Richard Stallman's Political Notes' Journal

Border Patrol kills innocent, AZ

*Border Patrol Video of Killing Shows [Indigenous US Citizen Near Border] Had No Gun, Complied With Orders.*

RR ticket-office peril, UK

The UK plans to close most ticket offices at railroad stations.

The unions are opposed to this because of possible job losses, but I see a danger to everyone. How will it be possible to buy a ticket? Will people be compelled to do it from a web site that imposes use of nonfree software and requires them to identify themselves?

What other options for buying train tickets exist now?

Repatriation and collaboration law, UKR

*What will Ukraine do with Russian collaborators? Revenge would be a mistake.*

The article suggests distinguishing between those who sought power or advantage through the Russian puppet governments and those who simply carried on their legitimate civic jobs under Russian power.

State thugs' whistleblower, WV

West Virginia state thugs have been caught in crimes ranging from kidnaping to rape to drugging, and many other crimes, not quite as grave but still nasty.

The state governor is pushing the investigation.

Rightwing targets community

*After Roe's overturn, Republicans target trans rights using extremist rhetoric.*

Workers' risk in outdoor heat

Bad working conditions for Nepalese workes in Qatar are causing them permanent kidney problems — they need dialysis for the rest of their lives.

Qatar could correct this problem, but its rich rulers don't want to reduce their income.

To regulate gambling, AU

An Australian study recommends banning marketing "inducements" designed to make it hard to for people with gambling problems to resist gambling.

"Inducements" are a term for temporary promotions such as "Buy one, get one 'free'." (They ought to say, "gratis.")

Global sea-level rise

The global heating we have already caused will inevitably lead to rising sea level for centuries. But if we heat the Earth more, there will be even more sea level rise.

One projection is that 3°C of global heating will raise sea level up to 50 feet by 2300.

Hajj heat danger

Global heating has made the Hajj dangerous. In a decade or two it may be deadly to quite a few.

Will the Muslim world take note of the danger of global heating, in which a few Muslim countries play significant roles?

Rising awareness of global heating, CN

*Despite record temperatures, some Chinese people are yet to connect the extreme heat to the climate crisis, something activists want to change.*

Once Chinese get used to the term "climate change," they need to get familiar with "climate collapse" and "climate disaster." They need to understand that climate disaster can destroy China just as it can destroy most or all other countries. And they should think of Shanghai inundated.

Billionaire grips national media, FR

*French newspaper staff strike after "far-right personality" made editor.*

Ships' emissions technology

Improved technology could reduce greenhouse gas emissions from ocean shipping by 50%. But it would cost money: the challenge is to compel the ship owners to pay it.

Sanders rebuked Supreme Court

Bernie Sanders rebuked the Supreme Court decision blocking Biden's planned method for canceling some student debt, and calls on Biden to use another method that the court can't block.

Serious news replaced with tabloid-style material

Ralph Nader: the US's major newspapers are replacing serious news with tabloid-style distraction material.

Plan to shorten medical training

*Plans to shorten medical training put quality of [UK medical treatment] at risk, doctors say.*

If the UK finds that it needs more money to provide everyone with proper medical treatment, it should tax the rich more.

Warnings of danger of fascism

*The [US] Army warned Troops in 1945 of the Danger of Fascism. That Warning Rings True Today.*

Private hospitals in developing countries

*UK aid should not fund private hospitals in developing countries, says Oxfam.*

I agree. To aid the harmful plutocratist press for privatization is making things worse.

UK put preparation for pandemics aside

The UK put preparation for pandemics aside to leave the EU in the most crude possible way.

What's gone wrong for men

*[Prominent feminist writer] Caitlin Moran: what's gone wrong for men – and the thing that can fix them.*

I would not try to compare how bad today's society is for men with how it is for women. It seems to be pretty bad for both — partly because men and women are being pushed into penury by plutocracy, and into horrible social relations by anti-social media.

Moran has pointed out one important difference: women and girls have found ways to support each other publicly and talk about their collective difficulties in society. Men and boys need it too but have no place to turn to except woman-haters.

Thank you Ms Moran. I hope society finds a way out of this sad gender relations trap.

Palestinians and Israelis in cycle of violence

Enraged Palestinians and enraged Israelis are in a cycle of violence, but the Israeli violence seems to be much bigger.

Starmer accused of leading "rightwing illiberal" faction

A long-elected Labour MO has accused Starmer of leading a "rightwing, illiberal" faction and trying to exclude all other ideas from the party.

I expect Starmer to respond to this demand to respect the room for disagreement in the party with force. He has already shown that leading over and over.

Youtube blocking users using ad-blockers

Youtube is experimenting with blocking users found to be using ad-blockers.

Google ads work by tracking users and their activities. I don't particularly care whether an ad appears on my graphical virtual screen, since I don't have to actually watch it — I could do something else.

What matters to me is refusing to be identified, as well as not running nonfree JS code. If I can't pull in the video without being thus maltreated, that will make YouTube inaccessible for me once again.

The real determinant will be whether the Invidio.us proxies continue to work.

(satire) Welfare benefits cut for those experiencing happiness

(satire) *Georgia Cuts Welfare Benefits For Recipients Caught Experiencing Happiness.*

Scotland's plan to protect waters defeated

Short-term local opposition defeated Scotland's plan to establish serious protection for 10% of its waters.

This is a step towards pollution and extinction.

UK school buildings closed as unsafe

Many UK schools have been closed because their buildings are unsafe.

Hundreds were made decades ago with lightweight aerated concrete, which turns out to crumble eventually, but there are other kinds of problems too. However, the overall causes is that the government did not spend enough on inspecting, repairing and replacing schools buildings.

This is plutocracy at work. The government needs more money but hasn't got the courage to tax the rich more.

Rejecting plan to make asylum seekers wait in Rwanda

A UK appeals court gave reasons for rejecting the plan to make asylum seekers wait in Rwanda.

Rwanda's government is generally repressive.

This decision is not final — it may be reversed on appeal.

Erroneous diagnosis at phony abortion clinic

A pregnant woman went to a phony abortion clinic, a "crisis center," and was given a gravely erroneous diagnosis of her dangerous unviable pregnancy.

We must wonder if they misrepresented it intentionally to stop her from getting the abortion that she needed.

Cost of living impacts health of children

*Cost of living worsening health of children in UK, say school nurses.*

This is plutocracy at work.

Report on undercover cops in 1970s

An inquiry into the undercover UK cops who were sent to infiltrate peaceful protest groups in the 1970s has published its first partial report. It concludes that their investigation was intimate and had no justification whatsoever.

TV program on how dolphins mate

A TV station presented a program that accurately showed how dolphins typically mate — a group of males league together to plan gang rape.

It leads humans to pose a question of which standards to judge dolphin behavior by — the standards of human morality, or dolphins' own nonhuman nature.

Australian law to facilitate fossil fuel development

It looks like Australia's government has proposed a law to facilitate new fossil fuel development.

Uganda punishes for homosexual sex

Uganda now sentences people to 10 years in prison for Homosexual sex. Advocating the rights of homosexuals is punished with 20 years.

Progressive legislators propose to cut military aid to Uganda in response.

Republican attacks on teacher's unions

Republicans in several states are attacking teachers' unions, with the support of millionaires such as the owners of Walmart.

This is one example of how plutocracy in the US supports dooH niboR, who takes from the poor and gives to the rich.

Australian prisons keeping prisoners in cells

Australian prisons are keeping minors in cells almost 24 hours a day.

This article describes one prison in one state, but I've seen others showing that this practice spans Australia.

I am sure most of these prisoners are too old to be considered "children". However, the laws to protect them are important — both to ensure work does not keep them out of school, and to ensure it doesn't do them physical harm.

Voter ID is assault on democracy

*Voter ID is just one item in a long list of assaults on [UK] democracy. Breaches of standards in public office, clampdowns on protest and attacks on the judiciary have all featured in the last few years of Tory rule.*

President of Philippines helping poor very little

The new Philippines president Marcos Jr. has made rhetoric smoother, and shifted international ties towards the US. Domestically, he has said a lot to portray himself as helping the poor, but not done much to knack it up.

London water company didn't keep up on maintenance

The London region water company has not invested in fixing enormous water leaks, causing shortages and waste, because it was more profitable to neglect its duty and wallow in greed. (What else would you expect from a big business under today's business attitudes?)

Bring water services back into clean, water-saving and satisfactory service.
Punish those who have profited by harming the public — take as much as possible of their past gains.

An article that agrees.

I suspect that the laws that govern these companies were designed to facilitate profiteering. The most important thing is to change them to demand responsibility and stop the profiteering.