Bonum Certa Men Certa

Pretending Charlatans and Corporate Imposters

posted by Roy Schestowitz on Oct 20, 2023

Enjoy your croissant and "stock market"

Breakfast With Market Data: Cup of tea and a croissant on a plate on newspaper with market data

THERE is no "simple" or "polite" way to put it. Yesterday we wrote about the GNOME Foundation bringing in as a leader a person who, according to herself, is an "energy healer" ("One-on-one sessions for personal energy clearing and healing"). "One of the largest Linux organisations is now being ran [sic] by someone who believes in magic," someone explained. I cannot disagree*, but I try not to get baited into allegations of "sexism" (it can be spun or framed that way).

How did we, the programmers or coders of the world, let ourselves be oppressed by ruthless businesspeople via marketing charlatans like Jim Zemlin, who cannot even code but try to overcompensate with buzzword name-dropping?

That really needs to 1) be debated openly and 2) change. Remember that the former Red Hat CEO is now shilling Microsoft .NET. He's not a geek, he only pretends to be one, and the late 'Roblimo' (who knew him in person) told me the same many years ago. He's just a sleek businessman. █

_______
* The GNOME Foundation's chief is a person whose homepage is an animal's skull (typically satanic rituals), offering to "create rituals and ceremonies to bring the sacred into people’s lives." (Like Marina Abramović)

Holly Million

Probably the work of nepotism or despotism:

My name is Holly Million, and I am a professional shaman, an artist, an herbal medicine maker, and a micro-homesteader. My greatest joy comes from helping people to free themselves and bring their gifts forward for the healing of people and the planet. I have made tremendous progress in my own healing, and more healing is possible. It’s all possible — and without being boxed up and pathologized. Mind, body, and spiritual wellness is a spectrum of function versus dysfunction. We are all healing. And we all can heal. The tools are there. Our brains are neuroplastic. They can heal. We can grow new neural networks. We can change our biochemistry. Life becomes wonderful after being hell. Everything changes. For me, my own high achievement and public persona wallpapered over the tremendous emptiness and suffering inside. I suffered from an undiagnosed auditory processing disorder, PTSD, and a borderline personality — so much shame, self-loathing, and suicidal impulses. So much pain. And I healed myself. Yes, I claim the credit. Many came who helped me along the way. But it was that strong, indomitable, inner spark of motivation to heal that made this possible. I am here as a model of what is possible. And I am here to provide a blueprint, roadmap, and motivation to others ready to start or now within their healing journey. I can say, it’s hard now, but there is a way to heal, repair, and reprogram yourself. You have all the power. Eight years ago, I realized the best word to describe me must be “shaman.” A shaman is a bridge between the material and spiritual worlds, between the seen and unseen worlds. I am now a professional shaman. I am a translator of the esoteric to the personal. I am a bridge between what is mystical and what is practical. I make the shamanic arts relatable and useful for the average person. I serve as a guide and sacred mirror and creator of sacred space to help people transform and transcend the fear and trauma in their lives, releasing what no longer serves, to make space for Beauty, Order, and Love to enter. I am now the Shaman Artist. I want to help others experience their own joy and freedom and to unite with their higher purpose and what brings them happiness and fulfillment. We need all of these gifts to be expressed in this world. You are needed! Here are just some of the things I do: I do energy healing work on behalf of individuals, land, houses, and businesses. I can do this work remotely because everything is connected. We live in a quantum universe. My clients for personal and land clearing are located all over the country. I help people overcome trauma and fear. I have worked successfully with individuals who suffered from recurring nightmares and chronic pain that were resolved through our work together. I create rituals and ceremonies to bring the sacred into people’s lives. I work with children who are sensitives, helping them to learn how to deal with their abilities so they feel empowered and not frightened. I enjoy working with teenagers who are ready to grow and connect with their own power. I train emerging shamans and those who want to bring shamanic techniques into their daily lives for pleasure and empowerment. I am also a practicing herbal medicine maker and love to integrate healing herbs with my shamanic work. I am converting my property in Oakland, CA into a working micro-homestead and herbal farm — Holly Wholly Farm and Sanctuary. The property grows sacred and healing herbs used for shamanic tools and herbal medicine. My products are estate-grown, organic, healing, and spiritual herbs. I sell hand-crafted, homegrown herbal products of my own design. This place is my joy! I am the founder of the Shamanic Arts Institute (SAI), which provides information, training, conferences, and workshops on shamanic topics. SAI offers three levels of a shamanic apprentice program each leading to a certificate. See the Shamanic Arts Institute page on this site for more details. I am planning to write a series of books, two of which are now works in progress. You can find more details on the Books page of this website. Thank you so much for visiting my website! I hope to work with you soon.

Other Recent Techrights' Posts

Slop is "just a hobby, won't be big and professional like GNU."
What Torvalds says about "hey hi" ("AI") does not prove he is in charge
 
Gemini Links 18/10/2026: Hobbies, RAM Prices, and Avoiding GAFAM
Links for the day
Intercontinental Brigading - Part VII - Weekend Abuse Reported to British Police (Rogue Actors Take No Breaks)
Some time in the next few days I'll share an elaborate report
Gemini Links 18/10/2026: Hospitals, Literature, Fixed IP Addresses, and Sunday Types
Links for the day
Links 18/10/2026: Brazil Reduces Deforestation, Some 4-5 Gray's Inn Square Scandals in Insolvency Petition of Reform UK
Links for the day
UbuntuBuzz is LLM Slop
Tragic
"Assisted by NSA" and "It's Just a Tool" (So Fine!)
Free software is meant to be produced by people who value and pursue Software Freedom
Gemini Links 18/10/2026: Movies, Greenland, and Detectors of Slop Plagiarism
Links for the day
Links 18/10/2026: TikTok Censors Criticism of MElon, "Trump’s Latest Attempt to Be the King", and "Big Tech Oligarchs Have a Terrible Plan for Humanity"
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, October 17, 2026
IRC logs for Saturday, October 17, 2026
Gemini Links 17/10/2026: Big Glowing Advertising Screens, Busy October, and Art
Links for the day
The First Casualty: The Reputation of Linux Developers (and of Linux)
The last thing you can take from a person is pride
Links 17/10/2026: Europe Divorcing US President Putin (Kompromat), MElon and Kapo-berg ("Meta") Buying US Elections Again
Links for the day
GAFAM LLMs Seem to be Causing Veteran, Experienced Linux Developers to Quit, Only to be Replaced With GAFAM Bots and Unaudited Slopfest 'Code'
Better than 'pulling a SCO'?
30 Years of KDE and "Project Banana"
KDE recently turned 30 (many blog posts about it this past week)
Intercontinental Brigading - Part VI - Racism Against Blacks
Systems don't always work as intended
Inevitable Things
"Bitbucket was Inevitable"
Andy's Passing Thoughts on Media Dying, Not Reporting News (Even Critical News About Itself)
No more news
Stallman Was Right About Torvalds
The crowd/audience Linus Torvalds panders to is paid by GAFAM to go attend and dominate (speak at) LF events. They're people whose employer forces them to use slop, it's inorganic.
Links 17/10/2026: "Why Math Dumped OpenAI", US Third Circuit Has Confirmed LLMs and Other Slop Constitute Plagiarism or Copyright Infringement
Links for the day
GPL Was Right (About Hoarding, Now Automated With Plagiarism Blenders)
Some time next year the UK's High Court might listen to arguments related to this
Microsoft Allegedly Asks Many Workers to Leave at the End of This Year (or Get the Boot), It's Called Voluntary Exit Program a.k.a. Voluntary Early Retirement Program (or VEP) Even for People Far Too Young to Retire
"Everyone at Microsoft knows what those acronyms mean."
The Torvalds-led Slopfest as a Reminder to Pursue Software Freedom, Not Plagiarism Endorsed (for Money) by 'Linux' Foundation
What's happening this month moreover proves that he is not in control of important decisions in his project
Why We Never Got Back to IPFS
Practically speaking, we could get back to IPFS any time
Trillions of Dollars in Debt Are Not "Investment", More People Realise This Now
"Investors started offloading shares on Wednesday in response to an X post about the debt load of CoreWeave Inc..."
Red Hat Silent Layoffs: October 1 Bluewashing, Then Leaving IBM Altogether
It's said that weeks from now there will be another "round" (of "RAs")
Gemini Links 16/10/2026: Metrovision, Smartwatches, and Rekindled Love for Geminispace
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, October 16, 2026
IRC logs for Friday, October 16, 2026
Intercontinental Brigading - Part V - Keeping Linux Under Users' Control, Not Microsoft's (NSA) Control, Leads to Weaponisation of Cops (Killing the Messengers)
Transatlantic lawfare
TeamBlind Accused of Censorship, Maybe Surveillance in the Future
It's expensive to protect whistleblowers and to resist censorship of what whistleblowers try to expose
Another Friday 'Litter' of IBM Workers, Discarded and Sometimes Replaced to Cut Costs
The little that IBM earns is spent buying companies to pretend there's "growth" and headcount stability
Gemini Links 16/10/2026: Carrie, Games, and Slop
Links for the day
Links 16/10/2026: Election Interference by Slop; White House Backs Russia, Not Ukraine
Links for the day
The Register MS Has New 'Article' That Has "AI" 20 Times. "SPONSORED POST" As Usual.
At the end, both the media and the pyramid scheme will collapse
UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) Says Microsoft is Still Abusive
Today, ahead of the latest fake 'results' [...] Microsoft cheats the system everywhere it can
Links 16/10/2026: "Data Centers Are Driving Conservative Rural Voters to The Democratic Party En Masse" and Slop Bros Bribe Candidates "for Congress"
Links for the day
Deplatforming People You Disagree With Is a Losing Strategy
Trying to deplatform people you don't agree with is oppressive and petty
Microsoft Cannot Pay Salaries
Microsoft is deep in debt
IBM "support that is USA based will migrate over 4 years to Indian based just because it lowers costs substantially."
IBM is not capable of growing, so it tries to find ways to shave off costs
Gemini Links 16/10/2026: Publishing and Licensing, Going to Movies, and Nature/Seasons Change
Links for the day
Microsoft's OSI Calling Slop "Open Source AI" (Microsoft Paid OSI to Do This) Has Helped Associate "Open Source" With Pedophilia
Microsoft deflecting?
Fridges Do Not Need an Internet Connection
Keep it simple, stupid (KISS)
Wikileaks Still Matters
The world needs more sites like these
'Cocaine King' Campinos Should 'Get the Message', Pack Up His Things and Go Already
His staff is constantly on strike and engaged in various industrial actions
We Don't Do Slop
People tend to appreciate genuine work, not fakes
On Lying With Confidence
LLMs are hype
Market Share of Windows in the United Kingdom is Shockingly Low
Microsoft's losses are very profound
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, October 15, 2026
IRC logs for Thursday, October 15, 2026
Microsoft Can Barely Afford to Colonise Africa Any Longer (Too Much Debt)
"Before the announcement, former Microsoft employees publicly described staff being placed on performance improvement plans or offered “voluntary” exits."
Intercontinental Brigading - Part IV - Harassment Registered With the Police Before Projection Attempts Made From America
The thing one gets subjected to for opposing back doors in Linux
Gemini Links 16/10/2026: Dogs, Slop, and Blogging
Links for the day