From Sunderland, in London. Fintech (insurtech) full stack developer by day, writer and theatre lover by night. Also @dazzaross on BlueSky and Pixelfed.
"I was born in an Iranian prison. My parents were held in their jails. My uncles lie in their mass graves. Nothing you can tell me about the crimes of the Iranian regime that I haven’t lived in blood and bone. That doesn’t mean I want my people bombed, maimed, killed, their homes in ruins. If your vision of liberation comes only through the destruction of innocent lives, then it’s not freedom you’re after.”
Sahar Delijani
https://evergreenreview.com/read/an-interview-with-sahar-delijani/
Head's up, Mastodon users: There appears to be a coordinated effort to impersonate relatively high-profile people who have accounts on various instances but who have not used them in a while.
I've gotten several follow notifications - and a couple of DMs - from impersonators of people I know. The bogus accounts have lots of underscores in the handles, and they repost items from the past, sometimes years old. If you spot this, please report, do not engage, and then block.
Pls boost.
Since the #39c3 in December, every first Sunday of the month has been a "Digital Independence Day" for trying out alternatives to dominant/big tech platforms.
If you're looking to explore alternatives to Google or Apple Maps, why not give CoMaps – or any of the other open source map-applications that are based on data from #OpenStreetMap – a try!
You can learn more about the #DIDay here: https://edri.org/our-work/didit-edri-members-spark-movement-for-alternatives-to-big-tech/
The poster of our upcoming event is displayed at L200 in the very center of Zurich.
It is really important to bring discussions and debates around #DigitalSovereignty at the street level, engaging citizens,and asking difficult questions.
ISOC Switzerland can play a key role as a chapter of a US-based organization, partner in a strategic EU project, @NGIZero, and active in the local Swiss politics.
Join our diverse team of experts! @puer_robustus @hernani @panayotis @bernaalp @kiwix +++
I'm looking for people working at a bank in Europe who are interested in #EthicalTech and who would be interested to help us ensure that banking apps function well on European operating systems. Do you know anyone who might be interested? Please reach out to me via DM!
#DigitalSovereignty #banking #FairTech #banks #finance #tech #buyEU #DMA #DSA #SocEnt #EUtech
#Revolut #bunq #Curve #WERO #IDEAL #ING #ABNAMRO #ASN #Triodos #Rabobank #UBS #HSBC #BNP #Paribas #N26 #Wise #Qonto #BNP #Paribas
1/7
BREAKING: A US court has just sided with fossil fuel pipeline giant Energy Transfer and ordered Greenpeace International and Greenpeace entities in the US to pay them US$ 345 million.
This is a billionaire-backed attack on the right to protest. A thread ⤵️🧵
Trump ran an entire campagin on “No more stupid wars”, and “America First”, only to rename The Department of Defence to The Department of War, and proceed to attack both Venezuela and Iran, while constantly being offended that he is not offered The Nobel Peace Prize.
The US is led by the insane.
9,500 pre-orders. Thank you. ❤️
The pre-order price is still available — but only until 28 February 2026 at 23:55 (Helsinki time). That is less than 24 hours from now.
If you have been waiting, now is the time. Secure your Jolla Phone at the pre-order price before the window closes.
🔗 jolla.com/phone
#Jolla #SailfishOS #DigitalSovereignty #PrivacyFirst #European #CommunityPowered
“The future looks bright for Nextcloud,” says Techzine about #NextcloudHub 26 Winter
The story covers:
• Focus on sovereignty
• 100% open source code
• Better scalability with ADA
• Improved migration & federation
• €250M Sovereignty 2030 vision
Read the review 👉
https://www.techzine.eu/blogs/collaboration/138886/nextcloud-doubles-down-on-sovereign-message-with-latest-release/
Building a foundation for digital independence 🇪🇺🇫🇮🇩🇰
At Jolla, our mission has always been about offering a real alternative. Digital sovereignty is not a slogan for us. It is a prerequisite for a fair, independent, and sustainable digital future.
We are proud to support initiatives across the Nordics that actively work toward these shared values.
• In Finland, we support https://digitaalinenitsenaisyys.fi/, advocating for Finnish and European digital solutions that put privacy, trust, and sovereignty first.
• In Denmark, we support https://www.digitaluafhaengighed.dk/, an initiative focused on strengthening digital independence and long-term resilience.
We encourage everyone to learn more, take part in the discussion, and support the work being done to safeguard digital independence in Europe.
#Jolla #SailfishOS #DigitalSovereignty #European #PrivacyFirst #DeGoogle #CommunityPowered
PSA: The Amazon wishlist doxing threat is much greater and more immediate than folks might realize. Attack works like this:
Stalker who wants your address opens an Amazon seller account and lists themselves as a third party seller for any item on your public wishlist. Then, they order the item from themselves as a gift for you. Bam, they have your address.
In particular, attack does not depend on an existing third party seller having poor PII handling hygiene, like the articles have implied.
Leave big tech behind! How to replace Amazon, Google, X, Meta, Apple – and more https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/feb/26/how-to-replace-amazon-google-x-meta-apple-alternatives - contains nice words about Vivaldi.
How many people know that #WordPress was co-founded by a black man, Mike Little?
Or that he's from the north of England? A self-taught coder from #Stockport, just south of #Manchester? Or that he never received so much as a share, cent or job offer from the $7bn+ valued Automattic after spending five months working exclusively with Matt Mullenweg on the B2 fork?
After @bevangelist told me about @mikelittle I interviewed him for a documentary I never got round to making. Back then I was left with two certainties: he's Wozniak to Mullenweg's Jobs. Among other things he added the one-click upgrade that's been central to WP's bonkers 45%-of-the-web-success. And he's one of the nicest people I've ever interviewed, which is also bonkers given that he not only didn't share in WP's financial success, but that he's barely known.
But he should be - so, better late than never - please meet #MikeLittle, perhaps the most-influential-least-known person in #foss… https://25.netribution.co.uk/nic/mike-little-the-british-co-founder-of-wordpress-youve-probably-never-heard-of/
AI Added ‘Basically Zero’ to US Economic Growth Last Year, Goldman Sachs Says https://gizmodo.com/ai-added-basically-zero-to-us-economic-growth-last-year-goldman-sachs-says-2000725380 😂😂😂
So far AI has done more damage than adding any true value to productivty unless you consider the following as plus points:
* Getting staff fired
* Stealing journalist, book authors, or artists’ work
* Environment impact
* Hallucinations that caused harm and loss of life
* Creating undressing images of minors and woman
* The list list endless and you have to be psychopaths to like this
re @claudeai
I've identified industrial-scale copyright violations on my content by Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, X, and more.
These companies created thousands of crawlers incorporating the text of all my blog posts, open source code, and books into their paid AI models to profit exorbitantly.
Ukraine’s fight is our fight.
Tonight, the colours of Ukraine on our headquarters stand as a reminder of the courage and resilience of its people, and the enduring pain of a war that continues, after four years.
Not just as a symbol of solidarity, but as a tribute to those who have lost their lives, and a call to redouble our efforts towards a just and lasting peace.
Europe's shared values, strength, and commitment will never waver.
Four years have passed since Russia's full scale invasion of Ukraine. Russia was supposed to win in three days. Instead, Ukraine reinvented modern warfare, built a drone industry, and can destroy a thousand Russian soldiers in a day. Ukraine can win.
RE: https://mastodon.social/@MastodonEngineering/116103936616513460
We are looking at growing the Mastodon team with two new backend developers. We are starting some ambitious projects and need help!
You need to have a significant experience with Ruby on Rails as this is our framework of choice, but we are also looking for experience in search algorithms, protocol specifications, Rust or Go and project management (this one to assist me in tracking everything we are working on).
If you are interested, please apply using the form provided in the job description.
Big Oil is still racking up obscene profits.
Companies that caused the climate crisis are getting rich as they fuel the fires.
It's time to make polluters pay for the damage they've caused.
artist credit: @jonesycartoons2
