We're finding "open" is usually a politically positive word. While marketeers think secret means "secret sauce", civilians think secret means "guilty secret".

#OpenSource #Policy

“Climate change is rampant, fascism on the rise, corporate greed uncontrolled, but despite it all, those 24 stick insects on a rock show us that it is never over until we give up.”

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/aug/07/lord-howe-island-giant-stick-insect-tree-lobster-invertebrate-of-year-2026

#InvertebrateOfTheYear

Going against the bad-news trend, I am absolutely loving @TheGuardian "Invertebrate of the Year" feature this week. Every day is a little natural gem that brightens the day.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/ng-interactive/2026/aug/03/revealed-top-10-invertebrates-of-the-year

#InvertebrateOfTheYear

RE: https://eupolicy.social/@backontrack/117037436887323852

Interesting new service to #Ukraine, https://www.leoexpress.com/en/where-we-go/popular-routes/przemysl-prague-dresden-frankfurt-cheap-tickets

Congratulations to the @openhomefoundation on their success briefing the @EUCommission on the challenges they and other #OpenSource projects face in the #Android ecosystem.

https://www.openhomefoundation.org/blog/a-big-win-for-android-interoperability/

#DMA #Interoperability

#Evernote are doubling their price again for the fourth time in 5 years and it's time for us as a family to at least create a backup of our decades-old family records so we are ready when they cease to be viable.

Do I know anyone who would be willing to set up a self-hosted replacement system and export out 5000+ notes and 17000 attachments please? Happy to pay.

Not looking for general advice. Please reply via DM or e-mail!. Thanks!

"States are sovereign. Borders cannot be changed by force. Those principles are not new. Nor is there any ambiguity to them.

The ... problem was never the rules themselves, but Russia’s decision to disregard them."

https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/russias-history-of-disregarding-the-sovereignty-and-territorial-integrity-of-its-neighbours-uk-statement-to-the-osce

#Ukraine

Has the #Amazon Blink team explicitly broken the ability of #OpenSource Home Assistant to log in to Blink?

https://github.com/home-assistant/core/issues/176836#issuecomment-5080466993

The @EUCommission has just published guidance documents clarifying how the Cyber Resilience Act #CRA affects (among other things) #OpenSource. This is the result of the extensive engagement of many open source community members.

https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/library/commission-publishes-new-guidance-support-timely-cyber-resilience-act-implementation

Having seen these thugs on the local streets (they also meet nearby to taunt refugees) I can't find any capacity for surprise at this finding. It would be fascinating to get demographic data on R-party supporters......

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/jul/24/most-people-arrested-during-henry-nowak-protests-had-been-reported-for-domestic-abuse

#UKPol #Southampton

Finally a real prosecution of a British water company.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/jul/22/former-southern-water-employees-trial-alleged-cover-up-wastewater-testing

I felt old when I found the computer on which I learned assembler in the Computer History Museum. But I think being featured in archival footage about #OpenSource and #OpenJDK in the new #Java documentary might just beat that.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZqGSg4b_cZA

RE: https://social.wildeboer.net/@jwildeboer/116924873937619510

The EU has refused to allow "OpenAI" to openwash their company. Bravo.

#OpenSource means freedom first, and the EU courts agree.

And thanks for the nod to @osi Jan, it's gratefully received!

Today we have started the public enquiry stage for the draft #standard for #CRA compliance for firewalls which is available with no paywall again. Please direct any comments to your national standards organisation, which is constructing a formal response.

https://www.etsi.org/deliver/etsi_en/304600_304699/304636/01.00.00_20/en_304636v010000ev.pdf

The @EUCommission wants to hear "from cybersecurity professionals and SME stakeholders on how #standards can best support real‑world #compliance needs under the Cyber Resilience Act." Let's make sure they hear from plenty of people who understand #OpenSource and the #CRA.

https://cyberstand.eu/cyberstandeu-public-consultation

Now, the draft #standard for #CRA compliance for router/modems/switches is available (with no paywall again). Please direct any comments to your national standards organisation, which is constructing a formal response.

Development of this standard was extensively supported by open source community members from Debian - many thanks to them!

https://www.etsi.org/deliver/etsi_en/304600_304699/304627/01.00.01_20/en_304627v010001ev.pdf

Goodbye, adequacy.
https://noyb.eu/en/us-supreme-court-just-blew-eu-us-data-transfers

It's almost as if the US wants Europe to end its dependency on US corporations.

Next, the draft #standard for #CRA compliance for hypervisors is available (with no paywall again). Please direct any comments to your national standards organisation, which is constructing a formal response. Development of this standard was extensively supported by open source community members from Debian and XCP-ng - many thanks to them!

https://www.etsi.org/deliver/etsi_en/304600_304699/304635/01.00.01_20/en_304635v010001ev.pdf

The draft #standard for #CRA compliance for password managers is now available (with no paywall). Please direct any comments to your national standards organisation, which is constructing a formal response.

https://www.etsi.org/deliver/etsi_en/304600_304699/304618/00.02.02_20/en_304618v000202ev.pdf

'Enjoy life while you can: in 20 years global warming will hit the fan'"

https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2008/mar/01/scienceofclimatechange.climatechange

#LovelockWasRight