*Victorian duck hunters urge parliament not to bow to "political correctness."*

I suggest that governments in Australia do more to encourage hunting of intrusive and introduced alien species, including foxes and cats.

Various US states are regulating PFAs, since Republicans won't let the US government do it.

A digital pet service that imitated a sweetheart or lover won users' hearts — then the company that ran it cut these simulated beloved from expressing affection.

The free software movement has something to say about it, and the author of the article gets it: "You can never have a safe emotional interaction with a thing or a person that is controlled by someone else."

Whether the author learned this from us, or thought of it on per own, it is good to see.

At the same time, a simulated friend that is entirely under your own control is not satisfactory, because whatever it says and does is your own fantasy. It is like a puppet.

Mastodon has announced a plan to make the service easier to join.

On the practical level, attention to these issues can make Mastodon easier to use, and that is good. In practical terms, this work is worth doing.

On the level of values, the reference to Mastodon as a "product" made me worry for Mastodon's future. The values associated with making a "product", and all the other words typically used by businesses, are corrupting. They infuse a set of goals that are incompatible with respecting people.

*Senate Democrat Slammed for Pushing 'Unprecedented Giveaway' to Mining Industry.*