:
<p>The ICRC accused Saudi Arabia (backed by the US) of intentionally <a href="http://www.commondreams.org/news/2015/11/11/saudi-led-coalition-deliberately-targeting-hospitals-yemen-icrc">targeting hospitals in Yemen.</a>
</p><p></p>


feed_id: 9a86a2612eafc3802be791da538b2473
title: The resistance at University of Missouri
uri: The-resistance-at-University-of-Missouri
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#12_November_2015_%28The_resistance_at_University_of_Missouri%29

content:
<p>
The University of Missouri had started attacking women's rights and
was mistreating all its students.  Resistance was widespread, and the
black football players were 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/nov/10/racial-justice-advocates-university-of-missouri-won">joined
in resistance by a large fraction of the campus</a>.


feed_id: cb5526af3633350fd1ba66a32a88b1d7
title: Unlawful killings by Israeli forces
uri: Unlawful-killings-by-Israeli-forces
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#12_November_2015_%28Unlawful_killings_by_Israeli_forces%29

content:
<p>
Amnesty: Israeli Forces in Occupied Palestinian Territories 
<a href="https://www.amnesty.org/en/press-releases/2015/10/israeli-forces-must-end-pattern-of-unlawful-killings-in-west-bank/">Must
End Pattern of Unlawful Killings</a>.
<p>
Some of these Palestinians had attacked Israelis.  Others hadn't done
anything wrong.
<p>
Amnesty's point is that even when they had attacked someone with a
knife, that doesn't call for shooting them when it was possible to
arrest them, let alone for killing them by denying them medical care.


feed_id: dea3596b8638f9ae81bf0ab49409c656
title: Drug traffickers and palm-oil planters
uri: Drug-traffickers-and-palm-oil-planters
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#12_November_2015_%28Drug_traffickers_and_palm-oil_planters%29

content:
<p>
In Honduras, drug traffickers and palm-oil planters are 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/10/honduras-indians-land-seized-drug-gangs-settlers-un-official-says">working
together to take land from indigenous people and deforest it</a>.


feed_id: 79325d8493df59f61acec05873cf4fe5
title: Imprisonment without trial in the US
uri: 2015-11-13-Imprisonment-without-trial-in-the-US
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#12_November_2015_%28Imprisonment_without_trial_in_the_US%29

content:
<p>
Congress blocked Obama's plan to "close" the Guantanamo prison by
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/nov/10/senate-defense-budget-bill-bans-transfer-guantanamo-bay-prisoners-to-us">moving
imprisonment without trial to the US itself</a>.
<p>
Obama's plan might perhaps be a scheme to end imprisonment without
trial by supposing that the Supreme Court would grant them habias
corpus.  If so, it would be great provided it works — but with
our current authoritarian Supreme Court, I would not count on that.


feed_id: 3f8e00685e02456de9007d88332d0761
title: Maldive state of emergency
uri: Maldive-state-of-emergency
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#12_November_2015_%28Maldive_state_of_emergency%29
content:
<p>
The Maldive "president" has 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/10/maldives-revokes-state-of-emergency">cancelled
the state of emergency</a>.


feed_id: 2ad016ee95aa516d0b5bc8c6d9a81931
title: Australia's privatized refugee prison
uri: Australia-s-privatized-refugee-prison
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#12_November_2015_%28Australias_privatized_refugee_prison%29

content:
<p>
Australia imprisoned Iranian refugee Fazel Chegeni in the 
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/news/2015/11/09/detention-camp-uprising-highlights-australias-appalling-treatment-refugees">privatized
Christmas Island prison</a>, apparently forever.  He died trying to
escape, and the other prisoners responded by rioting and destroying
parts of their prison.
<p>
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2015/nov/10/christmas-island-detention-centre-under-control-after-riot-police-move-in">Thugs
moved in and regained control</a>, but it's not clear that's a good
thing.


feed_id: e44b1db69f66f8193da27416d65cba1a
title: The UK's Snooper's Charter
uri: The-UK-s-Snooper-s-Charter
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#12_November_2015_%28The_UKs_Snoopers_Charter%29
content:
<p>
The UK's Snooper's Charter 
<a href="http://boingboing.net/2015/11/10/uk-government-can-secretly-ord.html">imposes
a gagging requirement</a> on everyone ordered to snoop on people.
This is "the last policy discussion about surveillance before the mass
gagging."
<p>
"Note that this section is absolute: it does not have exceptions, for
example in relation to the public interest: such as the ability to
discuss the benefit or downsides of part interception activities; no
exception for talking about this to MPs, or other democratic
representatives; or even to exculpate anyone who otherwise would be
wrongfully found guilty."


feed_id: 726966e0492fcce0cc6dfad21697ee71
title: US thugs trained to shoot without thinking
uri: US-thugs-trained-to-shoot-without-thinking
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#12_November_2015_%28US_thugs_trained_to_shoot_without_thinking%29

content:
<p>
US thug departments train thugs in how to shoot, but not in how to
resolve a crisis without shooting.  And the training says to shoot
fast, 
<a href="http://www.thenation.com/article/are-we-training-cops-to-be-hyper-aggressive-warriors/">without
taking time to think</a>.  No wonder that's what they do.
<p>
Then the Supreme Court upholds an 
<a href="https://reason.com/blog/2015/11/09/justice-sotomayor-faults-scotus-for-sanc">extreme
level of immunity for them</a>, so they are almost certain to get away
with killings.


feed_id: 2ce82eae6ca37495a4db6216c75a0bf4
title: Prejudice against sex workers
uri: Prejudice-against-sex-workers
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#12_November_2015_%28Prejudice_against_sex_workers%29

content:
<p>
Moroccan actress Loubna Abidar played a sex worker in a film which
Morocco banned.  Then she was 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/nov/10/loubna-abidar-star-much-loved-morocco-sex-worker-film-flees-beating">attacked
by a mob on the street, and hospitals would not admit her</a>.  She
fled the country.
<p>
I blame these events on the prejudice against sex workers.  The film
made prejudiced Moroccans uncomfortable by showing that sex workers
exist there, so they took it out on her.
<p>
Many other laws reflect this prejudice, which I have never understood.


feed_id: 2e449416a3d5b4f36af6212935851fd7
title: Portuguese celebrate
uri: Portuguese-celebrate
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#12_November_2015_%28Portuguese_celebrate%29
content:
<p>Portuguese celebrate because an anti-austerity coalition <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/11/portugal-senses-a-chance-for-change-after-hated-government-is-ousted"> is going to take power</a>.
</p><p></p>


feed_id: df41411790344fa26756748a98ae621b
title: Urgent: Israel-Palestine conflict
uri: 2015-11-13-Urgent-Israel-Palestine-conflict
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#12_November_2015_%28Urgent%3A_Israel-Palestine_conflict%29

content:
<p>US citizens: ask congresscritters to sign the <a href="http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/stand-with-ellison-affirm">Ellison-Yarmuth-Dingell letter</a> calling for a political resolution to the Israel-Palestine conflict.


feed_id: 6ac27b7f92e36c84145f0ceb66feed26
title: Urgent: FDA nomination
uri: 2015-11-13-Urgent-FDA-nomination
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#12_November_2015_%28Urgent%3A_FDA_nomination%29
content:
<p>US citizens: phone your senators to oppose Obama's nomination of 
<a href="http://act.credoaction.com/call/senate_help_fda_calls/">Robert 
Califf</a> to head the Food and Drug Administration.
<p>He is too much in bed with the pharma companies to regulate them properly, and we must suspect he wouldn't want to try.


feed_id: 69181c4bbaaa62e57ffafc3feba42361
title: Urgent: support the SAVE Benefits Act
uri: 2015-11-13-Urgent-support-the-SAVE-Benefits-Act
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#12_November_2015_%28Urgent%3A_support_the_SAVE_Benefits_Act%29

content:
<p>US citizens: call on members of Congress to support the 
<a href="http://act.democracyforamerica.com/sign/Cosponsor_SAVE_Benefits/">SAVE
Benefits Act.</a>


feed_id: f3aba30acf8f84c1fcd01a8efcd4518b
title: Urgent: reject the TPP
uri: 2015-11-13-Urgent-reject-the-TPP
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#12_November_2015_%28Urgent%3A_reject_the_TPP%29
content:
<p>US citizens: call on Congress to 
<a href="http://sierra.force.com/actions/National?actionId=AR0024837">reject 
the TPP.</a>


feed_id: 4bfa5e02fb37aab47fb59e46275b9827
title: Forced medication
uri: 2015-11-13-Forced-medication
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#12_November_2015_%28Forced_medication%29
content:
<p>A 
<a href="http://www.truth-out.org/opinion/item/33557-mental-health-bill-caters-to-big-pharma-and-would-expand-coercive-treatments">mental 
health bill</a> now in the US Congress would lead to forced medication.


feed_id: 087eaa01ad4dfc6c400dcf82563c6f56
title: American applies for asylum in Canada
uri: American-applies-for-asylum-in-Canada
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#13_November_2015_%28American_applies_for_asylum_in_Canada%29

content:
<p>
Kyle Lydell Canty has applied for asylum in Canada 
<a href="
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/nov/11/its-so-dangerous-to-be-a-black-american-ive-sought-asylum-in-canada">because 
of racism in the US</a>.


feed_id: caec462a09ffae9bc5c89f852b48a463
title: Modi's Hindu-nationalist government
uri: Modi-s-Hindu-nationalist-government
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#13_November_2015_%28Modis_Hindu-nationalist_government%29

content:
<p>
Modi's Hindu-nationalist government 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/nov/11/narendra-modi-uk-visit-nationalist-violence-india">presides
over repeated lynchings</a> and attacks the pluralist basis of the
Indian state.


feed_id: 904549bfd8278b2e9017b4be7e1e7a1c
title: Legal Battles to Protect The Environment
uri: Legal-Battles-to-Protect-The-Environment
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#13_November_2015_%28Legal_Battles_to_Protect_The_Environment%29

content:
<p>
Legal Battles to Protect The Environment 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/nov/11/legal-battles-to-protect-the-environment-easier-to-fight-in-china-than-the-uk">'Easier
to Fight in China Than the UK'</a>.


feed_id: bf792b55409cd698db7954fb456e5480
title: Labels for products made in Israel's colonies
uri: Labels-for-products-made-in-Israel-s-colonies
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#13_November_2015_%28Labels_for_products_made_in_Israels_colonies%29

content:
<p>
The EU has adopted requirements that products made in Israel's colonies
in Palestine must be labeled specially, 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/11/eu-sets-guidelines-on-labelling-products-from-israeli-settlements">not
as "Made in Israel"</a>.
<p>
Of course, the purpose of this labelling is discrimination —
like all such required labelling.  The discrimination in this case is
not against Israel, but against its violations of international law by
setting up colonies in Palestine and settling Israelis in them.  This
labelling will help people practice a narrow boycott against those
colonies, much narrower than the boycott of nearly all Israeli
institutions that Palestinians have called for.
<p>
I support the boycott of products of those colonies ("settlements").


feed_id: 25341973859a9ebd0c0ac1daa97d594b
title: Angolan dictatorship
uri: Angolan-dictatorship
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#13_November_2015_%28Angolan_dictatorship%29
content:
<p>
The independent Angolan dictatorship has 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2015/nov/11/angola-forty-years-on-from-independence-lacks-freedom">picked
up the practices of the former Portuguese dictatorship</a> that ruled
Angola as a colony.


feed_id: f90ede76cb2c5b76c5139a36eb5ed148
title: Captive orcas
uri: Captive-orcas
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#13_November_2015_%28Captive_orcas%29
content:
<p>
A writer describes how 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/nov/11/orcas-captive-seaworld-killer-whale-shows">seeing
a captive orca made him ashamed</a>.
<p>
This article is packed with idiocy, such as the misused cliche
"playing god", which is irrational even in its usual meaning.
<p>
However, I agree with its basic point that it is cruel to cage orcas.


feed_id: af79bc08936fa577d76e2f8b4ed68bad
title: Senate's CIA torture report
uri: Senate-s-CIA-torture-report
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#13_November_2015_%28Senates_CIA_torture_report%29
content:
<p>
The US government has 
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/views/2015/11/11/whos-afraid-torture-report">ordered
executive branch agencies not to read</a> the copies of the CIA
torture report that the Senate sent them.
<p>
This is based on a bizarre and twisted legal excuse, so it's clear
that the goal is to stand up for torturers and torture.


feed_id: de04f1e74e0e932fe3e52a1ebb994c8c
title: Effects of Tories' spending cuts
uri: Effects-of-Tories-spending-cuts
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#13_November_2015_%28Effects_of_Tories_spending_cuts%29

content:
<p>
The Tories choose not to see or believe 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/nov/11/david-cameron-letter-cuts-oxfordshire">the
effects of their spending cuts</a>.


feed_id: 8b045a3bbcb2f18f325f527567dd78da
title: Sale of endangered lizards as pets
uri: Sale-of-endangered-lizards-as-pets
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#13_November_2015_%28Sale_of_endangered_lizards_as_pets%29

content:
<p>
The sale of exotic, endangered lizards as expensive pets
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/nov/11/lizard-traffickers-exploit-legal-loopholes-to-trade-at-worlds-biggest-fair">could
wipe out those species</a>.


feed_id: 4b2a54b58b957f458302211be14cc5b6
title: The 1965-66 massacre in Indonesia
uri: The-1965-66-massacre-in-Indonesia
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#13_November_2015_%28The_1965-66_massacre_in_Indonesia%29

content:
<p>
Survivors of the 1965-66 massacre in Indonesia 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/nov/11/indonesia-is-still-afraid-to-look-into-the-mirror-and-face-its-bloody-past">continue
trying to open investigation</a> into those events, and continue to
face censorship.


feed_id: a22f77e9dd761cc2d238e52e748003c2
title: Australia's funding of coal
uri: Australia-s-funding-of-coal
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#13_November_2015_%28Australias_funding_of_coal%29
content:
<p>
Australia may block an 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/nov/11/is-australia-the-last-country-standing-in-defence-of-coal">OECD
deal to stop funding coal</a>.


feed_id: 42011cf3f131872071d1030a1abd0176
title: US upgrading some nuclear bombs
uri: US-upgrading-some-nuclear-bombs
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#13_November_2015_%28US_upgrading_some_nuclear_bombs%29

content:
<p>
The US is 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/julian-borger-global-security-blog/2015/nov/10/americas-new-more-usable-nuclear-bomb-in-europe">upgrading
some nuclear bombs</a> to make them more "usable".
<p>
That is going in the wrong direction.


feed_id: 2515d3c1eb7beb87e5d60a117a1fbf35
title: Comcast admitted data caps unrelated to network congestion
uri: Comcast-admitted-data-caps-unrelated-to-network-congestion
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#14_November_2015_%28Comcast_admitted_data_caps_unrelated_to_network_congestion%29

content:
<p>Comcast 
<a href="http://consumerist.com/2015/11/06/leaked-comcast-doc-admits-data-caps-have-nothing-to-do-with-congestion/">
admitted internally</a>
 that its data caps have nothing to do with network congestion.
</p>
<p>They are not traffic-shaping, but market-shaping.  Comcast is taking
advantage of the lack of competition in the US network market.</p>
<p>Wireless networks are too close to a monopoly to be allowed to set
their own rules.  They should be regulated as utilities.</p>


feed_id: 104c7629c02168d235b8406a77741f55
title: UK snooping bill is last debate before mass gagging
uri: UK-snooping-bill-is-last-debate-before-mass-gagging
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#14_November_2015_%28UK_snooping_bill_is_last_debate_before_mass_gagging%29

content:
<p>The UK's snooping bill is "
<a href="https://conspicuouschatter.wordpress.com/2015/11/05/uk-draft-ip-bill-the-last-policy-discussion-about-surveillance-before-the-mass-gagging/">
the last policy discussion about
surveillance before the mass gagging.</a>"
</p>
<p>If this bill passes, no debate will be allowed; the entire subject
will be secret.</p>


feed_id: e2ccfdad1a62201887b2f54474bb1a14
title: FAA can't properly inspect US airlines
uri: FAA-can-t-properly-inspect-US-airlines
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#14_November_2015_%28FAA_can%27t_properly_inspect_US_airlines%29

content:
<p>Major US airlines have 
<a href="http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2015/11/airplane-maintenance-disturbing-truth">
offshored heavy maintenance</a>
 to facilities
that the FAA can't properly inspect, and in practice does not try.
Maintenance workers in the US report serious flaws.
</p>
<p>There is no reason to allow US-flag airlines to do maintenance outside
the US except in emergencies.</p>


feed_id: 99f4b3458371f88963d4f072df0d26a5
title: Ban on prohibiting customers from giving honest reviews
uri: Ban-on-prohibiting-customers-from-giving-honest-reviews
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#14_November_2015_%28Ban_on_prohibiting_customers_from_giving_honest_reviews%29

content:
<p>The Senate is 
<a href="http://consumerist.com/2015/11/04/things-are-looking-up-for-federal-law-banning-gag-clauses-that-prevent-customers-from-writing-honest-reviews/">
considering a bill</a>
 to ban companies from using contracts
to prohibit customers from saying anything bad about the company.
</p>
<p>That would be good.
Will the bill ban attempts to use copyright to do this?</p>
<p>Will it ban imposing arbitration on customers?</p>


feed_id: 54ccc3351fc9edc021e09680f9842038
title: SCROTUS trying to legalize car loan discrimination
uri: SCROTUS-trying-to-legalize-car-loan-discrimination
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#14_November_2015_%28SCROTUS_trying_to_legalize_car_loan_discrimination%29

content:
<p>SCROTUS are trying to 
<a href="http://mathbabe.org/2015/11/11/republicans-would-let-car-dealers-continue-racist-practices-undeterred/">
legalize a kind of racial discrimination</a>
 in car loans.
</p>


feed_id: 0654bb4bd587e7a273892a58153f5dfb
title: Large companies monopolise US H-1B visas
uri: Large-companies-monopolise-US-H-1B-visas
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#14_November_2015_%28Large_companies_monopolise_US_H-1B_visas%29

content:
<p>Lagre outsourcing companies have figured out how to use the US H-1B
visa program to 
<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/11/us/large-companies-game-h-1b-visa-program-leaving-smaller-ones-in-the-cold.html?_r=0">
bring foreign teams to the US</a>,
 so there are no visas available for other businesses.
</p>


feed_id: 7c91fc128e1c5c07f7762de869eead45
title: USDA meat inspection
uri: USDA-meat-inspection
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#14_November_2015_%28USDA_meat_inspection%29
content:
<p>An 
<a href="http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2015/11/pork-undercover-video-hormel-qpp">
undercover video</a>
 shows that the USDA's new, "more efficient" meat
inspection is almost no inspection at all.
</p>


feed_id: 7f366128d0aa8bb9a530d1b5edcfc5a8
title: Cancellation of citizenship without trial
uri: Cancellation-of-citizenship-without-trial
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#14_November_2015_%28Cancellation_of_citizenship_without_trial%29

content:
<p>Australia's exile bill would still permit 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2015/nov/12/citizenship-bill-still-vulnerable-to-high-court-challenge-constitutional-lawyers">
cancellation of citizenship</a>
 without a trial.
</p>


feed_id: 98c74dd3261a4be674c5ae0342c63576
title: General strike planned in Greece
uri: General-strike-planned-in-Greece
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#14_November_2015_%28General_strike_planned_in_Greece%29

content:
<p>A 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/12/syriza-faces-mass-24-hour-strike-in-greece-alexis-tsipras">
general strike against austerity</a>
 is planned in Greece.
</p>


feed_id: 414a9af007003f5759dfb53487fe1423
title: Australia to deport resident of 50 out of 51 years
uri: Australia-to-deport-resident-of-50-out-of-51-years
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#14_November_2015_%28Australia_to_deport_resident_of_50_out_of_51_years%29

content:
<p>Australia plans to 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2015/nov/12/british-citizen-in-australia-for-50-of-51-years-faces-deportation-for-scrub-fire">
deport Ian Whiteman</a>,
 who has lived in Australia since
he was one year old, to a country he hardly knows.
</p>
<p>This because of a crime that caused no damage but is considered
"serious".</p>
<p>Deportation of criminals is justified, sometimes, but not in
a cruel and mindless fashion.  A person whose only family ties
are in Australia, and who could easily have become a citizen,
should not be deported if not likely to be a repeat criminal
or if some other country is not "home".</p>
<p>Stopping his parents from visiting him is cruel also.</p>
<p>Several people will be 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2015/nov/12/nz-soldier-who-was-pms-bodyguard-faces-deportation-from-australia">
deported to New Zealand</a>
 because of membership in an arbitrarily banned motorcycle club.
</p>


feed_id: 556145c8f3b662324528b6e19f949977
title: Face recognition in Walmart
uri: Face-recognition-in-Walmart
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#14_November_2015_%28Face_recognition_in_Walmart%29
content:
<p>Walmart 
<a href="http://fortune.com/2015/11/09/wal-mart-facial-recognition/">
tried using face recognition</a>
 to compare everyone in the store
to a list of faces of known shoplifters.
</p>
<p>If this works, and it is extended a few small steps, I see a danger
that anyone who has ever shoplifted will never be able to buy
groceries again — in any store.  This could be a choice between
a death sentence and life imprisonment.</p>
<p>For the most part I don't see a problem in having Walmart (or some
other store — I refuse to buy from Walmart, after all) scan my
face and not keep records of it.  What I object to is if someone scans
my face on the street and keeps track of where I go.  Especially if this
is done by the state.</p>


feed_id: 80a9e16c8ae9d59c21d0f3620561260b
title: Paris climate conference set up to fail
uri: Paris-climate-conference-set-up-to-fail
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#14_November_2015_%28Paris_climate_conference_set_up_to_fail%29

content:
<p>The Paris climate conference has been 
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/views/2015/11/11/paris-climate-conference-designed-fail">
set up to fail</a>,
 just as Copenhagen was, with governments making efforts to spin failure
as
success.
</p>


feed_id: 69b0a35e828f185acd092f885db209e9
title: PEN calls on US to stop prosecuting whistleblowers
uri: PEN-calls-on-US-to-stop-prosecuting-whistleblowers
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#14_November_2015_%28PEN_calls_on_US_to_stop_prosecuting_whistleblowers%29

content:
<p>PEN calls on the US government to 
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/news/2015/11/11/how-govt-crackdown-whistleblowers-betrays-public-interest-report">
stop prosecuting whistleblowers</a>
 under the Espionage Act.
</p>


feed_id: d29ea03f443bba9173b3a3a410926ff5
title: Anti-racism campaigns in US universities
uri: Anti-racism-campaigns-in-US-universities
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#14_November_2015_%28Anti-racism_campaigns_in_US_universities%29

content:
<p>Campaigns against racism are 
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/news/2015/11/11/beyond-mizzou-fight-racial-justice-spreads-campuses-nationwide">
spreading to other US universities</a>.
</p>
<p>"Mizzou" seems to be an affectionate nickname referring to the
University of Missouri, used by people who work or study there.  Since
I have no relationship with that school, for me to use that nickname
would mean pretending to an intimacy I don't have.  Thus, I call
the school by its official name.</p>


feed_id: 01ba6df0430847ec2a06b6547dddab97
title: No legal obstacles to ending Guantanamo
uri: No-legal-obstacles-to-ending-Guantanamo
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#14_November_2015_%28No_legal_obstacles_to_ending_Guantanamo%29

content:
<p>There are 
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/news/2015/11/11/no-excuse-says-human-rights-lawyer-obama-can-still-close-guantanamo">
no legal obstacles</a>
 stopping Obama from ending the indefinite
imprisonment of Guantanamo, if he wanted to.
</p>


feed_id: 6fdac96fc4545be714f238fa12457b0a
title: Raising minimum wage accompanied by decreased unemployment
uri: Raising-minimum-wage-accompanied-by-decreased-unemployment
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#14_November_2015_%28Raising_minimum_wage_accompanied_by_decreased_unemployment%29

content:
<p>Raising the minimum wage is often accompanied by 
<a href="http://www.thenation.com/article/ben-carson-is-as-wrong-about-wage-hikes-as-he-was-about-the-pyramids/">
decreased unemployment</a>.
</p>


feed_id: b9e14a87f2a3529f0d3085ccdc62f2c2
title: 14-year-olds charged over sex video
uri: 14-year-olds-charged-over-sex-video
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#14_November_2015_%2814-year-olds_charged_over_sex_video%29

content:
<p>Two 14-year-olds in New York State 
<a href="https://reason.com/blog/2015/11/11/two-long-island-teenagers-arrested-for-p">
face felony charges</a>
 for making a
video in which one of them has sex with someone else.  Other students
they sent the video to are being punished as well.
</p>
<p>Privided the other star was involved voluntarily (information not
available), then I think it is wrong to punish any of them.</p>
<p>It is even more clearly wrong to punish students for receiving a
message containing the video.  And parents that examine their
childrens' phones to see if they have been sent sexts are held by this
twisted law to have 
<a href="https://reason.com/archives/2015/11/11/the-real-sexting-scandal">
committed the same "felony"</a>.
</p>
<p>Any law making it a crime to possess a copy of some text, photo or
video
is injustice, pure and simple.</p>


feed_id: 99a972b2477e8ffd4dd5124220256984
title: UK increasing subsidy of fossil fuels
uri: UK-increasing-subsidy-of-fossil-fuels
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#14_November_2015_%28UK_increasing_subsidy_of_fossil_fuels%29

content:
<p>The UK is giving 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/nov/12/uk-breaks-pledge-to-become-only-g7-country-increase-fossil-fuel-subsidies">
increased subsidies</a>
 to fossil fuels.
</p>
<p>So this is why they have to make so many families homeless and
hungry.</p>


feed_id: cdd5a9def7ab5f0900fac1d923e49d3a
title: Urgent: make election day a national holiday
uri: Urgent-make-election-day-a-national-holiday
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#14_November_2015_%28Urgent%3A_make_election_day_a_national_holiday%29

content:
<p>US citizens: 
<a href="http://www.signforgood.com/electiondayholiday/?code=courage">
call</a>
 for making election day a national holiday.
</p>


feed_id: a1e828e17df5c2960f03509fb405855e
title: Urgent: support goal of zero nuclear weapons
uri: Urgent-support-goal-of-zero-nuclear-weapons
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#14_November_2015_%28Urgent%3A_support_goal_of_zero_nuclear_weapons%29

content:
<p>US citizens: 
<a href="http://www.globalzero.org/race-to-zero/petition-em">
call on presidential candidates</a>
 to support the goal of global zero nuclear weapons.
</p>


feed_id: b3b63b87b20b48fdffdb9251b254be02
title: UK Snooper's Charter would endanger security researchers
uri: UK-Snooper-s-Charter-would-endanger-security-researchers
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#14_November_2015_%28UK_Snooper%27s_Charter_would_endanger_security_researchers_%29

content:
<p>The Snooper's Charter would 
<a href="http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2015/11/the-snoopers-charter-would-devastate-computer-security-research-in-the-uk/">
endanger computer security researchers</a>
 in the UK.
</p>
<p>There might be one way around this.  If you publish info about the
back door you found, encrypted, on a foreign site, and send the key to
another foreign site that will publish the information in several
months no matter what you subsequently say or do, you might then be
safe discussing the matter with some foreign colleagues with
a view to publishing it in a better way with better checing.</p>
<p>Of course, it's nuts to make security researchers go through these
steps to protect themselves from state repression.</p>


feed_id: e7256bba437ccdcaa4ea08e162ffea11
title: Making pointless apps or solving real problems
uri: Making-pointless-apps-or-solving-real-problems
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#14_November_2015_%28Making_pointless_apps_or_solving_real_problems%29

content:
<p>
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/nov/11/laundry-ninjas-free-market-science">
Never Mind Pointless Apps — Our Best Minds Should Be Solving
Real Problems.</a>
</p>
<p>This is not to mention that those apps are usually 
<a href="http://gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html">
nonfree software</a>,
 and often 
<a href="http://gnu.org/proprietary/">
malware</a>
 as well.
</p>


feed_id: 72465de8807584850950f705600af4b4
title: Modern slavery found in any industry
uri: Modern-slavery-found-in-any-industry
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#14_November_2015_%28Modern_slavery_found_in_any_industry%29

content:
<p>Modern slavery can be 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/nov/11/modern-slavery-cheap-labour">
found in any industry</a>.
</p>
<p>Employers want immigrants to undercut wages for everyone else.
Sometimes the immigrants are entirely willing.  Sometimes they are
threatened, exploited, or imprisoned.  Either way, the overall result
is that business owners around the world get more money, and workers
get less.</p>


feed_id: e6523893607ad68515c16f5b5fa449cc
title: UK journalists imprisoned in Indonesia
uri: UK-journalists-imprisoned-in-Indonesia
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#14_November_2015_%28UK_journalists_imprisoned_in_Indonesia%29

content:
<p>Two British journalists imprisoned in Indonesia say that naval officers
paid close attention to their case, while the UK's 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/11/british-journalists-rebecca-prosser-neil-bonner-indonesia-say-uk-treated-them-like-criminals">
supposed help was incompetent</a>.
</p>
<p>Even though they had money to pay for some privileges in prison, they
could not avoid the dirty food, and they could not get medicine when
they got sick.</p>


feed_id: 52373656a60c083786cfedacc711a111
title: Forced confession of Timothy Johnson
uri: Forced-confession-of-Timothy-Johnson
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#14_November_2015_%28Forced_confession_of_Timothy_Johnson%29

content:
<p>Timothy Johnson was convicted of murder based on a false confession,
then
exonerated as there was no real evidence against him.  He says that the
thugs
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/nov/11/georgia-police-bridge-forced-confession-timothy-johnson">
dangled him off the side of a bridge</a>
 to get him to confess.
</p>
<p>They also laid false charges against his parents to put pressure on
him.</p>


feed_id: 0723e509575ff7d7cf2952d7cddb5d7d
title: Beheading of Afghan Shi'ites
uri: Beheading-of-Afghan-Shi-ites
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#14_November_2015_%28Beheading_of_Afghan_Shi%27ites%29

content:
<p>Someone, presumably supporters of PISSI, 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/11/kabul-police-fire-at-crowd-trying-to-storm-presidential-palace">
murdered some Afghan Shi'ites</a>
 by beheading them.
</p>
<p>In response, crowds tried to storm the presidential palace, crying
"Death to [President] Ghani, death to the Taliban."</p>
<p>I don't see why they want the former; but if Afghans remain fired up
to fight the Taliban, they may have what it takes to defeat the
Taliban.</p>


feed_id: 6d2faa0f56ec244b35358d3ff78b78c1
title: Hack reveals illegal surveillance of prisoners
uri: Hack-reveals-illegal-surveillance-of-prisoners
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#14_November_2015_%28Hack_reveals_illegal_surveillance_of_prisoners%29

content:
<p>A company that handles prisoners' phone calls, including with their
lawyers, records them all.  Even when 
<a href="https://theintercept.com/2015/11/11/securus-hack-prison-phone-company-exposes-thousands-of-calls-lawyers-and-clients/">
prisoners talk with their lawyers</a>.
 Someone just got these recordings and leaked them.
</p>
<p>Leaking them en mass was wrong, but not as wrong about what this
company (Insecurus?) did.</p>


feed_id: d2bae53b46fa8b233f393f7a5c4ce52d
title: Vandana Shiva on 'fail-anthropy'
uri: Vandana-Shiva-on-fail-anthropy
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#14_November_2015_%28Vandana_Shiva_on_%27fail-anthropy%27%29

content:
<p>
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/views/2015/11/10/wests-fail-anthropy">
The West's 'Fail-Anthropy'.</a>
</p>


feed_id: 0cd8dd22a135c9d78d3d04519cbbb482
title: Colorado single-payer health care initiative
uri: Colorado-single-payer-health-care-initiative
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#14_November_2015_%28Colorado_single-payer_health_care_initiative%29

content:
<p>Colorado is 
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/news/2015/11/10/better-option-colorado-readies-ballot-battle-single-payer-solution">
considering a ballot initiative</a>
 for single-payer health care.
</p>
<p>I am concerned that this is not a large enough step to work.  Many
low-paid workers have been forced to be "independent contractors", and
I think many of them can't afford to contribute 10% of their pay for
medical care.</p>
<p>I don't see how health care for the unemployed would be covered, and I
don't see anything to push gouging prices down.  Perhaps the scheme
has measures for this which are not mentioned in the article.
If not, I think it won't work.</p>


feed_id: 2425178c9a4c16b7e6900fc1347a389b
title: UK's hidden family homelessness
uri: UK-s-hidden-family-homelessness
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#14_November_2015_%28UK%27s_hidden_family_homelessness%29

content:
<p>In the UK, ever 
<a href="http://www.vice.com/en_uk/read/hidden-homelessness-daisy-may-hudson">
more families are becoming homeless</a>
 (even though the adults are working), and put into cramped shelters.
</p>
<p>In the US, homeless families don't get shelters.</p>


feed_id: 3e673d0a3459449fe0b7cf97a86dee0a
title: Republicans debate how to prevent wage increases
uri: Republicans-debate-how-to-prevent-wage-increases
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#14_November_2015_%28Republicans_debate_how_to_prevent_wage_increases%29

content:
<p>Republican candidates 
<a href="http://www.thenation.com/article/a-billionaire-some-millionaires-and-a-no-show-senator-debate-how-best-to-block-wage-hikes/">
debated why and how</a>
 to stop American workers from
getting a wage.
</p>
<p>Trump effectively admitted that globalization driven by business
interests imposes poverty on most people.  This globalization is not a
natural phenomenon; it was imposed by those business interests through
bad laws and worse "free trade" treaties.  So let's get rid of those
laws and treaty.</p>
<p>It is true that wages, and benefits, encourage employers to replace
workers with machines.  We can reduce this problem by funding Social
Security and unemployment benefits from taxes that are independent
of employment — taxes that businesses will have to pay even if
they replace all workers with machines.</p>
<p>However, we must also block the forms of automation that would put
many people out of work, until we establish a universal basic income
so that people don't need employment.</p>


feed_id: 270c5adf9b335adcfbb8f72e5c672219
title: 2050 future history
uri: 2050-future-history
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#14_November_2015_%282050_future_history%29
content:
<p>
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/views/2015/11/10/verge-great-unraveling">
On the Verge of the Great Unraveling.</a>
</p>


feed_id: de32320081dfff6994e90b780c2cf097
title: Saudi Arabia releases 74 year old
uri: Saudi-Arabia-releases-74-year-old
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#14_November_2015_%28Saudi_Arabia_releases_74_year_old%29

content:
<p>Saudi Arabia compassionately released 74-year-old Karl Andree, who had
been sentenced to 350 lashes for 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/nov/11/briton-karl-andree-flogging-saudi-arabia-returns-to-uk">
possession of drugs</a>
 (specifically, wine).
</p>
<p>The US has stopped repressing people for carrying wine, but you can
get
imprisoned for having other drugs.</p>


feed_id: b0246cb30b409ef863cefde94fcd807c
title: NYC solitary confinement and pepper spray
uri: NYC-solitary-confinement-and-pepper-spray
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#14_November_2015_%28NYC_solitary_confinement_and_pepper_spray%29

content:
<p>New York City's replacement for solitary confinement turns out to
be more or less 
<a href="http://www.thenation.com/article/rikers-is-reforming-solitary-confinement-with-more-solitary-confinement/">
solitary confinement with pepper spray</a>.
</p>


feed_id: 0203906bc0d7550cf7c700fdcaea7126
title: Spying by German intelligence
uri: Spying-by-German-intelligence
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#14_November_2015_%28Spying_by_German_intelligence%29

content:
<p>
German intelligence spied on
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/11/germany-spied-fbi-un-bodies-french-foreign-minister">the
FBI, the French foreign minister, and UNICEF</a>.


feed_id: c4b0a0c511ff56d5dfed85370e7ae394
title: India's planned fossil fuel increase
uri: India-s-planned-fossil-fuel-increase
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#14_November_2015_%28Indias_planned_fossil_fuel_increase%29

content:
<p>
India's planned fossil fuel increase will
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/11/india-could-push-world-into-climate-change-danger-zone-warn-scientists">break
the world's carbon budget</a>.
<p>
This suggests the world should make a deal in which India reduces
fossil fuel use, and other countries pay for renewable energy
development in India.


feed_id: 836764f9949c49bc93d7502ac4941696
title: Social media stars
uri: Social-media-stars
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#14_November_2015_%28Social_media_stars%29
content:
<p>
For social media stars, paid by companies that want to connect with
their fans, not only their clothing but even their relationships may
be
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/nov/11/instagram-star-essena-oneill-fake-social-media-couples">designed
to get more fans to sell</a>.


feed_id: 5dc45bf898a4ea8c20f5dc81b5c4dee7
title: Mistreatment in juvenile prison
uri: Mistreatment-in-juvenile-prison
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#14_November_2015_%28Mistreatment_in_juvenile_prison%29

content:
<p>
Experience cleaning up a juvenile prison, in which the prisoners and
the guards faced sexual harassment and the prisoners were
<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/11/opinion/what-mass-incarceration-looks-like-for-juveniles.html">treated
horribly</a>.
<p>
Mistreatment was not rare, it was the usual case.


feed_id: 8f3a0ff7345281dc6ef4cd41a248b0bb
title: Personal data in remote storage
uri: Personal-data-in-remote-storage
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#14_November_2015_%28Personal_data_in_remote_storage%29

content:
<p>
Microsoft
<a href="http://techcrunch.com/2015/11/11/microsoft-trustee-model-for-cloud-mistrust/">offers
European users services that keep their data in a European computer
run by a European trustee company</a>, so that the US government has
no jurisdiction over them.
<p>
This is a sensible solution for that one specific problem.  It does
not alter the point that it's unwise to entrust your personal data to
any remote storage.
<p>
It also
<a href="http://gnu.org/philosophy/free-software-even-more-important.html">does
not make Microsoft's proprietary software acceptable</a>, or excuse its malicious functionalities.or excuse its
<a href="http://gnu.org/proprietary/malware-microsoft.html">malicious
functionalities</a>.


feed_id: b1859bec54d173e1160c57de6a4f3531
title: Global heating hitting Tibet
uri: Global-heating-hitting-Tibet
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#14_November_2015_%28Global_heating_hitting_Tibet%29
content:
<p>
Global heating is hitting Tibet:
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/nov/11/tibet-climate-change-paris-talks-dalai-lama">glaciers
and permafrost are melting visibly</a>.


feed_id: 62d16525b0b2581fb472b71bab789a07
title: 43 years in solitary
uri: 43-years-in-solitary
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#14_November_2015_%2843_years_in_solitary%29
content:
<p>
Albert Woodfox has spent 43 years in solitary, and will be kept there
further until his surrealistic retrial,
<a href="http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2015/11/angola-3-albert-woodfox-solitary-confinement-third-trial">to
stop him from organizing other prisoners</a>.


feed_id: 6add829dc869f074923c04165727683d
title: Burma's election
uri: Burma-s-election
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#14_November_2015_%28Burmas_election%29
content:
<p>
The National League for Democracy
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/11/myanmar-government-respect-election-result-transfer-power">has
done very well in Burma's election</a>, and looks set to win a
majority in parliament even despite the 25% of seats set aside for the
military.


feed_id: 0a0a2946cdabf4fb0204d7b08070ceb8
title: Privatization
uri: Privatization
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#14_November_2015_%28Privatization%29
content:
<p>
"Public-private partnerships" are touted as an easy way to get
infrastructure built, but they are a form of privatization which
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2015/nov/11/private-sector-finance-not-easy-development-fix-public-private-partnerships">drains
the treasury later</a>.
<p>
We simply must tax the rich more.


feed_id: 11d53669c8c4715fa700e24fe45ef9ff
title: Large companies monopolise US H-1B visas
uri: 2015-11-15-Large-companies-monopolise-US-H-1B-visas
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#14_November_2015_%28Large_companies_monopolise_US_H-1B_visas%29

content:
<p>Large outsourcing companies have figured out how to use the US H-1B
visa program to 
<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/11/us/large-companies-game-h-1b-visa-program-leaving-smaller-ones-in-the-cold.html?_r=0">
bring foreign teams to the US</a>,
 so there are no visas available for other businesses.
</p>


feed_id: 5024dfbdd54a8290f9fe1e8b7ade5f6b
title: 14-year-olds charged over sex video
uri: 2015-11-15-14-year-olds-charged-over-sex-video
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#14_November_2015_%2814-year-olds_charged_over_sex_video%29

content:
<p>Two 14-year-olds in New York State 
<a href="https://reason.com/blog/2015/11/11/two-long-island-teenagers-arrested-for-p">
face felony charges</a>
 for making a
video in which one of them has sex with someone else.  Other students
they sent the video to are being punished as well.
</p>
<p>Provided the other star was involved voluntarily (information not
available), then I think it is wrong to punish any of them.</p>
<p>It is even more clearly wrong to punish students for receiving a
message containing the video.  And parents that examine their
children's phones to see if they have been sent sexts are held by this
twisted law to have 
<a href="https://reason.com/archives/2015/11/11/the-real-sexting-scandal">
committed the same "felony"</a>.
</p>
<p>Any law making it a crime to possess a copy of some text, photo or
video
is injustice, pure and simple.</p>


feed_id: 49cecdd74fada197d5e510a59dc22b28
title: UK Snooper's Charter would endanger security researchers
uri: 2015-11-15-UK-Snooper-s-Charter-would-endanger-security-researchers
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#14_November_2015_%28UK_Snooper%27s_Charter_would_endanger_security_researchers_%29

content:
<p>The Snooper's Charter would 
<a href="http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2015/11/the-snoopers-charter-would-devastate-computer-security-research-in-the-uk/">
endanger computer security researchers</a>
 in the UK.
</p>
<p>There might be one way around this.  If you publish info about the
back door you found, encrypted, on a foreign site, and send the key to
another foreign site that will publish the information in several
months no matter what you subsequently say or do, you might then be
safe discussing the matter with some foreign colleagues with
a view to publishing it in a better way with better checking.</p>
<p>Of course, it's nuts to make security researchers go through these
steps to protect themselves from state repression.</p>


feed_id: 1e9fbe524d82d0ef6cbb5fe3db101a4d
title: Giving money to stop refugees
uri: Giving-money-to-stop-refugees
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#15_November_2015_%28Giving_money_to_stop_refugees%29

content:
<p>Giving Money to Eritrea and Sudan to Stop Refugees <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/13/migration-summit-refugees-sudan-eritrea">is Almost Satire.</a>  The corrupt repression of those countries is what drives the people
to flee.


feed_id: f294ac561047c27a9ed6be83b25cecd5
title: Destruction of natural environment
uri: Destruction-of-natural-environment
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#15_November_2015_%28Destruction_of_natural_environment%29

content:
<p>Businesses that destroy the natural environment <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2015/nov/13/perpetrators-modern-slavery-devastating-environment-deforestation-pollution">often use slaves to do it.</a>


feed_id: ed38172da66d4fe1b3b948f14e6fb53a
title: PISSI expelled from Sinjar
uri: PISSI-expelled-from-Sinjar
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#15_November_2015_%28PISSI_expelled_from_Sinjar%29
content:
<p>Some of the inhabitants of Sinjar are <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/13/tyranny-has-gone-kurds-and-yazidis-celebrate-recapture-of-sinjar-from-isis">returning to the city,</a> from which PISSI has been expelled.


feed_id: 0a179b0c385edfa14a4e571ccee759ad
title: Burma's National League for Democracy
uri: Burma-s-National-League-for-Democracy
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#15_November_2015_%28Burma%27s_National_League_for_Democracy_%29

content:
<p>The National League for Democracy, Aung San Suu Kyi's party, <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/13/aung-san-suu-kyi-wins-myanmar-landmark-election">has won a majority in Burma</a> even counting the seats that the military gets.


feed_id: 46d347e1fe1fb7d3182ba8f5c1b75524
title: Church faces investigation
uri: Church-faces-investigation
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#15_November_2015_%28Church_faces_investigation%29
content:
<p>The Catholic Church in Australia made a statement opposing same-sex
marriage, and faces a criminal investigation, because <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2015/nov/13/catholic-church-to-be-investigated-over-anti-marriage-equality-booklet">"offensive" statements are a crime in Australia.</a>
<p>I probably disagree with a lot of things the Church said, but I support its right to say them.


feed_id: 758d8dac8a49fb4022dad8325f47b11c
title: Binding climate agreement
uri: Binding-climate-agreement
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#15_November_2015_%28Binding_climate_agreement%29
content:
<p>France reproached Kerry for trying to abandon the goal of a binding climate agreement <a href="http://www.commondreams.org/news/2015/11/12/france-wonders-if-kerry-confused-upcoming-climate-talks">before the Paris conference even starts.</a>
<p>If the US doesn't want one, it can surely make sure there isn't one, or that it doesn't count for anything.


feed_id: e5333d395d1b4bce271e45fa26b838f4
title: End to student debt
uri: End-to-student-debt
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#15_November_2015_%28End_to_student_debt%29
content:
<p>Students in the US <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/nov/12/students-us-march-against-debt-for-free-public-college
">protested in many cities</a> demanding an end to student debt.


feed_id: 1f24af90a05c77623f8239043be8955e
title: Background checks for gun buying
uri: Background-checks-for-gun-buying
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#15_November_2015_%28Background_checks_for_gun_buying%29

content:
<p>States with more background checks for gun buying <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/nov/12/everytown-gun-report-states-background-checks">have fewer mass shootings.</a>


feed_id: bb4d23f7d40e027771df081b71cf952c
title: Greenland megaglacier
uri: Greenland-megaglacier
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#15_November_2015_%28Greenland_megaglacier%29
content:
<p>Greenland's Zachariae Isstrom megaglacier has started breaking up, a
process likely to raise sea level <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/nov/12/collapsing-greenland-glacier-could-raise-sea-levels-by-half-a-metre-say-scientists">half a meter over just three decades.</a>  Nothing we can do (short of engineering considerable global cooling) can stop this.
<p>Another neighboring megaglacier could do likewise as global heating
continues, which would cause another half meter of sea level rise.
<p>Every glacier that feeds into an ocean is likely to have similar
points of no return, that we will reach at some point.


feed_id: 293bf3915881b07f16335c2e6bc9a730
title: Hindu Taliban
uri: Hindu-Taliban
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#15_November_2015_%28Hindu_Taliban%29
content:
<p><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/nov/12/india-hindu-taliban-narendra-modi">Anish Kapoor:</a> India Is Being Ruled by a Hindu Taliban.


feed_id: dd6d8f2aa23fa2baecd857d25f351038
title: Don't trusk bankers
uri: Don-t-trusk-bankers
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#15_November_2015_%28Don%27t_trusk_bankers%29
content:
<p>Society must not learn to trust <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/belief/2015/nov/12/learning-to-trust-bankers-again-is-the-very-worst-thing-we-could-do">bankers!</a>


feed_id: a80182b9b66b1ff7e0fd799a02da318a
title: UK's Environment Agency
uri: UK-s-Environment-Agency
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#15_November_2015_%28UK%27s_Environment_Agency%29
content:
<p>The UK's Environment Agency has become feckless and <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/georgemonbiot/2015/nov/12/toothless-environment-agency-is-allowing-the-living-world-to-be-wrecked-with-impunity">fails to enforce pollution laws.</a>
<p>I suppose this is Tory policy.


feed_id: 5ff16baa1721696d19a96ba3d0493109
title: Austerity suicides in the UK
uri: Austerity-suicides-in-the-UK
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#15_November_2015_%28Austerity_suicides_in_the_UK%29
content:
<p>Austerity seems to have caused around <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/nov/12/austerity-a-factor-in-rising-suicide-rate-among-uk-men-study">1000 suicides</a> in the UK.
<p>Many had despaired from being forced to apply uselessly for jobs they correctly thought they could not get.


feed_id: 6102940ef8288a763b9bc0c27f1d47bc
title: Corrupt dealings of Scott Walker
uri: Corrupt-dealings-of-Scott-Walker
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#15_November_2015_%28Corrupt_dealings_of_Scott_Walker%29

content:
<p>More <a href="http://www.prwatch.org/news/2015/10/12960/scott-walker-double-dealing-john-doe-emails">corrupt dealings</a> of Scott Walker come out.


feed_id: c59af1d496ca9f86cca6d695f1681218
title: World Health Organization criticized the TPP
uri: World-Health-Organization-criticized-the-TPP
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#15_November_2015_%28World_Health_Organization_criticized_the_TPP%29

content:
<p>The World Health Organization has <a href="http://www.commondreams.org/news/2015/11/12/who-head-joins-chorus-denouncing-tpps-blow-public-health-boon-big-pharma">criticized the TPP.</a>


feed_id: aea7fdfb14f774905ef60271038c4c24
title: Medicins sans Frontieres' report
uri: Medicins-sans-Frontieres-report
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#15_November_2015_%28Medicins_sans_Frontieres%27_report%29

content:
<p>Medicins sans Frontieres' report on the attack on its hospital shows that the US air attack <a href="media/75a4d8b4.msf_kunduz_review.pdf" data-original-source="https://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/sites/usa/files/msf_kunduz_review.pdf">concentrated on the main building</a> where operations were then being done.
<p>There could hardly be any armed Taliban lurking in the building unseen.  Anyway, unarmed MSF guards maintained full control of the
grounds.  The <a href="https://www.stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#9_November_2015_(MSF_hospital_bombed)">US excuse</a> — which would be insufficient if it were true —  cannot be true.


feed_id: b7d44a5990fe1354aa9ec04362ce014c
title: UK curbing "extremism"
uri: UK-curbing-extremism
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#15_November_2015_%28UK_curbing_extremism%29
content:
<p>The UK wants to curb "extremism" by <a href="https://cdt.org/blog/pressuring-platforms-to-censor-content-is-wrong-approach-to-combatting-terrorism/">censoring it.</a>
<p>All the UK government has is a censor, so all publications look like…


feed_id: 65fd6810ba50808c55df5fe1065c6180
title: Battle against Texas pipeline
uri: Battle-against-Texas-pipeline
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#15_November_2015_%28Battle_against_Texas_pipeline%29

content:
<p>After White House Rejects Keystone XL, Battle Against <a href="http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/33551-while-keystone-xl-is-stalled-battle-against-larger-texas-pipeline-intensifies">Larger Texas Pipeline</a> Intensifies.


feed_id: 518836cfdca51be1d69b81c70987d573
title: PISSI's violence helps Erdogan
uri: PISSI-s-violence-helps-Erdogan
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#15_November_2015_%28PISSI%27s_violence_helps_Erdogan%29

content:
<p>Although Erdogan says PISSI is an enemy, PISSI's violence in Turkey seems <a href="https://theintercept.com/2015/11/10/turkish-president-ignores-isis-stokes-civil-war-with-kurds/">directed to help him.</a>  And PISSI seems to be able to attack its enemies in Turkey.


feed_id: f89be74783163a93051ad3463ec82477
title: NSA massive data collection
uri: NSA-massive-data-collection
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#15_November_2015_%28NSA_massive_data_collection%29
content:
<p>A court decision is a <a href="http://www.commondreams.org/news/2015/11/09/snowden-celebrates-broadly-influential-ruling-against-nsa-dragnet">symbolic condemnation</a> of NSA massive data collection.
<p>It might help against other NSA data collection in the future.


feed_id: 824bdb7b616adc6a0f1fac1b6afc2004
title: Urgent: EPA's CO2 emission limit plan
uri: Urgent-EPA-s-CO2-emission-limit-plan
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#15_November_2015_%28Urgent%3A_EPAs_CO2_emission_limit_plan%29

content:
<p>
US citizens: 
<a href="https://secure3.convio.net/ucs/site/Advocacy?pagename=homepage&page=UserAction&id=5001">write
to your senators</a> to urge them to leave the EPA's CO<sub>2</sub> 
emission limit plan alone.


feed_id: 09678d097536401e544f84649b2c7acc
title: Burst dam in Brazil
uri: Burst-dam-in-Brazil
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#15_November_2015_%28Burst_dam_in_Brazil%29
content:
<p>
A dam burst in Brazil, 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/10/brazil-dam-burst-mining-rules">releasing
mine waste that washed away houses and killed people</a>.
<p>
The toxic wastes might kill people in the long term, but I have no
idea how many.
<p>
The US 
<a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#18_August_2015_(Abandoned_US_mines)">doesn't
have adequate regulations for mine waste dams either</a>.


feed_id: 344d4b4fea0cb59e2fbd327274048e7b
title: Confidentiality agreements
uri: Confidentiality-agreements
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#15_November_2015_%28Confidentiality_agreements%29
content:
<p>
Many large US companies now impose confidentiality agreements to 
<a href="http://www.pogo.org/blog/2014/08/20140808-whistleblowers-silenced-by-nondisclosure-agreements.html">bar
employees from revealing wrongdoing to the US government</a>.
<p>
The SEC is 
<a href="http://www.rh-law.com/NewsandRecognitions/Publications?find=46202">taking
action against this</a>.


feed_id: e9134410ff703ebaf241e8710e74a89c
title: Toxic PCBs in the SF Bay
uri: Toxic-PCBs-in-the-SF-Bay
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#15_November_2015_%28Toxic_PCBs_in_the_SF_Bay%29
content:
<p>
Monsanto Accused of 
<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/news/2015/11/11/monsanto-accused-knowingly-polluting-sf-bay-toxic-pcbs">Knowingly
Polluting SF Bay with Toxic PCBs</a>.


feed_id: 0111339d7c7c0cf92a0965da2abcea3e
title: Torture in China
uri: Torture-in-China
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#15_November_2015_%28Torture_in_China%29
content:
<p>
Amnesty International says that China 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/11/china-still-uses-medieval-torture-methods-against-opponents-amnesty">still
regularly tortures prisoners</a>: especially human rights activists
and Falun Gong believers, as well as officials accused of corruption.
<p>
The Chinese government resists efforts to try to stop torture, and 
<a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#13_November_2015_(Senates_CIA_torture_report)">so
does the US government</a>.
<p>
We Americans can't do much to stop torture in China, but we ought to
be able to stop it in the US.


feed_id: 3fe9318daa0a2842ba3ffb29a1c92c89
title: Personal data in remote storage
uri: 2015-11-15-Personal-data-in-remote-storage
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#14_November_2015_%28Personal_data_in_remote_storage%29

content:
<p>
Microsoft
<a href="http://techcrunch.com/2015/11/11/microsoft-trustee-model-for-cloud-mistrust/">offers
European users services that keep their data in a European computer
run by a European trustee company</a>, so that the US government has
no jurisdiction over them.
<p>
This is a sensible solution for that one specific problem.  It does
not alter the point that it's unwise to entrust your personal data to
any remote storage.
<p>
It also 
<a href="http://gnu.org/philosophy/free-software-even-more-important.html">does
not make Microsoft's proprietary software acceptable</a>, or excuse
its 
<a href="http://gnu.org/proprietary/malware-microsoft.html">malicious
functionalities</a>.


feed_id: 79102deba01a504bb5d3d13908a7f451
title: Urgent: colonies are not part of Israel
uri: Urgent-colonies-are-not-part-of-Israel
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#15_November_2015_%28Urgent%3A_colonies_are_not_part_of_Israel%29

content:
<p>US citizens: Thank Obama for standing up for the EU's requirement not to label products of Israeli colonies as "Made in Israel" and for <a href="http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/thanks-obama-backing">recognizing that these colonies are not part of Israel.</a>


feed_id: df581ee8c6a7ff80a24dd7627b876643
title: Urgent: shun television news
uri: Urgent-shun-television-news
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#15_November_2015_%28Urgent%3A_shun_television_news%29

content:
<p>I urge everyone to shun television news for the next few days.  There
were terrorist attacks yesterday in Paris, and footage is likely to be
shown.
<p>Repeatedly watching footage of terrorist attacks can traumatize.  I
know someone in California who became afraid to go outdoors in 2001,
after repeatedly watching pictures of the September 2001 attacks.
<p>Whatever you want to know about the attacks, you can find in text.


feed_id: 4b3fea003ca65cdfbc9a2256f817bc6e
title: Urgent: stop suppressing research
uri: Urgent-stop-suppressing-research
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#15_November_2015_%28Urgent%3A_stop_suppressing_research%29

content:
<p>US citizens: tell the <a href="http://salsa3.salsalabs.com/o/1881/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=17728">Department of Agriculture</a> to stop suppressing scientific research.


feed_id: c2397de40d0fdeaefe91f5acfb336470
title: Urgent: free imprisoned protesters
uri: Urgent-free-imprisoned-protesters
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#15_November_2015_%28Urgent%3A_free_imprisoned_protesters%29

content:
<p>Everyone: call on the <a href="https://act.amnestyusa.org/ea-action/action?ea.client.id=1839&ea.campaign.id=42765&ea.tracking.id=Country_Myanmar~Events_WriteforRights&ac=W1511EAW4R1">government of Burma</a> to free imprisoned protesters.


feed_id: ed0ee6d186328e1d9deead90e2555ab7
title: Anti-racist activists and free speech defenders
uri: Anti-racist-activists-and-free-speech-defenders
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#15_November_2015_%28Anti-racist_activists_and_free_speech_defenders%29

content:
<p>Anti-racist activists and free speech defenders must reconcile <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/12/opinion/who-is-entitled-to-be-heard.html?_r=0">to support a free society.</a>


feed_id: 8c3244aa9affadcfa6a6355ab56ecea9
title: Mormon "mass resignation"
uri: Mormon-mass-resignation
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#15_November_2015_%28Mormon_mass_resignation%29
content:
<p>Mormons plan a "mass resignation" to protest the Mormon Church's policy demanding children renounce their <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/13/utah-mormons-mass-resignation-same-sex-policy">same-sex parents.</a>


feed_id: 62fc52b10f3f314dd1be6e1cc3bde8e9
title: Award for avoiding lethal force
uri: Award-for-avoiding-lethal-force
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#15_November_2015_%28Award_for_avoiding_lethal_force%29

content:
<p>The LA thugs' union has <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/nov/13/lapd-union-decries-medal-honoring-police-for-using-non-lethal-force">condemned</a> an award for avoiding lethal force.
<p>This award is meant for police officers whose job is to "serve and protect".  Thugs think they should get awards for killing citizens.


feed_id: f28ada47c6a0ad1bd3ced0fca5c0267e
title: FSF's LibrePlanet event
uri: FSF-s-LibrePlanet-event
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#15_November_2015_%28FSF%27s_LibrePlanet_event%29
content:
<p>The FSF's LibrePlanet event, which will be held in March, is <a href="http://www.fsf.org/blogs/community/what-do-you-have-to-say-share-it-at-libreplanet-2016">looking for people to propose sessions.</a>


feed_id: ed8e0ec9ce65447b7b924f9ad4b9c187
title: Jihadi John and court of law
uri: Jihadi-John-and-court-of-law
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#15_November_2015_%28Jihadi_John_and_court_of_law%29
content:
<p>Jeremy Corbin: it would have been far better for us all if <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/13/jeremy-corbyn-mohammed-emwazi-gone-court-jihadi-john">Jihadi John</a> had been held to account in a court of law.
<p>I agree.  Killing someone proves he was vulnerable.  Convicting him in
a fair trial proves he did wrong.
<p>I do not think killing him was wrong under the circumstances; there
was no feasible way to arrest him.  Corbyn did not say it was wrong to
kill Jihadi John, but his political enemies are pretending that he
did.
<p>By contrast, the US could have <a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2011-may-aug.html#29_May_2011_(Chomsky_Writes_bin_Laden)">arrested and tried Osama bin Laden,</a> so it should have done so rather than kill him.


feed_id: cf17a2509c129120b078672ec4558659
title: Web advertisements and malwarex
uri: Web-advertisements-and-malwarex
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#15_November_2015_%28Web_advertisements_and_malwarex%29

content:
<p>Some web advertisements <a href="http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2015/11/beware-of-ads-that-use-inaudible-sound-to-link-your-phone-tv-tablet-and-pc/">play inaudible sounds</a> to be picked up by proprietary malware running on other nearby computers so as to determine that they are nearby.
<p>It is unlikely free software will do this, but malware introduced
by an attack could do it.
<p>I conclude that access to a microphone needs to be controlled like
access to a camera.  Applications should need special authorization to
use the microphone.


feed_id: 21b072816ec0032dfcad09963db1d035
title: Divestment from fossil fuels
uri: 2015-11-16-Divestment-from-fossil-fuels
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#15_November_2015_%28Divestment_from_fossil_fuels%29
content:
<p><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/nov/14/thomas-piketty-and-tim-jackson-responsible-investors-must-divest-from-fossils-fuels-now">Piketty</a> calls for divestment from fossil fuels before the Paris climate conference.


feed_id: ca8b5ebaeab5b82891371778f6568b84
title: Laws of war
uri: Laws-of-war
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#15_November_2015_%28Laws_of_war%29
content:
<p>We must follow the laws of war even against enemies <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/2015/nov/14/international-law-yemen-syria-isis-conflict">that reject them completely.</a>


feed_id: 27263be29a694e93617353f3545e7ca1
title: Mosquitoes in November
uri: Mosquitoes-in-November
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#15_November_2015_%28Mosquitoes_in_November%29
content:
<p>Global heating means mosquitoes in November in <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/nov/13/thanks-to-climate-change-the-future-looks-awfully-warm-and-very-itchy">New York City.</a>


feed_id: 1ca9b3d892b2c60cfb883f377a1398a2
title: Torture by crucifiction
uri: Torture-by-crucifiction
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#15_November_2015_%28Torture_by_crucifiction%29
content:
<p>A <a href="http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2015/11/13/irish-teen-facing-execution-describes-crucifixions-electrocution-prisoners-egypt">prisoner</a> facing execution in Egypt reports on torture by crucifiction.
<p>He was convicted along with around 500 other people, clearly a joke of a trial.


feed_id: 8fb1d7d07a8ee9a8551f49afbc8a2433
title: Assistance to the homeless
uri: Assistance-to-the-homeless
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#15_November_2015_%28Assistance_to_the_homeless%29
content:
<p>Some parts of the US have set up funds to provide <a href="http://www.commondreams.org/views/2015/11/13/we-dont-need-wait-congress-fight-homelessness">various small assistance to the homeless.</a>
<p>The trust funds established by the New Jersey law are good, but the
stamp tax (as the colonists called it) is a regressive way to fund it.
It would be better to tax the rich for this.
<p>Some places go further and provide housing <a href="https://www.stallman.org/archives/2015-jul-oct.html#24_October_2015_(Homelessness_in_Hawaii)">to all homeless people.</a>


feed_id: 9ffb9d200eaf6c7db76866100ab6db30
title: Tor "research" at CMU
uri: Tor-research-at-CMU
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#16_November_2015_%28Tor_research_at_CMU%29
content:
<p>
<a href="http://www.wired.com/2015/11/tor-says-feds-paid-carnegie-mellon-1m-to-help-unmask-users/">Tor
Says Feds Paid Carnegie Mellon $1M to Help Unmask Users</a>.
<p>
Comp sci "research" aimed at sabotaging Tor reflects
an 
<a href="http://arstechnica.com/security/2015/11/why-the-attack-on-tor-matters/">ethical
blind spot</a>.


feed_id: d48d955f64907ba9c2d47becf8d899a6
title: Chances of experiencing abuse from thugs
uri: Chances-of-experiencing-abuse-from-thugs
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#16_November_2015_%28Chances_of_experiencing_abuse_from_thugs%29

content:
<p>
When black Americans deal with a thug, their chance of experiencing
abuse from the thug is 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/nov/14/black-americans-twice-as-likely-as-whites-to-face-use-or-threat-non-fatal-police-force-us-study">twice
that of white Americans</a>.


feed_id: c35c3e7dcfeeeb91bd8b323fdc89ef05
title: Progress against massive state surveillance
uri: Progress-against-massive-state-surveillance
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#16_November_2015_%28Progress_against_massive_state_surveillance%29

content:
<p>
ACLU: 
<a href="http://www.thenation.com/article/how-edward-snowden-changed-everything/">Thanks
to Snowden</a>, we are making slow progress against massive state
surveillance.


