●● IRC: #techbytes @ Techrights IRC Network: Sunday, March 05, 2023 ●● ● Mar 05 [01:22] schestowitz[TR] > I'm sorry not to get back to you sooner but xxxxxx told us that we [01:22] schestowitz[TR] > weren't allowed to contact you, but now he's left I guess its okay! [01:22] schestowitz[TR] I thought he had done this. He did the same to me. Cannot speak to anybody. Isolating me. [01:22] schestowitz[TR] > I haven't dared look at the pensions! Could you tell me what the pension [01:22] schestowitz[TR] > provider said? Was it Now Pensions? [01:22] schestowitz[TR] Nobody can find the pension the workers had until 2016. Even people who left the company years ago are told by Standard Life that the account isn't there and they refuse to say anything else. It's therefore suspected the current pension can't be trusted to be there either. People affected by this are still investigating. [01:22] schestowitz[TR] > Roy's blog has made me laugh when he talks about Mr Kink instead of Mr [01:22] schestowitz[TR] > xxxxx! I laughed at some of the memes too :) [01:22] schestowitz[TR] Thanks to you we know the nature of his relationship. [01:22] schestowitz[TR] > Can you tell me why you've both left now? You couldn't tell me before [01:22] schestowitz[TR] > and all we were told by xxxxx is that you have left! [01:22] schestowitz[TR] I was being picked on, accused of something I didn't do and did not even know about. So I resigned. [01:22] schestowitz[TR] > Now xxxxxx is gone, xxxx is the only CEO and has been working double [01:22] schestowitz[TR] > shifts as there is no-one else. However a new guy has just been employed. [01:22] schestowitz[TR] Maybe he doesn't know what's really happening and will find out over time. [01:22] schestowitz[TR] > Because you two left, we haven't been able to take any holiday, so as [01:22] schestowitz[TR] > this new guy has just started I have taken 5 days and am currently in [01:22] schestowitz[TR] > xxxx in xxx staying with an old friend for ten days which is [01:22] schestowitz[TR] > great. Tomorrow we go to xxxxx for the day. [01:22] schestowitz[TR] Sounds great! [01:22] schestowitz[TR] > What are you both going to do for work now? [01:22] schestowitz[TR] I had a job interview this past Thursday. Fingers crossed. [01:22] schestowitz[TR] > Hope all is well with you both! [01:22] schestowitz[TR] And you as well. [01:27] schestowitz[TR] Re: Article on MS as a "religious" debacle [01:27] schestowitz[TR] > Greetings chaps, [01:27] schestowitz[TR] > [01:27] schestowitz[TR] > I would greatly appreciate your thoughts on the following with regard [01:27] schestowitz[TR] > to clarity and message. It concerns recent remarks on the Internet [01:27] schestowitz[TR] > on "religious choice" and technology. [01:27] schestowitz[TR] > [01:27] schestowitz[TR] > [01:27] schestowitz[TR] > Roy, would you care to publish this once I am happy with it? [01:27] schestowitz[TR] I would love to! [01:27] schestowitz[TR] I heard the same many times before over the years and we wrote some articles to that effect, so it strikes a chord. [01:27] schestowitz[TR] Going to read now... [01:38] schestowitz[TR] Note: I've not _yet_ read but intend to read the article shorNote: I've not _yet_ read but intend to read the article shortly. [01:38] schestowitz[TR] > I wouldn't like to disqualify the use of religious beliefs as a means to [01:38] schestowitz[TR] > support free software, or even to defend one's our freedoms. [01:38] schestowitz[TR] I beg to differ. For a long time Free software was characterised as religious dogma; as if wanting to share something that does not cost money to replicate is akin to superstition. In 2020, after Red Hat (then IBM) had participated behind the scenes in a campaign of defamation against the Free software _community_ (the real one) I researched IBM's past to highlight hypocrisy: anything from misogyny to racism. I reckoned that in year [01:38] schestowitz[TR] s to come they'd try to weaponise "isms" against people not controlled by corporations and/or CoCs. And I was right. Then they contacted me, trying to get me not to talk about their past. [01:38] schestowitz[TR] But the point is, if people accuse X of being a "religious", one way to respond is projection. Then they desist. [01:38] schestowitz[TR] I later made a whole wiki page for it: [01:38] schestowitz[TR] http://techrights.org/wiki/IBM [01:38] schestowitz[TR] > I mean, faith pretty much by definition involves made-up beliefs, [01:38] schestowitz[TR] > whether or not they have a root of truth, or an ethical/moral [01:38] schestowitz[TR] > underpinning. [01:38] schestowitz[TR] > [01:38] schestowitz[TR] > As much as I trust the scientific method better than religious beliefs, [01:38] schestowitz[TR] > the Brazilian constitution, for one, equates the protections to [01:38] schestowitz[TR] > religious and philosophical beliefs, and my perception is somewhat [01:38] schestowitz[TR] > colored by it, as I find there's a lot of sense behind it: if you dig [01:38] schestowitz[TR] > deep enough, even the most scientific belief will likely run into [01:38] schestowitz[TR] > premises taken for granted that are hardly indistinguishable from [01:38] schestowitz[TR] > enlightened, questionable religious beliefs. So trying to draw a line [01:38] schestowitz[TR] > between them on these grounds risks coming across as elitist. [01:38] schestowitz[TR] > [01:38] schestowitz[TR] > [01:38] schestowitz[TR] > I mean, we do have our parody religion, and though it's for fun, I [01:38] schestowitz[TR] > wouldn't mind at all using it to advance our cause, and I would have [01:38] schestowitz[TR] > named the Church of Emacs as my religious belief had I been given the [01:38] schestowitz[TR] > longer questoinnaire in the ongoing census in Brazil. [01:38] schestowitz[TR] > [01:38] schestowitz[TR] > [01:38] schestowitz[TR] > Furthermore, someone's inability to successfully articulate [01:38] schestowitz[TR] > philosophical, scientific arguments for e.g. an intuition that leads to [01:38] schestowitz[TR] > self-consistent, self-preserving, self-respecting behavior might as well [01:38] schestowitz[TR] > be [md]isqualified as religious fanaticism, and in our case it often is, [01:38] schestowitz[TR] > but should it? I don't think so. [01:38] schestowitz[TR] > [01:38] schestowitz[TR] > OTOH, inasmuch as such fallacies are used against our cause, attempting [01:38] schestowitz[TR] > to disqualify our philosophical foundations as religious whims, we might [01:38] schestowitz[TR] > as well respond by using the labels stapled on us, fairly or not, to [01:38] schestowitz[TR] > advance our cause. [01:38] schestowitz[TR] > [01:38] schestowitz[TR] > ---- [01:38] schestowitz[TR] > [01:38] schestowitz[TR] > Now, reading your article without knowing the news that prompted it (I [01:38] schestowitz[TR] > read the link at the bottom only after going through the whole piece), [01:38] schestowitz[TR] > it appeared to me that someone was claiming religious alignment to [01:38] schestowitz[TR] > insist on using Microsoft software, rather than the other way round, or [01:38] schestowitz[TR] > even that the company insisted on using Microsoft software on religious [01:38] schestowitz[TR] > grounds. Those sounded awfully implausible to me. But the confusion [01:38] schestowitz[TR] > started at the title, and remained distracting throughout. [01:38] schestowitz[TR] Titles are important. As long as they don't mislead or tell a lie (eye-catching for the sake of traffic, at the expense of truth itself) I think it's fair play.tly. [01:38] schestowitz[TR] > I wouldn't like to disqualify the use of religious beliefs as a means to [01:38] schestowitz[TR] > support free software, or even to defend one's our freedoms. [01:38] schestowitz[TR] I beg to differ. For a long time Free software was characterised as religious dogma; as if wanting to share something that does not cost money to replicate is akin to superstition. In 2020, after Red Hat (then IBM) had participated behind the scenes in a campaign of defamation against the Free software _community_ (the real one) I researched IBM's past to highlight hypocrisy: anything from misogyny to racism. I reckoned that in year [01:38] schestowitz[TR] s to come they'd try to weaponise "isms" against people not controlled by corporations and/or CoCs. And I was right. Then they contacted me, trying to get me not to talk about their past. [01:38] schestowitz[TR] But the point is, if people accuse X of being a "religious", one way to respond is projection. Then they desist. [01:38] schestowitz[TR] I later made a whole wiki page for it: [01:38] schestowitz[TR] http://techrights.org/wiki/IBM [01:38] schestowitz[TR] > I mean, faith pretty much by definition involves made-up beliefs, [01:38] schestowitz[TR] > whether or not they have a root of truth, or an ethical/moral [01:38] schestowitz[TR] > underpinning. [01:38] schestowitz[TR] > [01:38] schestowitz[TR] > As much as I trust the scientific method better than religious beliefs, [01:38] schestowitz[TR] > the Brazilian constitution, for one, equates the protections to [01:38] schestowitz[TR] > religious and philosophical beliefs, and my perception is somewhat [01:38] schestowitz[TR] > colored by it, as I find there's a lot of sense behind it: if you dig [01:38] schestowitz[TR] > deep enough, even the most scientific belief will likely run into [01:38] schestowitz[TR] > premises taken for granted that are hardly indistinguishable from [01:38] schestowitz[TR] > enlightened, questionable religious beliefs. So trying to draw a line [01:38] schestowitz[TR] > between them on these grounds risks coming across as elitist. [01:38] schestowitz[TR] > [01:38] schestowitz[TR] > [01:38] schestowitz[TR] > I mean, we do have our parody religion, and though it's for fun, I [01:38] schestowitz[TR] > wouldn't mind at all using it to advance our cause, and I would have [01:38] schestowitz[TR] > named the Church of Emacs as my religious belief had I been given the [01:38] schestowitz[TR] > longer questoinnaire in the ongoing census in Brazil. [01:38] schestowitz[TR] > [01:38] schestowitz[TR] > [01:38] schestowitz[TR] > Furthermore, someone's inability to successfully articulate [01:38] schestowitz[TR] > philosophical, scientific arguments for e.g. an intuition that leads to [01:38] schestowitz[TR] > self-consistent, self-preserving, self-respecting behavior might as well [01:38] schestowitz[TR] > be [md]isqualified as religious fanaticism, and in our case it often is, [01:38] schestowitz[TR] > but should it? I don't think so. [01:38] schestowitz[TR] > [01:38] schestowitz[TR] > OTOH, inasmuch as such fallacies are used against our cause, attempting [01:38] schestowitz[TR] > to disqualify our philosophical foundations as religious whims, we might [01:38] schestowitz[TR] > as well respond by using the labels stapled on us, fairly or not, to [01:38] schestowitz[TR] > advance our cause. [01:38] schestowitz[TR] > [01:38] schestowitz[TR] > ---- [01:38] schestowitz[TR] > [01:38] schestowitz[TR] > Now, reading your article without knowing the news that prompted it (I [01:38] schestowitz[TR] > read the link at the bottom only after going through the whole piece), [01:38] schestowitz[TR] > it appeared to me that someone was claiming religious alignment to [01:38] schestowitz[TR] > insist on using Microsoft software, rather than the other way round, or [01:38] schestowitz[TR] > even that the company insisted on using Microsoft software on religious [01:38] schestowitz[TR] > grounds. Those sounded awfully implausible to me. But the confusion [01:38] schestowitz[TR] > started at the title, and remained distracting throughout. [01:38] schestowitz[TR] Titles are important. As long as they don't mislead or tell a lie (eye-catching for the sake of traffic, at the expense of truth itself) I think it's fair play. [01:38] -TechBytesBot/#techbytes-techrights.org | IBM - Techrights [01:40] -TechBytesBot/#techbytes-techrights.org | IBM - Techrights [01:46] schestowitz[TR] >> WIPO is WIPING domains. [01:46] schestowitz[TR] >> See [01:46] schestowitz[TR] >> http://techrights.org/wiki/WIPO [01:46] schestowitz[TR] >> http://techrights.org/wiki/Francis_Gurry [01:46] schestowitz[TR] > It could be a good idea to blog an annual anti-report or something about [01:46] schestowitz[TR] > this practice, e.g. domains censored in 2022, with stats for each [01:46] schestowitz[TR] > mediation service. [01:46] schestowitz[TR] That would be a lot of work. If someone's willing to do it... [01:46] schestowitz[TR] >> Combining feeds is hard in WordPress, we hope to get off of WordPress [01:46] schestowitz[TR] >> eventually, but there is: [01:46] schestowitz[TR] >> http://techrights.org/category/intellectual-property/ [01:46] schestowitz[TR] > Is that the best one to use? I updated the config to this, commenting [01:46] schestowitz[TR] > out patents as I can only follow one URL: [01:46] schestowitz[TR] > [01:46] schestowitz[TR] > #[http://techrights.org/category/patents/feed/] [01:46] schestowitz[TR] > [http://techrights.org/category/intellectual-property/feed/] [01:46] schestowitz[TR] > name = Techrights [01:46] schestowitz[TR] The latter category is barely used. Better to use "patents". [01:46] schestowitz[TR] >> i think making the categories more hierarchical can help, but I don't [01:46] schestowitz[TR] >> want to invest any more in WordPress. The "ecosystem" of WordPress is [01:46] schestowitz[TR] >> unsafe and bloated. [01:46] schestowitz[TR] > Have you looked at Jekyll? I use it for a few projects. None of these [01:46] schestowitz[TR] > platforms is perfect. Jekyll requires some template-tweaking to force [01:46] schestowitz[TR] > it to be multilingual, for example, but it is flexible enough that such [01:46] schestowitz[TR] > things can be done. [01:46] schestowitz[TR] We try to build our own, but it's simple at this stage. [01:46] schestowitz[TR] > I could do something on my side to aggregate multiple sources from the [01:46] schestowitz[TR] > same domain or simply list them as multiple entries in the config. I [01:46] schestowitz[TR] > think that planet-venus will do some deduplication on my side too. [01:46] schestowitz[TR] That would be good. [01:46] schestowitz[TR] > I don't have Rianne's key so I can't CC her. Can you please ask her to [01:46] schestowitz[TR] > upload her public key in a keyserver, website or send by email? [01:46] schestowitz[TR] I'll tell her. [01:46] -TechBytesBot/#techbytes-techrights.org | WIPO - Techrights [01:46] -TechBytesBot/#techbytes-techrights.org | Francis Gurry - Techrights [01:46] -TechBytesBot/#techbytes-techrights.org | Intellectual Monopoly | Techrights [01:53] schestowitz[TR] When it comes to morality, IBM hasn't a leg to stand on, but it relies on collective amnesia. On another note, RMS did a session with Brazilians about a year ago. Overpopulation came up.Yes, with Catholics, so RMS with his views on overpopulation (which I share by the way) raised a stink and then they started talking about your daughter to make some point. It's the same when talking about religion. ● Mar 05 [02:06] schestowitz[TR] Notes on article: [02:06] schestowitz[TR] - headline akin to Richard Dawkins on children's religion at birth. [02:06] schestowitz[TR] - Reddit is a propaganda site censored by the likes of Microsoft and moderated to distort public perception. [02:06] schestowitz[TR] - Reddit gravitates towards making GNU/Linux look bad (it's how management there wants it) and should be treated accordingly. Techrights covered this many times. [02:06] schestowitz[TR] - Reddit should not shape our thinking or debate. This was also true over a decade ago. [02:06] schestowitz[TR] - re "that "security" has become its own religion in our times and should values clash it will most surely prevail." What we have is a parallel world of Fake Security, which includes back doors for states, and even worse anti-features. Then there's the worship of brands, basing the trust on brands rather than science (like how good a cipher is). [02:06] schestowitz[TR] - 'sadly' I did not find any typos [02:06] schestowitz[TR] - I enjoyed the article very much [02:06] schestowitz[TR] - do you want some refs regarding Reddit (for your personal needs, not article)? [02:06] schestowitz[TR] - re "To fire an employee for refusing to use a product on sincere moral grounds is reprehensible" - yes, see Sirius (the CEO has left, I learned last night!) http://techrights.org/wiki/index.php?title=Sirius_Open_Source&diff=17169&oldid=17166 [02:07] -TechBytesBot/#techbytes-techrights.org | Sirius Open Source - Techrights ● Mar 05 [03:01] *XFaCE has quit (Ping timeout: 2m30s) [03:06] *XFaCE (~XFaCE@uzfeivw9fp6ba.irc) has joined #techbytes ● Mar 05 [05:01] *Now talking on #techbytes [05:01] *Topic for #techbytes is: Welcome to the official channel of the TechBytes Audiocast [05:01] *Topic for #techbytes set by schestowitz!~roy@haii6za73zabc.irc at Tue Jun 1 20:21:34 2021 [05:01] *Now talking on #techbytes ● Mar 05 [10:05] *u-amarsh04 has quit (Quit: Konversation terminated!) [10:15] *u-amarsh04 (~amarsh04@nqkitbgnqjad4.irc) has joined #techbytes ● Mar 05 [12:03] *psydroid2 (~psydroid@cbcfptirpkfqa.irc) has joined #techbytes ● Mar 05 [13:11] schestowitz[TR] x https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/microsoft-co-founder-bill-gates-praises-indias-progress-in-various-sectors/article66579255.ece [13:11] schestowitz[TR] # bill sez [13:11] -TechBytesBot/#techbytes-www.thehindu.com | Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates praises India's progress in various sectors - The Hindu [13:12] schestowitz[TR] x https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/bill-gates-after-meet-with-pm-narendra-modi-more-optimistic-than-ever-about-india-3833659 [13:12] schestowitz[TR] # modi kissing up to bill [13:12] -TechBytesBot/#techbytes-www.ndtv.com | Bill Gates "More Optimistic Than Ever" About India After Meet With PM Modi [13:32] schestowitz[TR]
  • [13:32] schestowitz[TR]
    Not worthy of a democracy: Behind Indias slide on press freedom
    [13:32] schestowitz[TR]
    [13:32] schestowitz[TR]

    India does not have a spotless history of free speech, but experts say the journalism industry has never before faced such serious pressures on so many different fronts, including Mr. Modis populist leadership style, market consolidation, self-censorship, and weak legal protections for journalists.

    [13:32] schestowitz[TR]

    The result is India has fallen to the 150th rank out of 180 countries on the 2022 World Press Freedom Index and is described as one of the worlds most dangerous countries for the media in the accompanying report.

    [13:32] schestowitz[TR]
    [13:32] schestowitz[TR]
    • [13:32] schestowitz[TR] [13:32] -TechBytesBot/#techbytes-From censorship to tax raids, India's free press faces growing threats - CSMonitor.com [13:34] schestowitz[TR]
  • [13:34] schestowitz[TR]
    How will the US counter cyber threats? Our experts mark up the National Cybersecurity Strategy.
    [13:34] schestowitz[TR]
    [13:34] schestowitz[TR]

    On March 2, the Biden administration released its 2023 National Cybersecurity Strategy, an attempt to chart a course through the stormy waters of cyberspace, where the private sector, peer-competitor states, and nonstate actors navigate around and with each other in ways growing more complexand dangerousby the day. The Atlantic Councils Cyber Statecraft Initiative (CSI), which is h [13:34] schestowitz[TR] oused within the Digital Forensic Research Lab, gathered a group of experts from government and private-sector cyber backgrounds to dive into the document and leave their comments to help decipher what the administration is really saying.

    [13:34] schestowitz[TR]
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    • [13:34] schestowitz[TR] [13:34] -TechBytesBot/#techbytes-www.atlanticcouncil.org | How will the US counter cyber threats? Our experts mark up the National Cybersecurity Strategy - Atlantic Council ● Mar 05 [14:29] schestowitz[TR] "Request for Review (RfR) challenging the lack of reimbursement of the Lunch Time Supervision costs at the European School the Hague (ESH) [14:29] schestowitz[TR] Dear SUEPO members, dear colleagues, [14:29] schestowitz[TR] With regards to the Education and Childcare Reform, it is time for some of you to file yet another Request for Review (RfR) challenging the lack of reimbursement of the Lunch Time Supervision costs at the European School the Hague (ESH). Parents concerned have received an invoice from ESH for this specific cost, requested already the reimbursement to the Office and received a negative reply to their request." ● Mar 05 [15:40] *scornproof has quit (Ping timeout: 120 seconds) ● Mar 05 [21:08] *psydroid2 has quit (connection closed)