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● 02.14.23

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● Links 14/02/2023: KaOS Linux 2023.02 and Free Software Love (❤️)

Posted in News Roundup at 9:45 pm by Dr. Roy Schestowitz

GNU/Linux

Kernel Space

=> ↺ Linux 6.1.12

=> ↺ Linux 5.15.94

Applications

=> ↺ 8 Useful Free and Open Source Network Configuration Management Tools

• We’ve compiled a list of NCM tools. They are all released under an open source license (in the case of rConfig only v3 is open source, its later edition is proprietary software).

• Here’s our verdict captured in a legendary LinuxLinks-style ratings chart.

Instructionals/Technical

=> ↺ Configuring Sendmail through the External SMTP relay

• Sendmail is an open-source mail transfer agent (MTA) that provides an efficient way to manage and transmit emails. However, for organizations that need to send a high volume of emails, relying solely on Sendmail may not be sufficient. This is where relaying emails through an external SMTP server can be helpful.

=> ↺ Getting information about MySQL databases and tables

• MySQL is a widely used database management system for managing relational databases. It is an open-source database management system, which means it is free to use and has a large community of users that contribute to its development.

=> ↺ MySQL Events

• Introduction MySQL is a popular open-source relational database management system that is used by many organizations to store and manage their data. One of the most powerful features of MySQL is the ability to schedule tasks to be executed automatically, known as MySQL events.

=> ↺ MySQL Views

• If you’re working with a large database, you might have realized that it can get overwhelming to handle all the information stored in it. That’s where MySQL Views come in handy. A view is a virtual table that is created from a SELECT statement.

=> ↺ pgrep Command Examples

• Want to look for a process and its details? The pgrep command helps you with that. Here’s how to use it.

=> ↺ MySQL Triggers

• Introduction Databases are crucial to storing and retrieving data. They are essential for managing and organizing data for businesses, organizations, and individuals.

=> ↺ MySQL Functions

• MySQL is a widely used open-source relational database management system. It provides a vast array of functions that can perform various operations on the data stored in the database.

=> ↺ Peter Czanik: Syslog-ng 101, part 7: Networking

• This is the seventh part of my syslog-ng tutorial. Last time, we learned about syslog-ng destinations and the log path. Today, we learn about syslog-ng network logging. At the end of the session, we will send test messages to a syslog-ng network source.

Desktop Environments/WMs

K Desktop Environment/KDE SC/Qt

=> ↺ Final Version of KDE Plasma 5 Released – This is What’s New

• KDE Plasma 5.27 is here with various changes, including a new window tiling UX, Flatpak app permissions, and a multitude of multi-monitor improvements.

=> ↺ Plasma 5.27

• Today is💖 Free Software Dayand what better way to celebrate than with a brand new version of Plasma!

• Plasma 5.27 brings exciting new improvements to your desktop, and the first thing you’ll notice when firing up Plasma is our new Konqi-powered wizard which will guide you through setting up the desktop.

=> ↺ Plasma 5.27 Brings Tailing Capabilities and Is Better than Ever

• KDE Plasma is one of the two leaders in the Linux world when we talk about desktop environments. Because of this, each new version is eagerly anticipated by the Open Source community.

• The just released KDE Plasma 5.27 will excite KDE fans and Linux enthusiasts, demonstrating the community’s continued commitment to delivering a top-notch user experience and bringing some exciting new features. So, let’s see what it has for us without further ado.

Distributions and Operating Systems

=> ↺ Enhanced auto-translated local help

• At first bootup, there is a welcome window with a brief overview how to use EasyOS. The file is /usr/share/doc/easy/welcome.htm There are also two other files in that folder; help.htm and home.htm

• The folder also contains scripts help.sh, home.sh and welcome.sh, that generate the corresponding html file, translated for the current running language.

• One problem has been an image in welcome.htm that shows the desktop with text on it.

New Releases

=> ↺ KaOS Linux 2023.02 Released with KDE Plasma 5.27 LTS and Linux Kernel 6.1 LTS

• The development team behind the Arch Linux-inspired, yet independently developed, and KDE-focused KaOS Linux distribution released today KaOS Linux 2023.02 as the newest ISO snapshot with the latest updates and GNU/Linux technologies.

• Powered by the latest and greatest Linux 6.1 LTS kernel series, KaOS Linux 2023.02 is one of the first GNU/Linux distributions to ship with the just released KDE Plasma 5.27 LTS desktop environment, which is accompanied by the latest KDE Gear 22.12.2 and KDE Frameworks 5.103 software suites.

SUSE/OpenSUSE

=> ↺ openSUSE Conference Travel Info

• TheopenSUSE Conferenceis set to begin in 100 days from today and, to help prepare people who want to travel to Nuremberg for the event from May 26 – 28, there is information people attending need to know.

• Getting a visa may take some time. There are certain requirements necessary to receive a visa for those who are not a citizen of a Schengen country. You may need a formal invitation letter that fully explains the nature of your visit.

Fedora Family / IBM

=> ↺ Richard W.M. Jones: Frame pointers vs DWARF – my verdict

• A couple of weeks ago I wrote a blog posting here about Fedora having frame pointers (LWN backgrounder,HN thread).I made some mistakes in that blog posting and retracted it, but I wasn’t wrong about the conclusions, just wrong about how I reached them. Frame pointers are much better than DWARF. DWARF unwinding might have some theoretical advantages but it’s worse in every practical respect.

=> ↺ Weekly status of Packit Team: February 2023

• Weeks 5–6 (February 1st – February 13th) # You can now use –srpm option with the packit build locally CLI command. (packit#1810) You will newly see news about Packit as a footer of the GitHub check runs summary. (packit-service#1881) Packit now groups related builds and test runs (e.g. triggered by the same event, just different chroots) together. In the future, this will allow better presentation of the overall pipelines (e.

Canonical/Ubuntu Family

=> ↺ Ubuntu vs. Manjaro Linux: Which One Should You Choose

• Choosing a Linux distribution can be hard with so many choices. You’ll find many videos and guides like this one trying to explain the differences, but you have to realize that differences are often relatively minor or only matter to people with specific goals and needs.

• Many differences are just a coat of paint, and just as often, the coat of paint is easily transferable to another distro. Really, that’s the beauty of Linux: most software is free and designed to be interchangeable, so mixing and matching your favorite aspects of different distros is a real possibility.

=> ↺ Canonical announces real-time Ubuntu kernel

• The real-time Ubuntu 22.04 LTS from publisher Canonical was released on Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2023. Enterprises running the open source operating system can now run more demanding workloads and develop a wide range of time-sensitive applications, Canonical said.

• As a real-time solution, it was designed to minimize the response time guarantee within a specified deadline. With a new enterprise-grade real-time kernel, Ubuntu 22.04 LTS can keep up with stringent low-latency requirements such as smart factory applications.

=> ↺ Canonical debuts Real-time Ubuntu for low-latency applications

• Linux operating system developer Canonical Ltd. today announced the general availability of Real-time Ubuntu, a new and specialized version of its operating system designed for time-bound workloads and applications.

• The newly developed real-time kernel within Ubuntu is better able to serve extreme latency-dependent use cases, providing deterministic response times to service events, Canonical said. In this way, it can minimize response time guarantees within a specified deadline, making it ideal for time-sensitive applications in the automotive, aerospace, industrial, public sector, retail and telecommunications sectors.

=> ↺ Real-time Ubuntu is now generally available

• Canonical today announced the general availability of real-time Ubuntu 22.04 LTS. Real-time Ubuntu provides a deterministic response to an external event, aiming to minimise the response time guarantee within a specified deadline. The new enterprise-grade real-time kernel is ideal for stringent low-latency requirements. Enterprises in industrial, telecommunications, automotive, aerospace and defence, as well as public sector and retail, can now run their most demanding workloads and develop a wide range of time-sensitive applications on the open-source operating system (OS).

• “The real-time Ubuntu kernel delivers industrial-grade performance and resilience for software-defined manufacturing, monitoring and operational tech”, said Mark Shuttleworth, CEO at Canonical. “Ubuntu is now the world’s best silicon-optimised AIOT platform on NVIDIA, Intel, MediaTek, and AMD-Xilinx silicon”.

=> ↺ Real-time Ubuntu is now available for the first time

• Ubuntu is gearing up to respond to Industry 4.0 in an era of increasing interconnectivity with the release of the latest real-time 22.04 LTS version.

• Canonical, the company behind the popular open source operating system, says real-time Ubuntu 22.04 LTS is designed with performance, ultra-low latency, and security in mind.

• With this release, the OS is aiming to deliver top performance to the telecommunications network amid the transformation to 5G, the automotive industry, and other models related to the interconnectivity associated with the so-called fourth industrial revolution.

=> ↺ Real-time Ubuntu delivers for enterprise workloads

• Today Canonical has announced the general availability of real-time Ubuntu 22.04 LTS. This enterprise-grade offering is aimed at the industrial, telecom, automotive, aerospace and defense sectors, as well as public sector and retail.

• Real-time Ubuntu allows organizations to run their most demanding workloads and develop a wide range of time-sensitive applications on the open-source operating system.

• By collaborating with partners, from silicon providers to OEMs and ODMs, Canonical wants to raise the bar of what is possible in the software world, unleashing a new wave of creativity and innovation with real-time Ubuntu.

Open Hardware/Modding

=> ↺ The Protector is a life-saving wearable packed with intelligent sensors

• Exercising outdoors is great for our general health and mental wellbeing, but it also carries some risks that are not always apparent, such as bad air quality, incoming storms, or simply falling down.

Mobile Systems/Mobile Applications

=> ↺ Privacy Sandbox, Android’s privacy-focused ad technology, is rolling out in beta | BGR

=> ↺ Best eSIM-compatible Android phones in 2023

=> ↺ Google rewriting parts of Android Settings app w/ Jetpack Compose

=> ↺ Google explains why it won’t let you customize the look of Google Assistant on Android – PhoneArena

=> ↺ Google launches Privacy Sandbox on Android beta to overhaul ad tracking – The Verge

=> ↺ New Android setting reveals if your phone has been ‘infiltrated’ by someone | The US Sun

=> ↺ How to Fix the “There Was a Problem Signing In to Your Account” Error on YouTube for Android

=> ↺ Geekbench 6 arrives with new tests and more

=> ↺ Google pads up with 5 start-ups for NCLAT hearing in Android case – The Hindu BusinessLine

=> ↺ People are just realizing Android phones can tell if the spider or insect in your home is dangerous | The US Sun

=> ↺ Android 14 could help third-party app stores better compete with Google Play | Tom’s Guide

Free, Libre, and Open Source Software

=> ↺ Holger Levsen: 20230214-i-love-osuosl

• So in December 2018 I was approached somewhat out of the blue by someone from OSUOSL who offered eight servers to the Reproducible Builds project and as these machines had 32 cores and 144 GB Rameach(plus 3 TB on a single HDD) and they also offered free hosting, I very happyly said yes.

Web Browsers/Web Servers

Mozilla

=> ↺ Mozilla Thunderbird: Thunderbird 115 Supernova Preview: The New Folder Pane

• Inour last blog post, we announced that we’re rebuilding the Thunderbird UI from scratch, with the first results coming to Thunderbird 115 “Supernova” this July. We also explained why it’s necessary to begin removing some technical and interface debt, and to modernize things in order to sustain the project for decades to come. That post may have caused you to worry that Thunderbird 115’s interface would be radically different and ship with less customization options. Perhaps fearful you’d have to relearn how to use the application.

• Nothing could be further from the truth! In this post — and in future Supernova previews — we want to put all those worries to rest by showing you how Thunderbird 115 will be intuitive and welcoming to new users, while remaining familiar and comfortable for veteran users.

Productivity Software/LibreOffice/Calligra

=> ↺ Love ❤️ for the LibreOffice community

• Today is I love Free Software Day, and we at The Document Foundation would like to say a huge thank you to everyone in the LibreOffice community!

Programming/Development

=> ↺ 12 Best Open Source JavaScript Gallery and Lightbox Libraries

• Photo presentation in websites is required especially by photographers. As we covered several types of self-hosted gallery solutions, it is time to offer custom ones for developers and coders that aid them to create creative fancy photo galleries.

=> ↺ 60%+ Performance Improvements with Continuous Profiling and Library Matching – Part 1/2 on Combining Dynamic and Static Analysis for Performance Optimisation

• This is the first post in a two part series on combining static and dynamic analyses for performance optimisation.

Leftovers

=> ↺ Video Game Voice Actors Doxed and Harassed in Targeted AI Voice Attack

• The harassment campaign shows that if there is audio of you speaking available online—podcasts, streams, YouTube—you could also be a target of AI-generated voices.

=> ↺ Who was Ángela Peralta, the Mexican Nightingale?

• Live in Mexico? Your city likely has a building or street named after this 19th-century soprano from humble origins who toured the world.

=> ↺ Mexico-U.S. agricultural trade surpassed US $73 billion in 2022

• Mexico recorded an agricultural trade surplus of just under $15.3 billion in 2022, an 18% increase compared to 2021.

=> ↺ Syria: Humanitarian Crisis and Disaster

• On January 9, 2023, the UN Security Council extended the cross-border mechanism for the supply of humanitarian aid to the north-western regions of Syria. According to Resolution 2672, the mechanism has been extended for six months, until July 10, 2023. Voting took place the day before the expiration of Resolution 2642, adopted in July 2022.

=> ↺ Vice-President Teodoro Nguema Obiang’s Superyacht and Homes Seized in South Africa

• The Republic of Equatorial Guinea, located on the west coast of central Africa, is the third-largest oil producer in sub-Saharan Africa. With an estimated population of 1.5 million, majority languishing in abject poverty and yet the country’s top officials are very extravagant.

=> ↺ NYC’s rise in crime affects everyone’s way of life

• The bottom line is that crime in New York City in 2022 was 31% higher than in 2019, before criminal-justice reforms, with almost 55,000 more victims in 2022 than in 2019, including 30,000 felony victims.

=> ↺ How Assad Blocked Aid to Syrian Earthquake Victims

• In the country’s rebel-held northwest, none of the assistance delivered so far has included rescue equipment.

=> ↺ Turkey rescuers say voices are still being heard under the rubble

=> ↺ As Turks look at collapsed buildings, anger at government grows

• President Erdoğan won broad support in Turkey for his building and modernization projects. But critics of the government say sensible precautions were ignored in a rush to build in a quake-prone zone.

=> ↺ Earthquakes Destroy. People Rebuild.

• Cities are a form of life and they need constant care to stay strong. They didn’t get that care in Turkey.

=> ↺ Isolation and Resignation in Turkish Villages Hit by Earthquake

• In rural southern Turkey, some villages were cut off from aid for days, and locals were left to fend for themselves.

=> ↺ Week After Turkey-Syria Earthquake, Relief Efforts Are Stymied

• A week after a powerful quake struck Turkey and Syria, the combined death toll surpassed 35,000. With more than a million homeless in Turkey alone, there is a desperate need for temporary housing.

=> ↺ Panel Finds Decades of Abuse in Catholic Church in Portugal

• More than 500 people have come forward to say they were abused by representatives of the church, and a new report says the number of victims may surpass 4,800.

=> ↺ Earthquake victims in Diyarbakır unable to obtain basic needs

• Women have difficulty going to hygienic toilets and taking care of their children. One woman who gave birth in a tent struggles to obtain medicine.

=> ↺ FEBRUARY 6 EARTHQUAKES: Volunteer nurse: ‘A man had survived the earthquake, but died of hypothermia’

• A nurse who came to the earthquake region as a volunteer on day two draws attention to the risks related to accommodation and heating problems, and the threat of a pandemic. She says that AFAD is not well organized.

Science

=> ↺ A Lost Language Translated From Ancient Tablets Reveals Names of Gods in Stunning Find

• Our knowledge of the Amorite language was so slight that some doubted its existence, and now we know the names of their gods.

=> ↺ How about paying extra for peer-review?

• There are those who demand journal peer-review be paid extra on top of academic salaries. Let’s have a look at the financials of that proposal.

Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

=> ↺ Sweden Discards 8.5 Million Doses of COVID-19 Vaccines

• The doses, equivalent to about 20 percent of the vaccine doses Sweden has purchased, were intended for booster vaccination.

=> ↺ The Conspiracy-Verse Thinks “Fake UFOs” Are a Distraction From a Disastrous Train Derailment

• Accidental environmental activism from a surprising source.

=> ↺ More young people on antidepressants

• From 2016-2021 the ratio of people aged 20-29 with prescriptions for psychoanaleptics increased from 5.4 to 7.2 percent

=> ↺ Teen girls bear worst of mental health crisis

• The teen mental health crisis is worsening by almost any measure. But it’s affecting girlsalmost twice as much as boys, according to new federal data.

• The big picture:A pronounced gender gap in who is experiencing suicidal thoughts, sexual assault and persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness point to the need for more tailored interventions and support.

Proprietary

=> ↺ ChromeOS Will Soon Allow You to Change Keyboard Shortcuts

• A beta build of ChromeOS 111 shows what the keyboard shortcuts app will look like.

Security

=> ↺ The Digital and Population Data Services Agency’s bug bounty program expands to Suomi.fi Messages

• As of 13 February 2023, the Digital and Population Data Services Agency’s bug bounty program will expand to cover Suomi.fi messages. In the program, the Agency cooperates with white hat hackers to identify potential security deficiencies in the services. The bug bounty program will continue until 30 April 2023.

• ‘At worst, the vulnerabilities of digital services lead to a successful data breach.

=> ↺ Microsoft Patch Tuesday, February 2023 Edition

• Microsoft is sending the world a whole bunch of love today, in the form of patches to plug dozens of security holes in its Windows operating systems and other software. This year’s special Valentine’s Day Patch Tuesday includes fixes for a whopping three different “zero-day” vulnerabilities that are already being used in active attacks.

=> ↺ Serious Security: GnuTLS follows OpenSSL, fixes timing attack bug – Naked Security

• Last week, we wrote about a bunch of memory management bugs that were fixed in the latest security update of the popular OpenSSL encryption library.

• Along with those memory bugs, we also reported on a bug dubbed CVE-2022-4304: Timing Oracle in RSA Decryption.

=> ↺ Password manager security: Which is the right option for me?

• The first guide of our two-part series helps consumers choose the best way to manage their login credentials

=> ↺ Opscura lands $9.4 million to defend industrial devices

• A Spanish company called Opscura said this week that it had raised $9.4 million to defend industrial IoT devices that sit deep within the operational technology network.

Integrity/Availability/Authenticity

=> ↺ T-Mobile Down for Thousands of Users in U.S. – Downdetector

Privacy/Surveillance

=> ↺ Joe Brockmeier: Blacklight: A real-time website privacy inspector

• Ever wondered what kind of trackers are on any given site? Check out Blacklight, a web-based tool to reveal specific user-tracking technologies on a site.

Defence/Aggression

=> ↺ Myanmar junta revives 1977 law allowing ‘loyal’ civilians to bear arms

• Arming civilians could escalate violence nationwide, possibly leading to widespread civil war, experts warn.

=> ↺ Radar tweaks driving balloon finds, US officials say

• ‘Better scrutiny of our airspace’ has led to the spate of objects found in the air, according to military leaders.

=> ↺ Russia Postpones Flight To Bring Crew Back From ISS Until Early March

• The launch of a Soyuz spacecraft to bring Russian cosmonauts Sergei Prokopyev, Dmitry Petelin, and NASA astronaut Frank Rubio back to Earth from the International Space Station (ISS) has been postponed from February 20 until early March.

=> ↺ Taiwan says it has not seen surveillance balloons from China

• Most sightings were of those used for weather observations.

=> ↺ Dutch F-35s Intercept Three Russian Military Aircraft Near Poland – Netherlands’ Defence Ministry

• Two Dutch F-35 fighters intercepted a formation of three Russian military aircraft near Poland and escorted them out…

=> ↺ DPSS outlines safety response after MSU tragedy

• The Division of Public Safety and Security has issued a statement in response the Feb. 13 shooting at Michigan State University, assuring the community that U-M campuses are safe and that it is taking enhanced security measures.

=> ↺ What we know about the suspected Michigan State University gunman

• Authorities identified the suspect in the deadly mass shooting at Michigan State University as 43-year-old Anthony Dwayne McRae. Here’s what we know about him.

=> ↺ Hear dispatch audio during deadly Michigan shooting

• A mass shooting at Michigan State University left three people dead and five others critically wounded. CNN correspondent Adrienne Broaddus has more.

=> ↺ Michigan State University reels, seeks answers to gunman’s motive

• A shooter opened fire on students at Michigan State University Monday night, killing three and wounding five. The shooting is the latest in a spate of deadly shootings this year in the United States.

=> ↺ Michigan State University campus shooting leaves 3 people dead and 5 others critically injured

• Michigan State University police said ashootingin two locations around the school’s East Lansing campus on Monday night has left at least three people dead and five others hospitalized incritical condition.

=> ↺ China Tries to Depict Furor Over Spy Balloon as Sign of U.S. Decline

• Ignoring charges of spying, Beijing says Washington’s “overreaction” is a symptom of the country’s broken politics.

=> ↺ Flying Objects Could Turn Out to Be Harmless, U.S. Says

• Investigators have not yet found any evidence that the three objects shot down in recent days were connected to China’s program of balloon surveillance.

=> ↺ U.S. Arrests Three Americans in the Assassination of Haiti’s President

• Antonio Intriago, a Venezuelan American businessman, and Arcángel Pretel, a Colombian American citizen, are the owners of a Florida-based security company that has been tied to the 2021 killing.

=> ↺ A Smarter Way to Reduce Gun Deaths

• To break the paralysis, focus less on guns and more on those firing them.

=> ↺ Why Is It So Hard for Congress To End a War?

• Lawmakers are once again trying to reclaim their war powers through AUMF repeal.

Transparency/Investigative Reporting

=> ↺ Who goes to jail over classified docs – and who doesn’t?

• Some experts say higher-level officials are less likely to be prosecuted for mishandling secret information. Others argue it all depends on the details of the case.

Environment

=> ↺ New Zealand declares National State of Emergency due to Cyclone Gabrielle

• This is only the third time in New Zealand’s history that a National State of Emergency has been declared.

=> ↺ Cyclone Gabrielle pushes New Zealand into state of emergency

• “This is a significant disaster with a real threat to the lives of New Zealanders.”

=> ↺ New Zealand Declares Emergency as Cyclone Gabrielle Eases

=> ↺ Queensland on high alert as crews battle bushfires

• More than 20 homes and sheds have been destroyed as out-of-control bushfires rage in parts of country Queensland, fuelled by hot conditions.

=> ↺ ‘More like a ghost town’: Video shows scene in New Zealand as cyclone hits

• Cyclone Gabrielle pounded New Zealand’s North Island with wind and rain, knocking out power to tens of thousands of homes. CNN affiliate Newshub reporter Alice Wilkins has more.

=> ↺ Deadly Ohio train derailment eerily ‘predicted’ on Netflix: ‘Scary’

• The movie “White Noise” and the fiery crash earlier this month share similar haunting details.

Energy/Transportation

=> ↺ Australia’s first commercial CSP plant gets $45m funding boost

• ARENA has approved AUS$65 million in funding for a 30MW concentrated solar power plant in Port Augusta, South Australia.

=> ↺ 1 GWh battery energy storage project advances in Ontario

• The project is one of Canada’s largest battery energy storage projects and would use equipment from Tesla.

=> ↺ New Hwange Unit 7 set to add 300MW to the national grid, time to embrace coal?

• Humans are built to adapt and we are really good at it. I think the Zimbabwean is particularly excellent at this. There is no point in mourning over what won’t change no matter how much you murmur and complain. Hence why we no longer bat an eye at rolling 16-hour blackouts.

=> ↺ China’s wind and solar are now almost enough to power every home

• However, just 17% of electricity use in China is classified as residential in 2020, the IEA said.

=> ↺ US regulator orders crypto firm to stop minting Binance stablecoin

• New York’s top financial regulator has ordered a crypto company to stop minting a major stablecoin, widening a clampdown on the embattled digital assets sector.

=> ↺ The SEC gives crypto a fresh scare

• The U.S. securities regulator has made clear with two recent enforcement actions that it views most crypto products and services as securities — the agency’s simplest and broadest warning to date about what companies in the industry can’t do.

=> ↺ NFT marketplace Magic Eden cuts 22 staffers as part of restructuring

• Magic Eden, the largest nonfungible token marketplace for the Solana blockchain by market share, announced late Monday that it will lay off 22 employees, or about 15% of its staff, as part of a “company-wide restructuring.”

=> ↺ Cryptocurrency scams use YouTube videos to suck in potential victims

• A new report from WithSecure Inc. details a growing network of cryptocurrency scams using thousands of YouTube videos to suck in potential victims. The thousands of videos often appear legitimate, with some receiving inauthentic engagement from hundreds of other YouTube channels within the scam network.

Overpopulation

=> ↺ Smaller human populations are neither a necessary nor sufficient condition for biodiversity conservation

• That’s the title of a paper just published in Biological Conservation in response to TOP’s recent paper on population and biodiversity loss in that journal. Are its authors right?

Finance

=> ↺ Consumer confidence plummets as cash rate lifts

• The latest interest rate hike is weighing heavily on consumers and pushing confidence towards levels last seen in the early days of the pandemic. The monthly consumer sentiment survey from Westpac and Melbourne Institute revealed a 6.9 per cent fall in February after consumers reported feeling more optimistic in December and January

=> ↺ On Pig Butchering Scams

• “Pig butchering” is the colorful name given to online cons that trick the victim into giving money to the scammer, thinking it is an investment opportunity. It’s a rapidly growing area of fraud, and getting moresophisticated.

=> ↺ Continued Price Hikes on Egyptians Amid Spiralling Inflation

• For almost a year, galloping inflation in Egypt has strained the budgets of Egyptian families to their limits as more people face a dire financial situation.

=> ↺ EU Economy Set To Avoid Recession but Headwinds Persist

• The growth outlook for 2023 is raised to 0.8 percent for the EU and 0.9 percent for the eurozone, according to the European Commission’s Winter 2023 Economic Forecast. This is respectively 0.5 and 0.6 percentage points higher than in the autumn forecast.

=> ↺ Abellio London Bus Drivers Conquer an 18% Pay Increase

• “Workers have stood firm. With the support of our union and after several protests, they have secured a richly deserved wage increase,” Unite Secretary Graham said.

=> ↺ Packed with tourists, Japan returns to economic growth

• The country’s economy grew at an annualised rate of 0.6% from October to December, government data showed.

=> ↺ The day the Reserve Bank pushed consumer confidence into the abyss

• If the RBA’s objective was to scare the community away from the shops it looks to have hit its mark.

=> ↺ UK strikes hit a 30-year high as inflation erodes pay

• The United Kingdom lost more working days to strikes in 2022 than in any year since 1989, as employees walked out in large numbers over pay amid soaring living costs.

=> ↺ Inflation ticks higher, suggests bumpy road for Fed, economy

• January’sConsumer Price Indexdoesn’t suggest inflation is reheating in a major way. But it does preview the path to getting prices under control.

=> ↺ Consumer prices rise at faster pace in January

• Consumer prices rose at a more rapid monthly pace in January, the Labor Department said on Tuesday —interrupting a monthslong streakof cooler inflation readings.

• By the numbers:The Consumer Price Index rose 0.5% last month, as prices for food, energy and apparel accelerated at a more rapid pace. In the 12 months through January, inflation was 6.4%, compared to 6.5% in December.

=> ↺ Is Inflation Sneakily Starting To Rise Again?

• January’s consumer price data indicates another drop in annual inflation, but the past three months might tell a different story.

AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

=> ↺ Bad foreign actors to be named after Iran plot foiled

• Australia will name countries found to be undermining the nation’s political processes. And spy agencies will be tasked with designing programs for identified communities most at-risk of being targeted for foreign interference.

=> ↺ Effort sprouts cost-savings, collaboration for social media

• U-M has selected Sprout Social to provide enterprise-level social media management, allowing hundreds of university-branded accounts to leverage the same powerful tool.

=> ↺ Russian convicts say defense ministry is sending them from jail to fight as ‘cannon fodder’ in Ukraine

=> ↺ Hear Russian prisoner’s chilling final message to wife after fighting in Ukraine

• CNN’s Nick Paton Walsh investigates Russia’s use of prisoners to fight the war in Ukraine.

=> ↺ Wagner chief admits to founding Russian troll farm sanctioned for meddling in US elections

• Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Russian private military company Wagner, admitted on Tuesday to founding the Internet Research Agency, a notorious troll farm that the US government has sanctioned for interfering in American elections.

=> ↺ The Toll That Twitter’s Glitches Is Taking on Chinese Activists

• As the Elon Musk-owned social media service encounters interruptions and bugs, Chinese dissidents and activists said they feared they were being muzzled.

=> ↺ Biden pulls pick for human rights post over anti-semitic comments

• “Bought. Purchased. Controlled,” James Cavallaro wrote in a December 2022 tweet, replying to an article about funds raised for Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) by pro-Israel lobbying groups.

Misinformation/Disinformation/Propaganda

=> ↺ Combating Disinformation Wanes at Social Media Giants

• As the companies have shed jobs recently, many teams assigned to combat false and misleading information have taken a hit.

=> ↺ Steve Bannon’s Podcast Is Top Misinformation Spreader, Study Says

• A large podcast study found that Mr. Bannon’s “War Room” had more falsehoods and unsubstantiated claims than other political talk shows.

=> ↺ U.S. State Department Funds a Disinformation Index That Warns Advertisers To Avoid Reason

• Reason is listed among the “ten riskiest online news outlets” by a government-funded disinfo tracker.

Censorship/Free Speech

=> ↺ ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ scene slammed by French government as ‘false and deceptive’

• The defence minister lambasted the “anti-French” sentiment of the Marvel film and paid tribute to soldiers who “died defending Mali”.

=> ↺ The West is abandoning the freedom of speech

• The West is abandoning one of the most important foundations of its existence – the West is abandoning the freedom of speech. The recent statement by the head of EU diplomacy Borrell is indicative. He said that the ban on the spread of information from Russia is “a protection of freedom of speech in Europe.

=> ↺ The Consent Factory

• CJ Hopkins So, Matt Taibbi is going after the Consent Factory. No, not my blog. The actual Consent Factory. The unimaginably powerful, mostly decentralized, global-capitalist propaganda apparatus that manufactures what passes for “reality” in our increasingly totalitarian age. Or he is going after the US division of it, anyway.

=> ↺ Court Blocks N.Y. Law Mandating Posting of “Hateful Conduct” Policies by Social Media Platforms (Including Us)

• From Volokh v. James, decided today by Judge Andrew L. Carter, Jr. (S.D.N.Y.): “Speech that demeans on the basis of race, ethnicity, gender, religion, age, disability, or any other similar ground is hateful; but the proudest boast of our free speech jurisprudence is that we protect the freedom to express ‘the thought that we hate.’”

=> ↺ Smartmatic’s Libel Lawsuit Against Fox News Can Go Forward

• From today’s decision by the New York intermediate appellate court in Smartmatic USA Corp. v. Fox Corp.: The causes of action for defamation were based on significant allegations that defendant Giuliani (and defendant Powell, against whom the action has been dismissed) made defamatory statements about plaintiffs’ involvement in the 2020 Presidential election…

Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press

=> ↺ Cambodia shutters Voice of Democracy in latest move to wipe out dissent

• Observers condemn the closure of the independent media outlet ahead of upcoming elections.

=> ↺ U.S. Deeply Concerned by Cambodian Government’s Shutdown of Independent Local News Outlet

=> ↺ Indian authorities raid BBC offices after broadcast of Modi documentary

• Indian tax authorities raided the BBC’s offices in New Delhi and Mumbai on Tuesday, weeks after the country banned a documentary from the British broadcaster that was critical of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s alleged role in deadly riots more than 20 years ago.

=> ↺ One of Cambodia’s last independent media outlets has been shut down

• One of Cambodia’s last remaining independent media outlets has been shut down by Prime Minister Hun Sen ahead of national elections in July, in a move condemned by rights groups as a blow to press freedom.

=> ↺ Cambodia’s Leader Shuts Independent News Outlet Ahead of Election

• The leader, Hun Sen, was not satisfied with an apology he received from the outlet after it wrote about his son, a lieutenant general.

Civil Rights/Policing

=> ↺ Xinjiang state security police detain outspoken ethnic Kazakh musician

• Police forcibly remove Zhanargul Zhumatai from her mother’s home in the regional capital Urumqi, activists say.

=> ↺ YLE: Migri’s arguments for deporting parents have no legal basis, say experts

• DECISIONS by the Finnish Immigration Service (Migri) concerning the interests of children have left legal experts shaking their heads in dismay.

=> ↺ New proposal to crack down on hooliganism

• Justice minister Peter Hummelgaard said it was a strong signal to send those who don’t behave themselves in connection with football games

=> ↺ Saudi columnists bolster calls for reform of Muslim religious law

• Taliban bans on women’s education and employment by foreign aid organisations operating in Afghanistan are having unintended consequences. The bans have sparked calls for reform of Muslim religious law in Saudi Arabia, a country that wields moral authority in the Muslim world because of its custodianship of Islam’s two holiest cities, Mecca and Medina.

=> ↺ An Alabama Man Was Taken to Jail. Two Weeks Later, He Was Dead From Hypothermia.

• Tony Mitchell’s death was a “direct and proximate result” of jail officers’ “deliberate indifference or malice, and of their ongoing denial of Tony’s constitutional rights under a scheme that continued to operate after his death,” his family’s suit states.

=> ↺ Can The Vice President Invoke The “Speech or Debate” Clause?

• The provision applies to “Senators and Representatives,” not to the President of the Senate.

Monopolies

=> ↺ Microsoft and Google promised to invest in these communities. Now they’re backtracking

• When Microsoft President Brad Smith announced in February 2021 that the tech giant had purchased a 90-acre plot of land in Atlanta’s westside, he laid out a bold vision: The company, he said, would invest in the community and put it “on the path toward becoming one of Microsoft’s largest hubs” in the United States.

Patents

=> ↺ Transport & Automotive Zone Feb 2023 Update

• Combined, the patent risk landscape within the transportation space appears far different than it did even a few years ago. In 2022, nearly 80% of all cases in this sector were brought by NPEs, the highest since 2015. Operating company litigation decreased by 31% over the past three years, while patent assertion entity (PAE) NPE litigation increased by 47%.

=> ↺ SCOTUS Amicus Filed by Unified Edge, Supporting Curb on Over-Broad Patent Claims

• On February 10, 2023,Unified Edgefiled an amicus brief with the Supreme Court concerning the test for whether a patent has met the statutory requirement for enablement—i.e., the requirement that the specification sufficiently disclose the claimed invention in such full, clear, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to make and use it.

• The brief explains why the Supreme Court should maintain—across all fields of endeavor, including high tech—the Federal Circuit’s vigorous check on functional patent claims that the Federal Circuit has applied over decades of its case law (which in turn rests on 170 years of the Supreme Court’s jurisprudence). The fact-intensive investigation into enablement required by the Federal Circuit’sWandsfactors provides the appropriate, flexible framework for Patent Office examiners, fact-finders, trial court judges, and reviewing appellate courts to apply in assessing compliance with the statutory requirement for enablement.

=> ↺ Administrative Committee confirms Unified Patent Court will open doors on 1 June 2023

=> ↺ Quality at the EPO – One Modest and one Serious Proposal

Gemini* and Gopher

Personal

=> ↺ Star Gazing 2023-02-14 Morning (Fairbanks, AK, USA)

• The forecast predicted a brief partial clearing of the skies in the mid-morning, and due to the dearth of other opportunities, I decided to take a gamble on it. I arrived at the boat launch about 4:30am AKST. The temperature was -16 deg F, there was no moon, and wispy clouds were covering somewhere around 30-50% of the sky.

=> ↺ Every human goofs off once in a while

• I am a human. Hence, I am goofing off, too, once in a while!

=> ↺ Bicycle, part 2 🚲

=> ↺ Album #176: Dog Man Star

• At it’s best, it’s feels like a bridge between the British music of previous decades (Mainly Bowie, but plenty of The Beatles too) and the catchy, dumber future of the mainstream success of britpop (Blur, Oasis, The Verve). But that fudging timelines a little – ‘Leisure’ by Blur was selling well. ‘Definitely Maybe’ came out the same year. So scratch that. It’s certainly more varied than both of those albums, and the lyrics aspire to something more than catchy. It never quite get there. It all loses steam towards the end, moving to slower, introspective songs before a huge melodramatic ending that felt overblown and unearned.

Technical

=> ↺ Sorbet G4: Retrocomputing, internal Raspberry Pi Zero

• I always loved the Power PC based Macintosh computers – my first was a iMac DV 400 with G3 CPU. So i bought a refubrished Power Mac G4 MDD with two G4 1.25Ghz / 2GB Ram some days ago, added a PATA to SD Adapter to get a “SSD” and installed Sorbet Leopard (Mac OS X 10.5.9) on it.

=> ↺ How I deploy to my server

• I don’t run this capsule on a server that I physically own. I rent out my server from digitalocean. Since my server doesn’t need to have lots of computing power or memory, I have opted to use the cheapest server possible that pennies can buy. The only problem is that the server is so underpowered: it is nearly impossible to install software from source. In this log, I will explain how I go about deploying software to my server.

=> ↺ Digital Peasantry

• Before the dawn of telegraphy, information and goods both needed to be physically transported to a location for the recipient to get them. Correspondence was carried on horseback, and all business occurred out directly in offices and storefronts.

• Imagine if in those days, ordinary people didn’t live in immovable houses but pod-like structures on wagons. They didn’t own the land their wagons were parked on; they simply rented space along roads that were owned by the gentry, who themselves answered to coordination by the offices of the king. In order to have an address and receive goods and services, one had to rent a spot on a road somewhere.

Programming

=> ↺ The diminishing inconveniences of contributing to GitHub projects

• Y’all know I hate GitHub, including the amount of hoop jumping needed to contribute to projects hosted on there.

• The gh cli app fixes that.

• After having set it up it’s as easy to contribute to GitHub-hosted projects as it is to use more normal git repos that accept send-email.

• I have a shell script that I can run in any cloned github repo where I’ve made changes; the script then checks if head is detached, asks me if I’m happy with the current branch name or prompts me for a replacement, commits everything, and then calls gh pr create –fill which in turn automatically does all that fiddly web stuff I was complaining about above: creating the fork if there already isn’t one, pushes it, and opens a pull request. Or if I’ve already committed my changes locally I can still call gh pr create –fill (or without the flag if I feel like writing pull request text).

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