Richard Stallman's Political Notes' Journal

Sec. of Transportation

The wrecker's new Secretary of Transportation has canceled a coming strengthening of fuel efficiency standards. That will lead to transfer of more money to fossil fuel billionaires, and a shorter time for civilization to survive.

Federal employee buyouts

Robert Reich warns that the "buyout" scheme for federal employees is intended to help the corrupter install right-wing extremists as replacements.

It is probably a swindle, too. If you accept the deal, you may get stiffed, left with no job and no buyout. Both the cheater and the muskrat have done this before.

General Milley in peril

The persecutor can't prosecute General Milley (for blocking him for illegally sending soldiers to attack peaceful protesters), so he is trying various underhanded means that he does not have to justify.

Removing his security guard detail is a way of deniability facilitating his murder. The persecutor is aware that his violent fanatical followers try to murder anyone he labels as an enemy, and they will now expect him to pardon them. But I don't that would be grounds to convict him of participating in the murder.

The president can't pardon people for state crimes. If Milley goes to live in a strong blue state, that will help thwart plans to kill him.

Google Gemini

Google is forcing its bullshit generator, Gemini, on many users of Gmail without asking them, and not even offering the users a way to deactivate it.

Workplace IT managers, whose employees are forced to use Gmail, can get it turned off after a laborious procedure, followed by waiting — the darkest of dark patterns.

Unchecked growth

*The Deadly Consequences Of [UnitedHellth]’s Unchecked Growth*,

and the company's influence over judges.

Uber for nursing

Gig payment hiring for nurses makes them work for less pay (and thus pressures them to accept overload as a normal state of affairs).

Nonviolent ways

This list of suggested nonviolent ways of sabotaging an organization from within.

was published by the US government during World War II. People are suggesting it may be useful against the fascists who took over the US government by attacking its election system.

Lobbying campaign

The Australian government lobbied UNESCO and other countries to prevent listing the Great Barrier Reef as "in danger".

This represents a decision to cover up the danger from global heating and increased CO2, rather than protect the reef itself.

Deadly DC plane crash

The wrecker arbitrarily blamed the Washington DC plane-helicopter collision on government diversity polices. Simply using it as a way to attack them.

In fact, the cause seems to have been the opposite: an insufficiency of a kind diversity of staff at that moment. *An initial Federal Aviation Administration report obtained by US media organisations said staffing levels were "not normal for the time of day and volume of traffic."*

*Crash called "avoidable", with lawmakers and residents previously sounding alarm about region's crowded skies.*

Trump constitutional order

The wrecker has, it seems, crushed the principle that government employees owe their first loyalty to their country and their mission, rather than to the president.

Without that principle, no government can be honest, and it is unlikely that any employees hired after this will want to try.

Some of these derelictions of duty could perhaps still be overcome by judges. Not all judges appointed by the corrupter in his first term will reject this principle now. If those prosecutors sue to get their jobs back, they may win. And that would help, for the long term, to preserve that principle.

But it won't make a big difference right away, because if they win and get their jobs back, I expect they will be given no work to do. I suppose they expect that too. I hope they sue anyway.

Little talk of resistance from Democrats: *Why people are warning about "Vichy" America.*

Concentrating power

Robert Reich conjectures how the wrecker's strategy and goal.

The goal *is to concentrate ever more power in [his] hands, so he can concentrate ever more wealth in the oligarchy's hands.*

Sterilization

*Young women turn to sterilization as [the persecutor] intensifies war on reproductive rights.*

Doctor indicted

Louisiana has pressed charges against a New York doctor who by telephone wrote a prescription for abortion medicine for a woman in Louisiana.

I expect this case will come down to a question of which state has jurisdiction over the doctor's actions: the state where the woman was, or the state where the doctor was.

But I fear that the persecutor will direct the FBI to intervene to aid Louisiana cops in grabbing the doctor from New York and taking her to Louisiana. That is just the sort of bullying that he would love.

Trump’s aid freeze

The wrecker's shutdown of all foreign aid is causing disasters around the world. Here's news about one crucial system whose absence could cause disasters in various countries.

The shutdown is nominally for 90 days only, but there is no telling how much aid will actually resume.

Perfect rat storm

Global heating seems to be helping rats breed in cities.

Europe muted on Greenland

By his brazen demands to seize (he says "buy") Greenland, the bully has put European leaders in an emotional vice. It is less frightening to ignore the threats than to confront them.

Greenland's financial, mining, situation

The wrecker's plans for Greenland would allow his business barons to trash the environment there, and privatize the land.

US President's approval rating

*With 47% approval rating [the wrecker] is only president to have sub-50% reading at start of term, Gallup poll indicates.*

This makes sense given that, according to Greg Palast's investigation, less than half of the votes that US voters tried to cast were for the wrecker.

The promise of cheaper groceries

The wrecker told voters, before the election, that he would reduce the price of groceries. His subsequent comments suggest that he did not understand the meaning of "groceries".

Doctors with suspended or revoked licenses support RFK Jr

*Support letter for RFK Jr’s confirmation includes signatures of [medical] doctors with suspended or revoked licenses.*

Just the soft of person to be involved with the medical disinformation that fascinates Republicans.

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Big-time bullshit generator made in China

The newest big-time bullshit generator, competing with the famous US bullshit generators, is made in China.

All of them are generally called "artificial intelligence" by their developers, but none of them qualifies as "intelligence", because they are unable to know or understand anything.

The Chinese system is subject to strict Chinese censorship; there are many sensitive topics it will not say anything about. I've heard that Google's bullshit generator is subject to US right-wing censorship.

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Illegal surveillance and unjustified arrests of journalists

UK thug departments were punished by a court for illegal surveillance and unjustified arrest of two journalists, who published leaked information that accused thugs of colluding with the Protestant terrorists in Northern Ireland.

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Data in US Office of Personnel Management's servers

Reporting that people connected with the muskrat have been given control over the data in the US Office of Personnel Management's servers. [[ Don't be unkind except to greedy bastards ] ] [[ Consider how this might affect the FSF ] ]

Iraqi exile in Sweden was murdered

An Iraqi exile in Sweden was murdered while on trial for burning a copy of the Qur'an.

I don't express my disapproval of movements or views by burning their symbols. As a form of criticism, it is a rather inarticulate.

However, doing that merely offending people, and offending anyone is part of human rights. To punish people for defying terrorist threats is to legitimize those threats.

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Targeted political repression from the persecutor

Here comes the explicit targeted political repression we have expected fro the persecutor — aimed at those opposing the bombardment and siege of Gaza, and calling them "antisemitic".

*Order asks agencies to explore ways to deport activists, including students with visas, who engaged in protests.*

This repression started occurring while Biden was president, but this makes it more painful and explicit.

Jewish Voice for Peace is fighting the repression.

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Hiding groups that help find Abortion pills

Instagram is obscuring or hiding the groups that help Americans find abortion pills.

We are entitled to hold Zuckerberg responsible for this. It is understandable given his decision to become a vassal of the corrupter, but that is no excuse for it.

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New Zealand recognized mountain as a "person"

New Zealand has surrendered to blatant irrationality by recognizing a mountain as legally a "person". This is almost as absurd as recognizing a corporation as a "person".

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Bird life declining steadily

Even in some pristine forests in Ecuador and Panama, bird life is declining steadily. Most species have lost more than half of their 1980 population density.

No concrete cause has been found, but scientist suspect it is due to ecological disruption due to climate.

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Coastal inlets of Galicia

The coastal inlets of Galicia are a prized source of mollusks — except that many species' populations have collapsed.

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Gaza without Palestinians

*Make no mistake: Israel’s far right is planning for a Gaza without Palestinians.*

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Small scale fusion generating useful energy

Some distinguished physicists say that some teams have made cold fusion reliably generate useful energy, at a small scale but steadily.

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Environmentalists urge rethinking airports and roads

*Environmentalists urge [UK Chancellor] Reeves to rethink plans for airports and roads.*

This is more of the inevitable consequences of surrendering to the rich instead of taxing them more.

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