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● 04.13.23

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● Links 13/04/2023: Stable Kernels and Alyssa Goes to Dyson

Posted in News Roundup at 1:28 pm by Dr. Roy Schestowitz

GNU/Linux

Desktop/Laptop

=> ↺ PineTab2 and PineTab-V tablets available for pre-order for $159 and up with a choice of ARM or RISC-V chips

• The PineTab2 is a tablet with a Rockchip RK3566 quad-core ARM Cortex-A55 processor, a 10.1 inch, 1280 x 800 pixel touchscreen display, and a detachable keyboard. Unlike most tablets with those kind of specs though, it’s not designed to run Android. Instead it will ship with a custom build of Arch Linux, and users are welcome to flash their own operating systems.

• First unveiled late last year, the PineTab2 is also just one of two new tablets from Pine64. The company’s new PineTab-V looks virtually identical on the outside. But under the hood it has a RISC-V processor rather than an ARM-based chip. Unfortunately there’s not much you can actually do with the RISC-V model yet, so the company is positioning it as a device for developers (and maybe for optimistic early adopters). Both tablets are now available for pre-order for $159 and up.

=> ↺ Top 5 Best Linux Tablets Recommended For Privacy Lovers 2023

• Over time Linux has had a lot of popularity all due to the advantages that different distros bring to the table, the best among all is security and privacy. All thanks to them these OS are able to secure your data from malware and other attacks.

=> ↺ Zorin OS demonstrates exactly what a desktop operating system should be

• There is one Linux distribution to rule them all, but it’s not the one you think it is.

• [...]

• Throughout those years, I’ve used desktop operating systems that focused on ease of use, efficiency, security, and so many more ideas. I’ve also landed on one or two OSes that I deemed to be the “best of” for many categories. But there is one operating system that never fails to show off exactly what a desktop should be. That platform is Zorin OS.

• Zorin OS is as functional as it is beautiful. It makes those who’ve never used Linux feel perfectly at home, all the while showing them just how elegant a desktop operating system can be. More than that, Zorin OS is highly functional out of the box.

Server

=> ↺ Peter Czanik: Getting data to Splunk

• Getting data to Splunk can be challenging. Syslog is still the most important data source, and it can provide you with hard-to-solve problems (for example, like high volume, non-compliant messages, unreliable network protocol (UDP), and more). The syslog-ng Premium Edition (PE) and syslog-ng Store Box (SSB) by One Identity can make these challenges manageable.

=> ↺ Handling Serverless on Kubernetes

• Serverless and Kubernetes are hot topics in the software industry. Serverless is a software architecture design that allows you to run your applications on servers without managing the underlying infrastructure running the application. In other words, you don’t have to provision, maintain and scale the host servers to run your

Audiocasts/Shows

=> ↺ Linux Out Loud 58: OEM Ripoff

• This week, Linux Out Loud chats about whether or not Linux Hardware OEM’s are a ripoff. Welcome to episode 58 of Linux Out Loud. We fired up our mics, connected those headphones as we searched the community for themes to expound upon.

=> ↺ This Week in Linux 221: Debian Survey, State of Solus, Docker Drama, Halo, and more Linux news!

• On this episode of This Week in Linux, Bloomberg launches and Open Source funding initiative, Docker rolls back their blunder for Free Teams on Docker Hub, Debian releases survey results on the usage of money in Debian, System76 teases in-house built laptop, and we discuss whether or not it is time to stop recommending Solus.

Kernel Space

=> ↺ Linux 6.2.11

=> ↺ Linux 6.1.24

=> ↺ Linux 5.15.107

Graphics Stack

=> ↺ Mike Blumenkrantz: Branched

• Just a quick post to sum up all the new features and things to watch for in zink for 23.1: [...]

• [...]

• Has anyone else heard that Alyssa is going to Dyson to work on some new vaccuum tech? This is upending everything I thought I knew, but the source seems credible.

Instructionals/Technical

=> ↺ fsck ntfs under GNU Linux? – when mounting NTFS fails – $MFTMirr does not match $MFT (record 0). Failed to mount ‘/dev/sdb1’: Input/output error

• proceed with caution:  only recommend it to be applied to filesystems that are for backup purpose (of which another copy exist).

=> ↺ Everything You Need to Know About Shebang in Linux

• Welcome to our blog post about Shebang Linux!

=> ↺ Linux Directory Structure: A Ultimate Guide for Beginners

• In this comprehensive guide, we will explore the Linux directory structure, highlighting the significance of each directory and providing practical examples of their usage. We will cover essential directories like /bin, /sbin, /etc, /home, /opt, /tmp, /usr, and /var. By the end of this guide, you will have a solid understanding of the Linux file system and its organization, empowering you to navigate and manage your files with confidence.

=> ↺ Polkit: Force KDE apps to always recognize your display

• $ alias pkexec="pkexec env DISPLAY=$DISPLAY XAUTHORITY=$XAUTHORITY KDE_SESSION_VERSION=5 KDE_FULL_SESSION=true"

=> ↺ Installing Kate text editor on Linux

• What is Kate Editor? Kate is a popular text editor developed by KDE (K Desktop Environment) for Linux, Windows, and macOS. Here we learn the commands to install Kate on Ubuntu 22.04 or 20.04 LTS Linux.

=> ↺ How to Install an Ubuntu Virtual Machine with QEMU

• When it comes to virtualization, QEMU is miles ahead of VirtualBox and VMware with its near-native performance and rich feature set. It uses Linux KVM (Kernel-based Virtual Machine) to create virtual environments on a host computer.

=> ↺ Dual-Booting Linux Messed Up Windows Time? Here’s How to Fix It

• Have you ever tried dual-booting Linux alongside Windows and ended up in a time travel experiment gone wrong? You fire up Windows in the daytime and suddenly, the clock is telling you it’s already night.

• This is a recurring annoyance with almost all Windows-Linux dual-boot systems. Let’s learn why this happens and how to fix this wacky time issue and get back to the present date and time.

=> ↺ How to Install Proxmox Virtual Environment on a Linux Server

• Proxmox is an open-source type 1 hypervisor based on Debian. It’s primarily meant to run on bare metal hardware, but you can also install it within an operating system.

• Let’s take a look at how you can install Proxmox on a Linux server. For this guide, we’ll demonstrate installation on a rack server, but you can install Proxmox on a workstation or laptop hardware as well.

=> ↺ The comprehensive guide to codecs on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS

• Ubuntu 22.04, a powerful Linux distribution, provides an exceptional user experience out of the box. However, you may need to install additional codecs for various audio and video formats to enjoy seamless multimedia playback. In this guide, we will walk you through installing multimedia codecs on your Ubuntu 22.04 system, ensuring you can enjoy your favorite media content without any hiccups.

=> ↺ The ultimate guide to using Flatpaks and Snaps on Pop!_OS

• Learn how to install and manage Flatpaks and Snaps on Pop!_OS, streamlining your software management and enhancing your Linux experience. Explore this comprehensive guide for step-by-step instructions!

=> ↺ How to Install GitHub Desktop on Debian 12/11/10

• GitHub Desktop is a powerful and user-friendly graphical user interface (GUI) client for managing Git repositories, making it easy for developers and teams to collaborate on projects.

=> ↺ How to Install Opera Browser on Debian 12/11/10

• Opera browser is a feature-rich, secure, and innovative web browser that offers an excellent alternative to the default Firefox ESR version that comes pre-installed on Debian systems.

=> ↺ How to Install Vivaldi Browser on Debian 12/11/10

• The Vivaldi browser is a powerful and feature-rich alternative to the default Firefox Extended Support Release (ESR) version that comes pre-installed on Debian distributions. It is developed by Vivaldi Technologies, a company founded by the former CEO of Opera Software.

=> ↺ How to Install Rust on Debian 12/11/10

• Rust is a modern, high-performance programming language that focuses on safety, concurrency, and efficiency. Designed by Graydon Hoare and sponsored by Mozilla Research, Rust has been gaining traction for its ability to prevent many common programming errors and improve overall software quality.

=> ↺ How to Install Liquorix Kernel on Debian 12/11/10

• The Liquorix kernel is a custom Linux kernel designed to provide an improved user experience for desktop users, with a focus on multimedia, gaming, and real-time applications. Built upon the Zen kernel, the Liquorix kernel comes with various tweaks and enhancements aimed at improving system performance and responsiveness.

=> ↺ Popular Keyboard Shortcuts for the GNU Bash Shell

• The GNU Bash shell, an acronym for GNU Bourne-Again Shell, is a Unix shell and command-line interpreter used in most Linux distributions and macOS. It has become the de facto standard for shell scripting and is widely used by developers and system administrators.

=> ↺ DCA – 05 – Creating Docker Images

• There are many images we can use in Docker, but there may be times we need to create our own images. Images that we need to manipulate to suit our needs.

=> ↺ Here’s how to view CPU usage, battery health, and memory usage in ChromeOS Flex

• Google’s ChromeOS and ChromeOS Flex have diagnostic tools to let you learn about your battery’s health, CPU usage, and memory usage.

=> ↺ How to Check File’s MD5, SHA (1, 256, 512) Hash in Ubuntu 22.04

• This simple tutorial is going to show you how to check MD5, SHA1, SHA256, SHA512 file hash in Ubuntu and most other Linux systems. After downloading a file from the web, it’s important to verify the file integrity.

=> ↺ How To Install Grsync on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS

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

=> ↺ How to install httrack – Website dowloader

• In this post, you will learn how to install httrack on Ubuntu 22.04 this tool can be of great use to you in numerous instances. According to the project website: HTTrack is a free (GPL, libre/free software) and easy-to-use offline browser utility.

Desktop Environments/WMs

K Desktop Environment/KDE SC/Qt

=> ↺ digiKam 8.0 Released with Qt 6 Port, Improved JPEG-XL, WebP, and AVIF Support

• The biggest change in digiKam 8.0 is the fact that the software was ported to the latest Qt 6 open-source application framework for a more modern and future-proof experience. However, the app continues to be compatible with Qt 5 API.

• Image support was greatly improved in this release by adding JPEG-XL, WebP, and AVIF export settings everywhere, the ability to convert to lossless JPEG-XL, WebP, and AVIF images while importing from your camera, JPEG-XL; WebP, and AVIF converters in the Batch Queue Manager, as well as support for JPEG-XL, HEIF, WebP, and AVIF formats as lossless images to store versioned images in the editor.

Distributions and Operating Systems

SUSE/OpenSUSE

=> ↺ Post-mortem: Lack of Emails/Notifications from April 6 to April 11, 2023

• After implementing the feature that allows the users to comment on specific lines in the changes of a request, we also introduced the possibility to notify about them. However, there was a corner case which caused the notifications to fail, so our reference server did not send any web notifications or emails during the Easter holidays (from 6th to 11th April).

Fedora Family / IBM

=> ↺ IBM reportedly exploring sale of its weather business

=> ↺ Former IBM chief Ginni Rometty on getting results and getting out of chip manufacturing

=> ↺ How we achieved a 6-fold increase in Podman startup speed

• By cutting unnecessary processes, you can realize near-real-time container startup, critical in cars and other time-sensitive applications.

Debian Family

=> ↺ Sparky 6.7-RC1 arm64

• The arm64 is a new architecture supported by SparkyLinux. The arm64 images are almost the same as armhf ones, but uses the Linux kernel and packages from the arm64 repos.

=> ↺ Thomas Lange: FAI creates your own Ubuntu installation ISO

• A new service is available on the FAI project websitehttps://fai-project.org/FAIme

• Build your own customized installation ISO for Ubuntu!

=> ↺ Freexian Collaborators: Debian Contributions: Debian Developer Survey Results, DebConf updates, and more! (by Utkarsh Gupta)

• Contributing to Debian is part of Freexian’s mission. This article covers the latest achievements of Freexian and their collaborators. All of this is made possible by organizations subscribing to ourLong Term Support contracts andconsulting services.

• In 2022, Freexian polled Debian Developers about the usage of money in Debian. More than 200 Debian Developers graciously participated, providing useful and constructive answers. Roberto and Utkarsh have worked on reviewing this feedback and summarizing it in a report recently published and announced to the project.

• In preparation for DebConf 23, Stefano did some work on the DebConf website’s registration system. To support an expected large number of local registration requests, and a limited venue size, Stefano added a review system for registration requests.

Canonical/Ubuntu Family

=> ↺ Canonical launches Charmed Kubeflow MLOps platform on AWS

• Ubuntu software developer Canonical Ltd. today launched its machine learning operations toolkit Charmed Kubeflow on Amazon Web Services Inc.’s cloud marketplace. Charmed Kubeflow is available as a software application on AWS, making it simpler for companies to launch and manage machine learning workloads.

=> ↺ Ubuntu Studio 20.04 LTS reaching End-Of-Life on April 28th 2023

• In a few short weeks, Ubuntu Studio 20.04 LTS will reach the end of its three years of supported life provided by the Ubuntu Studio team. All users are urged to upgrade to 22.04 LTS at this time.

• This means that the Xfce, audio, video, graphics, photography, and publishing components of your system will no longer receive updates, plus we at Ubuntu Studio won’t support it after 28-April-2023, though your base packages from Ubuntu will continue to receive security updates from Ubuntu until 2025 since Ubuntu Desktop, Ubuntu Server, Ubuntu Cloud and Ubuntu Core continue to receive updates.

• Unfortunately, due to the change in desktop environment from Xfce to KDE’s Plasma Desktop, there is no supported in-place upgrade path. The only supported upgrade path is to back-up your /home/{user} folder and reinstall the operating system.

=> ↺ Lubuntu 23.04 “Lunar Lobster”: Best New Features

• Lubuntu 23.04,code-named “Lunar Lobster,” is the latest release of the popular lightweight Ubuntu variant. It is currently undergoing beta testing.

• Based on Ubuntu 23.04 and featuring the LXQt desktop 1.2, this release includes many updates to its components, including the PCManFM-Qt file manager, LXQt Panel, QTerminal, and LXQt power manager.

• It is set to release on April 20, 2023. Let’s take a look at what’s new in Lubuntu 23.04.

Open Hardware

=> ↺ Buy The Infinix Y1 HD LED Smart Linux TV On Flipkart At 50% Off

• The Infinix Y1 HD ready LED Smart Linux TV is at a shocking 50% off at Rs 8,499 from its retail price of Rs 16,999. The TV is given a 4.5-star rating on Flipkart.

=> ↺ Raspberry Pi LTD Receives Investment From Sony Semiconductor Solutions (Updated)

• Sony Semiconductor Solutions makes a minority stake in Raspberry Pi LTD, the trading arm which produces Raspberry Pi products.

=> ↺ $7 DongshanPI-PicoW is a small Arm Linux board with SSW101B USB WiFi chip, four 12-pin headers

• Based on its name, the DongshanPI-PicoW board/module aims to be an Arm Linux alternative to the Raspberry Pi Pico W with a SigmaStar SSD210 dual-core Cortex-A7 processor with 64MB RAM, an SSW101B USB WiFi 4 chip, plus a good amount of I/Os thanks to four 12-pin headers.

=> ↺ Nordic Semi nRF54H20 Cortex-M33 + RISC-V wireless SoC supports Bluetooth 5.4, LE Audio, Bluetooth mesh, Thread, Matter, and more

• Nordic Semi nRF54H20 is a 320 MHz multiprotocol wireless SoC with several Arm Cortex-M33 and RISC-V cores, support for Bluetooth 5.4 and greater with features like LE Audio and Bluetooth mesh, as well as Thread, Matter, and so on.

=> ↺ T-Display-S3 AMOLED – An ESP32-S3 board with a 1.9-inch AMOLED Display

• The new board is almost the same as the T-Display-S3 board introduced last year, except for a display with higher resolution, more vibrant colors, and a wider viewing angle, plus a 3D antenna, and a few extra I/Os.

=> ↺ Volla Phone X23: The second generation of the rugged smartphone from Germany is here – EIN Presswire

• In less than three years after the first Volla Phone, the young company Hallo Welt Systeme is launching the second generation of its rugged smartphone variant, the Volla Phone X23. The German-made open-source phone is available for pre-order now and is scheduled to ship in May.

• The combination of an extremely military-grade rugged and waterproof design and Volla OS, the company’s own Android operating system optimized for data protection, offers users double security.

Mobile Systems/Mobile Applications

=> ↺ realme launches new smartphone with Android’s first Mini Capsule | The Manila Times

=> ↺ Asus ROG Phone 7: Price, specs, news, and features

=> ↺ Firefox 112 for Android deals with an annoyance and gets a long-requested feature

=> ↺ LG Wing starts receiving final Android OS upgrade with new update – NotebookCheck.net News

=> ↺ Android’s best hidden object game is getting a sequel this year

=> ↺ Asus ROG Phone 7 Ultimate Review: The Cutting Edge Of Android Gaming

=> ↺ Fairphone brings Android 13 to the Fairphone 3 series four years after launch – Liliputing

=> ↺ Android 14 Beta 1 arrives for Google Pixel smartphones – NotebookCheck.net News

=> ↺ Android 14 update tracker: Here’s everything we know so far [Cont. updated] – PiunikaWeb

Free, Libre, and Open Source Software

Content Management Systems (CMS)

=> ↺ Scoold: Self-hosted Q&A Solution and Stack overflow Alternative

• There is no doubt that Stack Overflow is the most popular resource for developers to get answers. However, some people may be looking for a self-hosted, open-source alternative for communities and developer teams. That’s where Scoold comes in – let us introduce you to it.

Licensing / Legal

=> ↺ Is Generative AI the Next Big Threat to Open Source Software?

• Most open source communities lack the resources to train generative AI algorithms effectively.

Programming/Development

=> ↺ A/B Test with Qt Insight!

• Our new analytics solution,Qt Insight, is growing and evolving with feedback from our customers and partners. Our newest release on the product provides a tool to assist you with A/B testing different software versions to identify components and UI elements that may work better than others, as well as ones that don’t necessarily have the impact you’d have hoped for.

=> ↺ Visualizing Plankton Diversity and Climate Change: Impacting Policy with R Shiny

• Plankton may be small, but they are mighty. These organisms play a crucial role in maintaining the health of our oceans.

=> ↺ Consider using constexpr static function variables for performance in C++

• When programming, we often need constant variables that are used within a single function. For example, you may want to look up characters from a table.

Rust

=> ↺ The Rust Foundation goes to war against people using the word “Rust”

• Seriously. The title of this article violates the new Rust Trademark Policy. It’s insane.

Leftovers

=> ↺ Oğan who met Kılıçdaroğlu: ’1 million 650 thousand voters who left earthquake region did not register’

• Kılıçdaroğlu, presidential candidate of the Nation Alliance met with Oğan, presidential candidate of the Ancestral Alliance today who made a call yesterday to all four candidates to come together and talk about election safety.

=> ↺ Wanted for drug-related crimes, convicted before to 24 years, Çetinkaya was caught in İstanbul

• Urfi Çetinkaya who is believed to be connected to drug trafficking in Turkey and the Mediterranean since long was caught in Sarıyer, İstanbul in a police operation.

=> ↺ Police detain contractor of Diyarbakır residential complex where 89 died in quakes

• The contractor has been charged with “killing and injuring multiple people with eventual intent.”

=> ↺ WATCH: Beyond the Reset

• This excellent short film is a darkly humorous journey into one possible near-future. We all hope it never happens this way, but of course the best way to guard against it is to be aware of the danger. I hope you all watch and share – especially with any fence-sitters or ostriches of your acquaintance.

=> ↺ Lost in translation? Foreigners advised to Google Translate Thai police guidelines during Songkran

• The guidelines include advice warning tourists to beware of pickpockets.

Science

=> ↺ Scientists Propose Looking for Life in Galaxy’s ‘Computational Zones’

• “If you look for where computation can happen you naturally look at environmental conditions, energy, and what things are built out of,” said one scientist.

Hardware

=> ↺ Intel Dumps Server Building Business, Sells it to MiTAC

• Intel has exited another non-core business. The chipmaker will sell its server building business to MiTAC.

=> ↺ Washington must stop undermining Taiwan’s status as a technology powerhouse

• The stern warnings issued by China ahead of Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen’s tour of the United States and Central America have highlighted the threat that intensifying Chinese pressure poses to the island’s security and stability.

Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

=> ↺ Eggs off some menus in Japan as country hit by bird flu and egg shortage

• About 30 per cent of 100 listed companies in Japan’s restaurant industry have suspended some egg dishes in their menus.

=> ↺ Nipped in the Bud: Germany To Push Ahead With Limited Legalization of Cannabis

• The coalition government in Berlin had big plans to legalize the possession and sale of cannabis in Germany. But the government was never as enthusiastic about the issue as it let on, and the plans it unveiled on Wednesday are very limited in scope compared to legalization efforts in the United States.

=> ↺ “I wanted to infect everything:” The Curiously Expert Pathologies of FBI Informant, Microchip

• Cooperating FBI witness “Microchip’s” claim to be new to Twitter in July 2015 is surprising given the expertise with which he exploited the site starting in November 2015.

=> ↺ Environmental groups sue US protection agency over inadequate pollution regulations

• Twelve environmental groups Tuesday joined to sue the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and EPA Administrator Michael Regan over pollution guidelines set forth earlier this year.

Proprietary

=> ↺ Biden Administration Seeks Input on AI Safety Measures

• The Biden administration wants stronger measures to test the safety of artificial intelligence tools such as ChatGPT before they are publicly released.

=> ↺ BAPCo® Introduces Linux and Chrome Support to CrossMark, a Cross-Architecture Performance Benchmark

• BAPCo®, a non-profit consortium of leading PC hardware manufacturers, add Linux and Chrome support to the CrossMark® v1.0.1.95 benchmark, a cross-architecture performance benchmark using common and relevant workloads. Supporting the most popular operating systems – including Windows, Android, Linux, ChromeOS, iOS, and macOS – CrossMark® is based on widely used open-source applications to assess system performance scores in the areas of Productivity, Creativity, and Responsiveness.

Security

=> ↺ Google Cloud beefs up open-source software security with Assured OSS packages

• Google Cloud wants to help improve the security of the most widely used open-source software, and to do so it’s making its Assured Open Source Software service generally available for Java and Python ecosystems.

=> ↺ Google Cloud offers Assured Open Source Software for free

• In the face of growing risks from open-source software dependencies, Google Cloud is releasing its Assured Open Source Software (Assured OSS) service for Java and Python ecosystems at no cost.

=> ↺ Fortinet Patches Critical Vulnerability in Data Analytics Solution

• A critical vulnerability in Fortinet’s FortiPresence data analytics solution leads to remote, unauthenticated access to Redis and MongoDB instances.

=> ↺ 400,000 Users Hit by Data Breach at Media Player Maker Kodi

• Media player maker Kodi has started rebuilding its user forum after hackers stole databases containing user posts, messages, and login credentials.

=> ↺ Windows Zero-Day Exploited in Nokoyawa Ransomware Attacks

• A Windows zero-day tracked as CVE-2023-28252 and fixed by Microsoft with its April Patch Tuesday updates has been exploited in Nokoyawa ransomware attacks.

=> ↺ Details Emerge on Israeli Spyware Vendor QuaDream and Its iOS Malware

• Microsoft and Citizen Lab release information on the activities, malware and victims of Israeli spyware vendor QuaDream.

=> ↺ Remotely Exploitable Chromium DoS, Info Disclosure Vulns Fixed

• Several high-impact remotely exploitable vulnerabilities were recently discovered in the popular Chromium free and open-source web browser.

• [...]

• Many of the vulnerabilities have been rated by the National Vulnerability Database as having a critical or high severity, and have a high confidentiality, integrity and availability impact.

=> ↺ Cybersecurity teams struggle to monitor vulnerabilities amid budget cuts and layoffs

=> ↺ FBI Advising People to Avoid Public Charging Stations

• The FBI is warning people against using public phone-charging stations, worrying that the combination power-data port can be used to inject malware onto the devices: [...]

=> ↺ Mandiant Also Links 3CX Supply Chain Attack to North Korean Hackers

• 3CX has confirmed previous reports that the recently disclosed supply chain attack was likely conducted by North Korean hackers.

=> ↺ SAP Patches Critical Vulnerabilities in Diagnostics Agent, BusinessObjects

• Two critical vulnerabilities in SAP Diagnostics Agent allow attackers to execute malicious commands on all monitored systems.

Integrity/Availability/Authenticity

=> ↺ Much-Hyped Water Plant Hack Wasn’t a Hack, Was Actually User Error, Official Says

• “The FBI concluded there was nothing, no evidence of any access from the outside, and that it was likely the same employee that was purported to be a hero for catching it, was actually banging on his keyboard.”

Privacy/Surveillance

=> ↺ This Deceptive ICE Tactic Violates the Fourth Amendment

• There’s a knock at your door. It’s the police. They say they are investigating a crime and would like to ask a few questions. It’s alarming, but you want to help, so you let them in.

=> ↺ South Korea’s top court tells Google to disclose user information sharing

• The Supreme Court’s decision came after four plaintiffs filed a lawsuit against Google and its South Korean unit.

=> ↺ Health and digital rights organisations urge EU lawmakers to uphold patients’ rights in new health data law

• European lawmakers must ensure patients have control over their private medical records by adding an ‘opt-in’ consent requirement for the secondary use of health data under the proposed European Health Data Space (EHDS).

=> ↺ 19 random digits is not enough to uniquely identify all human beings

• Suppose that you assigned everyone an 19 digit number.

Defence/Aggression

=> ↺ Authorities promise more language courses for Ukrainians amid language requirement

• Ukrainian workers in Lithuania have one year to learn the basics of Lithuanian. The government says they will not be left to fend for themselves and language courses will be made more widely available this summer.

=> ↺ The West must not repeat Russia mistakes when dealing with China – Lithuanian FM

• Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis on Wednesday urged Western countries not to repeat the mistakes made with Russia when dealing with China.

=> ↺ Survey: Americans hold increasingly negative views of China

• The share of Americans who describe China as an “enemy” has jumped from 25% to 38% in a year, a new survey says.

=> ↺ Military budget boost will lead to more civilian deaths in Myanmar: Observers

• The junta has approved an increase of nearly U.S.$1 billion on defense spending.

=> ↺ UN rights chief ‘horrified’ by Myanmar air strike targeting community center

• UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk Tuesday condemned an airstrike by Myanmar fighter jets in the country’s Sagaing region, a stronghold for opposition to the country’s military-backed government. “I am horrified by reports of today’s airstrikes by Myanmar fighter jets on a community hall in the Sagaing region,” said Türk.

=> ↺ US Supreme Court declines to block execution of Florida inmate

• The US Supreme Court Tuesday declined to block the execution of an inmate in Florida. With no listed dissents, the court denied Louis Gaskin’s petition for a grant to stay his upcoming execution.

=> ↺ Florida executes ‘ninja killer’ for couple’s 1989 death

• Florida has executed a man known as the “ninja killer” for the 1989 slayings of a couple visiting the state from New Jersey. The governor’s office says Louis Bernard Gaskin was pronounced dead at 6:15 p.m. Wednesday after receiving a lethal injection. He was convicted of killing Robert and Georgette Sturmfels at their Flagler County winter home on Florida’s northeastern coast. Gaskin was dubbed the “ninja killer” because he wore all-black ninja clothing during the crimes.

=> ↺ The vexed relationship between James Bond and real-world intelligence work

• James Bond first appeared 70 years ago today, playing roulette at three o’clock in the morning, in former British naval intelligence officer Ian Fleming’s debut novel, Casino Royale.

=> ↺ Poland and Ukraine: The emerging alliance that could reshape Europe

• Poland’s leading role in the European response to Russia’s Ukraine invasion is fueling talk of a eastward shift in Europe’s geopolitical center of gravity with the Polish-Ukrainian alliance set to become increasingly influential.

=> ↺ Pentagon Leak Reveals 14 U.S. Troops in Ukraine

• While escalation is not inevitable, it’s still a risk having any U.S. boots on the ground.

=> ↺ Preventing the new cold war from becoming hot

• Cold wars don’t begin with a starting pistol. They grind into action. We are no longer waiting for one. We are there.

=> ↺ CYBER: What We Know about the Pentagon Leaks

• Classified Pentagon documents leaked onto several Discord servers. What’s in them and how did this happen?

=> ↺ Ukraine’s outrage grows over video seeming to show beheading

• The Kremlin called the footage “horrible” but said it needed to be verified.

=> ↺ After a Video Appears to Show a Beheading, Ukraine Opens War Crimes Investigation

• The U.N. mission monitoring human rights in Ukraine said it was “appalled” by the video, which appeared to record the beheading of a Ukrainian soldier by Russian troops.

=> ↺ Granite Falls man charged with shooting officer who was executing search warrant in drug case

• The Yellow Medicine County Attorney’s Office filed a criminal complaint Wednesday against William Edward Schindler, 26, of Granite Falls, who allegedly fired a .40-caliber pistol at officers entering the residence to execute a search warrant.

=> ↺ Taiwan says China’s no-fly zone will affect around 33 flights

• Taiwan said the ban could add “less than one hour” of extra travel time to the affected flights.

=> ↺ China sets up no-fly zone north of Taiwan for ‘space activities,’ Taipei says

• Taiwan’s transport ministry said Wednesday China has set up a brief no-fly zone north of the island for April 16 due to “space activities”.

=> ↺ Asean strongly condemns deadly air strike in Myanmar

• Tuesday’s attack in the Sagaing area was the deadliest in a recent string of military air attacks.

=> ↺ Junta troops torch over 100 homes in a Mandalay village

• The move came in retaliation for a landmine and drone attack on troops by local militias.

=> ↺ Military stymies rescue efforts at scene of Myanmar strike that killed at least 80

• The threat of new attacks has prevented villagers from collecting the dead and injured.

=> ↺ Daniel Ellsberg’s First Leak Helped Prevent War With China

• Those unaware of Dan Ellsberg’s 2002 Secrets: A Memoir of Vietnam and the Pentagon Papers may think the leak of the Pentagon Papers was Dan’s first unauthorized disclosure. Not so. Arguably, his first such leak, in March 1968, was even more consequential.

=> ↺ Amid Russian Espionage Fears, Poland Sets Exclusion Zone Around Swinoujscie LNG Terminal

• Poland will introduce a temporary 200-meter (656 feet) exclusion zone around its Swinoujscie Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) terminal starting on April 13, the interior minister said, citing concerns about Russian espionage.

=> ↺ Immigration chief to face charges over fatal detention center fire

• INM Director Francisco Garduño and the agency’s Chihuahua commissioner face “criminal conduct” charges for alleged failure in their duties.

=> ↺ National Guard preparing to acquire fleet of 200 drones

• The purchase, valued at more than 203 million pesos, will be used to fight cartels, according to documents obtained by the newspaper Milenio.

=> ↺ Inside Ukraine’s Bloody Stand for Bakhmut

• Pushed into a shrinking corner of the devastated city, the Ukrainian military is determined to hold out for strategic reasons, even as allies question the cost.

=> ↺ New Leaked Documents Show Broad Infighting Among Russian Officials

• The additional documents also suggest the breach of American intelligence agencies could contain far more material than previously believed.

=> ↺ One in four Americans now sees China as an enemy of the US

• The US-China rivalry is no longer confined to the halls of power, but has spilled decisively over into the American public consciousness. And putting that genie back into the bottle is getting harder by the year, as new survey results from the the Washington, DC-based Pew Research Center suggest.

=> ↺ US to Mali: End restrictions on UN peacekeepers, seek peace

• The United States is warning Mali’s military government that it would be “irresponsible” for the United Nations to continue deploying its more than 15,000 peacekeepers unless it ends restrictions including on operating reconnaissance drones. The U.S. also is calling for the western African nation to carry out political commitments toward peace and elections in March 2024. The warning came Wednesday as the U.N. Security Council considers three options proposed by Secretary-General Antonio Guterres for the Mali peacekeeping mission’s future: Increase its size, reduce its footprint, or withdraw troops and police and turn it into a political mission.

=> ↺ North Korea fires unspecified ballistic missile, prompting Japan to issue alert

• North Korea fired an “unspecified ballistic missile” Thursday, Seoul’s military said, prompting Japan to issue a warning to residents of the northern Hokkaido region telling them to take shelter

=> ↺ North Korea fires missile, South Korea condemns ‘grave provocation’

• Japan said the projectile had fallen in the sea to the east of North Korea.

=> ↺ Saudi Arabia hosts landmark Iran, Syria visits after years of bitter divisions

• Saudi Arabia hosted landmark delegations from Iran and Syria on Wednesday as Gulf countries prepare for re-establishing diplomatic ties after years of bitter divisions.

=> ↺ For Ukrainians, memory fuels the fight for sovereignty

• In Ukraine, remembering does more than honor those lost in the war. It charts a path forward to a future free of Russia.

=> ↺ Minsk Calls for Truce in Ukraine, Start of Talks

Environment

Energy/Transportation

=> ↺ Gas Cars Aren’t Going Anywhere

• Buying a gas car in 10 years will be about as difficult as buying a sedan today.

=> ↺ Andrej Shadura: Connecting lights to a Swytch e-bike kit

• Last year I purchased an e-bike upgrade kit for my mother in law. We decided to install it on a bicycle she originally bought back in the 80s, which I fixed and refurbished a couple of years ago and used until September 2022 when I bought myself a Dutch Cortina U4.

=> ↺ State aid: Commission approves €158 million Polish measure to support LOTOS Green H2 in the production of renewable hydrogen

• European Commission Press release Brussels, 12 Apr 2023 The European Commission has approved, under EU State aid rules, a €158 million Polish measure to support LOTOS Green H2 sp. z o.o, a special purpose vehicle ultimately owned by PKN Orlen SA, in the production of renewable hydrogen to be used in the refinery production processes.

=> ↺ Latvia plans joint use of Estonia’s Paldiski LNG terminal

• The Ministry of Climate and Energy (KEM) will start work on arranging access for the joint use of the Paldiski LNG terminal in Estonia with a view to strengthening the security of Latvia’s natural gas supply, the KEM said in a statement on April 12.

=> ↺ The geopolitics of the energy trilemma in South Asia

• South Asian countries are being subjected to the consequences of China and Russia’s efforts to expand their influence in the region. In this complex geopolitical context, expanded US and G7 clean energy efforts are needed.

=> ↺ Narrowing Finland’s rail gauge would be too costly, ministry says

• The idea to harmonise rail gauges across Europe came from the EU Commission.

=> ↺ UK delivers £23bn in low carbon investment in 2022

• The UK invested £23bn in new low carbon investment in 2022 encompassing hydrogen, renewables, carbon capture and storage, nuclear, sustainable materials, energy storage, electrified transport and clean heat.

=> ↺ Russia’s Novatek To Acquire Shell’s Stake In Sakhalin-2 For $1.16 Billion

• Russia’s government has approved the sale of Shell’s former 27.5 percent stake in the Sakhalin-2 energy project to Russian energy firm Novatek for 94.8 billion rubles ($1.16 billion).

=> ↺ Lithuanian deputy finance minister in conflict of interest over energy firm’s shares – watchdog

• Lithuanian Deputy Finance Minister Gediminas Norkūnas, who holds shares in Ignitis Group, placed himself in a conflict-of-interest situation when taking decisions on the state-controlled energy group’s activities, the Chief Official Ethics Commission (VTEK) ruled on Wednesday.

Wildlife/Nature

=> ↺ Question and Answers on the EU’s proposals for the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC)

• European Commission Questions and answers Brussels, 11 Apr 2023 What is the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC) and what is the EU proposing for the next IOTC session in May?

=> ↺ Monkey business: Sri Lanka considers macaque sales to China

• The plan has raised concerns among conservationists.

=> ↺ Colorado River water: Is fallowing farmland a fair way to conserve?

• Calls to sacrifice a shared resource raise questions of justice. One California farm region facing the possibility of having to fallow land wonders whether that’s fair.

=> ↺ Number of wild boar killed by Hong Kong gov’t tripled in a year

• The number of wild boar killed by the Hong Kong government has tripled in a year, after officials launched a scheme to euthanise the animals when they encroach on urban areas.

Overpopulation

=> ↺ India will soon have the biggest population. Can its women rise, too?

• India will soon eclipse China to become the world’s most populous country, but the number of Indian women in the workforce has been shrinking. When women participate in the labor market, they contribute to the economy and their family’s income, experts say.

=> ↺ Japan’s Population Drops Below 125 Mln, Down for 12th Year

• “…this decline has been progressively increasing since 2011…”

Finance

=> ↺ Consumer prices rose at more moderate pace in March

• Overall consumer price gains cooled last month, though underlying measures continued to show sticky inflation pressure, according to government data released on Wednesday.

=> ↺ States confront medical debt that’s bankrupting millions

• These are three of an estimated 100 million Americans who have amassed nearly $200 billion in collective medical debt — almost the size of Greece’s economy — according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.

=> ↺ Asia stocks mixed after Wall St dips on US recession warning

• Asian stock markets are mixed after the Federal Reserve said its economists expect a “mild recession” this year.

=> ↺ Amid Inflation Relief, Rental Prices Continue Soaring

• Annual inflation fell to 5 percent in March, the lowest mark in two years.

=> ↺ Federal Reserve staff projects “mild recession” after banking sector turmoil

• Federal Reserve officials anticipated that the recent collapse of Silicon Valley Bank was likely to weigh on inflation and the broader U.S. economy, with central bank staff forecasting a “mild recession” later this year, according to minutes of their last policy meeting in late March released on Wednesday.

=> ↺ IMF Slashes Cash-Strapped Pakistan’s Growth Outlook To 0.5 Percent

• The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has slashed the growth outlook for cash-strapped Pakistan, forecasting the country’s fragile economy will grow just 0.5 percent this year, down from 6 percent in 2022.

=> ↺ Postage stamp prices expected to increase again in July

• The price of postage stamps is poised to increase in July for the second time this year — the 17th rate change since 2000 — under a new proposal by the Postal Service.

=> ↺ Less than a third of Baltic population has 5,000 euros in savings

• By setting aside part of their monthly income, 31% of the Baltic population have saved up to 5,000 euros, while 21% have saved more than that. In general, the highest rates of savings are among Estonians, but in Latvia there are more people who have no savings at all, according to Luminor Bank most recent survey of the population.

=> ↺ Latvia’s annual inflation rate at 17.3 % in March

• Data published by the Central Statistical Bureau (CSB) April 12 show that in March 2023, compared to March 2022, the average level of consumer prices in Latvia rose by 17.3 %.

=> ↺ France braces for 12th day of protests against Macron’s pension law

• French unions have called on workers to walk off the job and join protest rallies on Thursday for a twelfth nationwide day of protests against a bill that will make the French work longer.

=> ↺ Operating costs growing faster than revenues across the telecoms and postal sector

• The business-customer relationship oftentimes feels like a dysfunctional marriage. Both parties feel like the other party is taking them for granted. Nowhere is this more true than in our relationships with our Internet Service Providers and Internet Access Providers. On the customer’s side, we feel we are paying too much for what we are getting.

=> ↺ Making crime pay for the public? France gives seized property to charity.

• Selling criminals’ ill-gotten property to benefit the state is not new. But France is trying something different: giving confiscated real estate directly to charity, to transform crime into public gain.

=> ↺ Tech drags Hong Kong stocks, dollar squeezed

• Asian stocks struggled on Thursday, dragged by selling in Hong Kong tech shares, while the dollar was under pressure and short-dated bonds were firm as softening US inflation seemed to suggest the US rate hike cycle was nearing its end.

AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

=> ↺ A Liberal Victory in Wisconsin

• Last week’s election upended the ideological balance of the state’s Supreme Court, with big implications for abortion access, voting rights, and gerrymandering.

=> ↺ Reproductive justice teach in creates community and awareness

• The Reproductive Health to Reproductive Justice Teach In unites groups across Kent State’s campus to shine light on the current state of abortion rights in Ohio after the overturning of Roe v. Wade last year.

=> ↺ Reproductive rights teach in brings faculty and students together

• As one of the most common abortion pills could be banned in Ohio in the near future, faculty and students came together to host the Reproductive Health and Reproductive Justice Teach In. Lizzy Laufkin, a senior human development and family studies major at Kent, said the event brought together different organizations to collaborate about Roe…

=> ↺ In surprise interview with BBC, Elon Musk says owning Twitter at times has been ‘painful’

=> ↺ Feinstein faces pressure to resign over judicial confirmations

• Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) joined a chorus of outside progressive voices in calling for Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) to resign amid concerns that her medical absence is keeping Senate Democrats from confirming more judges.

=> ↺ Senate Democrats seek to “temporarily” substitute Sen. Dianne Feinstein on Judiciary panel

• Senate Democrats will try to “temporarily” replace Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) on the Senate Judiciary Committee as she recovers from shingles.

=> ↺ Feinstein, Under Pressure to Resign, Asks to Step Down From Judiciary Panel

• The 89-year-old California Democrat, who has been absent from the Senate for more than a month after being diagnosed with shingles, said she would seek a temporary replacement on the powerful committee.

=> ↺ After calls to resign, Feinstein seeks Judiciary replacement

• U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California is asking to be temporarily replaced on the Judiciary Committee while she recovers from a case of shingles. Her announcement Wednesday came shortly after two House Democrats called on her to resign because of her extended absence from Washington. The long-serving Democrat says complications have delayed her recovery and she has provided no date for her return to Washington. At 89, Feinstein is the oldest member of Congress. Her absence has complicated Democratic efforts to confirm President Joe Biden’s nominees for federal courts. Democratic Reps. Ro Khanna of California and Dean Phillips of Minnesota say she should step down.

=> ↺ Musk tweets “Defund NPR” after outlet suspends Twitter use

• Elon Musk on Wednesday tweeted “Defund NPR” after the nonprofit media organization said it was suspending its use of Twitter over a new “government-funded” label on its account.

=> ↺ NPR to Suspend Twitter Use After ‘Government-Funded’ Label

• The broadcaster said the label undermined its credibility “by falsely implying that we are not editorially independent.”

=> ↺ Montana’s Plan to Ban TikTok Is a Preview for the Rest of the Country

• The fight has shown the difficult test and legally perilous road facing lawmakers or the White House if they try to enact a national ban on the social media service.

=> ↺ The Whole Stack

• Substack got an unexpected wave of momentum last week that threatens to upend the game for people who just want email to be email. What should indie newsletter publishers think of that?

Misinformation/Disinformation/Propaganda

=> ↺ Did Memphis Zoo officials hurt two pandas there?

• Verdict: False

Censorship/Free Speech

=> ↺ The Canadian Heritage Online Harms Credibility Gap, Part Two: Filtering Out Critics From Participating in Anti-Hate Consultation Survey

• The government’s online harms bill, led by Canadian Heritage, is likely to be introduced in the coming weeks. My series on why the department faces a significant credibility gap on the issue opened with a look at its misleading and secretive approach to the 2021 online harms consultation, including its decision to only disclose public submissions when compelled to do so by law and releasing a

Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press

=> ↺ Court accepts indictment against 22 Kurdish media workers

• Sixteen of the suspects have been remanded in custody since June. The prosecutors have charged the suspects with “being a member of an illegal organization.”

=> ↺ Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai files legal bid against gov’t decision to deny his foreign lawyer a visa

• Hong Kong pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai has filed a legal bid against the government decision to reject any further work visa applications from an overseas counsel he had hired for his national security case. Lai, 75, who founded the defunct pro-democracy tabloid Apple Daily, faces a total of four charges under the Beijing-imposed [...]

=> ↺ US State Department designates journalist arrested in Russia as ‘wrongfully detained’

• The US State Department Monday designated Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reporter Evan Gershkovich as “wrongfully detained” in Russia. The new designation signals an escalation in US efforts to secure the release of Gershkovich as new reports circulate that Russian authorities are preventing US officials from speaking with the WSJ journalist.

Civil Rights/Policing

=> ↺ White House urges meat processors to guard against child labor in their industry

• It’s part of an effort by the administration to crack down on child labor.

=> ↺ The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act: How We Got Here

• Although the Supreme Court’s decision overturning Roe v. Wade cast a long shadow over reproductive rights, there were some victories to cheer in 2022. Among them was the culmination of a long, hard-fought campaign to sign the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act into law.

=> ↺ Baş: ‘Who you are insulting are millions of Yugoslav migrants in Turkey’

• BBP President Destici had said that TİP President Erkan Baş was “a leftover from Tito.”

=> ↺ Protest Song Of The Week: ‘Go As Free Companions’ By Dawn Ray’d

• Dawn Ray’d is a UK anarchist black metal band that draws from the folk traditions of rebel music. On their latest album “To Know The Light,” the trio conveys a rousing anti-fascist message that balances the bleakness that black metal is known for with a sense of optimism.

=> ↺ UN Special Rapporteurs say UK approach to unaccompanied child migrants breaches international human rights obligations

• A joint statement issued Tuesday on behalf of three UN Special Rapporteurs joined previous condemnation in saying that the UK is failing to  “abide by its core obligations under international human rights law” over its approach to migrant children arriving in the country.

=> ↺ A New Phase in the Rollback of Abortion Access

• A Texas judge’s injunction on the use of mifepristone has further eroded the country’s standing as a leader in reproductive rights.

Internet Policy/Net Neutrality

=> ↺ [Podcast] The rise (and potential fall) of LEO

• If the risks aren’t fully understood, LEO Internet could be a wasted once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

=> ↺ Jonathan Dowland: blog after death

• I’ve been pondering what should happen to personal websites once the owner has passed, or otherwise “moved on”. Some time ago I stumbled across a blog by Kev Quirk, who wrote

• I thought it was a strange idea, to have a contingency plan for a personal site to survive its writer. Even a site such as my own, which (as sites go) would be trivial to host/mirror (since it’s static), who would want to do that? Why would they do that?

Monopolies

=> ↺ Mergers: Commission sends Broadcom Statement of Objections over proposed acquisition of VMware

• European Commission Press release Brussels, 12 Apr 2023 The European Commission has informed Broadcom of its preliminary view that its proposed acquisition of VMware may restrict competition in the market for certain hardware components which interoperate with VMware’s virtualisation software.

=> ↺ EU raises competition concerns over Broadcom’s $61B VMware acquisition

Patents

=> ↺ Judge Newman

• Gene Quinn is reporting that Chief Judge Moore has moved forward with proceedings to remove Judge Newman from the bench — filing a complaint under the Judicial Conduct and Disability Act. 

Trademarks

=> ↺ TTABlog Test: How Did These Three Appeals from Section 2(e)(1) Mere Descriptiveness Refusals Turn Out?

• By my count, the TTAB has affirmed 18 of the 19 appeals from Section 2(e)(1) mere descriptiveness (or disclaimer) refusals. How do you think these latest three appeals came out? Results will be found in the first comment.

Copyrights

=> ↺ Dentologia: A Poem on the Diseases of the Teeth (1833)

• A sprawling poem about teeth, written by an eminent dentist, with fifty pages of erudite footnotes.

=> ↺ Universal Music Group Reportedly Tells Streaming Services to Remove Computer-Generated Music, Citing ‘A Moral and Commercial Responsibility to Our Artists’

• Universal Music Group (UMG) is reportedly pushing Spotify, Apple Music, and others to remove AI-generated tracks – and cease allowing artificial intelligence models to analyze its artists’ music on streaming services altogether. The Financial Times just recently detailed the leading label’s reported effort to curb the streaming prevalence of AI-created works.

Gemini* and Gopher

Personal

=> ↺ Prayer

• I’m sure everyone felt helpless so many times. It’s a very common experience – seeing something wrong happening, which one can do nothing about. Only thing that can be done – watching and being sad about it. Well… so it seems sometimes. Fortunately that’s not the case!

• [...]

• I’m quite sure that many people, also Catholics, consider prayer as a mere conversation with myself.

Technical

=> ↺ One Year of Software Freedom

• I just realized today that as of this month it’s been a year since I’ve replaced (nearly) every piece of software in my life with some free alternative. My computers all run Linux with minimal proprietary software (my laptop even runs coreboot), I replaced the smart TVs with little RaspberryPi/LibreELEC systems, and I run a custom FOSS OS (LineageOS) on a de-googled phone.

• It doesn’t fix everything. Of course, you know, we’re all humans with human struggles and problems in our lives. But it is one less thing to worry about. It feels good.

• Gemini (Primer) links can be opened using Gemini software. It’s like the World Wide Web but a lot lighter. Share in other sites/networks: These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages. Permalink  Send this to a friend

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