Bonum Certa Men Certa

Department of War and IBM Among Top Clients of Richard Stallman's Alleged Ouster

Department of War (now known as Department of Defense)

Department of War and IBM



Summary: Richard Stallman (RMS) is down but not out; if we pick up the pieces and chronicle the media campaign that led to his resignation we find a leaker to the media who chose a dishonest site funded by a close friend of Bill Gates

WE PROMISED OURSELVES to not touch this topic anymore, instead shelving all updates in Tux Machines, which has an almost-complete list of coverage about the RMS saga, in chronological order. As the names in the comments help show, my wife and I found nearly 100 unique blog posts and articles about it. Sometimes these were official statements, e.g. Stallman's apology, call for his ousting, then his resignation, then further defamation (deliberate distortion of what he had actually said).



"As the names in the comments help show, my wife and I found nearly 100 unique blog posts and articles about it."Like we said before, it's better to move on and not dwell/obsess over it. It's not going to help. There are minor points, however, that ought to made before we "move on". These are points we did not make in the past. Our detailed list of coverage helps reveal the 'anatomy' of what some dubbed "witch hunt" or "lynch mob". The whole thing started when a person connected to the Department of War (it renamed to Department of Defense after the Second World War) decided to work with the media to "remove Stallman"; the choice of media in itself was rather curious. We've been hearing this whisper/murmur campaign for a while, but it's better to wait for actual proof. One reader told us that Vice had been sponsored by Rupert Murdoch; a quick fact-check reveals this to be correct. There's also a link to IBM (days ago we explained why IBM is no friend of Software Freedom). We mentioned IBM in our previous post because of its controversial response -- through Red Hat -- to Stallman's departure. It would be better if IBM/Red Hat had said nothing at all. They say Stallman would be wise to say nothing at all (about his deceased friend being accused posthumously), but the same can be said about IBM/Red Hat. The IBM/Red Hat statement has been blasted by a lot of people, especially for the ending sentence about diversity.

"Our detailed list of coverage helps reveal the 'anatomy' of what some dubbed "witch hunt" or "lynch mob"."IBM is, in general, a dangerous company. It works closely with oppressive elements of the public sector, including police and military. It's hardly a secret. IBM itself is a very aggressive company. IBM has not changed since buying Red Hat. Still a Blue Bully.

Zillow is the latest target of IBM's patent extortion. It's software patents again and IAM wrote about it a few days ago (behind paywall). IAM's status has seemingly collapsed; it's hardly mentioned by anybody any longer, but this one pick was interesting. Meanwhile we've learned that Iancu shows his real face again, just like the USPTO Director before his predecessor (he had come from IBM). Now that James Nurton (the Battistelli ‘softball questions’ guy) works for Watchtroll he’s citing a propaganda piece for Iancu -- a piece from his former employer, Managing IP (another patent zealots’ site). It helps show a lot of what's going wrong -- something that IBM has long lobbied for, sometimes in guest articles at Watchtroll. IBM cannot possibly like RMS and his message. We saw high-profile Red Hat employees calling for action against RMS, but they piggybacked someone else's call.

"Zillow the latest target of IBM's patent extortion."Anyway, about the removal of Stallman, we're trying hard not to mention the person in question or risk being accused of 'stalking' (or something similar). Let's just say that the person who called to "remove Stallman" and leaked correspondence to Murdoch-connected media (Vice is sponsored by Murdoch, Bill Gates' friend) to achieve this by deliberate distortion of facts works for a weapons company that reportedly makes killer robots, according to some comments. These are no friends of software ethics. Stallman is a threat to their business model and their public image. The image above (source here) shows IBM listed. Marcel Ventosa‏ added: "And the most vociferous twitter detractor claims to be the chief consultant at a company that lists the department of defense as one of its 5 trusted clients. Others can be seen to work for Microsoft or other rival organizations on their profiles. Software ethics or ethics period..."

One can see the screenshot there (we reproduced it above).

The person who demanded removing/removal of Stallman took the personal site offline. But the Internet Archive does not forget the projects. Robotics with connections to the military, IBM, and more...

"Now with RMS removed 'they' (the likes of IBM) just want/need to remove Torvalds and put in power 'fresh blood' that large corporations hold by the groin.""I currently work as a mechanical engineer at XYZ Robotics, a robotic sorting and logistics startup that was born out of the MIT MCube Lab," the person wrote. Apparently for aggressive purposes; these are not toys.

Days ago, for the second time in almost a fortnight, Stallman told me he would publish an article about his trip to Microsoft (or the reason for it). This has not happened yet. Perhaps there are other things preying on his mind at this time.

It's going to be hard to replace Stallman because when Stallman does seemingly 'extreme' things (like always paying with cash) people say, "that's Stallman being Stallman," whereas an alternative would either use "smart" crap or be called "extreme" for doing exactly what RMS did. The status of RMS is key here. There's only one RMS, one project founder of GNU. Now with RMS removed 'they' (the likes of IBM) just want/need to remove Torvalds and put in power 'fresh blood' that large corporations hold by the groin.

Recent Techrights' Posts

Today We Got an Early Birthday Gift
Exciting times
[Meme] Going Too Far to the Left Can Breed Militant Ideology
Some people can never be appeased because they prefer not to be appeased
FSF Expressed No Preference Regarding Presidential Candidates (Its Founder Did)
Because he is a principled person, he does not prioritise loyalty to customers or employers (money)
Who Next on the Linux Foundation's 'Kill List'?
Remember that only about 2% of the "Linux" Foundation's budget goes to Linux
Even LKML Subjected to Slop/SPAM by Guardian Digital, Inc (linuxsecurity.com)
They're really awful
What Makes RMS Such an Attractive Target ('Discreditisation' Campaigns)
Don't be so easily fooled
The Biggest OEMs or Vendors of GNU/Linux Stopped Competing With Microsoft (Which Pays Them to Promote Windows, Too)
Where are the competition authorities (or regulators for that matter)?
 
Links 07/11/2024: Online Manipulation in Social Control Media, Election Deniers, and More
Links for the day
Gemini Links 07/11/2024: emacs-guix and File Hoarding
Links for the day
[Meme] Election Day at the European Patent Office
Less than 60 minutes left to cast your vote
Staff Union of the European Patent Office (SUEPO) Election Ending Today
In one hour
[Meme] When the Patent Office Does Illegal Things and Staff Speaks Out
many leaks received today
Apple's Debt Has Skyrocketed While Gimmicks Like Vision Pro Failed
In Apple's case, the debt is almost double the "Cash on Hand", which isn't even cash
A President Trump is Excellent News to Microsoft
His racist policies gave lots of contracts to Microsoft
Links 07/11/2024: Facebook Scams, Journalists on Strike
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, November 06, 2024
IRC logs for Wednesday, November 06, 2024
Microsoft-Connected Publishers Want Us to Think That Linux is Some Sort of a Virus and a "Backdoor"
"The problem is with windows and the attack vector is via Windows"
We've Made it to 18! Here's to Another 18!
Going on for another 18 years means until some time at the end of 2042
Links 07/11/2024: Political Angst and Laptop Issues
Links for the day
Links 06/11/2024: BPF in RFC 9669, More Facebook Fines for Privacy Abuses
Links for the day
Gemini Links 06/11/2024: Political Shock and Hermaic Encouragement
Links for the day
Planet Debian Allows Politics (But It Depends on Your Opinions and Debian's Big Sponsors)
Planet Debian is OK with politics... as long as all your political opinions are the "correct" ones and you add cute animals
Let's Encrypt Falls to a New Low of Only 0.6% of Gemini Capsules Known to Lupa
In Gemini Protocol, certificates for encryption are required, but centralised Certificate Authorities (CAs) aren't needed
Computer-Generator Crap Flooding the Web, the Latest Example About "Linux"
Here's today's example
Links 06/11/2024: Election Disinformation and Legal Actions
Links for the day
Gemini Links 06/11/2024: Stargazing and Death on Hallowe'en
Links for the day
Would You Trust a Liar?
Why lie about the authorship?
Mass Layoffs at Mozilla Announced During US Elections
Maybe nobody will notice?
[Meme] Announcing "Results" Before Everyone Even "Played"
There is a "tech" angle to otherwise political news
US Polls Close in One Minute (Social Control Media Does Not Care, Will Not Wait)
US election results will be known in about 2 days
Concentration and Centralisation Versus Aggregation or Syndication
KDE has a history of burying old sites
Social Control Media, Even Hours Before Polls Have Closed
Has social control media controlled by CPC (TikTok) and the Trumpmobile guy (Musk's "X") done enough to convince people not to even vote (based on presumptive "results", presented a long time before all polls have closed)?
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, November 05, 2024
IRC logs for Tuesday, November 05, 2024
Wayland Pains in Community-Led Distros of GNU/Linux
Few people and companies use Wayland; there's hardly any technical or practical reason to choose it
IBM Still Conflating Microsoft With 'Security'
As a meme
Sanctions Cause Fragmentation in Software
some Chinese Linux developers are already subjected to restrictions similar to Russians'
Web Failing With Slop, Even in 'Linux' Sites (LLM Spam)
Add SEO prompting to the mix and the Web becomes a pool of slop, not knowledge
[Meme] State of the World Wide Web and Online Journalism
Technically a failure (DRM) and cannot even get basic things right
Trump's signature policy, building a wall, copied from Irish-Australian student politician
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Linus Torvalds' self-deprecating LKML CoC mail linked to Hitler's first writing: Gemlich letter
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
[Meme] Turning 18 in One Day
just one more day
Birthday Tomorrow
Many cakes and drinks are ready; we're one day away now
The Internet is Failing to Protect Democratic Processes and Human Knowledge
Amplifying lies, rewarding plagiarists
Links 05/11/2024: Criminal Referrals Regarding Patent Trolls and Disinformation About the Election Process (Already)
Links for the day
Gemini Links 05/11/2024: 'App' Needed for Parking, NNCP, Gomphotherium
Links for the day
How Voting Does Not Work
You cannot vote from an "app"
Saving the Planet With Honesty, Transparency, and Sharing (Not Only of Computer Code)
GAFAM is destroying the only habitat humans and other animals have and it'll only get worse
Disinformation About Election Outcomes Even Before Any Election Outcomes (or Election/Voting!)
seeding doubt about election outcomes
Links 05/11/2024: Bluesky and Enshittification, Pugad Baboy, and Lots of Disinformation Flooding the Web
Links for the day
[Meme] Sweaty Under the Belly
"OK, my critics are 'spam'"
Microsoft Bribing Canonical (to Stop Competing) and Bribing Users to Shun the Competition
Canonical is worth shunning
[Meme] The 2024 'Info Bros'
And prehistoric googling
Computers Getting Worse (for the User) Over Time
This is like Windows-ism coming to "Linux" through the hardware
[Meme] How NOT to Vote
Another form of (mostly-unspoken-of) election interference
An LLM Inside a 'Search' Engine Means That Companies Tell You What They Want, Not What Web Pages to Visit
The future of 'googling' things might be as unreliable as using Social Control Media as a source of information
Google's Debt Has Increased and 'Cash on Hand' Fell by 22.27% This Past Year
These are the numbers that the corporate media intentionally leaves out
Against Outsourcing of Sites and E-mail
Software Freedom is great, but it is not enough if you let someone else do it 'for you'
Drew DeVault: People Talking About My Attack Site (Against the Founder of GNU/Linux) is "Spam"
"Spam on sr.ht mailing lists"
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, November 04, 2024
IRC logs for Monday, November 04, 2024
There's a Reason Why Techrights is Turning 18 and Tux Machines Will Turn 20.5 Next Month
I started advocating GNU/Linux when I was a teenager
"Oppose the Fascist"
what the founder of GNU/Linux said
Techrights Has a Long History of Fighting to Expose 'Team Mono' or Microsofters Inside GNOME
Never downplay the malice of Microsoft and its operatives
Halloween, All Saints Day & Swiss citizenship
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Gemini Links 05/11/2024: Halloween Over, Intention and Implementation, Bookmark Syncing
Links for the day