Old Fucking Punk @lwriemen@librem.one

At last night’s Lifehouse talk I was once again asked a question some version of which seems to be cropping up just about everywhere I do this: “All of this sounds great, but how can we *scale* it?”

I know I court puzzlement in answering that I’m not interested in scale. I’m interested in propagation: in the transmission of a set of guiding principles & agreements from place to place, for people to interpret as they will & make whatever use of that they can. The difference seems critical to me.

Reddit kicks its volunteer moderators and users in the teeth again, as it moves toward putting up paywalls on popular subreddits.

This is a company that consistently demonstrates contempt for the people who made it succeed.

We need genuine alternatives.

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2024/08/reddit-mulls-showing-ads-in-more-places-paywalled-subreddits/

Hello! We are a small independent bookshop in Stow, in the Scottish Borders. We are no longer using Twitter, for obvious reasons, but could use some new followers on Mastodon and other social media channels - where our presence is smaller than on Twitter. Please help / share this is you can! Thank you.

Scam of the moment: "obituary content mills" https://elgan.com/scam-of-the-moment-obituary-content-mills

Braving the heat for #BlackHat2024? Come find EFF in the Business Hall! We’re in the 4400 section in the AI Zone 🤖 https://www.eff.org/event/eff-black-hat-usa-0

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