Here in Germany, at least something is happening. Recently, for example, the federal state of Schleswig-Holstein decided to switch to Linux (and also LibreOffice), with the change planned for this fall.

Overall, however, far too little is happening in our country. The vast majority of federal states and the national government continue to rely on proprietary software (mainly from US corporations, especially Microsoft).

At the national level, this is hardly surprising, as our Chancellor, Friedrich Merz, is more of a US lobbyist than a politician: Until 2020, he was on the supervisory board of Black Rock Germany and was also a long time chairman of the “Atlantik-Brücke”, a German-American lobby organization for economic relations (so on and so forth). Unfortunately, no change of course is to be expected from him — nor from his party, the conservative CDU, that is the most popular party for some strange reason.

In Bavaria, which is also deeply conservative, the federal state government is even considering introducing Palantir.

I don’t understand how all this can happen when it is perfectly obvious how vulnerable all these US products are making us – vulnerable to industrial espionage and worse - especially now that the US is developing into a fascist, unjust state.

But hey, I think we all have to remain somewhat positive despite all this. As I said, there is some movement in terms of FOSS —probably much more in other European countries than in Germany. So, slowly but steady, we’re moving forward! I really hope that’s how it is in the US as well.

Best of luck in these harsh times!

Still far too low, considering that the US is now a police state.

Well, maybe he can become the modern Brian Boru and kick some medieval ass in the US — apparently, they can’t defend themselves against the tyranny of the savages.

I mean everything that falls under the term social media as of now, which includes Lemmy as well as reddit.

And this is precisely the problem I see: The internet is a medium that implies mutual exchange - it is a social medium - this was already the case before the advent of so-called social media in the mid 2000s, a term that was coined to distinguish between classical mass media and “user generated content”, meaning posts and comments by people who are not directly involved with the “Host” of the content.

Now, however, we have the problem that the term, at least in the broad sense, describes services that, in my opinion, do not stand for free exchange between equals, but instead function more like traditional mass media, such as television stations or magazines and newspapers - they are centrally controlled and do not allow open discourse just as publishing media of old did.

The Fediverse is structured differently -more like the old internet, but for applications that people would call social media today. I don’t think the difference can be made clear by insisting that Fediverse apps are in fact much more in line with social media than what the term really describes for most people (meta, tiktok, LinkedIn and the like).

So I think the term is burned and we need a new one that is understandable to the general public and clearly distinguishes the Fediverse from todays’s so-called social media.

The thing is, however, that it will be difficult to find a term that describes social media without using this very term, which is likely to cause confusion with services that today are actually more akin to traditional mass media, which did have letters to the editor but were not in the least “social” in a sense of exchange between equals.

This is not a war being waged there, but systematic mass murder committed by a well-equipped army.

It is, of course, commendable that this soldier has the courage to speak to the press, but the fact that this is still necessary speaks volumes about how morally bankrupt the governments of the Western world are: they continue to conjure up tales of terrorism against Israel, of a defensive war against terrorists, and in doing so condemn an entire ethnic group to the most brutal extermination.

What they are saying is exactly what the monsters in Israel are saying: All Palestinians are terrorists, all deserve to die, regardless of whether they are unarmed, starving, and just want to live—regardless of whether they are children or pregnant women.

This is genocide, not war, but the West is making common cause with the monsters and even supplying weapons for crimes against humanity.

I am ashamed that I have to watch my government do this, and I am also ashamed of my fellow citizens who are against it but are frozen in their apathy and do not have the guts to take even the slightest risk and stand up decisively against this unspeakable inhumanity that our politicians actively support out of greed for money and power.

I’m sorry, Dave…

That’s a good approach.

I myself don’t see progress as a technical thing, but rather technology as something that could help us overcome our animalistic traits in order to enable us to live together in a good, forward-looking way. I mean, of all the mammals in the world, we are the best at building tools, but I wonder if we are making the most of this or if, despite all our tools, we are ultimately incapable of overcoming our instincts.

I don’t know the answer any more than anyone else. However, your answer, which I share, suggests that despite all our technological achievements, we are not evolving significantly, but remain trapped in our animal nature.

The Republicans control both houses of Congress. But the usual rules don’t seem to apply anymore. Isn’t Trump currently starting a war without the approval of Congress?

German here: The overwhelming majority of politicians in my home country are also doing everything they can not only to silence voices denouncing the genocide of the Palestinians, but also to actively support these crimes against humanity, among other things by supplying weapons - all this while invoking “our historical responsibility.” This seems almost worse to me, especially because I am convinced that the majority of the population firmly rejects this and wants the opposite course - namely, to hold these monsters in Israel accountable for their crimes.

I am truly ashamed to be German, and I think many of my compatriots feel the same way when they read the daily horror stories from Gaza and have to admit that we are actually promoting this barbarism on the part of Israel. It’s enough to make you cry.

Yes, it still amounts to billions in additional tax revenue, which is of course paid for by US citizens rather than the manufacturing countries – but this sum is probably already reserved for the planned tax cuts for the super-rich.

The plan is presumably to finance Trump’s private army through additional cuts in healthcare, environmental protection, education, and all other areas that are counterproductive to fascism.

I’m not a US citizen, but I think this country is screwed.

It’s clear that ICE is morally bankrupt, but I thought that its restructuring into a secret police force would be financed by these absurd import tariffs, which are so broad in scope that they are basically tantamount to a massive VAT increase.

I’m not concerned with definitions, but rather with people’s opinions. This seems to me especially relevant given that there are many US users here. I’m interested in how they perceive what is happening in the US, what their legal system allows, and whether they consider it just in any way.

I don’t know what you mean by “architecture of westoid regimes” and I don’t think you know either.

It is all besides the point. My question was what you think the purpose of a legal system should be. And all you come up with is that stuff.

I really don’t understand how you can hold that opinion. Your president is clearly a criminal, and he is exploiting your legal system to enrich himself and his partners.

That’s perfectly obvious.

It’s equally obvious that your legal system not only allows this, but also enables this level of massive organized crime in the first place.

Here’s an example: Clarence Thomas, a Supreme Court justice, has been blatantly corrupt for decades (and he’s not the only one in that small circle). The Supreme Court has ruled - in clear violation of the US Constitution - that the law does not apply to the president. So Trump is shamelessly enriching himself.

How can anyone live in such a system and even approve of it?

I just don’t understand what you’re getting at.

China, I assume. You seem to be a staunch communist, although you obviously don’t care what that means. So probably Russia. If I’m wrong: China also has little to do with communism. It’s just that the world’s production is located there, so they have enough money to make people believe that this is a system worth living in.

Whose boots are you licking with your opinions?

Du hast nicht die geringste Ahnung, wovon du redest, mein Freund. Es ist armselig, wie du dich aufspielst ohne auch nur das Geringste zu sagen. Ich kann nur feststellen, dass du vollkommen verblendet bist und damit kaum besser als die Maga-Vögel, die dein Feindbild zu sein scheinen. Das kann ich nicht bewerten, weil mir vollkommen unklar ist, worauf du hinaus willst. Ich kann hier nur einen Social-Media-Troll erkennen - nichts weiter. Geistlos und arrogant - nichts als haltlosen Anschuldigungen und nicht ein eigenständiger Gedanke. Ich nehme an, du repräsentiert .ml. Das ist meines Ermessens der Schandfleck von Lemmy und der Grund weshalb ich meine finanzielle Unterstützung für die Softwareentwicklung eingestellt habe. Eine derart unreflektierte Weltsicht kann ich nicht unterstützen.

Spare me your imaginary lectures and also your assumptions. I am European and I know the basics of political science. Besides, I’m not the one downvoting you. You’re doing that all by yourself.

I have tried to be conciliatory and convey a positive message here, but I have to conclude that this is obviously futile.

All I hear in your answer is anger. I can understand that, and I share it to a certain extent, but I think you’d be doing yourself a favor by turning that anger into something positive.

Being against something achieves much less than being committed to a goal. The fanatical Maga supporters show where a purely negative worldview leads. These idiots are even against things that spring from their misguided imagination, and they can’t even define what their hatred is directed against. That’s why their leaders have given them terms like “woke,” which are as empty and unfocused as these people’s hatred. The goal is to have them pulled behind their leader, who does nothing but enrich himself.

That doesn’t seem desirable to me. Rather, it seems desirable to me to think for myself instead of repeating slogans.

My point: You won’t be able to change anything if you don’t have ideas that point in a positive direction. That only leads to the same unproductive hatred that the Maga fanatics represent.