Old Fucking Punk @lwriemen@librem.one

Week three of Republicans' "Act Normal" Initiative is a resounding failure. https://brianmcfadden.org/2024/08/02/republicans-manual-for-acting-normal/

Guy Debord: "The first stage of the economy's domination of social life brought about an evident degradation of being into having––human fulfillment was no longer equated with what one was, but what one possessed.

The reigning economic system is a vicious circle of isolation. Its technologies are based on isolation, and they contribute to that same isolation. From automobiles to television, the goods that the spectacular system chooses to produce also serve it as weapons for constantly reinforcing the conditions that engender "lonely crowds."

The spectacle was born from the world's loss of unity, and the immense expansion of the modern spectacle reveals the enormity of this loss."

Debord's The Society of the Spectacle (PM Press Edition) is available now! https://pmpress.org/index.php?l=product_detail&p=1655

#books #bookstodon

Why am I not surprised?

https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2024/08/democrats-vp-choice-tim-walz-has-a-history-of-working-on-the-side-of-monied-interests-against-workers.html

I know it sounds paranoid but I'm beginning to suspect some sites are just deliberately fucking with Firefox in retaliation for its privacy controls.

Dice.com automatically redirects from the front page to the sign in prompt and then just continuously reloads the page. It doesn't matter if I have my addons enabled or disabled. Doesn't matter if I have tracking protection turned on or off. The only time it doesn't do it is if I'm browsing in private mode.

Loads fine in Chromium, though! :-/

"Gaza is a method. A Western method. Fascist, Zionist, apartheid, sadistic Israel is a pioneer, a trailblazer into yet more evil to be done from those above to those below. That is why those above will shield Israel. They are shielding themselves and their future deeds." ~Tarik Cyril Amar

The answers, without a shadow of the doubt, are that the people who owned the data before "AI" was applied still own the data.

As for a breach of Te Tiriti, I am considerably more concerned about the intended outcome of the research being a treaty breach in itself, than in the vendor breaching the treaty in a nuanced way.

The basic competence of everyone involved is the concern. This is central government advising Police, and they're framing the discussion as if data ownership is in doubt.

Get 40% off all graphic titles, coloring books, and tarot decks with code SPECTACLE for the month of August. Shop the sale here: https://pmpress.org/index.php?l=product_list&c=37&sortby=num_sold:desc

We've written before about how the NYPD appears to already be disregarding its commitment to stop violating journalists' rights in a recent settlement agreement over past abuses.

This is yet another giant step in the exact opposite direction.

https://freedom.press/news/settlement-hasnt-stopped-nypds-press-abuses-at-protests/

This is my favor #Walz victory photo. Mar 18, 2023
Within a week of one another, Minnesota Governor Tim #Walz signs law guaranteeing free school breakfast & lunch for all kids in the state, & Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders signs law loosening child labor laws.
The two parties are NOT the same.
#HarrisWalz2024

NEWS: Twitter/X wants to force people to advertise there, and they're going to court. Elon and Linda went forum-shopping, filing this case in Wichita Falls Division so that Judge Reed O'Connor was guaranteed to be assigned the case. Here's the complaint: https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.txnd.393003/gov.uscourts.txnd.393003.1.0_1.pdf

"Your access to #ReproductiveHealth & your right to make your own #HealthCare decisions are preserved & protected," #Walz said during the signing ceremony. "And because of this #law, that won't change w/the #political wins or makeup of the #SupremeCourt. This is a bill for #Minnesota today & all #future generations."
In April 2023, Walz signed the #ReproductiveFreedom Defense Act into law, shielding #women & #providers from any #legal action originating from the patient's state.

#HarrisWalz2024

I submit that tomatillos are delicious.

One of those "Oh cool...oh crap..." findings.

Greenland fossil discovery reveals increased risk of sea-level catastrophe
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/08/240805164411.htm

Officers often don’t realize reporters don’t have to comply with mass dispersal orders.

The Justice Department proclaimed that “Blanket enforcement of dispersal orders and curfews against [the] press violates [the First Amendment].”

https://chicago.suntimes.com/other-views/2024/08/02/democratic-national-convention-dnc-2024-journalists-coverage-police-abuse-first-amendment-seth-stern-op-ed

Despite the sustained efforts of Western media and elected officials, the world sees Israel for what is: an apartheid settler state, committing genocide against the Palestinian people. There is no debate, no question, and nothing complicated about it. It’s genocide. And every politician and public figure that supports it is culpable // this song is for the people of Gaza, West Bank and East Jerusalem, struggling to survive the 2nd Nakba, and one of the most brutal military campaigns in modern history… and for the peeps worldwide facing repression, censure and state violence in the fight for a free Palestine // From the River to the Sea, PALESTINE WILL BE FREE 🇵🇸🖤

“River to the Sea” by Lee Reed. Beat by Danny Miles. Mixed and mastered by Cee.Reality. Video by subMedia.

https://kolektiva.media/w/x5N4JAWfi8rHvdpoxBxKmc

I spent a lot of time in Nepal in the years immediately preceding and following their first election following the abdication of the king, so I got a pretty good look at what political discourse is like over there. And my take away is this: American political discourse is embarassing. Nobody in Nepal ever talked about a political party or politician in any but the most cynical terms (with a very few exceptions). Here, otoh, we talk about 'vibes' and believe whatever pols say.

This looks like the kind of thing we need in every country in the world... Public $ funding public (#libre!) code. Well played Germany: https://fossforce.com/2024/08/germany-to-fund-open-source-software-maintainers-through-new-fellowship-program/ I suspect they'll find that the net return for Germany (and the rest of the world) is massive compared to what they're throwing away on #bigtech's colossal margins.

Vaccinating #badgers more effective than culls in stopping bovine #TB, study finds - https://www.theguardian.com/environment/article/2024/aug/06/badger-vaccination-cull-eradicate-bovine-tuberculosis-btb-farmers-cornwall-study-zsl-aoe stop the cruel and ineffectual slaughter

So much of what I care about in computing boils down to: Can we please stop capitalists from being the ones to shape our technological reality? Can we please stop living in a cyberpunk world?

As such it goes beyond computing! I'm an anti-capitalist, a degrowther!

Let alone the injustice of requiring us to work to earn a living, the people who can afford to pay a living wage repeatedly prove to be terrible judges of what work needs to be done. So can we workers please judge it for ourselves?

Undocumented immigrants paid $97B in taxes in 2022.

They paid a higher state/local tax rate than the top 1% in a majority of states.

They contributed $26B to Social Security, which they can't benefit from.

Remember this the next time the undocumented are called "freeloaders."