Old Fucking Punk @lwriemen@librem.one

Happy to help others join me out from under the thumb of #BigTech. I've written a lot of guides here: https://tech.oeru.org and https://davelane.nz

It's a huge, daily relief to be able to say that I have zero dependence on Microsoft, Adobe, Apple, or Amazon (and substantially constrained any dependence on Google and FB). I've shunned them all for the past couple decades and feel nothing but gratitude to my resolute former self (who received an unending stream of disparagement from people who're now experiencing a slow realisation that their past blind faith in the benevolence of the corporate model was woefully misplaced).

Listen.

It's not about whatever Microsoft is doing with these features today. Maybe it's apocalyptic, maybe it's not. But what we're seeing is next-level disregard for user choice about their OS. Yes, even for Microsoft, this is exceptional.

And in the constant pursuit of monetizing our data or extracting training sets, we must confront the question of what they will push on us next, without consent or reasonable recourse.

This is not an OS under owner control, and as such, should not be trusted for any purpose where data security is a concern.

I struggle to think of a use case where it isn't.

I'm not sure what it is about these shifts that makes these situations hit harder. I imagine that part of it is that knowing that the people affected had a similar lifestyle to my own makes it more relatable. But also the fact that this is all about conflict means that this is all the result of human decisions. I guess that's applied to more famines in more remote areas as well.

Perhaps better news coverage is another factor here.

The geopolitics is of course complicated. It always is.

But in the mean time, innocent people are starving.

One thing I'm learning, spending time with people who have dedicated their careers to research on humanitarian crises, is that there's been a shift in how and when famines occur.

40 years ago, people talked about famines as a result of droughts. The famines we're having today are the direct result of warfare.

In my professional life, I've wandered into a research project on modeling famines and starvation physiology. Which means I'm reading scientific literature on starvation physiology. I'm in a place of safety and resilience, but I can tell that even short term immersion in this material does have an effect on me, especially with where the world is right now.

Going after Tornado Cash’s developers for merely developing the code is like “prosecuting the hammer because somebody used it to hit someone over the head,” EFF’s Cindy Cohn told @CoinTelegraph. “The hammer isn’t the bad thing; it’s the use of the hammer.” https://cointelegraph.com/news/freedom-of-speech-tornado-cash-court

Anybody hear speak Portuguese and want to translate a paper about a cool sounding #Healthcare #Cooperative in Brazil for @GEO_Collective?

https://www.scielo.br/j/csp/a/6d9SpMdkJd9SHWG4vQyHMrf/?lang=pt

This ProPublica story is good reporting on 3M's sociopathic, and ecocidal, commitment to contaminating all the water on earth…but the "crusading investigative reporter" narrative might mislead you into thinking this scandal hasn't been burning in public for decades (see e.g., from 2016, https://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/10/magazine/the-lawyer-who-became-duponts-worst-nightmare.html ) The missing part of the story is the weakness and even complicity of the regulators.

https://www.propublica.org/article/3m-forever-chemicals-pfas-pfos-inside-story

New today from @pmpress, it's A People’s Guide to Abolition and Disability Justice by Katie Tastrom: https://weightlessbooks.com/a-peoples-guide-to-abolition-and-disability-justice/

As we reached price break quantities, we're passing the savings onto you. The Librem 5 is now available at a reduced price of $699, down from $999. Grab yours now! #Purism #Librem5 #Savings
https://puri.sm/posts/get-your-hands-on-the-librem-5-for-just-699/?mtm_campaign=status_update&mtm_source=organic&mtm_medium=librem_social&mtm_content=ls-get-your-hands-on-the-librem-5-for-just-699

Majority of people in #Scotland do not believe in any #religion, #census shows | Scotland | The Guardian

I bet a fair proportion of those who still call themselves religious do so because of tradition and peer pressure.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/article/2024/may/21/majority-of-people-in-scotland-do-not-believe-in-any-religion-census-shows

#UK

Last time the Dems lost, they blamed it on Russia instead of their own incompetence and inability to read the room. Odds are good they'll do the same thing again this year.

"The Democrats relied on their own flattering and superficial metrics to convince themselves that ordinary Americans were doing better under Biden. In fact most became worse off, as many correctly perceive. And they kept flogging the “voters are stoopid” message, adding insult to injury."

https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2024/05/trump-versus-biden-the-substantial-fall-in-real-wages-for-most-workers-under-biden.html

If .social keep up suspending users for making pro-Palestinian statements, we're going to have to learn fast why TOO BIG TO FAIL instances are defacto a fediproblem.

Whenever I have to deal with #LinuxMobile on devices that formerly ran android I realize how super simple things like flashing and debugging are on the #Librem5 compared to that.

No odd partition schemes, no super sensitive boot loader that gives up on the first glitch. Just #uboot and if all else fails #jumpdrive.

https://loops.video is a very promising ActivityPub platform for short form video, and could use your financial support to help fund and sustain this initiative!

Donations can be made via @pixelfed

https://pixelfed.org/support-our-project

Let’s build a new TikTok that’s federated and better for humanity! Boosts appreciated!

#loops #activityPub #tikTok

We need to no longer have privatised prisons run by overseas vendors. Talk about messed up incentives: https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/517374/us-company-with-nz-prison-contract-advocates-for-ai-use-behind-bars

There's also a balance between being cautious of men and being paranoid about men. I think that a lot of common rhetoric about how dangerous men are encourages women to live in constant fear, and I don't think that teaching women to be afraid all the time is particularly feminist.

This is brilliant: CFPB is using pooled hiring authority to enable technologists to “submit a single application & be considered for employment at multiple federal agencies”

Why it’s smart: “This approach will speed up hiring & reduce burden on job applicants. It’s our hope these combined efforts will help us scale how we monitor & address advanced technologies across government.”

Why it matters: “Your work will improve the lives of millions of Americans

https://www.consumerfinance.gov/about-us/careers/cfpb-technologist/

...and, still aboard the Big Tech sleazeball express: "Open"AI used Scarlett Johansson's voice even after being told not to do that. https://www.npr.org/2024/05/20/1252495087/openai-pulls-ai-voice-that-was-compared-to-scarlett-johansson-in-the-movie-her