I think that is considered idempotent in the REST-sense of the word: you can multiply a number by two as many times as you like, the result will be the same (and no state is mutated).
I looked it up, apparently there's a formal definition "denoting an element of a set which is unchanged in value when multiplied or otherwise operated on by itself", which does not seem to describe the REST usage very well, though.
If German courts maintains that making content available in Germany (ie, putting it on the Internet) gives them jurisdiction over your organisation, your choices are to be compliant with German law, or not to be available in Germany. PGLAF does not have the budget, nor the philosophical inclination to be compliant with German law, so that leaves one option. As you quoted in your GP, they have no reason to believe this will end with these 18 works, so the alternative really is compliance, not just blocking 18 works.
I'm sure PGLAF will welcome a German spin-off that makes works available in a manner compliant with German law, they just don't have the resources to be that place.
(Oh, and so what if they retaliated? Seems like a perfectly reasonable excuse for a bit of theatrics.)
> There are many powerful organizations that would like access to that data.
It's not about access to the data, but rather about controlling the flow of information. The rise of social media and Google represents a shift of power away from traditional media (which Soros and his allies have a relatively higher degree of influence over) and to .. well, something else (I'm going going to pretend it's "the people", and it's not "the russians", either).
The idea of false consciousness is one of the most misanthropic and illiberal ideas of the 20th century. It "explains" why the masses disagree with your "analysis" and thus shields you from having to confront the frightening prospect that maybe the masses actually are better equipped for knowing what they want and setting priorities for their own lives than you are.
I looked it up, apparently there's a formal definition "denoting an element of a set which is unchanged in value when multiplied or otherwise operated on by itself", which does not seem to describe the REST usage very well, though.