● 04.18.23

Gemini version available ♊︎

● Links 18/04/2023: Fedora GNU/Linux 38 and LXD 5.13 Released

Posted in News Roundup at 12:33 pm by Dr. Roy Schestowitz

GNU/Linux

Applications

=> ↺ PowerDNS Authoritative Server 4.7.4

• This is the release of version 4.7.4 of the Authoritative Server. It contains various bug fixes, some performance improvements, and one new feature (pdnsutil list-member-zones). A full list of changes can be found in the changelog. Please make sure to read the Upgrade Notes before upgrading.

=> ↺ Linux Candy: linuxwave – generate music from the entropy of Linux

• Some of the programs in this series are purely cosmetic, frivolous pieces of fun. Candy at their finest. But we also include some programs that aren’t purely decorative.

• A diverse range of programs are included in this series. Programs such as eDEX-UI and Variety are actually highly practical programs. ASCIIQuarium has soothing and relaxing qualities for your desktop. Other programs included in this series (such as lolcat, cacafire) are included purely for their decorative qualities. And then there’s some really fun software that just raises a smile or two.

• linuxwave is a small utility that’s designed to generate music from the entropy of Linux. What’s entropy? Think of entropy as the computer’s way of getting close to “randomness”.

• Computers are incapable, by design, of generating truly random numbers, because no number produced by a mathematical operation is truly random. However, computers can get pretty close with entropy. A Linux machine collates “random numbers” by monitoring different events such as network activity, key-clicks etc. These are fed to the kernel entropy pool, which is used by /dev/random and /dev/urandom. Some programs need to use /dev/random or /dev/uradom as their source of entropy e.g. cryptography tools. linuxwave also uses entropy via /dev/urandom.

=> ↺ LXD 5.13 has been released

• The LXD team is very excited to announce the release of LXD 5.13!

• This is quite the jam packed release featuring a lot of improvements for those using OVN networks, but also very exciting developments for VM users, including much faster live migration and AMD SEV support. On top of that, we’re also adding OpenID Connect support for user authentication, dedicated network bridges for multi-user environments and a long requested one, the ability to resize storage pools through LXD itself.

• For quite a while now LXD has supported live migration of virtual machines. But the way this was done was far from ideal. It was effectively all dependent on LXD’s support for stateful stop, that is, the ability to write down all the memory and CPU state to disk, then fully stop the virtual machine but with the ability to start it back up exactly where it left off.

• That means that for live migration, the process was effectively to write down all the memory (potentially several GiBs of it), write down the CPU state, then have the VM exit, move all the state (disk, memory and CPU) to the target system and finally restore it.

=> ↺ LXD 5.13 released

Instructionals/Technical

=> ↺ Matthew Garrett: PSA: upgrade your LUKS key derivation function

• Here’s an article from a French anarchist describing how his (encrypted) laptop was seized after he was arrested, and material from the encrypted partition has since been entered as evidence against him. His encryption password was supposedly greater than 20 characters and included a mixture of cases, numbers, and punctuation, so in the absence of any sort of opsec failures this implies that even relatively complex passwords can now be brute

Games

=> ↺ Steam’s new Proton 8.0-1 supports Forspoken and a long list of other games

• Steam’s compatibility layer, Proton, has been upgraded to version 8.0-1. This update requires your GPU to support Vulkan 1.3 but if it does then you’ll have access to 18 more games.

Distributions and Operating Systems

New Releases

=> ↺ Solus Linux to Be Rebased on Ikey Doherty’s Serpent OS

• For those not in the know, Solus is an independent Linux distro created from scratch by ex-Intel employee Ikey Doherty and using an in-house developed graphical environment which most of you now know as the Budgie Desktop.

• A few years after its creation, Solus was passed to another maintainer, namely Joshua Strobl, who did an amazing job keeping Solus alive for a few good years until last year when he decided to leave the project and focus on the Budgie Desktop.

=> ↺ IPFire 2.27 – Core Update 174 released

• The next Core Update has been released: IPFire 2.27 – Core Update 174. It is a traditional spring clean release which updates major parts of the core system and comes with a large number of bug fixes throughout.

• This update also comes with a number of security patches in Apache, cURL and more, but none of them have been assessed as being exploitable on IPFire. Nevertheless, we intend to bring those updates to all of our users as soon as possible, and encourage speedy installation of Core Update 174.

Fedora Family / IBM

=> ↺ Enabling Kubernetes self-service the operator way

• Learn how operators can serve as governance tools in a multitenant setting.

=> ↺ My advice for building maintainable, clean architecture

• To say that DevOps is an illusion is a controversial statement to start this article. What I mean is that I often see DevOps passing by, but I have the feeling that they forgot the “and.” Development and operations are often two separated silos, not looking at each other, not looking at each other’s principles, even in cloud development. One of the best examples of looking for best practices in other silos is (in my opinion) agile software development, which originated from the Japanese car manufacturer, Toyota.

=> ↺ IT leadership: Mission-driven IT and finding your “why”

• I recently had the opportunity to interview Enterpriser Jay Ferro, EVP, chief information, technology, and product officer at Clario. During our discussion, Jay spoke about the importance of being mission-driven in IT–something he has been in every IT leadership role he has held throughout his career. Whether you call this your North Star or “finding your why,” this work is critical for retaining talent and delivering value to customers. Watch the video for Jay’s advice on this topic and others, like how to build consensus for your digital transformation, how to foster a culture of resilience in IT, and why leaders should never stop asking questions.

=> ↺ Generative AI: 3 do’s and don’ts for IT leaders

• Over the next few years, enterprises will fall somewhere on the spectrum of fully embracing and shunning the technology outright as part of their digital transformation journey. As IT leaders, we need to help our organizations and their employees understand its benefits and risks and make informed decisions on how to apply it appropriately.

=> ↺ Fedora Linux 38 Arrives with Linux Kernel 6.2, GNOME 44, Mesa 23, and More

• Powered by Linux kernel 6.2 and the Mesa 23 graphics stack, Fedora Linux 38 includes the recently released GNOME 44 “Kuala Lumpur” desktop environment for its flagship Workstation edition, which comes with numerous new features and improvements like a new lock screen, new Quick Settings, new accessibility settings, and much more.

• The Fedora Linux 38 Spins ship with new desktop environment releases as well, including KDE Plasma 5.27 LTS, Xfce 4.18, Cinnamon 5.6, LXQt 1.2.0, MATE 1.26, Budgie 10.7, LXDE, i3, and SoaS desktop flavors.

=> ↺ Fedora 38 is now Available for Download. This is What’s New

• Fedora Linux is a popular distribution that provides the latest software packages and technologies. It is a community-driven project sponsored by Red Hat, and is a pioneer in adopting new tech and features before any mainstream Linux distributions.

• The latest version of Fedora Linux, Fedora 38, has been released, bringing with it a host of exciting new features and updates. Here are some of the highlights.

Debian Family

=> ↺ Daniel Pocock: Frans Pop, a sausage, ARM netbook & Debian overwork before suicide

• The biggest reason for my blogs about Frans Pop, the Debian Day Volunteer Suicide is that I hope this will never happen again.

• So far, we’ve seen the story of Frans Pop’s first resignation in May 2007 and a second resignation the night before Debian.Day in 2010.

• After the first resignation, what brought him back to Debian?

• Before answering that question, it is interesting to look at the extraordinary risks of overworking.

Canonical/Ubuntu Family

=> ↺ Ubuntu Weekly Newsletter issue 783

• Welcome to the Ubuntu Weekly Newsletter, Issue 783 for the week of April 9 — 15, 2023. The full version of this issue is available here.

=> ↺ The Fridge: Ubuntu Weekly Newsletter issue 783

• Welcome to the Ubuntu Weekly Newsletter, Issue 783 for the week of April 9 – 15, 2023. The full version of this issue is available here.

Devices/Embedded

=> ↺ BLIKVM open-source KVM over IP works with Raspberry Pi CM4, Raspberry Pi HAT, PCIe card, and soon Allwinner H616

• BLIKVM is an open-source KVM over IP software that helps you manage servers or workstations remotely regardless of the health of the target system, and currently working with Raspberry Pi CM4 hardware, a Raspberry Pi HAT, or a PCIe board, and a new model based on MangoPi’s Allwinner H616 CPU module is coming soon.

• We’ve previously written about the Raspberry Pi-based PiKVM DIY project, followed by the PiKVM v3 Raspberry Pi HAT from the same project, and now I can see there’s a CM4-based PiKVM V4 that was on Kickstarter last month and raised over $800,000… You’d think this kind of system would be rather a niche market, but there’s even demand to have a similar open-source project called BLIKVM offering many of the same features since it’s based on PiKVM, except for the option to use a PCIE card fitted with a CM4 module.

Open Hardware/Modding

=> ↺ ECLIPSE is a beautiful ring lamp that lightens progressively

• Have you ever exited a dark movie theater in the middle of the afternoon and found yourself blinded by the sudden transition to bright sunlight? Etienne Leroy faces the same problem after watching a movie on his home projector and turning on the lights.

=> ↺ Mini WALL-E robot delivers gifts

• While brainstorming gift ideas, Professor Boots settled upon creating a tiny present-delivering robot that could move around on its own power. Because WALL-E’s design already has a built-in compartment and is quite memorable, it became the jumping off point for the project.

Mobile Systems/Mobile Applications

=> ↺ How to see if someone actually read your text

=> ↺ Android Auto 9.4 Beta Update is Now Available for Download

=> ↺ Google bans popular Android apps! Millions warned to remove them now | Express.co.uk

Free, Libre, and Open Source Software

Web Browsers/Web Servers

Mozilla

=> ↺ Support.Mozilla.Org: What’s up with SUMO – Q1 2023

• Hi everybody,

• I know some of you have been asking about the monthly blog post since January. We’re back today, with a summary of what happened in the past 3 months. This will be our new cadence for this kind of post. So please look out for our next edition by early July.

• I hope the past 3 months have treated you well. Time surely flies so fast. We’ve done a lot of internal research for the past 3 months, but in Q2, I promise you will see more of me all around our various community channels.

SaaS/Back End/Databases

=> ↺ PG Failover Slots (pg_failover_slots)

• EDB is pleased to announce the release of PG Failover Slots (pg_failover_slots). This database extension is released as open source software under the PostgreSQL license and is for anyone who has logical replication publications on Postgres databases that are also part of a Streaming Replication architecture.

Programming/Development

=> ↺ What TLA+ Can’t Check

• Hi everyone,

• I wrote a new blog post, Breaking the Limits of TLA+ Model Checking. It’s the first (non-learntla) TLA+-related content I’ve put out in what, almost two years? It also comes with a GitHub project with all the software artifacts: the spec, the graphing software, the scripts, etc. It’s about how to test the things that TLA+ can’t natively check, like hyperproperties and probabilistic properties.

• So what do I mean by “things that TLA+ can’t check?” I spent ten minutes writing and rewriting two paragraphs carefully defining the differences between the language and the model checker before giving up and saying “this is a newsletter, nobody wants to read this.” So here’s the oversimplification. In TLA+ we have a spec that has multiple behaviors, or traces. Properties in TLA+ are things that are true for every behavior. Some such properties: [...]

=> ↺ Breaking the limits of TLA+ model checking

• I haven’t written much about TLA+ on the blog since the new learntla went up. Any examples or special topics I think of go there instead. But I recently thought of a cool demo that doesn’t quite fit the theme of that book: there are some things you can’t easily check with the model checker but can check if you work with the state space as a directed graph.

=> ↺ Frederik Braun: Examine Firefox Inter-Process Communication using JavaScript in 2023

• This is my update to the 2021 JavaScript IPC blog post from the Firefox Attack & Defense blog.

Perl / Raku

=> ↺ 2023.16 Student.?win

• If you’re a programming student, you can win a free ticket to TPRC in Toronto (11-13 July) by taking part in the contest! Meanwhile, a preliminary schedule is available! Anton’s Corner Anton Antonov has been busy again this week: a new module (WWW::MermaidInk) and an associated blog post with an introduction and examples!

Standards/Consortia

=> ↺ Dig It! Coffee Co. serves independence in a cup

• People with disabilities often have limited options for advancement. A Las Vegas employer aims to pair dignity with opportunities for growth.

=> ↺ With its PRO 2023 release, Zigbee tries to stay relevant

• The Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA) has released a new version of the Zigbee standard called Zigbee PRO 2023 with a stated focus on security.

Leftovers

Education

=> ↺ Why many students are choosing trade programs over college

• While almost every sector of higher education is seeing fewer students registering for classes, many trade programs are experiencing increased enrollment.

Hardware

=> ↺ ADLINK Ampere Altra Dev Kit features ATX motherboard with 32 to 80-core Arm COM-HPC CPU module

• ADLINK Ampere Altra Dev Kit is an “IoT prototyping kit” based on an ATX motherboard fitted with a COM-HPC-ALT Server Type Size E module powered by an Ampere Altra 32, 64, or 80-core Arm Neoverse N1 server processor, and supporting up to 768GB DDR4 memory.

=> ↺ T-HMI ESP32-S3 board comes with an 2.8-inch touchscreen color display, three Grove expansion connectors

• Lilygo has launched yet another ESP32-S3 board with an integrated display, but the T-HMI has a larger 2.8-inch color display and a resistive touch panel suitable for HMI (Human Machine Interfaces). It is also equipped with three Grove connectors for expansion with sensors or actuators. Like all the recent ESP32-S3 boards from Lilygo, the T-HMI features the ESP32-S3R8 WiFi 4 and Bluetooth MCU with 8MB PSRAM, as well as a 16MB SPI flash, a microSD card slot, a few buttons, and power from USB or a LiPo battery.

Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

=> ↺ The Forgotten Drug Trips of the Nineteenth Century

• Long before the hippies, a group of thinkers used substances like cocaine, hashish, and nitrous oxide to uncover the secrets of the mind.

=> ↺ Heritage Project — Angell, China and opium

• During a grand dinner in 1910 celebrating James Burrill Angell’s nearly 40-year tenure as U-M’s president, Angell touted among his accomplishments the treaty he negotiated with China regarding opium.

Security

=> ↺ This Bay Area prosecutor wants to help police nationwide take on ‘pig butchering’ scams

• Santa Clara County Deputy District Attorney Erin West’s “Operation Shamrock” isn’t relying on luck to take down the worst criminals.

Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt/Fear-mongering/Dramatisation

=> ↺ Report finds software supply chains are being compromised by popular open-source products

Privacy/Surveillance

=> ↺ Crooks’ Mistaken Bet on Encrypted Phones

• Drug syndicates and other criminal groups bought into the idea that a new kind of phone network couldn’t be infiltrated by cops. They were wrong—big time.

=> ↺ Teachers in Denmark are using apps to audit their students’ moods

• In a Copenhagen suburb, a fifth-grade classroom is having its weekly cake-eating session, a common tradition in Danish public schools. While the children are eating chocolate cake, the teacher pulls up an infographic on a whiteboard: a bar chart generated by a digital platform that collects data on how they’ve been feeling. Organized to display…

=> ↺ The US is pouring money into surveillance tech at the southern border

• This article is from The Technocrat, MIT Technology Review’s weekly tech policy newsletter about power, politics, and Silicon Valley. To receive it in your inbox every Friday, sign up here. For years, the US has struggled to process all the people who want to come and live here. It’s a slow-rumbling problem that has become…

=> ↺ The paradox of “productivity paranoia”

• Workers say they’re more productive when they work remotely or in a hybrid arrangement, but many bosses are not confident in their workers’ productivity levels when they can’t see them.

Defence/Aggression

=> ↺ Belarus’ Swed House has replaced IKEA in Russia

• Belarus-based furniture outfit Swed House has started replacing Swedish giant IKEA in Russia. This comes 13 months after the latter closed its 17 stores in the country, in solidarity with hundreds of other companies that have exited Russia due to its invasion of Ukraine.

=> ↺ Xi calls for ‘higher stage’ of China-North Korea ties: State media

• Chinese President Xi Jinping will push for a “higher stage” of relations with Pyongyang, North Korean state media said Tuesday, as G-7 foreign ministers condemned the North’s unprecedented string of weapons tests.

=> ↺ CYBER: Someone Is Selling Computer Generated Swatting Services

• A wave of swatting across the U.S. can be traced back to groups selling automated calls online.

=> ↺ Swatting as a Service

• Motherboard is reporting on AI-generated voices being used for “swatting”:

=> ↺ G-7 ministers stress unity amid tensions with China and Russia

• They criticised China’s added pressure on Taiwan and Russia’s threat to station nuclear weapons in Belarus.

=> ↺ G-7 demands North Korea ‘refrain’ from nuclear tests, missile launches

• The warning came days after Pyongyang said it had successfully tested a solid-fuel ICBM.

=> ↺ Foxconn founder Terry Gou, seeking Taiwan presidency, has no plans to visit China

• Mr Gou launched a second bid in April for the presidential ticket of the opposition Kuomintang.

=> ↺ Taiwan to buy 400 US anti-ship missiles to face China threat: Bloomberg

• The Pentagon said production was expected to be completed by March 2029.

=> ↺ Alabama birthday girl begged dying brother to ‘stay with me’

• Students in the tiny Alabama town of Dadeville wore their black and gold school colors Monday as they mourned two seniors who were among four young people killed by gunfire at a Sweet 16 birthday party over the weekend.

=> ↺ The Abducted Children of Ukraine: Kidnapping as a Weapon of War

• The Kremlin has made a habit of seizing Ukrainian boys and girls, with the intention of transforming them into Russian citizens. Families are fighting to get their children back.

=> ↺ Christina Bobb’s Rent-an-Attorney-Client Cut-Out Computer

• When the January 6 Committee asked Christina Bobb about the memo calling to seize the voting machines — the metadata of which showed she authored — she claimed she had nothing to do with it. No wonder she was the lawyer asked to certify that a diligent search of Mar-a-Lago for classified documents had occurred.

=> ↺ Saudis, Houthis shake hands in Yemen. Peace will take much more.

• The Saudi-Iran regional rivalry has hung heavily over Yemen’s tragic civil war. But removing the proxy layer of the complex conflict is not enough to secure peace, analysts caution. That requires including other factions.

=> ↺ Despite Sudan fighting, a society reshapes itself

• As military factions battle in the streets for power, pro-democracy groups still work behind the scenes.

=> ↺ Man charged in front-door shooting of Black teen Ralph Yarl

• An 84-year-old white man in Kansas City, Missouri, has been charged with first-degree assault for shooting a Black teen who mistakenly went to the man’s home to pick up his younger brothers. Prosecuting Attorney Zachary Thompson said at a news conference Monday that there was a “racial component” when Andrew Lester twice shot 16-year-old Ralph Yarl, but nothing in the charging documents says the shooting was racially motivated. Yarl is recovering from the Thursday night shooting at home after being released from the hospital. The shooting outraged many in Kansas City and across the country. The assault charge carries a penalty of up to life in prison.

=> ↺ Blinken slams “reckless and irresponsible” attack on U.S. convoy in Sudan

• A U.S. diplomatic convoy was fired on by gunmen believed to be affiliated with the Sudanese Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia in Khartoum, Secretary of State Tony Blinken confirmed on Tuesday.

=> ↺ Death Toll Rises to 97 as Fighting Rages in Sudan

• Violent clashes erupted on Saturday between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Khartoum and other cities.

=> ↺ ATMIS Kicks Off Mental Health Training for Troops in Somalia

• “We are exposed to violence, death, and destruction, which can negatively affect our mental well-being and lead to post-traumatic stress disorder,” said Mohammed El-Amine Souef.

=> ↺ Pentagon “Leaks”: 5 ways to tell REAL from FAKE

• Kit Knightly We promised a longer take on the Pentagon “leaks”, and here it goes.

=> ↺ Nuclear-powered submarines are vital to Australia’s defence

• When I was Australia’s ambassador to the United States, I visited General Dynamics Electric Boat in Groton, Connecticut, one of two yards constructing the Virginia-class submarines.

=> ↺ Australia must avoid war in the region, says Penny Wong

• Foreign Minister Penny Wong has set out her government’s plan to avert war in the region and maintain peace using all the elements of Australia’s national power including diplomacy and development assistance [...]

=> ↺ Ukraine Says It Is Finding More Chinese Components In Russian Weapons

• Ukrainian forces are finding a growing number of components from China in Russian weapons used in Ukraine, a senior adviser in President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s office told Reuters.

=> ↺ Mayor Wanted For Fraud Says He Has Joined Russian Forces Fighting In Ukraine

• Rustyam Abushaev, the mayor of the Russia city of Bolshoi Kamen who is wanted for fraud, says he has joined Russian troops fighting in Ukraine.

=> ↺ 🔴Live: G7 vows ‘no impunity’ stance against Russia

• G7 foreign ministers promised a unified front against Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine, saying at the close of their meetings Tuesday that they were committed to boosting and enforcing tough sanctions against Moscow. Follow FRANCE 24′s live blog for all the latest developments on the war in Ukraine. All times are Paris time (GMT+2).

Environment

Energy/Transportation

=> ↺ Rosatom announces installation of key safety feature at Turkey nuclear plant

• A fuel loading ceremony will be held on April 27 for the plant that is still under construction.

=> ↺ Electricity consumption dropped 6% in 2022 as wind power hit record high

• Wind energy accounted for an unprecedented 14.1 percent of total electricity consumption last year.

=> ↺ Germany ends its nuclear power. But what will become of the waste?

• Germany has switched off its three remaining nuclear power plants as part of a long-planned transition toward renewable energy. The question of what to do with 62 years worth of accumulated toxic waste remains unsolved.

=> ↺ China plans 400km west-to-east hydrogen pipeline, Xinhua reports

• China is planning on building a 400km hydrogen pipeline to carry the clean energy carrier for the renewable resource-rich west to the energy consuming regions in the east of the country, according to Xinhua.

Wildlife/Nature

=> ↺ Is kicking out illegal miners enough to save Brazil’s Amazon?

• Brazil’s president is doubling down on protecting the Amazon – crucial for combatting global warming.

=> ↺ Animals Are Using Rafts of Plastic Garbage to Colonize the Open Ocean

• Coastal animals such as mollusks and crustaceans are making a home on the high seas using heaps of trash from humans, a new study has found.

=> ↺ Norppalive is back: Popular Baltic ringed seals live stream returns

• In addition to its entertainment value, the WWF says the information gathered by the broadcast can help optimise conservation efforts.

=> ↺ Lately in Literature: How to turn shark stories into existential horror

• Armfield’s debut novel takes readers on a haunting journey through the depths of the ocean and the depths of the human psyche.

=> ↺ Hunters in Lebanon use automatic rifles to gun down dozens of rare birds ‘for fun’

• People hunting for sport in northern Lebanon used automatic rifles to massacre dozens of rare wild birds traveling through the region on their migration route to Europe. Lebanese animal rights activists have denounced the cruelty of these hunters who slaughter these protected species with total impunity “for fun”.

Finance

Axios ☛ White House economists: There isn’t a “missing worker” problem anymoreData: Bureau of Labor Statistics; Chart: Axios VisualsOne of the most persistent economic narratives of 2021 and 2022 was that of missing workers. Many Americans seemed to have simply vanished from the labor force during the pandemic, leaving employers in a lurch.That’s no longer the case, White House economists argue in a new post presenting evidence that labor supply has returned to its pre-pandemic trend.Why it matters: It would be way less painful if the U.S. labor market were to come into a better, non-inflationary balance because labor supply increased, rather than labor demand decreased.Axios ☛ McCarthy plans vote to raise debt ceiling into 2024House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said Monday the House will vote on a bill to raise the debt ceiling through 2023 and cut government spending.Why it matters: The U.S. is expected to reach its fiscal cliff this summer, heightening the need for a solution on the debt ceiling in the coming months to stave off default.What he’s saying: “In the coming weeks, the House will vote on a bill to lift the debt ceiling into next year,” McCarthy said in a speech to the New York Stock Exchange.He said the bill will also “save taxpayers trillions of dollars, make us less dependent on China, and curb high inflation, all without touching Social Security or Medicare.”

=> ↺ Ericsson’s Quarterly Core Profit Misses Expectations

• STOCKHOLM (Reuters) -Sweden’s Ericsson on Tuesday reported first-quarter core earnings that missed expectations as telecom customers in high-margin…

=> ↺ Workers at one of Coca-Cola’s largest US bottlers are on strike

• Workers at a major Coca-Cola distributor are on the picket line.

=> ↺ The pound has surprised everyone by bouncing back against the dollar

• Living in the UK, you’d be forgiven for feeling woeful about the country’s economy. Soaring inflation, which reached 10.4% in February, has pushed the prices of ordinary items like fresh food up at the fastest rate in 45 years.

=> ↺ The Rise of the Global South: Can BRICS Triumph Over the IMF and World Bank?

• The more successful BRICS becomes the weaker Western hegemony over the South will grow. Though some Western politicians and media insist on downplaying BRICS’ role in shaping the new world order, the change seems to be real and irreversible.   

=> ↺ Imagining A World Beyond Capitalism, with David Cobb

• In this hour-long interview, former Green Party presidential candidate David Cobb discusses radical politics, community organizing, sustainable development, climate change, racial justice, the protests in France, indigenous sovereignty, and building power to confront the ruling class.

=> ↺ Council tax could double on second homes in Scotland

• Scottish councils could be given extra powers to hike rates on second homes

=> ↺ Getting Companies House in order: the rise of fraud on the UK’s company register

• ID requirements could be introduced in crackdown against scammers

=> ↺ Finland’s taxman to inspect influencers’, Onlyfans income

• The authority estimates that as much as 70 percent of content production-related income went undeclared in 2021.

=> ↺ Reports: Sega bids €706m to buy Rovio

• Sega’s parent company has offered Rovio shareholders a price of 9.25 euros per share and option holders 1.48 euros per option, STT reports.

=> ↺ ‘There’s a huge need’: Nonprofits face shortage of volunteers

• Nonprofits have been a significant source of help for vulnerable groups in society. However, many are struggling to find volunteers as younger generations lack the time or financial security to spend time volunteering.

=> ↺ McCarthy sets up existential speaker test with risky debt-ceiling vote

• One-hundred days after becoming House speaker, Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) announced he will hold a debt-ceiling vote that could serve as the sequel to his historic — and chaotic — quest for the gavel.

• Why it matters: Unlike January’s speaker election, in which GOP unity and McCarthy’s personal ambitions were the main assets at stake, the House’s vote “in the coming weeks” could determine whether the U.S. economy averts a catastrophic default.

=> ↺ U.S. CHIPS Funding Terms Will Severely Restrict Chinese Chips Industry

• U.S. CHIPS Act funding requirements to limit Chinese semiconductor investments for 10 years.

=> ↺ OPINION: Is it time for a $15 minimum wage?

• Ohio Capital Journal — When I was living in Nebraska in 2014, the state passed a citizen-initiated minimum wage increase to raise the wage from $7.25 to $9 an hour.

=> ↺ Macron won the battle for the pension reform at great cost for him and for France

• French president Emmanuel Macron addressed the nation on April 17, having passed a series of widely unpopular pension reforms that have sparked months of protest throughout France. The speech came after France’s constitutional court ruled in favor of Macron’s government last week.

=> ↺ Macron vows govt action plan in next 100 days to appease anger over pension reform

• The French government will work out a coherent plan to get France back on its feet in the next 100 days and heal the country after weeks of protests against an unpopular pension reform bill, President Emmanuel Macron said in a televised speech on Monday.

AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

=> ↺ Twitter is facing an exodus from its most devoted followers: Journalists

• Nearly all journalists are on Twitter – but half are thinking about leaving.

=> ↺ Australia, China agriculture ministers meet amid diplomatic thaw

• Australia said the resumption of normal trade was in the interests of both countries.

=> ↺ New Zealand’s Hipkins to attend Nato summit, Australia considering

• Australia and New Zealand both attended last year’s summit in Madrid as non-member participants.

=> ↺ Musk mocks Twitter’s past ownership, says platform was run like a ‘glorified activist organization’

• Twitter CEO Elon Musk on Monday mocked the social media company’s previous ownership for overseeing an “absurdly overstaffed” operation run like a “glorified activist organization.”

=> ↺ Twitter will start labeling tweets that have been restricted for hateful speech

Misinformation/Disinformation/Propaganda

=> ↺ What Dominion Has to Prove in Its Case Against Fox News

• Did the hosts of the country’s most popular cable news network know that Trump’s lies about the election were untrue?

=> ↺ Dominion v. Fox – Now What?

• Some thoughts on Dominion v. Fox and possible settlement.

=> ↺ Dominion v. Fox: Could case be weaponized against freedom of press?

• A defamation trial brought against Fox News for conspiracy theories it aired could have wide-ranging ramifications for all news media.

=> ↺ Fox News-Dominion libel case set to begin after brief delay

• Attorneys for both sides who appeared in court Monday declined to answer reporters’ questions about why it was put off, as did representatives for both companies.

=> ↺ Judge says trial for Dominion case against Fox will proceed Tuesday

• A Delaware judge presiding over the landmark defamation case between Dominion Voting Systems and Fox News said Monday that the delayed trial will now begin Tuesday at 9am ET.

• Why it matters: The unexpected delay Sunday evening spurred rumors that the two parties were trying to work out a settlement ahead of the six-week planned trial. The judge did not mention anything about a potential settlement Monday morning.

• Details: Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric Davis did not offer further explanation for delaying the trial, which had been expected to begin Monday, saying such a move for trials of this length are “not unusual.”

Censorship/Free Speech

=> ↺ FBI arrests two alleged Chinese agents and charges dozens with working inside US to silence dissidents

• The FBI has arrested two alleged Chinese agents and federal prosecutors have charged dozens of others with working to silence and harass dissidents within the United States – with some even operating an “undeclared police station” in New York City.

=> ↺ US arrests two for setting up secret Chinese ‘police station’ in New York

• US law enforcement officials on Monday arrested two New York residents for allegedly operating a Chinese “secret police station” in Manhattan’s Chinatown, part of a crackdown on Beijing’s alleged targeting of US-based dissidents.

=> ↺ US charges Chinese government officials in broad scheme to suppress dissent abroad

• By deploying fake social media personas and operating a police station abroad, Beijing sought to enforce its censorship regime in the U.S.

=> ↺ EU lodges protest over China’s detention of rights lawyer and activist wife

• Two are detained for ‘picking quarrels and stirring up trouble,’ catch-all charge used to round up critics

=> ↺ Vietnamese police confirm missing blogger is in their custody

• Thai Van Duong had fled to Thailand in 2018 and is believed to have been abducted last week.

=> ↺ Top Kremlin critic convicted of treason, gets 25 years

• A Russian court on Monday convicted top opposition figure Vladimir Kara-Murza Jr. of treason for publicly denouncing Moscow’s war in Ukraine and sentenced him to 25 years in prison as part of the Kremlin’s relentless crackdown on critics of the invasion.

=> ↺ International Outcry After Kremlin Critic Kara-Murza Sentenced To 25 Years For Denouncing Invasion Of Ukraine

• Journalist Vladimir Kara-Murza, a Russian-British dual national and one of the Kremlin’s most vocal critics, has been sentenced to 25 years in prison by a Moscow court for treason and other offenses, sparking an international outcry and calls for his immediate release.

=> ↺ Ban on TV series ‘Cranberry Sorbet’: Inconsistent consistency

• If those who want to design society over women’s bodies, women’s labor, over women in general, who do not see women as equal citizens win the elections, we will not be only watching this short trailer, but we will be experiencing something much worse, and first hand.

Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press

Axios ☛ U.S. ambassador visits imprisoned WSJ reporter as countries pressure Russia on releaseU.S. Ambassador to Russia Lynne Tracy said she visited Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who the U.S. has said was wrongfully detained by Russia, in a Moscow prison on Monday.Why it matters: The visit marked the first time embassy officials were allowed to meet Gershkovich in person since Russian authorities arrested him in March on espionage charges.Gershkovich’s arrest marked the first time a U.S. journalist was detained in an espionage case in Russia since the Cold War, per the Committee to Protect Journalists.

=> ↺ A new civil society initiative: ‘Our Media’

• IPS Communication Foundation/bianet is one of the partners of the “Our Media” project, which is funded by the European Union and will be active from 2023 to 2025.

Civil Rights/Policing

=> ↺ Popular politician striving to return to parliament faces arrest warrant in ‘terror’ case

• “I moved from preparing for parliamentary representation and political work to preparing for prison,” says Sırrı Süreyya Önder, one of the 108 HDP politicians facing aggravated life sentences in the Kobanî trial.

=> ↺ China’s court ruling shines light on ‘WeChat overtime’ issue

• The employee said she was required to keep working on WeChat during holidays and weekends without overtime pay.

=> ↺ Administrative law judge rules GEO strike violates contract

• The Graduate Employees’ Organization committed an unfair labor practice by violating the no-strike clause in its current contract and walking off the job last month, a state administrative law judge has ruled.

=> ↺ State judge rules GEO strike against UMich violates contract

=> ↺ Montana TikTok Ban Sparks Protests From Civil Rights Activists

• Entities such as Apple and Google’s app stores and TikTok itself would be prohibited from allowing residents in Montana to download TikTok.

=> ↺ Pluralistic: Podcasting “How To Make a Child-Safe TikTok”; Serializing the first chapter of Red Team Blues (17 Apr 2023)

• One thing to note here is how rare COPPA is. The US has very near to zero federal privacy laws. There’s the Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986, which is about as up-to-date as you might imagine given that it was passed in 1986. Then there’s the Video Privacy Protection Act of 1988, which bans video-store clerks from revealing which porn you (or more to the point, Members of Congress) have rented. And then there’s COPPA, which requires parental consent for data-gathering on pre-teens. And that’s basically…it. COPPA’s got a checkered legislative history; a lot of the “parental consent” language is about ensuring that kids can’t get access reproductive health information and services, but as with any contentious piece of lawmaking, COPPA passed due to a coalition with different priorities, and part of that coalition just wanted to make sure that companies weren’t spying on kids.

=> ↺ California School District Sues Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok for Creating ‘Youth Mental Health Crisis’

• The lawsuit blames the companies for stoking “anxiety, depression, thoughts of self-harm, and suicidal ideation.”

=> ↺ Myanmar Militar Junta Grants Amnesty to Over 3,000 Prisoners

• The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners denounced that at least 17,460 citizens who protested against the 2021 coup are still detained.

=> ↺ Number of Mexicans deported from US up 41% from 2022

• More than 43,000 Mexicans have been returned by the United States in the first two months of 2023, said the Interior Ministry.

=> ↺ Pakistan’s rapidly digitizing society requires clear policymaking

• This issue brief provides recommended steps that policymakers in Pakistan ought to take to address key concerns around free expression on the internet, and to generate momentum to catalyze higher levels of growth in Pakistan’s technology ecosystem.

Internet Policy/Net Neutrality

=> ↺ Public Knowledge Bolsters Advocacy and Communications Teams To Expand Outreach

• Public Knowledge welcomes Cedric Watkins, Government Affairs Policy Advocate, and Will McBride, Digital Content Manager, to our team and commends Meredith Whipple, Chief of Staff, on her promotion.

Monopolies

Patents

=> ↺ Monsanto’s Evil Is Not Gone, It’s Just In Disguise

• Now that it’s been sold to Bayer, few talk about Monsanto anymore, but their crimes haven’t gone away. They don’t stop just because you drop the dirty name.

Software Patents

=> ↺ IP Bridge video codec patent invalidity confirmed by PTAB in ex parte appeal

• On March 31, 2023, the PTAB confirmed the examiner’s rejection of all claims in the ex parte reexamination of U.S. Patent 7,515,635, owned by IP Bridge.

Trademarks

=> ↺ Precedential No. 12: TTAB Hands Win to MLBPA and Aaron Judge In Opposition to Judicial-Themed Trademarks for Clothing

• Michael P. Chizena went down swinging in this consolidated opposition to his applications to register the word marks ALL RISE and HERE COMES THE JUDGE and the design mark shown below, for “clothing, namely, t-shirts, shirts, shorts, pants, sweatshirts, sweatpants, jackets, jerseys, athletic uniforms, and caps.” The Board found his proposed marks to be confusingly similar to the opposers’ previously used marks for overlapping goods, and so it sustained the opposition on the Section 2(d) ground, declining to reach the opposers’ Section 2(a) false connection and Section 43(c) dilution claims. Major League Baseball Players Association and Aaron Judge v. Michael P. Chizena, Oppositions Nos. 91240180, 91242556, and 91243244 (April 12, 2023) [precedential] (Opinion by Judge David K. Heasley).

Copyrights

=> ↺ ‘Beef’ Star David Choe Uses Copyright to Scrub Podcast Episode Where He Admitted ‘Rapey Behavior’

• The ‘Beef’ star has issues takedown requests of social media posts showing a clip of his comments on a podcast discussing forcing a masseuse into sex acts.

Gemini* and Gopher

Personal

=> ↺ Garden season has begun

• A brief overview of our gardening plans this year.

• We’re dialing down our gardening efforts for this year, since we hope to shift to another appartment later this year.

• Regardless, after returning from Spain we’ve put the first seeds into the ground.

=> ↺ 🔤SpellBinding: ACJUORL Wordo: SHUCK

Technical

=> ↺ AI for creativity and repression

• Who is pushing us artists to use AI? Nobody, because it promises unheard of artistic liberation and a creative explosion – an opportunity we don’t want to miss? Or is someone nudging us? And in a near future, when everyone uses some form of AI-assisted artistic tools, why resist?

• I would argue there are a few good reasons to resist, or at least to reflect on the pros and cons. First and foremost: outsourcing creativity may have the effect of weakening our inherent creative capability. It’s like driving a car instead of walking and getting in good shape, or using a pocket calculator and forgetting how to do mental calculations, or taking photos everywhere instead of trying to recall what a place looked like. The danger of all these useful tools is that we forget to excercise our own capabilities and gradually lose them. Creating art or music is in part a problem solving skill, a skill that can be largely outsourced to AI tools.

Internet/Gemini

=> ↺ Gemini as Tor Hidden service (onion)

• I really like Tor Hidden services since they give a DNS-free URL amongst other things, I wanted to get my onion url for gemini.

• However, gemini require correct TLS certificates. Problem, the onion string don’t match my domain, of course. I had to set a new certificate

=> ↺ Whither the Apps?

• The campfire (that is, the #gemini IRC channel on tilde, which serves a similar function to gather round, minus smoke-in-eyes) brought up the notion of Gemini applications, which would presumably be little todo apps or similar treats. Doubt was expressed.

Programming

=> ↺ Using Multiple Git Identities

• As I am slowly transitioning from using github as my main hosted git platform, to sourcehut^ and codeberg^, I am running into the issue that I want to use a different git identity per provider. For example, I still use github at work, so this means I need to be able to push commits under my real name, and with a different email address. But on sourcehut and codeberg, I want to use a different email and an alias for my name. This presented me with a practical problem: is there an easy way to switch my gitconfig, based on the service I use?

• 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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