I use `brew install` as liberally as a junior Javascript dev using NPM, so I'm grateful to all the engineers doing this work to keep me safe. Apparently, this was funded by something called the Open Technology Fund. From the OTF website:
>We support technology projects that counter online censorship and combat repressive surveillance to enable all citizens to exercise their fundamental human rights online.
Huh! Based on my experience as an open source contributor, I've developed certain intuitions, and this language just screams "state-sponsored ngo". Nothing wrong with that - but it made me curious. Thankfully, OTF is super open about their funding: https://www.opentech.fund/about/about-our-funding/
>OTF receives the majority of its funding from the U.S. government via the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM). Funding is appropriated for OTF through the annual Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs appropriations and provided to OTF via a grant agreement from USAGM.
Ha! I knew it. It's wierd how you can just tell, with these things. I didn't even know USAGM existed. Over the last decade, people have become so politicized, yet I feel like understanding of the Actually Existing State is pretty limited. Or maybe I should just speak for myself. When I study the state, I tend to do so in terms of political values and traditions that maybe don't make that much sense. Ie, in terms of democracy, freedom, liberal values, or whatever, when I don't know if these terms really mean anything at all in the context of modern polities, you know?
But if nothing else, it's cool to see my tax dollars going towards something that makes the world pretty much safer :)
>We support technology projects that counter online censorship and combat repressive surveillance to enable all citizens to exercise their fundamental human rights online.
Huh! Based on my experience as an open source contributor, I've developed certain intuitions, and this language just screams "state-sponsored ngo". Nothing wrong with that - but it made me curious. Thankfully, OTF is super open about their funding: https://www.opentech.fund/about/about-our-funding/
>OTF receives the majority of its funding from the U.S. government via the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM). Funding is appropriated for OTF through the annual Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs appropriations and provided to OTF via a grant agreement from USAGM.
Ha! I knew it. It's wierd how you can just tell, with these things. I didn't even know USAGM existed. Over the last decade, people have become so politicized, yet I feel like understanding of the Actually Existing State is pretty limited. Or maybe I should just speak for myself. When I study the state, I tend to do so in terms of political values and traditions that maybe don't make that much sense. Ie, in terms of democracy, freedom, liberal values, or whatever, when I don't know if these terms really mean anything at all in the context of modern polities, you know?
But if nothing else, it's cool to see my tax dollars going towards something that makes the world pretty much safer :)