Old Fucking Punk @lwriemen@librem.one

Software patents are a uniquely bad fit for patent protection. And they enable schemes like this one. https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2024/11/judges-investigation-patent-troll-ip-edge-results-criminal-referrals

Privacy experts are shocked and astounded Inland Revenue had no idea it had breached the privacy of more than a quarter of a million taxpayers. Reporter Phil Pennington spoke to Guyon Espiner.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/2018962903/privacy-experts-shocked-ird-had-no-idea-it-breached-privacy

Some self-care tips for today. https://brianmcfadden.org/2024/11/01/election-anxiety-remedies/

I voted today in Alabama. This often feels like a classic Quixotic windmill-tilt and in terms of the electoral college it almost definitely is. On the other hand, what if on this one day the women of Alabama came together and ratfucked the Republican party so hard that it led to the most glorious upset of all glorious upsets? I'd like to say I was part of that.

The windmill almost never falls, but it's worth trying to topple and feels really fucking great when it does.

Personal fireworks are a lot like Jetskis. Yeah, they're moderately fun for those using them - with fun seeming to be inversely proportional to intellect... but annoying to pretty much everyone else and without any practical utility. They're just a waste of carbon budget. There. I've said it.

#ElectionDay is just around the corner! If you need a ride to the ballot box, we’ve got you covered.

This year, NAACP has partnered with
@lyft to provide discounted rides to help voters get to the polls.

Use the code NAACPVOTE24 while supplies last. #NAACPVotes

(https://x.com/naacp/status/1852028533918294294?s=42)

🔈 💼 WE’RE HIRING: The Citizen Lab is seeking a highly motivated Systems and Security Administrator. We are looking for a network administrator to manage and support the Lab’s information security needs, carrying a range of information technology-related responsibilities.

Apply by Nov 15.

https://citizenlab.ca/2024/10/job-opportunity-systems-and-security-administrator/

#JobOpportunity #TechCareers

One of my readers posted this article and I enjoyed it quite a bit:

```
They started complaining about the MIT licence! The SFJKSJFDKL MIT licence!!!

Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy of this software

The wording of “person” might not apply to a “company”?
```

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42046749

We are on ULP strike. We gave #NYTimes management months of notice of our strike deadline, we made ourselves available around the clock, but the company has decided that our members aren’t worth enough to agree to a fair contract and stop committing unfair labor practices.

#Union #Unions #Tech #Election #Election2024 #Labor #Strike #CollectiveBargaining #Contract #NewsGuild #CWA #Solidarity

There's no cure for Election Anxiety, but the symptoms can be ameliorated. https://www.gocomics.com/brian-mcfadden/2024/11/04

agx was already taken on fosstodon so with a #ruhri background I'll move my #fediverse presence to https://ruhr.social/deck/@agx . Hope to see you there.

I'll set up the account move as well in a couple of days but as that has a 30d cooling off period let's see if things work out over there.

🙏 for the service #libremone !

Luxon's government is betting the country on a scientific breakthrough to save us from climate change. Meanwhile they are full speed ahead on fossil fuel industries while cutting science budgets to the bone. Make it add up.

Can anyone point me to resources on how to report trouble -- e.g. right-wing intimidation -- at polling places?

One way this election affects me personally is that I could lose my health insurance through the ACA, which has allowed me to be self-employed all these years. For a refresher on what healthcare was like for freelancers pre-ACA, see this autobio comic from 2012. https://kffhealthnews.org/multimedia/open-letter-to-supreme-court-cartoon/

#Palestine / More than 100 BBC staff accuse broadcaster of Israel bias in Gaza coverage

The letter highlights several editorial commitments that the #BBC should implement, such as making it clear when there is insufficient evidence to back up #Israeli claims, including regular historical context predating October 2023, and robustly challenging Israeli government and military representatives in all interviews.

The BBC has denied these claims, insisting that it strives to live up to its responsibility to deliver the most trusted and impartial news. However, the signatories of the letter insist that the bias favors Israel, citing examples such as dehumanizing and misleading headlines, omissions of coverage, and a lack of emphasis on Israel's role in certain events.

[…] Other concerns raised by staff include omissions of coverage, such as the failure to live broadcast South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice on 11 January but choosing to live broadcast Israel’s defence the following day.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/bbc-israel-gaza-letter-tim-davie-bias-palestine-b2636737.html

@palestine
@israel
#IsraelWarCrimes
#IsraelOccupation

@Outpatientzero @aral yep, I'll vote Harris, and I'll celebrate when Trump loses, but pretending she is a good candidate representing good policy, or that her winning means we have a healthy democracy, nope.

As a outsider to the USA, what really affects me is going to be how the candidates view the rest of the world. The domestic situation… I’ll get onto that. But for me, a Trump presidency is a Trump-only presidency. His idea of dealing with anything is “how does it benefit me, personally?”.

His concept of dealing with treaties, trade, and just general diplomacy is “how can I extract the most value for myself?”. Like it or not, the USA leads the world, and I would rather have someone consistent (aka Harris) doing neoliberal bullshit than someone like Trump, who only seems to listen to the last person who spoke to him.

Remember that his win in 2016 took him by surprise. That was why the damage of his presidency was relatively easy to overturn, because he wasn’t all that effective. He is ready now, in 2024.

On the domestic front… Well, I am sure he will use the power at his disposal as president to push the boundaries of The State to great effect. We don’t know whether his rhetoric is speech, or whether it is a plan. Does he really want to use his powers to lock up political prisoners, crush dissent, and remove the independence of state agencies? I don’t know. But I don’t want to find out.

It is deeply unenviable to have a choice between “dismal” and “fucking awful”. Trust me, I know, we just went through that in our own recent election. Both parties, just like in the USA, are pro-Israel, pro-neoliberalism, etc. But the result is that we starved the Conservatives of power, and… Well, the Labour party are doing… Not bad. Still not good. But definitely feels better. It is much easier to criticise a party and leader that does not want to assassinate you for believing that climate change is real.

When the USA sneezes, the world gets a cold. When the USA gets a Trump, the rest of the world will be covered in shit.

The most infuriating thing though is that this post is kind of irrelevant — because the USA has such a fucked up electoral system, the only people who’s votes matter are like 50k people who live in some state that I don’t care about.

The concern here is that old search engines can give you links and you can go into them to verify the content. AI taking over our search engines hides the sources of information, forcing us to blindly trust the AI and wherever it got its information from.

#AI