● 02.20.22

Gemini version available ♊︎

● Links 20/2/2022: Free Software in U.S. Department of Defence and GNOME 42 in Focus

Posted in News Roundup at 4:20 am by Dr. Roy SchestowitzContentsGNU/LinuxDistributionsDevices/EmbeddedFree Software/Open SourceLeftovers

GNU/Linux

Desktop/Laptop

=> ↺ 2021 LinuxQuestions.org Members Choice Award Winners

• The polls are closed and the results are in. We once again had some extremely close races (and multiple ties) and the large number of new categories this year certainly kept things interesting. Congratulations to each and every nominee. The official results: [...]

Audiocasts/Shows

=> ↺ Stop Confusing Potential New Linux Users – Invidious

• Sometimes when Linux users try to convince Windows users to switch, they go about the wrong way.

=> ↺ 186: Steam Deck, Proton 7.0, Kali Linux, OBS Studio 27.2 and more Linux news – TuxDigital

• On this episode of This Week in Linux: Steam Deck Updates & Replacement Parts, Proton 7.0, OBS Studio 27.2, AMD’s Acquisition of Xilinx, Kali Linux 2022.1, AV Linux MX-21, Ubuntu Touch OTA-22, KaOS Linux 2022.02, Kalendar 1.0, GNOME 42 Beta, Google’s Chrome OS Flex. All that and much more on Your Weekly Source for Linux GNews!

Kernel Space

=> ↺ Kernel 5.16.10 broken

• Same story. I compiled the 5.16.10 kernel, booted it, it spewed out a lot of stuff to the screen, then a black screen and had to do a hard power-off.

Instructionals/Technical

=> ↺ How To Install Boost Note on Ubuntu 20.04 LTS – idroot

• In this tutorial, we will show you how to install Boost Note on Ubuntu 20.04 LTS. For those of you who didn’t know, Boost Note is an open-source and advanced note-taking editor app for programmers and developers. It’s an application that is available for major operating systems such as Linux, Microsoft Windows, macOS, Arch Linux.

• This article assumes you have at least basic knowledge of Linux, know how to use the shell, and most importantly, you host your site on your own VPS. The installation is quite simple and assumes you are running in the root account, if not you may need to add ‘sudo‘ to the commands to get root privileges. I will show you the step-by-step installation of the Boost Note Note-taking app on Ubuntu 20.04 (Focal Fossa). You can follow the same instructions for Ubuntu 18.04, 16.04, and any other Debian-based distribution like Linux Mint.

=> ↺ SHOW USERS in MySQL – How to Show/List All Users in a DB

• In this short and simple tutorial, I’m going to show you how to show all the users in a MySQL/MariaDB database.

• There are many SHOW commands in MySQL: SHOW DATABASES, SHOW TABLES, SHOW VARIABLES, etc. Naturally, people expect there to be a SHOW USERS command. However, there’s no “SHOW USERS” in MySQL. There’s a different method to showing/listing all the users in a database in MySQL.

• I’ve wondered why there’s no SHOW USERS command, I even tried running SHOW USERS; in my early days. The actual command to show all the users in MySQL is still pretty simple and easy to remember.

=> ↺ Install AngularJS in Ubuntu 22.04 | 20.04 Linux – Linux Shout

• AngularJS is a framework for development, here we learn the commands to install AngularJS on Ubuntu 22.04 Jammy JellyFish or Ubuntu 20.04 LTS Focal Fossa using Terminal.

Desktop Environments/WMs

GNOME Desktop/GTK

=> ↺ First Look at GNOME 42’s Built-In Screenshot and Screencast Feature

• I bet that you’ve read about GNOME 42’s built-in screenshot and screencast feature in the past, but you probably never saw it in action in its full and final state. As such, I wanted you to be the first to see it in action and learn about its capabilities right here on 9to5Linux.

• First of all, I want to make it clear that this is not a new app that will replace the GNOME Screenshot utility, but a built-in functionality of GNOME Shell that you can activate in the GNOME 42 desktop environment and later versions via the PrtSc (Print Screen) key on your keyboard.

Distributions

=> ↺ Tiny Core Linux: The Smallest Linux Distro Ever Made

• You might look at the current crop of major Linux distros and see how big their ISO images are. It’s common to see the sizes balloon to several gigabytes.

• [...]

• As the name suggests, Tiny Core Linux is a Linux distribution that is meant to have, well, a tiny core. It’s intended to be the bare minimum to boot up and display a desktop. This includes the kernel, BusyBox, an FLWM desktop, and nothing else.

• The TinyCore ISO image is only 21MB. External applications are called “extensions” and must be downloaded separately through the package manager.

• The distro was founded by Robert Shingledecker, who had previously developed Damn Small Linux. You can consider Tiny Core Linux a spiritual successor to DSL.

• The idea behind Tiny Core is that the entire system will be copied into your RAM, making it very fast.

Slackware Family

=> ↺ I now have a US mirror for Slackware Live and other goodies | Alien Pastures

• Thanks to an anonymous sponsor, I am now operating a physical server in a US data center with a 1 Gbps connection to the Internet.

• This server addresses a complaint of many people who are trying to download ISOs of the Slackware Live Edition. My slackware.nl aka download.liveslak.org server is hosted in a Dutch datacenter in Amsterdam, and it looks like people outside Europe, in particular downloaders in Southern Pacific region, are experiencing terribly slow speeds when fetching content from that server.

Debian Family

=> ↺ Our pick of the best desktop environments for Debian | FOSS Linux

• Debian comes with support for basically every open-source desktop environment designed to work on Linux. This flexibility of Debian makes it such a compelling Linux distribution for playing around with. No matter if you are a casual desktop user, a power user who needs to manage workstations, or maybe you want to experience a Linux DE for the first time, Debian has you covered.

• In this article, we have decided to dive a little deeper and choose the best desktop environments for different Debian users. This classification explains which desktop environment will suit which kind of user to let you decide and choose one quickly.

Free, Libre, and Open Source Software

=> ↺ The U.S. Department of Defence has published new guidelines for the internal use of open source for cyber defence purposes

• Specifically, the new guidelines on software development and open source software attached to the memorandum first and foremost require the Department to follow an “adopt, buy, create” approach when procuring software solutions, preferentially adopting existing government or open source software solutions before turning to proprietary systems, and only creating new non-commercial software when there are no other off-the-shelf solutions available or fit for purpose.

=> ↺ MEMORANDUM FOR SENIOR PENTAGON LEADERSHIP COMMANDANT OF THE COAST GUARD COMMANDERS OF THE COMBATANT COMMANDS DEFENSE AGENCY AND DOD FIELD ACTIVITY DIRECTORS

• A. The Department must follow an “Adopt, Buy, Create” approach to software, preferentially adopting existing government or OSS solutions before buying proprietary offerings, and only creating new non-commercial software when no off-the-shelf solutions are adequate.

• (1) OSS meets the definition of”commercial computer software” and therefore, shall be given equal consideration with proprietary commercial offerings, in accordance with Section 2377 of Title 10, U.S.C. (reference (e)) (see also FAR 2.l0l(b), 12.000, 12.101 (reference (f)); and DFARS 212.212, DFARS 208.74, DFARS 227.7202, and 252.227-7014(a)(l) (reference (g))).

• (2) In accordance with FAR 13.104, (reference (h)) refusal to consider all OSS based solely on software being open source may be contrary to statutory and regulatory preferences for commercial products, and would unnecessarily restrict competition. OSS should be considered to the maximum extent practical.

=> ↺ Deputy CIO for Information Enterprise Danielle Metz and DoD Chief Software Officer Jason Weiss Hold a Media Briefing on the DOD Software Modernization Strategy

• DCIO(IE) DANIELLE METZ: Good afternoon everyone, really appreciate you participating today in this — today’s media roundtable, what I wanted to do is just provide a little context in terms of where the department has been on this journey in terms of evolving from the 2018 DOD Cloud Strategy to the Software Modernization Strategy that was just signed out last week by DSD Hicks. Our journey started in 2020, when we recognized that we had a significant problem but we weren’t capturing what that problem set was, and what we wanted to be able to do was to take a step back and crystallize what the problem was. So that we can ensure that we were delivering what was needed as a solution set for the warfighter, and what I mean by that is we spent, and the Federal government has spent, a lot of time advocating for people to move to the cloud. But we never thought about what it would be once we were in the cloud, and that’s where you’re really harnessing the power of cloud and compute.

Programming/Development

=> ↺ 5 Top Free and Open Source C Web Frameworks – LinuxLinks

• One of the types of software that’s important for a web developer is the web framework. A framework “is a code library that makes a developer’s life easier when building reliable, scalable, and maintainable web applications” by providing reusable code or extensions for common operations. By saving development time, developers can concentrate on application logic rather than mundane elements.

• A web framework offers the developer a choice about how to solve a specific problem. By using a framework, a developer lets the framework control portions of their application. While it’s perfectly possible to code a web application without using a framework, it’s more practical to use one.

• C is a general-purpose, procedural, portable, high-level programming language that is one of the most popular and influential languages. It was designed to be compiled using a straightforward compiler, to provide low-level access to memory, to provide language constructs that map efficiently to machine instructions, and to require minimal run-time support. Many programming languages owe a considerable debt to C. It has become something of the lingua franca in the programming world.

Standards/Consortia

=> ↺ Location Interoperability in Europe – LIFO publishes results of a major assessment involving 23 countries

• Results are now available for the Location Interoperability Framework Observatory (LIFO) 2020 assessment of 23 countries in Europe. LIFO monitors the implementation of location interoperability good practices in European public administrations, based on the level of adoption of recommendations in the five focus areas of the EULF Blueprint.

Leftovers

=> ↺ The Contract Is Signed

• This week I finally signed a contract with Seven Stories Press and Censored Press for the book I’m writing on WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange’s case. On a professional level, it’s my first book contract. Reading through all the twisting and turning lines riddled with unnecessary jargon was on some level intimidating, but it was also validating. Guilty of Journalism: The Political Prosecution of Julian Assange will be released in 2023. The book will be about 250-280 pages.My final edit is due to the publisher in June. I’ll complete the last chapters for the book by the first week of May.

• Mickey Huff and Andy Lee Roth at Project Censored have already shown me a lot of support over the past months. They will be there every step of the way to help me write the best book possible on the United States government’s prosecution of a journalist.The details are not entirely worked out, but it looks like I will have discounted copies for paid subscribers of the Dissenter Newsletter when the book is released next year. I’ve written chapters covering the charges against Assange and the CIA’s war on WikiLeaks. Next week I move on to Chelsea Manning’s court-martial and the grand jury investigation, which eventually led to Manning being jailed for a year after she refused to testify against Assange.Thanks for all your patience during the first months of the year as I compile the book. By mid-May, reports from The Dissenter Newsletter should be more frequent. Until then, please know I am extremely gracious to have paid subscribers like you who helped me get to the point where writing a book was possible.

=> ↺ Dad Cuts Entire Town’s Internet To Get His Kids Offline, Likely To Be Fined Or Even Jailed!

• The issue was brought to attention after the L’Agence nationale des fréquences (ANFR) – the organisation responsible for assessing radio frequencies in France received a complaint from a mobile operator. Signal drops were impacting the telephone and internet services of people living in Messanges.

Hardware

=> ↺ DIY Hydrophone Listens In On The Deep For Cheap | Hackaday

• The microphone is a pretty ubiquitous piece of technology that we’re all familiar with, but what if you’re not looking to record audio in the air, and instead want to listen in on what’s happening underwater? That’s a job for a hydrophone! Unfortunately, hydrophones aren’t exactly the kind of thing you’re likely to find at the big-box electronics store. Luckily for us, [Jules Ryckebusch] picked up a few tricks in his 20-year career as a Navy submariner, and has documented his process for building a sensitive hydrophone without needing a military budget.

=> ↺ It’s Bad Apple, But On A 32K EPROM | Hackaday

• The Bad Apple!! video with its silhouette animation style has long been a staple graphics demo for low-end hardware, a more stylish alternative to the question “Will it run DOOM?”. It’s normal for it to be rendered onto a screen by a small microcomputer or similar but as [Ian Ward] demonstrates in an unusual project, it’s possible to display the video without any processor being involved. Instead he’s used a clever arrangement involving a 32K byte EPROM driving a HD44780-compatible parallel alphanumeric LCD display.

=> ↺ DIY Float Valve For Passive Hydroponics Leverages 3D Printing | Hackaday

• [Billy] has a special interest in passive hydroponics (also known as the Kratky method), which is a way of growing plants in nutrient-rich water that does not circulate. As the plant grows and liquid level drops, only the tips of the roots remain submerged while more and more of the root surface is exposed to oxygen in a harmonious balance. However, “thirsty” plant types (tomatoes, for example) throw off this balance, and the system needs to be modified. To address this, [Billy] designed and printed a passive float valve system that takes care of topping up the reservoir only when needed, without using pumps or any other electrical equipment.

• Commercial or industrial float valves are too big to use in his small tanks, which led [Billy] to test dozens of DIY designs. He used everything from plastic water bottles to pipe ends, but nothing quite measured up. With 3D printing, [Billy] was able to create a sealed, lightweight float that exactly matched the housing and tube locations.

Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

=> ↺ Supreme Court Could Restrict US Agencies’ Regulatory Power in Air Pollution Case

=> ↺ The true cost of empty offices

• Cities have often bounced back from crises. From pandemics and earthquakes to floods and fires, the world’s urban powerhouses have emerged stronger when faced with adversity. After the Great Fire of London destroyed most of the city in 1666 a raft of fire-safety regulations were ushered in. Builders swapped timber for brick or stone. Walls were made thicker. Streets became wider. When cholera tore through America in the 1850s New York and other cities introduced sewage systems and public parks. As the disease spread to Paris, authorities there too introduced radical public-health measures. Tree-lined boulevards were built, fountains were erected and slums were cleared.

Integrity/Availability

Proprietary

=> ↺ Google Drive is flagging some macOS files for copyright violation

• Some macOS users trying to upload their own files to Google’s cloud storage service have been met with copyright violation notices.

• A disgruntled Reddit user recently reported that a ‘.DS_Store’ file on their Google Drive was flagged by the search giant for violating its copyright infringement policy. Apparently, this isn’t the first time this issue has been encountered as macOS users also reported experiencing similar problems last month.

Security

=> ↺ Reproducible Builds (diffoscope): diffoscope 205 released

• The diffoscope maintainers are pleased to announce the release of diffoscope version 205. This version includes the following changes:

Privacy/Surveillance

=> ↺ Explained: How a ‘fake image’ in a Saudi activist’s phone blew the lid off NSO’s Pegasus spyware

• As per the Reuters report, Citizen Lab found that al-Hathloul’s phone was infected with a version of the malware that could penetrate without requiring any action from the user’s end. This newer version, called the ‘zero click’ malware, launches itself in the device without the target of the spying ever having to click or tap a suspicious link.

• The ‘zero-click’ feature in Pegasus was introduced as an update to an earlier version of the malware, which required the target to click a link, sent either through an email, an SMS, or a message on WhatsApp or Apple’s iMessage.

• Such zero-click malware also delete all the evidence of their presence once they infect the user, thereby leaving behind no proof. This, according to cybersecurity researchers, makes it difficult to establish if the phones were being tracked.

=> ↺ Meta axes a head of global community development after he appears on video in underage sex sting – TechCrunch

• Meta, the parent company of Facebook, has confirmed to TechCrunch that Jeren A. Miles, who had been a manager of global community development, is no longer employed by the company after a video went viral on YouTube, which was then reposted on Reddit and other sites, featuring him in a sting operation conducted by amateurs […]

Defence/Aggression

=> ↺ The US Owes Afghanistan Reparations, Not Starvation

=> ↺ Russia alarmed about foreign troops on Bornholm

• To support its position, the Russian Embassy in Denmark has produced a note from 1946 relating to the Soviet handover of Bornholm to Denmark following WWII.

• Russia maintains that the note – an official correspondence between Vyacheslav Molotov, Soviet Union’s foreign minister at the time, and Danish diplomat Thomas Døssing – proves Denmark agreed to never allow foreign troops onto the island.

• “1946 Notes from #DK and #RU sides on the issue of non-deployment of foreign troops on #Bornholm,” wrote the Russian Embassy in Denmark on Twitter.

=> ↺ Russia-Ukraine will be world’s first ‘naked war’

• Commercial satellites and civilian snaps produce a birds-eye view of the unfolding international crisis. It’s not likely to stop once the shooting starts but not everything can be taken at face value. Deliberate misinformation is regularly being fed into the mix.

• This can simply be a troll seeking enjoyment out of sewing chaos. It can also be a concerted campaign by military agents.

• But the tools needed to check, validate and verify are also in the hands of the general public.

Environment

Energy

=> ↺ Opinion | Forget Russia—Blame the Fossil Fuel Industry for Europe’s Gas Dependency

• With the shadow of conflict in Ukraine threatening to turn the EU’s energy crisis into a full-blown catastrophe should Russia turn off the gas supply, it is worth reflecting on how we got here.

=> ↺ Opinion | The Mountain Valley Pipeline Can Never Be Completed—Time For Everyone to Admit It

• The first tree should never have been cut, the soil never disturbed. That’s the take away from the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals’ February 3 ruling on Mountain Valley Pipeline, LLC. Each and every act of resistance to the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) over the last seven years is validated by this ruling.

=> ↺ Opinion | The Fossil Fuel Industry Is a Jobs-Killer

• For years now, any discussion about climate action or the need to move off fossil fuels has run headlong into a familiar quandary: The industries fueling the climate crisis create good jobs, often in areas of the country where finding work that can support a family is incredibly difficult. 

=> ↺ World funds own destruction with $1.8 tn subsidies: study

• The world must by 2030 slash $1.8 trillion in annual subsidies that destroy the environment, in order to “finance a net-zero global economy”, according to a study Thursday from business groups including one founded by tycoon Richard Branson.

• The report, estimating the value of damaging state subsidies, was commissioned by Branson’s nonprofit initiative The B Team and global coalition Business for Nature, which comprises academic, corporate and environmental organisations.

• The vast subsidies, totalling two percent of global gross domestic product, fund the “global destruction of nature” and governments worldwide must act, the two organisations said in a statement.

Finance

=> ↺ AOC Slams NYPD for Bragging About Arrests Over Stolen Diapers, Baby Formula

AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

=> ↺ Opinion | House GOP Opens a New Shameful Chapter in Diplomatic Sabotage

=> ↺ Opinion | Where, Oh Where Is the Media’s Sense of Urgency on the GOP’s Attack on Voting

• If liberal democracy were threatened by the undeniably bad faith efforts of one major political party in the US to steal the 2024 presidential election, as they have tried to do (successfully, even) in previous elections, could Americans count on establishment media to report on this open subversion of liberal democracy?

=> ↺ ECJ rules against gvt, Orbán and MZP address the nation and Liu Shaoang gets gold

• Hungary slammed the European Court of Justice (ECJ) and accused the top court of political bias and abuse of power following the ECJ’s decision on tying the disbursement of European funds to the rule of law.

• In November of 2020, the EU adopted a mechanism that allows Brussels to cut EU funds from member states – such as Hungary and Poland – that do not maintain the democratic standards of the Union.

=> ↺ In a Victory for Activists, Lawsuit Against Arizona’s ALEC Lawmakers Can Proceed

=> ↺ Nick Clegg gets bigger role at Facebook owner Meta

• A Facebook post from the company’s boss Mark Zuckerberg said Sir Nick would become its president of global affairs.

• The move puts the former Lib Dem leader on a par with Mr Zuckerberg himself at the recently-rebranded firm.

• Sir Nick joined Facebook in 2018 as its head of its global affairs and communications team. His new role will see him focus on regulatory issues.

=> ↺ Meta CEO Zuckerberg promotes Nick Clegg to lead on policy issues

• Clegg, who was a British deputy prime minister from 2010 to 2015, joined Facebook in 2018 to run its global policy organization. He has led on issues like Facebook’s content policy and elections and spearheaded its establishment of the company’s independent content oversight board.

• “Nick will now lead our company on all our policy matters, including how we interact with governments as they consider adopting new policies and regulations, as well as how we make the case publicly for our products and our work,” Zuckerberg said in the post.

=> ↺ The inside story of Nick Clegg at Facebook — and how much power he really wields

=> ↺ Britain’s former deputy prime minister is now one of the most powerful people at Meta

• “Nick will now lead our company on all our policy matters, including how we interact with governments as they consider adopting new policies and regulations, as well as how we make the case publicly for our products and our work,” Zuckerberg said on his personal Facebook page.

• Zuckerberg said Clegg will now report directly to himself, as well as Sandberg, who he already reports to. He added that the appointment will allow himself and Sandberg to step back from policy decision-making to focus on building new products and the business respectively.

=> ↺ Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg promotes Sir Nick Clegg to same level of seniority as him at Meta

• Former deputy prime minister Sir Nick Clegg is to sit alongside Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg in seniority after getting promoted at the company’s rebranded Meta.

• The former politician will be in a new role focused on regulation.

• The 55-year-old was recruited by Facebook in 2018 to be its head of global affairs as Mr Zuckerberg sought to repair the company’s reputation over its role in spreading misinformation during elections.

=> ↺ Nick Clegg, Facebook’s lead apologist, used to be a political idealist

• Seeing Clegg in his protector-of-Facebook role is still rather mind-bending for those who felt the excitement of those 2010 debates. They might wonder how the man has again found himself as an apologist for higher-ups (Zuckerberg this time instead of Cameron) even though he has moved so far from the political arena where he first fell into that role.

• They might wonder how much he believes what he’s saying.

Misinformation/Disinformation

=> ↺ How Facebook twisted Canada’s trucker [blockade] into an international movement

• This pipeline — from physical protest to social media to establishment outlets — is what has helped the [blockade] evolve from a local standoff into a televised event that can raise millions from supporters thousands of miles away. Almost all of that infrastructure pre-dates the [blockade] itself, drawing from anti-vaxx groups, QAnon, and other fringe communities. And while the [blockade] itself may soon be broken up by the Canadian government, those online pathways are much stickier.

=> ↺ Estonia calls on Russia to stop ‘provocations, disinformation campaign’

• The Ministry of Foreign Affairs wrote on social media that it was “seeing worrying reports on Russia’s attempts to spike up tension in Eastern Ukraine”.

• “Estonia fully condemns such actions and calls on Russia to stop the provocations and its disinformation campaign,” it said, showing solidarity with Ukraine by using the #StandWithUkraine hashtag.

=> ↺ National Round-Up: Right-wing party leader claims Chernobyl blast only caused 50 deaths!

• It turns out that Vermund’s 50 were all emergency workers directly killed by the blast, whereas Jørgensen was including those who died as a result of the fallout.

Censorship/Free Speech

=> ↺ Director of Blonde assures that the film will be for adults and mocks the rumors about its censorship

• Joyce Carol Oates decided to write a novel to analyze Monroe as a protagonist, whose role finally gave her some light and voice over her life. The story is not a classic biography and it is not totally based on real events, but it reflects very well the personality of the actress, what the world expected of her and the abuses she had to suffer. For several years, the novel was thought for an adaptation, but the appropriate way to achieve it or the perfect Monroe was not found until she arrived Anne of Arms.

=> ↺ Is 2022 the Year of Censorship?

• Part of the current cycle is clear myside bias, a psychological construct that notes it’s easier to see bad behavior among one’s foes than among one’s allies. This is why I think we observe people passionately condemning censorship from the “other side” yet paradoxically equally defending censorship among one’s allies. Typically, individuals try to excuse their censorship as not really censorship… school boards have the right to set pedagogy (true, they do), or the censorship is coming from private companies, not the government (true, the First Amendment isn’t concerned with even massive tech companies’ control of speech).

Civil Rights/Policing

=> ↺ In Prison, We Celebrated the First Step Act. We Realized It Falls Far Short.

=> ↺ Inmates who died asked for release before falling ill with Covid

• The deaths of these three women imprisoned in West Virginia reflect a federal prison system plagued by chronic problems exacerbated by the pandemic, including understaffing, inadequate medical care, and few compassionate releases. The most recent statistics from the Federal Bureau of Prisons report 284 inmates and seven staff members have died nationwide because of covid since March 28, 2020. Medical and legal experts say those numbers are likely an undercount, but the federal prison system lacks independent oversight.

=> ↺ Hostility to Aurat March

• IT is that time of year once again when defenders of the patriarchy spring into action with spurious arguments to protect the status quo. This time, Minister for Religious Affairs Noorul Haq Qadri is leading the charge.

• He has written to Prime Minister Imran Khan to ask him to ban Aurat March on International Women’s Day — March 8 — and declare it as International Hijab Day, claiming that the women’s rally held annually to mark the UN-designated occasion contravenes religious principles. Interestingly, the minister in his letter dated Feb 9 acknowledges the importance of International Women’s Day in raising awareness of women’s rights, but then proceeds to decry as un-Islamic the banners and slogans that often feature at the Aurat March.

=> ↺ Evangelist Beaten, Tied Up to Be Burned for Converting

• “My uncle accused me of embarrassing them by holding Christian evangelistic, open-air meetings and debates with Muslims,” Bruhan told Morning Star News. “He accused me of being an infidel by converting to Christianity, and that Allah will reward them in Jannah [garden paradise] if they kill me.”

• Bruhan remained quiet, he said.

• “He said to me that it is now the right time for me to receive punishment from Allah, whereby I was going to be burned alive and the birds of the air will enjoy me as their meat,” Bruhan said.

Monopolies

=> ↺ The last days of Myspace

• But capturing or killing rivals was only half the story. The other half was Facebook’s ruthless campaign directed against its own users, whom Facebook sought to impose “switching costs” on. A “switching cost” is the value of everything you give up when you switch out a product or service for a rival. Facebook did everything it could to increase the switching costs of leaving for a competitor, including plotting to hold your family photos hostage:

• https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2021/08/facebooks-secret-war-switching-costs

• That’s important, because low switching costs are kryptonite for network effects. If you could leave Facebook and still talk to your Facebook friends (the way you can leave your cellular carrier without leaving behind the people you talk to on your phone), then the first time Facebook really pissed you off, you could just quit.

• In other words, network effects are how companies like Facebook get big, but high switching costs are how they stay big.

Copyrights

=> ↺ Preemptive Blocking Orders Help Greece Tackle Sports Streaming Piracy

• A new amendment to Greece’s copyright law makes it possible to block domain names and IP addresses of pirate live-streaming sources 24 hours before an event starts. The legislation mostly benefits sports rightsholders. Thus far, at least 362 domain names and 185 IP addresses have been blocked, stopping over 100,000 people from watching pirated streams.

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