Hanging with the outlaws

Sitting at my desk at the newspaper a week ago, I got a tweet from CrunchBang’s lead developer Philip Newborough: They’re talking about you on #LO.

Hmmm. It’s not the first time I’ve been talked about, and thanks to the heads-up from Philip, I got to sit in on a taping of Linux Outlaws No. 302, which is now out in the wider world here. The quote that gave me worldwide renown, at least on Linux Outlaws, was from a recent blog about Ubuntu: “The gravity with which Canonical pulls Ubuntu further from its original FOSS orbit is nothing short of tragic.”

Linux Outlaws, according to their page, talks about anything that runs on Linux, about open source software on other platforms and many other things. Dan Lynch and Fabian Scherschel are the hosts of Linux Outlaws, and the pair go into great detail on the news and other happenings in the Linux/FOSS world. As described on the site, listening to the show is very much like listening to two friends sitting in a pub, having fun and talking about things they find interesting — and thanks to the modern miracle of podcasts, it’s like you’re there with them, pint in hand.

There is gratuitous swearing and neither Dan nor Fabian pull any punches when describing shortcomings or stupidity, intentional or not, and calling people out for it. Ranting seems to be par for the course — again, in a good way, and Dan tends to be low-key and methodical in his analysis while Fabian positions himself on opposite side of that spectrum, sometimes redlining the needle on the rant tachometer. It’s all thought-provoking and informative, punctuated with humor and hilarity.

Of course, while Linux Outlaws is not for the faint of heart, it’s still clearly worth a listen.

I haven’t had a chance to listen to the edited podcast yet, and as I write this, they’re doing the live taping of Episode 303 — and I find myself having to explain to my colleagues what I’m laughing at (long story). However, the live broadcast for 302 was incredibly entertaining, and they have earned a regular fan here.

Keep up the great work, guys!

This blog, and all other blogs by Larry the Free Software Guy, Larry the CrunchBang Guy and Larry Cafiero, are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs CC BY-NC-ND license. In short, this license allows others to download this work and share it with others as long as they credit me as the author, but others can’t change it in any way or use it commercially.

(Larry Cafiero is one of the founders of the Lindependence Project and develops business software in his individual consultancy that provides FOSS solutions in the small business and home office environment.)

Free Bassel, Mr. Ambassador

A few days ago, when talk started about activities around observing the first anniversary tomorrow (March 15) of Bassel Khartabil’s imprisonment in Syria, I thought about what more could be done. First, let me be clear about this. I am not saying that the tireless work people have put in around the world has come up short. On the contrary: Clearly bringing Bassel’s plight to the forefront has gained momentum as an increasingly successful endeavor, which will become fully successful once he is given his freedom.

But I wondered if there wasn’t more that could be done.

Thinking back to my days as a peace activist in decades past (several decades past), I recalled petitioning various members of the U.S. Congress to advocate for our positions. The drill was simple: A “delegation” — the fancy term for a group of people representing a group or even themselves — would ask for time with a member of Congress and, in every case, end up speaking with an aide, and we would present a letter and a short outline of why we were there and ask for action to be taken.

So it occurred to me: Why not take the same steps with the Syrian embassy? Oh wait: The United States doesn’t have diplomatic relations with Syria, so there are no embassies or consulates to visit. However, which country is Syria’s most powerful ally which has diplomatic relations with the U.S.? That would be the Russian Federation which, conveniently for me, has a consulate in San Francisco.

As such, I’ve taken up the hospitality of the Mozilla Foundation in using Etherpad to draft a letter/talk to give to consuls and diplomats, should I or anyone else choose to meet with them. Meanwhile, I am looking for folks in the San Francisco area to join me in visiting the Russian Federation consulate sometime soon and present a letter seeking their help in urging the Syrian government to release Bassel.

Please help me write it: The etherpad is here and you’re welcome to submit your input.

This blog, and all other blogs by Larry the Free Software Guy, Larry the CrunchBang Guy and Larry Cafiero, are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs CC BY-NC-ND license. In short, this license allows others to download this work and share it with others as long as they credit me as the author, but others can’t change it in any way or use it commercially.

(Larry Cafiero is one of the founders of the Lindependence Project and develops business software in his individual consultancy that provides FOSS solutions in the small business and home office environment.)

What’s really important

So . . . I had written a blog post addressing the remote hope that I’d at least get a postcard from the vacation from reality that Canonical’s self-appointed hubris-monger Mark Shuttleworth has recently taken, while urging those in the various *buntu communities do some soul searching when your project leader says, “If you’ve done what you want for Ubuntu, then move on.”

Then I sat on the blog post for a few days, wondering if it was too incendiary. I took walks. I had coffee with friends. I bounced the theme of what I was writing off a few people. I embarrassingly lost a huge Tetris smackdown to my darling daughter at the arcade at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk.

In that particular item, comparisons were made: The Mark’s emulation of Steve Jobs speaks volumes about the danger that lies ahead for freedom and real progress in that particular community; to say nothing of Shuttleworth’s detatchment from reality — what Jobs observers used to call his “reality distortion field.” This fantasy world tries so hard to be branded as “innovative” when echoed by the zombies populating the Ubuntu Apocalypse but, in all reality, it’s just regressive. Additionally, the prevailing attitude displayed by the Ubuntu/Canonical leadership raises the arguable point that those in its community could very well be — if they aren’t already — the FOSS equivalent of battered spouses who need to get out of that relationship with all speed.

Canonical is rapidly becoming Canonisoft: Realize that and you know what you need to do, Ubunteros.

But late last night, I decided not to post it. I deleted it to replace it with what you’re reading now because there are far more important things going on in the world at this moment; things that need immediate attention because lives are at stake.

Let’s take a look at Syria, for example: Bassel Khartabil, who some of you may know as Bassel Safadi, will have been imprisoned in Syria for exactly a year on Friday. Bassel, 31, specializes in open source software development, and is known worldwide for his strong commitment to the open web, teaching others about technology, and contributing his experience freely to help the world. Bassel is the project leader for an open source web software called Aiki Framework, and he is a dedicated volunteer to major Internet projects like Creative Commons, Mozilla Firefox, Wikipedia, Open Clip Art Library, Fabricatorz, and Sharism.

Find out more about Bassel here and watch the video on that page — it’s short but informative. Then read more about his plight on this page, and sign the letter to support freeing him as soon as possible.

Also, there are various actions taking place on Friday — the anniversary of Bassel’s detention — and there are things you can do either by your physical or digital presence, which are listed here. To post information about any action or ideas you might have, go here.

Those of you who read this blog on a regular basis know I’ve written about this before. I’ll keep writing about it, just as I keep fasting on Fridays until Bassel is free.

But the fact remains: What’s really important here — in the wider world — is not stroking the ego of a self-important, self-appointed “leader” who laughably claims to be an innovator, but saving the life of an important contributor to the FOSS paradigm locked away in a Syrian prison, nearly for a year so far without charge.

Now, if you’ll excuse me for a few moments, I need to go back to the arcade and practice Tetris for the rematch.

This blog, and all other blogs by Larry the Free Software Guy, Larry the CrunchBang Guy and Larry Cafiero, are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs CC BY-NC-ND license. In short, this license allows others to download this work and share it with others as long as they credit me as the author, but others can’t change it in any way or use it commercially.

(Larry Cafiero is one of the founders of the Lindependence Project and develops business software in his individual consultancy that provides FOSS solutions in the small business and home office environment.)