Richard Stallman's Political Notes' Journal

Meloni's several defamation lawsuits, ITA

The right-wing prime minister of Italy has sued a singer for calling her "fascist" and "racist" on stage.

I expect that he was right, but I don't have proof to cite. I wish I had something to cite to demonstrate the truth of his accusation.

Criminal prosecution for defamation is inherently unjust.

37K invading species stifling biodiversity

*Invasive species cost humans $423bn each year and threaten world's [bio]diversity.*

Motives for raiding newspaper, KS

The Marion thugs raided the Marion County Record and seized its computers, without grounds to do so under the journalism shield law. The publisher has said the paper was investigating the thug chief for past wrongdoing and that his aim was to derail that investigation.

I've seen this issue develop for weeks, but this is the first time I saw a clear description of the rights and wrongs of it. Without that, I could not usefully post about this.

Elected DA replaced, FL

DeMentis removed state attorney Monique Worrell just before she could prosecute a corruption fraud ring among sheriff's deputies.

His objection to her was that she tried to prosecute the most dangerous of the real criminals — the ones who wear badges.

DeMentis-driven vote suppression

*Florida judge strikes down [DeMentis]-backed voting map as unconstitutional.*

Of course, he designed it for racist purposes.

The article linked to just above displays symbolic bigotry by capitalizing "black" but not "white". (To avoid endorsing bigotry, capitalize both words or neither one.) I denounce bigotry, and normally I will not link to articles that practice it. But I make exceptions for some articles that I consider particularly important — and I label them like this.

Urgent: Tax billion-dollar corporations

US citizens: call on the Biden administration to stand firm against corporate lobbyists and tax billion-dollar corporations.

The Capitol Switchboard numbers are +1-202-224-3121, +1-888-818-6641 and +1-888-355-3588.

If you phone, please spread the word!

Burning Man: why activists blocked access road

Burning Man has changed, over the decades, from a reunion of hippies to a rich people's gathering where some fly in on private jets. So environmentalists protested by blocking the road.

They call on Burning Man to stop permitting private jets, as well as a few excessive forms of consumption of fossil fuels and single-use plastics.

It's sad how so many billionaires (and the far more numerous decibillionaires) distort our society. If Burning Man agrees to these demands, some decibillionaires might stay away.

Implication of oceans getting too hot

Diana Nyad, who swam from Cuba to Florida, muses on the implications of an ocean so hot that people can no longer safely do that.

Economic reforms that decrease economic inequality

Joseph Stiglitz: making US democracy function again requires economic reforms that decrease economic inequality.

Amazon published guides to identifying mushrooms

Amazon has published guides to identifying mushrooms which were written by language models that have no intelligence and could lead people to poison themselves.

Please do not refer to such bullshit-generator systems as "artificial intelligence"!

Tories let British finance run out of control

*The Tories let [British finance] run out of control. Now Labour plans to repeat their mistakes.*

Homeless likely to spend on housing and food

* Researchers [in Canada] find homeless people more likely to spend lump sum on housing and food and not ‘temptation goods’ such as alcohol.*

This study looked at homeless people who were not addicts. The scientists assumed that addicts may be exceptions.

Sold into slavery to fund founding Georgetown College

Investigating 272 blacks who were forced into slavery by the richest Catholics of Maryland, and sooner or later sold to fund the founding of Georgetown College.

Georgetoen college became part of Washington DC when that was carved out of Maryland.

Not clear whether Vivek Ramaswamy is bought

Vivek Ramaswamy claims he is the only Republican presidential candidate that isn't bought. It is not clear whether he is bought, or cheating, or buying, or buying the publicity. It may bot matter, because either way he is a right-wing hater.

North Carolina judge files lawsuit

*North Carolina judge [who was] investigated for saying racial bias exists [has] filed lawsuit.*

Right-wing racists will go to any lengths to censor awareness of racism and other right-wing oppression.

Ex-Tory MP apologizes for ancestors' links to slavery

Bad mistake: *Ex-Tory MP apologises for ancestors' links to slavery.*

You should never apologize for things others have done for which you are not responsible.

Aside from that, what she did was proper. She acknowledged the ancestors' actions, which had been unknown to her until a historian dug them up in old records, and she denounced them. That is the right thing for anyone to do who has as little responsibility for those actions as she has.

It is horrible that people have made death threats against her for things someone else did long ago. Advocating Tory policies entails moral responsibility for them (though not for slavery hundreds of years ago), but it doesn't justify threats of violence.

Republican fanatics sentenced to prison for violent threats

Republican fanatics are being sentenced to prison for violent threats against election workers who might have the temerity to do their jobs honestly.

Dirty secret behind Tory "crime week"

*The dirty secret behind Tory "crime week": their policies ruined policing.*

I thought that a Tory "crime week" would be when plutocratist politicians go all-out for corruption ;-}.

Distorted economic figures to derail renewable power

Planet roasters in Australia are spreading distorted economic figures to derail the country's conversion to renewable power. They will stop to nothing to continue funding for fossil fuels and nucler generation, at the expense of the country and the world.

Humans brought into contact with more animal diseases

Environmental degradation, caused by global heating and other harm to wild ecosystsms, is bringing humans in contact with more animal diseases.

Some of them can spread to large numbers of humans.

Florida, Georgia and South Carolina damaged by hurricane

The Republican-dominated states of Florida, Georgia and South Carolina have been gravely damaged by a hurricane. Much of the damage is caused by the Republican opposition to curbing global heating.

Home insurance has already been mostly discontinued in Florida.

As a result, many if thise whose houses were ruined will loss all.

Now I expect similar developments in more states.