# articles

feed_id: ce8d600bdf7bd4a35e8ccdbf98d9d18a
title: Alkhamesi denied treatment dies
uri: Alkhamesi-denied-treatment-dies
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#3_September_2017_%28Alkhamesi_denied_treatment_dies%29

content:
<p>
Salafi Arabia <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/01/yemen-red-crescent-founder-dies-denied-treatment-abdullah-alkhamesi">killed Yemeni doctor Abdullah Alkhamesi</a> by stopping him from traveling outside Yemen for a heart operation.  He could not get the operation in Yemen because there are no stents to be had there.


feed_id: d909e4e4ad1e1f8cd27e529f77270d83
title: Urgent: head of NASA
uri: Urgent-head-of-NASA
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#3_September_2017_%28Urgent%3A_head_of_NASA%29
content:
<p>
US citizens: <a href="http://act.climatehawksvote.com/stop_bridenstine">oppose the nomination</a> of Jim Bridenstine for head of NASA.
<p>
He's a global heating denialist, an antiscientist, and <a href="https://thinkprogress.org/trump-names-climate-science-denier-to-run-nasa-c9a46a6f4a52/">his mission</a>
will be sabotage pure and simple.


feed_id: 087b5edff11e464b120f1153fe705f83
title: Urgent: Social Security Commission bill
uri: Urgent-Social-Security-Commission-bill
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#3_September_2017_%28Urgent%3A_Social_Security_Commission_bill%29

content:
<p>
US citizens: <a href="https://act.credoaction.com/sign/save_social_security_2017">call on Congress</a> to reject the Social Security Commission bill.


feed_id: c226fb4e5d11f8001f73ad2f9551fad8
title: Joe Arpaio
uri: Joe-Arpaio
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#3_September_2017_%28Joe_Arpaio%29
content:
<p>
Joe Arpaio was <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2017/09/02/joe-arpaio-no-aberration">not unusual</a> in making false accusations and illegally
oppressing the accused. Lots of thugs do that. He was unusual
in boasting about it.
<p>
I do not agree with the article's recommendation to eliminate prison
entirely. Some criminals (Joe Arpaio, for instance) are so dangerous
that we can't let them out. However, the US could surely achieve what
is needed by imprisoning 20% as many as people as are in prison today.


feed_id: ebfc82bf466bf758899fa4015c7117fb
title: Plastic bags in Kenya
uri: Plastic-bags-in-Kenya
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#3_September_2017_%28Plastic_bags_in_Kenya%29
content:
<p>
Using plastic bags to hold groceries or trash <a href="http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/08/28/546680679/using-plastic-bags-is-now-illegal-and-punishable-by-jail-time-in-kenya">is now a crime</a> in Kenya.


feed_id: 5135c4f1110b6dce056661df14defcb8
title: Psilocybin mushrooms
uri: Psilocybin-mushrooms
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#3_September_2017_%28Psilocybin_mushrooms%29
content:
<p>
California is considering whether to <a href="http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/california-moves-become-first-us-state-legalise-magic-mushrooms-1637282">legalize</a> hallucinogenic
psilocybin mushrooms.
<p>
I am in favor of the change.


feed_id: 6fa440159603a795eba47b949ef37b74
title: Mexico's aid offer
uri: Mexico-s-aid-offer
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#3_September_2017_%28Mexico%27s_aid_offer%29
content:
<p>
The troll is <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/hurricane-harvey-donald-trump-mexico-help-offer-houston-flooding-victims-us-disasters-katrina-a7917716.html">embarrassed</a> by Mexico's offer to send humanitarian aid to Texas.


feed_id: 2cd232e8262dbeed1d51ceedc5c67e2a
title: Criticizing Google
uri: Criticizing-Google
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#3_September_2017_%28Criticizing_Google%29
content:
<p>
Google told a reporter in 2011 that web sites without "+1" buttons
would be punished with lower search rankings. When he published a
story in Forbes about that, Google pressured Forbes to <a href="https://www.gizmodo.com.au/2017/09/yes-google-uses-its-power-to-quash-ideas-it-doesnt-likei-know-because-it-happened-to-me/">take it down</a>.
<p>
The giant tech companies <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/sep/03/silicon-valley-politics-lobbying-washington">spend fortunes</a> on influence over states and
anyone else powerful. Their aim: laissez-faire government that lets
them control people and snoop on people, as well as shutting down
criticism.


feed_id: 918ae6c8d383b39641e4cca18f83b14e
title: Cambodia opposition arrest
uri: Cambodia-opposition-arrest
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#3_September_2017_%28Cambodia_opposition_arrest%29
content:
<p>
With an election coming, the ruler of Cambodia has <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/03/cambodias-strongman-pm-digs-in-with-arrest-of-opposition-leader">arrested</a> the leader
of the opposition.


feed_id: 2f9ef5da093e8537df51a29f36f08f6a
title: Workers' rights
uri: 2017-09-04-Workers-rights
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#3_September_2017_%28Workers%27_rights%29
content:
<p>
What use are workers' rights if <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/sep/02/tuc-study-employment-rights-low-paid-workers">workers are punished</a> for insisting on them?
<p>
Some conclusions:
<p>
- The natural consequence of today's economic conditions — low wages
and powerlessness of workers, brought about by <a href="/glossary.html#doohnibor">dooH niboR</a> policies
imposed by plutocratist politicians — is that bosses have more power
over workers. This enables the abuses that we see.
<p>
We need to change these conditions as well as enforce workers' rights.
<p>
- Unions protect workers from this treatment. The weakness of unions,
arranged deliberately by plutocratist politicians, also makes workers
vulnerable. We need to strengthen unions as well as enforce workers'
rights.
<p>
- In such circumstances, requiring workers to actively demand their
rights makes those rights ineffective.
<p>
- Fines against the business won't stop the abuses unless the fines are
very very large.
<p>
- I suggest laws that make it a crime for the local manager to do
certain things that violate workers' rights. With undercover thugs
that get hired as workers and arrest the local managers, those would
be scared to commit the abuses even when their bosses demand it.


feed_id: 3b98b84263616061ca2e38613c89b123
title: Palestinian censorship law
uri: Palestinian-censorship-law
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#3_September_2017_%28Palestinian_censorship_law%29
content:
<p>
The Palestinian Authority has imposed a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/02/palestinian-freedom-of-speech-wst-bank-abbas">new censorship law</a> and arrested
a journalist for speaking sarcastically about it.


feed_id: 00ab7d0baa06b34711071b5f4834600a
title: Superstition and sex slavery
uri: Superstition-and-sex-slavery
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#3_September_2017_%28Superstition_and_sex_slavery%29
content:
<p>
Nigerian pimps keep women in sex slavery through their superstitious
fear of black magic. Even when physically free, they expect to be
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2017/sep/02/juju-curse-binds-trafficked-nigerian-women-sex-slavery">magically punished</a>.


feed_id: f0bf4da627df8a9f4a0753270989ec1d
title: Immigration prison records
uri: Immigration-prison-records
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#3_September_2017_%28Immigration_prison_records%29
content:
<p>
The troll's saboteurs want to <a href="https://www.aclu.org/blog/immigrants-rights/ice-and-border-patrol-abuses/ice-plans-start-destroying-records-immigrant">destroy records</a> about bad things that
happened to people in immigration prison.
<p>
That will help them cover up practices that are cruel or deadly,
and thus continue them.


feed_id: 4beb9091ade14d601b1ecd2e65f9aff8
title: Troll-appointed federal judges
uri: 2017-09-04-Troll-appointed-federal-judges
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#3_September_2017_%28Troll-appointed_federal_judges%29

content:
<p>
The troll is attacking the environment by <a href="http://e360.yale.edu/features/trumps-judges-the-second-front-in-an-environmental-onslaught">appointing plutocratist judges</a>.


feed_id: c98507bc587130643390563bac5a210a
title: UK Prison Population
uri: 2017-09-04-UK-Prison-Population
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#3_September_2017_%28UK_Prison_Population%29
content:
<p>
With long prison sentences and a "get tough on crime" mentality on one
side, and <a href="/glossary.html#doohnibor">dooH niboR</a> on the other, the UK's prison population has
boomed while the guards have been cut.  The prisons are now <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/aug/31/tough-on-crime-prisons-crisis-prisoner-numbers">hellholes
that drive many prisoners mad</a>.


feed_id: eb951cd42086941122736b90dbe6f03a
title: Urgent: Apology from ABC and Tom Llamas
uri: Urgent-Apology-from-ABC-and-Tom-Llamas
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#4_September_2017_%28Urgent%3A_Apology_from_ABC_and_Tom_Llamas%29

content:
<p>
Everyone: ABC and Tom Llamas, 
<a href="https://act.colorofchange.org/sign/tom-llamas-abc/">apologize
for calling thugs on Texans</a> who were taking food and water from a
grocery store.


feed_id: 87dc557360b1898efa9f450f32980d25
title: US support for the coup in Honduras
uri: US-support-for-the-coup-in-Honduras
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#4_September_2017_%28US_support_for_the_coup_in_Honduras%29

content:
<p>
How the US 
<a href="https://theintercept.com/2017/08/29/honduras-coup-us-defense-departmetnt-center-hemispheric-defense-studies-chds/">pretended
to oppose the coup in Honduras</a> while in fact supporting it.


feed_id: 0b807a4fa8e16c112c3dcb42236a5dd3
title: Troll's tax cuts for businesses
uri: Troll-s-tax-cuts-for-businesses
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#4_September_2017_%28Trolls_tax_cuts_for_businesses%29

content:
<p>
The bullshitter has 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/aug/31/trump-vows-to-bring-back-main-street-by-cutting-business-tax-to-15">presented
a list of excuses</a> for cutting taxes on businesses.
<p>
There is no benefit for most Americans in giving "American" businesses
an "advantage" over businesses that fly other flags, if it means they
contribute less to running a country that is good to live it.  The US
government should use its power to pressure other countries to tax
businesses <em>more</em>.


feed_id: 28d02da6a8921a057927900c06e7fb56
title: Fish
uri: Fish
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#4_September_2017_%28Fish%29
content:
<p>
Fish such as sole and plaice may become rare as global heating 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/sep/02/fish-conservation-foreign-species-uk-waters-climate-change">makes
their habitats unsuitable for them</a>.


feed_id: 497d0ff7e0834888def67e71abe0d3fd
title: Lula
uri: Lula
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#4_September_2017_%28Lula%29
content:
<p>
Lula is 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/02/lula-brazil-leftist-hero-basks-adulation-bids-revive-political-fortunes">campaigning
to run for president of Brazil again</a>, hoping that he will be
allowed to run.


feed_id: 3781fcc28cb4b430e33f1878de1869bc
title: Troll's belligerent tone failing
uri: Troll-s-belligerent-tone-failing
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#4_September_2017_%28Trolls_belligerent_tone_failing%29

content:
<p>
North Korea has tested what Kim says is a 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/03/north-korean-nuclear-test-confirmed-in-major-escalation-by-kim-jong-un">hydrogen
bomb</a>.
<p>
It probably was a hydrogen bomb, though that is 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/03/did-north-korea-just-test-a-hydrogen-bomb">not
certain</a>.
<p>
This demonstrates that the bully's belligerent tone is 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/03/north-korea-nuclear-missiles-pyongyang-donald-trump">failing
to make North Korea back down</a>.
<p>
The only possible use of such action is to make North Korea agree to
negotiate.  But North Korea 
<a href="https://www.stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#18_August_2017_(Negotiations_with_North_Korea)">already
wants to negotiate</a>, so there is no possible point growling.  All
we need is for the US to start negotiating.
<p>
If only the US had negotiated some years ago, North Korea 
<a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2007-mar-jun.html#05%20March%202007%20(Canceled%20deal)">might
never have developed nuclear weapons</a>.


feed_id: e6a6739e2e11291325de6f45e52e7183
title: Business-supremacy treaty
uri: Business-supremacy-treaty
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#4_September_2017_%28Business-supremacy_treaty%29
content:
<p>
<a href="/glossary.html#trump">The troll</a> is thinking of moving farther on his one good promise, by
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/sep/03/trump-south-korea-trade-north-nuclear-missile-crisis">cancelling
the business-supremacy treaty with South Korea</a>.
<p>
This treaty is one of those that contains the disgusting
"investor-state" lawsuit provision, that allows foreign companies
(only foreign companies) to sue the state for any law or policy that
reduces its profits.


feed_id: dca75319fc70b572bc7e3d1e24be166d
title: Protester at Sessions' confirmation
uri: Protester-at-Sessions-confirmation
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#4_September_2017_%28Protester_at_Sessions_confirmation%29

content:
<p>
Desiree Fairooz (protester at Sessions' confirmation) refused to plead
guilty and now 
<a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/09/02/vindictive-codepink-activist-who-laughed-during-jeff-sessions-hearing-face-new-trial">faces
another trial</a>.


feed_id: 91f787f46e1515b88bcc97b69fe68fb2
title: Fires at Texas chemical plant
uri: Fires-at-Texas-chemical-plant
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#4_September_2017_%28Fires_at_Texas_chemical_plant%29

content:
<p>
The chemical plant that had explosions a few days ago has caught fire again.
Previous OHSA inspection found 
<a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/09/02/fire-erupts-again-houston-area-chemical-plant-public-remains-dark">10
serious safety violations</a>.
<p>
Companies standardly tell plutocratist officials to help them conceal
crucial information about the companies' threats to public safety.
The plutocratists that dominate the Texas legislature have even
prohibited cities from establishing fire codes.


feed_id: 682826df3fd3800b104757d5661a3638
title: Iris-recognition
uri: Iris-recognition
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#5_September_2017_%28Iris-recognition%29
content:
<p>
Sheriffs of counties near the border with Mexico are installing
<a href="https://www.aclu.org/blog/privacy-technology/surveillance-technologies/why-are-border-sheriffs-rushing-adopt-iris">iris-recognition systems</a>. Everyone they use the system on will get
entered in an unaccountable private iris image database.
<p>
It should be illegal to put people in such a database unless they have done
something wrong that justifies it.


feed_id: 13e2710bd7fd4a09f6b3c076d253bf85
title: ALEC destroying unions
uri: ALEC-destroying-unions
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#5_September_2017_%28ALEC_destroying_unions%29
content:
<p>
ALEC is <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/08/30/internal-documents-reveal-right-wing-plan-strike-public-unions-mortal-blow">organizing a campaign</a> to destroy public workers' unions
state by state.


feed_id: 9fa705baad46512578640ab293a2f638
title: Sex offender registry
uri: 2017-09-05-Sex-offender-registry
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#5_September_2017_%28Sex_offender_registry%29
content:
<p>
A judge ruled Colorado's sex offender registry law is <a href="http://www.freerangekids.com/federal-judge-in-colorado-rules-that-the-sex-offender-registry-is-unconstitutional/">unconstitutional</a>:
it is cruel and unusual punishment and it doesn't contribute to public safety.
<p>
"Focusing our fear on registrants points us in exactly the wrong
direction — stranger danger — when the vast majority of crimes
against kids are committed by someone the family knows."


feed_id: 898eab0d383cf4a10bfe2305bb6ab75d
title: 'sex trafficking'
uri: sex-trafficking
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#5_September_2017_%28%27sex_trafficking%27%29
content:
<p>
I shun the term <a href="https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2017/08/internet-censorship-bill-would-spell-disaster-speech-and-innovation">"sex trafficking"</a>
because it invites confusion.
<p>
It is defined, at least sometimes, to mean prostitution involving
coerced prostitutes, or minors (based, apparently, on
supposition/pretense that minors are coerced even if they aren't
really coerced).
<p>
But if you look at the words "sex trafficking" themselves, they seem
to cover <em>any and all</em> prostitution. After all, prostitution
means trafficking sex.
<p>
Thus, any time I hear of a measure aimed at "sex trafficking", my
first worry is that it is aimed at repressing all prostitution. I am
against that.
<p>
If the measure doesn't do that, I may support it, but I wish it were
described in different words that don't trigger that false alarm.

It is true that many prostitutes are <a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#3_September_2017_(Superstition_and_sex_slavery)">enslaved</a>.

Many prostitutes are subject to
working conditions which cheat them. But this is hardly limited to
prostitution. Enslavement is found among <a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jan-apr.html#19_February_2015_(Enslavement_of_domestic_workers_in_HK)">domestic</a> workers,
<a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2014-mar-jun.html#05_April_2014_(Fast_food_wage_theft)">fast food</a> workers,
<a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jan-apr.html#23_March_2017_(Enslavement_of_foreign_workers_in_Qatar)">construction</a> workers,
<a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2014-sep-dec.html#30_December_2014_(Mexican_farm_workers_treated_as_slaves)">farm</a> workers,
and <a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jan-apr.html#19_February_2015_(Slave_fishing_workers_in_Thailand)">fishing boat</a> workers.
Fast food workers are often <a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2013-mar-jun.html#29_June_2013_(Fast_food_workers_accuse_employers_of_stealing_pay_and_obscuring_it)">cheated</a>.
Drivers and couriers are subject to conditions that are
tantamount to cheating them.
<p>
Enslavement is a terrible injustice. Cheating workers is very bad.
I am in favor of measures to stop those injustices.
<p>
But rather than trying to end them by stamping out prostitution,
domestic work, fast food work, construction work, and so on, we should
take effective action against enslavement and cheating of workers
<em>in all fields of work</em>.


feed_id: 68f3d87b8cf176b1d96277f5125af1b1
title: Internet censorship bill
uri: 2017-09-05-Internet-censorship-bill
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#5_September_2017_%28Internet_censorship_bill%29
content:
<p>
EFF: A <a href="https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2017/08/internet-censorship-bill-would-spell-disaster-speech-and-innovation">bill introduced in Congress</a> would make it dangerous for sites
in the US to post statements from users.
<p>
I hope they will give us a call to action soon.


feed_id: 1280ec518d6d50e27e86a6488a0cfed6
title: Cambodian newspaper shut down
uri: Cambodian-newspaper-shut-down
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#5_September_2017_%28Cambodian_newspaper_shut_down%29

content:
<p>
Cambodia has forced a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/04/cambodia-daily-shuts-with-dictatorship-parting-shot-at-prime-minister-hun-sen">critical newspaper</a> to shut, based on bogus tax bills.


feed_id: 4e66558097600ec90df7444ace4abf42
title: Carbon emissions tax
uri: Carbon-emissions-tax
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#5_September_2017_%28Carbon_emissions_tax%29
content:
<p>
A carbon emissions tax or price or trading fee needs to be at least <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/sep/04/emissions-carbon-tax-profits-polluters-paris-targets">$100
per ton</a> of emissions in order to keep global heating down to 2C.


feed_id: 1207d9ddf8e5d60b8e7f8ecec35f84ae
title: Rent for flooded homes
uri: Rent-for-flooded-homes
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#5_September_2017_%28Rent_for_flooded_homes%29
content:
<p>
Landlords in Houston demand that penniless people <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/sep/04/hurricane-harvey-landlords-demand-rent-for-flooded-homes">pay rent</a> for flooded
homes that they can't live in.


feed_id: 1607b54386a011ab69cfa32dbdf54a95
title: Elite children of North Korea
uri: Elite-children-of-North-Korea
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#5_September_2017_%28Elite_children_of_North_Korea%29

content:
<p>
An interview with Suki Kim, who taught the elite children of North Korea,
reports that <a href="https://theintercept.com/2017/09/04/undercover-in-north-korea-all-paths-lead-to-catastrophe/">repression and control</a> was total even for them.
<p>
Ignorance education was so thorough that the students didn't recognize
the Great Pyramid — or the mountains of North Korea.


feed_id: fdcc27ce9f0af8af8512f7c79671614f
title: Papers rejecting global heating
uri: Papers-rejecting-global-heating
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#5_September_2017_%28Papers_rejecting_global_heating%29

content:
<p>
The small fraction scientific papers that reject global heating
show a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/climate-consensus-97-per-cent/2015/aug/25/heres-what-happens-when-you-try-to-replicate-climate-contrarian-papers">pattern of errors</a> of reasoning.


feed_id: b150b118e3f107e58da1c73fe56d7105
title: Tunisian marriage and inheritance laws
uri: Tunisian-marriage-and-inheritance-laws
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#5_September_2017_%28Tunisian_marriage_and_inheritance_laws%29

content:
<p>
Tunisia is planning to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2017/sep/04/we-are-an-example-to-the-arab-world-tunisias-radical-marriage-proposals">remove the gender bias</a> from its marriage and
inheritance laws.


feed_id: 2bed8d247ece30f3fd5782b2ef03e50b
title: North Korea sanctions
uri: 2017-09-05-North-Korea-sanctions
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#5_September_2017_%28North_Korea_sanctions%29
content:
<p>
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/04/china-what-can-beijing-do-about-north-korea-donald-trump-kim-jong-un">Sanctions by China</a> could crush North Korea's economy, but it has good
reasons not to do that.
<p>
However, applying any of these sanctions only partially would be a real
alternative. It would pressure North Korea almost as much, without
causing a collapse.


feed_id: e70fe61cd87bba6e82e71f4bf6377244
title: Altering skin color
uri: Altering-skin-color
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#5_September_2017_%28Altering_skin_color%29
content:
<p>
The worldwide obsession with light skin color, considered to be
beautiful, may have started because the nobles and the rich could
afford to stay out of the sun. This developed into a form of racism
when light-skinned Europeans started conquering peoples with darker
skin.
<p>
Now millions of women spend <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/inequality/2017/sep/04/dark-is-beautiful-battle-to-end-worlds-obsession-with-lighter-skin">absurd sums</a> on skin-whitening treatments
which in some cases are toxic.
<p>
Around the same time, ironically, rich Europeans and Americans started
to get suntans from leisure and tourism, which launched the equally
perverse idea that a suntan was beautiful. Now millions of whites
expose themselves to skin cancer while making their skin into leather,
in pursuit of a suntan.


feed_id: 51d13dedcd4b138d11ca8651593ce8d0
title: Antifascist activism
uri: Antifascist-activism
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#6_September_2017_%28Antifascist_activism%29
content:
<p>
When you think of "Antifa",
<a href="https://theintercept.com/2017/08/31/antifa-violence-gives-far-right-provocateurs-crave/">
don't let black bloc hooligans
swipe that name.
</a>
And don't support
<a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#1_September_2017_(Reject_violence_at_rallies)">
violence against people who are not attacking people,
</a>
whatever
their views may be.
<p>
Consider, for instance, the
<a href="https://www.stallman.org/archives/archive-2001.html#rosa_antifa_wien">
cheerfully nonviolent antifascist activism
</a>
of
<a href="https://www.stallman.org/archives/archive-2002.html#rosa_antifa_wien">
Rosa Antifa Wien.
</a>


feed_id: 7059f92cf86b4b0ec6df479346e061a3
title: Urgent: DACA
uri: Urgent-DACA
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#6_September_2017_%28Urgent%3A_DACA%29
content:
<p>
US citizens:
<a href="http://act.presente.org/sign/defenddaca/">sign to ask
Congress</a> to defend DACA.


feed_id: 70d347714d456b4bf087dffae0e90d93
title: Urgent: Stop militarization of US thugs
uri: Urgent-Stop-militarization-of-US-thugs
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#6_September_2017_%28Urgent%3A_Stop_militarization_of_US_thugs%29

content:
<p>
US citizens:
<a href="http://act.demandprogress.org/sign/tell-congress-shut-down-militarization-local-police/">call
on Congress</a> to stop the militarization of US thugs.


feed_id: 5bcb510fcf458495eaa56d035338fb74
title: 25th Amendment
uri: 25th-Amendment
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#6_September_2017_%2825th_Amendment%29
content:
<p>
How to use the 25th Amendment to the US Constitution to
<a href="https://ieet.org/index.php/IEET/more/Brin20170903">put
somewhat of a leash on the troll</a>, in a way SCROTUS might support.


feed_id: 486f549617fdd7e747255cda7e590833
title: Fossil fuel use
uri: Fossil-fuel-use
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#6_September_2017_%28Fossil_fuel_use%29
content:
<p>
Fossil fuel use is
<a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2017/09/03/texas-wind-turbines-went-right-turning-under-harveys-impact-refineries-shut-down">vulnerable
to the extreme weather that it causes</a>.  Hurricane Harvey has
knocked out 20% of US capacity to make gasoline from crude oil.  This
will cause a shortage of gasoline in the US for months.  Renewable
energy avoids this problem.


feed_id: 209d964473eb47e5e2d2e98c3a9401be
title: Oil and gas extraction in Burma
uri: Oil-and-gas-extraction-in-Burma
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#6_September_2017_%28Oil_and_gas_extraction_in_Burma%29

content:
<p>
The Burmese oligarchs are
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/earth-insight/2013/apr/26/fossil-fuel-secret-burma-democratic-fairytale">opening
up massive oil and gas extraction</a>, and the unequal distribution of
the wealth helped provoke the conflict between the Rohingya and other
inhabitants.


feed_id: 62385dcac3d2a6bab7f0876ba85a58bc
title: Deaths after attack by UK thugs
uri: Deaths-after-attack-by-UK-thugs
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#6_September_2017_%28Deaths_after_attack_by_UK_thugs%29

content:
<p>
Several black men, after being attacked by UK thugs, became "unwell"
and died.  The thugs are concealing what happened, but it seems they
became "unwell" because of
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/sep/03/four-black-men-die-police-restraint-no-officers-suspended-bryant-cumberbatch-charles-da-costa">physical
attacks, repeated tasing, and pepper spray right in the nose</a>.


feed_id: 70440c7c70b1d523e304757d9bc8e5dd
title: Troll a useful tool for Republicans
uri: Troll-a-useful-tool-for-Republicans
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#6_September_2017_%28Troll_a_useful_tool_for_Republicans%29

content:
<p>
Republican congresscritters admitted that they think the troll stinks
but
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/aug/28/donald-trump-asshole-duncan-hunter">find
him a useful tool</a>.


feed_id: 478a8354b8657887e3011eefe036444a
title: Politics turned into show of contempt
uri: Politics-turned-into-show-of-contempt
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#6_September_2017_%28Politics_turned_into_show_of_contempt%29

content:
<p>
<a href="/glossary.html#trump">The troll</a> has turned politics into a show of contempt, and a
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/aug/30/liberals-donald-trump-rightwing-populists">substantial
fraction of Americans can't get enough of it</a>.  They have ceased to
care about political issues in any substantial way.  This might enable
him to win in 2020, with help from the electoral college and voter
suppression.
<p>
Michael Moore also says the troll
<a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/08/28/warning-against-complacency-michael-moore-says-trump-could-win-again-2020">might
win again</a>.


feed_id: 39b24863587642e5784e87e8767bc6b4
title: Fear and self-censorship in UK
uri: Fear-and-self-censorship-in-UK
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#6_September_2017_%28Fear_and_self-censorship_in_UK%29

content:
<p>
A report finds that the UK's "Prevent" deradicalization program is
spreading a climate of
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/aug/29/prevent-scheme-fosters-fear-and-censorship-at-universities-just-yorkshire">fear
and self-censorship at UK universities</a>.
<p>
The idea of offering deradicalization help is laudable in theory, but
it can't be helpful if it comes across as repression.  Perhaps if it
were run by non-radical Muslims, and normally Muslims suggested it to
other Muslims, it would be useful.
<p>
Likewise, moderate Tories could be encouraged to suggest this to
people at risk of
<a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2017-may-aug.html#10_August_2017_(UKs_Prevent)">right-wing
radicalization</a>.


feed_id: d3fc4c2c99cfd5cd7acce13a293fc510
title: Lip-reading software
uri: Lip-reading-software
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#6_September_2017_%28Lip-reading_software%29
content:
<p>
CCTV +
<a href="https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20170822/05364238054/cctv-lip-reading-software-even-less-privacy-even-more-surveillance.shtml">Lip-Reading
Software</a> = Even Less Privacy, Even More Surveillance.


feed_id: a056f6a629ccd91911193d1e93b38039
title: Oklahoma
uri: Oklahoma
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#6_September_2017_%28Oklahoma%29
content:
<p>
Plutocratist government turned Oklahoma into a
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/aug/29/oklahoma-education-system-four-day-school-weeks-poor">descending
spiral of failure</a>, except for a few.


feed_id: 14f60db22cff791d67bca019ed8eb1d2
title: Paying a business to "create jobs"
uri: Paying-a-business-to-create-jobs
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#6_September_2017_%28Paying_a_business_to_create_jobs%29

content:
<p>
Wisconsin will pay Foxconn to "create jobs" — half a million
dollars per job.  Or maybe
<a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2017/08/28/wisconsins-foxconn-deal-enriches-billionaires-taxpayer-cash">a
million per job</a>.
<p>
Ten percent of that money, or maybe much less, will be paid to
Americans as salary.
<p>
When the state pays a for-profit business to "create jobs", the state
is being cheated.  The saddest thing is that plutocratist politicians
want the state to be cheated.


feed_id: 4b8fb9a8b9311c18b85e598c15b9b800
title: Subsidized flood insurance
uri: Subsidized-flood-insurance
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#6_September_2017_%28Subsidized_flood_insurance%29
content:
<p>
One US government program that should be eliminated: subsidized flood
insurance
<a href="http://projects.propublica.org/graphics/houston-srlp">for
houses that are going to be flooded over and over</a>.
<p>
There is no use standing against the tide.  The help that the
government should offer the owners of those houses is to buy them and
demolish them.


feed_id: c1e903e022366c505c2000e74e3cf33d
title: Spread of pine-killing beetles
uri: Spread-of-pine-killing-beetles
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#6_September_2017_%28Spread_of_pine-killing_beetles%29

content:
<p>
The beetles that killed millions of pine trees in northern California
are
<a href="https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/433bbn/forest-killing-beetles-are-swarming-north-because-of-climate-change">spreading
across the US as temperatures rise</a>.  Now they are in Connecticut
and New York State.
<p>
270,000 square miles are likely to be affected by 2080.  By then, I
think humans will be beset by so many problems that they will hardly
have time to pay attention to this.


feed_id: 24ef0b437f2baed39c3def8a7e689be7
title: Scanning Gmail for ads
uri: Scanning-Gmail-for-ads
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#7_September_2017_%28Scanning_Gmail_for_ads%29
content:
<p>
Google Promised Not to Scan Gmail for Targeted Ads—<a href="https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2017/09/google-promised-not-to-scan-gmail-for-targeted-ads-but-for-how-long/">But for How Long</a>?


feed_id: e89634d5067b47d75437546fcea3ff1c
title: Sci-Hub lawsuit
uri: Sci-Hub-lawsuit
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#7_September_2017_%28Sci-Hub_lawsuit%29
content:
<p>
The <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/sci-hub-faces-48-million-piracy-damages-and-isp-blocking-170905/">lawsuit against Sci-Hub</a>, which breaks the monopoly on distributing
scientific papers, could result in orders for ISPs to block access to
the site.


feed_id: 74fb11077d6a12fefbc4e7d8085092bf
title: Media and North Korea
uri: Media-and-North-Korea
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#7_September_2017_%28Media_and_North_Korea%29
content:
<p>
Mainstream media <a href="https://theintercept.com/2017/09/05/north-korea-says-it-might-negotiate-on-nuclear-weapons-but-the-washington-post-isnt-reporting-that/">misrepresent North Korea</a> as more belligerent than it
really is. Its statements show a willingness to negotiate, perhaps
even disarm, in exchange for peace.


feed_id: 5327da8b5bc8812f6489292895c0a113
title: Palm oil violence
uri: Palm-oil-violence
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#7_September_2017_%28Palm_oil_violence%29
content:
<p>
Palm oil has inspired criminal gangs in Peru to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/sep/06/six-farmers-shot-dead-over-land-rights-battle-in-peru">kill farmers</a> in order
to take their land for plantations.


feed_id: 386263c1b6e1d19c728c652bc1c1e6fa
title: Global heating and parasites
uri: Global-heating-and-parasites
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#7_September_2017_%28Global_heating_and_parasites%29
content:
<p>
Global heating could <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/sep/06/climate-change-could-wipe-out-a-third-of-parasite-species-study-finds">cause extinction</a> of 1/3 of all species of
parasites. This could cause big changes in ecosystems, perhaps
including extinction of other species.


feed_id: 39accfad7955a8be4e0f15a24df1c4e7
title: Gulf of Maine cod
uri: Gulf-of-Maine-cod
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#7_September_2017_%28Gulf_of_Maine_cod%29
content:
<p>
 The cod will <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/oct/30/water-too-warm-for-cod-in-us-gulf-of-maine-as-stocks-near-collapse">never come back</a> to the Gulf of Maine
because the water there is now too hot for them.


feed_id: 03ca26b81db2fd058975590d5604b2f5
title: Texas no-sanctuary law
uri: Texas-no-sanctuary-law
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#7_September_2017_%28Texas_no-sanctuary_law%29
content:
<p>
One of the parts of the Texas no-sanctuary law that was ruled
unconstitutional would have <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/09/texas-sb-4/538956/">authorized imprisonment</a> of city and state
officials for criticizing it.


feed_id: c9b2f0f67006771f626e726f0bd8376c
title: DACA personal information
uri: DACA-personal-information
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#7_September_2017_%28DACA_personal_information%29
content:
<p>
The Department of Hateful Suppression says it will <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2017/9/5/1696161/-DHS-confirms-ICE-can-use-the-personal-information-of-DACA-recipients-to-find-and-deport-them">use the personal
information</a> provided under DACA by unauthorized immigrants (who were
brought as children), to deport them.


feed_id: e54cfdcfe652998d7df82a14ba245bb4
title: Robots replacing workers
uri: Robots-replacing-workers
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#7_September_2017_%28Robots_replacing_workers%29
content:
<p>
Robot-making companies say that their robots won't replace human
workers, but it is clear that the number of people required to design,
build, fix and control robots <a href="https://www.truthdig.com/articles/growing-dilemma-automated-jobs-meet-social-consciousness/">will be far fewer</a> than the humans that
now do those jobs. That's what it means to increase efficiency.
<p>
When these workers could get good new jobs, we all benefited from
increased efficiency. But nowadays that is empirically not so. 90%
of the jobs created in the US in the past 10 years are <a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2017-may-aug.html#14_August_2017_(Curbing_addiction_to_growth)">McJobs</a>.
<p>
Eventually, as robots get cheaper, the need for McWorkers won't keep
up with the supply. Low-paid families in the US have a worse life
today than they had <a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2014-sep-dec.html#30_December_2014_(America_today_vs_40_years_ago)">40 years ago</a>. They are squeezed by rent, energy, and
transport, and fine-the-poor government.
Often their children get unaccountable <a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jan-apr.html#27_January_2017_(Charter_schools)">charter-school education</a>.
<p>
We know where this road leads to in 10 or 20 years, but in
50 years we can expect something like the Hunger Games if we
don't make a radical change to spread the wealth.


feed_id: 2a88cf92814bb793123f723059026b4b
title: Self-harming
uri: Self-harming
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#7_September_2017_%28Self-harming%29
content:
<p>
Self-harming is the last recourse of people in a situation of total
despair. Some the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/sep/06/google-autocomplete-why-people-self-harm">aspects of our society</a> push millions of people into
such despair.
<p>
<a href="https://www.truthdig.com/articles/diseases-of-despair/">Voting for perverse politicians</a> seems much like a collective act of
self-harming.


feed_id: 6ab77481f2cccb50769ae5b0d71d9c5a
title: Urgent: Replace DACA with law
uri: Urgent-Replace-DACA-with-law
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#7_September_2017_%28Urgent%3A_Replace_DACA_with_law%29

content:
<p>
US citizens:
<a href="https://petitions.moveon.org/sign/pass-the-dream-act-now">call
on Congress</a> to pass a law to replace DACA.


feed_id: 4547c2632472520675b2e55d54a851f1
title: Urgent: Progressive changes
uri: Urgent-Progressive-changes
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#7_September_2017_%28Urgent%3A_Progressive_changes%29

content:
<p>
US citizens:
<a href="http://act.boldprogressives.org/survey/petition-not-one-penny/">Democrats</a>,
fight for big progressive changes and against tax cuts for the rich.


feed_id: 0e11a1941fca0e48857c236af7c59866
title: Urgent: Drop worst parts of NAFTA
uri: Urgent-Drop-worst-parts-of-NAFTA
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#7_September_2017_%28Urgent%3A_Drop_worst_parts_of_NAFTA%29

content:
<p>
US citizens:
<a href="https://act.credoaction.com/sign/Replace_NAFTA_dems/">call on
the US Trade Representative</a> to drop the worst parts of NAFTA.


feed_id: 6dc76c8c52399523bdb793fddc50e745
title: Houston disaster predicted by experts
uri: Houston-disaster-predicted-by-experts
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#7_September_2017_%28Houston_disaster_predicted_by_experts%29

content:
<p>
Experts predicted that a storm would someday flood the Houston area
and unleash large amounts of air and water pollution.  They said so
<a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2017/09/04/big-oil-blame-harveys-toxic-legacy">several
times</a>.  But they didn't expect anyone to pay attention.
<p>
Oil companies are not interested in preventing disaster; they figure
that when the disaster happens they will be powerful enough to dump
the costs and damage on others.
<p>
It's the government's job to regulate them so that they don't create
so much danger for everyone else.  But nowadays, due to plutocracy,
the government doesn't try to do this job, and many others.
<p>
We need to
<a href="/articles/why-we-need-a-state.html">restore democracy</a> so
that the government will work for us once again.


feed_id: 8990773a015ba29de1e97834fe31cbf3
title: Overprotection of children
uri: 2017-09-08-Overprotection-of-children
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#7_September_2017_%28Overprotection_of_children%29
content:
<p>
Canada's Ministry of Children and Family [harassment] says it is
<a href="http://www.freerangekids.com/dad-teaches-his-kids-to-ride-the-bus-now-cps-tells-him-they-cant-even-go-outside-alone-till-age-10/">illegal
to allow any child under 10 years old to be without adult supervision
at any time</a>.  They have to be monitored more than prisoners are.
<p>
The best way to avoid being chained to helicopter parenting for 10
years is not to have children.  It is best because it is also the
biggest personal contribution you can make to
<a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2017-may-aug.html#19_July_2017_(Children_and_global_heating)">reducing
global heating</a>, as well as
<a href="/articles/children.html">avoiding making your life miserable
in other ways</a>.
<p>
However, for the sake of everyone that has children already —
and for the sake of those children's development into capable adults
— Canadians need to get this stupid decision reversed.


feed_id: bbf033d47bbb35b8513fc9b26c074206
title: California thugs
uri: California-thugs
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#7_September_2017_%28California_thugs%29
content:
<p>
Two pairs of California thugs have been charged with committing
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/sep/05/california-prisoner-abuse-sheriffs-deputies-arrested">"sadistic
and terrorizing acts" against prisoners in jail</a>.
<p>
I don't think it can be a coincidence that two pairs of thugs
separately did similar acts.  It has to be a broader thug culture
practice that they participated in.


feed_id: 3edea144c1c0d6ca909ce9ae7421188e
title: Plastic in tap water
uri: Plastic-in-tap-water
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#7_September_2017_%28Plastic_in_tap_water%29
content:
<p>
Plastic Fibres
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/sep/06/plastic-fibres-found-tap-water-around-world-study-reveals">Found
in Tap Water Around the World</a>, Study Reveals.
<p>
They release toxic chemicals and can drag bacteria along.  They cause
harm to some animals — we can't assume humans are safe.


feed_id: 52f2281184fde3fe0f04423c28939060
title: Sabotage at the EPA
uri: Sabotage-at-the-EPA
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#7_September_2017_%28Sabotage_at_the_EPA%29
content:
<p>
A saboteur at the EPA is
<a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/09/05/putting-politics-science-trumps-epa-restricting-grants-climate-research">rejecting
grant applications that use the term "climate change"</a>.


feed_id: 36cb42f978b2c2930705a29cd757289d
title: Troll's three generals
uri: Troll-s-three-generals
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#7_September_2017_%28Trolls_three_generals%29
content:
<p>
<a href="/glossary.html#trump">The troll</a>'s three generals appointed officials are all associated with
the
<a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2017/09/05/victory-last">policy
of permanent war</a>, and unending defeat.


feed_id: 417a3af6a262041ac0127b5be36ed36e
title: Tories
uri: 2017-09-08-Tories
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#7_September_2017_%28Tories%29
content:
<p>
The Tories are using exit from the EU as an
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/sep/05/eu-withdrawal-bill-executive-coup-brexit">excuse
to ask parliament ministers to rewrite almost any law</a>.


feed_id: 67afe73769dc88a1c738865764c6fe8e
title: Hookworm in the US
uri: Hookworm-in-the-US
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#7_September_2017_%28Hookworm_in_the_US%29
content:
<p>
Now that extreme poverty is common in the US, along with
third-world-style bad sanitation, so is
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/sep/05/hookworm-lowndes-county-alabama-water-waste-treatment-poverty">hookworm</a>.
<p>
We had pretty much eliminated that, back when the US government
was democratic and did useful things for non-wealthy people.


feed_id: ca52c930b00dc845ddcd51b62da07904
title: Tracking heartbeats with radar
uri: Tracking-heartbeats-with-radar
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#7_September_2017_%28Tracking_heartbeats_with_radar%29

content:
<p>
A clever new home product uses radar to track your heartbeat.
Of course, it also
<a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/40447262/this-device-measures-the-vital-signs-of-anyone-in-the-room">informs
someone (big brother) that someone is home</a>.


feed_id: 207b3b7e002be9d3644788af880eebce
title: DACA
uri: DACA
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#7_September_2017_%28DACA%29
content:
<p>
<a href="/glossary.html#trump">The troll</a> eliminated the DACA program, but with a 6 month delay, to
give Congress a chance to
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/sep/05/donald-trump-dreamers-program-young-immigrants">pass
a law about it</a>.
<p>
It would be better to have this as a law than as a presidential order.
However, Obama gave the order because Congress was deadlocked about
the issue.  We will have to push for Congress to replace the program.


feed_id: 7e90b97cc6c4cf284ae633290dd6eaec
title: Arrested for criticizing arrest
uri: Arrested-for-criticizing-arrest
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#7_September_2017_%28Arrested_for_criticizing_arrest%29

content:
<p>
The Palestinian Authority is going full China against free speech
defender, by
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/05/palestinian-authorities-arrest-activist-issa-amro-in-growing-free-speech-crackdown">arresting
human rights activist Issa Amro for criticizing the arrest of
journalist Ayman Qawasmeh</a>.
<p>
Amro faces charges from both the PA and Israel.  Apparently they have
one thing in common.


feed_id: 33cab876169c72b597155976f013b9c6
title: China's repression of VPNs
uri: China-s-repression-of-VPNs
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#7_September_2017_%28Chinas_repression_of_VPNs%29
content:
<p>
China's repression of VPNs
<a href="https://torrentfreak.com/chinese-man-jailed-for-nine-months-for-selling-vpn-software-170904/">extends
to many fronts</a>.


feed_id: 44f2d902f176a8683f26c7815f161c32
title: Cambodia's opposition leader
uri: Cambodia-s-opposition-leader
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#7_September_2017_%28Cambodias_opposition_leader%29
content:
<p>
Cambodia's opposition leader is
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/05/cambodias-opposition-leader-kem-sokha-charged-with-treason">accused
of conspiring with the US to overthrow the government</a>.
<p>
The government of Hun Sen, who has ruled Cambodia for over 30 years,
is clearly not legitimate.  But I doubt the US is trying to overthrow
it; it isn't democratic enough for the US to aim for that.


feed_id: 63b409f7e207f6a62de7b1f20a819992
title: Repression of journalism
uri: Repression-of-journalism
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#7_September_2017_%28Repression_of_journalism%29
content:
<p>
Azeri journalist Khadija Ismayilova describes how the tyrants of Azerbaijan
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/05/azerbaijani-laundromat-shows-how-regime-robs-its-people-to-feed-itself">repress
journalism</a> to protect their hold on corruption.
<p>
They use the fruits of corruption to
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/05/azerbaijan-revelations-could-herald-shake-up-at-council-of-europe">bribe
European politicians</a> to look the other way.


feed_id: 2bc76891ab8bc9246d159bffca2ef5d2
title: Nuclear disarmament
uri: 2017-09-08-Nuclear-disarmament
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#7_September_2017_%28Nuclear_disarmament%29
content:
<p>
The nuclear powers in 1970 pledged to work for disarmament, but they
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/05/nuclear-armed-nations-brought-the-north-korea-crisis-on-themselves">did
not do what they pledged</a>.  That's why countries like North Korea,
as well as India and Pakistan, have developed nuclear weapons.


feed_id: d53072748e8236bdff99c6cbdc799b11
title: Leaving a child alone in a car
uri: Leaving-a-child-alone-in-a-car
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#7_September_2017_%28Leaving_a_child_alone_in_a_car%29

content:
<p>
A bill in Florida
<a href="http://www.freerangekids.com/proposed-florida-law-leave-kid-in-the-car-for-1-minute-go-to-jail-for-60-days/">would
prohibit leaving a young child alone in a car</a> even for a moment.
<p>
Parents would be required to do more dangerous things instead,
such as take the child across the parking lot.


feed_id: c912f95ebac7d8d1479c77233c7527e4
title: Urgent: Arpaio pardon
uri: Urgent-Arpaio-pardon
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#8_September_2017_%28Urgent%3A_Arpaio_pardon%29
content:
<p>
US citizens: <a href="http://act.demandprogress.org/sign/sign-petition-denounce-arpaios-pardon/">Denounce</a> the pardoning of Arpaio.


feed_id: 8ee99f7a686e99729117a449d578393b
title: Facebook political ads
uri: Facebook-political-ads
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#8_September_2017_%28Facebook_political_ads%29
content:
<p>
Facebook Says Likely Russia-Based Group <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/sep/06/facebook-political-ads-russia-us-election-trump-clinton">Paid for Political Ads</a> During US
Election.


feed_id: 66e00dabd76945173ab4a1a25c55526f
title: Global heating skeptics
uri: Global-heating-skeptics
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#8_September_2017_%28Global_heating_skeptics%29
content:
<p>
A <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/2012/jul/29/climate-change-sceptics-change-mind">new study</a> that combined temperature data and other data, using
software rather than hand-adjustments to compensate for changes in
measuring systems, has convinced some skeptics that global heating is
real and due to human-caused CO2 emissions.


feed_id: acea5332b1fc32c75c7ceacb69492529
title: Hurricane Irma
uri: Hurricane-Irma
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#8_September_2017_%28Hurricane_Irma%29
content:
<p>
Hurricane Irma is the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/06/twin-megastorms-irma-harvey-scientists-fear-new-normal">most powerful hurricane</a> ever observed in the
Atlantic. <a href="/glossary.html#trump">The troll</a> thinks this is just great. "USA #1 in
hurricanes", he will say next.
<p>
However, I think that title has to go to Haiti, which has yet to
repair the damage from two disastrous hurricanes over the past
decade. The people are too poor to do that, and now hundreds of thousands
more could lose their homes.


feed_id: af51f6f6c0ff8123711b9296ae9ee12c
title: Driverless car security
uri: Driverless-car-security
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#8_September_2017_%28Driverless_car_security%29
content:
<p>
The House of Representatives <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/sep/06/self-driving-cars-terrorism-cybersecurity-technology">passed a bill</a> to require driverless cars
to have some vague sort of better security against crackers, on the
reasoning that terrorists might crack them.
<p>
There's nothing wrong with that <em>goal</em>, but it completely
ignores the much more important danger: that state agents, with the
collaboration of the car manufacturer, could make the car take you to
the <a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2015-mar-jun.html#07_March_2015_(Chicago_thug_black_site)">black site</a> of the secret police.
<p>
If driverless cars become common, they will be used in all countries,
including China, Cambodia, Egypt, Turkey, and <a href="/glossary.html#salafi">Salafi Arabia</a>, to
mention just a few in which tyrannical practices have recently been
reported on here. Even if you suppose this can't happen in the US,
that should matter. But if you don't think that could happen in the
US, read about what the <a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2015-mar-jun.html#06_March_2015_(Chicago_thugs_illegal_black_site)">Chicago thugs did</a> for years.


feed_id: 04522738afd8117a9ad3bb73972dc99e
title: US coastal rainstorms
uri: US-coastal-rainstorms
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#8_September_2017_%28US_coastal_rainstorms%29
content:
<p>
US coastal cities are getting <a href="http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/how-cities-are-learning-deal-extreme-rains-180964730/">more and bigger rainstorms</a> already
due to global heating.


feed_id: 4a04092c01c493d03219e9e86a19069d
title: Global heating and deserts
uri: Global-heating-and-deserts
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#8_September_2017_%28Global_heating_and_deserts%29
content:
<p>
The Sahara desert is forecast to claim <a href="http://www.ipsnews.net/2017/09/europe-new-border-africas-great-desert-sahara/">30% of Spain</a> by 2050.
Also parts of Italy and other European countries.
<p>
Global heating is likely to reduce food production <a href="http://www.ipsnews.net/2017/08/global-warming-puts-asias-vital-yields-high-risk/">on land and on sea</a>,
especially in tropical countries.
<p>
Some places in Asia already have temperatures that are bad for growth
of rice.


feed_id: 1ac844e80ca1f488c7ef15f099a22f05
title: Computers in class
uri: Computers-in-class
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#8_September_2017_%28Computers_in_class%29
content:
<p>
A randomized experimental study found that using a computer in class
causes college students to <a href="https://www.gse.harvard.edu/news/uk/17/08/note-taking-low-tech-often-best">learn less</a>.


feed_id: 40acf26db1d35f75a0865eb18223acc7
title: Russian opposition attacked
uri: Russian-opposition-attacked
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#8_September_2017_%28Russian_opposition_attacked%29
content:
<p>
Putin's thugs <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2017/09/06/russia-nationwide-assaults-political-opposition-campaign">attack Navalny's campaign offices</a> and arrest his
supporters.


feed_id: f639cffeab30b7b7ac44a2f0cbf5a2af
title: Egypt prisoner torture
uri: Egypt-prisoner-torture
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#8_September_2017_%28Egypt_prisoner_torture%29
content:
<p>
Human Rights Watch says that Egypt systematically <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2017/09/06/egypt-torture-epidemic-may-be-crime-against-humanity">tortures prisoners</a>,
with approval from President al-Sisi.
<p>
The US under Obama gave al-Sisi total support.


feed_id: da093b112119069ce0393203a7570661
title: Very thin models
uri: Very-thin-models
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#8_September_2017_%28Very_thin_models%29
content:
<p>
Some famous fashion companies have <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2017/sep/06/french-fashion-giants-pledge-to-stop-using-underage-and-size-zero-models">pledged</a> to end the use of very thin models.
<p>
My understanding is that thin models do contribute to the general
social pressure for women to be very thin, and that surely tends to
cause anorexia.


feed_id: 9b7a3f2c2e4878871dfc55cb87c8ede5
title: Right-wing extremist recruiting
uri: Right-wing-extremist-recruiting
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#8_September_2017_%28Right-wing_extremist_recruiting%29

content:
<p>
Right-wing extremists are <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/sep/06/far-right-military-personnel">recruiting soldiers actively</a>, in some cases
going as far as planning terrorist attacks.


feed_id: 19930baf0b37e35d99f003bcc41d1018
title: Indonesian household raid
uri: Indonesian-household-raid
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#8_September_2017_%28Indonesian_household_raid%29
content:
<p>
Fervent Muslims in Indonesia convince thugs to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/06/lgbt-crackdown-feared-in-indonesia-after-12-women-evicted-from-home">raid a household</a>
of women because they dress in a masculine way.


feed_id: 63f9ed5711458e8bb9a8d809aa2f1604
title: DACA lawsuits
uri: DACA-lawsuits
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#9_September_2017_%28DACA_lawsuits%29
content:
<p>
15 states are suing to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/sep/06/daca-states-lawsuit-trump-dreamers-immigration">keep DACA active</a>.


feed_id: 973bc3a45a868a4af5f4d9ffff493fdb
title: Proprietary software cheating
uri: Proprietary-software-cheating
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#9_September_2017_%28Proprietary_software_cheating%29

content:
<p>
Proprietary software makes it possible to design products to <a href="http://www.locusmag.com/Perspectives/2017/09/cory-doctorow-demon-haunted-world/">cheat
ordinary users</a> while hiding their dishonesty from investigators.


feed_id: 6bd0aeb46511f0602151e284cf2945f0
title: Unauthorized immigrants in Houston
uri: Unauthorized-immigrants-in-Houston
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#9_September_2017_%28Unauthorized_immigrants_in_Houston%29

content:
<p>
Unauthorized immigrants in Houston were <a href="http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Fearing-deportation-immigrant-flood-victims-make-12171150.php">scared to call for help</a> in
dealing with flooding, because they were afraid they would be
deported.


feed_id: 911867e4237c78a4eb73f1ad73b50f07
title: Photojournalist shot
uri: Photojournalist-shot
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#9_September_2017_%28Photojournalist_shot%29
content:
<p>
A thug claims he mistook the photojournalist's camera on a tripod
<a href="http://newcarlislenews.net/index.php/public-records/sheriff-reports-6/3290-deputy-shoots-new-carlisle-news-photographer">for a gun</a>.
<p>
Do you find that plausible?


feed_id: 07a1a8b5f97a69dce166846882cf4eae
title: Golf course lobbying access
uri: Golf-course-lobbying-access
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#9_September_2017_%28Golf_course_lobbying_access%29
content:
<p>
The sleaze is <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/09/06/golfing-trump-analysis-reveals-powerful-elite-can-literally-play-access">selling access to lobbyists</a> through his golf courses.


feed_id: 81fb348ee6200736a09bf09f60c7d43a
title: British aristocracy
uri: British-aristocracy
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#9_September_2017_%28British_aristocracy%29
content:
<p>
The British aristocracy owns a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/news/2017/sep/07/how-the-aristocracy-preserved-their-power">large fraction</a> of the land in Britain and
enriches itself from EU-mandated subsidies to landowners.
<p>
If Britain leaves the EU, it could terminate the subsidies.
Could it also take away some of their land? Maybe that is what
Corbyn aims to do.


feed_id: 74f02982f1b61b3d5892d7535bf3889b
title: Stunted children
uri: Stunted-children
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#9_September_2017_%28Stunted_children%29
content:
<p>
Progress is being made in helping <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2017/sep/07/surviving-without-thriving-but-all-is-not-lost-for-the-worlds-stunted-children">stunted children</a> to achieve normal
physical and mental development.
<p>
As in other areas of medicine, an ounce of prevention for stunting
is worth a pound of cure. Countries where substantial numbers of
children suffer from malnutrition have either unjust governments
or too high a birth rate, or both.


feed_id: c236a6d80022d64bb62de5ca6e1bbd17
title: Refugees on Greek island
uri: Refugees-on-Greek-island
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#9_September_2017_%28Refugees_on_Greek_island%29
content:
<p>
An experimental approach enabled the Greek island of Tilos to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/sep/07/europe-integrate-refugees-migration-greek-island-tilos-integration">welcome and
integrate</a> 50 refugees into its population of 500 people.


feed_id: 6d4f4328e6d6a42b9366303b6925b478
title: Joining extremist groups
uri: Joining-extremist-groups
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#9_September_2017_%28Joining_extremist_groups%29
content:
<p>
Many Africans who joined Islamist extremist groups say that
heavy-handed anti-terrorism actions <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/07/african-governments-actions-push-people-into-extremism-study-finds">convinced them to join</a>.


feed_id: e2c01946ace7b02419d17e2daf415f81
title: Cost of global heating
uri: 2017-09-09-Cost-of-global-heating
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#9_September_2017_%28Cost_of_global_heating%29
content:
<p>
Dividing the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/sep/07/big-oil-must-pay-for-climate-change-here-is-how-to-calculate-how-much">cost of global heating</a> among oil companies.


feed_id: 999b2d278c7e43448f0eb9c788373816
title: Breathalyzer tests
uri: Breathalyzer-tests
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#9_September_2017_%28Breathalyzer_tests%29
content:
<p>
Irish thugs did 2 million breathalyzer tests since 2009,
and made up another million and a half tests that <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/07/irish-police-invented-almost-15m-breathalyser-tests-on-motorists">never happened</a>.
<p>
Can anyone tell me what a "fixed-charge notice" is? I wish I knew
whether anyone was punished because of a phony breathalyzer test.


feed_id: a8a63b398aeefdf008faf39071a0e9a7
title: Massacre of Rohingya
uri: Massacre-of-Rohingya
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#9_September_2017_%28Massacre_of_Rohingya%29
content:
<p>
The Burmese army has <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/07/massacre-at-tula-toli-rohingya-villagers-recall-horror-of-myanmar-army-attack">massacred Rohingya</a>, driving those who were not
shot into a fast-flowing river.


feed_id: c21034f4d1c95bd0b5ece3e17318a29f
title: Right-wing extremists
uri: Right-wing-extremists
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#9_September_2017_%28Right-wing_extremists%29
content:
<p>
How Right-Wing Extremists <a href="https://theintercept.com/2017/09/06/how-right-wing-extremists-stalk-dox-and-harass-their-enemies/">Stalk, Dox, and Harass</a> Their Enemies.


feed_id: 831319e530b6492c26e5172ff6909a46
title: Idolizing Bashar al-Assad
uri: Idolizing-Bashar-al-Assad
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#10_September_2017_%28Idolizing_Bashar_al-Assad%29
content:
<p>
Some US right-wing extremists <a href="https://theintercept.com/2017/09/08/syria-why-white-nationalists-love-bashar-al-assad-charlottesville/">idolize Bashar al-Assad</a>, apparently
because of the contempt he shows to all that oppose him.


feed_id: 25d7614903ba78122f6bc2a92d1d0ea7
title: Alireza Rajaee
uri: Alireza-Rajaee
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#10_September_2017_%28Alireza_Rajaee%29
content:
<p>
Iranian journalist Alireza Rajaee developed cancer while a political
prisoner. The prison didn't take the matter seriously so the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/08/iranian-journalist-alireza-rajaee-loses-eye-cancer-untreated-jail">cancer
went untreated</a> and he lost an eye.
<p>
Prisoners are supposed to get medical care, but many countries have
a tendency to skimp on it. That seems to be what happened to
<a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#20_July_2017_(Liu_Xiaobo)">Liu Xiaobo</a> in China.


feed_id: 39160e2bfba2b1bd2217070a305546da
title: Cheating drug company
uri: Cheating-drug-company
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#10_September_2017_%28Cheating_drug_company%29
content:
<p>
The drug company Insys <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2017/09/06/politics/insys-cancer-drug-company-faked-cancer-patients-to-sell-drug/index.html">cheated insurance companies</a> by lying about patients
in order to sell its powerful opioid painkiller.


feed_id: eaebcf51a748aa20d8738aaff291d675
title: Hawai'i coral reefs
uri: Hawai-i-coral-reefs
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#10_September_2017_%28Hawai%27i_coral_reefs%29
content:
<p>
Hawai'i has <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2017/09/07/hawaii-supreme-court-orders-halt-commercial-aquarium-fishery">halted collection</a> of wildlife from coral reefs; the rate
of collection was damaging the reef.


feed_id: 71a11819c015ff74e1342c2ff9b11105
title: Lofoten Declaration
uri: Lofoten-Declaration
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#10_September_2017_%28Lofoten_Declaration%29
content:
<p>
Signing the <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/09/07/unprecedented-lofoten-declaration-demands-managed-decline-fossil-fuel-industry">Lofoten Declaration</a>, world-wide environmental groups call
for "managed decline of fossil fuel production".
<a href="https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2017/09/07/rep-gabbards-fossil-fuels-act-responds-acute-climate-crisis">The OFF act</a>
is a bill to do this in the US.
<P>
In general, I think that setting targets for 2035 is not likely to bring
about any change from fossil fuel businesses. They feel so powerful
that they think they can defeat any distant targets by ignoring them.
Car companies succeeded in pushing back car mileage standards by ignoring them
until it was too late, then saying "Quit demanding the impossible!"
<p>
To overcome predictable resistance and sabotage, we should impose a
target for each year, with heavy fines for any company falling short.


feed_id: d3ba4b94f4f103d47ede5458410602ff
title: Shipping through Amazon
uri: Shipping-through-Amazon
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#10_September_2017_%28Shipping_through_Amazon%29
content:
<p>
It is harmful in many ways that so many companies depend on Amazon
to ship their products. One surprising danger is false complaints
can <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2017/09/07/amazon-was-tricked-by-fake-law-firm-into-removing-toothbrush-head.html">shut down their distribution</a>.
<p>
A complaint about "intellectual property violation" is so vague it is <a href="https://gnu.org/philosophy/not-ipr.html">actually
meaningless</a>.
Amazon should instantly dismiss vague complaints like that, simply
for being vague.
<p>
Another harm is that you can order from a company and be shocked to
discover that it doxxed you to Amazon. This year, a friend offered to
get something for me (I paid the cost), and instead of sending it to
me she doxxed me to Amazon. I couldn't do anything about that, but
I won't ask her to do that again.


feed_id: 0826b1db94257516fdc7868d8f36ccad
title: Dem Party economic positions
uri: Dem-Party-economic-positions
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#10_September_2017_%28Dem_Party_economic_positions%29

content:
<p>
The Democratic Party should <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2017/09/07/democrats-need-strategy-and-viable-candidate-not-more-excuses">stop blaming the voters</a> for being
unattracted to its center-right political positions on anything that
relates to the economy.


feed_id: c552854c698377c86db13ff856b7bee5
title: Global heating damage
uri: Global-heating-damage
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#10_September_2017_%28Global_heating_damage%29
content:
<p>
A new study estimates what fraction of global heating damage
is due to each big oil company. They should <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/09/07/study-details-why-climate-criminals-exxon-should-pay-hurricane-destruction">have to pay</a> for the
damage done by Hurricane Harvey, and Hurricane Irma.
<p>
Not to mention all the other damage.


feed_id: a61be1ff2b38aded32bcf00680d328c3
title: Childhood pressure
uri: Childhood-pressure
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#10_September_2017_%28Childhood_pressure%29
content:
<p>
When working-class parents look at the way middle class parents pressure
their children, they see it as <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/sep/08/why-working-class-children-have-little-chance-of-success">denying them a childhood</a>.
<p>
I agree with them.
<p>
The level of competition that middle-class college-bound children face
nowadays is a consequence of the fact that the fraction of good jobs
is decreasing. Middle-class parents therefore know that their
children will have to compete to stay in the middle class. They also
see that working-class life is getting ever more arduous and painful.
If we fix that, it will go a long way to fixing all of these problems.


feed_id: 4a7538ca068542bbee6f5281637a5075
title: Chemical plant lawsuit
uri: Chemical-plant-lawsuit
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#10_September_2017_%28Chemical_plant_lawsuit%29
content:
<p>
Emergency workers are suing the owners of the chemical plant that exploded
near Houston, because the fumes appear to have <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/09/07/first-responders-sue-texas-chemical-plant-gross-negligence-after-fire-and-explosions">made them sick</a> while they
were in the vicinity.
<p>
This lawsuit may enable the community to learn what chemicals were in
the plant, and find out what diseases they are likely to get in the future
as a result. But what about the hundreds of other plants that don't say
what chemicals they work with? They should all be required to release
this information, for the sake of public safety.
<p>
And that's just one example of the many <a href="/articles/why-we-need-a-state.html">regulations we need</a>.


feed_id: 3d7060f31fc8fdc1b5de77cdfb91d446
title: Unnecessary prison sentence
uri: Unnecessary-prison-sentence
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#10_September_2017_%28Unnecessary_prison_sentence%29
content:
<p>
A totally unnecessary <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/sep/08/father-jailed-over-deadly-dog-attack-on-baby-son">prison sentence</a> was given to a man
who drank himself into a stupor, and didn't wake up when
his dog killed his son.
<p>
Is he likely ever to do this again?
<p>
If this sentence deters anyone else from being similarly
irresponsible, wouldn't just reading about the death of the baby be
equally effective?


feed_id: 78273237418c77f72038673e19f91c1f
title: NAFTA renegotiation
uri: 2017-09-10-NAFTA-renegotiation
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#10_September_2017_%28NAFTA_renegotiation%29
content:
<p>
Danger: the cheater might use renegotiation of NAFTA to <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2017/09/08/will-trump-use-nafta-institutionalize-wholesale-delay-and-repeal-public-protections">impose
deregulation</a>.
<p>
The <a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#10_September_2017_(Global_heating_damage)">damage of Hurricane Harvey</a> demonstrates that we need a lot more
regulation, not less.


feed_id: 6eb8d46189e47373cb2e800ea4af6bef
title: Many Turks don't go along with Erdo&gbreve;an
uri: Many-Turks-don-t-go-along-with-Erdo-gbreve-an
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#10_September_2017_%28Many_Turks_dont_go_along_with_Erdogan%29

content:
<p>
Exiled Turkish writer Elif Safak calls on the world not to cut off
ties with Turkey, but realize that
<a href="http://www.dw.com/en/elif-safak-tells-writers-how-to-support-democracy-in-turkey-and-the-world/a-40404048">many
Turks don't go along with ErdoÄan</a>.


feed_id: 886d5ac8ce2cbd90435cb4e15131a859
title: Plastic
uri: 2017-09-11-Plastic
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#10_September_2017_%28Plastic%29
content:
<p>
Q&A: Our Plastic Addiction Is Out of Control.
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/sep/08/our-plastic-addiction-out-of-control-cut-consumption-now">How
Can We Consume Less</a>?
<p>
Sea Salt Around the World Is
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/sep/08/sea-salt-around-world-contaminated-by-plastic-studies">Contaminated
by Plastic</a>.


feed_id: 95d55febfa76c79a2ab75c5c7dea3304
title: Sanders for president
uri: Sanders-for-president
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#10_September_2017_%28Sanders_for_president%29
content:
<p>
<a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2017/09/07/democrats-need-strategy-and-viable-candidate-not-more-excuses">Clinton
is still fighting for the plutocratist politicians</a>; her
forthcoming book attacks Sanders and calls restoration of democracy
unrealistic.
<p>
Sanders for president in 2020!


feed_id: 1b2ee948fb5fe1d77ab3520b93261c4b
title: Urgent: Block nomination of Randy Quarles
uri: Urgent-Block-nomination-of-Randy-Quarles
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#11_September_2017_%28Urgent%3A_Block_nomination_of_Randy_Quarles%29

content:
<p>
US citizens:
<a href="http://act.demandprogress.org/sign/randy-quarles-fed/">call
on the Senate</a> to block the nomination of Randy Quarles.


feed_id: b5adac0fb65954cf413d6ac93e28dbe9
title: Urgent: Diplomacy with North Korea
uri: Urgent-Diplomacy-with-North-Korea
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#11_September_2017_%28Urgent%3A_Diplomacy_with_North_Korea%29

content:
<p>
US citizens:
<a href="https://act.rootsaction.org/p/dia/action4/common/public/?action_KEY=13021">call
on your congresscritter</a> and senators to publicly advocate
diplomacy with North Korea.
<p>
You can sign this without running nonfree Javascript code using the
<a href="https://stallman.org/salsalabs-method.html">salsalabs
method</a>.


feed_id: 5b4ae134512efba8a551e9cb588a8b23
title: Urgent: Block troll's nominations
uri: Urgent-Block-troll-s-nominations
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#11_September_2017_%28Urgent%3A_Block_trolls_nominations%29

content:
<p>
US citizens:
<a href="http://act.democracyforamerica.com/sign/stop_trump/">tell the
Senate</a>, don't advance the troll's nominations for judges.


feed_id: f061a20cb472a159b26493691ca409b7
title: Islands devastated by Hurricane Irma
uri: Islands-devastated-by-Hurricane-Irma
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#11_September_2017_%28Islands_devastated_by_Hurricane_Irma%29

content:
<p>
The Islands just devastated by Hurricane Irma
<a href="https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2017/09/07/jubilee-usa-antigua-and-barbuda-and-islands-dealing-irma-should-stop-debt">should
not have to make debt payments</a>.


feed_id: 96be9d12490cc809c524f58f415b1ee6
title: Troll Ponzi scheme
uri: Troll-Ponzi-scheme
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#11_September_2017_%28Troll_Ponzi_scheme%29
content:
<p>
The President Is a
<a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2017/09/07/president-ponzi-scheme">Ponzi
Scheme</a>.
<p>
His "tax cuts" plan is the
<a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2017/09/07/tax-cuts-rich-help-rich-not-you">same
idea as Reagan's "trickle down"</a>.  It was bullshit in 1980 and it
is bullshit now.


feed_id: 895cecba085710f51916c1243475dfdd
title: Portable toilets confiscated
uri: Portable-toilets-confiscated
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#11_September_2017_%28Portable_toilets_confiscated%29

content:
<p>
Orange County in California
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/sep/08/anaheim-homeless-toilets-confiscated-public-health-crisis">confiscated
the portable toilets from a camp of homeless people</a>, so now the
nearest toilet is a mile away.


feed_id: 57980446d470fa55c0415056436a85d0
title: Making a city safe from flooding
uri: Making-a-city-safe-from-flooding
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#11_September_2017_%28Making_a_city_safe_from_flooding%29

content:
<p>
Stiglitz: Harvey spells it out:
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/sep/08/harvey-markets-hurricanes-katrina-sandy-political-action-disasters">markets
alone won't protect you</a>.
<p>
To make a city safe from flooding requires regulations.  To make a
city safe from toxic pollution requires regulations.  Chemical
companies can pressure against local regulations by threatening to
take their business to another locality so we need national
regulations, even international regulations, which they can't escape
from.


feed_id: fbbe6387fd4b28c7cf3e44ec1eb8a659
title: BP-promoting art award
uri: BP-promoting-art-award
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#11_September_2017_%28BP-promoting_art_award%29
content:
<p>
Henry Christian-Slane won a prestigious art award which promotes
<a href="/glossary.html#bp">Billionaire Polluters</a>, and
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/sep/08/artist-donates-part-of-bp-prize-money-to-greenpeace-in-oil-sponsorship-protest">gave
some of the prize money to Greenpeace for use in criticizing the
company</a>.


feed_id: a3480047b66599b93328b1731bd1d379
title: Refugees in the UK
uri: Refugees-in-the-UK
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#11_September_2017_%28Refugees_in_the_UK%29
content:
<p>
When refugees are granted asylum in the UK, the state
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/08/destitution-is-routine-refugees-face-homelessness-even-after-gaining-asylum">pushes
them into penury</a> by giving them no support.
<p>
I think the US provides new refugees aid and help in finding work.


feed_id: 8b4d3d43cfd852abbbea06db591a17ed
title: Uri Avnery reflects on 94 years
uri: Uri-Avnery-reflects-on-94-years
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#11_September_2017_%28Uri_Avnery_reflects_on_94_years%29

content:
<p>
Uri Avnery reflects on 94 years of life, in
<a href="http://zope.gush-shalom.org/home/en/channels/avnery/1504875705/">pre-Nazi
Germany, Nazi Germany, Palestine, and Israel</a>.


feed_id: 35b1d96894906247668d33c317d16b31
title: ID check at hurricane shelters
uri: ID-check-at-hurricane-shelters
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#11_September_2017_%28ID_check_at_hurricane_shelters%29

content:
<p>
The sheriff of Polk County, Florida, says that thugs will
<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/06/us/polk-sheriff-hurricane-florida.html">check
the IDs of everyone going to hurricane shelters</a> and arrest them if
they are wanted.
<p>
This means that many will risk death by staying away from hurricane
shelters where they would be arrested.  Even when there is a good
reason to arrest someone, which sometimes there is, it doesn't justify
driving per to death.
<p>
Will people without acceptable ID be denied shelter?
<p>
Note the sheriff's evidently intentional falsehood in describing
people wanted for arrest, <em>all</em> of them, as "sexual offenders &
predators".  And
<a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jan-apr.html#15_March_2017_(Convicted_sex_offenders)">only
a small fraction of the real sexual offenders are likely to bother
anyone again</a>.


feed_id: b05739523d66f24b7b30b45f374aa819
title: Koch brothers' antisocialist platform
uri: Koch-brothers-antisocialist-platform
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#11_September_2017_%28Koch_brothers_antisocialist_platform%29

content:
<p>
The old business elite campaigned against laws that protected us from
business activities, and for lower taxes.  The new Koch machine
<a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2017/09/06/it-may-actually-be-worse-you-think-assessing-integrated-and-funded-machine-we-are">aims
to realize the so-called "libertarian" antisocialist platform</a> of
"small government" and no taxes.
<p>
The Koch brothers understand that this means that we non-rich would be
totally at the mercy of the rich, if we have unilaterally abandoned
the only known method to protect ourselves from them: a strong
and democratic state that
<a href="/articles/why-we-need-a-state.html">redistributes wealth and
helps people</a>, as the US government did
<a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2014-mar-jun.html#08_March_2014_(Before_Reagan,_capitalism_as_practiced_in_the_US_created_a_large_middle_class)">quite
effectively</a> when I was young.


feed_id: 9d96b14b6d6de8dbc8403f6021df6fc1
title: Ag-gag laws
uri: Ag-gag-laws
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#11_September_2017_%28Ag-gag_laws%29
content:
<p>
A
<a href="https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2017/09/06/civil-liberties-groups-release-first-comprehensive-report-ag-gag-laws">report
on ag-gag laws</a>, that criminalize reporting on farms' treatment of
animals.
<p>
One, in Idaho, has been ruled unconstitutional.  The report claims
they are all inherently unconstitutional.


feed_id: 794c835bc6c44cf5898a71cde5871651
title: Filtering of uploaded text
uri: Filtering-of-uploaded-text
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#11_September_2017_%28Filtering_of_uploaded_text%29
content:
<p>
The European Union faces a proposal for
<a href="https://edri.org/leaked-document-eu-presidency-calls-for-massive-internet-filtering/">filtering
of all text uploaded for publication</a>.


feed_id: ec5fa438b9ceb18bc5b9f13e5909f838
title: Chemical plant explosions
uri: Chemical-plant-explosions
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#11_September_2017_%28Chemical_plant_explosions%29
content:
<p>
Chemical plant explosions are not unaccountable accidents; they
<a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2017/09/06/arkema-was-not-natural-disaster-it-was-preventable-accident-waiting-happen">result
from carelessness</a>, which US agencies and Texas have decided to
tolerate.
<p>
The spread of toxic pollution from flooded sites of old polluting factories
is
<a href="https://apnews.com/27796dd13b9549b0ac76aded58a15122">not an
accident either</a>.
<p>
<a href="/glossary.html#saboteur">Saboteur</a> Pruitt is
<a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2017/09/06/scott-pruitt-has-epa-ignoring-its-mission-when-we-need-it-most">making
sure the Environmental Protection Agency stops trying to protect us
from these non-accidents</a>.


feed_id: a7858b0baa5509cb1382c474d811bde8
title: US regime change wars
uri: US-regime-change-wars
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#11_September_2017_%28US_regime_change_wars%29
content:
<p>
The US regime change wars in Iraq and Libya have
<a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2017/09/06/how-regime-change-wars-led-korea-crisis">given
Kim Jong Un a rational reason to think that nuclear weapons are the
only protection for his life and North Koreans' lives</a>.
<p>
He might trust China more.


feed_id: 5a901c643a45a31bccfc5baba1ac87ae
title: AI program detects who is gay
uri: AI-program-detects-who-is-gay
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#11_September_2017_%28AI_program_detects_who_is_gay%29

content:
<p>
An AI program
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/sep/07/new-artificial-intelligence-can-tell-whether-youre-gay-or-straight-from-a-photograph">can
detect who is gay</a>, with good accuracy, from a dating site profile
photos.
<p>
The data it is using includes styles as well as the shape of the face.
It is not surprising that the appearance people present on a dating
site reflects who they are attracted to.
<p>
However, the article says that just the shape of the face is enough
basis to be right most of the time.  That seems to prove that
orientation is usually not a matter of choice.


feed_id: 961bf2b7b438b4362c59a83b8270d91b
title: Dangerous data breaches
uri: Dangerous-data-breaches
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#11_September_2017_%28Dangerous_data_breaches%29
content:
<p>
The root cause of dangerous data breaches is the
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/sep/08/why-do-big-hacks-happen-blame-big-data">existence
of big data bases about people</a>.
<p>
Collecting that data is usually
<a href="https://gnu.org/philosophy/surveillance-vs-democracy.html">an
injustice directly</a>, too.


feed_id: 906947df2fd6b7011c02ad0479014279
title: Poor and outcast hit harder by storms
uri: Poor-and-outcast-hit-harder-by-storms
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#11_September_2017_%28Poor_and_outcast_hit_harder_by_storms%29

content:
<p>
Storms as such don't discriminate, but when they hit a society that
does, the poor and the outcast are hit much harder — for many
reasons, including that
<a href="http://fair.org/home/some-people-faced-with-a-disaster-cant-just-pick-up-and-leave/">they
cannot flee</a>.


feed_id: 1ae07dff27b9613b379aa8e57bd47574
title: Prisoners in Texas
uri: Prisoners-in-Texas
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#11_September_2017_%28Prisoners_in_Texas%29
content:
<p>
Prisoners in Texas during the hurricane
<a href="http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/41874-no-toilet-no-ventilation-prisoners-describe-horrific-conditions-in-harvey-s-flood-zone">had
very little water to drink in a temperature of 100 degrees</a>.  They
could flush toilets only for a short time each day.  The rest of the
day they had to breath the fumes from their unflushable toilets.
<p>
Even when there is no hurricane, other prisoners in Texas are
<a href="https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/bjj9z4/my-strange-dangerous-job-building-furniture-in-prison">forced
to work for no pay, building furniture, while their lungs are
destroyed by breathing sawdust</a>.


feed_id: 97db997fdd045956578404787f14e414
title: Murder of Indian journalist
uri: Murder-of-Indian-journalist
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#11_September_2017_%28Murder_of_Indian_journalist%29
content:
<p>
Many Indians, supporters of the ruling right-wing Hindu party and its
leader Modi, have praised the
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/08/narendra-modi-criticised-over-twitter-links-to-abuse-of-shot-journalist">murder
of journalist Gauri Lankesh</a>.


feed_id: 1b09219f110050c0e60e570d32729eb3
title: PISSI
uri: 2017-09-11-PISSI
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#11_September_2017_%28PISSI%29
content:
<p>
<a href="/glossary.html#pissi">PISSI</a> is losing the ability to hold cities, but it
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/08/retreating-isis-fighters-prepare-for-last-stand-in-syria">might
survive as a guerrilla group</a> among people near the Euphrates river
that support it ideologically.


feed_id: a82cef341611ab58370b9398bc786951
title: Exploitation of workers
uri: Exploitation-of-workers
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#11_September_2017_%28Exploitation_of_workers%29
content:
<p>
In the short term, foreigners working in the UK
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/sep/08/tory-fallacy-migrants-british-jobs-wages-brexit">do
not take jobs away from citizens</a>.  They do jobs that are so
arduous, and so low-paid, that citizens won't take them.
<p>
In the long term, however, the reason industry is organized around
making those jobs exploitative is that there is a ready supply of
foreign workers to exploit.  If that were changed, British workers and
these businesses would converge on treating workers better.
<p>
This alone won't cure poverty.  Achieving that will require taxing the
rich a lot more and ending their subsidies.


feed_id: 84aa376127d0eba1a6ec715ae3cb51e2
title: Humanity and nature
uri: Humanity-and-nature
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#11_September_2017_%28Humanity_and_nature%29
content:
<p>
Managing nature as a theme park, or making a nature-themed theme park:
spreading humanity leaves only <a href="http://nautil.us/issue/52/the-hive/how-we-cope-with-the-end-of-nature">those two choices</a> for nature.
That's population growth at work.
<p>
The disappearance of human ties with nature may have an economic effect.
The more disconnected most people's lives are from nature, the more
they are coupled to the fluctuations of human society, which means that
those fluctuations can amplify themselves through feedback.


feed_id: c1cf016673944c5ba2c0985a4ac3d49f
title: Facebook face recognition
uri: 2017-09-11-Facebook-face-recognition
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#11_September_2017_%28Facebook_face_recognition%29
content:
<p>
As political concern against face recognition builds, Facebook
is <a href="https://www.publicintegrity.org/2017/07/31/21027/saving-face-facebook-wants-access-without-limits">campaigning and lobbying</a> against regulation.


feed_id: 82f064c3ef052ce76fb3b6907e77b13e
title: Florida wetlands
uri: Florida-wetlands
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#11_September_2017_%28Florida_wetlands%29
content:
<p>
Florida Republicans cut funds for restoring wetlands years ago.
Florida will <a href="https://theintercept.com/2017/09/09/florida-risks-more-irma-devastation-because-gov-rick-scott-lifted-wetland-protections/">suffer more rain-flooding</a> now as a result of that
bad decision.


feed_id: 392076b1e0500e914193f2d0dcd9f7ba
title: Equifax data leak
uri: Equifax-data-leak
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#11_September_2017_%28Equifax_data_leak%29
content:
<p>
Equifax suffered a huge data leak. To "help" the affected customers,
it invites them to <a href="https://theintercept.com/2017/09/08/equifax-is-proving-why-forced-arbitration-clauses-ought-to-be-banned-just-like-the-cfpb-wants-to-do/">give Equifax</a> more personal data and agree
to part with their legal rights.


feed_id: 8a3234dfc3514ee844ee43be7aedfd2b
title: Polluted drinking water
uri: Polluted-drinking-water
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#11_September_2017_%28Polluted_drinking_water%29
content:
<p>
Industrial Waste Pollutes America's <a href="https://www.publicintegrity.org/2017/08/17/21086/industrial-waste-pollutes-america-s-drinking-water">Drinking Water</a>.


feed_id: 28048dba5f54f713a980cb330b5a1fa5
title: Wildfire smoke
uri: Wildfire-smoke
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#11_September_2017_%28Wildfire_smoke%29
content:
<p>
<a href="https://theintercept.com/2017/09/09/in-a-summer-of-wildfires-and-hurricanes-my-son-asks-why-is-everything-going-wrong/">Smoke from giant wildfires</a> has blanketed much of Oregon, Washington,
and British Columbia.
<p>
This is due to a drought that is partly due to global heating.


feed_id: e40af9e27a02b019cdbacfde8c42601f
title: UK jobcenter system
uri: UK-jobcenter-system
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#11_September_2017_%28UK_jobcenter_system%29
content:
<p>
The UK jobcenter system generates one excuse after another to punish
people. Each mistake <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/public-leaders-network/2017/sep/09/jobcentre-dwp-compassion-young-people-homeless-charity-social-services">leads to new hardship</a>, like an infernal video
game, and eventually you almost certainly end up starving.
<p>
The name for this is "Tory".


feed_id: 721938d0fd84176fc4121e7d1aa1e833
title: Graduate student unions
uri: Graduate-student-unions
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#11_September_2017_%28Graduate_student_unions%29
content:
<p>
Columbia and Yale universities seem to be <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/sep/09/elite-universities-safe-spaces-union">stalling the graduate
student employee unions</a>, hoping that the troll's saboteurs will cancel
their right to organize.


feed_id: a3b049e1ecc0ae9d95e60c10e1950672
title: Mar-a-Lago in 2045
uri: Mar-a-Lago-in-2045
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#11_September_2017_%28Mar-a-Lago_in_2045%29
content:
<p>
Mar-a-Lago could be <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/sep/09/trump-florida-mar-a-lago-hurricane-irma">underwater most of the year</a> by 2045 due to global heating.


feed_id: 1ee116965f01705990d9f711c6ae221b
title: Another hurricane to hit Barbuda
uri: Another-hurricane-to-hit-Barbuda
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#11_September_2017_%28Another_hurricane_to_hit_Barbuda%29

content:
<p>
Another <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/09/hurricane-jose-storm-almost-category-five-as-it-follows-irmas-destructive-path">powerful hurricane</a> is following Irma's track, and will
soon hit Barbuda, in which Irma destroyed 80% of the buildings.
<p>
This calls to mind the book, Mother of Storms, by John Barnes.
Unfortunately, we are nowhere near having the technology
that saved the day in that book.


feed_id: df4999c4475a0d6d80cb7ef5be9d86d6
title: Urgent: Support the OFF Act
uri: Urgent-Support-the-OFF-Act
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#11_September_2017_%28Urgent%3A_Support_the_OFF_Act%29

content:
<p>
US citizens: 
<a href="https://secure.foodandwaterwatch.org/site/Advocacy?pagename=homepage&page=UserAction&id=3063">support</a>
the OFF Act which will require reduction in fossil fuel use.
<p>
The bill is not strong enough; when I signed, I said that businesses
might disregard targets for 2035, so really there need to be
short-term targets plus fines for not meeting them.
<p>
Another approach would be a carbon tax with a steadily increasing tax
rate.  This would achieve the same goal in a market-based way,
provided the tax rate gets high enough.


feed_id: e3a37b7a0185eb60cd857787e1d29fd0
title: Urgent: Demand names of thugs
uri: Urgent-Demand-names-of-thugs
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#11_September_2017_%28Urgent%3A_Demand_names_of_thugs%29

content:
<p>
US citizens: 
<a href="https://campaigns.organizefor.org/petitions/tell-vegas-pd-release-names-of-officers-that-assaulted-nfl-player-michale-bennett">demand
to know</a> which thugs pointed a gun at Michael Bennett.


feed_id: c3de250fc75d6060bd465d3281fbda10
title: Urgent: Curb global heating
uri: 2017-09-12-Urgent-Curb-global-heating
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#11_September_2017_%28Urgent%3A_Curb_global_heating%29

content:
<p>
US citizens: 
<a href="https://act.nrdc.org/letter/hurricane-climate-170907">call on
officials</a> to act now to curb global heating.


feed_id: 2b65eb73345c07832c32b1017c5f2ce5
title: Excuse to eliminate public housing
uri: Excuse-to-eliminate-public-housing
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#11_September_2017_%28Excuse_to_eliminate_public_housing%29

content:
<p>
New Orleans used Hurricane Katrina as an excuse to eliminate public housing.
The same 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/housing-network/2017/sep/08/hurricane-katrina-harvey-threat-us-public-housing">could
happen in Houston now</a>.


feed_id: fabe22ee6b1d880d689acb2eed56701a
title: Election manipulation through Facebook
uri: Election-manipulation-through-Facebook
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#11_September_2017_%28Election_manipulation_through_Facebook%29

content:
<p>
Facebook makes 
<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/08/opinion/facebook-wins-democracy-loses.html">secretive
election manipulation</a> easy for anyone with money to spend.
<p>
This provides an ideal way for plutocrats to use the dark money
legalized by the <a href="/glossary.html#corporationsunited">Corporations United</a> decision.  As well as an ideal
way for bigots to spread bigotry.


feed_id: 1be5adf7e54ebf089856cafa9d7bd220
title: Why troll says outrageous things
uri: Why-troll-says-outrageous-things
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#11_September_2017_%28Why_troll_says_outrageous_things%29

content:
<p>
<a href="/glossary.html#trump">The troll</a> says outrageous things because that 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/05/donald-trump-why-do-evangelicals-support-him">delights
the extremist Christians that support him</a>.


feed_id: fcd0de471fdbb06dcca282531793a406
title: Rohingya and Burmese army both lying
uri: Rohingya-and-Burmese-army-both-lying
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#11_September_2017_%28Rohingya_and_Burmese_army_both_lying%29

content:
<p>
Both the Rohingya and the Burmese army are
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2017/sep/05/fake-news-images-add-fuel-to-fire-in-myanmar-after-more-than-400-deaths">falsifying
reports of atrocities</a> using images from other wars.


feed_id: fcd16a3f5ce3b19f9ea5e1d1f127e823
title: Malnourished children in Madagascar
uri: Malnourished-children-in-Madagascar
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#11_September_2017_%28Malnourished_children_in_Madagascar%29

content:
<p>
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2017/sep/06/malnutrition-madagascar-heavy-toll-they-should-be-much-bigger-stunted">Half
the children in Madagascar</a> are stunted from malnutrition.
<p>
For the short term, Madagascar aid for the children.  For the long
term, Madagascar needs contraceptive aid to make fewer children.


feed_id: 8acff0beff18daf3444ef529668b3d10
title: Disabled people denied support by Tories
uri: Disabled-people-denied-support-by-Tories
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#11_September_2017_%28Disabled_people_denied_support_by_Tories%29

content:
<p>
A million of disabled people in Britain, who need some support to do
the tasks of ordinary life, have been 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/sep/07/britain-no-longer-civilised-un-disability-report">denied
that support by the Tories</a>.
<p>
If you don't think prostitution is a healthy practice, then make sure
nobody needs to do it.


feed_id: bbe433f2e5ffe41ffdbc1ed2674db211
title: Tories cutting aid to disabled people
uri: Tories-cutting-aid-to-disabled-people
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#11_September_2017_%28Tories_cutting_aid_to_disabled_people%29

content:
<p>
The Tories are 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/sep/07/britain-no-longer-civilised-un-disability-report">cutting
the last bits of aid</a> that enable many disabled people to live
independently.


feed_id: 9c38f221ff018ff6ccb68ce1c17fe967
title: US wants to deport Iraqi minority refugees
uri: US-wants-to-deport-Iraqi-minority-refugees
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#11_September_2017_%28US_wants_to_deport_Iraqi_minority_refugees%29

content:
<p>
The US wants to deport refugees from Iraqi minority groups to Iraq,
where they 
<a href="https://reason.com/archives/2017/09/10/trump-cracks-down-on-refugees">might
be killed or tortured</a>.


feed_id: 97605d0ac5426dbec12c8d56b5668458
title: Equifax
uri: Equifax
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#11_September_2017_%28Equifax%29
content:
<p>
Equifax is giving bogus answers when people ask whether they were
included in the data breach.  And then it 
<a href="https://techcrunch.com/2017/09/08/psa-no-matter-what-you-write-equifax-may-tell-you-youve-been-impacted-by-the-hack/">rushes
people to continue signing up for a service they didn't ask for</a>,
including a contract that 
<a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2014-sep-dec.html#30_December_2014_(Patients_forced_to_waive_legal_rights)">signs
way their legal rights</a>.


feed_id: e7c52efb2b1f03bec353db9443843ad1
title: Faux News
uri: 2017-09-12-Faux-News
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#11_September_2017_%28Faux_News%29
content:
<p>
<a href="/glossary.html#faux">Faux News</a> is operated, not to make money, but to 
<a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/09/08/your-worst-fears-about-fox-news-are-confirmed-new-study">promote
right-wing views</a>, and it is dangerously successful.


feed_id: 9449cfeb60b30ee22be03ec8d9867d22
title: "Sex offenders" barred from hurricane shelters
uri: Sex-offenders-barred-from-hurricane-shelters
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#11_September_2017_%28Sex_offenders_barred_from_hurricane_shelters%29

content:
<p>
Florida thugs are keeping "sex offenders" from entering shelters,
<a href="http://www.freerangekids.com/as-irma-bears-down-one-group-gets-no-shelter/">putting
their lives in danger</a>.
<p>
This article also has examples of the injustices that the sex offender
registry regularly does to Americans.


feed_id: c9aec2bfe4676d436d4c3f937701357c
title: Flood prevention
uri: Flood-prevention
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#12_September_2017_%28Flood_prevention%29
content:
<p>
<a href="http://grist.org/article/houston-was-built-to-flood-heres-how-to-avoid-building-future-houstons/">
To protect a city from flooding,
</a>
make it taller and more compact.


feed_id: e500b564c8afe97e56157f6c52f01ffa
title: Asbestos
uri: 2017-09-12-Asbestos
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#12_September_2017_%28Asbestos%29
content:
<p>
<a href="http://www.ipsnews.net/2017/09/deadly-asbestos-still-used-around-world/">
Deadly Asbestos
</a>
Still Widely Used Around the World.


feed_id: 1f741920ba978ca074d4061bc49dd28e
title: Murdered journalist-activist
uri: Murdered-journalist-activist
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#12_September_2017_%28Murdered_journalist-activist%29

content:
<p>
About murdered
<a href="http://www.ipsnews.net/2017/09/indian-journalists-murder-ultimate-form-press-censorship/">
Indian Journalist Gauri Lankesh.
</a>


feed_id: 0036890a09c3304e2ec953c41ba6ae5b
title: No shelter for sexters
uri: No-shelter-for-sexters
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#12_September_2017_%28No_shelter_for_sexters%29
content:
<p>
Florida thugs are
<a href="http://www.freerangekids.com/as-irma-bears-down-one-group-gets-no-shelter/">
blocking "sex offenders" from entering shelters,
</a>
putting their lives in real danger to avoid an unlikely hypothetical one.


feed_id: 3b0e373622d21d3ba08e0f87f2a61e66
title: Big tobacco
uri: Big-tobacco
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#12_September_2017_%28Big_tobacco%29
content:
<p>
British American Tobacco, already being investigated for possible
bribery in Africa,
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/sep/09/british-diplomat-lobbied-big-tobacco-bat-bangladesh-unpaid-vat">
got a British diplomat to lobby Bangladesh
to forego back taxes.
</a>


feed_id: de53fc58fae9e61ed593d1ee0bceb9ab
title: Urgent: Replace Feinstein in the judiciary committee
uri: Urgent-Replace-Feinstein-in-the-judiciary-committee
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#12_September_2017_%28Urgent%3A_Replace_Feinstein_in_the_judiciary_committee%29

content:
<p>
US citizens: call on Senator Schumer to
<a href="https://act.credoaction.com/sign/Replace_Feinstein?t=1001&">
replace Senator Feinstein in the
judiciary committee with someone that will resist the troll.
</a>


feed_id: ddffb2c37c926d2aa3497fb28a38b625
title: Road through park
uri: Road-through-park
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#12_September_2017_%28Road_through_park%29
content:
<p>
Bolivia rushed through a law to
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/sep/11/they-lied-bolivia-untouchable-amazon-lands-tipnis-at-risk-once-more">
allow a road through
a protected national park.
</a>
<p>
Instead of palm oil, the usual cause for such acts, this time it is
coca.


feed_id: 1d99aea1a75d58fef4920472ad9fb5ac
title: 9/11 trial
uri: 9-11-trial
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#12_September_2017_%289%2F11_trial%29
content:
<p>
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed's trial is proceding so slowly that it is
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/sep/11/will-khalid-sheikh-mohammed-come-to-trial-9-11-attacks">
likely to finish 32 years after he was arrested for it.
</a>


feed_id: 78a7a4236d2b57a9aeb231c5031e2878
title: Reconsidering pacifism
uri: Reconsidering-pacifism
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#12_September_2017_%28Reconsidering_pacifism%29
content:
<p>
A progressive Christian pacifist was compelled to
<a href="https://radicaldiscipleship.net/2017/08/23/my-nonviolent-stance-was-met-with-heavily-armed-men/">
reconsider the extent of
his pacifism after being on the receiving end of right-wing extremist violence,
and being protected by Antifa.
</a>
<p>
I am not a pacifist: I think violence in self-defence, and in defense
of others, is legitimate.  However, we must make sure, in protests,
that we do not attack others with violence.


feed_id: 3ded38882d9da50d6c641ff9f9cd6ad8
title: "Predictive policing"
uri: 2017-09-12-Predictive-policing
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#12_September_2017_%28Predictive_policing%29
content:
<p>
"Predictive policing" led the LA thug department to
<a href="https://boingboing.net/2017/09/08/weaponized-empiricism.html">
increase surveillance
of everyone in LA,
</a>
instead of dealing with crime.


feed_id: 6374d6c88a7144f29180a6baf61c8143
title: The beginning of the end
uri: The-beginning-of-the-end
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#13_September_2017_%28The_beginning_of_the_end%29
content:
<p>
"The damage suffered by Houston, Tampa and Miami is not an anomaly.
<a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2017/09/11/great-flood">
It is the beginning of the end."
</a>


feed_id: 6665a01cda1233b40132505b41c30d7b
title: Urgent: Protect nuclear deal
uri: Urgent-Protect-nuclear-deal
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#13_September_2017_%28Urgent%3A_Protect_nuclear_deal%29

content:
<p>
US citizens: call on Democrats to
<a href="https://act.credoaction.com/sign/trump_iran_deal?t=1001&">
protect the nuclear deal with Iran.
</a>


feed_id: d411a02c0ad5480568c30dd6b264c91a
title: Unionized janitors
uri: Unionized-janitors
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#13_September_2017_%28Unionized_janitors%29
content:
<p>
Unionized janitors in the UK have
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/sep/12/college-cleaners-outsourcing-soas">
got rid of outsourcing
</a>
at a London university.
<p>
Since outsourcing works against workers, a just government would make
outsourcing financially discouraging for companies.


feed_id: 011a674b1e7216bdbd8961aded6887ae
title: Clinton's new book
uri: Clinton-s-new-book
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#13_September_2017_%28Clinton%27s_new_book%29
content:
<p>
Clinton's new book says, "Don't blame me for losing to the troll".
But, at a deeper level, it also says,
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/sep/12/hillary-clintons-book-what-happened-clear-message">
"Don't blame the banksters I
serve for my loss to the troll".
</a>


feed_id: 8b4bd26fb6b0a581d9d7821346cbe309
title: "Survival" is not "looting"
uri: Survival-is-not-looting
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#13_September_2017_%28Survival_is_not_looting%29
content:
<p>
In St Martin, non-rich inhabitants are
<a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/09/11/amid-food-shortage-and-slow-relief-efforts-post-irma-survival-not-looting">
taking food and water from the
closed and abandoned stores, in order to survive.
</a>
To call this
"looting" is to place property above human lives.
<p>
People who need food and water should take it from anywhere that there
is extra, and they should not be punished.


feed_id: 4c07d60da6815badfcc89bb48fc45beb
title: North Korea sanctions
uri: 2017-09-13-North-Korea-sanctions
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#13_September_2017_%28North_Korea_sanctions%29
content:
<p>
The UN Security Council adopted
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/12/north-korea-sanctions-un-security-council-unanimously-agrees-new-measures">
additional sanctions against North
Korea.
</a>
<p>
Since China voted for them, this may put more real pressure on North
Korea.  More pressure could help get concessions, but pressure alone
will only make Kim more stubborn.  To get concessions requires
negotiating with him, offering rewards as well as pressure.
<p>
Is the bully capable of this?


feed_id: eeeea7ed16cc0d138e863a9cc242123e
title: Olympic destruction
uri: Olympic-destruction
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#13_September_2017_%28Olympic_destruction%29
content:
<p>
NGOs accuse the Tokyo winter Olympic Games of
<a href="https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2017/09/11/ngos-demand-olympic-authorities-end-rainforest-destruction-and-human-rights">
knowingly allowing
rainforest destruction
</a>
in constructing venues.
<p>
Of course,
<a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2012-may-aug.html#12_July_2012_(Olympic_Games)">
the Olympic Games do other nasty things
to every city they are held in.
</a>


feed_id: ba5c34bafa98c5ea7d264b3ab52c24ad
title: Facial imaging
uri: Facial-imaging
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#13_September_2017_%28Facial_imaging%29
content:
<p>
Facial imaging programs may be able to
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/sep/12/artificial-intelligence-face-recognition-michal-kosinski">
determine people's intelligence level
and political views
</a>
with fairly good accuracy, though not perfect accuracy.
<p>
Beware of plans to punish people because of this inaccurate metric.


feed_id: 6e41a716cebb67451c74d6a252d4ddbc
title: Victim-blaming
uri: Victim-blaming
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#13_September_2017_%28Victim-blaming%29
content:
<p>
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/commentisfree/2017/sep/12/ministers-must-admit-nhs-cant-cope">
Victim-blaming and irrationality:
</a>
  as usual, blaming the victim of rape is based on deep confusion,
between the moral responsibility for doing wrong to others, and the
practical responsibility for taking a foolish risk.  These are not
just different in detail, they are different in kind.


feed_id: a51471d10748b3ea750b9411981c290b
title: Coffee and bees
uri: Coffee-and-bees
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#13_September_2017_%28Coffee_and_bees%29
content:
<p>
With Smart Planning,
<a href="http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/tropical-bees-and-coffee-will-survive-climate-change-smart-planning-180964836/">
Coffee and Bees Can Survive Climate Change.
</a>


feed_id: c87d37239ec65388adf62ce5b7373021
title: "We Shall Overcome"
uri: We-Shall-Overcome
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#13_September_2017_%28We_Shall_Overcome%29
content:
<p>
Fighting, step by step, to
<a href="https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2017/09/the-most-famous-civil-rights-song-we-shall-overcome-is-no-longer-copyrighted/">
eliminate the copyright on "We Shall Overcome".
</a>


feed_id: 1a6feebc6c51f233afa238e8b36c0823
title: Arms fair protesters arrested
uri: Arms-fair-protesters-arrested
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#12_September_2017_%28Arms_fair_protesters_arrested%29

content:
<p>
100 peace protesters were arrested for <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/11/over-100-arrested-for-blocking-firms-setting-up-stands-at-london-arms-fair">nonviolently obstructing an
arms fair</a> in London, which was selling arms currently being used for
war crimes.


feed_id: 3f9acb26ae775e9a2a1a3afeea35c400
title: Right-wing speakers
uri: Right-wing-speakers
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#12_September_2017_%28Right-wing_speakers%29
content:
<p>
Right-wing tease speakers aim to <a href="https://theintercept.com/2017/09/11/berkeley-republicans-hope-more-left-wing-riots-will-create-pedestal-for-conservative-movement/">provoke progressive protesters</a> into
violence, which serves as good publicity for the right-wing.
<p>
The progressive movement must learn not to be drawn into violence by
words.


feed_id: f1ffac78e5b462acd24f48db2bae4362
title: JP Morgan Chase
uri: JP-Morgan-Chase
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#12_September_2017_%28JP_Morgan_Chase%29
content:
<p>
JP Morgan Chase paid 13 billion dollars so that an <a href="https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2017/09/jamie-dimon-billion-dollar-secret-jp-morgan">accusation of fraud</a> by the
Justice Department would not be filed with the court.


feed_id: 5937bba76211ba312c5e377c5be10742
title: US drones in Yemen
uri: US-drones-in-Yemen
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#12_September_2017_%28US_drones_in_Yemen%29
content:
<p>
The US is using drones and soldiers to <a href="media/34da4583.2017_08_15_PRIV-Yemen-Report-UK-Version-FINAL-FOR-USE.pdf" data-original-source="https://www.reprieve.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/2017_08_15_PRIV-Yemen-Report-UK-Version-FINAL-FOR-USE.pdf">kill civilians in Yemen</a>,
hardly making any attempt to protect them.


feed_id: fcc93acc88abc282eefbba0d74f87c2c
title: Ethnic cleansing of Rohingya
uri: Ethnic-cleansing-of-Rohingya
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#12_September_2017_%28Ethnic_cleansing_of_Rohingya%29

content:
<p>
UN: Myanmar's <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/11/un-myanmars-treatment-of-rohingya-textbook-example-of-ethnic-cleansing">Treatment of Rohingya</a> "Textbook Example of Ethnic Cleansing".


feed_id: 11df847e610092a79d8bd84255522cc0
title: Fires, flooding, collapsing
uri: Fires-flooding-collapsing
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#12_September_2017_%28Fires%2C_flooding%2C_collapsing%29

content:
<p>
What do you <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/sep/11/threat-climate-change-hurricane-harvey-irma-droughts">think it means</a> when your forests are on fire, your streets
are underwater, and your buildings are collapsing?


feed_id: 01467231288abbf58a1dab01b308ab90
title: Licensing manicurists
uri: Licensing-manicurists
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#12_September_2017_%28Licensing_manicurists%29
content:
<p>
Is <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/11/slavery-report-sounds-alarm-over-vietnamese-nail-bar-workers">licensing manicurists</a> a good way to stop the use of enslaved
workers in some manicure salons?
<p>
Enslaved workers are found in a wide range of businesses, but licensing all
kinds of workers would be oppressive. There has to be another solution.


feed_id: c95282d5a2f47367f3989612cef2b69f
title: Right-wing terror attempt
uri: Right-wing-terror-attempt
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#12_September_2017_%28Right-wing_terror_attempt%29
content:
<p>
A right-wing protester tried a terrorist attack against
counterprotesters. The <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/sep/11/washington-vancouver-portland-rally-protest">attack was stopped</a>.


feed_id: edbcdc46e81c89095ddc3b7f2f7fbf99
title: Cancer causes
uri: Cancer-causes
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#12_September_2017_%28Cancer_causes%29
content:
<p>
Many cancers are caused by personal choices that maybe a person can change.
Many other cancers are caused by <a href="http://inthesetimes.com/rural-america/entry/20420/industrial-chemical-exposure-money-cancer-labor-environment-lifestyle">environmental factors</a> that we can't
change individually.
<p>
We can change some of those environmental factors with collective action.
Others need advances in science.


feed_id: 131b9db7e26b83bca395c5440b4422da
title: Downloaders in Turkey arrested
uri: Downloaders-in-Turkey-arrested
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#12_September_2017_%28Downloaders_in_Turkey_arrested%29

content:
<p>
Turkey arrested 75,000 people for <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/11/turks-detained-encrypted-bylock-messaging-app-human-rights-breached">downloading</a> an encrypted
communication application. The state arbitrarily supposed that every
user was a supporter of GÃ¼len.
<p>
Even if they did (or some of them did) support GÃ¼len, that alone
doesn't justify arresting them or firing them.


feed_id: f379053c3e64d822fbef2c28060c14f1
title: Fitness trackers
uri: Fitness-trackers
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#12_September_2017_%28Fitness_trackers%29
content:
<p>
The EU is starting to <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-09-11/fitness-tracking-startups-are-sweating-due-to-eu-privacy-regulators">act against "fitness trackers"</a> that collect
personal data of employees and make them available to the employer.
<p>
It is a step in the right direction, but fitness trackers and other
personal devices should not be allowed to provide <u>any</u> personal data
to <u>anyone</u> other than the individual user, except when the user
decides to send it, and the standard or preferred mode of use should
be totally private.


feed_id: 60f2301b7d4f6a6ed27aec814f67658a
title: Khalid Sheikh Mohammed
uri: Khalid-Sheikh-Mohammed
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#12_September_2017_%28Khalid_Sheikh_Mohammed%29
content:
<p>
The judge in Khalid Sheikh Mohammed's "trial" allowed the prosecution
to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/may/31/9-11-attacks-destroyed-evidence-khalid-sheikh-mohammed">destroy evidence</a> from a US torture site in Europe which was to be
used by his defense.
<p>
Of course, a secret trial is bogus in any case.


feed_id: 3e3e0acdfc5e6a26074e54670e42311a
title: EpiPen malfunctions
uri: EpiPen-malfunctions
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#12_September_2017_%28EpiPen_malfunctions%29
content:
<p>
The FDA is <a href="https://arstechnica.com/science/2017/09/fda-slams-epipen-maker-for-doing-nothing-while-hundreds-failed-people-died/">suing the company</a> that actually manufactures EpiPens, a
branch of Pfizer, for ignoring malfunctions.


feed_id: 61756efc9312454f6461d59f506e4d80
title: Neoliberalist capitalism
uri: Neoliberalist-capitalism
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#13_September_2017_%28Neoliberalist_capitalism%29
content:
<p>
There is 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/sep/13/hurricane-irma-capitalism-growth-economics-environment-financial-crisis">no
rescue plan</a> for what global heating will do to neoliberalist
capitalism.


feed_id: 4d0dda2527c397fd8a6c7e2691e0da14
title: Fossil fuel company tax deductions
uri: Fossil-fuel-company-tax-deductions
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#13_September_2017_%28Fossil_fuel_company_tax_deductions%29

content:
<p>
Australia gives fossil fuel companies 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/sep/13/the-government-attacks-environmental-groups-with-advice-straight-from-the-mining-lobby">tax
deductions to write up the arguments for the right-wing government to
use for removing tax deductions for environmental groups</a>.


feed_id: d44471be4394e3999daab14737d62a25
title: "Civil forfeiture"
uri: 2017-09-13-Civil-forfeiture
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#13_September_2017_%28Civil_forfeiture%29
content:
<p>
The House of Representatives is 
<a href="https://theintercept.com/2017/09/12/in-surprise-vote-house-passes-amendment-to-restrict-asset-forfeiture/">moving
towards cancelling Sessions' expansion of "civil forfeiture"</a>.


feed_id: cd20abe6cf58ed9d5987c01a2d017268
title: Unlawful fishing in African waters
uri: Unlawful-fishing-in-African-waters
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#13_September_2017_%28Unlawful_fishing_in_African_waters%29

content:
<p>
EU Countries 
<a href="https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2017/09/12/eu-countries-authorized-their-vessels-fish-unlawfully-african-water">Authorized
Their Vessels To Fish Unlawfully In African Waters</a>.  A few
high-tech European fishing ships can take fish away from thousands of
local fishermen using traditional gear.


feed_id: 95c8964db246c70b22d70c9f4fd03739
title: US tiring out its military
uri: US-tiring-out-its-military
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#13_September_2017_%28US_tiring_out_its_military%29
content:
<p>
The US is tiring out its military by 
<a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2017/09/12/american-military-out-everywhere-and-winning-nowhere">using
it all the time in many areas of the world for 15 years</a>.  Often in
operations that make things worse.


feed_id: d1a9ccf0e43360f42929d51ea57962b2
title: Loss of topsoil
uri: Loss-of-topsoil
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#13_September_2017_%28Loss_of_topsoil%29
content:
<p>
More intensive farming is 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/sep/12/third-of-earths-soil-acutely-degraded-due-to-agriculture-study">accelerating
the loss of topsoil</a>.
<p>
I've seen reports that we have, on the average, 60 years of topsoil
left.  How will we grow enough food after 60 years from now?


feed_id: 75d4bf621cd2f04ceda352fe3c011672
title: Ethiopia's surveillance system
uri: Ethiopia-s-surveillance-system
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#14_September_2017_%28Ethiopias_surveillance_system%29

content:
<p>
The NSA gave the Ethiopian dictatorship a surveillance system to 
<a href="https://theintercept.com/2017/09/13/nsa-ethiopia-surveillance-human-rights/">keep
dissidents down</a>.


feed_id: 65e51051d39fd3ded103f3e39fb88a47
title: Attack on local food stores and privacy
uri: Attack-on-local-food-stores-and-privacy
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#14_September_2017_%28Attack_on_local_food_stores_and_privacy%29

content:
<p>
A start-up wants to attack local food stores <em>and</em> 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/sep/13/tech-startup-bodega-corner-stores">customer's
privacy</a>.  You won't be able to buy from them without identifying
yourself, it seems.
<p>
In addition, it would put hundreds of thousands of people out of work.
Maybe millions of them.
<p>
Instead of concerning themselves with these injuries to society, the
discussion is about whether the term is somehow insulting to
Hispanics.  It's a great way to distract from the danger of making
them unemployed.


feed_id: a7875f9571b1d96867f67186cb9e18df
title: Twitter blamed for Troll's success
uri: Twitter-blamed-for-Troll-s-success
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#14_September_2017_%28Twitter_blamed_for_Trolls_success%29

content:
<p>
A founder of Twitter 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/sep/13/twitter-founder-trump-presidency-short-attention-spans-evan-williams">blames
Twitter</a> for the troll's success, saying that social networks "dumb
entire world down".


feed_id: a9d947ee01b4f3c261b15b299ec96127
title: Voter Suppression in the US
uri: Voter-Suppression-in-the-US
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#14_September_2017_%28Voter_Suppression_in_the_US%29
content:
<p>
America's 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/sep/13/america-history-voter-suppression-donald-trump-election-fraud">Shameful
History</a> of Voter Suppression.
<p>
It was even more severe before the Voting Rights Act, but Republicans
are going all out to deny the voters control of who gets elected.


feed_id: a8beb989f0d015461cb4c54b87bba057
title: Ivory Coast deforestation
uri: Ivory-Coast-deforestation
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#14_September_2017_%28Ivory_Coast_deforestation%29
content:
<p>
Chocolate growers are 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/sep/13/chocolate-industry-drives-rainforest-disaster-in-ivory-coast">cutting
down forests in Ivory Coast</a>.
<p>
A sufficient number of people patrolling protected forest areas and
chopping down all plantation trees in them would put an end to it.
That would be a short-term fix.  The long-term fix is to bring the
birth rate down far enough that the population starts to slowly
decrease.


feed_id: 0dda8ac6c9064f84766b34b925970bc4
title: US blacks getting poorer
uri: US-blacks-getting-poorer
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#14_September_2017_%28US_blacks_getting_poorer%29
content:
<p>
US blacks, as a group, are steadily getting poorer; likewise for
Hispanics.  They are 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/inequality/2017/sep/13/median-wealth-of-black-americans-will-fall-to-zero-by-2053-warns-new-report">heading
into debt because they can't earn enough to live</a>.
<p>
Projections to 2053, if they assume that the rest of society stays the
same, are neglecting the effects that global heating will have.  That
means they present a false rosy picture.  Even in 2030, things will be
substantially worse overall.


feed_id: fc5a205db4e53509e89f86c1bd011af7
title: Troll's saboteurs defy court order
uri: Troll-s-saboteurs-defy-court-order
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#14_September_2017_%28Trolls_saboteurs_defy_court_order%29

content:
<p>
<a href="/glossary.html#trump">The troll</a>'s saboteurs are 
<a href="https://theintercept.com/2017/09/13/the-trump-administration-was-ordered-to-disclose-the-legal-basis-for-its-syria-strike-it-handed-over-squat/">defying
a court order to state the legal basis for attacking Syria with cruise
missiles</a>.  They handed over published PR material which did not
include the demanded reasons.
<p>
Now what?  <a href="/glossary.html#trump">The troll</a> has already showed he is 
<a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2017-may-aug.html#28_August_2017_(Troll_pardons_Arpaio)">eager
to pardon anyone who disregards court orders when the troll wants
that</a>.
<p>
The president's power to pardon must not include crimes carried out as
part of government activity or at the behest of the president or
officials appointed by the president.


feed_id: e572c39d7370460cc5d4090cf25e0755
title: Britons convicted of enslaving workers
uri: Britons-convicted-of-enslaving-workers
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#14_September_2017_%28Britons_convicted_of_enslaving_workers%29

content:
<p>
Several Britons have been convicted of 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/sep/12/family-members-lincolnshire-jailed-chilling-slavery-case-rooney">enslaving
vulnerable men and forcing them to work laying down tarmac.
<p>
This underlines the point that enslavement of workers is not a matter
of the nature of the job.  It is more a matter of the nature of
society.  People get enslaved and forced to do whatever job because
they are in a vulnerable position, often in a foreign country and told
they are in debt (though that wasn't the case here).


feed_id: c21081b6bbdf65270d9ba08a6a3e63fd
title: The sex offender list
uri: The-sex-offender-list
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#14_September_2017_%28The_sex_offender_list%29
content:
<p>
High school student Corey Walgren 
<a href="http://www.gjsentinel.com/breaking/articles/suicide-of-teen-who-made-sex-video-shows-dilemma-for-schools">committed
suicide just after he was told he might be put on the sex offender
list</a>, for recording the audio of having sex with another student.
<p>
It is wrong to record sex with someone else who has not consented to
the recording.  But it shouldn't carry a penalty of lifetime
loneliness, homelessness and unemployment, which is what the sex
offender list does
<p>
The article repeats the customary falsehood of calling Walgren and
other high-school students "children".  They are not legally adults,
but they are certainly not children.


feed_id: 251946f80305e33391f2c1b925541aa1
title: Egyptian arrests investigator
uri: Egyptian-arrests-investigator
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#14_September_2017_%28Egyptian_arrests_investigator%29

content:
<p>
Egyptian lawyer Ibrahim Metwally Hegazy, who was 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/13/ibrahim-metwally-hegazy-lawyer-forcibly-disappeared-egypt-murder-giulio-regeni">investigating
the torture and murder of Giulio Regeni</a>, has been arrested.
<p>
Egypt seems to have a general policy of confirming that the state was
behind disappearances by arresting the people that investigate.
<p>
I will not go to Egypt while the regime continues this way.
I urge everyone else to stay away, too.  Support some other country
with a less vicious government.


feed_id: 158a437aad166aea28c102954a893292
title: Russian company's use of Facebook
uri: Russian-company-s-use-of-Facebook
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#14_September_2017_%28Russian_companys_use_of_Facebook%29

content:
<p>
A Russian company used its Facebook account to 
<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/12/us/politics/russia-facebook-election.html">support
right-wing bigotry in the US</a>.


feed_id: 9080d3ae9cb799415d7f6a7dafcbb814
title: Police militarization
uri: Police-militarization
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#14_September_2017_%28Police_militarization%29
content:
<p>
Groups to Congress: Put <a href="https://rightsanddissent.org/news/groups-congress-put-police-militarization-hold-oversight/">Police Militarization</a> On Hold and Do Some
OVERSIGHT!


feed_id: bf3a87d01c8a828293f02a44b7afb80f
title: Universal medical care bill
uri: Universal-medical-care-bill
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#14_September_2017_%28Universal_medical_care_bill%29
content:
<p>
Bernie Sanders has again <a href="https://act.democracyforamerica.com/go/24887">introduced a bill</a> for universal medical care
in the US, this time with 15 cosponsors.


feed_id: 53d671a822eeecc302f716426e572da6
title: Coca Cola water sources
uri: Coca-Cola-water-sources
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#14_September_2017_%28Coca_Cola_water_sources%29
content:
<p>
Coca Cola is taking all the ground water near the Mexican city of San
Felipe Ecatepec, so all the wells are <a href="http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/41916-coca-cola-sucks-wells-dry-in-chiapas-forcing-residents-to-buy-water">running dry</a>.
<p>
I suggest legislating that beverage companies selling something other
than "water" must get all their water by desalination powered by
renewable energy, paying a heavy fine per liter for any water
obtained otherwise.


feed_id: 8d4b5382eb4edc77316ab1d67e2ccf5b
title: Power plant safety
uri: Power-plant-safety
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#14_September_2017_%28Power_plant_safety%29
content:
<p>
Engineer Dale Bridenbaugh resigned from GE in 1976 because he knew
that the Mark 1 nuclear power plants' <a href="http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/41927-should-ge-s-mark-1-nuclear-reactor-be-recalled-worldwide-like-a-faulty-unsafe-automobile">safety was dubious</a> and the
company was unwilling to do or say anything about that.
Three of these plants had a meltdown many years later in Fukushima.
<p>
The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission knows the danger, and makes sure
nothing is done to prevent similar problems in the 23 plants in the US.
If they have a meltdown, don't call it an accident!
<p>
Nuclear power plant waste <a href="http://www.dw.com/en/nuclear-waste-where-to-store-it-for-eternity/a-40449893">poses two problems</a>: how to safely cool it down
for the first few decades, and how to store it after that. Neither one
has a safe solution.


feed_id: ab6486584e42971f14231fb57ebc2bf8
title: Facial recognition in Germany
uri: 2017-09-15-Facial-recognition-in-Germany
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#14_September_2017_%28Facial_recognition_in_Germany%29

content:
<p>
Germany threatens to put facial recognition systems in train stations,
<a href="http://www.dw.com/en/germanys-facial-recognition-pilot-program-divides-public/a-40228816">"to make people safe"</a>.
<p>
Safe from what? Almost nothing.


feed_id: 3a4f4e46f6f185d72bc9bb1b3fc128db
title: Surveillance industry
uri: Surveillance-industry
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#14_September_2017_%28Surveillance_industry%29
content:
<p>
Analyzing the ways the surveillance industry <a href="https://edri.org/five-things-the-online-tracking-industry-gets-wrong/">twists facts and words</a>
to give the impression there is no other way.
<p>
Note that the word "free" in that article is used to mean "zero price"
— nothing to do with "free" as we use the term. Also, it does not
consider the issue of whether payment for access to a web site is
tracked or anonymous — it recognizes only the issue of visible
advertising.


feed_id: 9981a8036662e294d9d39e9745699912
title: Netherlands transit
uri: Netherlands-transit
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#14_September_2017_%28Netherlands_transit%29
content:
<p>
In the Netherlands, the train and bus payment card was handing over
students' travel details to another agency without a warrant.
A court has <a href="https://edri.org/netherlands-sharing-of-travel-data-violated-students-privacy/">ordered it to stop</a>.
<p>
That's a good decision, and the article explains why. But it does not
go far enough. Public transportation should be anonymous.


feed_id: 78777724c61658a91d4f902ce87994d9
title: Glaciers in Asia
uri: Glaciers-in-Asia
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#14_September_2017_%28Glaciers_in_Asia%29
content:
<p>
Asia's Glaciers to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/sep/14/asia-glaciers-shrink-threatening-water-supply">Shrink by a Third</a> by 2100, Threatening Water Supply of
Millions.


feed_id: 9e588f887c73d154026cf6c306ba5567
title: Amazon tax breaks
uri: Amazon-tax-breaks
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#14_September_2017_%28Amazon_tax_breaks%29
content:
<p>
Amazon shamelessly asked various US cities to compete to offer it
the <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/09/12/warnings-race-bottom-amazon-holds-nationwide-tax-break-contest">biggest possible tax break</a> for siting its sub-headquarters there.
<p>
I've proposed to (effectively) ban such proceedings by requiring
cities and states to get permission from competing cities and states
for any special tax or subsidy deal to be offered to any private business.
But we can draw a further lesson: we need to get rid of companies that
would drive cities or states into a competitive frenzy.


feed_id: 62ce9ca18885ea569697a935b6be3b57
title: Diesel emissions tests
uri: Diesel-emissions-tests
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#14_September_2017_%28Diesel_emissions_tests%29
content:
<p>
New tests for diesel cars, intended to measure emissions accurately by
measuring them on the roads, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/sep/13/new-real-world-diesel-tests-fail-to-prevent-rush-hour-pollution-peak">still include ways</a> for the manufacturer
to supply a misleadingly low figure.


feed_id: c6ff4c7ffe7f174f2ae900c0f48cf9b0
title: War without specific excuse
uri: War-without-specific-excuse
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#15_September_2017_%28War_without_specific_excuse%29
content:
<p>
The United Nations made it illegal for a state to go to war without a
very specific excuse.  This discouraged wars, though not with complete
effectiveness.  But nowadays states 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/news/2017/sep/14/making-war-illegal-changed-the-world-but-its-becoming-too-easy-to-break-the-law">face
less and less pushback</a> when they start wars.


feed_id: 59546fed2e8308b3bdbb59648b857703
title: Poverty in America
uri: Poverty-in-America
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#15_September_2017_%28Poverty_in_America%29
content:
<p>
A few of the Americans born in poverty are so capable that, with good
luck, they can escape poverty, maybe even get rich.
<p>
There is no way that the majority could do this — the climb is
too steep, and
<a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2017/09/13/sometimes-poor-make-it-big-usually-they-stay-poor">the
number of prosperity slots is limited</a>.


feed_id: 8b03967d170e14f0d104e14529296061
title: Taking CO2 out of the air
uri: Taking-CO2-out-of-the-air
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#15_September_2017_%28Taking_CO2_out_of_the_air%29
content:
<p>
Various methods of taking CO<sub>2</sub> out of the air are 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2017/sep/14/entrepreneurs-turn-carbon-dioxide-into-fuels-artificial-photosynthesis">slowing
advancing</a>.
<p>
These systems would become competitive much sooner if we (1) end the
<a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2017-may-aug.html#8_August_2017_(Fossil_fuel_subsidies)">subsidies
for fossil fuels</a> and (2) tax them to cover the
<a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2013-may-aug.html#25_July_2013_(Loss_of_Arctic_sea_ice)">damage</a>
that they
<a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2015-jan-apr.html#26_April_2015_(Damage_from_global_heating)">will
do</a>.


feed_id: f16e782d0ca362712998187280728696
title: Plain packaging for tobacco
uri: 2017-09-15-Plain-packaging-for-tobacco
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#15_September_2017_%28Plain_packaging_for_tobacco%29
content:
<p>
Plain packaging has 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/sep/14/new-cigarette-rules-slump-sales-londis-booker">cut
tobacco sales 10% since May</a> in one UK store chain.


feed_id: 7e19bc5b283c5fed703b956f7077e860
title: Ash trees in US critically endangered
uri: Ash-trees-in-US-critically-endangered
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#15_September_2017_%28Ash_trees_in_US_critically_endangered%29

content:
<p>
Ash trees in the US are now listed as critically endangered 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/sep/14/red-list-ash-trees-and-antelopes-on-the-brink-of-extinction">due
to a parasitic beetle that arrived in the US 25 years ago</a>.


feed_id: 7444e4443a7bba99c300ebf90fcdfa54
title: Attack on local food stores and privacy
uri: 2017-09-15-Attack-on-local-food-stores-and-privacy
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#14_September_2017_%28Attack_on_local_food_stores_and_privacy%29

content:
<p>
A start-up wants to attack local food stores
<em>and</em> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/sep/13/tech-startup-bodega-corner-stores">customer's
privacy</a>.  You won't be able to buy from them without identifying
yourself, it seems.
<p>
In addition, it would put hundreds of thousands of people out of work.
Maybe millions of them.
<p>
Instead of concerning themselves with these injuries to society, the
discussion is about whether the term is somehow insulting to
Hispanics.  It's a great way to distract from the danger of making
them unemployed.


feed_id: 79dd5eacc7b1e89ed8a52020646c8de4
title: Britons convicted of enslaving workers
uri: 2017-09-15-Britons-convicted-of-enslaving-workers
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#14_September_2017_%28Britons_convicted_of_enslaving_workers%29

content:
<p>
Several Britons have been convicted of 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/sep/12/family-members-lincolnshire-jailed-chilling-slavery-case-rooney">enslaving
vulnerable men and forcing them to work laying down tarmac.
</a>
<p>
This underlines the point that enslavement of workers is not a matter
of the nature of the job.  It is more a matter of the nature of
society.  People get enslaved and forced to do whatever job because
they are in a vulnerable position, often in a foreign country and told
they are in debt (though that wasn't the case here).


feed_id: 7ee3794f470499996262e88fa098ce12
title: Unlawful fishing in African waters
uri: 2017-09-15-Unlawful-fishing-in-African-waters
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#13_September_2017_%28Unlawful_fishing_in_African_waters%29

content:
<p>
EU Countries 
<a href="https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2017/09/12/eu-countries-authorized-their-vessels-fish-unlawfully-african-waters">Authorized
Their Vessels To Fish Unlawfully In African Waters</a>.  A few
high-tech European fishing ships can take fish away from thousands of
local fishermen using traditional gear.


feed_id: 76bca25ba107f8ad295ec91f239dee9a
title: Urgent: Oppose H.R. 2423
uri: Urgent-Oppose-H-R-2423
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#16_September_2017_%28Urgent%3A_Oppose_H.R._2423%29
content:
<p>
US citizens: 
<a href="https://act.credoaction.com/sign/save_red_cliffs_a">call on
Congress</a> to oppose H.R. 2423, and any other bill that would allow
development, mining, drilling or fracking in public lands.


feed_id: 189d97f887d81e0f21efca0c710827a3
title: dooH niboR in the US
uri: dooH-niboR-in-the-US
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#16_September_2017_%28dooH_niboR_in_the_US%29
content:
<p>
The US
<a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2017-09-12/why-american-workers-pay-twice-as-much-in-taxes-as-wealthy-investors">taxes
income from work twice as much as income from investment</a>, and this
is a powerful engine of <a href="/glossary.html#doohnibor">dooH niboR</a>.
<p>
Of course, there are economic arguments for it, and they are all
based on disregarding <a href="/glossary.html#doohnibor">dooH niboR</a>.
<p>
Meanwhile, the profits stashed in 
<a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/09/14/global-crises-accelerate-tax-havens-hide-trillions-worlds-greedy-few">tax
havens or overseas subsidiaries</a> are not taxed at all.


feed_id: 2891efd45e7f5bcea537ec44540edc58
title: Urgent: Oppose cuts in health
uri: Urgent-Oppose-cuts-in-health
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#16_September_2017_%28Urgent%3A_Oppose_cuts_in_health%29

content:
<p>
US citizens: 
<a href="https://act.nrdc.org/letter/af-budget-camp-170912">urge your
congresscritter</a> to oppose budget cuts in health and environmental
protection.


feed_id: 76f5822dc3151306a05a880bc88f56a7
title: Decline in wild species in Canada
uri: Decline-in-wild-species-in-Canada
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#16_September_2017_%28Decline_in_wild_species_in_Canada%29

content:
<p>
Hundreds of wild species in Canada have had 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/15/canada-wildlife-study-decline-living-planet-report">big
declines in population over recent decades</a>.


feed_id: 344a85730c4cee0b794dda133febd4a3
title: Urgent: Medicare for all
uri: 2017-09-17-Urgent-Medicare-for-all
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#16_September_2017_%28Urgent%3A_Medicare_for_all%29
content:
<p>
US citizens: 
<a href="http://act.boldprogressives.org/survey/petition-medicare-for-all/">support</a>
Medicare for all.


feed_id: 9e239ee616e22276c2c8d30c97abd700
title: Increase in world hunger
uri: Increase-in-world-hunger
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#16_September_2017_%28Increase_in_world_hunger%29
content:
<p>
World hunger increased in 2016, due to effects of 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2017/sep/15/alarm-bells-we-cannot-ignore-world-hunger-rising-for-first-time-this-century">war
and global heating</a>.


feed_id: f4f57231a6aa44145ea5f14633a1d6fc
title: Discrimination at Google
uri: Discrimination-at-Google
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#16_September_2017_%28Discrimination_at_Google%29
content:
<p>
Women who worked for Google are suing, complaining about a 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/sep/14/google-women-promotions-lower-paying-jobs-lawsuit">massive
system of discrimination</a>.


feed_id: 32bec9456f6ec369edf7a74707012393
title: Computerized voting
uri: 2017-09-17-Computerized-voting
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#16_September_2017_%28Computerized_voting%29
content:
<p>
The magic word "Blockchain" 
<a href="https://freedom-to-tinker.com/2017/09/12/blockchains-and-voting/">does
not make computerized voting secure</a>.


feed_id: ff69b11254797212ba19eeea993be9f3
title: Unlocking a phone
uri: Unlocking-a-phone
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#16_September_2017_%28Unlocking_a_phone%29
content:
<p>
Using a fingerprint or your face to unlock a phone, instead of a
password, can <a href="https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2017/09/what-you-should-know-about-privacy-and-apples-faceid-on-ios-11/">reduce your legal rights</a>.


feed_id: b856d286a63989f33d91eb7370c81a2a
title: Sound attacks in Havana
uri: Sound-attacks-in-Havana
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#16_September_2017_%28Sound_attacks_in_Havana%29
content:
<p>
When American diplomats were attacked with sound in Havana, some of
them actually heard sounds. They observed these sounds to be <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/14/mystery-of-sonic-weapon-attacks-at-us-embassy-in-cuba-deepens">audible</a>
within sharply localized areas.
<p>
I read, a few years ago, about a technology for modulating an
ultrasound beam with audible frequencies as a system for presenting
the audible sound in a controlled area from a distance. Maybe
something like that was used.


feed_id: 3dbeeeeba822cbbc3ca627897b8a07f8
title: Rohingya villages
uri: Rohingya-villages
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#16_September_2017_%28Rohingya_villages%29
content:
<p>
Burmese <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2017/sep/14/myanmar-new-footage-reveals-scorched-earth-campaign-against-rohingya">have set fire</a> to many Rohingya villages.


feed_id: 7f5c370cc26de9f27a6cd9bef04cd93b
title: Gerrymandering
uri: 2017-09-17-Gerrymandering
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#16_September_2017_%28Gerrymandering%29
content:
<p>
The US Supreme Court will <a href="http://www.prwatch.org/news/2017/09/13280/scotus-wisconsin-gerrymandering">rule on the legality</a> of current Republican
gerrymandering procedure.


feed_id: fa9f34db342b5b1775cdc9bef410bd41
title: Kaspersky software
uri: Kaspersky-software
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#16_September_2017_%28Kaspersky_software%29
content:
<p>
The US government is wise <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/us-to-ban-use-of-kaspersky-software-in-federal-agencies-amid-concerns-of-russian-espionage/2017/09/13/36b717d0-989e-11e7-82e4-f1076f6d6152_story.html">not to trust</a> Kaspersky's proprietary software.
<p>
But it shouldn't trust ANY proprietary software. You can never tell who
it is spying for.


feed_id: 7a3c11c79eb2f65aac6ed97e1d56c8fa
title: Employer-in-the-middle attacks
uri: Employer-in-the-middle-attacks
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#16_September_2017_%28Employer_man-in-the-middle_attacks%29

content:
<p>
Employer-provided computers often do <a href="https://boingboing.net/2017/09/13/weakening-security-for-securit.html">man-in-the-middle attacks</a> on
the employee's encrypted communications. As the employer breaks
security directly, it also weakens security against everyone else.


feed_id: a5ac3a09b9c5c3436cc800add107e378
title: Blood on Columbus statue
uri: Blood-on-Columbus-statue
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#16_September_2017_%28Blood_on_Columbus_statue%29
content:
<p>
Someone put <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/further/2017/09/12/good-look-nypd-investigating-anti-hate-vandalism-murderous-colonizer-asumm-hate">blood on the hands</a> of a statue of Columbus, and the New York
thugs labeled it a "hate crime".


feed_id: 668a7e432d9e7ad34ea7ccc783749d9f
title: Russia investigation legal fees
uri: Russia-investigation-legal-fees
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#16_September_2017_%28Russia_investigation_legal_fees%29

content:
<p>
<a href="/glossary.html#trump">The troll</a>'s saboteurs on the Office of Government Ethics have
cancelled an ethics rule, thus helping anyone accused by the Russia
investigation to get <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/09/14/inviting-bribes-legal-fees-soar-trump-ethics-office-lifts-anonymous-gift-ban">anonymous donations</a> to fund legal fees.


feed_id: 3d8818ea48e016b33729f05dbeaf1282
title: Stock buybacks
uri: Stock-buybacks
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#16_September_2017_%28Stock_buybacks%29
content:
<p>
Ralph Nader: Company executives <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2017/09/14/destructive-stock-buybacks-you-pay">use stock buybacks</a> to enrich
themselves at the expense of the company, the stockholders, and the
workers.
It used to be illegal, and for good reason.


feed_id: d5e5df0f8eaa2ed5ca1c2a192b8dfb2d
title: Pay for global heating
uri: Pay-for-global-heating
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#16_September_2017_%28Pay_for_global_heating%29
content:
<p>
90 companies that made big contributions to global heating
should have to <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2017/09/14/90-companies-helped-cause-climate-crisis-they-should-pay-it">pay for it</a>.


feed_id: 33a037e78231c2ecf2e9b55ca00ab4b2
title: Toxic metal pollution
uri: Toxic-metal-pollution
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#16_September_2017_%28Toxic_metal_pollution%29
content:
<p>
The Environmental Pollution Agency plans to rewrite the rule to <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2017/09/13/epa-rewrites-rules-limiting-water-pollution-coal-plants">limit
toxic metal pollution</a> from coal-burning power plants.
The metals that the EPA wants to facilitate release of include
arsenic, mercury, and lead.


feed_id: 009379ac21c08f20ae00da4415a6e68d
title: Hotel snooping
uri: Hotel-snooping
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#16_September_2017_%28Hotel_snooping%29
content:
<p>
Motel 6 <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/sep/14/motel-6-undocumented-immigrants-reported">reported unauthorized migrants</a> directly to the deportation agency.
<p>
As a US citizen, I don't worry about being deported from the US, but
this reaffirms my concern about putting my name in a hotel's data
base. The NSA <a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2015-mar-jun.html#27_June_2015_(Privacy_in_hotel)">snoops on hotel reservations</a> outside the US
so it can find where people will be staying.


feed_id: d74694f5a2367a714b87916446897c95
title: President Temer
uri: President-Temer
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#16_September_2017_%28President_Temer%29
content:
<p>
Brazil's president Temer faces <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/14/brazil-president-michel-temer-charged">new corruption charges</a>, but only if
his supporters in the legislature vote to allow him to be tried.
<p>
Since they protected him not long ago, I expect they will protect him
now.
<p>
Que o Brazil nÃ£o si rinda ao Temer!<br>
(May Brazil not yield to Fear!)


feed_id: 5a06b3a81155549d61ad3c6de09fbe94
title: Power to pardon
uri: 2017-09-17-Power-to-pardon
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#16_September_2017_%28Power_to_pardon%29
content:
<p>
Courts will hear the case of whether the president has the power
to <a href="https://theintercept.com/2017/09/14/judge-in-joe-arpaio-case-wants-to-hear-arguments-before-vacating-conviction/">pardon someone</a> for contempt of court.


feed_id: 9268c7e9032e3381c6f7811dc170203d
title: Urgent: Military Justice Improvement Act
uri: Urgent-Military-Justice-Improvement-Act
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#17_September_2017_%28Urgent%3A_Military_Justice_Improvement_Act%29

content:
<p>
US citizens:
<a href="http://go.commondefensepac.com/page/s/pass-the-military-justice-improvement-act">support
the Military Justice Improvement Act</a>, which would deny commanders
the power to interfere with prosecution of rape accusations made by
those under their command.


feed_id: c78994056b98ead5951a0a63ccb6943f
title: Urgent: Gun silencer regulation
uri: Urgent-Gun-silencer-regulation
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#17_September_2017_%28Urgent%3A_Gun_silencer_regulation%29

content:
<p>
US citizens:
<a href="http://act.everytown.org/sign/letter-to-congress-oppose-silencers-bill/">call
on Congress</a> not to deregulate silencers for guns.


feed_id: 91b802fc40078b37669183eb91e6b7d8
title: UK gag law
uri: UK-gag-law
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#17_September_2017_%28UK_gag_law%29
content:
<p>
The UK will continue
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/sep/15/charities-condemn-rejection-of-changes-to-lobbying-act">gagging
organizations that campaign for a cause</a>.


feed_id: f0e8fcf58ff1cb6ecbc69e3535a25a23
title: Global heating denial
uri: 2017-09-17-Global-heating-denial
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#17_September_2017_%28Global_heating_denial%29
content:
<p>
A well-funded right-wing organization perfected the argument that
denialists use to discredit all the climate scientists that recognize
global heating: they are all lying so that they can get paid to study
the field.
<p>
They used it first in regard to tobacco, claiming that medical
researchers lied claiming tobacco is dangerous, and their motive was
to
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/planet-oz/2017/sep/15/the-idea-that-climate-scientists-are-in-it-for-the-cash-has-deep-ideological-roots">get
more research grants</a>.
<p>
There are plenty of areas for climate-related research, and if there
were no global heating, they would look for other grants.
<p>
There are some corrupt scientists.  They generally get corrupted by
businesses, and you can find them arguing for the interests of some
business or other.


feed_id: 890c1bb57a3fa1352814edbc6a80c77e
title: Forest defenders in Indonesia
uri: Forest-defenders-in-Indonesia
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#17_September_2017_%28Forest_defenders_in_Indonesia%29

content:
<p>
A group of forest defenders enforce Indonesia's environmental law,
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2017/sep/15/the-eco-warrior-taking-a-chainsaw-to-indonesias-illegal-palm-oil-plantations">cutting
down illegal palm oil plantations</a> and planting seeds of the native
plants.


feed_id: b6e88701cac58cd8e1dd5852b594a1b5
title: Indefinite prison terms in the UK
uri: Indefinite-prison-terms-in-the-UK
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#17_September_2017_%28Indefinite_prison_terms_in_the_UK%29

content:
<p>
The UK sentenced thousands of prisoners to indefinite prison terms; to
be released, each one needs to take a special class.  However, many of
them
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/sep/15/ipp-prisoners-james-ward-jail-sentences-parole">can't
take the class</a> because the prisons they are in don't offer it.


feed_id: 64713fee9ead2f1ba1ce56d8693f9268
title: Russia joins in air attacks in Syria
uri: Russia-joins-in-air-attacks-in-Syria
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#17_September_2017_%28Russia_joins_in_air_attacks_in_Syria%29

content:
<p>
Russia has joined in making air attacks in Syria that also kill
civilians.  Like the US, Russia
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/15/moscow-syria-mission-fight-isis-balance-of-power-middle-east">does
not acknowledge that they occur</a>.


feed_id: e7570b6d667342eb203813d973068e84
title: When thugs kill people
uri: When-thugs-kill-people
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#17_September_2017_%28When_thugs_kill_people%29
content:
<p>
A thug points out that the fact that Justine Damond was white and female
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/sep/15/justine-damond-death-police-union-boss-questions-prosecutors-objectivity">does
not make her killing more heinous</a>.
<p>
I agree.  When thugs kill blacks, when thugs kill men, in general
that's just as bad.


feed_id: 1c8f7914fcc6c9dba1b10181ed9be1cc
title: Regulatory capture
uri: Regulatory-capture
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#17_September_2017_%28Regulatory_capture%29
content:
<p>
An EU agency said that glyphosate was safe, copying "dozens of pages"
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/sep/15/eu-report-on-weedkiller-safety-copied-text-from-monsanto-study">from
Monsanto's submission to that effect</a>.
<p>
The issue here is not possible plagiarism, it is regulatory capture.


feed_id: a335f9be91588818d6ce29b895f26284
title: Blasphemy
uri: Blasphemy
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#17_September_2017_%28Blasphemy%29
content:
<p>
A Christian man with the misfortune to live in Pakistan has been
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/16/pakistan-man-sentenced-to-death-for-ridiculing-prophet-muhammad-on-whatsapp">
sentenced
to death for the "blasphemy" of ridiculing Muhammad.
</a>
<p>
To criminalize ridiculing some person, whether live or dead, is an
offense against human rights.
<p>
The Organization of Islamic Cooperation, which includes 57 countries,
campaigns to impose prohibition of blasphemy on the whole world.  It
is thus the biggest overt enemy of human rights in the world.  Sad to
say, it has convinced/pressured many countries to prohibit making
statements that "offend the feelings" of believers in any religion.
<p>
Not even living people have the right to prohibit hurting their feelings.


feed_id: 6b4ff97269b4d82c671a496a6fab16ac
title: Museum of racial inequality
uri: Museum-of-racial-inequality
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#17_September_2017_%28Museum_of_racial_inequality%29
content:
<p>
Montgomery, Alabama, was a major hub of slave trading.
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/16/america-has-done-a-terrible-job-of-telling-the-truth-about-racism">
Now a museum
of racial inequality is opening there.
</a>


feed_id: c193bc911100cd9debb044642953b0c6
title: Russia attacking PISSI
uri: Russia-attacking-PISSI
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#17_September_2017_%28Russia_attacking_PISSI%29
content:
<p>
Now that Assad's throne is secure,
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/16/russia-islamic-state-syria-assad-forces-recapture-town-okeirbat">
Russian forces are attacking PISSI.
</a>
<p>
They won't talk about civilian casualties, but I'd expect Russia to
disregard civilians when fighting -- worse than the US.  Too bad the
US is not in a position to criticize.


feed_id: 30f3a98540915aa79ec523ecc362e378
title: Privatization
uri: 2017-09-17-Privatization
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#17_September_2017_%28Privatization%29
content:
<p>

Greece is "recovering" after
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/16/eurozone-back-on-its-feet-but-what-about-greece">
privatizing everything in the country
to pay creditors.
</a>
Privatization of services is making them bad
in the usual ways.
<p>
How about nationalizing everything in a few years
and reimbursing the purchasers with IOUs?


feed_id: 4c4935f1faa0ad8ddc139de7e90b9ce9
title: Make peace thinkable
uri: Make-peace-thinkable
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#17_September_2017_%28Make_peace_thinkable%29
content:
<p>
Uri Avnery believes that
<a href="http://zope.gush-shalom.org/home/en/channels/avnery/1505487970/">
peace between Israel and Palestine is still
</a>
possible
-- the only thing to despair of is despair itself.
<p>
Who is going to make peace thinkable in Israel, though?


feed_id: 22ea797b9570c4653404bacc98e877a7
title: Hurricane victims
uri: Hurricane-victims
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#17_September_2017_%28Hurricane_victims%29
content:
<p>
Want to Help Hurricane Victims?
<a href="http://grist.org/article/want-to-help-hurricane-victims-help-them-get-abortions/">
Donate to Abortion Funds.
</a>


feed_id: 2a8a8fcb5281cbdce59eb550cb4e7792
title: Defense against flooding
uri: Defense-against-flooding
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#17_September_2017_%28Defense_against_flooding%29
content:
<p>
<a href="http://grist.org/article/floridas-best-defense-against-natural-disasters-is-nature/">
Florida's best defense against flooding from the sea is the natural
systems
</a>
that Republicans are destroying as fast as they can.
<p>
It may not matter.  If we keep on spurring global heating, most of Florida
will be under water, and it is only a matter of how soon.


feed_id: ec8a17a8d3afff154ea4deaf490dfd83
title: Secret algorithms in trials
uri: Secret-algorithms-in-trials
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#17_September_2017_%28Secret_algorithms_in_trials%29
content:
<p>
US courts are using
<a href="https://www.aclu.org/blog/privacy-technology/surveillance-technologies/secret-algorithms-are-deciding-criminal-trials-and">
secret algorithms to determine guilt or innocence
</a>
in criminal trials.
<p>
Secrecy by a business is often antisocial in itself, but even when
that is not so, it is minor compared with human rights or the public
interest.


feed_id: e2e9ca0b6ebdfc992cfc46aad0e255bb
title: Energy storage
uri: Energy-storage
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#17_September_2017_%28Energy_storage%29
content:
<p>
A California utility has installed
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2017/sep/15/californias-big-battery-experiment-a-turning-point-for-energy-storage">
a large battery to provide reserve power.
</a>
<p>
I am sure that is useful, but if it is to help with global heating, they
should not save it as a reserve -- they should empty it every night
and charge it with solar power each day.


feed_id: 14bcc54e237cf6206e57c12a496ab6d1
title: Like an occupying force
uri: Like-an-occupying-force
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#17_September_2017_%28Like_an_occupying_force%29
content:
<p>
<a href="https://theintercept.com/2017/09/15/police-israel-cops-training-adl-human-rights-abuses-dc-washington/">
Many US thugs have been trained by Israel,
</a>
so it is no wonder that blacks
find that the thugs act like an occupying force.


feed_id: 0342a4cb42f27a5377183d9696c6ce68
title: Flint's water supply
uri: Flint-s-water-supply
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#17_September_2017_%28Flint%27s_water_supply%29
content:
<p>
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/sep/15/flint-water-crisis-lead-levels-marc-edwards">
Flint's water supply now has acceptable levels of lead,
</a>
but people
won't trust the state and city government until they show they deserve
it.
<p>
<a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2017-mar-jun.html#13_May_2017_(Urgent:_Restore_water_credits)">
Since the government of Flint is nondemocratic and was imposed by state
Republicans,
</a>
I doubt it will even try.
<p>
No level of lead is safe, but in practice, below a certain level there
is no feasible way to reduce it.


feed_id: 46159a9faef0e0c5cfe7d0e9e05c293f
title: UK voter ID
uri: UK-voter-ID
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#17_September_2017_%28UK_voter_ID%29
content:
<p>
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/sep/16/voters-to-be-asked-for-id-in-trials-of-system-to-combat-electoral">
The Tories are copying Voter ID from the US,
</a>
I suppose as a way
to reduce the Labour vote.


feed_id: 59f1f67025d5479af736a910b9d30f20
title: Foxconn deal
uri: Foxconn-deal
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#17_September_2017_%28Foxconn_deal%29
content:
<p>
<a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2017/09/13/walker-and-trumps-foxconn-deal-may-be-worst-american-history">
Walker and Trump's Foxconn Deal May Be Worst in American History.
</a>
(Itâs
like paying $900,000 for a $150,000 house you might not get to live
in.)


feed_id: cb7af41e0a321cd415a22f4c308907dc
title: Extremists and counterprotesters
uri: Extremists-and-counterprotesters
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#17_September_2017_%28Extremists_and_counterprotesters%29

content:
<p>
US newspapers repeatedly create a
<a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2017/09/14/month-after-charlottesville-papers-spent-much-time-condemning-anti-nazis-nazis">
false equivalence between right-wing
extremists and counterprotesters;
</a>
then they focus their attacks on the
counterprotesters.


feed_id: f7002de8bb4c09661d0b99335f01a99d
title: Urgent: Taxes
uri: Urgent-Taxes
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#18_September_2017_%28Urgent%3A_Taxes%29
content:
<p>
US citizens:
<a href="https://petitions.signforgood.com/stoptrumptaxcuts/">tell
Congress</a>: No tax cuts for rich, no cuts to Medicare, Medicaid and
Social Security, cut the tax breaks that encourage offshoring profits,
and no "reconciliation" tax cuts.


feed_id: b346f65f476df3adcf1a9e2417a9c86a
title: Urgent: Reject Bridenstine
uri: Urgent-Reject-Bridenstine
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#18_September_2017_%28Urgent%3A_Reject_Bridenstine%29

content:
<p>
US citizens:
<a href="https://act.credoaction.com/sign/protect-nasa">call on the
Senate</a> to reject anti-scientist Bridenstine as head of NASA.


feed_id: b104392ecf98c7ac98990b2e77b4a9e6
title: Urgent: Equality Act
uri: 2017-09-18-Urgent-Equality-Act
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#18_September_2017_%28Urgent%3A_Equality_Act%29
content:
<p>
US citizens:
<a href="http://go.fightforequality.org/page/s/co-sponsor">Support</a>
the Equality Act to ban discrimination against queer people.


feed_id: 8ce2e1b0d3a46f978960e9236fc08416
title: Urgent: Stand with Jemele Hill
uri: Urgent-Stand-with-Jemele-Hill
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#18_September_2017_%28Urgent%3A_Stand_with_Jemele_Hill%29

content:
<p>
Everyone: stand with Jemele Hill, and
<a href="https://act.colorofchange.org/sign/stand-jemele-hill/">rebuke
ESPN</a> for silencing her.


feed_id: 59c55a2e4adfd20850f3c5b321d5e184
title: Harvard cancels invitation to Manning
uri: Harvard-cancels-invitation-to-Manning
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#18_September_2017_%28Harvard_cancels_invitation_to_Manning%29

content:
<p>
Harvard cancelled its invitation to Chelsea Manning to be a Visiting
Fellow
<a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/09/15/caving-cia-which-literally-assassinates-people-harvard-rescinds-manning-fellowship">in
response to a complaint from the head of the CIA</a>.
<p>
One wag restated Harvard's position with, "Due to a clerical error we
thought she'd perpetrated war crimes, but it turned out she EXPOSED
them, and Harvard WILL NOT stand for that."
<p>
Harvard does not seem embarrassed by
<a href="https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20170915/09593238214/moral-muppets-harvard-cave-to-cia-rescind-chelsea-mannings-fellowship.shtml">inviting
right-wing bigots and liars</a> to be Visiting Fellows.
<p>
Harvard effectively admitted that it was
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/sep/15/chelsea-manning-harvard-kennedy-school">giving
in to CIA pressure</a>.
<p>
Harvard alumni, when Harvard asks you for money, I suggest you print
and send a copy of that last article instead.


feed_id: 04d0502cc1e097d182d6ce3a85175fdf
title: Mariano GÃ³mez
uri: Mariano-GÃ³mez
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#18_September_2017_%28Mariano_Gomez%29
content:
<p>
Mayan engineer Mariano GÃ³mez connected his isolated rural community to
the internet, and was invited by the Internet Society to receive an
award.  The US would not let him apply for a visa, not for anything he
had done, but
<a href="https://boingboing.net/2017/09/14/ikta-kop-collective.html">for
being poor</a>.


feed_id: 97053f582487f60243e1a5a0b30ea86e
title: Pinochet's repression
uri: Pinochet-s-repression
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#18_September_2017_%28Pinochets_repression%29
content:
<p>
Ariel Dorfman's book
<a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2017/09/14/how-read-donald-trump">How
to Read Donald Duck</a> survived Pinochet's repression and has now been
published by the US.
<p>
His book Death and the Maiden gives a fictional picture of what
Pinochet's repression was like.


feed_id: 25d109e3adff57d32e042a8b0fa06cf4
title: Google
uri: 2017-09-18-Google
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#18_September_2017_%28Google%29
content:
<p>
Google has
<a href="https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2017/09/feds-google-stops-challenging-most-us-warrants-for-data-on-overseas-servers/">given
up trying to oppose US court subpoenas</a> for information from
servers stored outside the US.
<p>
Companies located outside the US should not entrust personal data to
any US company.  As for individuals, don't entrust your personal data
to <em>any</em> company.


feed_id: 6b55a90cb48d707e16e0ecc716763bf9
title: Negotiations with North Korea
uri: 2017-09-18-Negotiations-with-North-Korea
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#18_September_2017_%28Negotiations_with_North_Korea%29

content:
<p>
US officials continue
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/15/north-korea-us-military-option-nuclear-tests">threatening
a military attack on North Korea</a>.
<p>
This is stupid, since North Korea could devastate Seoul with
conventional weapons before the US could defeat it.
<p>
North Korea's missile launches, aimed at the ocean, are not attacks.
Rather, they are threats and provocations, intended I think to begin
negotiations.  Since negotiation is the only hope of convincing North
Korea to step back from nuclear weapons, the US should negotiate.  Why
not make peace on the Korean peninsula?


feed_id: 0feff1bd8feb782ff98dc28870cd4641
title: Deportation of Samim Bigzad
uri: Deportation-of-Samim-Bigzad
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#18_September_2017_%28Deportation_of_Samim_Bigzad%29
content:
<p>
The UK deported Samim Bigzad to Afghanistan
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/sep/15/the-guardian-view-on-deportation-contempt-of-court-and-of-decency">before
a court could rule on the case</a>, and defies the courts that have
ruled he should come back.
<p>
He said the Taliban would kill him, and it seems they are
already trying to.


feed_id: 23e3993842b9a29eac0914a5f26ddd08
title: Attacks on sharing
uri: Attacks-on-sharing
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#18_September_2017_%28Attacks_on_sharing%29
content:
<p>
Australia wants ISPs and other internet services to agree on measures to
<a href="https://torrentfreak.com/australian-government-want-isps-to-adopt-anti-piracy-code-170915/">attack
sharing</a>.
<p>
Australians, how about if you tell your ISP today that you oppose the
very idea, because sharing is good, and to stop calling sharing
"piracy".


feed_id: 8b63a2dbf281f3d1ac2874b445ec2bbe
title: Sweden at the service of movie companies
uri: Sweden-at-the-service-of-movie-companies
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#18_September_2017_%28Sweden_at_the_service_of_movie_companies%29

content:
<p>
In Sweden, a man who operated a subtitle wiki site has been
<a href="https://torrentfreak.com/founder-of-subtitle-site-convicted-for-copyright-infringement-170914/">convicted
of copyright infringement</a>, as the state put itself at the service
of the movie companies.
<p>
Don't repeat their propaganda: join me in refusing to call sharing
"piracy".


feed_id: 3d4c186ed59e258f9f43f2491a8c04d8
title: Facebook ads
uri: Facebook-ads
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#18_September_2017_%28Facebook_ads%29
content:
<p>
Why Does Facebook
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/sep/15/facebook-race-antisemitism-propublica">Allow
Advertisers to Target "Jew Haters"</a>?


feed_id: a4e25de6eef132c5481d7b43c54bfb01
title: Equifax and other data brokers
uri: Equifax-and-other-data-brokers
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#18_September_2017_%28Equifax_and_other_data_brokers%29

content:
<p>
Bruce Schneier: It is no use pressuring Equifax and other data brokers
to maintain better security over your data.  They will ignore such
pressure.
<a href="https://www.schneier.com/essays/archives/2017/09/dont_waste_your_brea.html">Only
government regulations will help</a>.
<p>
This explains why Equifax
<a href="http://www.marketwatch.com/story/equifax-ceo-hired-a-music-major-as-the-companys-chief-security-officer-2017-09-15">put
a person whose field is music in charge of security</a>: because it's
a low priority matter for Equifax.
<p>
To really address the problem, we need to limit the accumulation of
personal data, not merely to maintain better security against
crackers.  There are four ways that databases are misused:

<ul>
<li>
By the organization that collected them, intentionally.

<li>
By rogue employees of that organization.

<li>
By crackers that steal the data.

<li>
By the state.
</ul>

Security protects against only one of them.
<p>
You can protect yourself in many of these cases by not identifying
yourself to web sites or companies, which includes paying cash.  I
never order anything on the internet because I won't identify myself.


feed_id: 8cc8c68de51c58be85fd5ccb4d2613dd
title: Face recognition in iThings
uri: Face-recognition-in-iThings
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#18_September_2017_%28Face_recognition_in_iThings%29
content:
<p>
The ACLU reports on the potential
<a href="https://www.aclu.org/blog/privacy-technology/surveillance-technologies/apples-use-face-recognition-new-iphone">dangers
of face recognition in the iMonsters</a>.  For instance, it will be
running all the time, and any cr…app could use it — and
do who-knows-what with the data.
<p>
Whatever the face recognition system is "supposed" to do, that is only
a statement of Apple's supposed intent.  It depends Apple's word
alone.  Apple could at any time downgrade the system to send that data
to its own server, a US government server, or a Chinese government
server.


feed_id: aabd84b8c210affc1ad46caa313c2848
title: Thugs in Caloocan
uri: Thugs-in-Caloocan
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#18_September_2017_%28Thugs_in_Caloocan%29
content:
<p>
<a href="/glossary.html#thug">Thugs</a> in Caloocan (Philippines) arrested teenager Kian delos Santos
and
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/15/entire-city-police-force-sacked-philippines-murder-claims">dragged
him away to shoot him in the head</a>.  Then they planted a gun on
him.  Now the whole city's thug department has been sent for
retraining while a few face charges.


feed_id: e7ca47766a7e93ed87280eef5526e924
title: PISSI
uri: 2017-09-18-PISSI
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#18_September_2017_%28PISSI%29
content:
<p>
There is no clear solution for
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/sep/15/de-radicalise-isis-reurnees-humanity-syria-bond-movie-bad-guys">dealing
with the people who are returning home after going to Syria to support
PISSI</a>.  Every approach has its risks and problems.


feed_id: d5e0e84c7547bcb3b37dd3710d645775
title: Killer thug acquitted of murder
uri: Killer-thug-acquitted-of-murder
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#18_September_2017_%28Killer_thug_acquitted_of_murder%29

content:
<p>
The thug that killed Anthony Lamar Smith got
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/sep/15/ex-st-louis-police-officer-found-not-guilty-murder-jason-stockley-anthony-lamar-smith">acquitted
of murder</a> by saying that Smith had a gun, which apparently was
planted by the thug.


feed_id: 236d7f4550f506edc469f8f74fb9f217
title: Russia attacking PISSI
uri: 2017-09-18-Russia-attacking-PISSI
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#17_September_2017_%28Russia_attacking_PISSI%29
content:
<p>
Now that Assad's throne is secure,
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/16/russia-islamic-state-syria-assad-forces-recapture-town-okeirbat">
Russian forces are attacking <a href="/glossary.html#pissi">PISSI</a>.
</a>
<p>
They won't talk about civilian casualties, but I'd expect Russia to
disregard civilians when fighting -- worse than the US.  Too bad the
US is not in a position to criticize.


feed_id: 36c8e4325c15efb67294378abd323ba8
title: Volunteer
uri: 2017-09-19-Volunteer
url: https://stallman.org/index.html#volunteerListAnc
content:
<p>I am looking for people to search for things such as people's email addresses
       or other contact coordinates.</p>


feed_id: 5fa0ebdcf0e5aee5c4fd2313b18bf7d9
title: Urgent: uranium mining
uri: Urgent-uranium-mining
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#18_September_2017_%28Urgent%3A_uranium_mining%29
content:
<p>
US citizens: <a href="https://act.nrdc.org/letter/protect-western-groundwater-170916">call on Pruitt</a> to protect water supplies from pollution
from uranium mining.


feed_id: 57ab2d4921ef4d39a13dccd366d1ffbc
title: Urgent: Wells Fargo's board of directors
uri: Urgent-Wells-Fargo-s-board-of-directors
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#18_September_2017_%28Urgent%3A_Wells_Fargo%27s_board_of_directors%29

content:
<p>
Everyone: <a href="https://act.credoaction.com/sign/wells_fargo_board">call on the Federal Reserve</a> to remove Wells Fargo's board of
directors.


feed_id: 8ec80d943e3fd7d528ee8feb00ce1fd3
title: Aid to British islands
uri: Aid-to-British-islands
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#18_September_2017_%28Aid_to_British_islands%29
content:
<p>
The UK should immediately provide emergency aid to the devastated
British islands in the Caribbean, but if they want funds for rebuilding
they should permanently cease <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/12/hurricane-irma-british-aid-derisory-caribbean-tax-havens">acting as tax havens</a>.


feed_id: 7d1d942c9424f88f6ab7b697020c9b76
title: Hurricane refugees
uri: Hurricane-refugees
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#18_September_2017_%28Hurricane_refugees%29
content:
<p>
The US Virgin Islands are <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/12/us-british-virgin-islands-hurricane-irma-refused-entry">rejecting refugees</a> from storm-devastated
nearby islands.


feed_id: d38a6283ea564ae4d7125f6dd0cc07da
title: Coal kills people
uri: Coal-kills-people
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#18_September_2017_%28Coal_kills_people%29
content:
<p>
Enough Tiptoeing Around. Let's Make This Clear: <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/sep/18/enough-tiptoeing-around-lets-make-this-clear-coal-kills-people">Coal Kills People</a>.
<p>
Oil and natural gas kill people, too, just not quite as much.


feed_id: e5174672b9149e270b37e9ce40ccfd9a
title: Philippines Congress
uri: Philippines-Congress
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#18_September_2017_%28Philippines_Congress%29
content:
<p>
The Philippines Congress has <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/13/philippines-budget-agency-investigating-drug-war">voted to shut down</a> its human rights commission
for criticizing Do-dirty's murder campaign.


feed_id: 428f169771860cf612af1c8568f19bde
title: Stalker phone
uri: Stalker-phone
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#18_September_2017_%28Stalker_phone%29
content:
<p>
The <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/sep/17/the-phone-that-every-stalker-will-want">"stalker phone"</a> enables someone else to track you
the same way Big Brother tracks all portable phones.


feed_id: 4071f24830b18f6293c849579b3d10b9
title: EU business taxes
uri: EU-business-taxes
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#18_September_2017_%28EU_business_taxes%29
content:
<p>
The EU is considering <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/sep/16/eu-leaders-pledge-action-tax-rise-google-facebook">new kinds of taxes</a> on some businesses
that mostly avoid taxation now.
<p>
This makes politicians show whose side they are on. The US is
plutocratist, of course. So, it appears, is Denmark. The EU needs to
tax businesses and rich people more, so as to make them contribute to
the upkeep of society and to helping the poor.


feed_id: 37710a9d7548098666ffa2a1cb5c2b1d
title: China chat censorship
uri: China-chat-censorship
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#18_September_2017_%28China_chat_censorship%29
content:
<p>
China has imposed <a href="https://globalvoices.org/2017/09/13/china-makes-chat-group-administrators-i-e-regular-users-criminally-liable-for-unlawful-messages/">strict censorship on chat groups</a>, and requires all
participants to identify themselves.
<p>
Banning anonymous or private conversation is tyranny. We must fight
to stop our countries from following China's example.


feed_id: 799e69635cd64adfb919e5ea96480d48
title: 20 million face photos
uri: 20-million-face-photos
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#18_September_2017_%2820_million_face_photos%29
content:
<p>
UK thugs are <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/13/watchdog-warns-over-police-database-of-millions-of-facial-images">keeping a data base</a> of 20 million face photos,
illegally.


feed_id: dc559a3090b7600c5a19b71d472e698c
title: Common struggles
uri: Common-struggles
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#18_September_2017_%28Common_struggles%29
content:
<p>
To rise above the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/sep/16/no-common-goals-fragmented-society-identity-politics">fragmentation of identity politics</a>, we need to join
in common struggles for human rights and economic justice.


feed_id: e1ac39d90c7e7193f08eb6ec3590a7a2
title: Kennedy School fellows
uri: Kennedy-School-fellows
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#18_September_2017_%28Kennedy_School_fellows%29
content:
<p>
Many of the Kennedy School's visiting fellows have done despicable things.
Apparently the school thinks that Chelsea Manning <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2017/09/16/harvard-kennedy-succumbs-cia-pressure-revokes-chelsea-mannings-fellowship">won't fit in</a>.


feed_id: 16492c840f1b1c660892417b364bc244
title: Google Drive denial
uri: Google-Drive-denial
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#18_September_2017_%28Google_Drive_denial%29
content:
<p>
Google shut off Alexa O'Brien's Google Drive account, <a href="http://gizmodo.com/journalist-nearly-banned-from-youtube-and-gmail-for-pos-1815314182">denying her
access</a> to it, because her reporting on Chelsea Manning's trial
included copies of al-Qa'ida propaganda that was presented as evidence.
<p>
This makes a second reason not to use Google Drive. The first reason
is that using it requires you to run nonfree software.


feed_id: 262658d000d90a7004293d1acbfbb809
title: Burmese army setting fires
uri: Burmese-army-setting-fires
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#18_September_2017_%28Burmese_army_setting_fires%29
content:
<p>
The Burmese army is <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2017/09/15/myanmar-scorched-earth-campaign-fuels-ethnic-cleansing-rohingya-rakhine-state">systematically setting fire</a> to places where Rohingya
live, and chasing them to the border of Bangladesh.


feed_id: f4b4dfc528a4d11c505b604901f139a9
title: Adapting to a hot world
uri: Adapting-to-a-hot-world
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#18_September_2017_%28Adapting_to_a_hot_world%29
content:
<p>
Adapting some of our cities to the hot world we are creating
is possible only for the richest parts of the world. It is <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2017/09/15/climate-catastrophe-were-all-ignoring">not a real
solution</a> to the problem. Renewable electric generation is only a part
of a solution.


feed_id: 63af772f9d5c519e594835a3b63cd26b
title: Thug against Jews
uri: Thug-against-Jews
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#18_September_2017_%28Thug_against_Jews%29
content:
<p>
A Florida thug advocated <a href="https://boingboing.net/2017/09/15/the-florida-cop-who-is-proud-o.html">imprisoning and murdering Jews</a>.
<p>
Any public employee who deals with the public and endorses bias for or
against a subset of the public ought to be fired for that. People
have a right to advocate such views, but if they do, they are unfit
for such a job.


feed_id: 53dddf20ef3dc6f2ffdd848a5f0f020c
title: Putin and Ukraine
uri: Putin-and-Ukraine
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#18_September_2017_%28Putin_and_Ukraine%29
content:
<p>
Putin <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/16/russian-backing-for-un-troops-in-eastern-ukraine-gives-us-more-options-says-envoy">proposed UN peacekeepers</a> for the rebellious areas of Ukraine.
<p>
This confirms my belief that Putin stirred up that rebellion for the
sake of pressure on Ukraine, and not because he actually cared about
the dispute in the east.


feed_id: 98973a01356d795e6f0d96f29dabfe03
title: White supremacist bully
uri: White-supremacist-bully
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#18_September_2017_%28White_supremacist_bully%29
content:
<p>
The bully is indeed <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/sep/16/donald-trump-jemele-hill-espn-white-supremacist">a white supremacist</a>.
<p>
Please <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/09/15/standing-espn-journalist-against-trumps-white-supremacy-nazibucketchallenge-goes">join in saying so</a>.


feed_id: f000e7d79e32282f3738137073dd1513
title: Troll's plan to sabotage Iran nuclear deal
uri: Troll-s-plan-to-sabotage-Iran-nuclear-deal
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#18_September_2017_%28Trolls_plan_to_sabotage_Iran_nuclear_deal%29

content:
<p>
<a href="/glossary.html#trump">The troll</a> is 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/sep/18/trump-netanyahu-iran-nuclear-deal-united-nations-general-assembly">still
planning to sabotage the nuclear deal</a> that has restrained Iran
from developing nuclear weapons.


feed_id: 4d33b505d97a6c4bef4032f88a72832f
title: Disappeared Egyptian human rights lawyer
uri: Disappeared-Egyptian-human-rights-lawyer
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#18_September_2017_%28Disappeared_Egyptian_human_rights_lawyer%29

content:
<p>
Egyptian human rights lawyer Tarek Hussein was 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/18/egypt-guilty-of-kidnap-torture-and-abuse-says-former-detainee">disappeared
by Egyptian police</a> and charged with absurd "crimes".
<p>
He was not tortured, but says he heard the sounds of torturing other
prisoners.


feed_id: 86d6345e3ed1a536f1ebbc33f44ba1e6
title: Israeli soldiers
uri: Israeli-soldiers
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#18_September_2017_%28Israeli_soldiers%29
content:
<p>
Israeli soldiers shot and killed Raed al-Salhi 
<a href="http://mondoweiss.net/2017/09/israeli-through-palestinian/">without
even trying to arrest him</a>, let alone charging him with a crime.


feed_id: 8aba0b2c41c8b159716254ccd25d34bf
title: Voice-controlled British navy computers
uri: Voice-controlled-British-navy-computers
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#18_September_2017_%28Voice-controlled_British_navy_computers%29

content:
<p>
The British navy is 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/sep/12/british-navy-warships-to-use-voice-controlled-system-like-siri">adopting
voice control for computers</a>.
<p>
I hope they are not going to privatize this and let a foreign company
track what the crew ask the computer on ships.  But that is not the
only risk here.
<p>
Some decades ago I saw a movie in which there was a naval standoff
between a US ship and a Soviet ship.  The US captain told someone else
on the bridge (a journalist?), "If they fire one, we'll fire one".  A
bridge crewman heard the last two words, took them for an order ("Fire
one!"), and fired a missile, thus starting a war.
<p>
Soon a computer could really do this.


feed_id: 0e941f505d8036d210c5d9d3e8fecfa5
title: Nonfree Javascript on The Pirate Bay
uri: Nonfree-Javascript-on-The-Pirate-Bay
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#18_September_2017_%28Nonfree_Javascript_on_The_Pirate_Bay%29

content:
<p>
The Pirate Bay is making visitors run a 
<a href="https://betanews.com/2017/09/16/pirate-bay-secret-bitcoin-miner/">bitcoin
mining program snuck in with Javascript</a>.
<p>
This is not as bad as snooping on users, which is common on the
internet, but it is still wrong.
<p>
I wouldn't run any nonfree Javascript code from this site, or from any
site.  But if you are willing to run other Javascript code but just
not this code, I expect you could use LibreJS to disable the mining
program and enable the rest.


feed_id: 812675fb119375385789e459933c3349
title: Public records requests
uri: Public-records-requests
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#18_September_2017_%28Public_records_requests%29
content:
<p>
Many public agencies are resisting lawful public records requests by
<a href="http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/secrecy-tactic-suing-people-seek-public-records-49908786">suing
those making the requests</a>.


feed_id: 795e0b01f008a6bd88b310dcf84a35b2
title: Juggalos outnumber troll's supporters
uri: Juggalos-outnumber-troll-s-supporters
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#18_September_2017_%28Juggalos_outnumber_trolls_supporters%29

content:
<p>
A few hundred supporters of the bully rallied in Washington and were
<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/pro-trump-rally-draws-hundreds-not-thousands-to-washington/2017/09/16/4c5e34ea-9b3e-11e7-af6a-6555caaeb8dc_story.html">outnumbered
by Juggalos</a> (supporters of Insane Clown Posse).
<p>
I hope the troll doesn't retaliate against the Juggalos for this.


feed_id: 7e6c109019cde10f901b4775f3b1e714
title: Terrorist recruitment
uri: Terrorist-recruitment
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#18_September_2017_%28Terrorist_recruitment%29
content:
<p>
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/sep/16/terror-attackers-united-by-youth-and-search-for-meaning">Young
adults and adolescents</a> are the main recruiting field for terrorist
movements on all sides.


feed_id: 36fa821ad7e5bcf3a6b76b0cce09e361
title: Internationalism remains strong
uri: Internationalism-remains-strong
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#18_September_2017_%28Internationalism_remains_strong%29

content:
<p>
Despite nationalist political movements, internationalism 
<a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2017/09/17/world-citizenship-more-popular-you-might-think">remains
strong world-wide</a>, perhaps increasingly so.


feed_id: 480f122f48797c997f2c6c83698cdae7
title: Estate tax and capital gains tax
uri: Estate-tax-and-capital-gains-tax
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#18_September_2017_%28Estate_tax_and_capital_gains_tax%29

content:
<p>
The US 
<a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2017/09/17/growing-danger-dynastic-wealth">needs
to increase</a> the estate tax and the capital gains tax.
<p>
Increasing the estate tax does not necessarily mean increasing the
estate tax rate, although that can be done.  Primarily it should mean
defeating the methods people use to avoid the estate tax.
<p>
The motive for taxing capital gains less than ordinary income is to
encourage rich people to invest.  That's wise, and I agree that the
capital gains tax rate should be less than the tax rate on ordinary
income.
<p>
Therefore, to increase the tax rate on large amounts of capital gains,
we should also increase the tax rate on large amounts of ordinary
income so that the latter remains higher than the former.


feed_id: 433c8b15d20634c194d51dc2afdc3e8e
title: Wrong reason for government spending
uri: Wrong-reason-for-government-spending
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#18_September_2017_%28Wrong_reason_for_government_spending%29

content:
<p>
Watch out for claims that government spending would "pay for itself".
In some cases that's true, but the companies that would get the money
will try hard to exaggerate the public savings that would supposedly
result.  Thus, most of these claims are
<a href="http://www.richmond.com/opinion/our-opinion/bart-hinkle/a-barton-hinkle-this-column-will-pay-for-itself/article_21744636-266e-5d10-94d6-72434fad6536.html">bogus</a>.
<p>
Those arguments are harmful at a deeper level.  They inculcate the
idea that state's highest priority is to reduce its budget deficit, so
it should fund whatever activities will have that effect.
<p>
However, if the state considers funding something inessential
specifically to make a profit, that shows it's not one of the state's
important functions — because those <em>must</em> be done, even
though they cost money.
<p>
The very idea of insisting on a balanced budget for the state is
foolish, since that policy tends to turn any recession into a
<a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2011-sep-dec.html#09_December_2011_(Retirement_age)">depression</a>.


feed_id: a00ef35bccc3625fe61fe2a442a6d7f4
title: US median income
uri: US-median-income
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#18_September_2017_%28US_median_income%29
content:
<p>
The US median income 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/sep/12/america-income-high-census-2016-obama-recession">rose
significantly in 2015 and 2016</a>, amounting to around 8%.
<p>
This will be good for Americans, especially if they use it to reduce
their debts.  Unlike a state, an individual or a household gets in big
trouble from deficit spending.


feed_id: 873b6f51efbddaaf7c033c6b61d77630
title: Pay with cash
uri: Pay-with-cash
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#18_September_2017_%28Pay_with_cash%29
content:
<p>
Let's 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/sep/13/cash-digitise-payments-money-cashless">resist
the pressure to get rid of cash</a>.
<p>
The basic way to resist is to insist on paying cash.  That is what I
do.
<p>
I do not insist 100% on cash; my compromise is that I use a credit
card to pay for airline tickets and car rental.  I also use checks, in
some limited situations.


feed_id: cbc66fd1a4f845e3517aa73abf4c8673
title: Thug robs hot dog vendor
uri: Thug-robs-hot-dog-vendor
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#18_September_2017_%28Thug_robs_hot_dog_vendor%29
content:
<p>
Cop 
<a href="https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20170911/08593738186/cop-cleans-out-wallet-unlicensed-hot-dog-vendor-just-because-he-can.shtml">Cleans
Out Wallet Of Unlicensed Hot Dog Vendor</a> Just Because He Can.


feed_id: 9028d123262e7dc4250f398dd9a312d9
title: Facebook ads
uri: 2017-09-19-Facebook-ads
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#18_September_2017_%28Facebook_ads%29
content:
<p>
Facebook invited advertisers to target ads using 
<a href="https://www.propublica.org/article/facebook-enabled-advertisers-to-reach-jew-haters">antisemitic
categories such as "Jew hater"</a>.
<p>
And 
<a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/future_tense/2017/09/14/facebook_let_advertisers_target_jew_haters_it_doesn_t_end_there.html">other
forms of bigotry</a>, too.


feed_id: fa8b67be87e5db3f9a99122c5ce9dd2f
title: Urgent: Our right to encryption
uri: Urgent-Our-right-to-encryption
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#19_September_2017_%28Urgent%3A_Our_right_to_encryption%29

content:
<p>
Citizens of the US, Canada, UK, Australia and New Zealand:
call on these countries to
<a href="https://act.openmedia.org/FiveEyesSaveEncryption">
respect our right to privacy through
encryption.
</a>


feed_id: 250b01e349631ee387eaebe74dee7de3
title: Urgent: Medicare for All
uri: 2017-09-19-Urgent-Medicare-for-All
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#19_September_2017_%28Urgent%3A_Medicare_for_All%29
content:
<p>
US citizens:
<a href="http://act.boldprogressives.org/survey/petition-medicare-for-all/">
support Medicare for All.
</a>


feed_id: 8611bf7da1bc50af37fa120a57b153ea
title: Urgent: Preserve EPA funding
uri: Urgent-Preserve-EPA-funding
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#19_September_2017_%28Urgent%3A_Preserve_EPA_funding%29

content:
<p>
US citizens: call on Congress to
<a href="http://act.foodandwaterwatch.org/site/R?i=sIzg4nK0fbxSPv3vj6WGLw">
preserve EPA funding.
</a>


feed_id: 7dab98eabf42be2112a8ec75af609949
title: Cashless welfare card
uri: Cashless-welfare-card
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#19_September_2017_%28Cashless_welfare_card%29
content:
<p>
Australia is testing
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/sep/18/cashless-welfare-card-report-does-not-support-ministers-claims-researcher-says">
a digital payment card system to track and
restrict people that receive welfare benefits.
</a>
It turns out that the
restriction aspect is ineffective for its stated purpose.
<p>
What this card system may succeed in doing is smearing the recipients
of welfare benefits, teaching others to think of them as potential
cheaters.  That would be a first step to endorsing the Tory-style view
that they deserve to starve in the street.


feed_id: 4ceb24cc30ce85df60770369b18d34e1
title: Glamorous D.C. war criminals
uri: Glamorous-D-C-war-criminals
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#19_September_2017_%28Glamorous_D.C._war_criminals%29

content:
<p>
It's bad enough that Liar Spicer is being honored, but even worse,
<a href="https://theintercept.com/2017/09/18/sean-spicer-is-honored-because-as-bush-officials-showed-dc-elites-always-thrive/">
Dubya's
war launchers are being honored too.
</a>


feed_id: d4890f94abc0a0a47ec874278db43869
title: US military aid
uri: US-military-aid
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#19_September_2017_%28US_military_aid%29
content:
<p>
The US State Department wants Israel to
<a href="http://freebeacon.com/national-security/tillerson-state-dept-demanding-israel-hand-back-millions-u-s-military-aid/">
return millions of dollars of
military aid
</a>
because it broke the attached condition -- not to lobby
for even more aid.


feed_id: f183d960a7822c6a56377cb449b508cc
title: Egypt's crackdown on opposition
uri: Egypt-s-crackdown-on-opposition
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#19_September_2017_%28Egypt%27s_crackdown_on_opposition%29

content:
<p>
Ibrahim Halawa was visiting Egypt at the time of al-Sisi's coup, and
joined in a protest.
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/18/irish-egyptian-man-acquitted-four-years-after-cairo-protest-arrest">
He was arrested and accused of murder, based on
no evidence, and was jailed and tortured for 4 years along with
hundreds of others.
</a>
Last week he was acquitted.


feed_id: c408b7a9dad13efa1203d0749b92b6dd
title: Less snow, more rain
uri: Less-snow-more-rain
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#19_September_2017_%28Less_snow%2C_more_rain%29
content:
<p>
<a href="http://www.futurity.org/northern-cities-climate-change-1541222/">
Colder northern cities also face flooding
</a>
due to global heating.


feed_id: be60347f75f14978498a2893483a5a5b
title: US has 4600 nukes
uri: US-has-4600-nukes
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#19_September_2017_%28US_has_4600_nukes%29
content:
<p>
The US has
<a href="http://blog.ucsusa.org/lisbeth-gronlund/we-visualized-the-us-nuclear-arsenal">
4600 nuclear weapons.
</a>
Calling them a "deterrent" lulls
people into supposing they cannot start a nuclear disaster.


feed_id: a6c1ed25bf4d1aeba4f0528390d432d4
title: Apparent launch of US missiles
uri: Apparent-launch-of-US-missiles
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#19_September_2017_%28Apparent_launch_of_US_missiles%29

content:
<p>
"'Gut instinct' told Lt Col Stanislav Petrov that
apparent launch of US missiles was actually
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/18/soviet-officer-who-averted-cold-war-nuclear-disaster-dies-aged-77">
early warning system malfunction."
</a>


feed_id: a20c5db6e1060a6de14363ac7256591b
title: Automatic censorship
uri: Automatic-censorship
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#19_September_2017_%28Automatic_censorship%29
content:
<p>
A bill that would make US internet sites legally responsible for what
users post is likely to
<a href="https://freedom-to-tinker.com/2017/09/18/sesta-may-encourage-the-adoption-of-broken-automated-filtering-technologies/">
push them all into using unreliable automatic
censorship systems.
</a>
<p>
Please do not refer to internet postings as
<a href="https://gnu.org/philosophy/words-to-avoid.html#Content">
"content".
</a>


feed_id: 46fc5483b3d6938073ece646ed095c2a
title: 1.5C of global heating
uri: 2017-09-19-1-5C-of-global-heating
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#19_September_2017_%281.5C_of_global_heating%29
content:
<p>
The target of
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/sep/18/ambitious-15c-paris-climate-target-is-still-possible-new-analysis-shows">
no more than 1.5C of global heating
</a>
could still be met,
if we take strong measures soon.


feed_id: c4d7e39392ed8f8300f89487a7f19df7
title: ISP deregulation
uri: ISP-deregulation
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#19_September_2017_%28ISP_deregulation%29
content:
<p>
Hurricane Harvey could give big ISPs
<a href="https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/mb7eab/trumps-fcc-will-let-big-telecom-destroy-small-houston-isps-as-it-rebuilds-after-Harvey">
an excuse to wipe out small ISPs.
</a>


feed_id: 1d3308f4d753952d722b90236aa4be10
title: Thugs chanting at peaceful demo
uri: Thugs-chanting-at-peaceful-demo
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#19_September_2017_%28Thugs_chanting_at_peaceful_demo%29

content:
<p>
Thugs in St Louis shut down peaceful protests, then
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/sep/18/hundreds-of-police-officers-in-st-louis-chant-after-breaking-up-protests">
engaged a mass
chant saying that the city's streets belong to the thugs, not to the
inhabitants.
</a>
<p>
They owe all the citizens of St Louis an apology.


feed_id: 3bd81601d175c33ecdf25c39be01aae2
title: Global heating policy
uri: Global-heating-policy
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#19_September_2017_%28Global_heating_policy%29
content:
<p>
When scientists insist on reporting all the uncertainties about climate modeling, they <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/sep/11/hostage-to-myopic-self-interest-climate-science-is-watered-down-under-political-scrutiny">play into the hands of the unscrupulous denialists</a> that will grab any excuse to pretend there is no danger.


feed_id: 9796c15594792db84de0d3b1ac18da2d
title: Bangladesh extreme flooding
uri: Bangladesh-extreme-flooding
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#19_September_2017_%28Bangladesh_extreme_flooding%29
content:
<p>
A large fraction of Bangladesh is under water due to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/voluntary-sector-network/2017/sep/12/bangladesh-severe-disaster-flooding">a mammoth storm</a>. I've read elsewhere that it has flooded 1/3 the land area.
<p>
Some of that land will be dry again soon, but some will have disappeared forever.  A lot more will <a href="/archives/2016-nov-feb.html#23_January_2017_(The_rising_sea)">disappear in coming decades</a>.
<p>
With the population still growing, and the land area shrinking, Bangladesh is on track to be crushed to death.  The main help it needs is help reducing births.


feed_id: 1c5b9ee1b7f3346a09a19ccf75b8d34f
title: Farming robots employment
uri: Farming-robots-employment
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#19_September_2017_%28Farming_robots_employment%29
content:
<p>
With autonomous farming robots, tens of millions of farmers will soon <a href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/automaton/robotics/industrial-robots/autonomous-robots-plant-tend-and-harvest-entire-crop-of-barley">join the unemployed</a>.
<p>
I don't want to be a farmer, and maybe you don't either.  But if we don't provide those people another way to live, we will soon see millions of people starving on the street or trying to steal food made by the automated farms.


feed_id: b49ad08b64f47ed92498adc33167393d
title: Smart home stalkers
uri: Smart-home-stalkers
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#19_September_2017_%28Smart_home_stalkers%29
content:
<p>
"Smart" appliances can <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-smart-home-could-worsen-domestic-abuse-but-the-same-technology-may-also-make-us-safer-82897">be used by stalkers</a>.
<p>
Do cameras and trackers endanger you, or protect you?  That depends on who uses them.  If you are the only one who can access them, they may help you and not hurt you.  But if you access them through computers not under your control—for instance, computers with Windows, MacOS, Android or iOS—then there are others <a href="https://gnu.org/malware/">that can track you</a>, and there is no way you can prevent it.


feed_id: b922f1dfea5d3d14a4538118f327f536
title: Safe email
uri: Safe-email
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#19_September_2017_%28Safe_email%29
content:
<p>
The <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-only-safe-email-is-text-only-email-81434">Only</a> Safe Email Is Text-Only Email.
<p>
I've never stopped doing text-only email.


feed_id: 09117132e3ea33db1c599312aa937bcc
title: Brazil art exhibit cancelled
uri: Brazil-art-exhibit-cancelled
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#19_September_2017_%28Brazil_art_exhibit_cancelled%29

content:
<p>
Arrogant Christian prudes in Brazil <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/12/brazil-queer-art-show-cancelled-protest">pressured Santander Bank</a> into cancelling an exhibit of queer art.
<p>
They wish to silence anything that provokes their prejudice.


feed_id: 7b563591d9d987bdbd555b71ed6543f5
title: Urgent: Oppose Dontcare bill
uri: Urgent-Oppose-Dontcare-bill
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#20_September_2017_%28Urgent%3A_Oppose_Dontcare_bill%29

content:
<p>
US citizens: 
<a href="http://action.thefairnessproject.org/page/s/la-sept-12-2017-repeal">oppose</a>
the new <a href="/glossary.html#care">Dontcare</a> bill.
<p>
The details are 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/sep/18/obamacare-affordable-care-act-republican-repeal-bill">different</a>,
but it is designed to achieve the same effect: to deny millions of
Americans medical coverage, even at the cost of their lives.
<p>
Please 
<a href="http://act.democracyforamerica.com/sign/no-trumpcare/">sign
this one</a>, too.


feed_id: 7b61f9d5e41c0ec54267f629d4d54a0b
title: Urgent: Thank senators
uri: Urgent-Thank-senators
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#20_September_2017_%28Urgent%3A_Thank_senators%29
content:
<p>
US citizens:
<a href="https://go.berniesanders.com/page/s/mfa-senate-cosponsors">Thank
the senators</a> that cosponsor Medicare for All.


feed_id: 5d43bc794862ee71c5e0f7c8daf993bc
title: Urgent: Stop Militarizing Law Enforcement
uri: Urgent-Stop-Militarizing-Law-Enforcement
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#20_September_2017_%28Urgent%3A_Stop_Militarizing_Law_Enforcement%29

content:
<p>
US citizens: 
<a href="https://act.credoaction.com/sign/No_Police_Militarization">tell
Congress</a> to pass the Stop Militarizing Law Enforcement act.


feed_id: 71cc19d7b687dbd05e78fe3840318be7
title: Digital dystopia
uri: Digital-dystopia
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#20_September_2017_%28Digital_dystopia%29
content:
<p>
Chelsea Manning emerged from prison into a digital dystopia of massive
surveillance and 
<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/13/opinion/chelsea-manning-big-data-dystopia.html">algorithms
that automatically assume she is committing fraud</a>.
<p>
She exaggerates in a common fashion by saying that "we" all carry
portable phones and use credit cards.  You can resist some forms of
massive data collection — but the trouble involved is
prohibitive for most people.  We must change that.
<p>
We must force redesign of systems to collect much less data about
people other than court-designated suspects.


feed_id: 0a88376addd5d6751dae02878ea5539b
title: Official threatens to murder protesters
uri: Official-threatens-to-murder-protesters
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#20_September_2017_%28Official_threatens_to_murder_protesters%29

content:
<p>
Another Republican official 
<a href="https://boingboing.net/2017/09/17/pennsylvania-state-lawmaker-hi.html">threatens
to murder protesters with his car</a>.


feed_id: e6ac65744ced0e629ec2f58ab79e4615
title: Israel prosecuting "Palestinian Gandhi"
uri: Israel-prosecuting-Palestinian-Gandhi
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#20_September_2017_%28Israel_prosecuting_Palestinian_Gandhi%29

content:
<p>
Israel is 
<a href="http://fmep.org/event/jailing-issa-amro-israel-pas-problem-non-violent-activism/">prosecuting
the "Palestinian Gandhi"</a> for exercising ordinary human rights.
<p>
Israel should stop claiming to be the "only democracy in the Middle
East."  Democracy includes respect for human rights, including the
right of nonviolent protest.


feed_id: 4b8c089a6f251eaf14b5af72ad688d50
title: Too much power given to generals
uri: Too-much-power-given-to-generals
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#20_September_2017_%28Too_much_power_given_to_generals%29

content:
<p>
<a href="/glossary.html#trump">The troll</a> has given 
<a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2017/09/17/americas-slow-motion-military-coup">too
much power to generals</a>, including decisions that their military
experience has not prepared them to think about.


feed_id: 2ef848246615bb29aa4a08e2e7a108f7
title: Global food companies
uri: Global-food-companies
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#19_September_2017_%28Global_food_companies%29
content:
<p>
Global food companies 
<a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2017/09/18/how-top-food-companies-fail-protect-environmental-activists-supply-chains">neglect
to protect environmental activists</a> in their supply chain.  That
opens the door to many kinds of abuses.


feed_id: 54e782432e26a2916583de463b651bbc
title: China and debt servitude
uri: China-and-debt-servitude
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#19_September_2017_%28China_and_debt_servitude%29
content:
<p>
China is now 
<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/13/magazine/what-the-worlds-emptiest-international-airport-says-about-chinas-influence.html">dragging
poor countries into debt servitude</a> just as the US and Europe used
to do.


feed_id: 8342f4e3f4d9eb14a6d48a058a539bc5
title: Belief that experts can't do any good
uri: Belief-that-experts-can-t-do-any-good
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#19_September_2017_%28Belief_that_experts_cant_do_any_good%29

content:
<p>
Many Americans now believe the 
<a href="http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/09/05/how-we-killed-expertise-215531">generalization
that experts can't do any good</a>, so we should not take advantage of
their expertise.
<p>
It reminds me of the belief, clearly false, that the government can't
do any good, so we should not use it to solve our problems.
<p>
The latter belief was painstakingly inculcated by right-wing activists
and paid PR, especially starting under President Reagan.  I wonder if
right-wing activists and paid PR have taught the first one, too.


feed_id: 76dfcd02f880ed18add58b1e68139c05
title: Australia's record-breaking winter
uri: Australia-s-record-breaking-winter
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#19_September_2017_%28Australias_record-breaking_winter%29

content:
<p>
Australia's record-breaking winter is 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/sep/19/australias-record-breaking-winter-beats-average-highs-by-2c-climate-council-says">2C
hotter than normal</a>.


feed_id: dd15fecd1b885b3016f5e446a6bb5700
title: Glamorous D.C. war criminals
uri: 2017-09-20-Glamorous-D-C-war-criminals
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#19_September_2017_%28Glamorous_D.C._war_criminals%29

content:
<p>
It's bad enough that Liar Spicer is being honored, but even worse,
<a href="https://theintercept.com/2017/09/18/sean-spicer-is-honored-because-as-bush-officials-showed-dc-elites-always-thrive/">
<a href="/glossary.html#dubya">Dubya</a>'s
war launchers are being honored too.
</a>


feed_id: b4023317e24439fcaae84b9aa069e754
title: Thugs chanting at peaceful demo
uri: 2017-09-20-Thugs-chanting-at-peaceful-demo
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#19_September_2017_%28Thugs_chanting_at_peaceful_demo%29

content:
<p>
<a href="/glossary.html#thug">Thugs</a> in St Louis shut down peaceful protests, then
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/sep/18/hundreds-of-police-officers-in-st-louis-chant-after-breaking-up-protests">
engaged a mass
chant saying that the city's streets belong to the thugs, not to the
inhabitants.
</a>
<p>
They owe all the citizens of St Louis an apology.


feed_id: 87da7623c71b51cb343d66ecffbda6cc
title: 40 million in slavery
uri: 40-million-in-slavery
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#20_September_2017_%2840_million_in_slavery%29
content:
<p>
Forced marriage, slavery and forced labor
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2017/sep/19/latest-figures-reveal-more-than-40-million-people-are-living-in-slavery">
afflict 40 million people.
</a>
<p>
Many are kept in servitude through debts (often involving threats
against relatives) rather than direct threats of violence.


feed_id: 5949686811805ef81d7fe61b882a32c5
title: Outsourcing our thinking
uri: Outsourcing-our-thinking
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#20_September_2017_%28Outsourcing_our_thinking%29
content:
<p>
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/sep/19/facebooks-war-on-free-will">
"When we outsource thinking to machines, we are really outsourcing
thinking to the organisations that run the machines."
</a>
<p>
The idea of free software is that we should
<a href="https://gnu.org/philosophy/free-software-even-more-important.html">
control the software
that we outsource our thinking to.
</a>


feed_id: 9e964a6e5165effe7dbb14dfac20132b
title: Arms or education
uri: Arms-or-education
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#20_September_2017_%28Arms_or_education%29
content:
<p>
Politicians told Sanders that
<a href="https://theintercept.com/2017/09/18/the-senates-military-spending-increase-alone-is-enough-to-make-public-college-free/">
the US couldn't afford to make college
gratis for all students,
</a>
but now Congress has voted to add an even
larger sum to the military budget.


feed_id: 8a87298dbcb6a5e8d8d47219026757b8
title: Shot for no reason
uri: Shot-for-no-reason
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#20_September_2017_%28Shot_for_no_reason%29
content:
<p>
As two Australians were having sex in a nighclub,
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/sep/19/melbourne-swingers-club-patron-says-he-did-not-notice-police-officers-until-they-shot-him">
thugs came up and
shot them both for no obvious reason.
</a>
The thugs then brutalized them
in various other ways.  The victims survived with grave injuries.


feed_id: ce9615668aad8df284bf16dade955699
title: Avoidable war
uri: Avoidable-war
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#20_September_2017_%28Avoidable_war%29
content:
<p>
Trump threatens that other countries will be "bystanders" if they don't
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/18/donald-trump-first-speech-un-north-korea-iran">
join in conflict with Iran and North Korea.
</a>
<p>
There are worse things to be than a bystander to gratuitous wrong.
For instance, you could be a culprit instead.
<p>
Both Iran and North Korea are tyrannical states, especially North
Korea.  But we can't give those two peoples human rights by
threatening to devastate them in an avoidable war.


feed_id: e72d11d78817282d63f80f8f2903b93f
title: Monuments at risk
uri: Monuments-at-risk
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#20_September_2017_%28Monuments_at_risk%29
content:
<p>
Republicans now threaten
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/sep/18/national-monuments-at-risk-trump-ryan-zinke-donald-trump">
10 US national monuments.
</a>


feed_id: 424e5274b6b5b39f9bf97d00d7609ae6
title: Rohingya refugees
uri: 2017-09-20-Rohingya-refugees
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#20_September_2017_%28Rohingya_refugees%29
content:
<p>

Australia is
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/19/australia-offers-pay-rohingya-refugees-return-myanmar">
pressuring Rohingya refugees to return to Burma
</a>
where
they would be chased out again.


feed_id: 363f329a34caf4b74a268c4665ad32f8
title: St Louis protests
uri: St-Louis-protests
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#20_September_2017_%28St_Louis_protests%29
content:
<p>
The streets of St Louis are full of
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/sep/18/militaristic-and-intimidating-st-louis-police-criticized-as-protests-stretch-on">
"antagonistic and intimidating"
thugs riding in armored vehicles,
</a>
all to suppress protests about their
impunoty for murder.


feed_id: 32093861d0b4d2bd1ef7ee2d1ddbb5bb
title: Systematic harassment
uri: Systematic-harassment
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#20_September_2017_%28Systematic_harassment%29
content:
<p>
From Mississippi to Wisconsin,
<a href="http://reason.com/archives/2017/09/19/mississippis-jump-out-boys">
thugs raid black people's homes, attack
them, and search them, with no warrant or legal justification,
</a>
as a
systematic form of intimidation and harassment.


feed_id: 4758bd77869c4c5b8b2c0030df61734f
title: Clean energy in California
uri: Clean-energy-in-California
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#20_September_2017_%28Clean_energy_in_California%29
content:
<p>
Special Interests Dim
<a href="https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2017/09/18/special-interests-dim-opportunity-california-commit-100-clean-electricity">
Opportunity For California To Commit To 100% Clean
Electricity.
</a>


feed_id: 2b235e0c1ddd2fb7d1889fe428e87685
title: Disinformation operation
uri: Disinformation-operation
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#20_September_2017_%28Disinformation_operation%29
content:
<p>
The Russian state calls the movie,
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/20/russia-considers-ban-armando-iannucci-film-death-of-stalin">
The Death of Stalin,
</a>
a disinformation operation.
<p>
Those who have put much effort into a certain kind of wrong also tend
to accuse their enemies of doing it.

Taking legal action against the wave of
<a href="http://reason.com/archives/2017/09/20/unlicensed-guide-tours-not-allowed-in-sa">
licensing requirements for lines
of work that shouldn't require licensing.
</a>


feed_id: de999bc49d0f315c5f8b3e86ce63aa33
title: The Rohingya crisis
uri: The-Rohingya-crisis
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#20_September_2017_%28The_Rohingya_crisis%29
content:
<p>
Fact Check:
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/20/fact-check-aung-san-suu-kyi-rohingya-crisis-speech-myanmar">
Aung San Suu Kyi's Speech on the Rohingya Crisis.
</a>


feed_id: 92f803302a37a1ac6c2f4c79025d128d
title: Autobahn privatization
uri: Autobahn-privatization
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#20_September_2017_%28Autobahn_privatization%29
content:
<p>
Merkel wants to
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/20/row-over-autobahn-renewal-selling-it-off-like-a-second-hand-car-german-election">
privatize Germany's autobahns,
</a>
generating a lot of
opposition.
<p>
The pressure to let rich people own parts of public infrastructure
is a sign of not taxing them enough.


feed_id: cabb7864f2b3275c1e6c20d20e0b7349
title: Pressure for censorship
uri: Pressure-for-censorship
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#20_September_2017_%28Pressure_for_censorship%29
content:
<p>
The social network Gab is threatened with
<a href="https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2017/09/twitter-rival-gab-faces-domain-loss-over-extremist-content/">
loss of its domain name
</a>
because it didn't censor right-wing insults against Heather Heyer.
<p>
I do not wish to defend those insults in any way, but the pressure for
censorship seems dangerous to me no matter how nasty the material
to be censored.


feed_id: 57f0a76b3a2997df6f798aa4b9715d0b
title: Last-ditch Dontcare bill
uri: Last-ditch-Dontcare-bill
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#20_September_2017_%28Last-ditch_Dontcare_bill%29
content:
<p>
Progressives are organizing to
<a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/09/19/refusing-sit-down-and-shut-trumpcare-opponents-mobilize-against-gop">
stop the last-ditch Dontcare bill.
</a>


feed_id: c6a90a2f8190be5273766eebe018f2e9
title: Palestinian political rights
uri: Palestinian-political-rights
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#20_September_2017_%28Palestinian_political_rights%29

content:
<p>
Ruchama Marton, founder of Physicians for Human Rights-Israel discusses
<a href="https://972mag.com/war-crimes-and-open-wounds-the-physician-who-took-on-israeli-segregation/129700/">
the slaughter of Egyptian soldiers as they surrendered, and the sole
Israeli leader who did not allow torture.
</a>
And many other things.


feed_id: d8466a0ece1a9cd4ab99a32c7411512d
title: Spouses of Palestinians
uri: Spouses-of-Palestinians
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#20_September_2017_%28Spouses_of_Palestinians%29
content:
<p>
Israel is
<a href="http://mondoweiss.net/2017/09/issuing-foreigners-palestinians/">
squeezing out foreigners married to Palestinians.
</a>


feed_id: d781993a84ee6118cda5aeded3222a68
title: Palestinians on hunger strike
uri: 2017-09-21-Palestinians-on-hunger-strike
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#20_September_2017_%28Palestinians_on_hunger_strike%29

content:
<p>
Once again,
<a href="http://imemc.org/article/three-detainees-currently-holding-hunger-strikes/">
Palestinians imprisoned without charge in Israel are on
hunger strike.
</a>
<p>
Imprisonment without trial is itself tyranny.


feed_id: 26a6f288d2b9af9e5d0a71313e66b78f
title: Criticism of Israel
uri: Criticism-of-Israel
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#20_September_2017_%28Criticism_of_Israel%29
content:
<p>
The City of Munich plans to
<a href="http://www.kibush.co.il/show_file.asp?num=76632">
equate opposition to the occupation of
Palestine with anti-Semitism,
</a>
and forbid speakers in municipal
auditoriums from criticizing the occupation.


feed_id: 1fa868b0901a2437800108e9a7c64c49
title: Urgent: Oppose the Dontcare bill
uri: 2017-09-21-Urgent-Oppose-the-Dontcare-bill
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#21_September_2017_%28Urgent%3A_Oppose_the_Dontcare_bill%29

content:
<p>
US citizens:
<a href="https://www.istandwithpp.org/call">phone your senators</a> to
oppose the <a href="/glossary.html#care">Dontcare</a> bill.


feed_id: 3197356daf439d1b99169730c369683f
title: Germany's political censorship
uri: Germany-s-political-censorship
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#21_September_2017_%28Germanys_political_censorship%29

content:
<p>
Germany's political censorship
<a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-41042266">prohibits
"defamation of religions, religious and ideological associations."</a>
That law already is an injustice, but a new law threatens to make
internet platforms err on the side of censoring more than the law
requires.


feed_id: 7620da2ffd4a3c869bd7e0252e766485
title: Football
uri: Football
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#21_September_2017_%28Football%29
content:
<p>
One study suggests that Football players that started before age 12
may
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/sep/19/children-football-brain-study-boston-university">double
their chance of various mental problems</a> later.


feed_id: b1960b7bff126f112855b3d248f2d34a
title: The Dontcare bill
uri: 2017-09-21-The-Dontcare-bill
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#21_September_2017_%28The_Dontcare_bill%29
content:
<p>
The <a href="/glossary.html#care">Dontcare</a> bill would require people with cancer to pay amounts
<a href="https://thinkprogress.org/trumpcare-premium-increase-analysis-150828a5ead6/">$140,000
for treatment</a>.  People with asthma or diabetes would merely face
doubled charges.
<p>
In effect, medical "insurance" would not really cover expensive
procedures, just add the cost to your bills to continue coverage.


feed_id: c56bc84a6649bb06e930bb54868e7aa9
title: The Paris agreement
uri: 2017-09-21-The-Paris-agreement
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#21_September_2017_%28The_Paris_agreement%29
content:
<p>
Naomi Klein Warns Europe
<a href="http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/41973-naomi-klein-warns-europe-may-water-down-paris-accord-to-win-support-from-trump">May
Water Down Paris Accord</a> to Win Support From Trump.
<p>
The Paris agreement pledges were
<a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#05_September_2015_(Paris_climate_action)">inadequate
from the start</a>.  To forestall global heating disaster, we need to
make them stronger.


feed_id: 8fcd38c769d553c7e3206fd65fc2ba80
title: The sex offender list
uri: 2017-09-21-The-sex-offender-list
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#21_September_2017_%28The_sex_offender_list%29
content:
<p>
<a href="http://www.freerangekids.com/why-this-mom-cant-go-to-the-playground-with-her-kids/">More
depredations</a> of the sex offender list.


feed_id: 613947a94e0a97218dc4cde17a872f56
title: Last-ditch Dontcare bill
uri: 2017-09-21-Last-ditch-Dontcare-bill
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#20_September_2017_%28Last-ditch_Dontcare_bill%29
content:
<p>
Progressives are organizing to
<a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/09/19/refusing-sit-down-and-shut-trumpcare-opponents-mobilize-against-gop">
stop the last-ditch <a href="/glossary.html#care">Dontcare</a> bill.
</a>


feed_id: 26b2ecb683cd91277252635cbd3e0ba1
title: Banning exercise
uri: Banning-exercise
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#21_September_2017_%28Banning_exercise%29
content:
<p>
US schools are starting to <a href="http://www.freerangekids.com/school-bans-cartwheels/">ban physical exercise</a> such as cartwheels.
I suspect fear of being sued is a contributing factor somehow.
<p>
It might make sense to forbid practices such as American football,
which cause <a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2012-mar-jun.html#7_May_2012_(NFL_Players)">grave permanent injuries</a> to a large fraction of
participants.
<p>
I have always been timid about physical exercise that struck me
as dangerous. I have never dared to do a cartwheel. But I
think I'd have had a better life if I had not been so timid.


feed_id: 020059d098842aa039003fdd3db9f9a7
title: Worker exploitation
uri: Worker-exploitation
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#21_September_2017_%28Worker_exploitation%29
content:
<p>
"Exploitation of the vulnerable is <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/sep/20/modern-slavery-misery-uk-exploitation">rampant in Britain</a>, from nail bars
and car washes to building sites, hotels, restaurants and farms."
<p>
In Asia, workers on fishing boats <a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2016-sep-dec.html#29_December_2016_(Slaves_on_Thai_fishing_boats)">are enslaved</a>.
<p>
The article doesn't mention sex workers, but some of them too are
enslaved. Indeed, there is a powerful campaign to ban sex work (or
make it impossible to carry out) on the grounds that some sex workers
are enslaved, while some others are exploited.
<p>
Strangely, no one proposes to put an end to nail bars, car washes,
construction, hotels, restaurants, farms, or fishing boats on the
grounds that some of their workers are enslaved or exploited.
<p>
If the enslavement and exploitation of some workers were a valid
reason to ban sex work, or make it impossible to carry out, why not
for the other fields as well?


feed_id: 0221b043c149bd2ce28043a344fe95b9
title: Addiction app
uri: Addiction-app
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#21_September_2017_%28Addiction_app%29
content:
<p>
There is a proprietary app that can be prescribed as a <a href="https://www.spectrum.ieee.org/the-human-os/biomedical/devices/first-prescription-app-for-substance-abuse-approved-by-fda">treatment for
addiction</a>.
<p>
I fear that in five years people will be ordered by courts
to use a smartphone and run this app or go to jail.
If it were me, I'd say "Put me in jail — I will never carry
a smartphone."


feed_id: 56fda21092f278eabe0d482390e6d0b7
title: Competing for Amazon
uri: Competing-for-Amazon
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#21_September_2017_%28Competing_for_Amazon%29
content:
<p>
The city that "wins" the competition to get Amazon's new subheadquarters
could pay so much for this that <a href="https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/43aw8q/cities-are-competing-to-give-amazon-the-mother-of-all-civic-giveaways">it has a loss</a> instead of a benefit.
<p>
Even if the cost is not quite that big, the subsidy to Amazon will be
anticompetitive, thus unfair and damaging to society.
<p>
Beyond that, Amazon's operation increases concentration of wealth, and
increases surveillance. That's when it isn't pushing DRM and unjust
EULAs. So don't buy from Amazon, and tell your city and state
governments not to "compete for jobs" by giving companies tax breaks.


feed_id: 09da4cfae814d1b85886aa16bb1d53b8
title: Catalonia
uri: Catalonia
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#21_September_2017_%28Catalonia%29
content:
<p>
Spain is trying to drive advocacy of independence for Catalonia
off the internet, <a href="https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/gy5qpj/pirate-bay-founder-is-offering-anonymous-hosting-to-fight-government-censorship">blocking access</a> using multiple tactics.
<p>
I have no opinion on the question of Catalan independence, except that
I criticize one of the arguments I've heard cited in favor: that
Catalonia's taxes support poorer regions of Spain. I think that is
right and proper.
<p>
What I think is wrong is that the Euro gives banksters
<a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2012-sep-dec.html#26_November_2012_(Catalonias_referendum_on_secession_from_Spain)">power over Catalonia</a> — and over the rest of Spain too.
But Catalonia seems to envision only a limited independence,
still inside the EU.
<p>
That said, I see the political censorship as very threatening.


feed_id: 1628a3a4f5ced0cbcb50d5bdb481ce05
title: Hot roads
uri: Hot-roads
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#21_September_2017_%28Hot_roads%29
content:
<p>
Parts of the US now get so hot that they <a href="https://arstechnica.com/science/2017/09/were-building-roads-to-withstand-last-centurys-climate/">ruin asphalt roads</a>.
Engineers still design roads using temperature ranges that the US
experienced from 1964 to 1995. Now it is hotter.


feed_id: e00f558877beb583ea0f13519364b54d
title: Biofuels
uri: 2017-09-21-Biofuels
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#21_September_2017_%28Biofuels%29
content:
<p>
Biofuels made from farming crops is <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2017/sep/20/demand-for-biofuels-is-increasing-global-food-prices-says-study">competing with people</a> for
food, and poor people are losing out.


feed_id: 5533b7d13066dc3e1e8280dc0f7b6aeb
title: Arms Trade Treaty
uri: Arms-Trade-Treaty
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#21_September_2017_%28Arms_Trade_Treaty%29
content:
<p>
The US signed the Arms Trade Treaty, but <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2017/09/19/what-happened-arms-trade-treaty">disregards it</a> when its allies
want to attack.


feed_id: a2d69f7f8578a359f82ea4a53762ddc9
title: Food in Venezuela
uri: Food-in-Venezuela
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#21_September_2017_%28Food_in_Venezuela%29
content:
<p>
Food is <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-09-18/weird-food-for-sale-in-venezuela-but-nothing-that-anyone-wants">now available</a> in Venezuela, but not easy to buy. The most
common food items, because of price controls, are hard to find.
Everything else is too expensive for most people.
<p>
(I verified this with a Venezuelan friend.)
<p>
In the long term, Venezuela needs to grow more food.
ChÃ¡vez had a program to encourage that, but it didn't work.


feed_id: 990e32fd199e944a3ae94403ca45392d
title: Turkish embassy thugs
uri: Turkish-embassy-thugs
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#21_September_2017_%28Turkish_embassy_thugs%29
content:
<p>
Turkish embassy thugs in Washington DC attacked peaceful protesters
and were properly charged with crimes as a consequence. <a href="/glossary.html#bully">The bully</a>
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/sep/19/turkey-trump-erdogan-apology-washington">apologized to ErdoÄan</a> for this!


feed_id: 0d37909181ae326873b7aea00a884694
title: Samim Bigzad
uri: Samim-Bigzad
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#21_September_2017_%28Samim_Bigzad%29
content:
<p>
It took <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/sep/18/samim-bigzad-asylum-seeker-deported-illegally-to-afghanistan-is-returned-to-uk">four court rulings</a> to overrule UK officials that were
determined to send Samim Bigzad back to Afghanistan. They defied the
first three rulings and sent him back anyway. Once there, he didn't
dare leave his hotel room since the Taliban were looking for him.


feed_id: 215faf8fa035a2d4c71e7ed42b8b98f9
title: Veterans For Peace
uri: Veterans-For-Peace
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#21_September_2017_%28Veterans_For_Peace%29
content:
<p>
Veterans For Peace members <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2017/09/18/veteran-group-reacts-first-episode-burnsnovick-vietnam-series">comment</a> on a documentary about the Vietnam
War.


feed_id: f3bd5f8fe76d0e3cb2c413fd6e9989e3
title: Urgent: End support for bombardment of Yemen
uri: Urgent-End-support-for-bombardment-of-Yemen
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#21_September_2017_%28Urgent%3A_End_support_for_bombardment_of_Yemen%29

content:
<p>
US citizens: 
<a href="https://act.rootsaction.org/p/dia/action4/common/public/?action_KEY=13061">Tell
your congresscritter</a> to cut off US support for Salafi Arabia's
bombardment of Yemen.
<p>
To sign this without running nonfree Javascript, use the 
<a href="/salsalabs-method.html">Salsalabs workaround</a>.


feed_id: a9786a9ad110816fa4382328980657f8
title: Urgent: Oppose the Dontcare bill
uri: 2017-09-21-Urgent-Oppose-the-Dontcare-bill
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#21_September_2017_%28Urgent%3A_Oppose_the_Dontcare_bill%29

content:
<p>
US citizens: Phone your senators to 
<a href="https://act.credoaction.com/call/call_stop_trumpcare/">oppose
to the Dontcare bill</a>.
<p>
The Capitol Switchboard numbers are 202-224-3121, 888-818-6641
and 888-355-3588.


feed_id: edb2db2aff2977999556c65c00f4e93b
title: Welfare
uri: 2017-09-21-Welfare
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#21_September_2017_%28Welfare%29
content:
<p>
After centuries of reforms, and investigations of the causes of
poverty, the UK realized that poor people who were making enough at
the moment to live on were constantly in danger that some change would
push them into penury.  The welfare state eliminated that danger.
It 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/news/2017/sep/21/why-we-need-the-welfare-state-more-than-ever">needs
to be brought back</a>.
<p>
These lessons apply in general to the US as well, modulo some
differences in the details of welfare between the two countries.


feed_id: 495b281febaf7661f99fe1ab7b8fbb06
title: Foster care
uri: Foster-care
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#21_September_2017_%28Foster_care%29
content:
<p>
Children in foster care were usually traumatized by the events that
put them there.  The instability of foster families, combined with the
prejudice they face, 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/sep/21/foster-child-young-people-care-parsons-green">tends
to injure them more</a>.
<p>
We could help them better if we taxed the rich more.


feed_id: 6f4ea6c935f124d523fd338fe6360dba
title: Troll nominates saboteur for EPA
uri: Troll-nominates-saboteur-for-EPA
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#21_September_2017_%28Troll_nominates_saboteur_for_EPA%29

content:
<p>
The saboteur-in-chief has 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/sep/20/trump-epa-michael-dourson-chemical-safety">nominated
a saboteur to head the EPA's department for chemical safety</a>.  He
has worked persistently for the chemical industry to oppose EPA
regulations.
<p>
<a href="/glossary.html#trump">The troll</a>'s political philosophy is, "If you're rich, you won't live
near any chemical plants.  If you're not rich, your life is not
important."


feed_id: 3b61137cb2b2fd3b0118a2d5b68e7053
title: Obama cashing in
uri: Obama-cashing-in
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#21_September_2017_%28Obama_cashing_in%29
content:
<p>
After Failing to Prosecute Bankers, Obama 
<a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/09/18/after-failing-prosecute-bankers-obama-cashes-wall-street-speeches">Cashes
In With Wall Street Speeches</a>.


feed_id: ad1b2080d610c37c1469f9833e33c898
title: Britons' ballooning personal debt
uri: Britons-ballooning-personal-debt
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#21_September_2017_%28Britons_ballooning_personal_debt%29

content:
<p>
The Tories have squeezed non-rich Britons from every direction at
once, and it came out as 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/sep/20/tories-debt-crisis-thatcherite-credit">ballooning
personal debt</a>.
<p>
A state can run a deficit without hurting itself, but individuals
can't do this indefinitely.  With wages so low, they can never pay off
their debts.  Labour should promise to let them shed it through
bankruptcy without disaster.  Screw the banksters instead of the
people!


feed_id: fe438916875206fa2116b6c2ac1efb67
title: Cryin'air pilots starting strike
uri: Cryin-air-pilots-starting-strike
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#21_September_2017_%28Cryinair_pilots_starting_strike%29

content:
<p>
The pilots of Cryin'air, forced to be "independent contractors" so as
to deny them employees' rights, are 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/sep/20/more-ryanair-cancellations-likely-as-pilots-reject-offer-to-work-on-days-off">starting
a slowdown strike</a>.


feed_id: 2479b7fe73e0d677fcbb75f9572b2b3d
title: Catalan referendum on independence
uri: Catalan-referendum-on-independence
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#21_September_2017_%28Catalan_referendum_on_independence%29

content:
<p>
The Spanish government is clamping down on the Catalan government to
stop a referendum on independence, 
<a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2017/09/20/urgent-forced-takeover-catalan-government-institutions-spanish-police">raiding
various Catalan agencies</a> and arresting some functionaries
specifically for trying to hold the referendum.  Crowds are resisting
this nonviolently.
<p>
It was not clear that the majority would vote for independence, and I
saw no reason to favor it.  But after this I think that no one in
Catalonia will want to argue against it.


feed_id: ec00933927841ce19b98b92256600bc7
title: "Protecting" girls
uri: Protecting-girls
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#21_September_2017_%28Protecting_girls%29
content:
<p>
Insistence on "protecting" girls 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/sep/20/children-are-straitjacketed-into-gender-roles-in-early-adolescence-says-study">teaches
them that they are weak and vulnerable</a>.


feed_id: 1a64b55aefc4264ae758c94e6db4116f
title: Thugs kill deaf man for ignoring orders
uri: Thugs-kill-deaf-man-for-ignoring-orders
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#22_September_2017_%28Thugs_kill_deaf_man_for_ignoring_orders%29

content:
<p>
<a href="/glossary.html#thug">Thugs</a> 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/sep/21/oklahoma-city-police-shooting-magdiel-sanchez-deaf">killed
a deaf man who ignored their orders</a>.  Bystanders were shouting
that he was deaf, but they didn't hear.
<p>
A man is 15 feet away from you, holding a pipe.  He has shown no
hostility.  Do you need to shoot him — or is that being on a
hair trigger and jumping the gun?


feed_id: 482d6ac8cc86fba888407f7522fcdde6
title: Fracking waste
uri: Fracking-waste
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#22_September_2017_%28Fracking_waste%29
content:
<p>
"Far away from any witnesses, my small town is being 
<a href='https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/sep/21/appalachia-ohio-fracking-wells-toxic'>poisoned
by fracking waste</a>."


feed_id: 9f0373f587fb062cdc0ae9c3c0e56bd2
title: Genital mutilation
uri: 2017-09-22-Genital-mutilation
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#22_September_2017_%28Genital_mutilation%29
content:
<p>
Trying to help girls of African descent escape genital mutilation by
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/sep/21/fear-racism-label-deter-british-police-tackling-fgm-female-genital-mutilation">informing
them about the issue</a> on exit from the UK.


feed_id: 919ae623aeae1b42d9b449b4ea38f0fd
title: Australian welfare card tracks people
uri: Australian-welfare-card-tracks-people
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#22_September_2017_%28Australian_welfare_card_tracks_people%29

content:
<p>
Distributing welfare payments through a card that 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/sep/21/cashless-welfare-card-to-be-rolled-out-in-bundaberg-and-hervey-bay">tracks
people</a> is being sold in Australia as a way to stop the money's
being spent on alcohol and drugs.  Apparently it is not very effective
at that, but it surely tracks people effectively.


feed_id: 8aef36879813939fd44391add2966e79
title: Cutting off poor people's electricity
uri: Cutting-off-poor-people-s-electricity
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#22_September_2017_%28Cutting_off_poor_peoples_electricity%29

content:
<p>
When Bob Crane's electricity was cut off, he began using fires to
cook.  Eventually a fire got out of control and 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/sep/20/mental-health-trust-pays-damages-over-mans-death-in-tower-block-fire">killed
him</a>.
<p>
Cutting off the electricity of a poor person is an act of stinginess,
typical of an anti-welfare state.


feed_id: 97fdab8f6ccd3fbf7b549254bd46ee5c
title: Mueller's investigation of troll
uri: Mueller-s-investigation-of-troll
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#22_September_2017_%28Muellers_investigation_of_troll%29

content:
<p>
Mueller's investigation of the troll's connections with Russia demands
records on some of the troll's 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/sep/20/robert-mueller-donald-trump-white-house-actions-request">activities
in the White House</a>.


feed_id: 79068cd21cde7dcef4fbd61a05425d3e
title: "Vietnam syndrome"
uri: Vietnam-syndrome
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#22_September_2017_%28Vietnam_syndrome%29
content:
<p>
In the 1980s, US militarists bemoaned the "Vietnam syndrome" that 
<a href="https://reason.com/archives/2017/09/21/the-vietnam-syndrome-how-we-lost-it-why">made
the US hesitate to get involved in wars</a>, especially unwinnable
ones.  Too bad the US has "recovered" from this lesson.


feed_id: 3650f65f0f20180414eead35d6d57c7b
title: Religious beliefs and delusions
uri: Religious-beliefs-and-delusions
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#22_September_2017_%28Religious_beliefs_and_delusions%29

content:
<p>
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/brain-flapping/2017/sep/21/why-religious-belief-isnt-a-delusion-in-psychological-terms-at-least">Distinguishing
between</a> religious beliefs and delusions.
<p>
Comparing knowledge of science with Windows 10 is unfortunate, though.
If Windows is some kind of "knowledge", it would be superstition.


feed_id: df4170cec8a5f37fc0b2c18f629e3de6
title: Dominica after Hurricane Maria
uri: Dominica-after-Hurricane-Maria
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#22_September_2017_%28Dominica_after_Hurricane_Maria%29

content:
<p>
In Dominica after Hurricane Maria, few were killed but 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/21/dominica-daze-hurricane-maria-island-caribbean-rescue">everything
is wrecked</a>.


feed_id: 54803c2d2a34adf886fa722761c9a1aa
title: Women murdered by men
uri: Women-murdered-by-men
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#23_September_2017_%28Women_murdered_by_men%29
content:
<p>
In 2015,
<a href="https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2017/09/21/more-1600-women-murdered-men-one-year-new-study-finds">
1600 US women were murdered by men.
</a>
<p>
It surely is not a coincidence that the states with the highest rates
of killings of women are ruled by Republicans.


feed_id: 750e722e26b24db2c6e3372239da57eb
title: 35 in one house in UK
uri: 35-in-one-house-in-UK
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#23_September_2017_%2835_in_one_house_in_UK%29
content:
<p>
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/sep/21/owner-of-house-where-35-men-are-living-threatens-to-sue-brent-council">
35 men were found occupying a single house in England, using
wall-to-wall mattresses.
</a>
The landlord was accused of abusive
treatment, but he said that three men rented the house and then
let the others live there.
<p>
People should not have to live in these conditions, but would it be
better if they were homeless?
<p>
Who really exploited those 35 men?  The Tories did.  They knowingly
drove rents up and wages down.


feed_id: fe3dad7bd99b110afcd836bbab2c0dfa
title: Social security number
uri: Social-security-number
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#23_September_2017_%28Social_security_number%29
content:
<p>
A single ID number for a person
<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/innovations/wp/2017/09/20/your-social-security-number-may-not-be-secure-but-how-could-we-replace-it/">
exposes that person to a risk of fraud.
</a>
  Even worse, it facilitates massive surveillance.
<p>
The right solution is to have a separate identifying code for each
relationship.  And this should include most state agencies, too.


feed_id: 3e2a1399ca4c84d849dc005b75e4aeff
title: Sanders on foreign policy
uri: Sanders-on-foreign-policy
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#23_September_2017_%28Sanders_on_foreign_policy%29
content:
<p>
<a href="https://theintercept.com/2017/09/22/bernie-sanders-interview-foreign-policy/">
Sanders addresses several important foreign policy issues.
</a>
<p>
He doesn't go as far as I do on some of these issues,
but he's much better than anyone else that might get elected.


feed_id: 99af4148a4b2417746a0e139a36b7187
title: Teaching sexual respect
uri: Teaching-sexual-respect
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#23_September_2017_%28Teaching_sexual_respect%29
content:
<p>
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/sep/22/betsy-devos-scraps-obama-rules-on-investigating-campus-sexual-assault">
DeVos authorized colleges to follow
a more strict standard of evidence
when judging accusations of rape or groping.
</a>
<p>
The term "sexual assault" is a bad term to use in formulating rules
for judging or punishing people, because it lumps together rape with
the much lesser crime of groping.  We would not judge those the same,
so we shouldn't lump them together in our discourse.  Any policy that
uses the term "sexual assault" will tend to be bad.
<p>
The way people are punished when a college declares them guilty of
rape is sufficiently grave that I think they must be judged by the
standard of "beyond a reasonable doubt".  I expect most of such
accusations are true, but certainly some are false.
<p>
However, it is a mistake for a school to conduct a substitute for a
trial.  The legal system exists for that, and schools can't do that
job.  Someone who has been raped and wants something like criminal
prosecution should go to the state, not to the school.
<p>
What schools could usefully do is teach sexual respect that goes
beyond merely not committing a crime.  The school could have a
stricter standard of sexual respect, as a school rule, not as a
criminal law.  Breaking that rule would not mean one is a rapist, or a
criminal at all, but the school would insist one never break it again.
<p>
Students that push too far sexually, even if not to the point of
crime, could be required to do counselling and make a strong and
visible effort to change their way of approaching sex.  Most of them
would not be rapists, so doing the counselling would not label them as
rapists.  Rather, they would be making sure they will not be rapists.
The school might also require them to avoid for some time campus
events where there is alcohol, and subsequently to follow rules so
that they don't drink to excess.
<p>
A system like this could prevent rape by teaching students
to avoid the sort of behavior that could turn into rape.


feed_id: 78e36082238cbadff430217bcb6405d1
title: Global heating optimism
uri: Global-heating-optimism
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#23_September_2017_%28Global_heating_optimism%29
content:
<p>
Optimistic discussion of global heating has enabled people to
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/sep/21/climate-optimism-disaster-extreme-weather-catastrophe">
assume
that the problem is already being fixed
-- and it isn't.
</a>
We need to convert the recent disasters into an urgent demand to take
the necessary steps.
<p>
"We have been repeatedly asked: 'Don't you want to leave a better
Earth for your grandchildren,' And we've all collectively responded:
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/sep/22/climate-deniers-protect-status-quo-that-made-them-rich">
'Ah, fuck 'em!'"
</a>
<p>
Having children not only means they will be caught up in the suffering
caused by global heating disaster.  It also makes the disaster bigger.
<p>
<a href="https://stallman.org/articles/children.html">
Conversely, deciding to have no children is the biggest contribution
you can make in your own life to reducing the disaster.
</a>
Please, think
<em>now</em> of the children, and avoid making any.


feed_id: 7f2dedc4c3396fe42aebc87f02e65ac7
title: Driverless cars
uri: 2017-09-23-Driverless-cars
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#23_September_2017_%28Driverless_cars%29
content:
<p>
Finally, attention is paid to the main danger of driverless cars:
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/sep/22/driverless-cars-safer-perhaps-but-professor-warns-of-privacy-risks">
surveillance of their users, and maybe of everyone else they go near.
</a>


feed_id: 4f52a26981cd91b59233288c5aefc9a0
title: Russian pro-troll Facebook ads
uri: Russian-pro-troll-Facebook-ads
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#23_September_2017_%28Russian_pro-troll_Facebook_ads%29

content:
<p>
It appears
<a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/russians-appear-to-use-facebook-to-push-pro-trump-flash-mobs-in-florida">
Russians used Facebook to recruit people for the troll's rallies
</a>
during the election campaign.
<p>
Allowing them to do this fits Facebook's stated mission,
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/sep/21/facebook-russia-advertising-mark-zuckerberg">
"Bringing
the world closer together".
</a>


feed_id: 210d3aa3e368bd807604811335ecde80
title: Kim Jong-un's statement
uri: Kim-Jong-un-s-statement
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#23_September_2017_%28Kim_Jong-un%27s_statement%29
content:
<p>
For once,
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/22/a-rogue-and-a-gangster-kim-jong-uns-statement-on-trump-in-full">
Kim Jong-un said something reasonable
-- about the bully.
</a>
<p>
However, the threat to retaliate with war for a speech, even a deranged
speech by a gangster, is just as wrong from Kim as from the bully.


feed_id: 9c4fc13ce2702d53b795e5e7dd29e1fc
title: Honoring US war criminals
uri: Honoring-US-war-criminals
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#23_September_2017_%28Honoring_US_war_criminals%29
content:
<p>
Prominent US universities
<a href="https://theintercept.com/2017/09/21/chelsea-manning-harvard-fellowship-sean-spicer/">
honor ex-officials responsible for horrible
crimes.
</a>


feed_id: 9804cfe2691107d56d1d4efcd625759c
title: Enemy of the people
uri: Enemy-of-the-people
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#23_September_2017_%28Enemy_of_the_people%29
content:
<p>
When St Louis thugs claimed the city streets belong to them,
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/sep/21/st-louis-police-violence-protest">
they
openly declared that they consider themselves the enemy of the people
of the city.
</a>


feed_id: 7933576058af6a769192ca3de52bb92a
title: Mexico City earthquake
uri: Mexico-City-earthquake
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#23_September_2017_%28Mexico_City_earthquake%29
content:
<p>
Poor towns outside Mexico City
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/21/entire-towns-in-mexico-flattened-as-scale-of-earthquake-damage-emerges">
suffered great damage from the earthquake.
</a>
<p>
The way to prevent this is by enforcing strong building codes, but in
Mexico the poverty and the corruption make that difficult.


feed_id: afb9b93fae4476cf5ba1642c197e425b
title: Pesticides
uri: Pesticides
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#23_September_2017_%28Pesticides%29
content:
<p>
Regulation of pesticides, world-wide, has considered the safety of
using each one in a small area,
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/sep/21/assumed-safety-of-widespread-pesticide-use-is-false-says-top-government-scientist">
disregarding what happens when one is
used on large areas of farms.
</a>


feed_id: 0e64ad26375ca132bc073c532c63cd7c
title: Aid workers in Afghanistan
uri: Aid-workers-in-Afghanistan
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#23_September_2017_%28Aid_workers_in_Afghanistan%29
content:
<p>
Aid workers and medical personnel in Afghanistan
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2017/sep/22/we-are-not-safe-aid-workers-fearful-red-cross-shooting-afghanistan-mazar-i-sharif-lorena-enebral-perez">
fear attacks both
by religious fanatics and by the army.
</a>


feed_id: 0e85a22bf0309883280b5ce132d25010
title: Apple doesn't trust you
uri: Apple-doesn-t-trust-you
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#23_September_2017_%28Apple_doesn%27t_trust_you%29
content:
<p>
<a href="https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/bjvjd3/apple-doesnt-trust-you">
Apple doesn't trust, or respect, those who use its products.
</a>


feed_id: 29ca47b6fce4166f5b745dbacbbfba7a
title: ISO rejects NSA crypto
uri: ISO-rejects-NSA-crypto
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#23_September_2017_%28ISO_rejects_NSA_crypto%29
content:
<p>
Resistance convinced ISO to
<a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/us-cyber-standards-insight/distrustful-u-s-allies-force-spy-agency-to-back-down-in-encryption-fight-idUSKCN1BW0GV">
reject two weak encryption standards
proposed by the NSA.
</a>

Uri Avnery denounces
<a href="http://zope.gush-shalom.org/home/en/channels/avnery/1506085931/">
the Israeli politician that advocates
either apartheid or genocide
</a>
as the way to deal with Palestinians.


feed_id: 87328e2dcc1acc19fc338deaa7a48617
title: Guber ruled unsafe
uri: Guber-ruled-unsafe
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#23_September_2017_%28Guber_ruled_unsafe%29
content:
<p>
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/sep/22/uber-ban-london-safety">
Guber's license was cancelled in London -- on grounds of safety.
</a>
  The
<a href="https://stallman.org/uber.html">
big wrongs of Guber -- harm to privacy, freedom, and drivers' pay --
are not even recognized by the mayor
</a>
as he lauds "innovation".
<p>
Innovation is an opportunity to change, and change can be good or bad.
When a possible change harms freedom, privacy, or working people's pay,
we should use our democratic government to reject it.


feed_id: f3171535f34535d1df0729250659cb92
title: Planet-roasters
uri: Planet-roasters
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#23_September_2017_%28Planet-roasters%29
content:
<p>
After firing the serious scientists, the EPA wants to fill its
scientific advisory groups with
<a href="https://theintercept.com/2017/09/22/epa-science-exxon-mobil-climate-change/">
representatives of polluters and
planet-roasters.
</a>


feed_id: 239b5fbf019dd82f36f58ba42714bf18
title: Forbidden sharing
uri: Forbidden-sharing
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#23_September_2017_%28Forbidden_sharing%29
content:
<p>
The EU commissioned a study to prove that forbidden sharing of
published works reduces sales,
<a href="https://juliareda.eu/2017/09/secret-copyright-infringement-study/">
but the study was unable to demonstrate
the desired conclusion for most categories of works.
</a>
So the EU
decided to forget about it.
<p>
The one category where sharing did reduce sales is that of
"blockbuster" movies.  But even supposing repression of sharing
is necessary to encourage making those, they are not important
enough to justify such measures.


feed_id: 5eb67f8ebd282206686b3ef05fa87a49
title: Recovery from Harvey
uri: Recovery-from-Harvey
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#23_September_2017_%28Recovery_from_Harvey%29
content:
<p>
Texas and Louisiana:
<a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/09/21/groups-harvey-recovery-must-serve-vulnerable-victims-not-corporate-polluters">
don't feed emergency funds for recovery from the damage
of Hurricane Harvey to companies!
</a>
The poor people need them.


feed_id: f7224c2187c795b7087b53bbfdfc74e8
title: Predatory lenders
uri: 2017-09-23-Predatory-lenders
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#23_September_2017_%28Predatory_lenders%29
content:
<p>
Large companies are buying up lots of family homes
and
<a href="https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2017/09/wall-street-owns-main-street-literally.html">
renting them out for so much money that families struggle
to pay the rent.
</a>


feed_id: a329ec7b6151d0264e05be86c6db2828
title: Emission cheat deaths
uri: Emission-cheat-deaths
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#23_September_2017_%28Emission_cheat_deaths%29
content:
<p>
Estimating that
<a href="https://phys.org/news/2017-09-dieselgate-deaths-europe-year.html">
diesel cars designed to cheat on emissions tests
kill 5,000 people a year in Europe.
</a>


feed_id: 6572bb50aac863d69a4c158457cef76f
title: Barbuda evacuated
uri: Barbuda-evacuated
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#23_September_2017_%28Barbuda_evacuated%29
content:
<p>
<a href="http://mashable.com/2017/09/15/barbuda-civilization-destroyed/">
All the inhabitants of Barbuda have been evacuated.
</a>
All the infrastructure, and nearly all the buildings, were destroyed by hurricanes, rendering the island
uninhabitable, at least for now.
<p>
It was not terribly hard to evacuate Barbuda's 1,600 people.  Imagine
if a future storm causes a similar level of destruction in Puerto
Rico, with its 3,500,000 people.


feed_id: 619c859bf86a52f16f2557a77c20cadc
title: Racist juror
uri: Racist-juror
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#23_September_2017_%28Racist_juror%29
content:
<p>
Georgia courts are ignoring a juror's signed statement that he
<a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2017/09/21/keith-tharpes-scheduled-execution-tests-our-tolerance-racial-bias-executions">
voted to convict Keith Tharpe of murder based on racist views.
</a>


feed_id: f8feb8c126265010059de92313b2e4aa
title: Crosscheck scheme
uri: Crosscheck-scheme
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#23_September_2017_%28Crosscheck_scheme%29
content:
<p>
The ACLU and NAACP are suing to
<a href="http://mailchi.mp/gregpalast/v3tjxbfkb4-172685">
stop Illinois from using
the Crosscheck scheme of voter suppression.
</a>
<p>
<a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2016-jul-oct.html#21_September_2016_(Urgent:_Investigation_of_Crosscheck_scheme)">
Here's more information about Crosscheck.
</a>


feed_id: 634b1f599b213bdbac96d1d0b4c4387d
title: Preexisting conditions
uri: Preexisting-conditions
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#23_September_2017_%28Preexisting_conditions%29
content:
<p>
The new Dontcare bill pretends to protect people with preexisting conditions,
<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2017/09/21/pence-just-settled-it-republicans-obamacare-repeal-bill-wont-necessarily-protect-people-with-preexisting-conditions/">
but then it has a loophole to screw them.
</a>


feed_id: 3ac6d79e019b10af7374f2bccdad05d5
title: Equifax
uri: 2017-09-23-Equifax
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#23_September_2017_%28Equifax%29
content:
<p>
The deep problem of Equifax and other credit-reporting companies
is that
<a href="https://www.jacobinmag.com/2017/09/equifax-retail-credit-company-discrimination-loans">
they collect lots of data about people's way of life
and thus facilitate discrimination.
</a>
<p>
In the early days, this was entirely intentional.


feed_id: 00681f113c8beb09808bcca127a83b84
title: Law against solar panels
uri: Law-against-solar-panels
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#23_September_2017_%28Law_against_solar_panels%29
content:
<p>
Florida's electric company has used its influence on legistators
to obtain laws that
<a href="http://www.miaminewtimes.com/news/miami-frustrated-with-fpl-after-hurricane-irma-9666311">
prohibit people from connecting their solar
panels directly to their electric circuits.
</a>
They are required to go
through the power grid, and when the grid power is down, they can't
use the solar panels either.
<p>
Voting for such laws is an indication of some sort of corruption.


feed_id: dc209f2240bbcd3992d0760185732e6f
title: Australia's system for deterring refugees
uri: Australia-s-system-for-deterring-refugees
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#23_September_2017_%28Australias_system_for_deterring_refugees%29

content:
<p>
Australia's system for deterring refugees includes 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/22/an-impossible-choice-the-nauru-refugee-forced-to-choose-between-family-and-freedom">separating
families forever</a>.


feed_id: 5c3136e42da0ffb416b25782db4f04c0
title: Independence referendum in Catalonia
uri: Independence-referendum-in-Catalonia
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#23_September_2017_%28Independence_referendum_in_Catalonia%29

content:
<p>
Spain has effectively suspended the government of Catalonia to 
<a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/09/20/street-protests-erupt-spain-accused-stomping-democracy-catalonia">prevent
it from holding the planned independence referendum</a>, or doing
basically anything else.


feed_id: 1e90e4c80def0bf63c29688a17cdad41
title: US mainstream news
uri: US-mainstream-news
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#23_September_2017_%28US_mainstream_news%29
content:
<p>
Ralph Nader: US mainstream news media now 
<a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2017/09/20/censorious-vortex-flash-news-barons">focusing
narrowly on recent shocking events that mainstream news media are
mainly talking about</a>.


feed_id: e4f9a89d2f3af87c12a75ed38db6bf9b
title: UN Nuclear Disarmament Treaty
uri: UN-Nuclear-Disarmament-Treaty
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#23_September_2017_%28UN_Nuclear_Disarmament_Treaty%29

content:
<p>
Nuclear weapons would threaten world disaster even if all national
leaders were sane and calm.  The 
<a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2017/09/20/negotiated-curbing-north-koreas-nuclear-capabilities-good-not-good-enough">UN
Nuclear Disarmament Treaty</a> offers a way to stop that.


feed_id: e49bfd7a3f1eab032845624a02335649
title: The new Dontcare bill
uri: The-new-Dontcare-bill
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#23_September_2017_%28The_new_Dontcare_bill%29
content:
<p>
The new <a href="/glossary.html#care">Dontcare</a> bill would ban state-supported medical insurance from
covering abortion in all states.  It would also eliminate support for
prenatal care for
<a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/09/20/latest-gop-plan-even-worse-womens-health-previous-repeal-bills">13
million women</a>.


feed_id: f9b523e21bfc15fda8e9bf669890e4b9
title: Sabotaging the EPA
uri: 2017-09-23-Sabotaging-the-EPA
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#23_September_2017_%28Sabotaging_the_EPA%29
content:
<p>
<a href="/glossary.html#saboteur">Saboteur</a> Pruitt found a way to block the EPA from investigating
environmental crimes: 
<a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/09/20/instead-protecting-earth-epa-agents-now-forced-serve-pruitt-bodyguards">making
the investigators work as his personal bodyguards.


feed_id: d7cef7ed4fff54c258670865f7f7139f
title: Cameroon students face prison for joke
uri: Cameroon-students-face-prison-for-joke
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#23_September_2017_%28Cameroon_students_face_prison_for_joke%29

content:
<p>
Students in Cameroon 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2017/sep/21/no-laughing-matter-cameroon-students-face-10-years-in-jail-for-boko-haram-joke">could
be imprisoned for 10 years</a> for a joke that referred to Boko Haram.


feed_id: 50b9d6bdacf71d33e6613142c0296495
title: Parts of Mexico impoverished by NAFTA
uri: Parts-of-Mexico-impoverished-by-NAFTA
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#23_September_2017_%28Parts_of_Mexico_impoverished_by_NAFTA%29

content:
<p>
The Mexican earthquake of Sep 9 destroyed 17,000 houses in the poor
southern parts of the country, which has been 
<a href="https://theconversation.com/twin-earthquakes-expose-mexicos-deep-inequality-84012">impoverished
by NAFTA</a>.


feed_id: 8663804b12798a0c9c9c54cf3fe7013b
title: Aid for North Korean infants and pregnant women
uri: Aid-for-North-Korean-infants-and-pregnant-women
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#23_September_2017_%28Aid_for_North_Korean_infants_and_pregnant_women%29

content:
<p>
South Korea has given North Korea 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/21/south-korea-approves-8m-aid-package-for-north-korea">aid
for infants and pregnant women</a>.
<p>
The US, with China's help, have applied plenty of stick.  Some carrot
is a good idea.


feed_id: a67b2ae1706ab816e9520238eab6253c
title: Society's safety net
uri: Society-s-safety-net
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#23_September_2017_%28Societys_safety_net%29
content:
<p>
"Remove society's safety net and what do we get? 
<a href='https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/sep/21/remove-safety-net-disabled-toddlers-dirty-clothes-social-fund'>Disabled
toddlers in dirty clothes</a>."


feed_id: c972aed958f69f33899b8879a5a5c677
title: Teaching sexual respect
uri: 2017-09-23-Teaching-sexual-respect
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#23_September_2017_%28Teaching_sexual_respect%29
content:
<p>
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/sep/22/betsy-devos-scraps-obama-rules-on-investigating-campus-sexual-assault">
DeVos authorized colleges to follow
a more strict standard of evidence
when judging accusations of rape or groping.
</a>
<p>
The term "sexual assault" is a bad term to use in formulating rules
for judging or punishing people, because it lumps together rape with
the much lesser crime of groping.  We would not judge those the same,
so we shouldn't lump them together in our discourse.  Any policy that
uses the term "sexual assault" will tend to be bad.
<p>
The way people are punished when a college declares them guilty of
rape is sufficiently grave that I think they must be judged by the
standard of "beyond a reasonable doubt".  I expect most of such
accusations are true, but certainly some are false.
<p>
However, it is a mistake for a school to conduct a substitute for a
trial.  The legal system exists for that, and schools can't do that
job.  Someone who has been raped and wants something like criminal
prosecution should go to the state, not to the school.
<p>
What schools could usefully do is teach sexual respect that goes
beyond merely not committing a crime.  The school could have a
stricter standard of sexual respect, as a school rule, not as a
criminal law.  Breaking that rule would not mean one is a rapist, or a
criminal at all, but the school would insist one never break it again.
<p>
Students that push too far sexually, even if not to the point of
crime, could be required to do counseling and make a strong and
visible effort to change their way of approaching sex.  Most of them
would not be rapists, so doing the counseling would not label them as
rapists.  Rather, they would be making sure they will not be rapists.
The school might also require them to avoid for some time campus
events where there is alcohol, and subsequently to follow rules so
that they don't drink to excess.
<p>
A system like this could prevent rape by teaching students
to avoid the sort of behavior that could turn into rape.


feed_id: 052b7adac9ba60e9b33fb45bd5e82388
title: Guber ruled unsafe
uri: 2017-09-23-Guber-ruled-unsafe
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#23_September_2017_%28Guber_ruled_unsafe%29
content:
<p>
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/sep/22/uber-ban-london-safety">
<a href="/glossary.html#guber">Guber</a>'s license was cancelled in London -- on grounds of safety.
</a>
  The
<a href="https://stallman.org/uber.html">
big wrongs of <a href="/glossary.html#guber">Guber</a> -- harm to privacy, freedom, and drivers' pay --
are not even recognized by the mayor
</a>
as he lauds "innovation".
<p>
Innovation is an opportunity to change, and change can be good or bad.
When a possible change harms freedom, privacy, or working people's pay,
we should use our democratic government to reject it.


feed_id: 733a67cd2724758858c716da97a6fcbd
title: Preexisting conditions
uri: 2017-09-23-Preexisting-conditions
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#23_September_2017_%28Preexisting_conditions%29
content:
<p>
The new <a href="/glossary.html#care">Dontcare</a> bill pretends to protect people with preexisting conditions,
<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2017/09/21/pence-just-settled-it-republicans-obamacare-repeal-bill-wont-necessarily-protect-people-with-preexisting-conditions/">
but then it has a loophole to screw them.
</a>


feed_id: 41448111bf39decab48e629a1fde085d
title: Measures to reduce CO2 emissions
uri: Measures-to-reduce-CO2-emissions
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#24_September_2017_%28Measures_to_reduce_CO2_emissions%29

content:
<p>


Earth Institute <a href="https://phys.org/news/2017-09-climate-solutions.html">proposes six measures</a> to reduce CO2 emissions.
<p>
If we don't, sea level is likely to rise 50 or 150 feet a few
centuries from now.  All of today's coastal cities <a href="http://e360.yale.edu/features/taking-the-long-view-the-forever-legacy-of-climate-change">will be entirely
lost</a>.
<p>
Another sad point is that we will lose all the ancient coastal cities
and the archeological information waiting in them.


feed_id: 54f6c14b65c18013206c9872931b14b4
title: Electoral System
uri: Electoral-System
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#24_September_2017_%28Electoral_System%29
content:
<p>


Theft of elections, by Republicans, <a href="https://www.truthdig.com/articles/reform-corrupted-u-s-electoral-system/">is ingrained in the US electoral
system</a>.


feed_id: 3a05b23e9e09286eaf241660f99585ab
title: Medical Insurance Aid System
uri: Medical-Insurance-Aid-System
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#24_September_2017_%28Medical_Insurance_Aid_System%29

content:
<p>


Republicans say <a href="https://www.buzzfeed.com/paulmcleod/republicans-threaten-to-let-obamacare-markets-fall-into?utm_term=.dx8QQz3zn#.nlGXX1Q16">they will make the medical insurance aid system collapse</a>
if they cannot kill it overtly.


feed_id: 359ad84e4d3052886f4345be3250ede5
title: Hurricane Maria
uri: Hurricane-Maria
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#24_September_2017_%28Hurricane_Maria%29
content:
<p>


Puerto Rico <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/23/puerto-rico-hurricane-maria-communication-lines-dam">was badly damaged</a> by Hurricane Maria: millions have no
electricity, no water supply, and no telephone service, and many roads
blocked.
<p>
I've read that the failing dam has actually failed, but I have no reference
for that.


feed_id: 4bba0b2b8abffab3caf6ab355ab09323
title: "Class-traitor"
uri: Class-traitor
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#24_September_2017_%28Class-traitor%29
content:
<p>


If you are wealthy, and uncomfortable about the power this gives you,
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/sep/22/1-percent-uncomfortable-wealth-rachel-sherman">don't just feel bad</a>.  Use it -- against plutocracy.
<p>
The term "class-traitor" is based on the supposition that the rich
ought to be joining together to fight a class war against everyone
else.  That supposition is outrageous in itself.
<p>
I disagree with Ice-T's words, and their implicit assumption: that
condemning the system absolves those who exploit it, so you can only
blame one or the other.  Morally, both are responsible.  We must
sometimes excuse the system's victims.  When poor people commit rather
small crimes or deceptions to survive, or to care for their children
as <a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2017-may-aug.html#23_July_2017_(New_Zealand)">in Metiria Turei's case</a>, I can't blame them.
<p>
But this does not apply to the wealthy that exploit others because the
system enables them to.


feed_id: 9a8b8787961b786f2a335e6ee1e3e61b
title: St Louis thugs
uri: St-Louis-thugs
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#24_September_2017_%28St_Louis_thugs%29
content:
<p>


In most of the St Louis area, the thugs <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/sep/22/st-louis-missouri-ferguson-protests-black-lives-matter">have become more arrogant</a> in
their impunity since Michael Brown was killed.  Ferguson itself may be
an exception.


feed_id: 1a422fcf9915897b74077700ce137bfd
title: Charlottesville
uri: Charlottesville
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#24_September_2017_%28Charlottesville%29
content:
<p>


Since the neo-Nazi violence in Charlottesville, the main US newspapers
<a href="http://fair.org/home/in-month-after-charlottesville-papers-spent-as-much-time-condemning-anti-nazis-as-nazis/">have condemned</a> "Antifa" a little more than Nazis.


feed_id: d3ae2b0e4584071fab5cf45d498e146c
title: Censorship in China
uri: 2017-09-24-Censorship-in-China
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#24_September_2017_%28Censorship_in_China%29
content:
<p>


US internet communication companies <a href="https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2017/09/silicon-valley-should-just-say-no-saudi">haven't got the guts</a> to refuse to
censor for China, they should at least refuse to censor for Salafi
Arabia.


feed_id: 32432e48164605f539ab80ce4a74996f
title: Cell-site Simulator Surveillance
uri: Cell-site-Simulator-Surveillance
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#24_September_2017_%28Cell-site_Simulator_Surveillance%29

content:
<p>


Appeals Court <a href="https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2017/09/appeals-court-rules-against-warrantless-cell-site-simulator-surveillance">Rules Against</a> Warrantless Cell-site Simulator Surveillance.


feed_id: bceb98e9b5900c5ecc7f13ca75d5200d
title: US tolerates monopoly
uri: US-tolerates-monopoly
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#24_September_2017_%28US_tolerates_monopoly%29
content:
<p>


The US must stop tolerating monopoly (or oligopoly) in the name of
"efficiency" and <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2017/09/22/address-inequality-lets-take-monopolies">resume fighting monopoly</a> because of the political
corruption it causes.
<p>
Here's <a href="https://stallman.org/articles/progressive-tax-on-business-gross-income.html">my proposed tax</a> that would pressure large companies to split
themselves up.


feed_id: 2831bdaedcb8128b0a08b189cb16f73e
title: China enforces UN sanctions against North Korea
uri: China-enforces-UN-sanctions-against-North-Korea
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#24_September_2017_%28China_enforces_UN_sanctions_against_North_Korea%29

content:
<p>

China <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/23/china-to-enforce-un-sanctions-against-north-korea">is enforcing the new UN sanctions</a> against North Korea.
<p>
If the US were willing to negotiate, for instance a substantial
reduction in sanctions in exchange for something that restrains North
Korea from attacking with nuclear weapons, there would be a chance of
a deal.  But why stop there?  It could be possible to make peace and
fully end the Korean War.


feed_id: bd89935877493fb7277cb1385afea365
title: Urgent: Join rally to defeat Dontcare
uri: Urgent-Join-rally-to-defeat-Dontcare
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#25_September_2017_%28Urgent%3A_Join_rally_to_defeat_Dontcare%29

content:
<p>
In the US: 
<a href="http://act.indivisibleguide.com/event/killthebill/search/">join
rallies</a> today to defeat the latest Dontcare bill.


feed_id: 61334e4eb3f518b39ca193bd84823d09
title: Urgent: Curb power and abuses of thugs
uri: Urgent-Curb-power-and-abuses-of-thugs
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#25_September_2017_%28Urgent%3A_Curb_power_and_abuses_of_thugs%29

content:
<p>
Everyone: 
<a href="http://act.democracyforamerica.com/sign/st-louis-krewson/">tell
the St Louis mayor</a> to make thugs protect peaceful protests, and to
curb the power and abuses of the thugs.


feed_id: 7dab6498899f20881f8ed8eb5c3d7498
title: Urgent: Block TV mega-merger
uri: Urgent-Block-TV-mega-merger
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#25_September_2017_%28Urgent%3A_Block_TV_mega-merger%29

content:
<p>
US citizens: 
<a href="http://act.demandprogress.org/sign/tell-department-justice-block-sinclair-tribune-merger/">call
for blocking</a> the Sinclair-Tribune TV mega-merger.


feed_id: 5fd764c5b26aa62498b69585e98288cb
title: Urgent: Voter registration
uri: Urgent-Voter-registration
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#25_September_2017_%28Urgent%3A_Voter_registration%29

content:
<p>
Everyone: 
<a href="https://act.colorofchange.org/sign/tell-georgia-voting-not-crime/">call
on the state of Georgia</a> not to prosecute the people that organized
submitting 86,000 voter registration forms over the 53 forms that had
errors.


feed_id: 0fc639ab802e05c903500ca7ec9037bd
title: Lawless prosecutor of Ferguson
uri: Lawless-prosecutor-of-Ferguson
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#25_September_2017_%28Lawless_prosecutor_of_Ferguson%29

content:
<p>
The lawless prosecutor of Ferguson, who appeared to play tricks to
avoid charging the thug with killing Michael Brown, also resisted
court orders to release related communications.  Now he has given in,
and we can see how he was 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/sep/22/ferguson-michael-brown-shooting-prosecutor-email">urged
to "support your local police" by giving impunity to the one who had
killed</a>.


feed_id: 5a9f7191f6f1898b740ed858a0f4fc02
title: Making drugs safer
uri: Making-drugs-safer
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#25_September_2017_%28Making_drugs_safer%29
content:
<p>
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/sep/23/relaxed-britains-drug-culture-revolution-deaths-legalisation-ecstasy">Legalizing
possession of drugs is necessary</a> to make them safer.
<p>
I have never tried MDMA, but everything I've read suggests that if
it were legal it would be far safer than tobacco or alcohol.  It
should be as legal as they are.


feed_id: b9856af4744683f7ada795837ab4535b
title: Defeating Guber
uri: Defeating-Guber
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#25_September_2017_%28Defeating_Guber%29
content:
<p>
"I'm 
<a href='https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/sep/23/over-uber-london-driver-fares-rivals-work'>glad
it's all over for Uber in London</a> — and I work for them."
<p>
The long-term effect of <a href="/glossary.html#guber">Guber</a> is to knock drivers' income down.  I
call the company <a href="/glossary.html#guber">Guber</a> because it pays drivers peanuts ("goobers").

Drivers need to defeat <a href="/glossary.html#guber">Guber</a>.  But individual drivers that refuse to
work for <a href="/glossary.html#guber">Guber</a> lose income in the short term.  They can't defeat Guber
unless they organize through the government.

<a href="/glossary.html#guber">Guber</a> does injustice to its customers, too, by tracking them and
making them run nonfree software.  To help defeat <a href="/glossary.html#guber">Guber</a> I made a page
describing
<a href="/uber.html">many reasons to reject it</a>.
<p>
Please stand up for your own freedom, and for drivers' income, by
joining me in absolutely 100% refusing to ride in a <a href="/glossary.html#guber">Guber</a> car.


feed_id: d08185ae4a63046c1826416b338ae573
title: Rohingya villages being burned
uri: Rohingya-villages-being-burned
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#25_September_2017_%28Rohingya_villages_being_burned%29

content:
<p>
Satellite images show that Rohingya villages are 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/23/myanmar-images-show-villages-still-being-burned-says-amnesty">still
being burned</a>.


feed_id: 1fd9a80eb9a8ecd33b554794067c0b00
title: Voting rights campaign
uri: Voting-rights-campaign
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#25_September_2017_%28Voting_rights_campaign%29
content:
<p>
The ACLU has organized a 
<a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2017/09/22/people-power-launches-50-state-voting-rights-campaign-reenergize-our-democracy">nationwide
drive against voter suppression</a>.


feed_id: d518d767ab73299f9d199c17f0fb80af
title: Nuclear plants and hurricanes
uri: Nuclear-plants-and-hurricanes
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#25_September_2017_%28Nuclear_plants_and_hurricanes%29

content:
<p>
Nuclear Plants Plus Hurricanes: 
<a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2017/09/22/nuclear-plants-plus-hurricanes-disasters-waiting-happen">Disasters
Waiting to Happen</a>.


feed_id: 737ba28a164e278496f67624977ae687
title: Parents ordered to rat on children for sharing
uri: Parents-ordered-to-rat-on-children-for-sharing
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#25_September_2017_%28Parents_ordered_to_rat_on_children_for_sharing%29

content:
<p>
In Germany, parents are 
<a href="http://gizmodo.com/german-court-rules-parents-must-turn-over-their-kids-fo-1793922493">ordered
to rat on their children</a> for sharing files.
<p>
This is an example of collective responsibility: "You over there!  Watch
that group and report any disobedience!  If you ever fail to report
them, we will punish you for their disobedience."
<p>
Germany has imposed other forms of collective responsibility to the
<a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2016-may-aug.html#14_May_2016_(War_on_Sharing)">repression
of sharing</a>.
<p>
To try to stop people from sharing copies is unjust at the root.  That
is why it tends to lead to unjust measures such as collective
responsibility.


feed_id: 48790fadeac11561c429d33c351af6a4
title: Drone attacks
uri: Drone-attacks
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#25_September_2017_%28Drone_attacks%29
content:
<p>
Amnesty International to the bully: don't adopt a policy of ignoring
<a href="https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2017/09/22/trump-administration-should-not-gut-drone-protections">risk
of civilian casualties</a> when planning drone attacks.
<p>
He wants to eliminate the last remaining 
<a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/09/22/blank-check-kill-impunity-trump-quietly-scrap-drone-restrictions">safeguards
against killing lots of civilians</a>.


feed_id: a03d1b8eccfa6b92beedea93d196b207
title: Urgent: discharge petition for DACA
uri: Urgent-discharge-petition-for-DACA
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#25_September_2017_%28Urgent%3A_discharge_petition_for_DACA%29

content:
<p>
US citizens: <a href="http://a.cpdaction.org/page/speakout/vote-on-dreamact-now">call on your congresscritter</a> to sign the discharge
petition for the DACA law.


feed_id: cd67cc4266ea5b1977c4778ae200e6ba
title: Kenya election
uri: 2017-09-25-Kenya-election
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#25_September_2017_%28Kenya_election%29
content:
<p>
A Kenyan court ruled that the election in Kenya <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/20/kenyan-election-rerun-not-transparent-supreme-court">must be done over</a>.


feed_id: bc9a518bac13b033ad409c6d4275dd78
title: West Bank protests
uri: West-Bank-protests
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#25_September_2017_%28West_Bank_protests%29
content:
<p>
Israeli colonists in the West Bank usually just throw stones at
nonviolent Israeli peace protesters, but recently they <a href="https://972mag.com/watch-settler-attacks-left-wing-activist-breaks-his-arm/129796/">attacked the
protesters directly</a> and broke a protester's arm.
<p>
Then the soldiers who were watching the whole thing arrested the victim
of the attack — the protester.


feed_id: 0a321e4054fbf8e887b5ac21586d2147
title: FERC pipeline approval
uri: FERC-pipeline-approval
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#25_September_2017_%28FERC_pipeline_approval%29
content:
<p>
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission seized on a technicality to
overrule New York State, <a href="https://thinkprogress.org/federal-agency-overrules-environmental-regulators-2f773c9bacb7/">imposing approval</a> of a pipeline which the
state had refused to approve.
The state is looking for a way to overturn this in court.
<p>
The FERC always approves what <a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2014-nov-feb.html#19_November_2014_(FERCs_permitting_system)">fossil fuel companies want</a>.
<p>
It could be the textbook case of regulatory capture.


feed_id: 248630207ea023a83cfdbba5c219c1c5
title: Dam in Puerto Rico
uri: Dam-in-Puerto-Rico
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#25_September_2017_%28Dam_in_Puerto_Rico%29
content:
<p>
The dam at Lake Guajataca, Puerto Rico, has not collapsed, as of now.
It is only <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/24/puerto-rico-aid-hurricane-maria-cracked-dam">leaking a lot</a>.


feed_id: 7a151c2df9b846a839facd5ed97d9bae
title: Israel's annexation wall
uri: 2017-09-25-Israel-s-annexation-wall
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#25_September_2017_%28Israel%27s_annexation_wall%29
content:
<p>
Israelis and Palestinians <a href="https://972mag.com/hundreds-of-palestinians-israelis-march-to-support-village-encircled-by-wall/129787/">marched to condemn</a> Israel's annexation wall,
which cuts the Palestinian village of Walaje off from their farms.
<p>
This is part of a scheme of slow ethnic cleansing — as Uri Avnery put
it, Israel is trying to make the West Bank "arabrein".
<p>
If the wall wasn't enough of a hint to the Palestinians that they
are all supposed to flee the area, Israel demolished houses in the
village.


feed_id: dad38aee6c7bf92dc7f48af076bea2ce
title: Cryin'air pilots
uri: Cryin-air-pilots
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#25_September_2017_%28Cryin%27air_pilots%29
content:
<p>
Cryin'air treats pilots so badly that many of them quit. The company
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/sep/20/ryanair-treat-pilots-better-crisis-long-haul">can't find new pilots</a> as fast as they quit.


feed_id: ec035b8d05483d0cea279c20f3cf7d28
title: Ocean heating
uri: 2017-09-25-Ocean-heating
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#25_September_2017_%28Ocean_heating%29
content:
<p>
Data for a span of just 4 years are enough to show the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/climate-consensus-97-per-cent/2017/sep/20/it-takes-just-4-years-to-detect-human-warming-of-the-oceans">steady heating
of oceans</a>.
<p>
In fact, we have decades of data, and the heating can be measured
over that whole period.


feed_id: c4dddbaa4856b034dc1f65f134d9c360
title: States' rights
uri: States-rights
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#25_September_2017_%28States%27_rights%29
content:
<p>
Republicans say they are for "states' rights", but they mean
rights to make life harder for people and aid business.
When it comes to allowing states to help people or thwart business,
<a href="https://theintercept.com/2017/09/19/so-much-for-states-rights-gop-senator-wants-to-ban-state-single-payer-in-new-health-care-bill/">Republicans are opposed</a>.


feed_id: 9ad6b0ece9f883078df48306b3d3cf7a
title: Fellowship offers
uri: Fellowship-offers
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#25_September_2017_%28Fellowship_offers%29
content:
<p>
At Harvard, Chelsea Manning Lost Her Fellowship. At Fordham, a Former
CIA Torture Proponent <a href="https://theintercept.com/2017/09/20/john-brennan-fordham-cia-torture-chelsea-manning-harvard/">Kept His</a>.


feed_id: db9eb5a22c08855606879dcfc53f7490
title: Solar power in poor countries
uri: Solar-power-in-poor-countries
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#25_September_2017_%28Solar_power_in_poor_countries%29

content:
<p>
The drive to provide solar power to people in poor countries is <a href="https://www.spectrum.ieee.org/energywise/green-tech/solar/electrifying-solar-microgrid-financing">falling
behind population growth</a>.
<p>
More funds for renewable power systems would help eliminate the lack
of electricity, but more funds for birth control and abortion would
work on many different and bigger problems.


feed_id: a1b2db4a86f3a3ffba7d97fc9fe01ef2
title: Palestinian Authority
uri: Palestinian-Authority
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#25_September_2017_%28Palestinian_Authority%29
content:
<p>
The Palestinian Authority is persistently <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/sep/20/issa-amro-palestine-war-free-speech-mahmoud-abbas">repressing Palestinians</a> that
criticize it.


feed_id: bf6f816dfedc47a7b18a6517318ad002
title: Rice varieties
uri: Rice-varieties
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#25_September_2017_%28Rice_varieties%29
content:
<p>
Many of India's 100,000 traditional rice varieties have been lost,
replaced by recently developed hybrids. But farmers preserve some of
the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/sep/24/why-indias-farmers-want-to-conserve-indigenous-heirloom-rice">traditional varieties</a> because they better resist effects of global
heating, and/or taste better.


feed_id: 154f7e1442e1442f717287d1c5b33d8d
title: US deficit increase
uri: US-deficit-increase
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#25_September_2017_%28US_deficit_increase%29
content:
<p>
US mass media are peculiarly silent about the big increase in the
deficit that the increased military budget will cause. The "deficit"
issue is brought out only to <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2017/09/23/outlets-scolded-sanders-over-deficits-uniformly-silent-700b-pentagon-handout">oppose progressive proposals</a> for
government spending.


feed_id: 4d7c55f2a79f857eaba4eb3dbef30f29
title: Urgent: Oppose troll's DOJ nominee
uri: Urgent-Oppose-troll-s-DOJ-nominee
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#26_September_2017_%28Urgent%3A_Oppose_trolls_DOJ_nominee%29

content:
<p>
Urgent: US citizens: 
<a href="http://act.demandprogress.org/sign/sign-petition-tell-senate-vote-no-trumps-antitrust-pick/">Tell
your senators</a> to oppose the troll's nominee to run the DOJ's antitrust
division.  He is a pro-monopoly saboteur.


feed_id: 0ec04b82f4861dd970c274c16c7c732f
title: Urgent: Withdraw nomination of Mateer
uri: Urgent-Withdraw-nomination-of-Mateer
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#26_September_2017_%28Urgent%3A_Withdraw_nomination_of_Mateer%29

content:
<p>
US citizens: 
<a href="http://act.pfaw.org/sign/withdraw-mateer/">call on
senators</a> to demand withdrawal of Mateer's nomination for federal
judge.  The article explains why.


feed_id: 8ab10fb796ca4f85161f87b038f5a8fe
title: Urgent: Oppose the SATWA bill
uri: Urgent-Oppose-the-SATWA-bill
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#26_September_2017_%28Urgent%3A_Oppose_the_SATWA_bill%29

content:
<p>
US citizens: 
<a href="https://secure.defenders.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=3247">Oppose</a>
the SATWA bill to undermine the Endangered Species Act.


feed_id: 2f61a7c93c5a2ae9a8a6febcad539cb8
title: Catalonia
uri: 2017-09-26-Catalonia
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#26_September_2017_%28Catalonia%29
content:
<p>
Catalonians are 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/24/catalan-campaigners-hand-out-million-independence-referendum-ballots">printing
their own ballot papers to replace the ones confiscated</a> by Spanish
thugs.
<p>
A week ago it was possible for Catalonia to continue as normal part of
Spain, and I saw no reason it should not do so.  But I think that
option no longer exists.  At this point, there will inevitably be a
loser — either Rajoy, a 
<a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2013-jan-apr.html#02_February_2013_(Secret_funds_to_Spanish_PMs_party_leaders)">dooH
niboR right-winger</a> who is the 
<a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jan-apr.html#21_April_2017_(Student_jailed_for_a_joke)">enemy
of human rights and dissent in Spain</a>, or the 
<a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2012-nov-feb.html#21_November_2012_(Many_in_Catalonia_advocate_secession)">Catalonians</a>.
<p>
I don't want Rajoy to win.


feed_id: 6d8e7eccc109e965b3c0e9499cc975c8
title: Paris climate commitments
uri: 2017-09-26-Paris-climate-commitments
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#26_September_2017_%28Paris_climate_commitments%29
content:
<p>
Australia is 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/sep/25/australia-failing-to-meet-paris-targets-and-more-renewables-needed-report-says">not
doing enough to meet its Paris climate commitments</a>.
<p>
Keep in mind that those commitments, globally, are 
<a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2015-sep-dec.html#06_September_2015_(Paris_climate_deal_not_strong_enough)">not
enough to have a good chance of achieving the stated goal</a>, to curb
global heating at 1.5 C.


feed_id: 0fdea75fd099c5a7011b0a4fe90c82a4
title: US/Hollywood propaganda
uri: US-Hollywood-propaganda
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#26_September_2017_%28US%252FHollywood_propaganda%29
content:
<p>
US/Hollywood propaganda supports US warlikeness by 
<a href="http://johnpilger.com/articles/the-killing-of-history">pretending
that the Vietnam War was well-meant</a>, and the old US disarmament
and peace movements are now almost forgotten in the name of unending
war.


feed_id: 0ced2dc9d715ed2eb3b7ef7c8d6aad69
title: Increased US air attacks in Yemen
uri: Increased-US-air-attacks-in-Yemen
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#26_September_2017_%28Increased_US_air_attacks_in_Yemen%29

content:
<p>
<a href="/glossary.html#bully">The bully</a> has increased the rate of US air attacks in Yemen by a
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2017/sep/25/trump-secret-yemen-war-uk-role-us-counter-terrorism-causes-unease">factor
of 5</a>.
<p>
Only 30 civilian casualties from 93 air attacks is not such a bad job
of avoiding civilian casualties.  However, if the troll eliminates the
rules designed to avoid civilian casualties, which he 
<a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2017-may-aug.html#8_June_2017_(Civilian_casualties_from_US_bombings)">weakened
a few months ago</a>, there could be a lot more of them in the rest of
this year.


feed_id: 8f97e51261b74a9512df0aa529946c09
title: Sex robots
uri: 2017-09-26-Sex-robots
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#26_September_2017_%28Sex_robots%29
content:
<p>
Some fear that 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/sep/25/ban-sex-robots-dolls-market">sex
robots</a> would help some people develop a taste for rape.
<p>
I think the popularity of porn, and in the future maybe sex robots,
comes from the sexual prudery and prissiness of our society where
people going through puberty are concerned.  They become interested in
sex and anyone they have sex with is likely to be jailed for it.
<p>
In addition, it is hard for some people, such as those on the autistic
spectrum, to find lovers at all.  Society could help them.


feed_id: b0c8fe35638aced3c10cee8dcb03beab
title: Covering your face in public
uri: Covering-your-face-in-public
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#26_September_2017_%28Covering_your_face_in_public%29

content:
<p>
The injustice of prohibiting people from covering their faces in
public is found in 
<a href="https://reason.com/archives/2017/09/25/wearing-a-mask-in-public-shouldnt-be-a-c">Virginia</a> as well as in 
<a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2010-jul-oct.html#5%20October%202010%20(Facism%20in%20France)">France</a>.


feed_id: 67b358975395ca3f1bce210fe5f2710b
title: Right-wing extremists in Germany
uri: Right-wing-extremists-in-Germany
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#25_September_2017_%28Right-wing_extremists_in_Germany%29

content:
<p>
In Germany, as in the US and UK, people hurt by right-wing <a href="/glossary.html#doohnibor">dooH niboR</a>
policies voted for right-wing extremists that 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/25/a-lot-of-people-feel-left-behind-voters-on-the-far-right-surge-in-germany">distracted
them from the real political issue</a>.


feed_id: 126a481167577e051efdb27cb619acbf
title: Defying Tory laws
uri: Defying-Tory-laws
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#25_September_2017_%28Defying_Tory_laws%29
content:
<p>
UK Labour leaders talk of 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/sep/25/chakrabarti-slams-governments-unjust-trade-union-laws">defying
new Tory laws designed to paralyze unions</a>.


feed_id: d5e486e26d8d7cc040649258b55ab84e
title: Contempt for freedom of speech in Egypt
uri: Contempt-for-freedom-of-speech-in-Egypt
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#25_September_2017_%28Contempt_for_freedom_of_speech_in_Egypt%29

content:
<p>
Egypt's military regime threatens students that they will be 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/25/egyptian-students-respect-flag-risk-prison">jailed
for a year if they "mock" the Egyptian flag</a>.
<p>
That is flagrant contempt for freedom of speech, which includes the
right to mock anything.  Of course, we wouldn't expect any different
from such a repressive country.


feed_id: c5726fc0a4374859a42cf73e6079f281
title: Digital Taylorism
uri: Digital-Taylorism
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#25_September_2017_%28Digital_Taylorism%29
content:
<p>
Digital Taylorism is 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/sep/25/robots-taken-over-work-jobs-economy">making
all jobs oppressive</a>.


feed_id: 214a130f6df70dec36d83a300d0f3e9e
title: Pakistani MP faces abuse
uri: Pakistani-MP-faces-abuse
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#25_September_2017_%28Pakistani_MP_faces_abuse%29
content:
<p>
Pakistani MP Who Says Imran Khan Harassed Her 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/25/pakistani-mp-says-imran-khan-harassed-her-abuse-ayesha-gulalai-wazir">Faces
Wave of Abuse</a>.
<p>
I lean towards thinking that she should publish the messages
so as to prove her case.


feed_id: 86e1b2b2dca45d73402aebf6ba37ba80
title: US taxes
uri: US-taxes
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#25_September_2017_%28US_taxes%29
content:
<p>
The US is almost the lowest major country in level of taxes.  The rich
pay 
<a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2017/09/24/why-we-must-raise-taxes-corporations-and-wealthy-not-lower-them">less
in the US than any other</a>.
<p>
Many of the largest corporations pay 
<a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2017-may-aug.html#11_August_2017_(Tax_dodging_corporations)">no
tax at all</a>.
<p>
The US needs to tax the rich and big companies more.


feed_id: e0e6340360d524a3592b8737381168a6
title: UK NHS planning more cuts
uri: UK-NHS-planning-more-cuts
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#25_September_2017_%28UK_NHS_planning_more_cuts%29
content:
<p>
The UK National Health Service is making 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/sep/25/exposed-secretive-nhs-cost-cutting-plans-include-childrens-care">secret
plans for more cuts in medical care</a>, as the Tories keep starving
it.


feed_id: 524f16faf9a4d9386d9f14686c023e1c
title: Equifax data collection
uri: Equifax-data-collection
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#25_September_2017_%28Equifax_data_collection%29
content:
<p>
Equifax collects many kinds of data about people and 
<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/23/business/equifax-data-breach.html">correlates
them for profiling</a>.
<p>
Banks should offer each client the option of saying nothing to Equifax
(and other credit bureaus) about that client.  If you don't want your
account or your address to contribute to a credit rating, why should
that be imposed on you?
<p>
Likewise for all employers.  They should not be allowed to tell credit
bureaus anything.  All they should be allowed to do is give the
employee stamped envelopes, saying "Mail these if you wish."


feed_id: c02c5f6f28829ee0effb2a484fd87e57
title: UK immigration prisons
uri: UK-immigration-prisons
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#26_September_2017_%28UK_immigration_prisons%29
content:
<p>
An undercover reporter demonstrated how
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/sep/25/immigration-detainee-allegedly-choked-g4s-guard-demands-public-inquiry-panorama-home-office">
the privatized guards in UK
immigration prison get away with gross violence against prisoners.
</a>
<p>
It's hard enough to stop guards that are state employees from giving
way to their cruelty.  Privatization creates another level of
inaccountability.


feed_id: 701d1c9049f0ae454ee8e0949b695fcf
title: Arbitration requirements
uri: Arbitration-requirements
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#26_September_2017_%28Arbitration_requirements%29
content:
<p>
SCROTUS are trying to nullify a ruling of the Consumer Financial
Protection Bureau that
<a href="https://theintercept.com/2017/09/25/under-cover-of-graham-cassidy-senate-gop-moving-to-gut-major-cfpb-rule/">
would protect individuals from arbitration
requirements from sleazy financial organizations such as Wells Fargo
and Equifax.
</a>


feed_id: cadf948bbdd16981493a65dab45c8315
title: Repression in Vietnam
uri: Repression-in-Vietnam
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#26_September_2017_%28Repression_in_Vietnam%29
content:
<p>
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/26/vietnams-state-largest-crackdown-on-dissidents-years">
Vietnam is intensifying repression
</a>
against all sorts of dissidents.


feed_id: e91d364afa5dbd00e58840d4e1d7707f
title: Extinction of food crops
uri: Extinction-of-food-crops
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#26_September_2017_%28Extinction_of_food_crops%29
content:
<p>
Many food crops are threatened in the long term through
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/sep/26/chips-chocolate-and-coffee-our-food-crops-face-mass-extinction-too">
the coming likely
extinction of their wild relatives.
</a>
<p>
The way we breed new varieties for desirable traits is by crossing the
plants with their wild relatives.  When those are gone, this procedure
will be impossible.
<p>
Local cultivated varieties are in danger too.
<p>
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/sep/26/sixth-mass-extinction-of-wildlife-also-threatens-global-food-supplies">
The world-wide concentration of agriculture on 12 plant species and 5
animal species is dangerous,
</a>
because a disease that harms production
of any one of them is an automatic disaster.


feed_id: 8ad0b0ced9b8a63eae8ec38bcd585d33
title: Hurricane Maria
uri: 2017-09-26-Hurricane-Maria
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#26_September_2017_%28Hurricane_Maria%29
content:
<p>
The troll told Puerto Ricans that
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/sep/26/trump-puerto-rico-crisis-massive-debt">
the desolation from Hurricane Maria
is their own fault because of their debt.
</a>
<p>
This looks suspiciously like a plan by plutocrats to use the storm as
an opportunity to force the island to beg for funds for (partial)
rebuilding, which will be offered on intolerable conditions.


feed_id: 2f729caf498a4ec0b96a4a41b8587f90
title: Taliban's embassy
uri: Taliban-s-embassy
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#26_September_2017_%28Taliban%27s_embassy%29
content:
<p>
The troll wants Qatar to
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/26/trump-afghanistan-taliban-qatar">
close the Taliban's informal embassy,
</a>
which provides
a point of access for negotiation.
<p>
The Taliban have been advancing on the ground, so maybe they are not
very interested in making a deal.  Maybe the US is now not very
interested in making a deal.  If there will be no real negotiations in
any case, the lack of a way to meet my change nothing.  But why throw
away the option?


feed_id: c9aa022bcba5623caffc204fdee6f7a2
title: Tinder snooping
uri: Tinder-snooping
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#26_September_2017_%28Tinder_snooping%29
content:
<p>
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/sep/26/tinder-personal-data-dating-app-messages-hacked-sold">
One journalist asked Tinder for all the personal data it had on her,
</a>
and the 800 pages it got showed her how much it snoops on her.
<p>
I hope that, after further thought, decides to advance beyond "How
sad" to "No way!"
<p>
The evidence comes from Tinder, but I'd expect it to be typical of
services that identify users by name.  That's why I call them
"disservices," and don't use them.


feed_id: 9e229307eb95560dafcfe2320ccd9510
title: Censorship versus animal rights
uri: Censorship-versus-animal-rights
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#26_September_2017_%28Censorship_versus_animal_rights%29

content:
<p>
The Guggenheim Museum has been
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2017/sep/26/guggenheim-museum-artworks-animals-threats-violence">
bullied into censorship by violent
threats from animal rights activists.
</a>
<p>
The arguments cited in the article have blatant illogic.  For
instance, "Running a dogfight is bad, and this video presents the way
dogs are trained for fighting, so this video is bad".  Regardless of
what we think of the premise, it does not imply the conclusion.
<p>
I think censorship is a more important issue than animal rights.


feed_id: ef804c4b1bcd4d9a3ddc239387b51960
title: Politics in Australia
uri: Politics-in-Australia
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#26_September_2017_%28Politics_in_Australia%29
content:
<p>
Politics in Australia is based on
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/sep/26/in-the-heat-of-the-political-battle-objective-reality-is-having-a-tough-run">
corporate media that help right-wing
politicians deny the nature of the questions that people face.
</a>


feed_id: 17be38bbee127107ad2e1b962fba3652
title: Dontcare is dead
uri: Dontcare-is-dead
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#26_September_2017_%28Dontcare_is_dead%29
content:
<p>
<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/powerpost/new-version-of-health-care-bill-will-help-alaska-and-maine--home-of-two-holdout-senators/2017/09/25/24697f62-a188-11e7-b14f-f41773cd5a14_story.html">
The Dontcare bill seems to be dead.
</a>
<p>
Until someone drives a stake through its heart, it is hard to be quite
sure.


feed_id: 9d513199a3254cab4ccd6e52a5c8421b
title: Repeal of Obamacare
uri: Repeal-of-Obamacare
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#26_September_2017_%28Repeal_of_Obamacare%29
content:
<p>
Republican leaders were are trying to
<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/gop-health-bill-in-major-peril-as-resistance-hardens-among-key-senators/2017/09/24/bc927d06-a134-11e7-ade1-76d061d56efa_story.html">
bribe the few holdout senators
to support repeal of Obama's medical insurance plan
</a>
by offering funds
specifically to those states.
<p>
That risks tearing America apart by setting state against state.


feed_id: 74f63399cab909c9cff11511cddc6465
title: UK's Terrorism Act
uri: UK-s-Terrorism-Act
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#26_September_2017_%28UK%27s_Terrorism_Act%29
content:
<p>
A leading prisoners' rights campaigner has been
<a href="https://theintercept.com/2017/09/25/muhammad-rabbani-guilty-of-terror-offense-for-not-giving-passwords-to-uk-police/">
convicted for refusing
to hand over passwords while entering the UK.
</a>
<p>
<a href="https://stallman.org/notes/2016-jan-apr.html#20_January_2016_(UKs_terrorism_law)">
This means a court has affirmed the unjust UK law that was used to
menace David Miranda.
</a>
<p>
Rabbani himself was sentenced to probation, but he will appeal the
decision for the sake of human rights in the UK.
<p>
Meanwhile, the question for the UK is, "What the hell leads you to
treat evidence or torture in Guantanamo as if it were terrorism?
<a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2016-jul-oct.html#17_September_2016_(Guantanamo_prisoners)">
The
Guantanamo prison itself is what promotes terrorism."
</a>


feed_id: d8c7aaaefb30219a6e3e36c35c5c892f
title: Execution before DNA test
uri: Execution-before-DNA-test
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#26_September_2017_%28Execution_before_DNA_test%29
content:
<p>
Texas Schedules Execution but
<a href="https://theintercept.com/2017/09/25/texas-dna-testing-larry-swearingen-execution/">
Refuses DNA Tests That Could Prove a
Manâs Innocence.
</a>
<p>
Judges would rather kill an innocent man than admit any doubt in
the reliability of the legal system.


feed_id: 0af6d1134c86f1faafbf963b3c2df2ab
title: Google will survive SESTA
uri: Google-will-survive-SESTA
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#26_September_2017_%28Google_will_survive_SESTA%29
content:
<p>
<a href="https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2017/09/google-will-survive-sesta-your-startup-might-not">
Google Will Survive SESTA.
</a>
Your Startup Might Not.


feed_id: 4d2f6eba5072689fd20e7d2879030c07
title: Urgent: Rebuke Harvard
uri: Urgent-Rebuke-Harvard
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#27_September_2017_%28Urgent%3A_Rebuke_Harvard%29
content:
<p>
US citizens: 
<a href="https://act.rootsaction.org/p/dia/action4/common/public/?action_KEY=13056">Rebuke
Harvard</a> for choosing the CIA over Chelsea Manning.
<p>
To sign this without running the site's nonfree Javascript code, load
the
<a href="https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/librejs-salsalabs-petitions/">add-on</a>
and then either disable Javascript or activate the LibreJS add-on.


feed_id: 3d93403abc3f5b848a2a376708c70a75
title: Urgent: Hold Pence accountable
uri: Urgent-Hold-Pence-accountable
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#27_September_2017_%28Urgent%3A_Hold_Pence_accountable%29

content:
<p>
US citizens: 
<a href="https://act.rootsaction.org/p/dia/action4/common/public/?action_KEY=13042">Hold
Pence accountable</a> for saying he supports the troll on everything,
even vicious things.


feed_id: bf567ddad6776f3d82b21f921553980a
title: Selective memory of history
uri: Selective-memory-of-history
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#27_September_2017_%28Selective_memory_of_history%29
content:
<p>
Selective memory of history isn't limited to the Vietnam War.
<a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2017/09/25/abuses-history">Memorials
to the Confederacy</a> demonstrate the subsequent use of selective
memory in support of the white supremacist cause.


feed_id: f5a61c4626d166fee48790292811c5ac
title: Jellyfish
uri: Jellyfish
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#27_September_2017_%28Jellyfish%29
content:
<p>
We 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/shortcuts/2017/sep/25/are-you-ready-for-that-jelly-why-its-time-to-start-eating-jellyfish">should
eat more jellyfish</a>.
<p>
I find plain jellyfish boring, but in salads with some vegetable and a
dressing I've sometimes enjoyed it greatly.


feed_id: 6c5b927022897461ad500856dfd4ea30
title: Crowdsourcing cost of medical care
uri: Crowdsourcing-cost-of-medical-care
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#27_September_2017_%28Crowdsourcing_cost_of_medical_care%29

content:
<p>
Crowdsourcing the 
<a href="http://www.niemanlab.org/2017/09/the-internet-hates-secrets-clear-health-costs-works-with-newsrooms-to-bring-healthcare-costs-out-of-hiding/">highly
variable cost</a> of medical care in the US.


feed_id: 0a811991547d2a0fd8f0ffded6bd34f2
title: China's internet censorship
uri: China-s-internet-censorship
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#27_September_2017_%28Chinas_internet_censorship%29
content:
<p>
China's internet censorship now covers 
<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/24/world/asia/china-internet-censorship.html">sex,
alcohol, and gambling, as well as criticizing policies and
officials</a>.


feed_id: ad86792025ad4c25f1cf94efc272367c
title: Center-left parties
uri: Center-left-parties
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#27_September_2017_%28Center-left_parties%29
content:
<p>
Center-left parties that fail to fight the <a href="/glossary.html#doohnibor">dooH niboR</a> mechanism of plutocracy
are 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/sep/25/afd-germany-sdp-social-democracy-jeremy-corbyn">headed
down the drain</a>.  Even if they call themselves "socialist", they
are allowing extreme capitalism to push most working people into the
gutter.


feed_id: 2e9d1e3793a71d345ae84489c1242dbe
title: Kneeling to the US national anthem
uri: Kneeling-to-the-US-national-anthem
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#27_September_2017_%28Kneeling_to_the_US_national_anthem%29

content:
<p>
When football players 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/sep/25/protesting-nfl-players-true-patriots-donald-trump">kneel
to the US national anthem</a>, they are showing respect for the
principles the US aspires to follow, and shining a light on the
grinning enemies that try to corrupt it.
<p>
Most of the time, all football players do is play football.  I don't
pay attention, except occasionally to mention the danger of permanent
brain damage from playing the sport.  Now, however, the players that
protest are doing something important.


feed_id: 15f2de61173f9beb75ecb4769c716376
title: North Korea and the US
uri: North-Korea-and-the-US
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#27_September_2017_%28North_Korea_and_the_US%29
content:
<p>
North Korea's Foreign Minister: Trump Has 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/25/north-koreas-foreign-minister-says-trump-has-declared-war-on-country">Declared
War</a> on Our Country.
<p>
This is silly.  North Korea and the US are already at war —
there was no peace treaty at the end of the Korean War, only a truce.


feed_id: ace88783ef98f039bff0ba51e5683770
title: Releasing captured wild animals
uri: Releasing-captured-wild-animals
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#27_September_2017_%28Releasing_captured_wild_animals%29

content:
<p>
The Buddhist practice of releasing captured wild animals 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/shortcuts/2017/sep/25/buddhist-fangsheng-mercy-release-cruel-wild-animals">harms
wild animals</a> and often exploits the people who practice it.
<p>
The article's conclusion is stupid, though.  There is nothing mild
about releasing alien species of lobsters where they don't belong.
Species humans have introduced into places where they don't belong
have caused the extinction of hundreds of species, perhaps thousands.
The ongoing efforts to eradicate some of these species cost millions
of dollars every year, in an effort to protect endemic species from
extinction.


feed_id: fe41944df46accef9183f3485755b617
title: Places that are probably going to burn
uri: Places-that-are-probably-going-to-burn
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#27_September_2017_%28Places_that_are_probably_going_to_burn%29

content:
<p>
Maybe we need to 
<a href="https://theconversation.com/chasing-the-flame-does-media-coverage-of-wildfires-probe-deeply-enough-82631">curb
the construction of houses in places that are probably going to
burn</a>, a few decades from now.
<p>
It's comparable to the issue of flooding: our greenhouse gas emissions
are making worse floods in some seasons and regions, and worse fires
in others, and we're encouraging people to put themselves and their
property in harm's way.


feed_id: d5f5c8a6c1f46ff300b358d746b8fbdf
title: Federal medical insurance system
uri: Federal-medical-insurance-system
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#27_September_2017_%28Federal_medical_insurance_system%29

content:
<p>
<a href="/glossary.html#trump">The troll</a>'s saboteurs will 
<a href="http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/42049-obamacare-website-to-be-shut-down-for-portion-of-most-weekends-during-open-enrollment">sabotage
enrollment</a> in the federal medical insurance system that the
Republicans haven't succeeded in abolishing.


feed_id: 1cad2494865e2837c391889b1077180f
title: The US intervention in Vietnam
uri: The-US-intervention-in-Vietnam
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#27_September_2017_%28The_US_intervention_in_Vietnam%29

content:
<p>
Comparing the 
<a href="https://theintercept.com/2017/09/24/ken-burns-vietnam-war-decent-people-good-faith-afghanistan-soviets/">Soviet
intervention in Afghanistan</a> with the US intervention in Vietnam.
<p>
To claim that the US entered the Vietnam War "in good faith" requires
stretching that concept so far that in includes lying at every level,
including the false "Gulf of Tonkin incident" in which North
Vietnamese vessels supposedly made a feeble and useless attack against
US navy vessels.  It never happened — it was a 
<a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2008-nov-feb.html#10%20November%202008%20(Bill%20Ayers%20and%20the%2060s)">lie
told by the US military</a> to the American people and the 
<a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2004-jan-apr.html#26%20January%202004%20(fake%20Cuba%20attack)">US
Congress</a>.
<p>
The main US motive for sending troops to Vietnam was to 
<a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2017/09/24/there-no-rehabilitating-vietnam-war">avoid
a humiliating defeat</a>.  This is the international relations version
of the "sunk costs" fallacy: "We've spent so much political capital on
that fight that we can't afford to lose now."  For a great power
fighting a weaker country, that is a recipe for endless war.
<p>
The US intervention in Afghanistan follows the same pattern, except
that Obama failed to do what Nixon and Gorbachev managed to do.


feed_id: 20152436b35455f4c316eddb3d337137
title: Arbitration requirements
uri: 2017-09-27-Arbitration-requirements
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#26_September_2017_%28Arbitration_requirements%29
content:
<p>
<a href="/glossary.html#scrotus">SCROTUS</a> are trying to nullify a ruling of the Consumer Financial
Protection Bureau that
<a href="https://theintercept.com/2017/09/25/under-cover-of-graham-cassidy-senate-gop-moving-to-gut-major-cfpb-rule/">
would protect individuals from arbitration
requirements from sleazy financial organizations such as Wells Fargo
and Equifax.
</a>


feed_id: 2cf2fa52ff7b30d50fb71a7c9eead1cc
title: Hurricane Maria
uri: 2017-09-27-Hurricane-Maria
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#26_September_2017_%28Hurricane_Maria%29
content:
<p>
<a href="/glossary.html#trump">The troll</a> told Puerto Ricans that
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/sep/26/trump-puerto-rico-crisis-massive-debt">
the desolation from Hurricane Maria
is their own fault because of their debt.
</a>
<p>
This looks suspiciously like a plan by plutocrats to use the storm as
an opportunity to force the island to beg for funds for (partial)
rebuilding, which will be offered on intolerable conditions.


feed_id: ce1deec9579c6774832eb6c2f4f74cd9
title: Taliban's embassy
uri: 2017-09-27-Taliban-s-embassy
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#26_September_2017_%28Taliban%27s_embassy%29
content:
<p>
<a href="/glossary.html#trump">The troll</a> wants Qatar to
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/26/trump-afghanistan-taliban-qatar">
close the Taliban's informal embassy,
</a>
which provides
a point of access for negotiation.
<p>
The Taliban have been advancing on the ground, so maybe they are not
very interested in making a deal.  Maybe the US is now not very
interested in making a deal.  If there will be no real negotiations in
any case, the lack of a way to meet my change nothing.  But why throw
away the option?


feed_id: 39ee2cd519ae87fdd99d4580ed4dcbae
title: Dontcare is dead
uri: 2017-09-27-Dontcare-is-dead
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#26_September_2017_%28Dontcare_is_dead%29
content:
<p>
<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/powerpost/new-version-of-health-care-bill-will-help-alaska-and-maine--home-of-two-holdout-senators/2017/09/25/24697f62-a188-11e7-b14f-f41773cd5a14_story.html">
The <a href="/glossary.html#care">Dontcare</a> bill seems to be dead.
</a>
<p>
Until someone drives a stake through its heart, it is hard to be quite
sure.


feed_id: d6dbf17f2ccf25c46b4ab271ad64d956
title: Tinder snooping
uri: 2017-09-28-Tinder-snooping
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#26_September_2017_%28Tinder_snooping%29
content:
<p>
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/sep/26/tinder-personal-data-dating-app-messages-hacked-sold">
One journalist asked Tinder for all the personal data it had on her,
</a>
and the 800 pages it got showed her how much it snoops on her.
<p>
I hope that, after further thought, she decides to advance beyond "How
sad" to "No way!"
<p>
The evidence comes from Tinder, but I'd expect it to be typical of
services that identify users by name.  That's why I call them
"disservices," and don't use them.


feed_id: a65dad2447c288edac545b0ad581c720
title: Urgent: Curb global heating and hurricanes
uri: Urgent-Curb-global-heating-and-hurricanes
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#27_September_2017_%28Urgent%3A_Curb_global_heating_and_hurricanes%29

content:
<p>
US citizens: tell US government officials to
<a href="https://engage.us.greenpeace.org/onlineactions/lEFR6HNDmEqMgi1-osoVZQ2?utm_source=website&utm_medium=actioncard&utm_campaign=170907_makeexxonpay_harvey&sourceid=1000342">
curb global heating and
thus reduce the strength of hurricanes later in this century.
</a>


feed_id: 7e1aa0fbf5ff123b21909ae5f90c9919
title: US race pay gap
uri: US-race-pay-gap
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#27_September_2017_%28US_race_pay_gap%29
content:
<p>
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/sep/26/race-pay-gap-not-just-us-problem-financial-inequality-uk">
The increasing racial disparity in income in the US
</a>
demonstrates how
powerful racism is.
<p>
Even if poverty were equally distributed among racial groups, it would
still indicate injustice.  It makes no sense to aim for total equality
of income, but we should not leave anyone in poverty.


feed_id: f63d3e59ce1b0594be3e622442146482
title: No kids in the park
uri: No-kids-in-the-park
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#27_September_2017_%28No_kids_in_the_park%29
content:
<p>
In parts of Chicago, the few kids who are allowed to go outside on their own
discover that
<a href="http://www.freerangekids.com/i-am-at-a-loss/">
their friends cannot join them in the park.
</a>
<p>
Maybe they can visit their friends at their homes.  That would give them
a refreshing example.


feed_id: c9945b327ccef565360f1ad5f379b926
title: Unprotecting rainforest
uri: Unprotecting-rainforest
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#27_September_2017_%28Unprotecting_rainforest%29
content:
<p>
Brazil has dropped (for the moment) the plan to
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/sep/26/brazil-backtracks-on-plan-to-open-up-amazon-forest-to-mining">
unprotect parts of the
Amazon rainforest from mining.
</a>


feed_id: db8b0768f3bf71b7ed14cfe9b5f14fc1
title: Walkability
uri: Walkability
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#28_September_2017_%28Walkability%29
content:
<p>
(Most of)
<a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/40472360/the-u-s-is-failing-at-making-its-communities-more-walkable">
The U.S. Is Failing At Making Its Communities More Walkable.
</a>


feed_id: 50a271cff520bf988ae7f428e39d7a48
title: Personal tracking devices
uri: Personal-tracking-devices
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#28_September_2017_%28Personal_tracking_devices%29
content:
<p>
If you carry a personal tracking device (cell phone),
<a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/3068846/how-your-location-data-identifies-you-gilad-lotan-privacy">
figuring out who
you are from the location track is usually as easy as pie.
</a>
<p>
For this reason, I don't carry a personal tracking device.  I also
reject them
<a href="https://gnu.org/malware/malware-phones.html">
because they can be turned in to 24-7 listening devices.
</a>


feed_id: 9dcf280be75b55ddbe529d16db0e6271
title: Facebook voter discouragement
uri: Facebook-voter-discouragement
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#28_September_2017_%28Facebook_voter_discouragement%29

content:
<p>
Russian agents used
<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/technology/russian-operatives-used-facebook-ads-to-exploit-divisions-over-black-political-activism-and-muslims/2017/09/25/4a011242-a21b-11e7-ade1-76d061d56efa_story.html">
targeted Facebook ads to create conflict and
discourage voters.
</a>


feed_id: 9d629b10d88eeef8962cdc2a37d15a94
title: UK visas
uri: UK-visas
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#28_September_2017_%28UK_visas%29
content:
<p>
The UK is becoming an unreliable place to host academic events because
it is eager to
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/education/2017/sep/26/university-academic-refused-uk-visas-nigerian">
deny visas to scholars from low-privilege countries.
</a>
<p>
The US has had this problem for many years, and the troll has made it
worse.  Canada too -- some speakers could not get to the World Social
Forum in Montreal last year.


feed_id: de7241d75a3d7bedc3301c9f15dc2b38
title: Truthiness
uri: Truthiness
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#27_September_2017_%28Truthiness%29
content:
<p>
Tracing America's current readiness to
<a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2017/09/how-america-lost-its-mind/534231/">
disregard objective reality
</a>
back to the 1960s counterculture's magical thinking.
<p>
I am skeptical of some of the facts cited, but I find the overall thesis
interesting.


feed_id: d9f788882aad8ce248e3fc7473b6f971
title: Disabled protesters
uri: Disabled-protesters
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#28_September_2017_%28Disabled_protesters%29
content:
<p>
<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/cassidy-is-sorry-about-the-cassidy-graham-process-he-should-be/2017/09/25/0cd234f0-a243-11e7-ade1-76d061d56efa_story.html">
SCROTUS chose
a small room for the one public hearing about the
Dontcare bill.
</a>
<p>
Disabled Americans got there anyway, and
<a href="https://www.commondreams.org/further/2017/09/25/were-sorry-are-these-disabled-protesters-who-could-die-your-bill-disturbing-your">
protested against the bill
that they expected would make their medical care so expensive they
would not have any.
</a>
Republican senators contemptuously had them
dragged away.


feed_id: 324f2cdde2a66d3f1971f0bcbeec42bf
title: Puerto Rico humanitarian crisis
uri: Puerto-Rico-humanitarian-crisis
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#28_September_2017_%28Puerto_Rico_humanitarian_crisis%29

content:
<p>
<a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/09/25/calls-more-relief-intensify-puerto-rico-descends-humanitarian-crisis">
People in Puerto Rico are in danger of dying because they can't get
the medicine they need,
</a>
or getting sick because they can't get clean
water.
<p>
The next harvest has been destroyed, so there will be no food produced there
for a year.


feed_id: 1cd642c89a4b9311cb7e004de199062d
title: Urgent: confederate statues
uri: Urgent-confederate-statues
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#27_September_2017_%28Urgent%3A_confederate_statues%29

content:
<p>
US citizens: <a href="https://act.credoaction.com/sign/Take_Down_Capitol">Call on Congress</a> to pass the bill to remove confederate
leaders' statues from the US capitol building.


feed_id: 1c28d2fb610924955bc700126c995727
title: Urgent: NFL players' campaign
uri: Urgent-NFL-players-campaign
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#27_September_2017_%28Urgent%3A_NFL_players%27_campaign%29

content:
<p>
Everyone: <a href="https://act.colorofchange.org/sign/tell-nfl-support-players-platform-racial-equality-and-criminal-justice-reform/">call on the US National Football League</a> to support the
players' anti-racist campaign.


feed_id: ecc0108f3a292dd3559bbc1eb430919c
title: Earthquake politics
uri: Earthquake-politics
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#27_September_2017_%28Earthquake_politics%29
content:
<p>
Mexican political parties try to use disasters such as the recent
earthquake to demand political support from voters. The voters are
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/27/mexico-earthquake-political-aftershocks">angry at politicians</a> in general.
<p>
Contrast this with the US, where the troll is apparently planning to
leave Puerto Rico destroyed so as to win points for cruelty with his
supporters.


feed_id: 3b04080f53a4fde0c0f692504463f4fd
title: Western New Guinea
uri: Western-New-Guinea
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#27_September_2017_%28Western_New_Guinea%29
content:
<p>
The independence activists of West Papua presented the UN with an <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/27/banned-west-papua-independence-petition-un">underground
petition</a> signed by 70% of the population of West Papua.
<p>
I can't tell from the article whether "West Papua" refers to the
entire Indonesian-controlled half of New Guinea (that's how
independence activists use the name) or only to one of its two
provinces (as the Indonesian state uses the name). For clarity
let's call it Western New Guinea.
<p>
Indonesia conquered Western New Guinea shortly after the Dutch let go
of it. This was a bare-faced act of colonization. New Guinea has no
cultural, historic or linguistic link with Indonesia.
<p>
Since then, Indonesia sent around a million Javanese colonists to
settle in Western New Guinea. 70% of the population could be
the fraction that are not colonists.


feed_id: 8297074e0bca274592f1875df5d545a3
title: Allowing women to drive
uri: Allowing-women-to-drive
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#27_September_2017_%28Allowing_women_to_drive%29
content:
<p>
Salafi Arabia will <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/26/saudi-arabias-king-issues-order-allowing-women-to-drive">allow women to drive</a>.
<p>
It is a small but noteworthy step on a long path to equal rights for
women.


feed_id: 6ed6801797bd9556f6547bf9c01a9bbb
title: Washington coal
uri: Washington-coal
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#27_September_2017_%28Washington_coal%29
content:
<p>
The proposed coal export terminal for Washington State has been <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2017/09/26/state-denies-key-water-quality-permit-longview-coal-project">denied
an environmental permit</a>, which could kill the project.
<p>
The company will surely hire a lot of lawyers to overturn this decision.


feed_id: 357b957e5d10fd1e51426d6ab6d90a73
title: Otto Warmbier
uri: Otto-Warmbier
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#27_September_2017_%28Otto_Warmbier%29
content:
<p>
Otto Warmbier's parents say he showed <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/26/otto-warmbier-north-korea-us-parents">scars of torture</a> when he arrived
in the US.


feed_id: 6938f82bf13da47927fc070d029d7cf9
title: Low-income dwellings
uri: Low-income-dwellings
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#27_September_2017_%28Low-income_dwellings%29
content:
<p>
The US could <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2017/09/25/new-national-housing-preservation-database-nhpd-data-released-today-data">lose as many as half a million</a> federally subsidized
low-income dwellings in the next five years.


feed_id: 99f1d84a759ac938a969000503f63bfc
title: Decriminalizing drugs
uri: Decriminalizing-drugs
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#27_September_2017_%28Decriminalizing_drugs%29
content:
<p>
Portugal decriminalized all drugs in 2001, and the result is to <a href="https://theintercept.com/2017/09/26/brazils-latest-outbreak-of-drug-gang-violence-highlights-the-real-culprit-the-war-on-drugs/">reduce
drug problems</a>.


feed_id: a4ce9a8e25106f2f50a339ef6bd4f24b
title: US travel ban
uri: US-travel-ban
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#27_September_2017_%28US_travel_ban%29
content:
<p>
The troll has made some <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/09/25/new-travel-ban-trump-doubles-down-government-sanctioned-discrimination">new adjustments</a> in the travel ban for some Muslims,
adding sanctions against a few visitors from Venezuela and North Korea,
plus one more largely Muslim country — Chad.
The motive for putting Chad on the list <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/shortcuts/2017/sep/26/somalia-libya-and-chad-the-surprising-country-on-trumps-travel-ban-list">is not clear</a>.


feed_id: cb9202fcdbfcfc889abcc2832f6b99d0
title: Privatization
uri: 2017-09-28-Privatization
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#27_September_2017_%28Privatization%29
content:
<p>
How Privatization <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2017/09/25/how-privatization-cuts-us-two-while-public-institutions-make-us-better-people">Cuts Us in Two</a>, While Public Institutions Make Us a Better People.


feed_id: 2e910b1bb61317f9d15bd9daf0704d64
title: The troll splitting families
uri: The-troll-splitting-families
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#27_September_2017_%28The_troll_splitting_families%29

content:
<p>
The troll's <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/09/25/dozens-arrested-after-protesters-block-ice-office-bid-halt-couples-deportation">pursuit of immigrants</a> is splitting another family.


feed_id: ba3cc78bfca2958a92a149f222581175
title: Disabled protesters
uri: 2017-09-28-Disabled-protesters
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#28_September_2017_%28Disabled_protesters%29
content:
<p>
<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/cassidy-is-sorry-about-the-cassidy-graham-process-he-should-be/2017/09/25/0cd234f0-a243-11e7-ade1-76d061d56efa_story.html">
<a href="/glossary.html#scrotus">SCROTUS</a> chose
a small room for the one public hearing about the
<a href="/glossary.html#care">Dontcare</a> bill.
</a>
<p>
Disabled Americans got there anyway, and
<a href="https://www.commondreams.org/further/2017/09/25/were-sorry-are-these-disabled-protesters-who-could-die-your-bill-disturbing-your">
protested against the bill
that they expected would make their medical care so expensive they
would not have any.
</a>
Republican senators contemptuously had them
dragged away.


feed_id: 071650f4734ffebbaf0602e9acba76aa
title: Very urgent: Rule against forced arbitration
uri: Very-urgent-Rule-against-forced-arbitration
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#28_September_2017_%28Very_urgent%3A_Rule_against_forced_arbitration%29

content:
<p>
US citizens: phone your congresscritter and say
<a href="http://act.pfaw.org/sign/protect-cfpb-forced-arbitration-rule/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=aa&utm_campaign=CFPBArbitration&t=1008&">
not to override the
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's rule against forced arbitration.
</a>


feed_id: 43c7454f1286acc22002f3ef3ac6c567
title: UK's deportation threats
uri: UK-s-deportation-threats
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#28_September_2017_%28UK%27s_deportation_threats%29
content:
<p>
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/sep/27/britains-treatment-foreign-nationals-colour-meps-view-brexit">
The UK's repeated harsh or "mistaken" deportation threats
</a>
are making
the European Parliament angry.
<p>
The "mistake" with that Japanese wife of the Polish man, like several
other recent widely reported mistakes, was not really an accident.
These result from a desperate and hasty effort to deport as many
people as possible.  Such an effort will tend to make mistakes
in the direction of too much deportation.


feed_id: 0b93941917958ff90dd67796ea27cc1a
title: Exceptionalism
uri: Exceptionalism
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#28_September_2017_%28Exceptionalism%29
content:
<p>
The Australian human rights commissioner has
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/sep/27/gillian-triggs-australian-law-has-fallen-prey-to-isolation-and-exceptionalism">
warned of the danger of
increasing executive power,
</a>
with terrorism and refugees as excuses.
<p>
The US has been overwhelmed by this threat.  I hope Australia manages
to take advantage of the official warning.


feed_id: 7ed9ec0a18e0600bb915187e943fdf41
title: Homeless young adults
uri: Homeless-young-adults
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#28_September_2017_%28Homeless_young_adults%29
content:
<p>
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/housing-network/2017/sep/27/homelessness-young-people-centrepoint">
1/5 the young adults in Britain can't find a regular place to live.
</a>
<p>
They are not "homeless" in US terminology, but this still
shows the extent of poverty that the Tories have inflicted.


feed_id: 48a74ea43335f3b8c2cc0f2e4f3be9c9
title: Oil and arms sponsorship
uri: Oil-and-arms-sponsorship
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#28_September_2017_%28Oil_and_arms_sponsorship%29
content:
<p>
The New Scientist magazine,
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/political-science/2017/sep/27/at-new-scientist-live-arms-and-oil-companies-are-buying-credibility-from-science">
by accepting sponsorship from an oil company
and a big armaments company,
</a>
is selling them legitimacy.


feed_id: c0fc405dc47247064bfcc6a915af3c80
title: Euthanasia
uri: 2017-09-28-Euthanasia
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#28_September_2017_%28Euthanasia%29
content:
<p>
The option of aid for suicide
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/sep/27/euthanasia-a-choice-for-people-with-disability-its-a-threat-to-our-lives">
must not be a substitute for medical care.
</a>


feed_id: 77fbe9170f05a7a57643d43f54b22a42
title: Lucifer heatwave
uri: Lucifer-heatwave
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#28_September_2017_%28Lucifer_heatwave%29
content:
<p>
Analysis shows that
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/27/climate-change-made-lucifer-heatwave-far-more-likely-scientists-find">
the extreme heat wave of last August in Italy and
Spain
</a>
was largely caused by global heating.
<p>
By 2050, worse heat waves will happen every summer.


feed_id: 5c2c2cca4daca0dd180df575fd32c170
title: More debt for Puerto Rico
uri: More-debt-for-Puerto-Rico
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#28_September_2017_%28More_debt_for_Puerto_Rico%29
content:
<p>
The giant creditors of bankrupt Puerto Rico have
<a href="https://theintercept.com/2017/09/27/puerto-rican-debt-holders-respond-to-catastrophic-hurricane-by-offering-puerto-rico-more-debt/">
offered to trade some
of its debt for new debt.
</a>
How generous of them.
<p>
I would guess that the new debt would be outside the bankruptcy process.


feed_id: 41fcd72d84d6862354bcdf8f927412fc
title: Global heating refugees
uri: 2017-09-28-Global-heating-refugees
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#28_September_2017_%28Global_heating_refugees%29
content:
<p>
A couple from Kiribati plead in New Zealand to be
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/oct/01/climate-change-refugee-new-zealand">
accepted as global
heating refugees.
</a>
Their village is regularly submerged by the highest
tides.
<p>
It is only a matter of time before the effects of global heating submerge
the islands of Kiribati.


feed_id: 3458d341b0e8b94508da958b1bc72069
title: Squirming pre-schoolers
uri: Squirming-pre-schoolers
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#28_September_2017_%28Squirming_pre-schoolers%29
content:
<p>
<a href="http://www.freerangekids.com/dear-parents-your-pre-schoolers-have-a-bad-attitude-and-keep-squirming-this-must-stop/">
Letting children play freely
in kindergarten can benefit them,
</a>
both in grades and in life after graduation from school.


feed_id: 087587ac3f418940d72a63b36d947bf6
title: International Space Station
uri: International-Space-Station
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#28_September_2017_%28International_Space_Station%29
content:
<p>
In 2024, when the International Space Station is scheduled to be shut
down,
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/feb/26/russia-outlines-breakaway-plans-to-build-national-space-station">
Russia will remove its modules and use them in a Russian space
station.
</a>
<p>
If the modules will still be usable, why end the use of the ISS in 2024?


feed_id: b6cea8da9e5267794d674cf33d64465a
title: Catalan web sites blocked
uri: Catalan-web-sites-blocked
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#28_September_2017_%28Catalan_web_sites_blocked%29
content:
<p>
Spain is trying to
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/27/catalans-compare-spain-to-north-korea-after-referendum-sites-blocked">
shut down all web sites that mention the Catalan
referendum
</a>
that Rajoy is trying to block.


feed_id: 3b77ef3cdb4cf295739c9b0842ac7396
title: Women in Salafi Arabia
uri: Women-in-Salafi-Arabia
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#28_September_2017_%28Women_in_Salafi_Arabia%29
content:
<p>
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/sep/27/women-not-driving-seat-saudi-arabia">
Women in Salafi Arabia are treated as slaves.
</a>
  And just as with slaves, those who escape are tracked down and
dragged back with the help of governments that support slavery.


feed_id: 80edce98881ea257ac234f88b619be09
title: Affordable housing
uri: 2017-09-28-Affordable-housing
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#28_September_2017_%28Affordable_housing%29
content:
<p>
Corbyn has taken a strong position for affordable housing, which includes
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/sep/27/jeremy-corbyn-labour-councils-housing">
opposing the privatization-gentrification schemes that replace public housing
with expensive housing.
</a>


feed_id: 6d7024e3212e9765646996d347e41aa6
title: Preacher arrested
uri: Preacher-arrested
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#28_September_2017_%28Preacher_arrested%29
content:
<p>
A Christian preacher in Sierra Leone was arrested for calling Islam
a
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2017/sep/27/sierra-leone-arrests-pastor-who-blamed-islam-for-every-terrorist-act-in-history-victor-ajisafe">
"violent religion of lies and deceit".
</a>
<p>
Every major religion engages in violence, lies and deceit --
sometimes.  Even (and how ironic this is) Buddhism.  But none of them
always does so.


feed_id: e270b08ec8262268bc304f429efb4d64
title: Puerto Rico's hospitals
uri: Puerto-Rico-s-hospitals
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#28_September_2017_%28Puerto_Rico%27s_hospitals%29
content:
<p>
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/27/puerto-rico-faces-a-health-crisis-made-worse-as-majority-of-hospitals-are-inadequate">
Puerto Rico's hospitals (most of them) are without electricity.
</a>
<p>
Patients can die from this, and surely some already have.
<p>
Almost half the population lack safe drinking water.
In a week or two, people will begin dying from that.


feed_id: f5112745db372bf516a28dfc79c10223
title: Economic growth
uri: 2017-09-28-Economic-growth
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#28_September_2017_%28Economic_growth%29
content:
<p>
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/sep/26/eus-tax-plans-for-tech-companies-will-damage-growth-us-body-warns">
The organization of big US businesses operating in Europe presented
bogus arguments for not taxing some of them more.
</a>
<p>
This shows that the EU is on the right track.
<p>
Economic growth is not desirable unless the non-rich get a bigger
share than they have got in the last 3 decades, and increasing taxes
on companies is vital for that.
<p>
As for cooperation with the US on "global tax reform", the global tax
reform that the world needs is to tax businesses more, and the EU can
build momentum for it by doing it.


feed_id: 448c8ef7116f9ef7de4a8b5040c5aa92
title: Institutional insanity
uri: Institutional-insanity
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#28_September_2017_%28Institutional_insanity%29
content:
<p>
Ralph Nader:
<a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2017/09/26/big-institutions-immunities-impunities-and-insanities">
US institutions enjoy impunity for all sorts of crimes.
</a>


feed_id: 0d4fce6c2c1d6219040c1c62fad7d7ee
title: Israeli soldiers killed
uri: Israeli-soldiers-killed
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#28_September_2017_%28Israeli_soldiers_killed%29
content:
<p>
<a href="http://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/Three-Israelis-hurt-in-suspected-terror-attack-outside-Jerusalem-505978">
A Palestinian killed three members of the Israeli occupation forces.
</a>
<p>
Terrorism means making war on civilians.
This was not terrorism, because the people attacked were not civilians.


feed_id: 7cb3f6043d40d1640756da8472afba89
title: Suppressed voters
uri: Suppressed-voters
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#28_September_2017_%28Suppressed_voters%29
content:
<p>
A study estimates that
<a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/09/26/mission-accomplished-study-shows-gop-backed-voter-id-laws-work-suppress-turnout">
the voter-ID law in Michigan suppressed between
16,000 and 23,000 voters
</a>
in the 2016 election.
<p>
This may have enabled the cheater to win that state.


feed_id: 9999dcb65254a89964dadbdb0a19b6b4
title: Rigged economy
uri: Rigged-economy
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#28_September_2017_%28Rigged_economy%29
content:
<p>
Seeing Economy as 'Rigged' for Rich,
<a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/09/26/seeing-economy-rigged-rich-65-say-corporate-taxes-too-low-not-too-high">
65% Say [US] Corporate Taxes Too
Low, Not Too High.
</a>


feed_id: 393747fea83e59c4440f5fa386b10021
title: Sessions mocking free speech
uri: Sessions-mocking-free-speech
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#28_September_2017_%28Sessions_mocking_free_speech%29

content:
<p>
Sessions mocked the idea of freedom of speech by
<a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/09/26/snowflake-sessions-ripped-carving-out-anti-dissent-safe-space-free-speech-lecture">
giving a talk in
which he pretended to support it.
</a>


feed_id: 8db0e2e2a10971390b18b64baf41ff20
title: Excess of men in China
uri: Excess-of-men-in-China
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#28_September_2017_%28Excess_of_men_in_China%29
content:
<p>
China has an 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/inequality/2017/sep/28/my-parents-say-hurry-up-and-find-a-girl-chinas-millions-of-lonely-leftover-men">excess
of 30 million young men</a>, compared with the number of young women.
What can China do to ease the pressure on these men?
<p>
One idea is, campaign to get rid of the pressure to have children.  It
is not good for people to have children if they cannot support those
children well.
<p>
Another idea is, make prostitution a respectable occupation, so that
women are not ashamed or blocked from becoming independent
prostitutes.
<p>
Some rebranding will achieve do these things.


feed_id: 39d9522b849f43f43ff9ccde8d4ef910
title: Mainstream news
uri: Mainstream-news
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#28_September_2017_%28Mainstream_news%29
content:
<p>
If Mainstream News Wants to Win Back Trust, It Cannot Silence 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/sep/27/mainstream-news-win-back-trust-dissident-voices">Dissident
Voices</a>.


feed_id: 8fa651e7dd06601fb3982695d97ee4c3
title: Poetry in endangered languages
uri: Poetry-in-endangered-languages
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#28_September_2017_%28Poetry_in_endangered_languages%29

content:
<p>
A project collects 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/sep/28/appeal-launched-to-collect-poetry-in-endangered-languages">poetry
in endangered languages</a>.
<p>
Many endangered languages have no script.  I hope they accept audio
recordings.


feed_id: 14db34bb1b2a9e704c06904d2ca5d7fb
title: Subsidies for fossil fuels
uri: 2017-09-29-Subsidies-for-fossil-fuels
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#28_September_2017_%28Subsidies_for_fossil_fuels%29
content:
<p>
European countries provide 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/sep/28/european-countries-spend-billions-a-year-on-fossil-fuel-subsidies-survey-shows">over
100 billion dollars a year</a> in subsidies for fossil fuels.


feed_id: ff551a0ce01b041c18d1dfc67235edbc
title: Coroner's report on Otto Warmbier's body
uri: Coroner-s-report-on-Otto-Warmbier-s-body
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#28_September_2017_%28Coroners_report_on_Otto_Warmbiers_body%29

content:
<p>
The coroner that examined Otto Warmbier's body reports there was 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/28/otto-warmbier-torture-north-korea-coroner">no
sign of torture such as his parents claimed</a>.


feed_id: 1f340b050f23de9d76902b371f1b3cb3
title: Restriction of safe abortions
uri: Restriction-of-safe-abortions
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#28_September_2017_%28Restriction_of_safe_abortions%29

content:
<p>
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/27/almost-half-of-all-abortions-performed-worldwide-are-unsafe-reveals-who">25
million unsafe abortions</a> are carried out each year.  Each
endangers the woman's health and life.
<p>
The reason for unsafe abortions is usually that the law restricts safe
ones.


feed_id: f11a4dde8a74d2a1144b2d142f37746a
title: Women in Salafi Arabia
uri: 2017-09-29-Women-in-Salafi-Arabia
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#28_September_2017_%28Women_in_Salafi_Arabia%29
content:
<p>
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/sep/27/women-not-driving-seat-saudi-arabia">
Women in <a href="/glossary.html#salafi">Salafi Arabia</a> are treated as slaves.
</a>
  And just as with slaves, those who escape are tracked down and
dragged back with the help of governments that support slavery.


feed_id: bb52f8f2c2e72d1965548a39b9fd970f
title: Urgent: Block AT&T-Time Warner merger
uri: 2017-09-29-Urgent-Block-AT-T-Time-Warner-merger
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#29_September_2017_%28Urgent%3A_Block_ATT_Time_Warner_merger%29

content:
<p>
US citizens:
<a href="https://act.credoaction.com/sign/att-timewarner">call on the
US Department of Justice</a> to block the merger of AT&T and Time
Warner.
<p>
All mergers of large companies are harmful because they consolidate
political influence and thus promote plutocracy.  But this is harmful
for other specific reasons too.


feed_id: 0d09a86b331d1192748097ef0e938c9d
title: Government subsidized planes
uri: Government-subsidized-planes
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#29_September_2017_%28Government_subsidized_planes%29

content:
<p>
The US is punishing airplane manufacturer Bombardier for
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/sep/27/uk-boeing-contracts-bombardier-us">selling
subsidized planes and undercutting competitors</a>.  The UK has
threatened a retaliatory boycott.
<p>
Government subsidies for businesses are a substantial element of dooH
niboR.  For the most part, the US government promotes <a href="/glossary.html#doohnibor">dooH niboR</a>, and
the fact that it opposes one example here does not alter that.  But I
won't criticize it for inconsistency when it goes against <a href="/glossary.html#doohnibor">dooH niboR</a>.
Let's criticize the frequent cases where it does wrong, instead.


feed_id: ea9384e14294c5ac20658687464fd32c
title: Urgent: Oppose confirmation of Ajit Pai
uri: Urgent-Oppose-confirmation-of-Ajit-Pai
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#29_September_2017_%28Urgent%3A_Oppose_confirmation_of_Ajit_Pai%29

content:
<p>
US citizens: phone your senators and call on them to
<a href="http://act.freepress.net/call/internet_nn_pai_fire/">vote
against confirming Ajit Pai as chairman of the FCC</a>. The article
explains why.
<p>
The Capitol Switchboard numbers are 202-224-3121, 888-818-6641
and 888-355-3588.


feed_id: 5ae287a9918be132af218ca239c6d36b
title: Right-wing plutocratic politicians
uri: Right-wing-plutocratic-politicians
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#29_September_2017_%28Right-wing_plutocratic_politicians%29

content:
<p>
A range of right-wing, plutocratist politicians are
<a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2017/09/27/can-centrism-be-movement-answer-may-surprise-you">trying
to promote themselves as "centrist" again</a>.
<p>
The swindle here is when they
<a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2013-may-aug.html#12_May_2013_(The_center_according_to_NY_Times_Magazine)">label
their right-wing position as the "center"</a>.


feed_id: 046353c7822312b5938b7844f4378d53
title: Business in Israel's colonies
uri: Business-in-Israel-s-colonies
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#29_September_2017_%28Business_in_Israels_colonies%29

content:
<p>
The EU is
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/28/un-human-rights-warning-letter-firms-palestine-territories-occupied-israel">preparing
a list of companies that do business in Israel's colonies in
Palestinian territory</a>.  These may eventually be punished in some
way.
<p>
It's a small step but it sets a good example.


feed_id: a5d2c60e941e8d8e5f63a872bd4cd578
title: The system of tipping
uri: The-system-of-tipping
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#29_September_2017_%28The_system_of_tipping%29
content:
<p>
The system of tipping
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/sep/28/you-will-be-sexually-harassed-just-one-of-the-perils-of-working-for-213-an-hour">makes
life difficult and even more precarious for many workers</a>.
<p>
That's not all.  It is unconscionable that people paid so little have
to pay any income tax.  We should shift that burden onto the people
who can afford it: wealthy people.


feed_id: 9267da286c43a3c8ec1d6bdf3f3cd5bd
title: Rain forest chopped down for palm oil
uri: Rain-forest-chopped-down-for-palm-oil
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#29_September_2017_%28Rain_forest_chopped_down_for_palm_oil%29

content:
<p>
The Rainforest Action Network says that the palm oil company Agra Bumi
Niaga
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2017/sep/28/last-place-on-earth-deforestation-palm-oil-threat-leuser-rainforest">continues
chopping down the rain forest</a> in Sumatra, wiping out orangutans,
elephants, tigers and rhinos, and thousands of other species.
<p>
This is illegal but somehow the company does not fear punishment.
Perhaps it has paid for impunity.


feed_id: 14dbe26fb8a14f091b1cfdcca60fe7e9
title: US university teachers mistreated
uri: US-university-teachers-mistreated
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#29_September_2017_%28US_university_teachers_mistreated%29

content:
<p>
US universities have worked out how to pay most of their teachers too
little money to live on.  Many of them are at the edge of penury.
Some are
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/sep/28/adjunct-professors-homeless-sex-work-academia-poverty">in
penury</a>.
<p>
Many suffer from the repression US cities visit on people who are
homeless.
<p>
Many are ashamed, and hide the way they are mistreated.
That makes it easy for colleges to continue mistreating them.


feed_id: 260fd294cf41bd172a683b0c3f48e1f9
title: Barbados health minister
uri: Barbados-health-minister
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#29_September_2017_%28Barbados_health_minister%29
content:
<p>
Billie Miller: how she, as health minister of Barbados, achieved
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2017/sep/28/why-do-politicians-still-force-women-through-unwanted-pregnancies-dame-billie-miller-barbados">legalization of abortion</a>.


feed_id: a3baf7d6f4cb73363271272b83c82d02
title: Abortion bill
uri: Abortion-bill
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#29_September_2017_%28Abortion_bill%29
content:
<p>
SCROTUS are about to pass a bill to <a href="http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/352454-house-to-vote-on-20-week-abortion-ban">prohibit abortions</a> after 20 weeks
of pregnancy.
<p>
A fetus can't become <a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2016-jan-apr.html#2_January_2016_(Prematurely_born_fetuses)">a human being</a> until it can interact with the world,
which begins after birth.
Before that point, abortion should be lawful. Society has no interest
in pressuring for more humans to be born.
<p>
See also my article <a href="/articles/quantum-abortion.html">"Quantum Theory and Abortion Rights"</a>.


feed_id: 870a99b7ca723fb707b66825bde1c5b0
title: Estate tax
uri: 2017-09-29-Estate-tax
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#29_September_2017_%28Estate_tax%29
content:
<p>
The Patriotic Millionaires call for the US to <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2017/09/27/patriotic-millionaires-call-congress-preserve-estate-tax">continue the estate tax</a>.
<p>
I think the estate tax should be extended to somewhat smaller estates.
Why not tax estates' funds when they exceed one million dollars?
<p>
But the most important thing is to hamper the use of trusts to feed
money to heirs without its being considered part of the estate.


feed_id: cef29ae3d51cef3153e39a987597868d
title: Rebuilding Puerto Rico
uri: Rebuilding-Puerto-Rico
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#29_September_2017_%28Rebuilding_Puerto_Rico%29
content:
<p>
Recommendations for <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2017/09/27/disaster-puerto-rico-chance-build-back-sustainably-and-resilience">rebuilding Puerto Rico</a> sustainably.


feed_id: 569ddd267f1fee310523c750df54c9f9
title: Social media tracking
uri: Social-media-tracking
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#29_September_2017_%28Social_media_tracking%29
content:
<p>
The Department of Household Surveillance (DHS) plans to <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/09/27/chilling-new-rule-allows-dhs-monitor-all-immigrants-social-media-activity">track social
media usage</a> even of US citizens.


feed_id: 18373c3904f898d9190c34c61bb1f97e
title: Republican tax plan
uri: Republican-tax-plan
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#29_September_2017_%28Republican_tax_plan%29
content:
<p>
Despite what Republicans <em>said</em>, the new Republican tax plan is mainly
a <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2017/09/27/leopard-cant-change-its-spots-newest-gop-tax-framework-what-we-knew-it-always-would">tax cut for the rich</a> and multinational corporations. Their goal is
<a href="/glossary.html#doohnibor">dooH niboR</a>.
<p>
The <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2017/09/27/patriotic-millionaires-trumps-trickle-down-tax-plan">Patriotic Millionaires</a> denounce it.
<p>
One of them <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/sep/28/millionaire-estate-tax-break-congress">writes</a>, "I Don't Need Another Tax Break, Mr Trump."


feed_id: 12d459c93a4306241d4c173d10556b81
title: The troll and Puerto Rico
uri: The-troll-and-Puerto-Rico
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#29_September_2017_%28The_troll_and_Puerto_Rico%29
content:
<p>
A week after Hurricane Maria destroyed Puerto Rico's infrastructure,
the troll has done <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/09/27/katrina-comparisons-mount-trump-puerto-rico-screams-bolder-response">little or nothing</a>.
<p>
I suspect the troll sees no difference between Puerto Ricans and
Mexicans. They are all hispanics, so he thinks they are all "bad
hombres", even those who are actually mujeres.
<p>
The troll has <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/28/donald-trump-waives-jones-act-puerto-rico">waived the Jones act</a> for Puerto Rico.
<p>
I support the Jones Act, in general. Why allow foreign ships with
low-paid crews to take the shipping business away from better-paid US
workers? However, it makes sense to waive the requirement temporarily
after a storm. Indeed, Puerto Rico, as an island, needs it more than
Texas.


feed_id: 13078de8021cdba7c8a5d1a3d30d5a81
title: Utah strip mine
uri: Utah-strip-mine
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#29_September_2017_%28Utah_strip_mine%29
content:
<p>
Old people <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2017/09/27/elders-demonstrate-rocking-chairs-tar-sands-mine">protested in rocking chairs</a> against a Utah-subsidized strip
mine for especially dirty oil.
<p>
Since we need to leave 80% of the known reserves <a href="https://stallman.org/archives/2012-sep-dec.html#14_December_2012_(Limits_needed_on_use_of_fossil_fuel)">in the ground</a>,
any oil that is particularly dirty, or particularly expensive,
should clearly be included in that.


feed_id: 73d1456f09ae37905d291638f00bfba4
title: Excess of men in China
uri: 2017-09-29-Excess-of-men-in-China
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#28_September_2017_%28Excess_of_men_in_China%29
content:
<p>
China has an 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/inequality/2017/sep/28/my-parents-say-hurry-up-and-find-a-girl-chinas-millions-of-lonely-leftover-men">excess
of 30 million young men</a>, compared with the number of young women.
What can China do to ease the pressure on these men?
<p>
One idea is, campaign to get rid of the pressure to have children.  It
is not good for people to have children if they cannot support those
children well.
<p>
Another idea is, make prostitution a respectable occupation, so that
women are not ashamed or blocked from becoming independent
prostitutes.
<p>
Some rebranding will achieve these things.


feed_id: 0d705e29e51d69c9fba51e0d492b14ec
title: Suppressed voters
uri: 2017-09-29-Suppressed-voters
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#28_September_2017_%28Suppressed_voters%29
content:
<p>
A study estimates that
<a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/09/26/mission-accomplished-study-shows-gop-backed-voter-id-laws-work-suppress-turnout">
the voter-ID law in Wisconsin suppressed between
16,000 and 23,000 voters
</a>
in the 2016 election.
<p>
This may have enabled the cheater to win that state.


feed_id: 829c2660e8c12d8e72b52c6e8a91f945
title: Teaching homeopathy
uri: Teaching-homeopathy
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#29_September_2017_%28Teaching_homeopathy%29
content:
<p>
The University of California, Irvine, accepted a <a href="http://skepchick.org/2017/09/uc-irvine-gets-200-million-teach-homeopathy/">donation of 200 million
dollars to teach homeopathy<a/>, which is nothing but superstition.


feed_id: fc08466cb99c6c650ea23dacdecf3866
title: Organized russian trolls
uri: Organized-russian-trolls
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#29_September_2017_%28Organized_russian_trolls%29
content:
<p>
It appears Russian <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-congress-cyber-russia/senator-says-russian-internet-trolls-stoked-nfl-debate-idUSKCN1C237J">organized trolls</a> tweeted both for and against
the protesting NFL football players, aiming only to aggravate
hostility within the US.


feed_id: 8a8f1b07902eaf6c38baba1a90d92ea8
title: Poll of Americans
uri: Poll-of-Americans
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#29_September_2017_%28Poll_of_Americans%29
content:
<p>
In a poll of Americans, most say the troll <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/09/27/no-upside-trump-new-poll-shows-us-majority-think-president-unfit-serve">is not fit for the office</a>
of president.
<p>
However, the minority that supported him mostly still does.


feed_id: e9b63c719cb506eb99fae91514485539
title: Professors rebuke Harvard
uri: Professors-rebuke-Harvard
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#29_September_2017_%28Professors_rebuke_Harvard%29
content:
<p>
Harvard <a href="http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2017/9/20/we-are-educators/">professors rebuke Harvard</a> for yielding to pressure
against Chelsea Manning and a PhD candidate.


feed_id: 32754d70d051f725aeb7232ff9091d6e
title: Teaching superstition
uri: Teaching-superstition
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#29_September_2017_%28Teaching_superstition%29
content:
<p>
The University of California, Irvine, accepted a <a href="http://skepchick.org/2017/09/uc-irvine-gets-200-million-teach-homeopathy/">donation of 200 million
dollars to teach homeopathy<a/>, which is nothing but superstition.
<p>
I speculate that the university administrators saw only the money
and applied no judgment to the validity of what their school teaches.


feed_id: aa0a5fff878810d5d6ebffad4c0aae2c
title: Organized russian trolls
uri: 2017-09-30-Organized-russian-trolls
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#29_September_2017_%28Organized_russian_trolls%29
content:
<p>
It appears <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-congress-cyber-russia/senator-says-russian-internet-trolls-stoked-nfl-debate-idUSKCN1C237J">Russian organized trolls</a> tweeted both for and against
the protesting NFL football players, aiming only to aggravate
hostility within the US.


feed_id: 47cd4816e4b670951b5226f000ada5d6
title: Rebuild with renewable power
uri: Rebuild-with-renewable-power
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#29_September_2017_%28Rebuild_with_renewable_power%29

content:
<p>
The smart way to rebuild Puerto Rico's power grid is with <a href="https://thinkprogress.org/rebuild-puerto-ricos-grid-with-solar-not-nuclear-abc85da68cf6/">renewable
power and batteries</a>.


feed_id: c71d5ad809eb675d169086b9253b150d
title: Teaching superstition
uri: 2017-09-30-Teaching-superstition
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#29_September_2017_%28Teaching_superstition%29
content:
<p>
The University of California, Irvine, accepted a <a href="http://skepchick.org/2017/09/uc-irvine-gets-200-million-teach-homeopathy/">donation of 200 million
dollars to teach homeopathy</a>, which is nothing but superstition.
<p>
I speculate that the university administrators saw only the money
and applied no judgment to the validity of what their school teaches.


feed_id: 186f63084cd8eb6d6550ecf3b9d2e026
title: Opposing deforestation
uri: Opposing-deforestation
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#29_September_2017_%28Opposing_deforestation%29
content:
<p>
A Cameroonian activist against deforestation has been <a href=" https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/29/cameroon-palm-oil-campaigner-arrested-crackdown-activists">arrested
for opposing a plantation</a> made by a US company.


feed_id: 8d3992153d4da4bb4f0faef2b8857591
title: Eliminated curfew
uri: Eliminated-curfew
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#29_September_2017_%28Eliminated_curfew%29
content:
<p>
Austin, Texas, has <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/sep/29/austin-end-youth-curfew-racial-bias">eliminated its curfew for minors</a> because its
enforcement tended to terrify them and drive some of them down the
wrong path.
<p>
I regard a curfew as oppression, pure and simple.


feed_id: c2e44c9ad707e6c01d280c97a69e5d70
title: Rebuild with renewable power
uri: 2017-09-30-Rebuild-with-renewable-power
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#29_September_2017_%28Rebuild_with_renewable_power%29

content:
<p>
The smart way to rebuild <a href="https://thinkprogress.org/rebuild-puerto-ricos-grid-with-solar-not-nuclear-abc85da68cf6/">Puerto Rico's power grid</a> is with renewable
power and batteries.


feed_id: 32e6272a1f1a762227ccd7d519eb1a14
title: SCROTUS
uri: 2017-09-30-SCROTUS
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#30_September_2017_%28SCROTUS%29
content:
<p>
<a href="/glossary.html#scrotus">SCROTUS</a> 
<a href="https://theintercept.com/2017/09/28/republican-health-care-repeal-2018-graham-cassidy/">will
surely try again next year</a> to deny millions of Americans
affordable medical insurance.


feed_id: 162ee5884c804e4839ce8954d74cbf77
title: Record-setting heat wave
uri: Record-setting-heat-wave
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#29_September_2017_%28Record-setting_heat_wave%29
content:
<p>
A record-setting 
<a href="https://thinkprogress.org/september-heat-wave-noaa-ca21143e97e1/">late-September
heat wave in the US East Coast and Midwest</a> provide a taste of what
will be normal in a few decades.
<p>
It's not just that the heat wave starts from a higher base.
<a href="/glossary.html#global heating">Global heating</a> alters the behavior of the jet stream and causes
extremes of temperature to persist for longer.


feed_id: 4ff677ea9a83ca6f492989a64ca9da9c
title: Putting babies under constant monitoring
uri: Putting-babies-under-constant-monitoring
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#29_September_2017_%28Putting_babies_under_constant_monitoring%29

content:
<p>
Products to constantly monitor babies 
<a href="http://www.freerangekids.com/new-app-alerts-you-if-your-babys-blanket-has-slipped-off/">do
no good for the babies</a>, and teach parents to be constantly
anxious.
<p>
They also get parents accustomed to total surveillance of their
children, which will lead them to monitor their children oppressively
when they are older.


feed_id: 85d945b3821d6b1fe8f0606363cfc0fc
title: European Parliament bars Monsanto lobbyists
uri: European-Parliament-bars-Monsanto-lobbyists
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#29_September_2017_%28European_Parliament_bars_Monsanto_lobbyists%29

content:
<p>
The European Parliament 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/sep/28/monsanto-banned-from-european-parliament">forbade
access to Monsanto's lobbyists</a> after it refused to answer
questions about previous wrongdoing.


feed_id: bf62870b7ef9c1514771ebe41bd7b537
title: Boston thugs buy three drones
uri: Boston-thugs-buy-three-drones
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#29_September_2017_%28Boston_thugs_buy_three_drones%29

content:
<p>
Boston Police 
<a href="https://privacysos.org/blog/boston-police-bought-three-drones-didnt-tell-anyone-need-accountability-surveillance-now/">bought
three drones but didnât tell anyone</a>. We need accountability for
surveillanceânow.


feed_id: f775050ed8fad8156dab444883edefc9
title: Copyright infringement filters
uri: Copyright-infringement-filters
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#29_September_2017_%28Copyright_infringement_filters%29

content:
<p>
Experience shows that using filters to recognize copyright
infringement, or "extremism", 
<a href="https://juliareda.eu/2017/09/when-filters-fail/">frequently
gives wrong results.  It is a mistake to use it.
<p>
Please don't refer to postings and publications as 
<a href="https://gnu.org/philosophy/words-to-avoid.html#Content">"content"</a>.
And please don't use the term 
<a href="https://gnu.org/philosophy/words-to-avoid.html#Monetize">"monetization"</a>
to speak of doing an activity for profit.


feed_id: 2626ab6e7c5b4df6822f4cab7afb61b4
title: Censorship in Spain
uri: Censorship-in-Spain
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#29_September_2017_%28Censorship_in_Spain%29
content:
<p>
Experts at the UN Human Rights Council rebuke Spain for censorship and
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/28/un-rights-experts-criticise-spanish-efforts-to-block-catalan-vote">threatening
to arrest protesters</a>.


feed_id: 0be97f1deed008e2b624f3917a99b765
title: The Vietnam War
uri: The-Vietnam-War
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#29_September_2017_%28The_Vietnam_War%29
content:
<p>
A 
<a href="https://theintercept.com/2017/09/28/the-ken-burns-vietnam-war-documentary-glosses-over-devastating-civilian-toll/">brief
picture</a> of what the Vietnam War was like for Vietnamese civilians
whose villages were attacked by US troops.


feed_id: dc1fb7fd444091a8b9911a4da1f73f9a
title: Human rights abuses
uri: Human-rights-abuses
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#30_September_2017_%28Human_rights_abuses%29
content:
<p>
The UN has launched an investigation into <a href=" https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/29/yemen-un-investigation-human-rights-abuses">human rights abuses</a> in
Yemen.
<p>
I hope this will impede Salafi Arabia and the US from committing them.


feed_id: 0e66e3fc8f5c18bec7c9b8eedf40096f
title: Right-wing campaign
uri: Right-wing-campaign
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#30_September_2017_%28Right-wing_campaign%29
content:
<p>
Justice Gorsuch spoke for a <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/09/28/protests-and-outrage-gorsuch-headlines-event-trump-hotel">right-wing campaign group</a>.
<p>
Adding insult to injury, the event was in a Trump hotel.
<p>
But I find that less of an issue than the idea of campaigning
by a Supreme Court judge.


feed_id: b4dda25a5240210d733b5e8a078bc8ee
title: Patent holders
uri: Patent-holders
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#30_September_2017_%28Patent_holders%29
content:
<p>
Devious patent holders are using US indigenous tribes as fronts
to <a href="https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2017/09/apple-is-being-sued-for-patent-infringement-by-a-native-american-tribe/">block review that could invalidate the patents</a>.


feed_id: 6cc704a2511147a47ed39ffbb2ddaeb3
title: Gatorade game
uri: Gatorade-game
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#30_September_2017_%28Gatorade_game%29
content:
<p>
Gatorade distributed a "game", really just an ad for Gatorade,
which said that <a href="http://www.oregonlive.com/business/index.ssf/2017/09/gatorade_agrees_not_to_dispara.html">drinking water was harmful</a>.
<p>
Would you play a game made by a company for the purpose of promotimg a
product? Would you give one to a child? Marketing is one of the
thingts arents really should watch out for about their children's
internet use.


feed_id: 87395acd7ae8aac0ea8514735c95fa24
title: Tyrannical rule
uri: Tyrannical-rule
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#30_September_2017_%28Tyrannical_rule%29
content:
<p>
Joshua Wong says his imprisonment teaches Hong Kong about <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/sep/28/hong-kong-umbrella-movement-first-anniversary-democracy">tyrannical
Chinese rule</a>.


feed_id: 229675e1ca990e1c38c5f3d9d33ae5e2
title: Mismanaged aid effort
uri: Mismanaged-aid-effort
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#30_September_2017_%28Mismanaged_aid_effort%29
content:
<p>
The aid <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/09/28/trump-slammed-slow-maria-response-aid-piles-san-juans-docks">effort in Puerto Rico is mismanaged</a>: containers of aid
materials are accumulating on the docks of San Juan because
the US did not send enough vehicles, fuel and staff to deliver
them where they are needed.


feed_id: 4fd10170912b854782a7e682b15c67d9
title: Puppet of the rich
uri: Puppet-of-the-rich
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#30_September_2017_%28Puppet_of_the_rich%29
content:
<p>
The cheater talks about helping working people, but his actions
are <a href=" https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/sep/29/trump-doesnt-care-poor-taxes-puerto-rico">designed to help the rich</a>.


feed_id: 823b5dabdda87a1de1be5dedf51b8734
title: Privatized censorship
uri: Privatized-censorship
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#30_September_2017_%28Privatized_censorship%29
content:
<p>
The European Commission has abandoned even the pretense of support for
freedom of speech in its
<a href="https://edri.org/commissions-position-tackling-illegal-content-online-contradictory-dangerous-free-speech/">
proposed rules to make internet sites delete
"illegal" postings.
</a>
<p>
Referring to postings as "content", as if they were a commodity, smooths
the path to such drastic policies.


feed_id: 544f7983889f6bdb093e3e76067daa94
title: GOP propaganda
uri: GOP-propaganda
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#30_September_2017_%28GOP_propaganda%29
content:
<p>
<a href="https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20170920/09493738249/republican-governors-association-sets-up-partisan-news-site-forgets-to-tell-anyone-as-it-pumps-out-news.shtml">
The Republican Governors Association set up a "news" site
</a>
and went to great
lengths to disguise its control of the site, trying to pass it off as
objective and independent journalism.


feed_id: b80639671ecda829fa74470f34f69419
title: Amazon's bedcam
uri: Amazon-s-bedcam
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#30_September_2017_%28Amazon%27s_bedcam%29
content:
<p>
<a href="https://www.theverge.com/2017/9/28/16378472/amazons-echo-spot-camera-in-your-bedroom">
Echo Spot is Amazon's bedcam -- a device with a camera that users
are encouraged to point straight at their beds.
</a>
  Not to mention the microphone.
<p>
I am thinking that I should start asking people I stay with
whether they have any devices with cameras or microphones.


feed_id: 864b2e0d4f797da1bcd640acd61ee601
title: Israeli colonies
uri: 2017-09-30-Israeli-colonies
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#30_September_2017_%28Israeli_colonies%29
content:
<p>
The troll's ambassador to Israel
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/28/israel-occupies-small-fraction-of-west-bank-claims-us-ambassador">
endorsed Israel's colonies on
</a>
Palestinian territory,
and said Israel should keep them.
<p>
The US became unsuitable as an honest broker for peace negotiations
when it became so biased towards Israel that it could not pressure
Israel to make the concessions needed for peace.  But the US always
used to put up a pretense of trying to lead peace negotiations.
The troll has overtly rejected the idea of peace.


feed_id: 12ae76ac1248310f902752def808f699
title: DNA matching source code
uri: DNA-matching-source-code
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#30_September_2017_%28DNA_matching_source_code%29
content:
<p>
ProPublica is suing to obtain the secret source code used to
<a href="https://www.propublica.org/article/propublica-seeks-source-code-for-new-york-city-disputed-dna-software">
decide whether a suspect's DNA matches DNA found at a crime scene.
</a>
<p>
When the state uses proprietary software, it gives the developer
unjust power over the state.  In this specific case, it gives the
developer power over the lives of the accused.
<p>
Companies' wishes for secrecy must yield to public safety
and human rights concerns whenever they conflict.


feed_id: 969a667623d00d040b3168be82906e48
title: Urgent: Stricter car pollution standards
uri: Urgent-Stricter-car-pollution-standards
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#30_September_2017_%28Urgent%3A_Stricter_car_pollution_standards%29

content:
<p>
US citizens: Call on Pruitt to
<a href="https://act.nrdc.org/letter/clean-cars-a-170927.">
protect the new, stricter standards
for car milage (increased) and pollution (decreased).
</a>


feed_id: 8c74f276506f4b6ead1f3db2be0c3cdc
title: Amazon deforestation
uri: 2017-09-30-Amazon-deforestation
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#30_September_2017_%28Amazon_deforestation%29
content:
<p>
Due to deforestation,
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/28/brazil-forest-fires-deforestation-september-record-amazon">
the remaining Amazon rain forest is so dry it is
burning up.
</a>


feed_id: 2a00615b4062fffaa687b31b3397053d
title: Brazil's beef industry
uri: Brazil-s-beef-industry
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#30_September_2017_%28Brazil%27s_beef_industry%29
content:
<p>
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2017/sep/29/victims-of-slavery-farms-in-brazil-para-state-amazonian-rainforest">
Enslaved workers are found on many farms in Brazil,
</a>
and the slave drivers
have many tricks to thward the law.


feed_id: 88457d669dc1419b5f3df77d26b6d21d
title: Mercury
uri: Mercury
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#30_September_2017_%28Mercury%29
content:
<p>
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/sep/29/we-are-at-risk-poisonous-mercury-time-to-take-action">
Discarding devices that were made with mercury
</a>
results in pollution that
can harm everyone.


feed_id: c49eb2f0accd39032bc65c5120e83372
title: Hospital bombings
uri: 2017-09-30-Hospital-bombings
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#30_September_2017_%28Hospital_bombings%29
content:
<p>
Assad's air force has
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/29/syria-renewed-bombing-of-hospitals-sparks-human-rights-protests">
bombed four hospitals
</a>
in rebel-controlled areas
in the past week.


feed_id: d9603f754950bd0cc683a15850666fcb
title: Pseudo-conveniences
uri: Pseudo-conveniences
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#30_September_2017_%28Pseudo-conveniences%29
content:
<p>
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/sep/29/iphone-8-wireless-charging-what-it-says-about-you-oliver-burkeman">
Avoid the folly of becoming desperately dependent to a minor convenience that
you did just fine without.
</a>
  Just because many other people do something dumb doesn't mean you have
to do it too.
<p>
Here's a potential example:
<a href="http://www.buffalo.edu/news/releases/2017/09/034.html">
tiny radar systems to measure the size
of a user's heart, as a biometric id.
</a>
<p>
What other things would that radar system measure, if it were in your
apartment?  Better not to let it in.


feed_id: db783caa70b340dcc2295a0c4523c761
title: Amazon's bedcam
uri: 2017-09-30-Amazon-s-bedcam
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#30_September_2017_%28Amazon%27s_bedcam%29
content:
<p>
<a href="https://www.theverge.com/2017/9/28/16378472/amazons-echo-spot-camera-in-your-bedroom">
Echo Spot is Amazon's bedcam — a device with a camera that users
are encouraged to point straight at their beds.
</a>
  Not to mention the microphone.
<p>
I am thinking that I should start asking people I stay with
whether they have any devices with cameras or microphones.


feed_id: b6f1e03b6a30b3ea6cb10976dc516f7d
title: Israeli colonies
uri: 2017-09-30-Israeli-colonies
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#30_September_2017_%28Israeli_colonies%29
content:
<p>
<a href="/glossary.html#trump">The troll</a>'s ambassador to Israel
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/28/israel-occupies-small-fraction-of-west-bank-claims-us-ambassador">
endorsed Israel's colonies on
</a>
Palestinian territory,
and said Israel should keep them.
<p>
The US became unsuitable as an honest broker for peace negotiations
when it became so biased towards Israel that it could not pressure
Israel to make the concessions needed for peace.  But the US always
used to put up a pretense of trying to lead peace negotiations.
<a href="/glossary.html#trump">The troll</a> has overtly rejected the idea of peace.


feed_id: 8cc8af32e950e141dce9fee513bdf36e
title: Puppet of the rich
uri: 2017-09-30-Puppet-of-the-rich
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#30_September_2017_%28Puppet_of_the_rich%29
content:
<p>
<a href="/glossary.html#cheater">The cheater</a> talks about helping working people, but his actions
are <a href=" https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/sep/29/trump-doesnt-care-poor-taxes-puerto-rico">designed to help the rich</a>.


feed_id: eb7c7afe315e3361f5ae25efd6f6e45b
title: Human rights abuses
uri: 2017-09-30-Human-rights-abuses
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#30_September_2017_%28Human_rights_abuses%29
content:
<p>
The UN has launched an investigation into <a href=" https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/29/yemen-un-investigation-human-rights-abuses">human rights abuses</a> in
Yemen.
<p>
I hope this will impede <a href="/glossary.html#salafi">Salafi Arabia</a> and the US from committing them.


feed_id: 3cf27ee3515fee21392f3e72a9f6a4a5
title: LGBTQ discrimination
uri: LGBTQ-discrimination
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#30_September_2017_%28LGBTQ_discrimination%29
content:
<p>
Azerbaijan is systematically <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/sep/29/lgbtq-azerbaijan-fleeing-police-raids-arrests-government-hiv">arresting gays and transsexuals</a>.


feed_id: 16f9ca4b8330bbfb494b593023180603
title: Tax plan
uri: Tax-plan
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#30_September_2017_%28Tax_plan%29
content:
<p>
The troll's tax plan is exactly what <a href=" https://thinkprogress.org/tax-reform-lobbying-big-business-wins-1deb8594acf7/">corporations lobby for</a>.


feed_id: 40d9a1af179ebb650a978dbb6971558e
title: Homo Economicus
uri: Homo-Economicus
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#30_September_2017_%28Homo_Economicus%29
content:
<p>
<a href=" https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/sep/28/death-homo-economicus-peter-fleming-review">The Death of Homo Economicus</a> explains why today's capitalism has
nothing to do with the theories it pretends to be based on. 
<p>
Today's capitalism focuses on monopolization and rents, and "taxpayers funding
their own asset stripping."


feed_id: dcfe1db2b313a75b792c532886e1c0fa
title: Forests emitting CO2
uri: Forests-emitting-CO2
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#30_September_2017_%28Forests_emitting_CO2%29
content:
<p>
Humans have attacked and degraded most tropical forests; as a result,
instead of absorbing CO2, they are now <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/sep/28/alarm-as-study-reveals-worlds-tropical-forests-are-huge-carbon-emission-source">emitting CO2 from decay processes</a>.


feed_id: 600a8454bbc994cda3d51f1f69402fd6
title: Health secretary resignation
uri: Health-secretary-resignation
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#30_September_2017_%28Health_secretary_resignation%29

content:
<p>
Saboteur of Health Tom Price has resigned, over his <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/sep/29/tom-price-resigns-health-secretary-private-flights-trump">personal wasteful use
of department funds</a>.
<p>
His replacement will be another saboteur, I expect.


feed_id: 935d678e328f26f20343b2d97a0ef615
title: Tax plan for the rich
uri: Tax-plan-for-the-rich
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#30_September_2017_%28Tax_plan_for_the_rich%29
content:
<p>
The cheater's tax plan would give big tax cuts to those <a href=" https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/sep/29/trump-tax-plan-benefit-richest-1-percent">making
over a million dollars a year</a>, but many middle-class households
would pay more.


feed_id: 835e7a4e5b91ef50bbaed69de5af55bc
title: Palm trees
uri: Palm-trees
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#30_September_2017_%28Palm_trees%29
content:
<p>
Global heating effects are <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/sep/29/los-angeles-palm-trees-dying">killing the palm trees</a> of Los Angeles
and southern California in general.
<p>
They will be replaced with different species that are better adapted
to the hot, dry climate.
<p>
I personally would consider this a change for the better, but that would
hardly start to compensate for the disaster of global heating.


feed_id: 3e98c389be6ac3ce816d01c6f148128a
title: Pipeline protesters
uri: 2017-10-01-Pipeline-protesters
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#30_September_2017_%28Pipeline_protesters%29
content:
<p>
State agencies and private security companies cooperated to <a href=" https://theintercept.com/2017/09/29/standing-rock-dakota-access-pipeline-dapl-no-fly-zone-drones-tigerswan/">deny journalists
access to make videos</a> of the thugs' attacks on pipeline protesters.


feed_id: c2b9fbaf8323e04448729d2575d8d85e
title: Ban on Muslims
uri: Ban-on-Muslims
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#30_September_2017_%28Ban_on_Muslims%29
content:
<p>
The troll's <a href=" http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/reason/Articles/~3/pOIA8c8CWCs/trumps-new-travel-ban-mean-and-senseless">new ban on Muslims-plus-a-few-others</a> is totally senseless.


feed_id: ba8c7a50cd76338ccfe78e11e1597bdd
title: Buying influence
uri: Buying-influence
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#30_September_2017_%28Buying_influence%29
content:
<p>
Judges in Wisconsin are wide open to <a href=" https://www.prwatch.org/news/2017/09/13287/cleaning-courts-citizen-hearings-three-locations-wisconsin">buying influence</a>, and the state
Supreme Court decided to keep it that way.


feed_id: 3de139c0b4150d3ce7853e73ce3856f8
title: Troll tax cuts
uri: Troll-tax-cuts
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#30_September_2017_%28Troll_tax_cuts%29
content:
<p>
The US treasury <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/09/29/trump-accused-burying-research-showing-trickle-down-tax-cuts-just-snake-oil-scam">deleted its link</a> to the study which showed that taxes on corporations fall mainly on the owners.


feed_id: 690445998d340f966821439124a61031
title: High schools TakeAKnee
uri: High-schools-TakeAKnee
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#30_September_2017_%28High_schools_TakeAKnee%29
content:
<p>
The ACLU warns high schools that punishing students that protest by kneeling (or any other non-disruptive way) <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/09/29/efforts-high-schools-forbid-takeaknee-called-patently-unconstitutional">is unconstitutional</a>.
<p>
It is also unpatriotic, directly contrary to what the United States stands for.


feed_id: 8a2aaf6f02bc504bb4aa90a466d35567
title: Puerto Rico utilities banks
uri: Puerto-Rico-utilities-banks
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#30_September_2017_%28Puerto_Rico_utilities_banks%29
content:
<p>
The vampire banks want to use Puerto Rico's disaster to <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2017/09/29/stand-puerto-rico-not-banks">privatize its utilities</a>.


feed_id: 2e99e757b3fe0a11614f356ae1c7204d
title: Ireland anti-abortion constitution
uri: Ireland-anti-abortion-constitution
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#30_September_2017_%28Ireland_anti-abortion_constitution%29

content:
<p>
A campaign led by women has won Ireland a referendum to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/womens-blog/2017/sep/29/its-time-to-talk-about-the-pseudoscience-corrupting-the-abortion-debate">repeal the anti-abortion clause</a> from its constitution.


feed_id: b0a8d1e611b587cafc16f65580553f10
title: Ilmi Umerov convicted
uri: Ilmi-Umerov-convicted
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#30_September_2017_%28Ilmi_Umerov_convicted%29
content:
<p>

In Russia, "illegal content" means saying Crimea should not be part of Russia.  Ilmi Umerov <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/29/crimean-tatar-leader-ilmi-umerov-convicted-not-seek-clemency-russia">will be imprisoned for this</a>, and is likely to die in prison from his medical conditions.


feed_id: 27287d7d31ed922c0093f5405389492d
title: Urgent: Negotiation with North Korea
uri: Urgent-Negotiation-with-North-Korea
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#1_October_2017_%28Urgent%3A_Negotiation_with_North_Korea%29

content:
<p>
US citizens:
<a href="http://act.winwithoutwar.org/letter/tell-congress-speak-out-no-war-north-korea">call
on your congresscritter</a> to speak up for negotiation with North
Korea.


feed_id: 5519579765135369c3825ef99d9f2f4b
title: Urgent: Make thugs less military
uri: Urgent-Make-thugs-less-military
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#1_October_2017_%28Urgent%3A_Make_thugs_less_military%29

content:
<p>
US citizens:
<a href="https://action.aclu.org/secure/DOJ-accountability">call on
the DOJ</a> to make thugs less military and more equitable, and more
connected with the community.


feed_id: 6a2f13afe37f74a6aa55deae292d7603
title: Puerto Rico
uri: 2017-10-01-Puerto-Rico
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#1_October_2017_%28Puerto_Rico%29
content:
<p>
San Juan Mayor's Harrowing Plea:
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/29/san-juan-mayor-plea-donald-trump-puerto-rico">'Mr
Trump, I am begging.  We are dying here.'</a>
<p>
<a href="/glossary.html#trump">The troll</a>
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/30/donald-trump-attacks-puerto-rico-mayor-carmen-yulin-cruz">insulted
the mayor for begging for federal help</a>, saying it was her fault
Puerto Rico couldn't cope with the disaster unaided.
<p>
I don't think any state could cope with such a large disaster unaided.
<p>
I think it was a tactical error for the mayor to speak, as she did,
about how nasty it would be not to send more aid.  What she said is
valid, but it was ill-advised.  <a href="/glossary.html#trump">The troll</a> is cunning and infantile.
It doesn't surprise me that he responded to that criticism by
attacking Puerto Rico.
<p>
Being cunning, the troll realizes that, for his supporters, there is
little difference between Mexicans and Puerto Ricans.  They make
equally good scapegoats.
<p>
Several petition campaigns supporting Puerto Rico call for permanent
repeal of the Jones Act, which prohibits foreign-flagged vessels from
varying cargo between US ports.  I supported waiving the Jones Act
temporarily for Puerto Rico, and I support continuing this waiver for
as long as that is needed for Puerto Rico's sake.
<p>
However, I have seen no valid argument for repealing it permanently.
That seems to be a neoliberal measure to knock down the wages of
American workers, and I am against it.
<p>
The fact that cargo is accumulating in Puerto Rico's ports,
and what is lacking is a way of moving it to where it is needed,
suggests that the Jones Act is not the obstacle any more.


feed_id: b99137d2cdc16b5a7c9be48830261c28
title: Racist extremist plutocratists
uri: Racist-extremist-plutocratists
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#1_October_2017_%28Racist_extremist_plutocratists%29
content:
<p>
Bannon is trying to replace establishment plutocratist Republicans in
Congress with
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/sep/30/republicans-steve-bannon-trump-establishment-mitch-mcconnell">racist
extremist plutocratist Republicans</a>.
<p>
The establishment Republicans lie when it suits their masters, denying
global heating for instance.  The extremist Republicans do that too,
but they bullshit all the time, like the troll.


feed_id: 61c8fdbbf2db5e04db3aa2dec3f5e2be
title: Fake "CIA warning note" to Catalan
uri: Fake-CIA-warning-note-to-Catalan
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#1_October_2017_%28Fake_CIA_warning_note_to_Catalan%29

content:
<p>
A fake "CIA warning note" to the Catalan government pretended to be
a warning sent before the Ramblas terrorist attack.  It
<a href="https://theintercept.com/2017/09/30/catalonia-cia-report-mossos-el-periodico/">appears
to have been written in Spain as a political deception</a>.


feed_id: 7b1ee49e75c7d6a2798c30dc3d9633ef
title: Russian meddling through Facebook
uri: Russian-meddling-through-Facebook
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#1_October_2017_%28Russian_meddling_through_Facebook%29

content:
<p>
An influential Facebook page that supported the Black Lives Matter
movement
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/sep/30/blacktivist-facebook-account-russia-us-election">seems
to have been run by Russian activists</a>.
<p>
Black Lives Matter aims to end a systematic injustice, of which the
killing of black by thugs for no valid reason is just the most visible
part.  I resent the Russian meddling, but the injustice is a bigger
wrong and a more important issue.
<p>
Americans who don't like exploitation of injustice in America should
help put an end to the injustice.


feed_id: 6743f951c88197018b8429924ef28cab
title: Troll's top economic adviser
uri: Troll-s-top-economic-adviser
url: https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#30_September_2017_%28Trolls_top_economic_adviser%29
content:
<p>
<a href="/glossary.html#cheater">The cheater</a>'s top economic adviser, Gary Cohn, wanted to quit because
of the cheater's support for racism, but he held his nose and
<a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/09/28/gary-cohn-admits-once-lifetime-chance-cut-taxes-rich-kept-him-leaving-after">stayed
because he sees a chance to serve dooH niboR</a>.


feed_id: d2f39a196727413543c1e917069f7412
title: White supremacist views in the US
uri: White-supremacist-views-in-the-US
url:
https://stallman.org/archives/2017-jul-oct.html#30_September_2017_%28White_supremacist_views_in_the_US%29

content:
<p>
<a href="http://skepchick.org/2017/09/survey-people-hate-nazis-love-nazi-ideology/">Large
fractions of Americans</a> endorse white supremacist views.
<p>
Many say that whites are under attack in the US — the exact
opposite of what's really occurring.


