And they tell us Stallman is the rude one…
Summary: Hours ago Torvalds announced RC1 of the next Linux (kernel) release; it has been a while since he last said something ‘controversial’ (following his month at the penalty box); free speech deficit can make us weaker, not stronger (advantage to those who work in the dark)
Summary: A timely example of situations where the Linux Foundation can seemingly ‘cancel’ people (using the Code of Conduct) for political opinions
IT was almost a month back that the Linux Foundation brewed its own scandal by publicly banning someone from an event, citing its controversial Code of Conduct (CoC). We wrote about this. Bryan Lunduke made the above video and then wrote the following text to accompany that:
On November 6th, The Linux Foundation made a public statement that it had banned an individual from one of their upcoming events (KubeCon) — the banning was based on that individuals public tweets (including a picture with a red “Make America Great Again” hat) and statements, unrelated to KubeCon, that were determined to violate the Linux Foundation Events Code of Conduct.
[...]
Since we are focusing, in this article, on the banning of the individual from an event — we are going to start with the initial (to my knowledge) and primary public complaint posted by Kim Crayton and directed to the organizers of the conference (KubeCon).
[...]
It is unclear if Kim Crayton plans to attend any Linux Foundation events, or what the Linux Foundations reaction might be on if these Tweets do, or do not, violate any portion of the Code of Conduct.
During all of this, The Linux Foundation made public statements about the actions it was taking (banning Wood after receiving the Tweeted complaint) but have not provided enough details or context to fully evaluate how well the Code of Conduct, or the actions based on it, functioned.
After these events, Robert Martin published an open letter to the Linux Foundation in protest of the banning of Charles Wood. Followed by an article from Cher Scarlett praising the decision to ban Wood from the event. Both have distinct viewpoints on what has transpired, but both contain significant details for those looking to gain more insight on what transpired (with additional sources and Tweets beyond the scope of this article). They are also worth reading as examples of how these events are being interpreted by differing parts of the broader Tech community — and what impact all of this is having.
As a reminder to our readers, the Linux Foundation also 'canceled' a lady who had spoken out against the Linux Foundation. This is becoming rather cult-like. A corporate cult. Looking for excuses to remove people for things they said a long time ago. █
“Software is like sex: it’s better when it’s free.”
–Linus Torvalds
Summary: Microsoft entryism in the board of the Linux Foundation seems to be yielding control over the kernel and outsourcing of LF code to Microsoft (GitHub)
Recent: The Linux Foundation’s New Vice Chair, Wim Coekaerts, Worked for Microsoft
Summary: Microsoft entryism, aided by misleading media (the whole “loves Linux” canard), has been spectacularly successful; while nobody paid attention Microsoft was put in charge of the kernel used on billions of computers
THE latest? Thankfully I’m subscribed to the RSS feeds of kernel.org.
Well, believe it or not, only a short time after Greg had said he can “vouch” for Levin (Microsoft) we turned from this (August 2019, exFAT controversy):
Into this:
Oh, hello sir… show me to your leader.
Microsoft loves (to manage) Linux. Is GNU/FSF the next target? When you can’t buy them, kill them with (fake) kindness. The Linux Foundation accepts cash or credit card. █
“We need to slaughter Novell before they get stronger….If you’re going to kill someone, there isn’t much reason to get all worked up about it and angry. You just pull the trigger. Any discussions beforehand are a waste of time. We need to smile at Novell while we pull the trigger.”
–Jim Allchin, Microsoft’s Platform Group Vice President
Torvalds this week:
Torvalds last year:
Summary: Torvalds has never been the same since returning to Linux; he knows who the real bosses are and speculations about his displeasure may be loosely affirmed by apparent health decline
ONE year ago Mr. Linux, Linus Torvalds, was pushed out of his own project or his ‘baby’ — the same thing that happened to Stallman a month ago. They made it look or seem willful, but if one examines what happened at the Linux Foundation and the FSF, respectively, then it’s clear something was amiss. Pressure led to these outcomes, not free will. They decided to ‘recuse’ themselves. We could not help but notice that almost all comments about Torvalds articles (where he shows up) are about his appearance. We mentioned this before [1, 2]. It’s very clear that it’s not just down to a “bad picture” or Torvalds being less photogenic; there’s a glaring deterioration in health, at least judging on purely visual criteria like skin, weight, hair.
“”It’s very clear that it’s not just down to a “bad picture” or Torvalds being less photogenic; there’s a glaring deterioration in health, at least judging on purely visual criteria like skin, weight, hair.The above article, for instance, has this comment: “Either that’s an extremely unflattering photo, or it looks as though Linus may perhaps have been eating a few too many over-hearty American-sized meals recently. I genuinely didn’t recognise him there, and he suddenly looks a lot older. We do all get older, unfortunately, but to ensure that we all continue to get older as gracefully and as slowly as we can, we need to look out for ourselves and keep an eye on what we eat and make sure that we get enough exercise. I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t always follow that advice as well as I should myself, but it’s meant with the best of intentions hoping that he stays healthy and happy.”
There are several more comments about this — at least 3 — and some were censored by the publisher (the author is a Microsoft propagandist). It even says: “This post has been deleted by its author” (responding to the above)
“Those things tend to relate to or correlate with general happiness (motivation to exercise, eat healthy foods, go out and so on).”It was similar in LWN. 7 out of 8 comments were purely about the appearance of Torvalds. They worried he had aged very fast. Those things tend to relate to or correlate with general happiness (motivation to exercise, eat healthy foods, go out and so on).
It’s worrying. Reminiscent of what Julian Assange’s visitors have been saying about him over the years, especially the past year (he lost 15 KG since his arrest). We don’t want to come across or ‘feel’ like Paparazzi/tabloid, but the health of important project leaders should definitely interest us; if they’re in bad shape, their projects will be too. We know who stands to benefit from that. █
Summary: Based on his track record, Alexandre Oliva would be a good pick as permanent leader for the Free Software Foundation (FSF) as he already has very strong GNU and Linux (kernel) credentials
RECENTLY, I’ve had many opportunities to chat with Alexandre Oliva, who told me “we [FSF] presently have two vice presidents, neither being a first vice president under the bylaws, so we jointly serve as acting president.”
“Being an American not from the United States, he also ‘ticks’ Red Hat’s ‘box’ for “diversity” (this seems to be what matters most to the people of IBM in the wake of Stallman’s departure).”He is one of them.
I’ve known Oliva for a long time and we wrote about him in the past, e.g. about his strong opposition to software patents and trolls. He’s very technical, he’s a longtime GNU contributor, and he truly values Software Freedom. Being an American not from the United States, he also ‘ticks’ Red Hat’s ‘box’ for “diversity” (this seems to be what matters most to the people of IBM in the wake of Stallman’s departure). Oliva, to his credit, had left Red Hat before IBM formally took over (citing concerns about proprietary software there). That shows his commitment and sacrifice.
“Perhaps Oliva can be to the FSF what Ole Gunnar Solskjær was to Manchester United last year/season.”The sincerity of Oliva (whom I sometimes call Alex) has convinced me that he would be a suitable successor for Stallman at the FSF. He may not be as ‘famous’ as Moglen or Perens, but his dedication to Software Freedom is a matter of public record and he has many years “left in him” (as the saying goes) before retirement age. In many ways he’s a lot like Techrights folks. He’s highly technical, he’s generally sceptical of corporations and he’s more patriotic or loyal to Software Freedom than to any particular nation or group. These are the qualities the FSF needs and those are exactly the things Stallman’s loudest and most notorious ousters loathe with a passion (they don’t care about the FSF; they want to nuke the whole thing!). Perhaps Oliva can be to the FSF what Ole Gunnar Solskjær was to Manchester United last year/season. Give him time to age and build his reputation. We would support him.
“As a bonus, Oliva is also a Linux developer in the sense that his main GNU project is a quasi-derivative of Linux. So he can help with Linux bridge-building…”And let’s face it; whoever runs the FSF needs very potent GNU credentials because Stallman leads the GNU project and FSF strongly depends on GNU (the software, licences and so on). As a bonus, Oliva is also a Linux developer in the sense that his main GNU project is a quasi-derivative of Linux. So he can help with Linux bridge-building (not the Linux Foundation but pertinent Linux developers, whose employer — if any — is not the Linux Foundation, at least 99% of the time). █
By Pedro Fco. (maslinux.es)
This is a Spanish translation of: Software Freedom Eroding in Linux and Nobody Seems to Care or Oppose This and mirrored over at El Kernel de Linux está introduciendo Open Source Privative Software (Artículo de opinión de Roy Schestowitz)
Summary: Linux, el kernel, continúa su trayectoria o el camino hacia convertirse en software propietario de código abierto (OSPS).
La importancia de la Libertad del Software será entendida más y más (o mejor) con el tiempo. He aquí un nuevo ejemplo de las noticias. Cuando la gente no controla el software, es el software el que los controla a ellos – un punto que Richard Stallman ha estado enfatizando durante décadas.
El jefe de la Fundación Linux y el único editor de Linux.com son usuarios de Mac (este último alardeó ayer de sus múltiples “Macs”), así que no esperes que se preocupen por la Libertad de Software. No lo hacen. No hemos estado hablando mucho (o con frecuencia) sobre ellos últimamente porque son una causa perdida. Nos rendimos. Se apoyan en historias antiestallmánicas. Linux.com se siente como un sitio de Openwashing y Microsoft (nuevos ejemplos a tal efecto).
Mientras tanto, se ha puesto de manifiesto, una vez más, que AMD sigue adelante con la DRM. Como dijo Michael Larabel:
“Soporte inicial de HDCP. Sí, protección de contenido digital de alto ancho de banda. Este soporte para HDCP Linux en el lado de Radeon viene para Raven Ridge y más nuevo. Como se explica en el artículo anterior, es probable que se deba a que los APUs de AMD están llegando a más Chromebooks y, por lo tanto, todo puede ser visto como algo bueno. Para aquellos que no desean soporte para HDCP, la implementación de AMDGPU DC permite desactivarlo como una opción de Kconfig“.
“Más cambios en la AMDGPU para Linux 5.5 seguirán en las próximas semanas“, añadió Larabel. “El ciclo Linux 5.5 comenzará formalmente a finales de noviembre y se estabilizará a principios de 2020. La lista de cambios para esta AMDGPU DRM-Next-5.5 pull inicial a través de esta lista de correo.”
Ese segundo DRM no es el mismo DRM (sólo el mismo acrónimo) y no es algo a lo que se opondría ni siquiera Stallman. Lo preocupante, sin embargo, es que se ha vuelto ‘normal’ lanzar DRM de restricción de usuarios a GNU/Linux (usando palabras/términos técnicos como “HDCP”), la pieza más famosa y conocida del software libre. A los responsables de la Fundación Linux no les importa (ni siquiera usan GNU/Linux) o no se atreven a decir nada – viendo lo que les pasa a los que sí lo hacen.
La gente habla mucho sobre la situación de Stallman en este momento (una segunda ola de llamadas para eliminarlo de GNU) aunque pocos conectan lo que se le está haciendo a Stallman con lo que le pasó a Torvalds hace un año. Se está incitando a la gente contra los que hacen lo correcto. █
Summary: The non-Linux-using Linux Foundation and how it views the Linux project
Dr. Roy Schestowitz
Guest Editorial Team
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