Posts by rms@mastodon.xyz
(DIR) Post #B2meRJsGDDV8sQK54q by rms@mastodon.xyz
2026-01-29T17:16:29Z
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[1/2] https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/jan/19/bondi-terror-attack-footbridge-painted-yellow-parents-victim-matilda-ntwnfb*Rushed laws after a tragedy are "never good", warns father [and mother] of youngest [Bondi Beach mass shooting] victim.* They show wisdom by resisting the temptation to go overboard into their own loss and preferring that society choose the best response. In the same way, a law named (even unofficially) after a person who suffered injustice tends to be
(DIR) Post #B2meRmzLxvPFAoreeu by rms@mastodon.xyz
2026-01-29T17:16:30Z
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[2/2] insufficiently thought out.
(DIR) Post #B2mg4UhA0uvfgYNIBc by rms@mastodon.xyz
2026-01-29T17:34:46Z
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https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jan/17/rfk-jr-new-dietary-guidelines-health*RFK Jr's new diet guidelines pose risks for health and the environment, experts say.*
(DIR) Post #B2miC4EsSde7rFstiS by rms@mastodon.xyz
2026-01-29T17:58:33Z
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[1/3] https://dailynous.com/2026/01/06/texas-am-bans-plato/https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/jan/14/donald-trump-plato-gender-educationhttps://stallman.org/glossary.html#magathttps://stallman.org/glossary.html#s-i-chttps://dailynous.com/2026/01/13/a-dishonest-response-from-tamu-president-tommy-williams/Texas A&M ordered a philosophy professor to drop readings from Plato's Symposium, and a discussion of the issues they raise, from his class on the grounds that they
(DIR) Post #B2miCbDbqNEw8sXqoy by rms@mastodon.xyz
2026-01-29T17:58:34Z
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[2/3] "advocate" about "race theory" and "gender theory". This article explains what those readings from Plato talk about and show why magats want to quash such discussion - even though the professor had no intention of "advocating" anything, only holding rational discussion about the issues raised. I am disappointed that he ultimately obeyed rather than suing. But since he did that after consulting his lawyer, I suppose that suing was not likely to fix the problem. That makes the tragedy
(DIR) Post #B2miCcpvpNULA1TyC0 by rms@mastodon.xyz
2026-01-29T17:58:35Z
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[3/3] even worse, and shows that the saboteur in chief is the enemy of the thinking and knowledge, not only human rights and the well-being of the poor. The president of the university defended the university's order by misrepresenting and evading the issue. This page shows what he wrote and precisely explains the dishonesty. Philosophy professors' resistance is not enough to save freedom in the US, but they can clearly explain why we need to save it, and that helps.
(DIR) Post #B2mjgwG2HjsM2Gi7vs by rms@mastodon.xyz
2026-01-29T18:15:20Z
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https://stallman.org/glossary.html#bullyhttps://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jan/16/trump-pushes-for-disarmament-of-hamas-as-second-stage-of-gaza-ceasefire-beginsThe bully demands that HAMAS hand over its heavy weapons, while saying nothing about Israel's heavy weapons.
(DIR) Post #B2mlU6wXReynJtbO1w by rms@mastodon.xyz
2026-01-29T18:35:25Z
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https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jan/16/flu-season-vaccine-recommendation-rfk-jr*US mixed messaging on flu shots alarms experts: "Children should not be dying."*
(DIR) Post #B2mnVjlWn1G9vJM4ki by rms@mastodon.xyz
2026-01-29T18:58:08Z
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https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/jan/14/australia-exposed-iranian-asylum-seeker-to-torture-on-manus-un-saysThe UN committee against torture has found Australia responsible for torture carried out in an immigration prison in Papua New Guinea on an immigrant that Australia paid Papua New Guinea to jail. Australia pioneered the idea of denying asylum to refugees who arrive by small boat, no matter how repressive the country they escaped.
(DIR) Post #B2mp5mn97Fabghrhke by rms@mastodon.xyz
2026-01-29T19:15:51Z
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[1/2] https://actionnetwork.org/letters/oppose-funding-for-ice?nowrapper=truehttps://stallman.org/actionnetwork-letter-instructions.htmlUS citizens: call on your elected officials to oppose all funding for the deportation thugs in the absence of systemic reforms. See the instructions for how to sign this letter campaign without running any nonfree JavaScript code-not trivial, but not hard. US citizens: Join with this campaign to address this issue. To phone your congresscritter about
(DIR) Post #B2mp6DuAJGFNmIMBwO by rms@mastodon.xyz
2026-01-29T19:15:52Z
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[2/2] this, the main switchboard is +1-202-224-3121. Please spread the word.
(DIR) Post #B2mr5VUbdJjVwbBiM4 by rms@mastodon.xyz
2026-01-29T19:38:13Z
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https://civicshout.com/p/stop-secret-police-tactics-pass-the-visible-act-nowhttps://stallman.org/glossary.html#thugUS citizens: call on Congress to pass the VISIBLE Act, which would prohibit deportation thugs from concealing their identities. US citizens: Join with this campaign to address this issue. To phone your congresscritter about this, the main switchboard is +1-202-224-3121. Please spread the word.
(DIR) Post #B2mseib30N1WftYSeW by rms@mastodon.xyz
2026-01-29T19:55:47Z
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[1/2] https://stallman.org/glossary.html#thughttps://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jan/17/protesters-blind-us-federal-agentshttps://stallman.org/glossary.html#thughttps://stallman.org/glossary.html#trumphttps://stallman.org/glossary.html#thugDeportation thugs blinded or half-blinded two protesters by shooting them in the face with "less-lethal" munitions. They barely survived the attack. One of them, Rummler, still has one working eye, it seems. For the other, Rodriguez, I can't
(DIR) Post #B2msfDWW1GomaofmOO by rms@mastodon.xyz
2026-01-29T19:55:48Z
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[2/2] tell from the article. Naturally, the thugs' PR person misrepresented the situation, pretending they were under heavy attack. It makes sense that they do the opposite of standard techniques for de-escalation. The persecutor's strategy is to spread terror among the public, so teaching thugs tactics that create opportunities for terror serves the purpose.
(DIR) Post #B2muZSyJry0ifz401o by rms@mastodon.xyz
2026-01-29T20:17:14Z
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[1/2] https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/jan/18/the-guardian-view-on-microplastics-research-questioning-results-is-good-for-science-but-has-political-consequencesThe plastic industry is likely to weaponize the present real uncertainty about the concentration of microplastics in human tissues. Meanwhile, measuring the level of harm that microplastics do to the human bodies they are found in is another difficult medical challenge. A few decades from now, it may be easy to
(DIR) Post #B2muZpKOkYkA0pYwUq by rms@mastodon.xyz
2026-01-29T20:17:15Z
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[2/2] determine which medical problems correlate with higher concentrations. But we would like to know this before being exposed for decades. I wonder if microscopic structures could be made which would attach to microplastics and drag them out of the body.
(DIR) Post #B2mvzPxTnQPqoTbpHk by rms@mastodon.xyz
2026-01-29T20:33:08Z
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https://stallman.org/glossary.html#thughttps://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/jan/14/prisons-brutality-us-reformPrison thugs in many or all US states often carry out illegal violence towards prisoners, causing suffering, damage and occasionally death.
(DIR) Post #B2mxaFWldmCP8CF1Qe by rms@mastodon.xyz
2026-01-29T20:50:52Z
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[1/3] https://www.policyalternatives.ca/news-research/every-data-centre-is-a-u-s-military-base/European countries, and the UN, have discovered that depending on US companies for digital services puts them at risk of harassment or attack. The marketing term "the cloud" is used to lull people into disregarding the question of where their data is really kept, and who controls it. We have been saying for ten years that "There is no cloud - only computers belonging to others." When the "other"
(DIR) Post #B2mxaLqU9NXKj5Vqzo by rms@mastodon.xyz
2026-01-29T20:50:53Z
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[2/3] is a US company, including Amazon, Apple, Google and Microsoft, you're making a mistake by using it. But the US is not the only country that might attack you. When the "other" is a non-US company, that too may be a mistake. So do your computing on your own computers, running only free software (since that's the software that users can control), and keep your data on your own computers too. It is safe to encrypt an archive on your own computer with the GNU Privacy Guard then save the
(DIR) Post #B2mxaTNM9YzQ53whhg by rms@mastodon.xyz
2026-01-29T20:50:54Z
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[3/3] encrypted file on someone else's computer. But don't let the only copies be saved like that.