- cypherpunks - lists.cpunks.org

On healthy Libre/FLOSS communities - Blender by the numbers over 2019
by Zenaan Harkness 03 Mar '20

03 Mar '20

FLOSS/libre software which finds use beyond a niche, and therefore a relevant developer base, in time becomes first a viable option for one or another use case, later a viable replacement for one or more proprietary alternatives, and finally reaches a superiority in various metrics (features, stability, available dev/employee base from which companies can draw, etc). Some years back, folks thought 3D development environment software was too niche, too "technical" and therefore too costly to replace proprietary alternatives with libre software. Then Blender appeared in the early days of the kickstarter concept getting going, and readily raised the sought after $100K to free this (then proprietary) code. The rest as they say, is history, and Blender is a good case study for the floss progression chart - where exactly you would say it is on that chart, likely depends on you or your project's particular needs at this point in time. Blender by the Numbers – 2019 https://www.blender.org/press/blender-by-the-numbers-2019 One lesson at hand is that if your project or company is long term and not short term, then the sooner you and your team begin to get up to speed with, and contribute to, the floss alternative(s), the greater the head start you, your team and your company will have over the competition, at least in the long term. Identifying, for a particular technology/ software, the point at which medium to long term gains financially justify money spent in the short term on the floss/libre alternatives, is a skill that any competent manager has.

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German courts: "duty of neutral conduct with respect to ideological and religious matters"
by Zenaan Harkness 03 Mar '20

03 Mar '20

Germany's Federal Constitutional Court has ruled to "establish a duty of neutral conduct with respect to ideological and religious matters". The cause in this case was a female law student/ trainer lawyer wanting to wear a burka whilst conducting herself in normal court procedures as a lawyer or "court representative". This appears to be a foundational ruling - one which will have significance, and be referred to, for years to come - and possibly one which will stand as a leg to defend the "a-religious" nature of Western political (resting on legal) institutions. This ruling on the face of it makes no judgment about any particular religion (unless one cynically names "Western jurisprudence" a religion of course, as valid as such a perspective may be), only that religious expression or dominance is to not be a part of the (German in this case/ for the moment/ pursuant to this ruling) legal system. One can infer that to the extent litigants choose to bring before the courts any matters which they choose to couch as religious matters, for example the age of consent, that the courts will refrain from imposing the ideology of any particular religion as the foundation for their rulings and judgments in relation to such matters brought before the courts. Notably, this position taken by the German superior court does not inherently preclude religious arguments/grounds (either for or against) any particular matter brought before the courts, only that the courts ("ought not" at least according to this precedent) do not bring a pre-conceived religious foundation to its determinations of such matters. One can say that this precedent appears to be quite a neutral/ rational position for superior courts to take - essentially a precedent regarding jurisprudence itself, thus notable. When such rulings are made in clear terms, it is not uncommon for them to be referred to by folks in other jurisdictions (other countries) in future cases. German Court Rejects Attempt To Enshrine Sharia Law https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/german-court-rejects-attempt-enshrin… https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/15658/german-court-rejects-attempt-to-en… ... "With this groundbreaking decision, the court sent an important signal in favor of the ideological neutrality of state institutions. Especially in today's society, in which people from many countries around the world live with different cultural biographies and also with different religions, the state order must place more value than ever on its ideological neutrality. This is only possible if the state parties to judicial proceedings are not allowed to show religious insignia."

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EOMA68 Computing Devices manufacturing update
by Zenaan Harkness 02 Mar '20

02 Mar '20

This bloke is evidently dedicated, that's for sure: https://www.crowdsupply.com/eoma68/micro-desktop/updates/2-7-5-manufacturin…

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Guilty Plea Of U.S. Accountant In Panama Papers Investigation
by John Young 02 Mar '20

02 Mar '20

Manhattan U.S. Attorney Announces Guilty Plea Of U.S. Accountant In Panama Papers Investigation https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/manhattan-us-attorney-announces-guilty… "Richard Gaffey went to extraordinary lengths to circumvent U.S. tax laws in order to maintain Harald Joachim von der Goltz's wealth and hide it from the IRS. Using the specialized criminal services of global law firm Mossack Fonseca, Gaffey assisted others in violating U.S. tax laws for decades. Since at least 2000 through 2018, GAFFEY conspired with others to defraud the United States by concealing his clients' assets and investments, and the income generated by those assets and investments, from the Internal Revenue Service ("IRS") through fraudulent, deceitful, and dishonest means."

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Wikileaks: Julian Assange
by grarpamp 02 Mar '20

02 Mar '20

https://twitter.com/defendassange https://twitter.com/wikileaks https://defend.wikileaks.org/category/news https://collateralmurder.wikileaks.org/ https://collateralmurder.wikileaks.org/en/resources.html https://wikileaks.org/gitmo/ Julian Assange Chelsea Manning Edward Snowden Reality Winner ... Hundreds of names, all bc govt trying to save its sorry ass. No one really wants it. End it already. #FreeAssange

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Cryptocurrency: CBDC's Racing to Backdoor Distributed Cryptos
by grarpamp 02 Mar '20

02 Mar '20

https://qz.com/1810727/central-banks-are-researching-digital-currencies-to-… https://slashdot.org/story/20/02/20/1735215/sweden-starts-testing-worlds-fi… http://www.bis.org/publ/qtrpdf/r_qt2003.htm "Officials at central banks are considering how and whether to create a digital form of cash," reports Qz: As money gets swept up by tech innovation, government authorities are taking a closer look at old fashioned notes and coins. More than a dozen countries are either researching, piloting, or, like China, have ongoing work in place for central bank digital currencies, according to a Bank for International Settlements report published today. "Central banks around the world are investigating a rich set of prototypes," the BIS wrote... While physical cash isn't yet endangered in most places, the experience of a few countries, notably Sweden, China, and even to some extent the UK, shows that a world with much less cash usage is increasingly possible. That's why the BIS, sometimes called the central bank for central banks, published a report sketching out possible designs for a peer-to-peer central bank digital currency. Denounce and avoid these Fiat Spying and Censorship coins.

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Did Appelbaum Meet Snowden in Hawaii Before Leak?
by John Young 02 Mar '20

02 Mar '20

March 1, 2020<https://twitter.com/ageis> <https://twitter.com/ageis>Kevin Gallagher @ageis "According to <https://twitter.com/laurapoitras>@laurapoitras Berlin Journal from Astro Noise, <https://twitter.com/ioerror>@ioerror was keyed into forthcoming <https://twitter.com/Snowden>@Snowden leak from March 2013 at the latest. Both interviewed "C4" via e-mail. Jake travels Hawaii in April 2013, supposedly for 30th birthday. People are curious if they met then." Also, a Crypto Party was conducted in Honolulu by Runa Sandvik and Snowden in January 2013.

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Joshua Schulte (WikiLeaks Vault 7) Cell Mates
by John Young 01 Mar '20

01 Mar '20

Carlos Betances Luna Mera, indicted twice for illegal entry, is the Schulte cell mate who arranged for his wife to bring into prison a contraband cellphone used by Schulte, then recorded and ratted Schulte to the FBI. He testified as a witness in Schulte's trial. https://cryptome.org/2020/03/betances-complaint-2018.pdf Omar Amanat, a financial entrepreneur indicted for wire fraud, is the Schulte cell mate who befriended and advised Schulte. Shared use of contraband cellphones. His trial is still underway. He was not a witness in Schulte's trial, so far. https://cryptome.org/2020/03/amanat-indictment-2016.pdf

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Nike sweatshop labor softens the shoes
by Ryan Carboni 01 Mar '20

01 Mar '20

I find Nike sweatshop labor softens shoes, likely from the sweat, makes it more comfortable than the other brands. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/china-compels-uighurs-to-…

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Radical hydrogen-boron reactor leapfrogs current nuclear fusion tech
by jim bell 01 Mar '20

01 Mar '20

>From Discover on Google https://newatlas.com/energy/hb11-hydrogen-boron-fusion-clean-energy/

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