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

Slopwatch: LinuxSecurity, linuxconfig.org, and Plagiarised Phoronix
Many articles out there are nowadays fake
European Patent Office Illegally Gutting and Outsourcing Its Functions, Acting Like an Above-the-Law Commercial Business (It Won't Stop at Formalities Officers (FOs) and Classification Slop at the EPO)
breaking/violating laws and conventions
Links 19/09/2025: Lobbyist of American GAFAM Becomes Data Protection Commissioner in Europe
Links for the day
The Right to Punch People (Apparently)
At Brett Wilson, Brett's job title is "Head of Crime" and Wilson normalises calls for violence
 
Techrights the Name Turns 15
About 6 weeks from now we turn 19
Microsoft is Running Out of Time and Floating Fake Figures, Fake Projects, Fake Narratives, Fake Excuses
Also, a lot of Microsoft's "revenue" claims are circular financing (i.e. Microsoft buying from itself, which means Ponzi-like fraud)
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, September 19, 2025
IRC logs for Friday, September 19, 2025
Gemini Links 20/09/2025: Navigating the Pressures of Modern Life and SpellBinding Accidentally Wrote Another Gemini Server
Links for the day
Links 19/09/2025: Press Freedom Dying in US, Anti-Austerity Strikes in France, and Alan Rusbridger to Leave 'Prospect'
Links for the day
Offloading to the Sister Site
In the interest of not overwhelming readers
Links 19/09/2025: Coffee Club and "SpellBinding is Now Absurdly Fast"
Links for the day
Links 19/09/2025: Media Freedom Ceases to Exist in US, "Consider Dropping Twitter/X"
Links for the day
Gemini Links 19/09/2025: Thinking and Insect Bites
Links for the day
Microsoft E.E.E.: Git Will Now (or Very Soon) Fully Depend on Rust, Which is Controlled by Microsoft
Microsoft now makes Git dependent on Rust, or making Git dependent on GitHub, which is proprietary
Slop or Fake Articles Have Turned Linux Journal From a Pioneering/Trailblazing "Linux" Magazine Into a Nuisance
some sites with former reputation - good reputation - turn into cesspools
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, September 18, 2025
IRC logs for Thursday, September 18, 2025
Brett Wilson LLP Seem to Have Had Only One Litigation Client in 2025, He Was Previously Charged, Just Like the Serial Strangler From Microsoft (Whom They Now Represent)
Karma is superstition, regulators are not
Project 2030 to Cover How "Project 2025"-Styled Anti-Media Zealots From America Targeted Techrights and Tux Machines
The common denominator is also their attacks on women
Brett Wilson LLP Failed to Meet Deadlines Set by Judge 7 Months Earlier, Tried to Ruin Our Holiday, Then Had the Audacity to Ask Us for Over 3,000 Pounds for Its Own Lateness
As a matter of principle we will never respond to assassin while we are on holiday
On Claims That After Bluewashing Red Hat Will Increasingly Become an Indian Company
Discussed this week (long and detailed)
Americans Attacking British Sites Only Months After They Leave America
We find it kind of funny if not ironic that this site, originally an American site, got legal harassment only from Americans and only months after it had moved to the UK
Despite Losing Over a Quarter Million Dollars a Year Software in the Public Interest (SPI) Gives Helping Hand to Libreboot
SPI's financial state depends a lot on its public image or its reputation
Slopwatch: Google Helps Plagiarism and Sends Traffic to Ripoff Artists
That Google as a company helps spamfarms is noteworthy
If You Want to Know the Future, Listen to the Free Software Foundation (FSF) and Andy Farnell
We're sure the FSF will have plenty of its own output
Links 18/09/2025: A Taliban Ban on Internet Access and Troubled US Job Market
Links for the day
Gemini Links 18/09/2025: Computer Literacy and Accessing Alhena's Database
Links for the day
Links 18/09/2025: US War on Media (Truth Banned, Cancel Culture by the Hard Right), NYT Chief Executive Warns Cheeto is Deploying ‘Anti-press Playbook'
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, September 17, 2025
IRC logs for Wednesday, September 17, 2025