Barba Koala
Barba Koala
@barbakoala.bsky.social
Who's out there planning how to take down the Nazi space lasers before they take off? Terrestrial tech has potential to be accessible to all; Space tech's under control of the few. Expand & improve sun/wind/wave so every home powers itself, & shutdown IPO-boosting bullshit. Need cash for good stuff.
February 3, 2026 at 6:21 AM
Reposted by Barba Koala
Definitely seems like they destroyed the country on purpose.
February 2, 2026 at 6:30 PM
Reposted by Barba Koala
Reposted by Barba Koala
The biggest risk in this moment is something sociologists call “symbolic compliance.”

That’s when an institution that is violating civil rights gives the public just enough symbolic victories that accountability efforts lose steam before there has been any meaningful change.
January 26, 2026 at 11:35 PM
Coming up to a year of boycotting Amazon dot com, and will never look back (the family have drawn the line at purging Prime Video for now, but working on that.) Here's some findings and lessons learned ...
January 25, 2026 at 8:44 AM
Reposted by Barba Koala
1. This short thread is about the issue that dominates almost every aspect of politics, and causes or exacerbates most of our problems: the extreme wealth of a small number of people. Here’s the amazing thing: almost the entire political class aligns with the ultra-rich against the rest. 🧵1/10
January 23, 2026 at 11:30 AM
Reposted by Barba Koala
This is why solidarity is everything. If you vote for the bigot to persecute the people you’re bigoted against, don’t be surprised if he comes for you
Incredible quote here from a Somali small business owner in Minneapolis who voted for Trump. minnesotareformer.com/2026/01/19/a...
January 20, 2026 at 9:24 PM
Reposted by Barba Koala
Reposted by Barba Koala
The EU is working on what is in essence a new Open Source strategy for Europe, and the call for evidence is now open. This is our cue to provide feedback and input to the strategy!

If you are involved in the Open Source community in any way, if you benefit (or could benefit) in any way from […]
Original post on camp.smolnet.org
camp.smolnet.org
January 7, 2026 at 12:36 PM
Reposted by Barba Koala
Trump may be the beginning of the end for ‘enshittification’ – this is our chance to make tech good again | Cory Doctorow
Trump may be the beginning of the end for ‘enshittification’ – this is our chance to make tech good again | Cory Doctorow
The US president is weaponising tech, but his tariffs and Brexit provide a surprising opportunity to gain back digital control of our lives, says science fiction author, activist and journalist Cory Doctorow
www.theguardian.com
January 10, 2026 at 12:52 PM
This is exactly the endgame & a reason for the gold rush; to become embedded in our life's supply chain. Part of a broader pattern where we willfully trade ownership for subscription convenience. In this case, outsourcing thinking to a rented robot brain. Infinite revenue for them, addiction for us.
example bad outcomes, in increasing severity:

• you can't work during outages or without wifi
• the VC subsidy ends and it becomes unaffordable
• billionaires dictate what kinds of software you can build
January 10, 2026 at 5:28 AM
Reposted by Barba Koala
📮 Help us deliver hope one letterbox at a time.

Join us and join in ⤵️
January 7, 2026 at 5:31 PM
Historian: where did the greatest resistance to the American Empire come from?

Ameribot: ... in summary, social media posts, whilst capable of inflicting precise hurt feelings and expressing huge disappointment, were ultimately unable to stop the tanks & bombs. Shall I add more porn to this answer?
January 7, 2026 at 4:26 AM
Once in a generation opportunity to secure a large swathe of wild land for public enjoyment and nature preservation. Funding deadline is Sept 2026.

www.wildlifetrusts.org/appeals/roth...
Donate to Secure the Rothbury Estate | The Wildlife Trusts
Stretching over 3,800 hectares, the Rothbury Estate in Northumberland is abundant with opportunity. It’s the largest continuous area of land to appear on the market in 50 years. Its sale creates a uni...
www.wildlifetrusts.org
December 31, 2025 at 1:48 PM
Reposted by Barba Koala
Fuck you people. Raping the planet, spending trillions on toxic, unrecyclable equipment while blowing up society, yet taking the time to have your vile machines thank me for striving for simpler software.

Just fuck you. Fuck you all.

I can't remember the last time I was this angry.
December 25, 2025 at 11:25 PM
I ❤️ coding for the little highs that come with figuring out fixes to self-inflicted failures. That's why LLMs are so unattractive; they value a rush to the output over the pursuit itself. And of course that's why your boss insists you use AI. We need new bosses.
December 17, 2025 at 12:56 PM
Reposted by Barba Koala
Do you remember this?

Back in 2019 *this post* caused quite a stir on social media.
December 17, 2025 at 8:21 AM
Reposted by Barba Koala
The EU has launched a Consortium for Digital Commons. Authorities were crystal clear on how large our digital autonomy challenges are today. I delivered a talk in which I outlined how dependent we are technically AND culturally on big tech & I offered some modest advice: berthub.eu/articles/pos...
Keynote opening Digital Commons EDIC: Moving beyond the Digital Uncommons - Bert Hubert
Last Thursday, 11th of December, saw the launch of the new Digital Commons European Digital Infrastructure Consortium. In attendance were delegations from the launching member states (and the observer...
berthub.eu
December 14, 2025 at 10:24 AM
Reposted by Barba Koala
#E2EE must be explicitly protected, and client-side scanning must be excluded entirely. www.eff.org/deeplinks/2...
After Years of Controversy, the EU’s Chat Control Nears Its Final
After a years-long battle, the European Commission’s “Chat Control” plan, which would mandate mass scanning and other encryption-breaking measures, at last codifies agreement on a position within the
www.eff.org
December 11, 2025 at 6:34 AM
Reposted by Barba Koala
Time again for my favorite christmas post ever, one that still makes me laugh every time i read it
December 23, 2024 at 7:30 PM
Reposted by Barba Koala
This should make any human with values sick.
December 8, 2025 at 12:19 AM
Reposted by Barba Koala
A Palantir billionaire just called for public hangings.

“It's time to bring back masculine leadership to protect our most vulnerable,” writes Joe Lonsdale.

This is where Silicon Valley authoritarianism is heading:

www.thenerdreich.com/joe-lonsdale...
Joe Lonsdale Calls For Public Hangings
Silicon Valley radicalization escalates
www.thenerdreich.com
December 6, 2025 at 9:15 PM