Call for Participation — Cyber-Surveillance in Everyday Life: An international workshop — May 12-15, 2011, University of Toronto, Canada —

If you have ever read any of the articles I have written on Free Software Magazine you might just have noticed that my opinion of politicians is lower than a limbo dancer's pole. A brief brush with political activism many years ago left me with a deep and visceral distrust and dislike of everything political and a determination never to become entangled with politics ever again.

So let's just accept that Linux geeks land on all points of the political spectrum and take a look at the personal politics and styles of the two godfathers of the open source movement: Linus Torvalds and Richard Stallman.

I have been saying this for many years: free software must not be associated with an ideology or political party.

Eyeing the trends around user-friendly Linux desktops, sub-$500 notebooks, universal broadband, and Web 2.0 office applications, my colleague Steven J. Vaughn-Nichols opines that we're on the brink of a low-end Linux revolution. For my part, I'm not so sure.

"...The ethical, political and long-term-general-good arguments revolving around Free Software are much subtler than an immediate doubling of cancer death rates. There is indeed room for considerable debate about just what if any the benefits are. But many people find the arguments for its value in the long term and its ethical importance very persuasive—indeed, you do yourself.

What happens when the political becomes personal? Then who has the power?

This is the first post in a series where I examine my ten month love affair with the Linux Operating System. These posts are aimed at everyday Windows users who are curious about Linux and Open Source. If I am not precise in my explanations, please forgive me and correct me in the comments below.

This is supposed to be a political blog, but it's Linux Monday and that means it's time for a look at the politics of software. Nothing's a hotter issue these days, literally, than global warming, and today we'll see how Linux can save the planet.