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● Links 30/03/2023: WordPress 6.2 “Dolphy” and OpenMandriva ROME 23.03

Posted in News Roundup at 4:50 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz

GNU/Linux

Desktop/Laptop

=> ↺ System76 Ups Gazelle Laptop’s Game With a Refresh

• Not long after updating its Pangolin laptop line, System76 is at it again, with a new updated version of its Gazelle laptop.

Audiocasts/Shows

=> ↺ [Podcast] Traceroute, but in ‘the other direction’

• The issues with building a reverse traceroute tool for the public Internet.

=> ↺ Linux Out Loud 56: Newbie Tips

• This week, Linux Out Loud chats about out number-one tip for new users. Welcome to episode 55 of Linux Out Loud. We fired up our mics, connected those headphones as we searched the community for themes to expound upon.

Applications

=> ↺ Evolus Pencil – The Free Software UI/UX Designer and Diagram Drawing

• Evolus Pencil is a free/open source GUI prototyping and diagramming/flowcharting software from Vietnam. It is a cross-platform desktop application, can be fully used without registration nor subscribtion. It is very easy to use, powerful and snappy to make complex user interface mockups and it provides prebuilt elements (“stencils”) you can use by drag and drop. We overview Pencil here from its third generation version 3.1.1. Happy reading!

=> ↺ 3 reasons my Linux team uses Penpot

• Working with Fedora exposes you to a lot of different open source software. A major Fedora website revamp started over a year ago, with the goal of improving design aesthetics, creating a style guide, planning the website strategy, and choosing the tech stack for delivering the Fedora Linux offerings website. From a design perspective, the team needed a tool to create mock-ups, a place to hold the asset libraries, and something suitable to hand off to developers once complete.

• Figma is a popular interface designing tool recommended by many, but it wasn’t deemed suitable because the company had recently imposed restrictions on their free plan. This concern arose before Adobe acquired Figma, so the decision not to use it was even more significant in retrospect!

• The team looked into Penpot and found that it matched everyone’s requirements. Penpot is the first open source design and prototyping platform for cross-domain teams. A team within Kaleidos creates Penpot. Kaleidos is a technology company started in 2011 that fully focuses on open source projects.

=> ↺ Security Advisory 2023-02 for PowerDNS Recursor up to and including 4.6.5, 4.7.4 and 4.8.3

• Hello, Today we have released PowerDNS Recursor 4.6.6, 4.7.5 and 4.8.4 due to a low severity security issue found. Please find the full text of the advisory below.

=> ↺ Land your next job with these Firefox extensions

• As the saying goes, looking for a job is a job in itself. First, there’s all the writing that needs to be done. Then, it’s doing your homework to learn about the companies and the industries you’re applying and hopefully interviewing for.

Instructionals/Technical

=> ↺ How To Install Podman on Rocky Linux 9

• In this tutorial, we will show you how to install Podman on Rocky Linux 9.

=> ↺ How To Install LEMP on Fedora 37

• In this tutorial, we will show you how to install LEMP on Fedora 37. Hey there, web developers and tech enthusiasts!

=> ↺ How To Install Viber on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS

• In this tutorial, we will show you how to install Viber on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS.

=> ↺ GNU Linux Debian – how to install and run (aka update) to latest blender (currently 3.5.0)

• Thanks for powerfull Open Source software such as blender! (back in the ATARI days spend all money on a mathematical co-processor for the Falcon 030…

=> ↺ Locking in MySQL Transactions

• In MySQL, transactions are a set of SQL statements that are executed as a single unit of work. Transactions allow you to group related SQL statements together and ensure their consistency. Transactions in MySQL can be locked to prevent other concurrent transactions from interfering with them.

=> ↺ Performing transactions in MySQL

• Introduction Transactions are a fundamental aspect of database management systems (DBMS), and MySQL is no exception. In this article, we’ll explore the world of transactions in MySQL, breaking down the process with easy-to-understand examples, tips, and techniques.

=> ↺ Introduction on MySQL Transactions

• Introduction Hey there, fellow data enthusiasts! Today, we’re going to dive into the world of MySQL transactions. We’ll explore the ins and outs of transactions, the ACID properties that make them reliable, and some examples to help you get started.

=> ↺ How To Install Pi-Hole on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS

• In this tutorial, we will show you how to install Pi-Hole on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS. F

=> ↺ How to Copy Kibana Dashboard to Another Kibana Space

• Is it possible to copy Kibana dashboard to another Kibana Space? Yes, definitely.

=> ↺ Isolation levels in MySQL

• Introduction Hey there, fellow MySQL enthusiasts! Today, we’re going to explore the world of isolation levels in MySQL.

=> ↺ How to Use savepoints in MySQL

• Introduction MySQL, the go-to relational database management system for millions of developers, offers many ways to manage your data. Savepoints are a powerful feature that helps you maintain control of your transactions.

=> ↺ How to create hidden files in Linux (and what not to use them for)

• If you’re looking to hide files from plain sight in Linux, it’s much easier than you may think.

=> ↺ How to Install FreeIPA Identity Management System on Rocky Linux 9

• FreeIPA is an open-source identity management solution for Linux/Unix operating systems. In this tutorial, you will install and set up FreeIPA on Rocky Linux 9 server.

=> ↺ What is npm ci and how it is different from ‘npm install’ command?

• npm ci is a command in the Node package manager (NPM) that stands for “NPM Clean Install”. It is used to install packages from the package-lock.json file.

=> ↺ How to install a npm package directly from GitHub

• NPM doesn’t need an introduction if you are a developer. Anyway, it is a package manager that is used by popular Nodejs JavaScript to install various packages, dependencies, and modules.

=> ↺ How to Install Vivaldi Browser on Manjaro Linux

• Welcome to a world of sleek, efficient browsing with the Vivaldi Browser on your Manjaro Linux system. As a user who values privacy, customization, and resource efficiency, Vivaldi is an excellent alternative to mainstream browsers. Why Vivaldi? 🌐 Vivaldi brings unique features that make it a perfect fit for Manjaro Linux users.

=> ↺ How to Install MariaDB on Manjaro Linux

• MariaDB is a popular open-source relational database management system (RDBMS) that has gained widespread adoption due to its performance, scalability, and flexibility. It is a community-driven fork of the MySQL project and is developed, maintained, and supported by the MariaDB Foundation.

=> ↺ How to Install Microsoft Edge on Manjaro Linux

• In recent years, Microsoft Edge has evolved into a powerful and feature-rich browser, offering many benefits that make it an attractive option for Linux users. This introduction will outline the key differences and advantages that may encourage you to switch to Microsoft Edge as your default browser on Manjaro Linux.

=> ↺ How to Install AnyDesk on Manjaro Linux

• AnyDesk is a versatile remote desktop software that allows users to connect to and control other computers from their system. As a Manjaro Linux user, you may find AnyDesk, particularly appealing because it provides seamless access to remote systems, regardless of the operating system used.

=> ↺ How to Activate Dark Mode on Burp Suite on Linux Mint 21

• In this tutorial you will learn how to change BurpSuite’s default white theme to dark theme.

=> ↺ How To Install Mixxx on Ubuntu 20.04 | 22.04 LTS

• Mixxx is a free, open-source DJ software that allows you to mix and remix music tracks like a professional DJ. If you’re using Ubuntu 20.04 / 22.04 LTS and want to install Mixxx, this guide will walk you through the process step-by-step.

=> ↺ How To Install Komodo Edit on Ubuntu 20.04 | 22.04 LTS

• Komodo Edit is a free and open-source code editor that supports various programming languages like Python, PHP, Ruby, HTML, and more. It offers a lot of features that make it an excellent choice for developers.

=> ↺ Linux Fu: Gum Up Your Script | Hackaday

• We often write quick bash scripts and judging by the comments, half of us use bash or a similar shell to pop out quick, useful scripts, and half of us think that’s an abomination, and you should only use bash for your command line and resort to something more like a traditional language to do anything else. If you’re in the former camp, you’re probably cursing your allegiance when you need to make your bash scripts more interactive.

• Gum can help. It’s a utility that can handle your script input and output with a little flair while requiring almost no effort on your part.

• The command looks simple, but it has twelve subcommands, each with myriad options. But you can break down the functions into a few simple categories. The input commands let you prompt for a line of input or a bunch of lines of input. You can also create a pick list or a yes/no type of prompt. There’s also a file picker and a filter, sort of like fzf.

• The output commands let you display markdown, code, and tables. You can make output look nice with borders and colors. There’s a pager for lengthy output and a spinner for showing that something is happening. You can also use template strings with different placeholders.

=> ↺ How to simplify Flatpak app installation on the KDE Plasma desktop

• The future of Linux application delivery is Flatpak and Snap. If you’re not sure what these two technologies are, I’ve explained them and their importance in “What are Flatpak and Snap and why are they so important to Linux?” Essentially, both Flatpak and Snap are universal package managers that make it easier to install even more applications on Linux.

=> ↺ Strategy to find the latest AppImage file

• I posted about the problem in the previous post, and showed how the ‘lastversion’ utility can find the latest version — except when it can’t:

• https://bkhome.org/news/202303/bug-fixes-for-appimage-installer.html

• There is another utility, ‘ghrel’, that works where ‘lastversion’ has failed:

• https://github.com/jreisinger/ghrel

• …but that is an example of why I stay away from anything written in Go; the binary executable, stripped, is 4.7MB. Which, for a utility app, is ridiculous.

• I am unable to provide automatic updating for some AppImages, even though the latest can be seen in the web browser.

=> ↺ How To Install Ngxtop on Ubuntu 20.04 | 22.04 LTS

• In this tutorial, we will show you how to install Ngxtop on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS. Ngxtop is a powerful monitoring tool for Nginx that allows you to see real-time metrics of your Nginx server.

=> ↺ How To Install SmartGit on Ubuntu 20.04 | 22.04 LTS

• SmartGit is a popular graphical Git client that provides an intuitive and user-friendly interface for managing Git repositories. In this article, we will guide you on how to install SmartGit on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS.

=> ↺ How To Install Figma on Ubuntu 20.04 | 22.04 LTS with 4 different methods

• Figma is a popular web-based design and prototyping tool used by designers, developers, and product teams to create user interfaces, graphics, and interactive prototypes.

Games

=> ↺ Reviewing Linux Gaming Predictions for 2022: James Ramey from Codeweavers

• This is a guest post by James Ramey, president of Codeweavers (the main company behind WINE and Crossover) following his predictions shared at the beginning of 2022. Well, well, well….

=> ↺ New Steam Games with Native Linux Clients with Mr. Saitou and Stories from the Outbreak – 2023-03-29 Edition

• Between 2023-03-22 and 2023-03-29 there were 41 New Steam games released with Native Linux clients.

Distributions and Operating Systems

PCLinuxOS/Mageia/Mandriva/OpenMandriva Family

=> ↺ OpenMandriva Lx 23.03 Rolling Release is Now Available

• OpenMandriva Lx 23.03 comes just three months after the release of the .01 version of the open source operating system and brings with it some important updates. This also marks the first time OpenMandriva has offered a rolling release version of the operating system.

• According to the OpenMandriva team, “OpenMandriva Lx is a unique and independent, not based on any other, Linux distribution. A direct descendant of Mandriva Linux and the first Linux distribution utilizing the LLVM compiler. This release keeps using the entire LLVM toolchain which completes the work that began in 2015, even before Android switched its compilers.”

=> ↺ OpenMandriva ROME 23.03

• The OpenMandriva Team is pleased to offer new ROME 23.03 install images. OpenMandriva Lx is a unique Linux distribution. It is fully independently developed, hence not based on any other. OpenMandriva is the first distro ever built with Clang, starting with OMLx 3.x development cycle in early 2016, even before Android switched its compilers.

Fedora Family / IBM

=> ↺ The developer’s guide to Red Hat Summit 2023

• The wait is over: The session catalog and agenda builder are now available for Red Hat Summit 2023, which kicks off May 23 in Boston, Massachusetts. This year, Summit will share the stage with AnsibleFest, bringing you the latest in automation, open hybrid cloud, and more, all in one place.

• We’re also offering a virtual option so attendees can get the most out of their 3-day conference experience. Pre-register at no cost to view keynotes and select on-site sessions to watch at your own pace after the event concludes.

• We’ve rounded up some of the highlights for developers to help you plan your agenda. Head over to the Red Hat Summit website to browse the full session catalog and register today! 

=> ↺ 4 essentials to prevent OS command injection attacks

• Injection attacks, one of the most common security threats, are included in the OWASP Top 10 list of most critical web application security risks. The OWASP Top 10 is a standard for web application security that provides a comprehensive list of the most significant risks to web applications. Injection attacks occur when untrusted data is sent to an interpreter as part of a command or query. Attackers can use injection attacks to manipulate the behavior of the interpreter and gain unauthorized access to the system. Injection attacks can take many forms, including SQL injection, LDAP injection, OS command injection, etc.

• OS command injection is a type of security vulnerability that arises when an application or system allows an attacker to execute operating system commands by injecting malicious input. This issue can lead to unauthorized access, data breaches, and other security issues.

=> ↺ Deploy a Kafka Connect container using Strimzi

• Kubernetes and Apache Kafka are becoming de-facto platforms for developing and deploying microservice architectures. One of the challenges you might face when using both technologies is deploying and managing Kafka brokers inside Kubernetes—dealing with YAMLs, management, container creation, etc.

• The answer is Strimzi, an open source tool that lets you easily run Kafka clusters on Kubernetes in various deployment configurations. This article demonstrates how you can use Strimzi to configure Kafka Connect, a data integration framework for Kafka.

=> ↺ 10 must-read books written by women in tech

• Book description (via Amazon): “The last twenty years have brought us the rise of the internet, the development of artificial intelligence, the ubiquity of once unimaginably powerful computers, and the thorough transformation of our economy and society. Through it all, Ellen Ullman lived and worked inside that rising culture of technology, and in Life in Code she tells the continuing story of the changes it wrought with a unique, expert perspective.”

=> ↺ Digital transformation: 5 strategies to elevate your initiative

• When IT leaders talk about digital transformation, we toss out terms like dataverse, cloud computing, 5G, machine learning, artificial intelligence, and others.

• For many people in your organization (probably most, in fact), these words are a foreign language, full of ambiguity and anxiety. What may be exciting to you is likely raising fear of the unknown for them, even introducing questions about competence, capability, and value.

• Fretting and fumbling in a quicksand of technical jargon is NOT how you want people to feel about your digital transformation.

• Instead, you want them to be inspired by the possibilities it can bring to the organization and even their own career growth. If you can get people excited about and inspired by your true north, you can drive real progress and change.

• Here are five strategies that can help you reveal the big picture, smooth the way, and elevate your digital transformation:

• Be clear and straightforward about why you are undertaking the transformation, including the outcomes you will deliver for customers, employees, and the business. Talk in terms of capabilities and possibilities. Your goal is to have people at every level of the organization say, “I get it. This makes sense. This is exciting. I see where I fit in. How can I help?”

Canonical/Ubuntu Family

Ubuntu ☛ Ubuntu Blog: Charmed Kubeflow 1.7 is now availableRun serverless ML workloads. Optimise models for deep learning. Expand your data science tooling.Canonical, the publisher of Ubuntu, announced today the general availability of Charmed Kubeflow 1.7. Charmed Kubeflow is an open-source, end-to-end MLOps platform that can run on any cloud, including hybrid cloud or multi-cloud scenarios. This latest release offers the ability to run serverless machine learning workloads and perform model serving, regardless of the framework that professionals use. This new capability increases developer productivity by reducing routine tasks, helping organisations lower their operational costs. It unburdens developers from explicitly describing the infrastructure underneath.Based on a poll run by Canonical, open source and ease of use are the most important factors professionals consider when selecting AI/ML tooling. Charmed Kubeflow 1.7 expands its spectrum of open-source frameworks and libraries and makes the model development deployment process easier with a new set of capabilities.Serverless workloads and new model serving capabilitiesIn a recent MLOps report by Deloitte AI Institute, 74% of respondents indicated that they plan to integrate artificial intelligence (AI) into all enterprise applications within three years. To achieve this, companies need to find ways to scale their AI projects in a reproducible, portable and reliable manner. Charmed Kubeflow 1.7 brings new capabilities for enterprise AI:The introduction of KNative in the Kubeflow bundle allows organisations to run serverless machine learning workloads.The addition of KServe enables users to perform model serving, regardless of the framework.New frameworks for model serving, such as NVIDIA Triton.

=> ↺ Ubuntu Cinnamon Remix Is Now Official Ubuntu Flavor

• Canonical has now accepted the application of Ubuntu Cinnamon Remix for the approval of Official Ubuntu Flavor.

=> ↺ First ‘Focal’ based Ubuntu Touch – its mobile OS – is out • The Register

• The UBPorts project has just released the fruit of a lot of labor, especially for a volunteer group, emitting a fresh version of its smartphone OS – which includes the Lomiri UI, formerly known as Unity 8.

• Ubuntu Touch OTA-1 Focal is a major step for the community-driven UBports project: it’s the first version of the smartphone OS based on Ubuntu 20.04 “Focal Fossa.” All of its previous releases were based on Ubuntu 16.04 “Xenial Xerus.” As we pointed out when we covered OTA-24 last November, Ubuntu 16.04 was the last LTS release before Canonical cancelled its convergence project.

=> ↺ Want to Add App Shortcuts to the Ubuntu Desktop? Use This

• Looking for an easy way to add application shortcuts to the desktop on Ubuntu?

• If so, the ably named Add to Desktop GNOME extension is what you need. This simple, straight-forward add-ons makes creating desktop shortcut for your favourite apps a total cinch.

• How cinch-y?

• Gawk at this gif: you just open the Applications grid in Ubuntu, right-click on an any application shortcut you see, select the “Add to Desktop”, and bam: job done…

=> ↺ Open source Kubeflow 1.7 set to ‘transform’ MLops

• Kubeflow 1.7 became generally available today (March 29), providing the first update to the widely used open source MLops platform since the debut of Kubeflow 1.6 in Sept. 2022. At its core, Kubeflow is an open source ML toolkit that helps organizations to deploy and run ML workflows on cloud-native Kubernetes infrastructure. Among the themes of the Kubeflow 1.7 update is a focus on helping to better support transformer based models.

=> ↺ iKOOLCORE R1 review – A quad 2.5GbE mini PC tested with Windows 11, Ubuntu 22.04, Proxmox

• When I first saw the iKOOLCORE R1 I was fascinated that a mini PC of similar size to the smallest fully functional ones available (think Chuwi LarkBox, GMK NucBox or ECS LIVA Q Series) could be equipped with four 2.5 gigabit Ethernet (2.5GbE) ports. I approached iKOOLCORE who kindly provided an R1 for review and I’ve looked at performance running both Windows 11 and Ubuntu 22.04 and dabbled with using hypervisors on this mini PC through Proxmox virtual environment. iKOOLCORE R1 specifications iKOOLCORE list the R1 specifications on their website as: Of note are the ‘EC, FCC, RoHS’ certifications indicating both European conformity and approval for use in the US.

=> ↺ Ubuntu Pro Tackles the Challenge of Enterprise Open Source Adoption

• Attractive as open source is, many organizations still have concerns. With these challenges in mind, Canonical, released Ubuntu Pro, a comprehensive subscription for open source security, compliance, and support.

• [...]

• Ninety-seven percent of applications leverage open source code, and 90% of companies are applying or using it in some way. According to Forrester, more than half of Fortune 500 companies use open source software for their development projects. In 2022, developers started 52 million new open source projects on GitHub. And, developers across the platform made more than 413 million contributions to open source projects.

• And yet, attractive as open source is, many organizations still struggle with the “how.” Concerns over support, security, and compliance continue to hover over open source adoption. Those certainly are areas where no enterprise can afford to compromise.

• With these challenges in mind, Canonical, the publisher of Ubuntu, recently released Ubuntu Pro, a comprehensive subscription for open source security, compliance, and support.

Open Hardware/Modding

=> ↺ Build your own virtual camera operation hand wheels

• Many tools, such as milling machines, use hand wheels for operation, because they allow for smooth and precise movement. For the same reason, some professional camera rigs also use hand wheels for panning and other moves. To mimic that in a simulated environment, you can build your own virtual camera operation hand wheels.

Mobile Systems/Mobile Applications

=> ↺ How to set data limits on Android | Tom’s Guide

=> ↺ 6 Social Gaming Apps Like GamePigeon for Android Phones – Make Tech Easier

=> ↺ Google Voice finally gets Material You redesign on Android

=> ↺ Common Camera Problems On Android Phones And How To Fix Them

=> ↺ Lenovo gives up on its dream of Android gaming phones | Ars Technica

=> ↺ PIN Peepers Beware, New Android Security Feature Debuts

Free, Libre, and Open Source Software

Content Management Systems (CMS)

=> ↺ WordPress 6.2 “Dolphy”

• WordPress 6.2 “Dolphy” is here! Named for Eric Allen Dolphy Jr. the celebrated jazz woodwind player and ensemblist. Over 600 contributors made this release possible. Download WordPress 6.2 Dolphy today.

=> ↺ Kiwi TCMS: Kiwi TCMS 12.1

• We’re happy to announce Kiwi TCMS version 12.1!

• IMPORTANT: this is a minor release which contains security related updates, general improvements, bug fixes and new translations!

Programming/Development

=> ↺ Protos

• One day, Jeff stretched at his desk while he was puzzling out the problem his product manager had thrust upon him. It was an emergency, as usual. The login form had the wrong color at the wrong place, and it was causing people to look at the login form then run away in terror.

Python

=> ↺ Update: myjson-filter.py Version 0.0.4

• In this update, I add option -W to write items to disk. Option -W takes a value. Possible values are: vir, hash, hashvir and idvir.

=> ↺ Python Remove NaN from List

• To remove NaN from a List in Python, the user needs to first detect it using the comparison operator, isnull(), and the isnan() method and then remove it.

=> ↺ Python Read File into List

• In Python, the user can easily read a file’s data into a Python List using the file.read(), readlines(), and the loadtxt() method of the numpy package.

=> ↺ Python Set to String

• For Python, the user can utilize the repr() method, the str() method, and the join() method to easily convert a set into a Python string.

=> ↺ Nested If Statements in Python

• When if statements are placed inside the body of other if statements to create hierarchical conditions, then these are known as nested If statements.

=> ↺ Python Generate Random Float Number

• The random() method and the uniform() method can be used to generate random float numbers in Python. For this, first, import the “random” library.

=> ↺ Python Copy String

• In Python, the assignment operator “=”, the concatenation operator “+” and the string slicing methods can be used to copy a string from one variable to another.

=> ↺ Python Check if Character is Number

• In Python, the user can check whether a character is a number or not by using the isdigit(), isnumeric() method or by using the type casting method.

Standards/Consortia

=> ↺ Documenting KeePass KDBX4 file format

• I’ve been playing around with KeePass databases. One aspect was rather surprising: given how many open source products use this format, it is remarkably underdocumented. At best, you can find outdated and incomplete descriptions by random people. The KeePass developers themselves never bothered providing complete documentation. All you get is a semi-intelligible list of changes from KDBX 3.1 to KDBX 4 and from KDBX 4 to KDBX 4.1. With the starting point not being documented, these are only moderately useful.

Leftovers

=> ↺ When the Training Wheels Decide

• Yeah, yeah, as Allen Iverson once put it, “We talking about practice!” But new tech can make athletes even more valuable during the game. It could even impact your job.

Hardware

=> ↺ XIAO ESP32S3 board gets some senses with a camera and microphone module, plus a round touchscreen display

• Last week, we wrote about the new XIAO ESP32S3, a tiny ESP32-S3 board from Seeed Studio. The company has now launched the XIAO ESP32S3 Sense adding a camera and microphone module connected through a board-to-board connector, as well as the Round Display for XIAO that can help people easily create wearable devices with a touchscreen based on any board from the XIAO family.

=> ↺ An Unopened 2007 iPhone Can Be Yours (for $32,000 or More)

• A first-generation Apple smartphone is going up for auction.

Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

=> ↺ Company Serves World’s First ‘Mammoth’ Meatball, But Nobody Is Allowed to Eat It

• Cultured dining.

=> ↺ AstraZeneca’s Covid Vaccine May Have Posed a Higher Heart Risk for Young Women, Study Shows

• A new analysis examined deaths in Britain, where the company’s product was restricted in 2021 because of safety concerns.

=> ↺ Turkey’s greenhouse gas emission increased by 7.7 percent in 2021

• Despite Turkey’s announced efforts to reduce its emissions to net zero by 2053, Carbon dioxide emissions per capita steadily increased in the last 30 years.

=> ↺ The WHO will consider adding obesity drugs to the list of essential medicines

• As many as 13% of adults in the world are obese. And while obesity is diagnosed through the flawed indicator known as Body Mass Index (BMI), there’s no denying that a large number of people could benefit from obesity drugs—and not only in the rich world.

=> ↺ Narcan is finally approved to be sold over the counter in the US

• Opioid overdose treatment Narcan, made by Emergent Biosolution, will finally be available over the counter in the US. The Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) announced the decision on Tuesday (March 28) in an important win for advocates of measures to reduce the harm of drug use.

=> ↺ South Africa is the world’s most internet-addicted country

• South Africans spent at least 9.5 hours a day online in 2022. This was the highest in the world, exceeding the global figure by around three hours, a study showed.

=> ↺ Healthcare workers born abroad have fewer sick days than those born in Finland: Study

• A recent study conducted by researchers at the University of Helsinki, the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, and Tampere University has found that healthcare workers born abroad have fewer sick days on average than those born in Finland. The study compared sick leave among healthcare workers born in Finland and those born outside the country.

• During a three-year follow-up period, 35% of healthcare workers born in Finland had at least one sick leave period lasting over ten days.

=> ↺ Obamacare Keeps Winning

• Its North Carolina victory is a sign of larger changes.

=> ↺ DNA Confirms Oral History of Swahili People

• A genetic analysis of dozens of ancient skeletons from East Africa helps pin down the origins of coastal Swahili society.

=> ↺ WHO Grants Malaria-free Status To Azerbaijan And Tajikistan

• There are now 41 countries and one territory free of malaria.

=> ↺ More Americans than ever rely on food stamps—but cuts are coming

• When the covid-19 pandemic hit, it reversed a steady decline from 2013 to 2019 in the number of Americans receiving food stamps. In 2020, their ranks grew by 12% from the previous year, to 40 million.

=> ↺ A former FDA official testified how the agency failed to prevent a baby formula shortage

• It’s been just over a year since the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a nationwide recall of three popular baby formula products made by Abbott Nutrition. The recall of Similac, Alimentum, and EleCare was exacerbated by pandemic supply-chain problems and extreme market concentration—Abbott controlled about…

=> ↺ Flu figures down, Covid up in Latvia

• The number of cases of flu continued to decrease in Latvia last week but Covid case numbers rose, according to data from the Disease Prevention and Control Center (SPKC) on March 29.

Proprietary

=> ↺ SIOS looks to boost SAP HANA automated replication

• New capabilities for LifeKeeper for Linux enables additional nodes for multitarget replication for high availability of SAP HANA databases both on premises and in the cloud.

=> ↺ The Linux Foundation Announces Keynote Speakers for Open Source Summit North America 2023

=> ↺ OpenSync introduces Linux SDN to extend reach to 100% of newer smart home devices

• At this week’s OpenSync Summit in Taipei, Taiwan OpenSync unleashed a slew of announcements including this – perhaps the most important: The OpenSync framework now includes support for Linux SDN. The Linux networking bridge is one of the world’s most widely supported network software stacks, which means the move will extend the reach of the OpenSync open-source framework to 100% of new or recent smart home devices, says Sandeep Rai, VP Software at OpenSync.

=> ↺ Machine Learning in Linux: CodeFormer – face restoration

• CodeFormer is software which offers blind face restoration. This is freeware.

Security

=> ↺ Happy 10th anniversary & Kali’s story …so far

• Wednesday 13th, March 2013, 10 years ago, Kali Linux v1.0 was first released. Today we want to celebrate Kali’s 10th anniversary!

• Time has flown. And gosh, a lot has changed since then!They grow up so fast!

• This is the story of how Kali came to be, and some of the challenges along the way.

• How did we get to where we are today? There is a quick answer, and a not so quick answer.

• Quick history lesson

• It all began in 2004, with Whoppix, a security operating system based on Knoppix. This lead into WHAX in 2005, which used Slax. In 2006, BackTrack Linux happened which was based initially on Slax, then moved to Ubuntu. Every one of these OSes and its changes were done to solve different problems. Using everything which was learnt, Kali Linux was born. A fresh start in March 2013.

=> ↺ Security updates for Wednesday [LWN.net]

• Security updates have been issued by Debian (unbound and xorg-server), Fedora (stellarium), Oracle (kernel), SUSE (apache2, oracleasm, python-Werkzeug, rubygem-loofah, sudo, and tomcat), and Ubuntu (git, kernel, and linux-hwe-5.19).

=> ↺ Pre-notification dilemmas

• In 2011 I started to send “pre-notifications” about pending curl security vulnerabilities to the distros mailing list (back then it was still called linux-distros). For several years we also asked them for CVE IDs for the new vulnerabilities that we were about to publish to the world.

=> ↺ Stenberg: Pre-notification dilemmas [LWN.net]

• Curl maintainer Daniel Stenberg expresses some frustrations with the vulnerability notification policies maintained by the distros mailing list.

• [...]

• The kernel project has run into similar issues in the past.

=> ↺ ChatGPT Suffers First Data Breach, Exposes Personal Information

• The breach came during a March 20 outage and exposed payment-related and other personal information of 1.2% of the ChatGPT Plus subscribers who were active during a specific nine-hour window, according to a blog post by OpenAI Friday, March 24.

• “In the hours before we took ChatGPT offline on Monday, it was possible for some users to see another active user’s first and last name, email address, payment address, the last four digits (only) of a credit card number, and credit card expiration date. Full credit card numbers were not exposed at any time,” OpenAI officials wrote today.

=> ↺ Newton schools closed after network security breach

• The Newton school district cancelled all classes for Wednesday after a computer network breach on Tuesday.

• So far, district officials have not said exactly what happened or what data may have been accessed. The school district says some computers are being kept offline until it can be sure they are safe to use. Newton schools are working with law enforcement as an investigation is ongoing.

• An email from the district included some questions that people may have regarding the incident. That information can be found below.

=> ↺ Ransomware crooks are exploiting IBM file-exchange bug with a 9.8 severity | Ars Technica

• If you haven’t patched your Aspera Faspex server, now would be an excellent time.

=> ↺ Braintree GP surgery warns of data breach after ‘confidential’ information blows across roads

• A GP surgery has admitted to a data breach after “confidential” information was blown into the local area whilst being obtained by waste collectors. Mount Chambers Surgery in Braintree says they have reported themselves to the Information Commissioners Office (ICO) over the breach.

• The GP surgery, on Coggeshall Road in Braintree, looks after just over 13,000 patients according to NHS data. Mount Chambers Surgery has not said whether the data breach, which occurred on March 13, involved any information relating directly to patients.

• They said the breach happened when high winds meant “some of the confidential waste blew into areas surrounding the surgery”. The surgery has asked anyone who might come across any information to return it to the practice so it can be disposed of appropriately.

=> ↺ Dutch government sued for compensation over GGD Covid data theft

• The ICAM Foundation filed a lawsuit against the Ministry of Public Health, Welfare, and Sport and 34 other agencies over a data breach at the GGD health services during the coronavirus pandemic. The foundation is demanding 500 euros compensation for affected people and 1,500 euros for people who can prove that their data was stolen, NOS reports.

• For a period during the pandemic, GGD call center employees had access to the personal data of everyone who had been tested for Covid-19. RTL Nieuws revealed that some GGD workers traded in this sensitive data on a large scale. According to the foundation, up to 6.5 million people may be affected.

=> ↺ Cyberattack on debt-buying giant exposes sensitive info on nearly 500,000 people

• Nearly half a million people had their sensitive financial information leaked during a cyberattack on NCB Management Services – a company that purchases debt.

• The Pennsylvania-based company sent out breach notification letters last week after discovering the attack on February 4.

• In documents filed with Maine’s Attorney General, the company said 494,969 people had their names, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, dates of birth, employment positions, pay amounts, driver’s license numbers, Social Security numbers, account numbers, credit card numbers, routing numbers, account balances, and account statuses leaked.

=> ↺ Western Cape Health condemns break-in at Ravensmead CDC

• The Western Cape Government Health and Wellness has strongly condemns the break-in at the Ravensmead Community Day Centre (CDC) during the weekend.

• This comes after perpetrators gained entry to the building through the roof, damaging the roof and ceiling.

• Spokesperson Shimoney Regter said three computers used to update folders and update patient information were stolen.

=> ↺ Mélofée: Researchers Uncover New Linux Malware Linked to Chinese APT Groups

• An unknown Chinese state-sponsored hacking group has been linked to a novel piece of malware aimed at Linux servers.

• French cybersecurity firm ExaTrack, which found three samples of the previously documented malicious software that date back to early 2022, dubbed it Mélofée.

=> ↺ QNAP warns customers to patch Linux Sudo flaw in NAS devices

• Taiwanese hardware vendor QNAP warns customers to secure their Linux-powered network-attached storage (NAS) devices against a high-severity Sudo privilege escalation vulnerability.

• The flaw (tracked as CVE-2023-22809) was discovered by Synacktiv security researchers, who describe it as a “sudoers policy bypass in Sudo version 1.9.12p1 when using sudoedit.”

=> ↺ Amnesty International uncovers new hacking campaign linked to mercenary spyware company – Amnesty International

• The attack targeted Android operating system. As a result of the discovery, Google were able to release security updates protecting billions of Android, Chrome and Linux users from the exploit.

=> ↺ Malware Hunters Spot Supply Chain Attack Hitting 3CX Desktop App

• CrowdStrike threat intelligence team warns about unexpected malicious activity from a legitimate, signed version of the 3CXDesktopApp.

=> ↺ OpenSSL 1.1.1 Nears End of Life: Security Updates Only Until September 2023

• OpenSSL 1.1.1 will reach EoL in six months and users are instructed to either upgrade to a newer version or pay for extended support to continue receiving security patches.

=> ↺ New Wi-Fi Attack Allows Traffic Interception, Security Bypass

• A group of academic researchers devised an attack that can intercept Wi-Fi traffic at the MAC layer, bypassing client isolation.

=> ↺ Google Links More iOS, Android Zero-Day Exploits to Spyware Vendors

• Google has linked several zero-day vulnerabilities used last year to target Android and iOS devices to commercial spyware vendors.

=> ↺ Most Weaponized Vulnerabilities of 2022 and 5 Key Risks: Report

• A new research report discusses the five most exploited vulnerabilities of 2022, and the five key risks that security teams should consider.

=> ↺ Casino Giant Crown Resorts Investigating Ransomware Group’s Data Theft Claims

• Australian casino giant Crown Resorts says the Cl0p ransomware group contacted them to claim data theft in the GoAnywhere attack.

=> ↺ Are Your Kubernetes Workloads Secure? Unsettling Trends in Latest Benchmark

Privacy/Surveillance

=> ↺ France becomes the first European country to legalize biometric surveillance

• The article 7 of the Law on Olympic Games’ organization has been adopted by the national parliament, “Assemblée Nationale”, formalizing the introduction of Algorithmic Video-Surveillance in French Law, until December 2024.

=> ↺ The EU’s home affairs chief wants to read your private messages

• The CSA Regulation, proposed by European Commissioner Ylva Johansson, could undermine the trust we have in secure and confidential processes like sending work emails, communicating with our doctors, and even governments protecting intelligence.

=> ↺ Manchester 10: Open letter asks Andy Burnham to tackle discriminatory ‘gang’ surveillance

• Advocacy groups and human rights organisations have written to the Manchester Mayor, Andy Burnham, and the Chief Constable of Greater Manchester, Stephen Watson, to ask them to investigate discriminatory police practices in the wake of the conviction of ten young Black men, known as the Manchester 10.

=> ↺ Mapping the impact of biometric surveillance and social media platforms on civic space

• The European Center for Not-for-Profit Law is concerned about safeguarding human rights and limiting the negative impacts of security technology on civil society. Therefore, they launched a report with partners as a step to investigate how technologies introduced in the name of security and counter-terrorism will impact civil society.

=> ↺ “Social media profiles and phone contacts” used as proof of identity for deportations

• Thirteen non-EU countries sometimes accept “social media profiles and phone contacts” as evidence of identity for the purpose of deportations, according to an internal European Commission assessment of third country cooperation on readmission.

=> ↺ Unprecedented appearance by European Commissioner for Home Affairs, innovating on quicksand, and the cabinet vs. online confidentiality

• Read through the most interesting developments at the intersection of human rights and technology from the Netherlands. This is the second update in this series.

Defence/Aggression

Axios ☛ Inside the boom in Chinese migrants at the southern borderData: Customs and Border Protection; Chart: Axios VisualsThousands of Chinese migrants and asylum seekers have arrived at the U.S.-Mexico border in recent months, and many more are heading north after passing through the treacherous Darién Gap jungle between Colombia and Panama.Why it matters: It’s another example of people from well beyond the Americas seeking refuge in the U.S. through the southwest border — and reflects the ongoing backlash to Chinese President Xi Jinping’s harsh domestic policies.“So the word is out, right?,” Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, a Texas border Democrat, told Axios. “If you can get to our southern border, you have pretty good shot at getting in, and it has changed the demographics.”

=> ↺ Hungary has approved Finland joining NATO. But its delays raise deeper concerns.

• The problem of an unreliable Hungary will long outlast this foot-dragging over Sweden and Finland, and allies should be prepared to deal with an outlier that’s weakening the system from within.

=> ↺ UN report condemns Libya authorities for ‘wide array of war crimes’

• ]The UN Monday reported that it believes Libyan authorities are responsible for a “wide array of war crimes.” The report is the culmination of an investigation completed by UN-appointed human rights investigators.

=> ↺ How Ukraine’s Battered Steel Industry Galvanized Its War Effort

• Ukraine’s iron- and steel-producing factories have made body armor, helmets and armored plates for vehicles — and steelworkers risked their lives rolling out heavy machinery at the beginning of the war to help physically block the Russian advance.

=> ↺ Lithuania’s military chief: difficult to find weapons to buy

• As NATO countries are sending weapons to Ukraine, it’s getting increasingly difficult to procure new equipment to replenish stocks, says Lithuania’s Chief of Defence Valdemaras Rupšys.

=> ↺ Estonia picks Ukraine envoy as its new ambassador to Vilnius

• Estonia is appointing Kaimo Kuusk as its next ambassador to Lithuania. Kuusk is currently representing Tallinn in Ukraine, Estonia’s public broadcaster ERR has reported.

=> ↺ At Least 38 Killed in Fire at Mexico Migration Center Near U.S. Border

• The fatal blaze comes as border cities across Mexico have been flooded with migrants turned back from the United States and more arriving from other countries.

=> ↺ Nearly 40 Migrants Died in a Juarez Detention Center Fire. U.S. Border Policy Is Partially To Blame.

• America’s approach to the border helps contribute to the overcrowding and violence migrants face in Mexico.

=> ↺ Senate Finally Revokes the President’s Authority To Bomb Iraq

• Revoking the 1991 and 2002 authorizations for the use of military force would be a good start, but the 2001 authorization has been used dozens of times to justify conflicts in numerous countries.

=> ↺ Ukraine’s air defences are crucial, and Israel can help

• In his address to the UK House of Commons last month, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky declared…

=> ↺ Planning for Australia’s nuclear submarine ‘supergroup’

• Bureaucracy is boring. But it also matters. Complex public projects don’t just happen—they demand the dedication of public servants and effective organisational structures.

=> ↺ Even as U.S. Beckons, European Leaders Head to Beijing

• China is trying to improve relations with the European Union just as the United States is pushing the bloc to pick sides.

=> ↺ Axios Investigates: Chinese activists’ names used in bomb threats across U.S. and EU

• More than a dozen false bomb threats made at luxury hotels and embassies across Europe, the U.S., the Middle East and East Asia appear to be part of a harassment campaign targeting three Chinese people living abroad who have been critical of China’s government, Axios has learned.

• Why it matters: The journalist and two activists targeted by the campaign believe the harassment is backed by the Chinese government. Beijing has for decades used surveillance and intimidation to silence dissidents abroad — but analysts warn their efforts to target their critics beyond their borders are becoming more brazen.

=> ↺ The head of the U.N.’s nuclear watchdog arrives at Ukraine’s embattled Zaporizhzhia plant.

=> ↺ Putin’s top security adviser holds talks with India’s prime minister as Moscow seeks closer ties.

• The Russian envoy was accompanied by a Russian oil executive, who signed new deals with India.

=> ↺ Russia Starts Military Training With Nuclear-Capacity Missiles

• More than 3,000 troops and some 300 military teams will participate in the maneuvers, which will include camouflage exercises with the missiles and combat trials against drones.

=> ↺ Portugal: Muslim Center Attack Was Not a Terrorist Act

• “A psychotic break” is the probable cause that had led to the death of two women who worked at a humanitarian assistance center.

=> ↺ Taiwan’s President Heads to the U.S., Bracing for China’s Retaliation

• President Tsai Ing-wen is expected to meet Speaker Kevin McCarthy next week, risking a show of force from Beijing, which opposes any such exchanges.

=> ↺ China Lashes Out at the US Conniving at Taiwan Separatists

• “China will closely monitor the developments and firmly defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Diplomat Mao said.

=> ↺ Junta Disbands Aung San Suu Kyi’s Political Party in Myanmar

• The regime has dissolved dozens of opposition parties ahead of the next general election, including the popular National League for Democracy.

Environment

=> ↺ Vanuatu Strikes a Blow for Climate Justice

• Vanuatu, a disaster-prone Pacific country, has secured United Nations approval to take that question to the International Court of Justice.

Wildlife/Nature

=> ↺ Rarely Seen Wombat ‘Sideways’ Sex Shows Just How Wild Animal Reproduction Can Get

• No kink shaming please.

=> ↺ FEBRUARY 6 EARTHQUAKES: Cat miraculously taken out alive after staying 49 days under the rubble

• Han, a British silver, was removed from under the rubble of an 11-story apartment building destroyed by the February 6 earthquakes. Suffering from a broken foot and being severely dehydrated, the cat is currently under treatment.

Overpopulation

=> ↺ The Incredible Challenge of Counting Every Global Birth and Death

• In rural Colombia, as in many parts of the world, tallying births and deaths is one of the most desperately needed public-health measures. It’s a lot harder than it sounds.

Finance

=> ↺ California Gov. Newsom hails new price gouging law: “California took on Big Oil and won”

• California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed legislation Tuesday that’s designed to stop gasoline price gouging, which his office hailed as “the strongest state-level oversight and accountability measures on Big Oil in the nation.”

=> ↺ Exclusive: Biden’s World Bank pick sets ambitious course

• Ajay Banga, President Biden’s nominee to lead the World Bank, wants the bank to focus on poverty alleviation and climate change — and warns that the world needs a massive investment from the private sector to adequately address both challenges.

• Why it matters: The bank is under pressure from rich countries, and the Biden administration, to do more to fight climate change — but less-developed countries worry it will do so at the expense of its focus on health, education and poverty reduction.

=> ↺ [Computers] and robots fuel new job displacement fears

• For all the hand-wringing over whether robots will replace human workers, ChatGPT and its ilk — tools known as generative AI — are shaping up to be a big employment threat too.

• Why it matters: Robots tend to replace manual laborers, while artificial intelligence threatens knowledge workers — ensuring that people of all education levels can look nervously over their shoulder at the tech gunning for their paycheck.

=> ↺ Why does Starbucks want to negotiate with unionized workers in person and not on Zoom?

• After strongly opposing its employees unionization drive, Starbucks finally had to give its employees a seat at the table and begin contract negotiations.

=> ↺ The Starbucks Union Fight Comes to Congress

• A hearing on illegal union-busting pitted Howard Schultz, the coffee company’s former C.E.O., against Bernie Sanders.

=> ↺ Former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz Spars With Democrats at Senate Hearing

• Howard Schultz faced rancor from Senate Democrats at a hearing where he chafed at “propaganda that is floating around” about company labor practices.

=> ↺ Schultz doubled down on Starbucks’ anti-union talking points in his Senate hearing

• Starbucks founder and former CEO Howard Schultz repeated the coffee chain’s union-busting talking points in an often contentious Senate labor committee hearing on March 29, as lawmakers asked him about the roughly 130 violations of labor laws submitted by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) in the last 18…

=> ↺ Debt problem overblown on campaign trail, experts tell YLE and Helsingin Sanomat

• YLE reported a week ago that public debt has become almost as big a cause of concern among the public as the climate crisis, citing a survey that drew responses from 2,012 Finns in January. The State Youth Council, meanwhile, has revealed that over half of 18–29-year-olds believe public debt should be reined in without delay irrespective of the kind of benefit and welfare cuts it would necessitate.

AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

=> ↺ Turkmenistan is spending $5 billion to build a city honoring its strongman leader

• Turkmenistan’s strongman leader, who has already penned a song dedicated to his favorite horse, is now building a city in his own name.

=> ↺ A new paradigm for US industrial policy

• The United States has (re)discovered industrial policy. As President Joe Biden’s national security strategy puts it, the administration views ‘modern industrial and innovation strategy’ as the backbone of the future economy.

=> ↺ How can Latin America halt its democratic backsliding? And how can the US help?

• All aid either hinders or helps democratic development, and donors to Latin America should be intentional about aligning all forms of assistance to make sure they support countries’ democratic development.

=> ↺ The EU is wielding a new weapon in its trade battle with China

• The European Union knows all too well what it means to be the target of economic coercion.

=> ↺ China’s struggles to reassure wary businesses and consumers raise doubts about its economic comeback

• The end result could very well be slower growth and fewer opportunities for Chinese and foreign businesses—and a bleaker outlook for continued improvement in the Chinese people’s standard of living.

=> ↺ “Look, I just can’t”: Chris Christie pledges never to support Trump again

• Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who is seriously considering a 2024 presidential campaign, told Axios that he will never support Donald Trump for president again — even if he wins the Republican nomination.

• Why it matters: No potential GOP candidate has made such an explicit pledge, underscoring the degree to which Christie is betting on the viability of an anti-Trump lane in the primary.

=> ↺ TikTok’s Owner ByteDance Pushes a Lemon8 App in U.S.

• ByteDance, the Chinese company behind TikTok, is trying to woo popular social media creators to Lemon8 before it is officially introduced this year.

=> ↺ Senate Democrat says “incredible marketing tool” TikTok needs sale

• The TikTok debate could be simplified fast with a sale that puts the Chinese government farther from the platform, Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) told Axios’ Mike Allen at the What’s Next Summit.

• Why it matters: Kelly said he recognizes the power of TikTok for businesses and marketing, but cited his concerns about how the Chinese government can “on demand get access to lots of data.”

=> ↺ Musk pushes subscriptions as Twitter’s ship takes on more water

• Twitter’s ship has not capsized as many feared it might when Elon Musk took its helm five months ago. Instead, it has wandered off course, sprung leaks, and cast much of its crew adrift — driving many passengers to the life rafts.

=> ↺ The case against Biden and Trump efforts to boost U.S. industry

• Throughout the Trump and Biden years, a common thread in U.S. economic policy has been a focus on bolstering domestic industry, even when it means burning bridges with trading partners and backing away from the era of globalization.

• Why it matters: The question of how the United States ought to engage in the global economy is up for grabs right now in a way it hasn’t been in a generation, with the Biden administration focusing on domestic investment and disentangling the U.S. economy from China.

=> ↺ Senate votes to repeal Iraq War authorization 20 years after invasion. Here’s what that means.

• The Senate on Wednesday voted 66-30 to repeal authorizations for the use of force in Iraq, more than twenty years after the U.S. invasion of the country.

• Why it matters: The historic bipartisan vote moves to reassert Congress’ power over the use of military force abroad.

=> ↺ Judicial overhaul chaos threatens to unravel Bibi’s legacy

• Within three months of returning to the Prime Minister’s Office, Benjamin Netanyahu with his judicial overhaul plan led the country into an unprecedented crisis inside Israel’s military, prompted harsh international criticism, and oversaw unrest that destabilized the economy and threatened to tear Israeli society apart.

• Why it matters: Many commentators and members of Netanyahu’s party have expressed shock over how Israel’s most experienced and savvy politician made what they see as every possible mistake since returning to office.

=> ↺ U.S.-Israel Tensions Over Judicial Overhaul Burst Into Open

• In response to sharp criticism by President Biden, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel would make its own decisions.

=> ↺ Israel’s Transformative Protest Movement

• A wide-ranging resistance has halted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plans to remake the judiciary.

=> ↺ RTÉ announces special coverage to mark Good Friday Agreement 25th Anniversary

• RTÉ announces special coverage to mark Good Friday Agreement 25th Anniversary www.rte.ie/goodfriday RTÉ will mark the Good Friday Agreement 25th Anniversary with a number of landmark documentaries, special live news and current affairs broadcasts, podcasts, digital and archive content across the coming weeks, exploring its significance and its relevance today.

Censorship/Free Speech

=> ↺ “Preparing for the 20th Anniversary of the Streisand Effect: Cooley v. Afroman”

• A very interesting post by Paul Alan Levy (Public Citizen, Consumer Law & Policy Blog), which I reproduce with his permission: It was almost twenty years ago that Barbra Streisand filed a lawsuit that attempted to block access to a photograph of her oceanfront estate, bringing unwanted attention to the photo and leading to her being enshrined…

=> ↺ Ukraine Says It Will Use Legal Means to Evict Orthodox Pro-Russia Monks

• Representatives of the monks and priests have vowed to ignore an eviction order.

Civil Rights/Policing

=> ↺ Remote work grew less popular last year

• Millions fewer Americans worked remotely last year, according to a new survey from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

• Why it matters: The data show the work world returning to a new normal, where there is some working from home — more than in the pre-COVID era — but less than at the height of the Zoom and sweatpants moment.

=> ↺ Shaping the next 20 years of digital rights in Europe

• Last week we celebrated the 20th anniversary of EDRi, the European Digital Rights network, and its two decades of defending and promoting rights online and off. The digital rights movement has come a long way and we are at a crucial moment to shape our shared digital future for the better. The EU’s fundamental rights framework has been pivotal in our achievements so far, but it has never served everyone equally. How can we better equip Europe for the human rights challenges of the digital age?

=> ↺ EDRi-gram, 29 March 2023

• Last week, with a close circle of friends and supporters in Brussels, EDRi celebrated twenty years of defending and advancing digital rights across Europe. It was an evening full of reflecting on our journey and successes and also building hope and strategies for the future of Europe’s digital rights movement. A huge thank you to everyone who joined us for making the celebration truly special!

• In this edition of news from the digital rights world, read about a new Brussels-focused campaign against mass facial recognition. Residents of the Belgian capital can join the initiative and demand that the Brussels Parliament bans these intrusive and discriminatory practices.

• We also explore the concerning revelation that unverified information such as “social media profiles and phone contacts” are being used for the purpose of deportations, according to an internal European Commission assessment.

=> ↺ Jury Awards Nearly $5M Verdict in Chicago Police Chase Crash

• A Cook County jury has awarded nearly $5 million to the family of an 84-year-old retired teacher who was killed when a police cruiser crashed into a police van and careened into a car in which she was a passenger

=> ↺ North Dakota Aims at School Curriculum to Deter Abortions

• North Dakota schools would be required to show students high-quality video of how a human fetus develops in each week of pregnancy under a bill that Senate lawmakers have approved

=> ↺ Amsterdam Has a Message for Male Tourists From the U.K.: ‘Stay Away’

• In an ad campaign aimed at British men between 18 and 35, the Dutch capital threatens fines for visitors who are looking for a “messy night.”

Monopolies

=> ↺ Germany probes Microsoft’s market power

• Microsoft is the latest tech giant to be caught in the cross-hairs of Germany’s antitrust authority.

• The Federal Cartel Office (FCO), aka the Bundeskartellamt, has announced it’s opened a proceeding to determine whether special abuse measures can be applied to the company’s business in Germany — citing Microsoft’s extensive digital ecosystem which it noted cuts across multiple markets, including operating systems and office software; cloud computing; gaming; professional networking; Internet search; and — latterly — novel AI applications.

Patents

=> ↺ An artful approach

• For many years, Bristows was the UK firm perhaps most closely associated with the arrival of the Unified Patent Court. It frequently kept those interested in the court project up to date about even the tiniest UPC developments via its blog, which the patent community oft-quoted as a valuable resource.

=> ↺ Infinity Fuel Cell and Hydrogen granted German patent

• US-based Infinity Fuel Cell and Hydrogen has been granted a German patent for a proprietary design for hydrogen fuel cells and electrolysers.

Trademarks

=> ↺ Adidas won’t be blocking a Black Lives Matter trademark application after all

• Two days after opposing a new trademark application by Black Lives Matter, Adidas is reversing course on its objection.

=> ↺ TTABlog Test: Is EVERWILD For Distilled Spirits Confusable With EVERCLEAR for Alcoholic Beverages?

• Luxco, Inc. opposed applications to register EVERWILD (in standard form) and EVERWILD SPIRITS & design, both for “distilled spirits,” claiming likely confusion with its registered mark EVERCLEAR for alcoholic beverages except beer. The Board found the involved goods to be legally identical, but what about the marks? How do you think This came out? Luxco, Inc. v. Everwild Spirits, LLC, Opposition No. 91268045 (March 24, 2023) [not precedential] (Opinion by Judge Thomas W. Wellington).

Gemini* and Gopher

Personal

=> ↺ 03/23/2023, wednesday

• i haven’t had much to blog about anywhere… that’s a good thing in some regards. life has been uneventful, but also safe. i’ve been learning to drive, but my catalytic converter needs to be replaced now so i’m waiting.

• been going on more dog walks & beachcombing around. i’ve also been obsessed with the sims 4 again… but i’m using the excuse that i’m creating a legacy and lesser so, figuring out how my characters relate to each other with what is essentially RNG. i’ve also heard people say they use their sims builds as drawing reference-so like, mega brained.

=> ↺ Rambling about Tolerance

• In such a case, those arguments would be correct. Christian nationalists do actually indoctrinate kids to hate. They force their religion on their children. And there have been numerous examples of conservative church leaders who rape, molest, or enable others who engage in those activities. That doesn’t justify the conclusion that Christianity should be eradicated.

• This is also not the first nor the last time that Christian nationalists have called for genocide. I have no doubt that Matt Shae, author of the manifesto “The Biblical Basis for War”, would just love to implement Numbers chapter 31 verses 17 and 18 right here in my own backyard. Quoting from the KJV, for those who haven’t seen it.

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