Activism in Times of War and a Coup
'Linux' Foundation works for fascism
THIS site is not political (sans Daily Links, which lack commentary), but it is impossible to ignore the political climate surrounding technology. It's not limited to what goes on in the United States. There are more than 25 armed conflicts around the world right now. As Global Conflict Tracker puts it:
This is a subject that we explored before with a focus on Free software. Wars tend to lead to sanctions, which kind of puts Free software in a tough spot, making it the subject of scorn or condemnation. Some days ago the 'Linux' Foundation explained its "complicity" in all this:
-
LF: Navigating Global Regulations and Open Source: US OFAC Sanctions
Open source is a fundamental part of software supply chains and production systems. As such, it has reached a stage of maturity that requires new ways to deal with a complex world. The 'Linux' Foundation has always pushed to promote and protect open collaboration in open source software and open standards-related activities. The model of allowing the brightest technical minds from around the world to contribute to an open commons has repeatedly proven its value over the past few decades. Protecting this commons is essential and something the 'Linux' Foundation will continue to defend.
However, increased cybersecurity risk and regulatory compliance are creating burdens on open source communities that must be met. There are newer regulations such as the EU’s Cyber Resilience Act, where we and others in the open source ecosystem invested great energy to educate regulators on the issues and concerns and carve out explicit exemptions for open source. Sanctions regulations are often very old regulations that never contemplated exemptions for the type of open collaboration that underpins modern daily life, societal systems, and business. The 'Linux' Foundation is committed to open source and global collaboration and doing so responsibly while complying with laws and regulations where the foundation and our community members operate. Understanding the legal frameworks within which we all collaborate is essential to maintaining global collaboration.
-
The New Stack: US Blocks Open Source 'Help' From These Countries [Ed: Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols is a stenographer for LF; now he's talking for the LF in a Microsoft- and Microsoft LF-funded site]
When I became a programmer many moons ago, the last thing I ever thought I’d need to know about was intellectual [sic] property [sic] (IP) law. Oh well, more fool me. Now, a generation later, a new generation of developers find themselves faced with government regulations, which will complicate their lives.
-
LWN: The 'Linux' Foundation on global regulations and sanctions
The 'Linux' Foundation has published its long-awaited article on international sanctions and open-source development. This is the reasoning that went into the removal of a group of Russian kernel maintainers in October.
It is disappointing that the open source community cannot operate independently of international sanctions programs, but these sanctions are the law of each country and are not optional. Many developers work on open source projects in their spare time, or for fun. Dealing with U.S. and international sanctions was unlikely on the list of things that most (or very likely any) open source developers thought they were signing up for. We hope that in time relevant authorities will clarify that open source and standards activities may continue unabated. Until that time, however, with the direct and indirect sponsorship of developers by companies, the intersection of sanctions on corporate entities leaves us in a place where we cannot ignore the potential risks.
-
Former Microsofter: 'Linux' Foundation Makes Statement About Banning Russian Programmers (3 Months Late)
"It is disappointing that the open source community cannot operate independently of international sanctions programs," says 'Linux' Foundation.
In a nutshell, 'Linux' Foundation admits that it (along with Linux) is controlled by President MElon and the demented molester. One could just assume that 'Linux' Foundation is a "Pentagon front" of "American company" (sans the inauguration fee/bribe).
Notice how the FSF has not played ball. Its mailing lists show that it allows participation by Turkey and even Iran this month. When people asked about Ukraine and Russia, however, there was censorship. We've not yet seen the FSF banning contributors for their nationality though. That's what the 'Linux' Foundation does. The 'Linux' Foundation is imperialistic and racist [1, 2] - a perfect fit for the current US Administration. █