Tootfinder

The fracturing of the Dutch far-right, after Wilder's reminded everyone that bigots are bad at compromise, is definitely a relief. Dutch folks I've talked to definitely see D66 as progressive, <strike>so there's no question this is a hard turn to the left (even if it's not a total flip to the far-left)</strike> a lot of folks don't agree. I'm going to let the comments speak rather than editorialize myself..
While this is a useful example of how a democracy can be far more resilient to fascism than the US, that is, perhaps, not the most interesting thing about Dutch politics. The most interesting thing is something Dutch folks take for granted and never think of as such: there are two "governments."
The election was for the Tweede Kamer. This is a house of representatives. The Dutch use proportional representation, so people can (more or less) vote for the parties they actually want. Parties <strike>rarely</strike> never actually get a ruling majority, so they have to form coalition governments. This forces compromise, which is something Wilders was extremely bad at. He was actually responsible for collapsing the coalition his party put together, which triggered this election... and a massive loss of seats for his party.
Dutch folks do still vote strategically, since a larger party has an easier time building the governing coalition and the PM tends to come from the largest party. This will likely be D66, which is really good for the EU. D66 has a pretty radical plan to solve the housing crisis, and it will be really interesting to see if they can pull it off. But that's not the government I want to talk about right now.
In the Netherlands, failure to control water can destroy entire towns. A good chunk of the country is below sea level. Both floods and land reclamation have been critical parts of Dutch history. So in the 1200's or so, the Dutch realized that some things are too important to mix with normal politics.
You see, if there's an incompetent government that isn't able to actually *do* anything (see Dick Schoof and the PVV/VVD/NSC/BBB coalition) you don't want your dikes to collapse and poulders to flood. So the Dutch created a parallel "government" that exists only to manage water: waterschap or heemraadschap (roughly "Water Board" in English). These are regional bureaucracies that exist only to manage water. They exist completely outside the thing we usually talk about as a "government" but they have some of the same properties as a government. They can, for example, levy taxes. The central government contributes funds to them, but lacks authority over them. Water boards are democratically elected and can operate more-or-less independent of the central government.
Controlling water is a common problem, so water boards were created to fulfill the role of commons management. Meanwhile, so many other things in politics run into the very same "Tragedy of the Commons" problems. The right wing solution to commons management is to let corporations ruin everything. The left-state solution is to move everything into the government so it can be undermined and destroyed by the right. The Dutch solution to this specific problem has been to move commons management out of the domain of the central government into something else.
And when I say "government" here, I'm speaking more to the liberal definition of the term than to an anarchist definition. A democratically controlled authority that facilitates resource management lacks the capacity for coercive violence that anarchists define as "government." (Though I assume they might leverage police or something if folks refuse to pay their taxes, but I can't imagine anyone choosing not to.)
As the US federal government destroys the social fabric of the US, as Trump guts programs critical to people's survival, it might be worth thinking about this model. These authorities weren't created by any central authority, they evolved from the people. Nothing stops Americans from building similar institutions that are both democratic and outside of the authority of a government that could choose to defund and abolish them... nothing but the realization that yes, you actually can.
#USPol #NLPol

Dear IT Friends – We Are Called To Action
If you are like me, you have probably experienced your neighbors, friends and family asking you to help them fix their PCs and give them technical advice. That was always a bit odd for me as I was a big systems guy and relied on our internal IT team for PC advice and support.
But the times are changing, aren’t they?
It feels like we are facing so much new danger. And some groups are definitely targets. In my company our success was…

eBike Nerdery
So the full decision matrix is:
- BBS02 48V 500W (750W) (a minor upgrade); would let me use a better battery and have a better margin when the battery gets low.
- BBSHD 48V or 52V (1000W); can be run with an extra spicy 52V battery for more power
- TSDZ8 48V 750W (1200W peak), the reengineered TSDZ2 with actual thermal capacity
- TSDZ16 48V 1000W (not sure what peak but geez that's a lot of motor)
- DM02 48V 500W (A team that made the TSDZ2 split off and went to make better motors)
- DM01 48V 1000W — I've not read up on it much but it's that same team I'm sure making a solid motor.
Also-rans:
- BBS02 36V 500W (existing motor); A spare would be nice so I can refurb mine without having to be without my bike.
- TSDZ2 48V 500W (I have one); tends to overheat and I ride hard. Not a winner.
- CYC motors: rather spendy. Nice stuff though.
- M625, M615, M225, M255: newer Bafang motors; more expensive, no real benefit, CAN bus is not well supported by third parties yet.
Pros of the Bafang BBS series: lots of parts available on the market. Lots of display options
Pros of the Tongsheng TSDZ series: Torque sensor!
Pros of the ToSeven DM series: Torque sensor, better build quality.

Our realities are constantly diverging, and never completely shared. And we •want• that! It’s important for people to bring different experiences, different ways of seeing and thinking.
One person understands climate science. Another person understands the subculture of Southern Iowa. A third person knows what it’s like to live as a Black person in this society — and so on, to infinity. All these perspectives matter, and nobody gets to hold all infinity of them at once.
Nobody gets to be in full possession of absolute truth.
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Moody Urbanity - Metro Consistency 📌
情绪化城市 - 都市质地 📌
📷 Pentax MX
🎞️ Orwo Wolfen P400
#filmphotography #Photography #blackandwhite

Dialog wyimaginowany:
"Przepraszam, gdzie jest dworzec kolejowy?"
"To te nieoznakowane drzwi pomiędzy salonem fryzjerskim, a nauką jazdy."
#Głogów #kolej #PKP

AI – I am here to help; would you like to chat?
 
 
Artificial Intelligence (AI) of one type of another is now a part of most of the applications and services we use on the Internet. In spite of AI’s helpful features, there are hidden dangers in most of the common AI applications and services. Most people are not aware that AI is not just being helpful – it is recording, storing and sharing information about our activities. This information can be helpful to autocrats in their…

Cory Doctorow gets it – Time to download privacy apps now
The Dictator/Fascist/Authoritarian playbook is well understood. Surveillance is a key part of the effort to dominate and punish individuals who engage in legal dissent or opposition. The recent decision by Apple and Google to remove the ICEBlock application from their app stores is a good example of how this control plays out.
Our mobile phones are the main platform that we use to send and receive text and email messages.…

Protect your privacy – browsers and search engines
 
Surveillance has always been a core part of fascist regimes. This is still true today, but is even more dangerous due to new data aggregation and AI technologies. The Internet sites you visit and the things you search for become a part of the larger surveillance database of your activities. You can take action now to reduce the risk to yourself, your friends and your loved ones while you browse the Internet. You should start now …