Important reporting from @juddlegum and colleagues on what looks like malign political subterfuge -- a supposedly "moderate" presidential campaign that would siphon votes from the Democratic candidate and put Trump back in the White House. The organizers refuse to say who's funding them, which tells you a great deal. https://popular.info/p/the-opaque-70-million-scheme-that?publication_id=1664&post_id=112535714&isFreemail=false
Tennessee Republicans are turning their anti-democracy beliefs into an astoundingly brazen policy: tossing out Democratic members who dared to join protesters who want to end the gun massacres. https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/politics/2023/04/03/tennessee-republicans-file-resolutions-to-expel-three-democrats-who-led-gun-reform-chants-on-house-f/70078002007/
Linux Foundation is Outsourcing Linux Development and Communications to Surveillance Giants | Techrights
http://techrights.org/2023/04/03/linux-foundation-is-outsourcing-linux-development-and-communications-to-surveillance-giants/
Some might find it interesting that all of the work to turn a bunch of disparate articles into a properly-formatted book, from the additional writing and formatting work (VIM + LaTeX plugin), digital page proof review (Evince), LaTeX research and integration with the self-publishing platform (Firefox), cover photo tweaks (GIMP), happened not only with FOSS tools, but all on my personal computer, which happens to be a Librem 5 phone attached to a lapdock.
Quick story:
I had a client once who told me, "I am going in there and telling the judge a thing or two."
I explained the rule of power struggles
Rule of power struggles: Never get into a power struggle with someone who has more power than you do.
Teenagers can also benefit from this advice.
11/
When we bitch about "out-of-staters" here in Montana (and boy, do we), this is the reason:
https://inthesetimes.com/article/displaced-montana-workers-luxury-housing-2
Pretty wild to watch my entire state (or at least the entire Western half of it) becoming gentrified at such a rapid rate.
Most of world's salt marshes likely to be underwater by 2100
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/03/230330102143.htm
#ClimayeChange
I appreciate the discussion started by @josefprusa@twitter.com
and continued by @stargirl
and others around open source hardware. I have a new video and essay coming out soon that addresses some of these topics, but here is my view on the necessity of open source and how to approach it.
Note this was originally a response to someone's internet comment suggesting that the solution is increased patent restrictions, but I thought it was worth sharing as part of this wider discussion.
Frank Karlitschek: “Microsoft continues to act as a gatekeeper, picking the winners and losers. And of course, its own services benefit immensely from this, getting shielded from the competition." https://www.uctoday.com/unified-communications/microsoft-offers-cloud-reforms-to-prevent-eu-probe/
‘Slipping through our fingers’: #NewZealand scientists distraught at scale of glacier loss - https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/apr/01/slipping-through-our-fingers-new-zealand-scientists-distraught-at-scale-of-glacier-loss I'm grateful I got to walk on one before they disappeared - https://moodysbnn.blogspot.com/2020/04/1989-us-new-zealand-fiji.html #ClimateCrisis
In Germany, teaching the Holocaust is mandatory.
It includes visits to concentration camp, museums, etc. They don't shy away from their own ugly history. Yet the kids aren't damaged; they're strengthened, matured, humbled. The U.S. needs to do same with slavery.
Not that complicated.
@beep Pretty relevant today as libraries are dealing with the imminent sunsetting of the Overdrive app which was the accessible ebook reader, being replaced by Libby which has a better UX for many people but lacks features necessary for accessibility. This was a choice (by this company) and it was the wrong one.
The letter explains that Assange’s prosecution means newspapers "could be prosecuted when they publish important stories based on classified information. Or, just as dangerous, they may refrain from publishing such stories for fear of prosecution.” We couldn't agree more. Hopefully the letter gains bipartisan support and prompts the Biden administration to finally end this senseless prosecution. https://theintercept.com/2023/03/30/julian-assange-congress-rashida-tlaib/
"We found that [Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson, the two largest pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies] did not actually invent most of the drugs they sell. Indeed, it appears they have already reduced their investment in the discovery of new medicines to the point where the threat of additional reductions rings hollow and is no longer a persuasive reason for opposing legislation to lower drug prices."
Emily H. Jung, Alfred Engelberg and Aaron S. Kesselheim
#ShlaerMellor, #FunctionPointAnalysis, #punk, #environmentalist, #unionAdvocate, #anarchosocialist
"with a big old lie and a flag and a pie and a mom and a bible most folks are just liable to buy any line, any place, any time" - Frank Zappa