Bonum Certa Men Certa

Gemini Links 06/07/2023: Economic Fascism and Leaving the 'Social' Web



  • GNU/Linux

    • Gemini* and Gopher

      • Personal/Opinions

        • Frankly

          A recent frank exchange between Geminauts was interesting in some ways, unfortunate in others.

      • Politics and World Events

        • Back to school, really?

          One of the great thing about moving places is that now I leave in the same city again as one of my best friends :). This is great as we can see each other more often when life allows. Today, we had lunch together at my place which is something we try to do once a week. He surprised me today by saying we should take remote courses at the university "just for fun".

          He suggested to go for a "licence degree" (the first level after high school, takes 3 years to complete) in philosophy. I was not surprise by the topic as this is a subject we like to discuss and discover together. We try to sometime read the same books or at least learn about a common philosophical concepts so we can share and discuss about it later. We often chat about how we both didn't read much when younger and that it may be a reason why we are so eager now.

        • No, you don't live in a fascist economy. You live in a fascist country.

          This post is a response to all kinds of discussions I've seen on Gemini lately, especially about the United States. Apologies if it's wide ranging.

          For everyone that isn't Western centric, that the United States acts like a fascist country isn't a surprise. It's not 'only' the economy, because the politics are built upon the economic system. Fascism is not it's own 'thing' that just appeared out of the blue, it's Capitalism in decay trying to save itself. I find it funny that citizens of the US always mention, especially liberals, fascism represented by Trump and such figures, when they're just more mask off than their other benevolent corporate leaders. Like that saying goes: "The United States is a one-party state, but we have two because we're America"

        • RE: On Being Short

          I'm a really short guy, almost 5' 2", and here are some things I can share with those interested in short people stories.

          [...]

          It doesn't bother me anymore, but I remember how the other kids laughed at me. I was short, with a big head, an unproportionally tall forehead, and a Russian name. Sometimes they laughed at me, sometimes they hit me, and sometimes they made feel like I don't exist. I still remember how it feels when every day is the same, there's nothing you can do about this, and you're always a victim.

          Two days ago, a random guy saw me on the street on my way back from the fruit store. He started yelling something offensive and inappropriate about my forehead, and kept trying one joke after another when I crossed to the other side of the street without saying anything. When I lost my temper (something I'm really ashamed for) and asked if he always insults strangers like that, he started chasing me (a true multi-tasker) and I had to convince him to go away, while planning how to defend myself using a watermelon if he pulls out a knife.

        • Economic Fascism

          What is really confounding is that current 'interests of the country' include greenwashing. Enormous subsidies for completely unsustainable technologies flow directly into the pockets of billionaires like Musk. Impossible to follow regulations that pretty much guarantee the only ones standing will be huge corporations. Actual impact on the environment is largely imaginary, and increased consumption is encouraged.

        • Finding a safe space

          The world isn't ideal, in fact, it's the opposite: messy, grey, and well, messy. So its ever more important to have a safe space where you can go and be sure you'll be okay.

      • Science

        • Fire Retardants

          Urethane foam, most commonly used, simply requires some kind of treatment as it is highly inflammable. Synthetic latex, likewise, burns hot. Most websites about mattresses simply repeat each other about "government requirements for flame retardants".

          The yardstick is passing a flame test, which is most easily accomplished with chemicals. Wool works -- obviously not for you (my veganism falls slightly short of that -- respect!). Fiberglass is completely inert as far as I can tell, but seems like a bad idea (prohibited in California). Cotton is an option. I've heard of kevlar, graphite and other substances in use.

      • Technology and Free Software

        • Avoiding Feature Creep

          A few years ago I wrote a shell script to create and manage a local, Twitter-like "microblog" file. Though I don't use it often anymore, for a while I used that script to document all my thoughts and feelings in a micro-journal. The script is available in the "Files" section of my capsule--to this day the only script I've ever written that I feel confident in sharing publicly.

          The script takes a single argument at the command line, namely the location of the timeline file. During creation of the timeline, however, the user specifies a username, and it does not have to match the name of the timeline file itself. Nothing in the invocation of the script reflects what the username might be. This is inconvenient if the script is ever deployed in a multi-use environment.

        • The Extent of the Metaverse Scam

          I've been spending too much time on Twitter lately. It feels a bit like watching the last few seconds before a catastrophic trainwreck. One of the articles on my timeline last night was a piece in the Nation, talking about the extent to which Meta manufactured (with the breathless, complicit help of tech journalism) the narrative of the Metaverse, and the extent to which they deceived us.

        • Internet/Gemini

          • Stop Trying to Make Social Networks Succeed

            Lot is happening in the social network landscape with the demises of Twitter and Reddit, the apparition of Bluesky and Threads, the growing popularity of Mastodon. Many pundits are trying to guess which one will be successful and trying to explain why others will fail. Which completely misses the point.

            Particular social networks will never "succeed". Nobody even agree on the definition of "success".

          • Finding PDFs, MP3s, and more in Geminispace with Kennedy

            My Gemini search engine Kennedy now lets you filter a search query to a specific type of file like PDFs, MP3s, or ZIPs. This makes it really easy to specific types of files about a subject.

          • Done with the Social Web

            With the release of Threads by Meta and the never-ending discussion of it on the fediverse, I feel myself retreating from online 'social' spaces once again.

            A few years ago I retreated from centralized mainstream social media. I learned about the fediverse and it felt like a much better space to be. However, with the impending tsunami that is Threads' federation with, I think I'm at a point where I don't want to be in any online space that exceeds a certain threshold of users.


* Gemini (Primer) links can be opened using Gemini software. It's like the World Wide Web but a lot lighter.



Recent Techrights' Posts

Microsoft Windows is No Longer an Operating System, It's Surveillance Project
Why is this even legal to preload on PCs outside the US?
Qualcomm Arduino Takes Aim at Raspberry Pi
Qualcomm is a Microsoft partner
Arduino is Now a Patent Bully (Qualcomm)
Qualcomm has just bought Arduino
Many Years of Microsoft Cancellations and Faked (Acquired) Revenue "Growth"
XBox is basically the "next Skype"
 
Links 08/10/2025: ‘Death to Spotify’ and Law to Ban Loud Commercials on Streaming (Dis)Services
Links for the day
Links 08/10/2025: Real Innovation and Nina.chat is Dead
Links for the day
Links 08/10/2025: Y2K38 Bug is a Vulnerability, Chat Control in Europe a Threat
Links for the day
How and Why Once-Legitimate Sites Turn Into Slopfarms
Many sites will go offline and many social control networks will shut down once they realise or even openly admit they spend money and time gardening a bunch of bots and slop
UbuntuPIT Became a Slopfarm and Gnoppix Tarnishes Its Own Brand With Slop
It fits all the characteristics of mildly-edited (if at all) slop
Slopwatch: Linux Journal and Other Slopfarms
GAFAM needs to go the way of the dodo
Gemini Links 08/10/2025: "Seek Seek Revolution" and Gradient Backgrounds
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, October 07, 2025
IRC logs for Tuesday, October 07, 2025
Stagnation of the Economy and What Free Software Can (or Could) Do For It
If your economic model is based on a pyramid of lies, it won't last very long
Social Control Media is Sinking
it would rightly seem like the era of centralised "social" sites (they're not social, they're about controlling the users) is ending, not overnight but gradually
Participation in Cancel Culture Detrimental to One's Career
A cautionary tale
Passion Wins
we've increased the number of birds we feed to 100+
How Solderpunk and Sean Conner Started Gemini Protocol (and, Collectively, Geminispace) Back in 2019
Based on the "official" history
The Comment TheLayoff.com Has Just Censored for Criticising a Ridiculous Puff Piece of IBM Management
If comments get censored for their "style" rather than their substance, then society will be worse off
The Power of Writing Down Facts
The more we write and publish, the more people will know what happened
Microsoft's Non-Denying Denial About XBox's Death is Already Being Shattered to Pieces
Like Microsoft's 'open' 'hey hi', heralding meaningless non-committing agreements with AMD is little more than vapourware
Slopwatch: UbuntuPIT Joins the Slopfarms Club
Slopfarms gonna slop
Links 07/10/2025: Privacy at Risk, GAFAM Remains Off the Hook
Links for the day
Gemini Links 07/10/2025: Modern Retro Console Idea and Batch vs Bash
Links for the day
Links 07/10/2025: International Criminal Court (ICC) Convicts Ali Kushayb; Moroccan Imprisoned for 'Offensive' Shirt
Links for the day
Links 07/10/2025: EU' Chat Control is Back, US Cracks Down on Democracy
Links for the day
Techrights Pursues Justice and Truth Because, Without Those, Society Descends Into Chaos
most people reject dogma and pseudoscience
Upcoming Talks by Richard Stallman in Helsinki, Göteborg, and Rome
Join with him and share the software
Something Bad is Happening in the Open Source Initiative (OSI)
The latest OSI blog post is from a Microsoft operative and a few weeks ago the Executive Director left
TLS 1.3 Dominates Geminispace (99% of Known Capsules)
it's nowadays safe to assume almost every capsule can handle TLS 1.3
Why soylentnews.org Has Been Having Technical Difficulties Lately
The network has been going up and down quite a lot this past week
A Statement Against Violence
The facts are on our side
They've Run Out of Things to Rebrand or Label as "AI"
The next few years will be interesting because if Microsoft lays off tens of thousands of workers each year, there won't be much left except mountains of debt and dying brands
The Register MS is Still Being Paid to Participate in the "AI" Ponzi Scheme Which Will Crash the Economy
The Register MS is hoping to get lucky by tricking people into a scam
Richard Stallman Confirms His Talk in Göteborg This Coming Friday
"The hosts say that the list will not be given to the state"
Most of the "Linux" Results This Morning in Google News Are LLM Slop From the Same Slopfarm, Plagiarising Phoronix
The main question is, does Google even care at this point?
Gemini Links 07/10/2025: Civil War and "Goodbye Web"
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, October 06, 2025
IRC logs for Monday, October 06, 2025
Evidence Contradicting Microsoft's Non-Denying Denials and Expectation of Many Layoffs Soon
"Microsoft has had this constant drip of layoffs for months."
The "AI Revolution" is Going Very Well, Right?
money that does not exist and alleged potential that is pure fiction
Links 06/10/2025: Scam Altman Himself Admits He Runs a Scam Based on a Bubble, US Administration Adopts “War From Within” Narrative to Crush Opposition/Dissent
Links for the day
Slopwatch: Fake Ubuntu 'Articles' and Google News Helps People Who Plagiarise Phoronix Using LLMs
Michael Larabel can't possibly be happy about that
6,000 Pages/Articles a Year
Today in one month from now the site turns 19
When Things Become So Ubiquitous That They're Almost Nameless
The notion or the concept of software freedom isn't tied to any particular brand or project, so it should still resonate
At Least 3 Richard Stallman Talks in Europe Confirmed So Far, Next Week in Rome There's Another
Dr. Stallman has not announced this yet
IDG Seems to Have Abandoned Sandra Henry Stocker's UNIX/Linux Column
Unless we hear otherwise or see some update/s, this may mark another death blow from IDG
Gemini Links 06/10/2025: Winter Nights and "Virtue Signaling"
Links for the day
Links 06/10/2025: Scientific Awards and Typhoon Matmo
Links for the day
IP Kat Gone Bonkers, Pushing Slop in Patents (Likely Illegal, With Severe Consequences)
AstraZenecaKat: "Last time, this Kat covered some practical steps on how to ensure client confidentiality when using AI tools (IPKat)."
Links 06/10/2025: Grokipedia as Malicious Slop, US 'Martial Law' a "New Normal"
Links for the day
Fake Economics and Clown Computing Circuses
who's gonna pay for these scams?
Nobel Prize in Economics Does Not Exist, It's Propaganda From Sveriges Riksbank
"It is that time of the year when it is important to remind people that there are no Nobel Prizes for professional wrestling, astrology, or economics"
Rust is Eating Linux
That's a recipe for problems
Cindy Cohn (Executive Director of EFF) is a Millionaire, Earned Almost $30,000 Per Month Before Departing While the EFF Lost Money
EFF is "Big Business"
Non-Denying Denial From Microsoft (Again) Regarding the End of XBox Consoles
It's kind of hilarious that even the site chosen by Microsoft to relay its BS, based on past loyalty, isn't quite buying it
Bringing Back Lost Articles From the 1990s: Microsoft Products Leave Door Open to NSA
Nothing has changed since then
When the Slop Bubble Pops People Will Say Richard Stallman Was Right (Again)
What was once known as Computer Science turned into "IT"
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, October 05, 2025
IRC logs for Sunday, October 05, 2025
Links 06/10/2025: Science, Hardware, and Andrej Babis Making a Comeback
Links for the day