• One American can’t do irony

    Steve WoodsLanguage, Oddities, Social Media

    Last week this blog featured a post entitled America does irony (posts passim). However, your ‘umble scribe perhaps ought to have prefaced the title with the qualifying Some of… as rules that are not hard and fast have exceptions to them.

    And here we come to a very big exception: namely the disgraced former 45th president of the United States, convicted felon, insurrectionist, adjudicated business fraudster, confirmed sexual predator, perpetual liar and serial golf cheat one Donald John Trump.

    Text reads trying to claim that America does not have a gun problem while standing behind a sheet of bullet proof glass is peak Republican

    Anyone with two working brain cells and a hole in their backside can see the ridiculousness of The Donald’s position, even though the man himself – in the loosest sense of the word – is totally unaware of the fool he is making of himself, against which the so-called Bushisms, i.e. those unconventional statements, phrases, pronunciations, malapropisms, and semantic or linguistic errors made in the public speaking of George W. Bush, the 43rd President of the United States, look positively endearing. But then again, George Dubya is another Republican…

  • Days out ideas. Time machine required

    Steve WoodsBristol, Language, Media, Oddities, Social Media

    When parliament rises for the summer recess, the period until it reconvenes in the autumn is traditionally known as the silly season. This time of year was traditionally when the press would scramble around desperately for something newsworthy and printable.

    This has changed somewhat in recent decades due to the emergence of the 24 hours news cycle driven by technological change, including the rise of social media.

    However, the need to find worthwhile to publish is exacerbated when the silly season also includes a public holiday, a time when the great unwashed needs to be kept amused and entertained, which brings us to a piece in today’s edition of the Bristol Post/Live.

    Headline reads 7 of the prettiest villages near Bristol to visit in 2023

    Yes, you did read the headline correctly. It does say 2024. Sadly, in this particular item, Bristol’s Reach plc local news title has not followed standard Reach procedure and included affiliate links to time machine providers in the copy, so those intent on visiting Bristol’s hinterland last year will have to go and look for their own, at least until the proofreader returns from holiday. šŸ™‚

  • LibreOffice 24.8 released

    Steve WoodsLinux, Open Source, Open Standards, Privacy, Tech

    Today the blog of The Document Foundation (TDF), the organisation behind the free and open source LibreOffice suite. announced the release of LibreOffice 24.8, the second version of the software to be released under the new calendar-based (YY.MM) release numbering system, for immediate download for Linux, macOS (Apple and Intel) and Windows (Intel, AMD and ARM).

    LibreOffice 24.8 banner

    The release announcement lays heavy emphasis on the suite’s privacy features. LibreOffice is the only office suite, i.e. software that can create files containing personal or confidential information that respects user privacy ā€“ thus ensuring users themselves can decide if and with whom to share the content they have created. LibreOffice is thus the best option for the privacy-conscious office suite user and provides a feature set comparable to the ubiquitous MS Office. LibreOffice also offers a range of interface options to suit different user habits, from traditional to contemporary.

    New features

    There’s a handy little video that highlights the new features incorporated in LibreOffice 24.8.


    Privacy
    • If the option Tools ā–ø Options ā–ø LibreOffice ā–ø Security ā–ø Options ā–ø Remove personal information on saving is enabled, then personal information will not be exported (author names and timestamps, editing duration, printer name and configuration, document template, author and date for comments and tracked changes).
    Writer
    • UI: handling of formatting characters, width of comments panel, selection of bullets, new dialog for hyperlinks, new Find deck in the sidebar.
    • Navigator: adding cross-references by drag-and-drop items, deleting footnotes and endnotes, indicating images with broken links.
    • Hyphenation: exclude words from hyphenation with new contextual menu and visualisation, new hyphenation across columns, pages or spreads, hyphenation between constituents of a compound word.
    Calc
    • Addition of FILTER, LET, RANDARRAY, SEQUENCE, SORT, SORTBY, UNIQUE, XLOOKUP and XMATCH functions.
    • Improvement of threaded calculation performance, optimisation of redraw after a cell change by minimising the area that needs to be refreshed.
    • Cell focus rectangle moved apart from cell content.
    • Comments can be edited and deleted from the Navigatorā€™s right-click menu.
    Impress & Draw
    • In Normal view, it is now possible to scroll between slides, and the Notes are available as a collapsible pane under the slide.
    • By default, the running Slideshow is now immediately updated when applying changes in EditView or in PresenterConsole, even on different Screens.
    Chart
    • New chart types ā€œPie-of-Pieā€ and ā€œBar-of-Pieā€ break down a slice of a pie as a pie or bar sub-chart respectively (this also enables import of such charts from OOXML files created with Microsoft Office).
    • Text inside chartā€™s titles, text boxes and shapes (and parts thereof) can now be formatted using the Character dialog.
    Accessibility
    • Several improvements to the management of formatting options, which can be now announced properly by screen readers.
    Security
    • New mode of password-based ODF encryption.
    Interoperability
    • Support importing and exporting OOXML pivot table (cell) format definitions.
    • PPTX files with heavy use of custom shapes now open faster.

    Cover of LibreOffice Getting Started guideMinimum requirements for proprietary operating systems are Microsoft Windows 7 SP1 and Apple MacOS 10.15.

    To coincide with the new version release, the LibreOffice Getting Started guide has been updated and is also available for download.

    As usual, users are encouraged to support the TDF’s work with a donation.

  • America does irony

    Steve WoodsLanguage, Politics, Social Media

    A common misconception about US citizens is that Americans en bloc cannot do irony.

    This is known as stereotyping, i.e. people attributing a set idea they have about what someone or something is like, especially an idea that is wrong.

    The stereotyping was misproved (yet again!) earlier this week by the post below on the former social media site now known as X (mostly for the rating of its content. Ed.) in relation to the disgraced 45th President of the United States, adjudicated sexual predator, condemned business fraudster, convicted felon and compulsive liar, one Donald John Trump.

    Post reads Sorry, but I have to agree with Trump. Crime is out of control. Just look at New York. There is a dude who was convicted of 34 felonies there, and he's still walking the streets.

    In the dictionary irony is defined as follows:

    a situation in which something which was intended to have a particular result has the opposite or a very different result.

    Anyone who does come out with the ‘Americans can’t do irony‘ phrase needs to look up what a national or ethnic stereotype is. šŸ˜€

  • Ambushed by donkeys and a lettuce

    Steve WoodsMedia, Politics, Social Media

    Today’s Guardian reports that Britain’s shortest-serving former prime minister, one Mary Elizabeth Truss, stormed off the stage at a book promotion event after being upstaged by a lettuce banner which dropped from the flies.

    The banner bore the phrase ā€œI crashed the economyā€ below a picture of a lettuce.

    Truss was at Beccles Hall in Suffolk promoting her memoir, Ten Years to Save The West, once described as “the work of a failed politician whose historical legacy will be the unprecedented shortness of her premiership“, when the incident happened.

    Campaign group Led By Donkeys had arranged the stunt and publicised it via its account on the Muskrat’s X-rated social media platform.

    Post reads We just dropped in on Liz Trussā€™s pro-Trump speaking tour with a remote-controlled lettuce banner. She didnā€™t find it funny.

    And here’s the video footage in all its (ahem) glory.


    For once, Truss had no difficulty finding how to get off the stage; this has not always been the case.

    In response to the stunt, Truss reportedly remarked:

    What happened last night was not funny. Far-left activists disrupted the event, which then had to be stopped for security reasons. This is done to intimidate people and suppress free speech.

    I wonā€™t stand for it.

    According to The Independent, Conservative political commentator Tim Montgomerie advised: ā€œLiz Truss would be well advised to learn to laugh at herselfā€.

  • FSFE intervenes in Apple vs. EU Commission

    Steve WoodsOpen Source, Politics, Tech, Uncategorized

    A green apple with an internal wormThe Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) is intervening in litigation brought by Apple against the European Commission before the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU). Apple is seeking to avoid Digital Markets Act obligations related to its App Store and the interoperability of its operating system. The FSFE’s mission is to protect free Ssoftware against monopolistic corporate control.

    The CJEU has officially allowed the FSFE to intervene in the litigation brought by Apple against the European Commission to avoid being designated as a ā€˜gatekeeperā€™ under the Digital Markets Act. The company has pursued an aggressive policy against software freedom and interoperability, seeking to deter enforcement of the DMA ā€“ a law designed to increase fairness and competitiveness in digital markets by regulating the economic behaviour of very large tech companies.

    Dr. Martin Husovec, the FSFE’s counsel, remarked, “Becoming an intervener in this case is crucial as the FSFE is representing the civil society perspective, which enriches the judicial proceedings. This allows the court to make fully informed decisions”.

    The FSFEā€™s intervention aims to uphold the application of the DMA to Apple, voicing the concerns of the free software community against the Appleā€™s unfair practices. Free software projects are disproportionately affected by the companyā€™s monopolistic practices. fee policies, strict vendor lock-in, prohibition on side-loading and the restriction on alternative app stores on Apple devices.

    By admitting the FSFE to the proceedings, the court stated that ā€œthe case is likely to have a significant impact on [ā€¦] the supply of free software, free exchange of information and equal chances in accessing softwareā€. Besides, the court recognised that if the EU Commission’s designation decision were to be annulled, […] ā€œsuch a result would have an impact on the ability of the developers of applications or free software to interconnect their applications free of charge with Appleā€™s operating system iOS, which, in turn, would affect [the] FSFEā€™s ability to further and distribute such software to as wide a public as possibleā€.

    The next step for the FSFE is to submit its arguments by mid-September.

  • Cat educates thick rich man

    Steve WoodsLanguage, Politics, Social Media

    The social media account of Larry the Cat, Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office, is no stranger to this blog (posts passim).

    Larry has now taken to his keyboard yet again to educate an ignorant, insulting rich man who owns a social media platform to educate the latter on the letter of the law in connection with the recent fascist riots in the Untied Kingdom*.

    In recent days Elon Musk, (yes, him! Ed.) has waded into the debate about rioting thugs, claiming the disturbances to be a matter of free speech, not violence and racism against vulnerable people who have sought asylum in the country.

    Post reads: Support freedom of speech in the UK

    Amongst the many replies to Musk came one from the Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office, a canny political operator who has so far survived the premierships of six prime ministers – David ‘Call Me Dave’ Cameron, Theresa May, disgraced former alleged party-time PM Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson, one Mary Elizabeth Truss and Rishi Sunak.

    Although he started out life as a stray, Larry quickly became acclimatised to the political climate in Whitehall, famously being one of those resignations which led to the downfall of Johnson, a man unfit to clean a public lavatory, let alone occupy the highest elected public office in the land (posts passim).

    Larry has posted the following response to Musk’s bland and blissfully ignorant exhortation.

    Post reads We have freedom of speech in the UK; it's written into our law in the 1998 Human Rights Act. But rights come with responsibilities (I appreciate that's a concept you're not familiar with); there's a requirement not to incite criminality or spread hatred online. We find society works better that way. Attachment to post reads Everyone has the right to freedom of expression. This right shall include freedom to hold opinions and receive and impart information and ideas without interference by public authority and regardless of tiers. This Article shall not prevent States from requiring the lensing of broadcasting, television or cinema enterprises. The exercise of these freedoms, since it carries with it duties and responsibilities, may be subject to such formalities, conditions, restrictions or penalties as are prescribed by law and are necessary in a democratic society, in the interests of national security, territorial integrity or public safety, for the prevention of disorder or crime, for the protection of health or morals, for the protection of the reputation rights of others, for preventing the disclosure of information received in confidence, or for maintaining the authority and impartiality of the judiciary.

    Ouch!

    * = Mis-spelling is deliberate.

  • Bristol says no to hate

    Steve WoodsBristol, Politics

    It was a tense day in Bristol yesterday. There were reports that fascist thugs were planning to ‘demonstrate’ against a legal practice specialising in immigration cases in the Old Market area. Lots of local businesses saw no alternative but to shut up shop early and board up their windows.

    Fortunately, things turned out differently: 2,000 lovely Bristolians packed West and Old Market Streets; the fascists stayed away and a party atmosphere prevailed.

    Even away from the focus of the demonstration there was some tension in the air, particularly where your ‘umble scribe lives in Easton, one of Bristol’s most diverse (in all senses) areas. Local shops in St Mark’s Road and the local community centre shut up early in anticipation of possible trouble, particularly as it was suspected the fascists were planning to march along Stapleton Road.

    As it happened, no march occurred either. Even if it had, there were lots of small knots of local residents keeping an eye out for trouble on the streets, especially in the vicinity of the mosque in St Mark’s Road.

    Also outside the mosque, your correspondent spotted two elderly white people sitting quietly on chairs, one holding a placard reading Bristol says no to hate. By the manner of their protest, your correspondent reckons they might have been Quakers.

    Placard on door to women's entrance to St Mark's Road mosque. It reads Bristol says no to hate

    When they left, they abandoned their placard on the women’s entrance to the mosque.

    Bristol, you should be proud of your citizens today,

  • The continuing menace of driverless vehicles

    Steve WoodsBristol, Language, Media

    All over the country, every day driverless vehicles are colliding with other vehicles and/or structures according to the local press.

    Here’s a typical example from today’s Bristol Live/Post to accompany the screenshot below.

    Headline - Live: Trains stopped between Bristol and Bath after vehicle crashes into bridge

    Nowhere in the entire report is there any mention of a driver, i.e. someone who might have been able to avoid the vehicle in question deciding to crash into the railway bridge of its own volition.

    Furthermore, the byline shows that someone is unfamiliar with basic English language. It reads:

    Services are at a stand.

    The byline is in fact quoted from Inrix, a US-based traffic data company which now operates in the Untied Kingdom, but seems to be unfamiliar with the word standstill. If any illiterate Inrix employees happen to be passing, it is defined as a condition in which all movement or activity has stopped.

    The phrase at a stand does exist, but its meaning – in a state of confusion or uncertainty; undecided what to do next – is subtly different from standstill.

  • Auntie aids fascist rioters

    Steve WoodsMedia, Politics, Social Media

    On Monday an horrific attack took place in Southport at a children’s dance class in which three young girls were deprived of life.

    The victims had been attending a Taylor Swift-themed dance and yoga class for children aged up to 11. Taylor Swift herself responded as follows to the news.

    Post reads: The horror of yesterday's attack in Southport is washing over me continuously and I'm just completely in shock. The loss of life and innocence, and the horrendous trauma inflicted on everyone who was there, the families, and first responders. These were just little kids at a dance class. I am at a complete loss for how to ever convey my sympathies to these families.

    A seventeen year-old youth was arrested on suspicion of murder and attempted murder, although his motives remain unclear.

    The BBC went to the trouble of reporting the suspect’s ethnicity.

    The BBC can report that the teenage suspect, whose parents are from Rwanda, was born in Cardiff and moved to the Southport area in 2013.

    It is at this point that questions arise as to why did the BBC point out that although the suspect is a British citizen, he is of African heritage, a fact that was sure to inflame the extreme right.

    A vigil was planned near the scene of the attack on Tuesday evening. At about 19.45 hrs, it was followed by violent disorder in which those involved set alight cars, threw bricks at a local mosque, damaged a local convenience store and set wheelie bins on fire. The rioters are believed to have been members of the English Defence League (EDL).

    After the riot, questions were asked including the one below by tax campaigner and top-flight accountant Richard Murphy.

    Post reads: A simple question. Why did the BBC ever think it appropriate to report that the suspect in the Southport killings was born in Cardiff to parents from Rwanda? If he'd been born in Surrey to parents from Yorkshire, I am certain that they would not have pointed that out. Are they trying to create, or even imply that there are, second-class. British citizens? This feels horribly like racism from the BBC, with the implication being that this group is made up of people who could be deported from the UK because they might have a claim to citizenship elsewhere. If that is what is happening, the BBC is supporting the far-right playbook. An explanation is needed. Why is this apparent racism allowed from our state broadcaster?

    Meanwhile in Scotland, The National reports that SNP leader Hamza Yousef has written to the Home Secretary demanding that the EDL be proscribed as a terrorist organisation, as well as posting the following on X/Twitter this morning.

    Violence targeting police officers, the public, and mosques, all to drive forward the far-right’s hateful ideology.

    Rhetoric is not enough.

    We need to take action against the far-right. I have asked the Home Secretary to use her powers to proscribe the English Defence League.
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