Old Fucking Punk @lwriemen@librem.one

Although....now that I think about it some more, this will probably be used, perversely, as an excuse to encourage even more second homes and vacation rentals, since they'll be a more lucrative tax-base than the locals. 🤔

There is no "genius", only learning to love learning and doing, and having access to do so. The problem is that we teach children to loathe education and self-embetterment in all sorts of ways. And for adults, few are given opportunities or encouragement to be able to explore thoughtfully and contribute. Few people can grow into themselves.

We don't teach people to "learn to learn" enough, or to feel that they can love learning, or to give people a chance to *do things*.

I have been a rather large critic of this man and his politics in the past, and I still am, but even a stopped clock is right twice a day, and this is one of those times.

"A property tax relief measure touted by Gov. Greg Gianforte as his signature response to widespread public angst over rising residential tax bills would lower taxes on primary residences by raising them on second homes and Airbnb-style short-term vacation rentals."
https://montanafreepress.org/2025/01/22/gianforte-backed-property-tax-relief-measure-homeowner-relief-raising-taxes-second-homes-airbnbs/

Revealed: #Microsoft deepened ties with Israeli military to provide tech support during #Gaza war - https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jan/23/israeli-military-gaza-war-microsoft well, course, money, innit?

Big oil spent $445m in last election cycle to influence #Trump and Congress, report says - https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jan/23/big-oil-445m-trump-congress "Investments ‘likely to pay dividends’, analysis says, as Trump unleashes dozens of pro-fossil fuel executive actions" #dirtyoil

Big Journalism is undergoing a moral and ethical collapse. Money and cowardice are in charge. https://washingtonmonthly.com/2025/01/23/three-disturbing-signs-of-fourth-estate-failure/

US Coast Guard and Florida start using Gulf of America for Gulf of Mexico - https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jan/22/gulf-america-florida-coast-guard this is utterly childish; rest of the world should ignore

#Trump executive orders threaten #healthcare of millions of Americans - https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jan/22/trump-executive-orders-healthcare those face-eating leopards are a-coming...

European Commission Fined For Violating Its Own Data Protection Rules; Also Found To Have Used Privacy-Violating Ads - https://www.techdirt.com/2025/01/22/european-commission-fined-for-violating-its-own-data-protection-rules-also-found-to-have-used-privacy-violating-ads/ bad @EUCommission #gdpr

#CreativeCommons Launches its 2025-2028 Strategic Plan - https://creativecommons.org/2025/01/22/cc-launches-its-2025-2028-strategic-plan/ "ensuring a strong and resilient open infrastructure of sharing, and enabling a healthy and thriving creative commons powered by reciprocity and community in the public interest." #cc

We're hiring a software engineer in my team at the Wikimedia Foundation!

We work on wikitext support for Mediawiki & associated services for the Wikimedia projects, and it's a great team to be in :)

Oh, and it's a full remote (many countries) position.

https://grnh.se/4b15b3581us

#Wikimedia #hiring

I just unsubscribed from #TheContrarian (https://contrarian.substack.com/), #JenniferRubin and #NormEisen's new anti-Trump endeavor, after subscribing the day it launched.
I gave it long enough to be certain that it's neoliberal garbage through and through. Just a bunch of status-quoniks who aspire for things to be how they were before Trump. As if that will solve anything. Clueless idiots, the lot of them. Or maybe just clickbait grifters. (Why not both?)
#journalism #neoliberalism

Someone sent me a nice online "greeting card" and now I'm being relentlessly spammed by the company that provides the cards. Trying to unsubscribe but I'm not sure it's working...

Trump and his cult don't really know how to deal with demonstrations of courage in defiance of their malicious ways. Example:

https://newrepublic.com/post/190529/donald-trump-bishop-prayer-midnight-rant

We're hiring a Senior Software Engineer on the @securedrop team at @freedomofpress.

SecureDrop is open source whistleblowing software. The project is at a critical inflection point as we get ready to build the next-gen version based on a modern cryptographic protocol.

100% remote, full-time, $110-$120K base salary with comprehensive benefits for US-based employees. (If you're not in the US, we can discuss consultancy models.)

Hmu for questions.

https://grnh.se/813b998c5us

#GetFediHired

Repurposing old government information posters for my own ends.

So you suddenly feel the need to "do something" about the fascism?

Step 1: Shut the fuck up. Don't get specific or even "vaguepost-y" / overly suggestive about your intention to do anything.

Step 2: Learn about security culture because you're more effective if you don't go to prison, and you need to not get caught before you do your thing.

An ordered reading list:

"What is Security Culture? A Guide to Staying Safe"
A short basic introduction to the topics of security culture. This is a good primer for all subsequent discussions.
https://www.sproutdistro.com/catalog/zines/security/what-is-security-culture-a-guide-to-staying-safe/

"Confidence. Courage. Connection. Trust."
The best current text on security culture, one that takes an approach that tries to balance openness against much of security's paranoia.
https://www.sproutdistro.com/catalog/zines/security/confidence-courage/

"Mobile Phone Security."
One of the fastest ways to get caught is with the snitch in your pocket. Learn how to be safe with your phone and why these steps are important.
https://opsec.riotmedicine.net/downloads#mobile-phone-security

"Why Misogynists Make Great Informants"
Like the title says, people's shitty behavior is indicative that you shouldn't organize with them. A large number of snitches, informants, and infiltrators are misogynistic or otherwise problematic. Don't ignore it!
https://www.sproutdistro.com/catalog/zines/security/misogynists-make-great-informants/

"Threat Modeling Fundamentals"
You need to be able to reason about threats you face and do more than just wear a mask. How/what you do requires concert though, and this is a guide on how to do that reasoning.
https://opsec.riotmedicine.net/downloads#threat-modeling-fundamentals

"PRISMA: Primer on Radical Information for Secure Militant Actions"
You want to do some shit? You want a specific guide on how you might do that shit? Read no further.
https://ntpfiles.noblogs.org/prisma-primer-on-radical-information-for-secure-militant-actions/

Want to read even more? Download (yes download) PDFs and get ready to get spicy.

https://www.sproutdistro.com/catalog/zines/security/

https://www.notrace.how/resources/

May your winter days be filled with good books.

Remember, Donald Trump desperately wants to be in the news every single day. Every single day, there are going to be news stories about what terrible thing he just did or said. These things are meant to provoke outrage, and they will. The media delivers the message; they are his puppet. Clicks -> ads -> money.

Go for a walk. Build something. Call a friend. Volunteer. Spend time with people you actually like. Support local entertainment.

Avoid doomscrolling.

#uspol

having succeeded in purchasing positions of influence inside the White House, the billionaires and tech VCs have now set their sights back on Wikipedia