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● 05.01.23

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● Links 01/05/2023: MenuLibre 2.3.1 and GnuCash 5.1

Posted in News Roundup at 10:05 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz

GNU/Linux

=> ↺ 9to5Linux Weekly Roundup: April 30th, 2023

• This week we got a few interesting updates for the GNOME 44 desktop environment, Debian GNU/Linux 11 “Bullseye” operating system, Nitrux and Clonezilla Live distros, as well as Audacity and Ardour software.

• Last but not least, this week brought us two new Linux-powered laptops from TUXEDO Computers and Kubuntu Focus. Check out the hottest news of this week and access all the distro and package downloads in 9to5Linux’s Linux weekly roundup for April 30th, 2023, below.

Applications

=> ↺ Tera – interactive music radio player

• In the current difficult economic times, internet radio’s virtue of having no sign-up or subscription charges is really attractive. There are a huge range of stations available from around the world. If you like classical music, pop music, folk music, news, talk radio, and much more, internet radio has something for everyone wherever you live (providing you have a stable net connection). Internet radio offers every format that is available on traditional broadcast radio stations.

• This article looks at Tera, an interactive music radio player sporting a terminal user interface. Play your radio stations, CRUD your favorite lists, and explore stations from your terminal.

• It’s free and open source software.

=> ↺ MenuLibre 2.3.1 Released

• MenuLibre’s new command editor simplifies launcher creation by taking the guesswork out of commands. Additionally, missing icons are a thing of the past with the enhanced icon handling added to MenuLibre 2.3.1.

Instructionals/Technical

=> ↺ How to Install Mailman3 on Debian 11

• Mailman is an open-source application for managing electronic mail discussions and newsletter lists. It is written in Python, and since Python 2.7 is EOL, it is important to use Mailman3, not Mailman2. Mailman 3 is actually a suite of 6 subprojects; it is known as The Mailman Suite:

=> ↺ The Perfect Setup for Ubuntu and R (and how to install/update RStudio with apt install rstudio/apt update)

• Just to save time for my future self. Hopefully, it can help people in the cyberspace too 🙂

=> ↺ Ubuntu PPA for Installing Audacity 3.3.1 in Ubuntu 22.04 | 23.04

• For those who prefer the classic .deb package format, I’ve revived the Ubuntu PPA for the latest Audacity audio editor packages. I was previously maintaining a PPA for the Audacity packages. It was however discontinued. Because, the project depended its own fork of wxWidget library, that is hard to maintain.

=> ↺ Linux Email Management Command Cheat Sheet

• Email management commands allow Linux users to interact with email messages and mail servers via the command line. A variety of tasks can be performed with these commands, including reading, sending, and filtering email messages, as well as managing email accounts and servers.

=> ↺ How to Install GitLab on AlmaLinux 9

• In this tutorial we are going to show you in step-by-step detail how to install Gitlab on AlmaLinux 9 OS. GitLab is open-source software written in Ruby, Go and JavaScript operated by GitLab Inc.

=> ↺ How to Install Docker on CentOS Stream 9 & RHEL 9

• Docker is an open-source platform that automates the deployment, scaling, and management of applications in containers. Containers allow developers to package an application with all its dependencies and deliver it as a single package, which can be deployed on any system that supports containerization.

=> ↺ How to install Beyond compare on Ubuntu 22.04 | 20.04 LTS

• Beyond Compare is a free (trial) and paid software application that allows users to compare and syn files & folders on their PC system. It is developed by Scooter Software.

=> ↺ How to Install FileZilla on Ubuntu 22.04 | 20.04

• FileZilla is a popular, open-source FTP (File Transfer Protocol) client that allows users to transfer files between their computers and remote servers easily. It’s an invaluable tool for personal and professional use, offering a feature-rich platform for managing files over various protocols such as FTP, SFTP, and FTPS.

=> ↺ How to Install Thunderbird on Ubuntu 22.04 | 20.04

• Thunderbird is a powerful, free, open-source, and cross-platform application designed for managing email, news feeds, chat, and news groups. Developed by an independent, community-driven project, Thunderbird is backed by a group of dedicated volunteers and paid staff.

=> ↺ How to Install Inkscape on Ubuntu 22.04 | 20.04

• Inkscape is an open-source vector graphics editor that offers a robust and feature-rich alternative to expensive proprietary software like Adobe Illustrator. It’s built using the powerful Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) format, ensuring your artwork remains crisp and sharp at any resolution.

=> ↺ How to Install Geany on Ubuntu 22.04 | 20.04

• Geany is a versatile, lightweight, and efficient Integrated Development Environment (IDE) that Ubuntu users find incredibly useful for their programming and development tasks. It is a popular choice among developers due to its wide range of features, excellent performance, and ease of use.

=> ↺ How to Resolve the Apt-Key Deprecation Warning When Updating a System

• When you updated your system repository, did you get an apt-key deprecation warning? If yes, then read this guide to resolve the apt-key deprecation warning message.

=> ↺ Digital Aerochrome

• A long long time ago in the 70s there was a lot of interesting film being made. At this time film was used for everything, professional and consumer cameras, movies, aerial photography. A lot of time has gone into recreating film looks for digital cameras now to reproduce the color response of the old film cameras.

=> ↺ Os.walk, the temptation of hammers, and the paralysis of choice

• I have a shell script to give me a hierarchical, du-like report of memory usage broken down by Linux cgroup. Even back when I wrote it, it really needed to be something other than a shell script, and a recent addition made it quite clear that the time had come (the shell script version is now both slow and inflexible). So as is my habit, I opened up a ‘memdu.py’ in my editor and started typing. Some initial functions were easy, until I got to here: [...]

Desktop Environments/WMs

K Desktop Environment/KDE SC/Qt

=> ↺ TDE R14.1.0 released!

• After 8+ years from R14.0.0 and in line with our standard 6 months release cycle, the Trinity Desktop Environment development team is pleased to announce the immediate availability of TDE R14.1.0!

• TDE is a free/libre lightweight desktop environment intended for computer users preferring a lean and efficient experience. It is available for various Linux distros, BSD and DilOS. Low on system requirements, it is also an ideal choice for dated hardware, while still providing a fully usable desktop.

Distributions and Operating Systems

BSD

=> ↺ Exploring the CBSD virtual environment management framework – part 3: Jails (I)

• This article is about using the dialog menus to create a jail, start it and enable SSH in there so the jail does something.

=> ↺ Exploring the CBSD virtual environment management framework – part 2: Setup

• In this article we’re setting up CBSD so that we can start using it.

=> ↺ Exploring the CBSD virtual environment management framework – part 1: Introduction and installation

• One interesting feature introduced in early Unix (V7) is the chroot(2) syscall (accompanied by the chroot(8) command added later). They allow for putting processes in what is called a chroot jail. What this means is that for the chrooted process (and its children) the filesystem root is not the one of the actual host system but some directory further down the filesystem hierarchy. The result is restricting access to that directory and all the dirs below it and hiding away everything above. This allows for some simple sandboxing and is often used e.g. with FTP where users are chrooted to their home directory.

=> ↺ Exploring the CBSD virtual environment management framework – part 0: Virtualization overview

• One of the more revolutionary developments in computing history is virtualization. I’ve wanted to write a series of posts about CBSD for quite a while now. This post however is another one to which the same applies: An introduction into what virtualization actually is.

=> ↺ Exploring the CBSD virtual environment management framework – part 4: Jails (II)

• This article is about using the interactive jail creation script and building something from ports. It also explores some important concepts along the way.

Debian Family

=> ↺ Debian 11.7 Delivers 100+ Security Updates & Bug Fixes

• Those thinking further ahead may be interested to know that Debian 12 “Bookworm” is due for release on June 10. It brings (aside from a refreshed set of software in its repos) Linux kernel 6.1 LTS and ongoing support until 2028.

Canonical/Ubuntu Family

=> ↺ Ubuntu 23.04 ‘Lunar Lobster’ Lands With Newly Minted Cinnamon Desktop Flavor

• Canonical on April 20 released Ubuntu 23.04, aka Lunar Lobster, with a new installer, Active Directory login, and gaming performance to enhance Ubuntu Desktop for work and play.

• This latest release is significant for enterprise users and consumers alike for several key reasons. For enterprises, it steps up deployment and customization at scale, and for consumers, it provides a desktop option missing from Ubuntu’s collection — Cinnamon.

Devices/Embedded

=> ↺ HackerBox #90 – Modem explores FM radio applications

• This month’s HackerBox provides a learning kit based on Arduino Nano boards and various breakout modules used for implementing user-friendly FM radio projects.  

=> ↺ Open Source flight controller taps STM32H743 microcontroller

• The ARV6X by Ark Electronics is a tiny flight controller that follows the latest Pixhawk v6 set of standards. The open source device features a high-performance STM32 microcontroller along with triple synced IMUs.

=> ↺ Name that Ware, April 2023

=> ↺ First look: ASUSTOR’s new 12-bay all-M.2 NVMe SSD NAS

• Last year, after I started a search for a good out-of-the-box all-flash-storage setup for a video editing NAS, I floated the idea of an all-M.2 NVMe NAS to ASUSTOR. I am not the first person with the idea, nor is ASUSTOR the first prebuilt NAS company to build one (that honor goes QNAP, with their TBS-453DX).

=> ↺ Raspberry Pi Gaming Rig Looks Like an Angry Watermelon

• Loebenberg explained in the original thread that his brother is a STEM teacher. He wanted a retro gaming system for his students to play with and asked Loebenberg if he was up to the challenge. After a bit of sculpting in Blender, the Melon Pi was ready to be 3D printed. For a professional finish, Loebenberg opted to use a resin printer which has yielded some seriously smooth results in the end product.

=> ↺ Schneider Euro PC: Restoration Part 4

• I’m not an expert at restoring power supplies and I didn’t really trust this one. So, I decided to replace the internals with a Meanwell RT-50B. I have those units lying around my workshop because I use them for Amiga restorations. The voltages required by the EuroPC are the same and it is well within spec for the current requirements. I had to cut away a bit of plastic on the PSU case to make this work but I’m not really upset about that, I just wish I could have implemented some strain relief on the mains cable.

=> ↺ Camera in the Attic

• So I measured out some CAT6 and got my fishing tools in order. I got very lucky with this fishing attempt and I got my line fished from the attic into my office in one go. It was more difficult running the line down that molded cover into the switch then going through the wall.

Mobile Systems/Mobile Applications

=> ↺ Declaring Tab Bankruptcy

• In the past 6-12 months, however, things have gone very, very wild. I’m up over 400 tabs now and it doesn’t appear that there is any letting up. A friend encouraged me to simply close all tabs and move on. He’s right, but I can’t.

Free, Libre, and Open Source Software

Web Browsers/Web Servers

=> ↺ Curl on Linux – Reference Guide

• Curl is a powerful tool that is mainly used to transfer data. It has way more functions, but I won’t be able to cover everything. This blog post is mainly a reference for later use and not a step-by-step guide. Therefore I won’t cover everything in depth.

• Most of it should work on other operating systems too, but I’ll use Linux as reference. I’ll keep this page up-to-date and add more topics in the future.

=> ↺ No, APG’s Support Charts Are Not ‘Can I Use’ for ARIA

• I have opinions on the ARIA Authoring Practices Guide (APG).

• I am critical of it in my Uncanny A11y post. I have campaigned against its use of menus for navigation. And its preference for grids over tables, including ARIA layout grids. I was frowny when, after being demoted from a W3C Note, it rebranded itself during Global Accessibility Awareness Day as a pattern library, spewing 404s, dropping warnings, and failing WCAG. I regularly remind people it was only ever meant to experiment with ARIA patterns in an idealized context, independent of support or HTML-first principles.

SaaS/Back End/Databases

=> ↺ How to use ON DELETE CASCADE in Postgres with an example

• Postgres is one of the most popular open-source relational database systems in use today. One of the useful features of PostgreSQL is on delete cascade that simplifies the code in your application. In this guide, you will learn how to set up and use ON DELETE CASCADE in foreign keys in Postgres, let’s get going!

Education

=> ↺ The Perl Toolchain Summit 2023

• After a break of four years, it has been my privilege to attend the 13th Perl Toolchain Summit (née Perl QA Hackathon). This is the third time the summit has been held in Lyon and the tenth summit I have been able to attend. PTS is a really important event in the Perl calendar where those working on the Perl toolchain and in Perl QA get to meet together for four days of discussions, decisions on the future of Perl, and hacking.

GNU Projects

=> ↺ GnuCash 5.1

• GnuCash is a personal and small business finance application, freely licensed under the GNU GPL and available for GNU/Linux, BSD, Solaris, Mac OS X and Microsoft Windows. It’s designed to be easy to use, yet powerful and flexible. GnuCash allows you to track your income and expenses, reconcile bank accounts, monitor stock portfolios and manage your small business finances. It is based on professional accounting principles to ensure balanced books and accurate reports.

• GnuCash can keep track of your personal finances in as much detail as you prefer. If you are just starting out, use GnuCash to keep track of your checkbook. You may then decide to track cash as well as credit card purchases to better determine where your money is being spent. When you start investing, you can use GnuCash to help monitor your portfolio. Buying a vehicle or a home? GnuCash will help you plan the investment and track loan payments. If your financial records span the globe, GnuCash provides all the multiple-currency support you need.

Licensing / Legal

=> ↺ WWW Project Turns 30

• History of the Web compares and contrasts the license-free web with another internet protocol at the time, Gopher: [...]

=> ↺ The web’s most important decision

• In February of 1993, the University of Minnesota made an announcement. In specific commercial usage of the protocol, they would be charging licensing fees. Not large fees, and not in all cases. But, in some small way, they would be restricting access.

• Overnight, sentiment shifted. Internet users took to BBS boards and mailing lists to express outrage about Gopher’s decision. IBM declared that they wouldn’t support internally any protocol with restrictive licensing. The world began searching for alternatives.

• Back at CERN, Berners-Lee had just the thing. He was already in early conversations with CERN about an open-source license for the platform. But after the Gopher announcement, he changed that request. He didn’t want any restrictions at all, no rights or attachments at all. The web needed to be free. Truly free.

=> ↺ The World Wide Web turns 30

• Too vague, apparently — and so at first, nothing happened. But Berners-Lee kept working on his idea. And slowly, the individual components of what would become the World Wide Web took shape: URLs for web addresses had to be created, HTML to describe the pages as well as the first web browser.

• The result was revealed to the global public exactly 30 years ago: On April 30, 1993, the researchers at CERN launched the World Wide Web and it was the beginning of the stellar rise of the [Internet].

Programming/Development

=> ↺ How to interpret, understand, and act on feedback

• The problem with getting a pile of comments from a “360 feedback” peer review process with your coworkers is that whatever is written is usually not Truth (with a capital “T”). It’s not that anyone is lying, but rather that the feedback you receive is the final output of a sequence of multiple lossy steps. To discern the signal within the noise, we have to try to work backwards through those stages and apply interpretation and judgement to reverse the distortion and extract useful meaning.

• By the time you’re reading a comment from a feedback document, it’s pretty far from being a direct line to objective universal Truth. It actually represents (1) someone’s phrasing of (2) an opinion that is in their mind, derived from (3) their preferences, opinions, and past experiences being applied to (4) their interpretation of events they’ve observed/data they’ve gathered, which are drawn from (5) the limited subset of your actions that have been visible to the feedback author. Phew — that’s a mouthful of a sentence. No worries if you need to re-read it a few times for it to make sense.

=> ↺ Two Years of OCaml

• The other day I saw this post on OCaml discussed in Hacker News and Lobsters.

• Almost two years ago I rewrote the Austral compiler from Standard ML to OCaml, so I thought I’d share my thoughts on OCaml after using it in writing a complex software project, explaining what is good and what is bad and how it compares mainly to Haskell.

• If this seems overwhelmingly negative, it’s because the things OCaml does right are really just uncontroversial. They’re obviously right and hardly worth pointing out. It’s actually a weirdly optimistic thing: that a language with so many glaring deficiencies stands far above everything else.

=> ↺ Learning Some Logarithms

• A colleague asked how many digits of (\pi) I can recite from memory. I realised I still remember the 27.3 digits I memorised in my childhood11 Wait, what does it mean to remember 0.3 digits? I know the digit after the last one is in the range 0–4, which is one bit of information, and the full digit would be just over three bits. Hence, 1/3 or 0.3 digits. Okay but why do I know the digit after the last is in the range 0–4? I deliberately picked a cut-off point that didn’t force me to round the last digit up, so that if I wanted to expand and learn even more digits later I wouldn’t have to re-learn the last rounded digit.. I was slightly embarrassed to admit this, because of how useless it is to know more than, say, four significant figures of (\pi).

• There are many other useful values to memorise, e.g. some logarithms would be neat.

=> ↺ Do papercuts matter?

• Papercut – a small annoyance in a piece of software, a rough edge, something that shouldn’t be there, a little issue that makes you say “ugh” out loud or roll your eyes. It’s usually not a bug, since functionality is not impeded, but it is something that should be fixed.

• Lately I’ve started to wonder: does it even matter whether piece of software has papercuts?

=> ↺ Why use cycle notation for permutations?

• So the cycle structure is exactly the structure of a permutation that remains if you ignore the actual labels, and the cycle notation brings that structure to the foreground.

=> ↺ Server-side rendering in Rust – a Dall.E use-case

• Last week, I decided to see the capabilities of OpenAI’s image generation. However, I noticed that one has to pay to use the web interface, while the API was free, even though rate-limited. Dall.E offers Node.js and Python samples, but I wanted to keep learning Rust. So far, I’ve created a REST API. In this post, I want to describe how you can create a webapp with server-side rendering.

=> ↺ Electronic medical record auto-text templates

• The templates on this page are released under the CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication.

=> ↺ Circles and Momentum

• Sometimes your path looks exactly like circle, from point A back to point A. But when your path returns to point A, you are not the same person as when you started — and so, from that perspective, neither is point A. To paraphrase T.S. Elliot, the end of our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time.

• I’m going to try and be more mindful of noticing the directional momentum of seemingly circular paths.

=> ↺ Array of Structs in C++

• Tutorial on how to declare the array of structures in the C++ programming language to manage and store a group of connected data elements in a single variable.

=> ↺ Valhalla’s Things: Programming the ESP32-C3-DevKit-Lipo with Arduino

• A few months ago we may have bought a few ESP32-C3-DevKit-Lipo boards from Olimex.

• Since every time I go back to working with them I’ve forgotten how to do so, and my old notes on the fediverse are hard to find, this is the full procedure.

Python

=> ↺ Filter NaN Pandas

• To filter out the rows having the NaN values in Python, the “dataframe” functions, such as “dataframe.notnull()”, and “dataframe.dropna()” functions are used.

=> ↺ NumPy Save Dict

• To save the dictionary into a file in Python, the “dump()” function is used and the “load()” function is used to read the saved dictionary from a file.

=> ↺ Python OSError

• The OS is a built-in exception error module’s class in Python known as “OSError”. To handle these errors, the exceptional handling technique can be used.

=> ↺ Update: zipdump.py Version 0.0.25

• Some changes to the translate option: now it supports this format (like some of my other tools): i=codec[:error],o=codec[:error] i= is input and o= is output. If you don’t specify an error handling mode, strict will be used.

Rust

=> ↺ Junichi Uekawa: Lots of Windows dependencies in Debian Rust packages.

• Lots of Windows dependencies in Debian Rust packages. As cargo tries to check even the optional dependencies exist, Debian has lots of rust packages that are not needed on Debian platforms. I would think it would be okay to have a stub that mirrors the version number but nothing else, but…

=> ↺ Matthew Palmer: dev-dependencies and Rust’s unused_crate_dependencies lint

• I’m in the process of getting super-strict about the code quality of cretrit, the comparison-revealing encryption library that underlies the queryable encryption of the Enquo project. While I’m going to write a whole big thing about Rust linting in the future, I bumped across a rather gnarly problem that I thought was worth sharing separately. The problem, in short, is that the unused_crate_dependencies lint interacts badly with crates that are only needed for benchmarking, such as (in my case) criterion.

Leftovers

=> ↺ Hackaday Links: April 30, 2023

• Cloudy with a chance of concrete? The “success” of last week’s brief but eventful Starship launch has apparently raised some regulatory eyebrows, with the Federal Aviation Administration launching an investigation into the destruction wrought by the mighty rocket. And it’s not just the hapless Dodge Caravan that they’re concerned with — although we found some fantastic POV footage that shows the kill shot as well as close-ups of the results — but also the damage rained down upon residents around the Boca Chica launch complex. Tons of concrete and rebar were excavated by the 33 Raptor engines during the launch and sent in all directions, reportedly landing up to 6 miles (10 kilometers) from the pad. What’s worse, a lot of debris ended up on beaches that are home to endangered species, which has the Sierra Club also taking an interest. The FAA has apparently nixed any launches from the Texas facility until they complete their investigation.

=> ↺ In defense of productivity

• In my career I’ve noticed that a lot of developers have a distaste for the idea of “productivity”. They view it as some sort of toxic, unhealthy obsession. (It always has to be an “obsession”, by the way. One can never just have an interest in productivity.)

=> ↺ los alamos – compound to county pt I

• This weekend, I found myself staying in Los Alamos for a volunteer role in which I judge children on the quality of their software. Clearly this is not the kind of opportunity I would turn down, but I also always take an excuse to drive back up the hill. I only lived in Los Alamos briefly, but it left a big impression. It’s a unique place in many ways, born of a rather unusual history.

=> ↺ los alamos – compound to county pt II

• In 1963, shortly after the addition of Los Alamos to the AECA, the AEC started the process of transferring public resources. The schools were a relatively simple case, as a county school board had existed since the creation of the county in 1949, but it still took until 1966 for the AEC to give the school board title to the real estate the schools occupied. A case that seemed more complex, but also moved faster, was the electrical supply.

Science

=> ↺ Add A Little Quindar To Your Comms For That Apollo-Era Sound

• If there’s one thing that ties together all the media coming out of the Apollo era, it’s probably the iconic Quindar tones. These quarter-second beeps served as control tones for the globe-spanning communications network needed to talk to the Apollo astronauts, and any attempt to recreate the Apollo-era sound would be glaringly wrong without them. And that’s why [CuriousMarc] whipped up this Quindar tone system.

=> ↺ Yesterday’s stunning aurora could happen again as geomagnetic storms increase

• Fortunately for those of us in the real world, a CME won’t explode the atmosphere, but they can and do create stunning visual displays in the night sky. If you happen to live somewhere in the northern hemisphere, you might have had a front row seat to one of those displays on April 23, 2023. Earlier in the day, the Space Weather Prediction Center issued a Moderate (level 2 out of 5 on NOAA’s space weather scale) Geomagnetic Storm Watch with the possibility of developing into a Strong (level 3) storm later in the night.

Education

=> ↺ Rejected Sci-Fi Ramblings from my MSc

• As I was writing about the Metaverse, and as I love reading sci-fi, I decided to merge my interests!

• So, here for posterity – and future inspiration – are some of my thoughts on how sci-fi influences the development of technology.

=> ↺ After Student’s Suicide, an Elite School Says It Fell ‘Tragically Short’

• The Lawrenceville School in New Jersey on Sunday made a remarkable admission of failure and committed to a new focus on mental health.

=> ↺ Mexico failed to take necessary measures to ensure equal access to education, UN committee rules

• A UN committee found Friday that Mexico failed to ensure inclusive education for a woman with an intellectual disability. Selene Militza García Vara brought a claim before the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities on the grounds that the Morelense Centre for Art had not appropriately secured inclusive access to tertiary education.

Hardware

=> ↺ Liquid Neural Networks Do More With Less

• [Ramin Hasani] and colleague [Mathias Lechner] have been working with a new type of Artificial Neural Network called Liquid Neural Networks, and presented some of the exciting results at a recent TEDxMIT.

=> ↺ High Voltage Power Supply From USB

• Those who work in different spaces may have different definitions of the term “high voltage”. For someone working on the GPIO pins of a Raspberry Pi it might be as little as 5 volts, someone working on a Tesla coil might consider that to be around 20 kV, and an electrical line worker might not reference something as HV until 115 kV. What we could perhaps all agree on, though, is that getting 300 volts out of a USB power supply is certainly a “high voltage” we wouldn’t normally expect to see in that kind of context, but [Aylo6061] needed just such a power supply and was eventually able to create one.

=> ↺ When Your Smart Light Switches Stop Working, Build Your Own

• If you want smart light switches in your house, you can buy from any one of hundreds of manufacturers. [Brian Boyle] had kitted out his home with TP Link devices, but after a few years of use, he found they all suddenly failed within a few months of each other. Decrying the state of things, he set about building his own instead.

=> ↺ Embed Hardware Into 3D Prints, But Not In The Way You’re Thinking

• [Christopher Helmke] is doing fantastic work in DIY systems for handling small hardware like fasteners, and that includes robotic placement of hardware into 3D prints. Usually this means dropping nuts into parts in mid-print so that the hardware is captive, but that’s not really the story here.

=> ↺ Keeping computer stuff open or closed

• Aside from a few reckless years in my early 20s (we all act out in our own ways at that stage), I’ve always guarded system resources like a hawk. Maybe it was due to my early childhood upbringing on DOS and Windows 3.x, or maybe I find it an affront to waste resources in general.

• It means I keep applications I have open down to an absolute minimum. Granted, I’ll run desktop environments like KDE on FreeBSD because it makes my machine more functional and fun. But terminal windows, browsers, text editors, and file managers will only have enough tabs, buffers, or windows open to do the task at hand, before being bookmarked, saved, and/or closed as soon as possible.

=> ↺ Intel: Just You Wait. Again

• Once upon a time, the Wintel portmanteau evoked images of world hegemony by Microsoft with its Windows operating system, and Intel with its x86 processors chips. The two companies came to dominate what we now see as modern technology’s Second Revolution, Personal Computers, machines we could lift with our arms, brains and credit cards.

• But some of Intel’s chiefs were hesitant about the Microsoft congress. While they enjoyed the torrents of dollars and could lull themselves with feelings of superiority. But not of eternity, they were always looking for other mother lodes.

=> ↺ Saudi’s United Electronics Co Shelves Plans for Egypt Expansion

Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

=> ↺ For a World Without Hunger, We Need Food Sovereignty

• Imagine being able to provide food, shelter, medicine and clean drinking water for the 230 million most vulnerable people on Earth, and still having a cool $2bn in spare change. That’s the equivalent of the entire economic output of Gambia rattling around in your pocket.

=> ↺ Electronic medical record auto-text templates

• Warning! The intended audience of this article is medical professionals and students. I am not your doctor. This article is not medical advice.

=> ↺ Sugar prices up by two thirds in a year

• Latvia is one of the countries in which sugar prices have risen the most during the last year, according to Eurostat data published April 28.

=> ↺ A Microneedle Vaccine Patch Printer For Thermostable MRNA Vaccines

• What if you could get vaccinated with the ease of putting on an adhesive bandage? This is the promise of microneedle patches (MNP), which are essentially what they sound like. These would also have uses in diagnostics that might one day obliviate the need for drawing blood. The one major issue with MNPs is their manufacturing, which has been a laborious and highly manual process. In a recent paper in Nature Biotechnology researchers detail the construction and testing of a MNP printer, or microneedle vaccine printer (MVP) that can print dissolving polymers containing stabilized mRNA vaccine.

=> ↺ As Hospitals Close and Doctors Flee, Sudan’s Health Care System Is Collapsing

• The medical professionals who remain face meager supplies and harrowing conditions, even setting up field hospitals in living rooms amid the fighting.

=> ↺ Congress eyes work rules for millions covered by Medicaid

• More than half a million of the poorest Americans would be left without health insurance under legislation passed by House Republicans that would require people to work in exchange for health care coverage through Medicaid. The bill is unlikely to become law, though, with Democrats strongly opposing the idea. It’s one of dozens of provisions tucked into a GOP bill that would an increase the debt limit but curb government spending. Democrats say work requirements won’t incentivize people to get a job and will drive up the number of uninsured in the country.

=> ↺ Needing Younger Workers, Federal Officials Relax Rules on Past Drug Use

• As more states legalize marijuana and competition for talent grows fiercer, the U.S. government is loosening guidelines from the “Just Say No” era.

=> ↺ Loneliness Is an Epidemic in America, Writes the Surgeon General

• I have a plan to rebuild social connection and foster healthy relationships.

Proprietary

=> ↺ Apple Should Be a Leader in Charitable Giving

• Here is a letter that Steve Clifford and I sent to the CEO Tim Cook of Apple corporation, whose percentage of charitable giving relative to its taxable income is astoundingly low as compared to other corporations noted below. Apple should increase its charitable giving.

=> ↺ Magniber Ransomware Wants to Infect Only the Right People

• The first reappearance of Magnitude EK on Oct. 15 came as a malvertising redirection from the domain: fastprofit[.]loan. The infection chain is shown in Figure 2.

=> ↺ Concerns about election IT systems in Latvia: LTV’s De Facto

• Politicians agreed months ago that the Central Election Commission (CVK) could no longer secure elections, so it needs reform. The problems swelled last November when the CVK’s work was actually paralyzed by a criminal case regarding the procurement of the IT system development. There is currently no solution to the IT issues, so next European Parliament elections could be quite cumbersome for voters, Latvian Television’s De Facto reported on April 30.

=> ↺ My current experience of using Twitter

• The majority of tweets I see now, are usually about AI, growth, or people sharing their expertise. All nicely packaged in annoying threads.

Security

Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt/Fear-mongering/Dramatisation

=> ↺ RTM Locker Ransomware Targets Linux Architecture

=> ↺ “Linux” fearmongering campaign

Integrity/Availability/Authenticity

=> ↺ Blue Check Confusion

• Why Twitter changed its account verifications.

=> ↺ Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey said company ‘went south’ after Elon Musk took over

• Twitter “would have never survived as a public company.”

Privacy/Surveillance

=> ↺ Forum Data Breach – Lessons Learned, Actions Taken

• As you may have seen on other posts, we’re broadly back on line now, with the forum, Wiki and paste sites all operational. It’s been a huge effort by several key team members – I won’t name names, but you know who you are – and we’re all immensely grateful for their work.

• So, without putting on a hair shirt…in the interests of transparency and minimising the chances of anything like this happening again, we’ve really had to dig into this to see what we can learn.

Confidentiality

=> ↺ Amnesty International Australia Suffered a Data Breach in December, but Says Everything is Now Fine

Defence/Aggression

=> ↺ Russia vows retaliation after Poland seizes embassy school

• Russia says it will retaliate after Polish authorities seized the Russian Embassy school in Warsaw, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement. Polish police and staff from the Warsaw city hall entered the campus Saturday morning, asking employees to leave the premises, Russian state news agency RIA Novosti reported.

=> ↺ Known for laughs, DC dinner spotlights risks to journalism

• The White House Correspondents’ Association dinner is known for its fun albeit ferocious jabs at Washington. But it took a more solemn tone as President Joe Biden acknowledged the several American journalists under siege in authoritarian countries around the world. Biden and first lady Jill Biden met privately with the parents of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich upon arriving at the dinner on Saturday. Gershkovich has been imprisoned in Russia since March after being charged with spying, despite strong denials from his employer and the U.S. government. Debra Tice, whose son Austin Tice who has not been heard from since disappearing at a checkpoint in Syria in 2012, also attended.

=> ↺ Air Defences Shoot Down 15 of 18 Missiles Launched at Ukraine in Dead of Night

=> ↺ Ukraine Says It Still Holds Parts of Bakhmut, Russia Reports Progress

=> ↺ What to watch as Biden meets Marcos in Washington amid elevated China tensions

• They may discuss defence, economic cooperation, clean energy and climate change.

=> ↺ Official: 148 Somalis Evacuated From Sudan Via Ethiopia

• Scores of Somalis fleeing violence in Sudan arrived in their Horn of Africa nation on Sunday, an official said

=> ↺ UN chief sending envoy over ‘unprecedented’ Sudan crisis

• UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is sending an envoy to the Sudan region amid the “unprecedented” situation there, as deadly hostilities enter a third week, his spokesman said Sunday.

=> ↺ Pope Voices Willingness to Return Indigenous Loot, Artifacts

• Pope Francis says talks are underway to return artifacts in the Vatican Museum that were acquired from Indigenous peoples in Canada and has voiced a willingness to return other colonial-era objects in the Vatican’s collection on a case-by-case basis

=> ↺ How Big Is BRICS?

• While the US labors to maintain the unipolar world it leads, a multipolar world is springing up all around it. Africa and Brazil cry for it. China and India support it. Germany has whispered it, and France has called for it. Iran and Saudi Arabia are joining the multipolar Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

=> ↺ Where the Trump Investigations Stand: The January 6 Conspiracies

• Jack Smith seems largely done with two of three prongs to his January 6 investigation: the fake electors and the obstruction of the vote certification. But the third — the wire fraud — may be important to proving corrupt purpose of the obstruction.

=> ↺ Where the Trump Investigations Stand: Stolen Documents

• If Jack Smith decides to charge Trump in the stolen documents investigation, where to charge him may be one of the most difficult decisions.

=> ↺ 260 volunteers have applied for Latvian state defense service

• 260 young people have already applied to the State Defence Service (VAD), including three women and three young people living abroad, Sandra Brāle, chief press officer of the National Armed Forces (NBS), told newswire LETA on April 29.

=> ↺ Turkish forces killed ISIS chief in Syria: Erdogan

• Recep Tayyip Erdogan told TRT Turk television in an interview that the IS leader, code-named Abu Hussein al-Qurayshi, was killed in a strike conducted on Saturday.

=> ↺ Turkey’s Erdogan says suspected IS leader Al Quarashi ‘neutralised’ in Syria

• The suspected leader of the Islamic State group has been killed in Syria in an operation carried out by Turkey’s MIT intelligence agency, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Sunday.

=> ↺ Iranian President To Visit Damascus For First Time Since Syria War

• Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi will travel to Damascus on May 3, Iranian state media reported on April 30, touting a “very important” visit against the backdrop of increased regional engagement with the Syrian regime.

=> ↺ Federal judge blocks Illinois assault rifle ban

• An Illinois federal district judge Friday issued a preliminary injunction to prevent the enforcement of Illinois’ Protect Illinois Communities Act (PICA) until there is a final determination as to the law’s constitutionality.

=> ↺ Government of Djibouti launches crackdown on ‘irregular’ migrants

• The government of Djibouti announced Sunday a crackdown on irregular migration, with state-run television reporting that about 3,000 people had been rounded up by police to be deported.

=> ↺ Mass exodus from Sudan as deadly fighting enters third week

• Hundreds of thousands of Sudanese have fled Khartoum and the Darfur region to seek refuge in neighbouring countries amid ongoing deadly clashes between Sudan’s army and the rival paramilitary group the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). But the violence that grips the country is making it hard for them to leave.

=> ↺ Pope Says Vatican Involved in Secret Ukraine Peace Mission

=> ↺ Pope Speaks of Secret Peace ‘Mission,’ Help for Ukraine Kids

• Pope Francis says a secret peace “mission” in Russia’s war in Ukraine is under way, though he gave no details, and that the Vatican is willing to help facilitate the return of Ukrainian children taken to Russia during the war

=> ↺ France’s Macron, Ukraine’s Zelenskiy Held Call on Sunday

• PARIS (Reuters – French President Emmanuel Macron and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy spoke by phone on Sunday and discussed Ukraine’s…

=> ↺ Oil Depot Fire Part of Ukraine’s Preparation for Counter-Offensive – Military

=> ↺ Pope Reveals He’s Working on Secret ‘Mission’ of Peace in Ukraine

• Francis said he was doing “all that is humanly possible” to help return Ukrainian children taken to Russia and urged Hungary not to slam doors on migrants.

=> ↺ Ukraine’s Military Says Crimea Blast Was Preparation for Coming Offensive

• Late Sunday, a day after the Crimea blast, explosions rocked Pavlograd in central Ukraine, and air raid sirens sounded across Ukraine.

=> ↺ Ukrainian Defenders Oust Russian Forces From Some Positions in Bakhmut – Ukraine General

=> ↺ They Refused to Fight for Russia. The Law Did Not Treat Them Kindly.

• Since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, hundreds of Russian men have faced criminal charges for becoming war refuseniks. That has not stopped others from going to unusual lengths to avoid battle.

=> ↺ Why Are More Men Getting Perms?

• The modern male perm is softer, more natural and has taken off, thanks to K-pop and TikTok.

=> ↺ Where are the ‘good Russians’? The complexities of gauging Russians’ stance on the war – opinion

• In spite of criticism related to the inaction of Russian society, it is important to remember the long-term societal trauma that has encouraged such silence. Joshue Kroeker argues for the New Eastern Europe magazine, partners of LRT English.

=> ↺ ‘I don’t feel safe anymore.’ Belarusians in Lithuania – yesterday’s friends, today’s foes?

• With a new law in Lithuania sanctioning all citizens of Belarus and Russia, Belarusian exiles in Vilnius have found themselves facing a new reality – are they no longer welcome?

=> ↺ Secret Kremlin document reveals Russia’s plans for Baltic states – LRT investigation

• Strategy documents prepared by the Russian president’s office show Moscow’s plans for maintaining influence in Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia. These include funding pro-Russian NGOs, efforts to keep Russian language in schools and oppose demolitions of Soviet monuments.

=> ↺ Europe human rights court orders Russia to pay $143M in damages for 2008 Georgia conflict

• The European Court of Human Rights Friday ordered Russia to pay approximately 130 million euros ($143 million) in compensation to Georgia, almost 15 years after the war in the South Caucasus.

=> ↺ Russian Olympic Committee Claims IOC Proposal Is ‘Excessive and Discriminatory’

• Russia’s Olympic Committee has complained that a recommendation that would allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to return to competition only as neutral participants was “excessive and discriminatory.”

=> ↺ India looks to reduce trade deficit with Russia amid mutual efforts to push trade links

• India’s imports from Russia have increased five times from the previous year to US$41.56 billion due to oil imports.

=> ↺ Soviet and Russian Fashion Icon Zaitsev Dies -Agencies

=> ↺ Fashion Designer for Russian First Ladies Dies

• Russia’s most famous fashion designer, Vyacheslav Zaitsev, who dressed the country’s first ladies, has died at the age of 85

=> ↺ Russian Fashion Designer Known In The West As The ‘Red Dior’ Dies At 85

• Russian fashion designer Vyacheslav Zaitsev has died, according to media reports confirmed by the Russian Academy of Arts.

=> ↺ Chris Hedges: The Enemy From Within

• The war industry, a state within a state, disembowels the nation, stumbles from one military fiasco to the next, strips us of civil liberties and pushes us towards suicidal wars with Russia and China.

=> ↺ Russia appoints Alexey Kuzmenkov new deputy defense minister — Meduza

• The Russian military reported that Alexey Kuzmenkov, former deputy chief of the National Guard, has been appointed as Russia’s new deputy defense minister responsible for logistics. Kuzmenkov replaced Mikhail Mizintsev, who held the position since September 2022.

=> ↺ Four civilians killed by shelling in Russia’s Bryansk region — Meduza

• Four civilians are reported dead as a result of shelling in Suzemka, a village in Russia’s Bryansk region, located close to the Ukrainian border. Bryansk Governor Alexander Bogomaz said that the Ukrainian military carried out the attack.

=> ↺ Ukrainian military says fuel depot fire in Sevastopol part of ‘preparations’ for counteroffensive — Meduza

• The attack on a fuel depot in Russian-annexed Sevastopol was part of the Ukrainian army’s “preparations” for a counteroffensive, according to Nataliya Gumenyuk, a spokesperson for Ukraine’s Armed Forces.

=> ↺ US Corporations Cash In on Ukraine’s Oil and Gas

• As Ukraine sells off public assets in a privatization spree, US fossil fuel corporations like ExxonMobil, Chevron, and Halliburton are in talks to run its oil and gas industry, and the IMF is imposing the Washington Consensus.

=> ↺ Who Gets to Talk About Police Reform?

• Since the brutal police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis in 2020, and the Black Lives Matter protests that spread across the country, how have news media covered issues of policing policy and police reform?

Transparency/Investigative Reporting

=> ↺ US Government Jails Leakers Before Trial Because They ‘Know’ Classified Information

=> ↺ Dan Ellsberg Receives the Sam Adams Award (video)

• Daniel Ellsberg, (born April 7, 1931, Chicago, Illinois), American military analyst and researcher who, in 1971, leaked portions of a classified 7,000-page report that detailed the history of U.S. intervention in Indochina from World War II until 1968.

Environment

=> ↺ Climate Campaigners Stage Blockade at White House Correspondents Dinner

• Members of the corporate media were greeted by hundreds of climate action organizers Saturday night as they arrived at the Washington Hilton Hotel in Washington, D.C. for the annual White House Correspondents Dinner.

=> ↺ BlackRock Security, NYPD ‘Brutalize’ Climate Protesters

• Eleven out of 75 activists were arrested after storming the headquarters of the world’s largest fossil fuel investor with pitchforks and fake oil.

=> ↺ Deadly heat waves threaten older people as summer nears

• As heat waves fueled by climate change arrive earlier, grow more intense and last longer, people over 60 who are more vulnerable to high temperatures are increasingly at risk of dying from heat-related causes. That’s especially true for people of color. Deaths like these are challenging community health systems, utility companies, apartment managers and local governments to better protect older people when temperatures soar. Many U.S. cities have action plans for extreme weather like heat waves, opening cooling centers and distributing bottled water to people outdoors. But many older people need personalized advice and assistance to stay safe.

=> ↺ Takeaways about heat deaths and vulnerable older people

• Heat waves fueled by climate change are starting earlier, growing more intense and lasting longer. It creates a higher risk of illness and death for older people who are especially vulnerable to hot weather. Older people in Phoenix accounted for most of those who died last summer in broiling heat inside their homes. Almost all of them had no air conditioning. The dangers from high temperatures so well known in greater Phoenix, America’s hottest big metro, are becoming known familiar nationwide as extreme heat becomes more common in places used to milder weather. Here are takeaways about heat deaths and vulnerable older people

=> ↺ UMich study finds offshore gas and oil production in the Gulf of Mexico has double estimated climate impact

• A recent study conducted by the University of Michigan Climate and Space Sciences and Engineering program found that methane and carbon dioxide emissions in the Gulf of Mexico are double what has been reported by official inventories. This study was conducted alongside researchers from Stanford University, Scientific Aviation, Carbon Mapper and the Environmental Defense Fund.

Energy/Transportation

=> ↺ Power prices set to jump as VAT discount ends

• The VAT rate on electricity has been reduced from 24 percent since December, in an effort to curb the effects of inflation and the energy crisis.

=> ↺ WA Carbon Fiasco: Pilbara plant to blow more CO2 than Safeguard Mechanism will save

• Add Chevron’s carbon capture disaster to Woodside’s Browse Basin climate bomb and now the Perdaman fertiliser plant in the Pilbara and Western Australia is going to burn a giant hole in the Labor government’s Safeguard Mechanism. Callum Foote reports.

• An emissions disaster is unfolding in WA which comes at a high cost not only for the climate but also for taxpayers. First came revelations that US oil giant Chevron is achieving record exports from its Gorgon gas project but its carbon capture and storage (CCS) facility continues to struggle. This leaves Gorgon as Australia’s largest industrial carbon polluter.

=> ↺ Germany launches €49 monthly ticket for nationwide public transport

• Germany launches on Monday a new flat-rate public transport ticket valid across the country, but the 49-euro ($54) price point has raised doubts about the pass’s potential impact.

=> ↺ Mystery Gas Leak in Punjab, India, Leaves at Least 11 Dead

• Officials had not yet been able to identify the gas or the source of the leak in the city of Ludhiana, in Punjab State.

=> ↺ Gas Shortages Force Cuba to Cancel May Day Parade

• Severe fuel shortages have forced Cuban authorities to cancel the International Workers’ Day parade set for Monday in the capital.

Wildlife/Nature

=> ↺ Crouching tiger, hidden danger at Felda area in Johor

• A tiger is believed to have roamed into a settlement due to a lack of prey in its natural habitat.

=> ↺ Freya, the Walrus Killed by Norwegian Officials, Is Immortalized as a Sculpture

• The bronze sculpture depicts the walrus on her side and should remind onlookers about the importance of coexisting, the artist said.

Overpopulation

=> ↺ Falling birth rates a concern across both Koreas, but reasons differ for the North

• Famine and persistent economic hardship have impacted the country’s birth rate.

=> ↺ Hong Kong has a labour shortage? At what price?

• During what I now think of as a fallow period between university and journalism I lived in Lancaster, and several of my fellow drop-outs worked at the docks in the nearby town of Heysham The port at Heysham is very small, and in those days still worked on a recruitment system which the big docks [...]

Finance

=> ↺ Congressional Democrats splinter on debt ceiling strategy

• A divide has opened between House and Senate Democrats over whether President Biden should negotiate a debt ceiling compromise with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), Axios has learned.

=> ↺ America’s youth fears for the future

• Young Americans who grew up in an age of mass shootings feel anxious about the future — and nearly half say they’ve felt unsafe in the last month, according to a new poll from the Harvard Kennedy School Institute of Politics.

• Why it matters: Those fears are mobilizing young people to vote in near-record numbers, says John Della Volpe, director of polling at the institute.

=> ↺ Gov. Hochul Severs Ties With Top Political Adviser in Face of Backlash

• Gov. Kathy Hochul and the adviser, Adam Sullivan, agreed that he should step down after The New York Times detailed how his guidance and behavior were questioned by others.

=> ↺ San Francisco Whole Foods Closure Reflects City’s Economy and Crime Woes

• Tech workers have stayed home, and ongoing social problems downtown are forcing civic and business leaders to confront harsh realities about the city’s pandemic recovery.

=> ↺ Macron faces Labour Day protests over divisive pension law

• France’s President Emmanuel Macron faces more nationwide protests on Monday as he seeks to steer the country on from a divisive pension law that has sparked anger, pan-bashing and social unrest

=> ↺ To Solve the Climate Crisis, It’s Time to Talk About Canceling Debt

• As climate activists, we are used to banging our heads against brick walls.

=> ↺ Sanders Calls on Biden to Fight for Working People as GOP Wages ‘War’ in Debt Limit Proposal

• U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders on Sunday said President Joe Biden and the Democratic Party must do everything in their power to defend middle- and low-income people in potential budget negotiations, after the Republicans said they will raise the country’s debt limit only in exchange for cuts to green jobs, food assistance, healthcare, and other social services that millions of Americans depend on.

=> ↺ Some Canadian Workers in Wage Pact With Govt to End Strike From Monday

=> ↺ Banks submit First Republic bids to FDIC

• The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation began accepting formal bids at noon today for embattled First Republic Bank, according to sources familiar with the matter, as suitors and the government scramble to stabilize the San Francisco lender.

• Why it matters: Clarity on the fate of the bank, which has lost nearly all of its market value in the span of a few weeks, is critical to stopping investor flight from First Republic.

=> ↺ First Republic up in Air as Regulators Juggle Bank’s Fate

• Regulators continued their search for a solution to First Republic Bank’s woes over the weekend before stock markets were set to open Monday

=> ↺ First Republic in Limbo as US Regulators Juggle Bank’s Fate

• Regulators are searching for a solution to First Republic Bank’s woes, hoping to find a way forward before U.S. stock markets open Monday

=> ↺ If You Don’t Use Your Land, These Marxists May Take It

• The Landless Workers Movement organizes Brazil’s poor to take land from the rich. It is perhaps the largest — and most polarizing — social movement in Latin America.

AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

=> ↺ Trump’s Indictment Won’t End 21st Century Fascist Movement He Unleashed

• Donald Trump is the first American president to be indicted. No matter where you see yourself on the political spectrum, that is a very big deal.

=> ↺ Where U.S Weapons For Ukraine Are REALLY Going! w/ Sy Hersh

• The rampant corruption in Ukraine is no secret, but now more details are emerging about just how little of the U.S. tax dollars sent to Ukraine are winding up in grifters’ pockets.

=> ↺ Marjorie Taylor Green Challenged on Populist Bona Fides

• The Hill Briahna Joy Gray Challenges Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Green (R-GA.) on right wing populism and her true establishment bona fides, pressing her on issues like taxing the rich, military spending, corporate contributions, and wealth inequality.

=> ↺ Echoes of History in New National Push to Shield Children Online

• The A.C.L.U. contended that the [Internet], where users typed or clicked to get to a web page, was more like a book or newspaper than radio or TV, recalled Ann Beeson, a former assistant legal director for the group. Language in printed material, which individuals freely perused, was more lightly regulated than in broadcast media, where audiences had less control over what they were exposed to.

=> ↺ States’ Push to Protect Kids Online Could Remake the Internet

• The proposed restrictions, introduced by at least two dozen states over the last year, could alter not only the online experiences of children and adolescents. They could also remake the [Internet] for millions of adults, ushering in a tectonic cultural shift to a stricter, age-gated online world.

=> ↺ Uzbekistan passes constitutional reform that extends president’s tenure

• Voters in Uzbekistan have overwhelmingly backed constitutional changes in the Central Asian country that could allow President Shavkat Mirziyoyev to remain in power until 2040, according to preliminary results released on Monday.

=> ↺ GOP election officials walking fine line on fraud, integrity

• The Republican secretaries of state in Ohio, West Virginia and Missouri all have promoted their states’ elections as fair and secure. Yet each also is navigating a fine line on how to address election fraud conspiracies, as they eye campaigns for U.S. Senate or governor in 2024. The split-screen messaging of Ohio’s Frank LaRose, West Virginia’s Mac Warner and Missouri’s Jay Ashcroft shows just how deeply election lies have burrowed into the Republican voter base. Even election officials who tout running clean elections at home are routinely pushing more voting restrictions and additional scrutiny as they brace for GOP primaries.

=> ↺ This Week in the New Normal #62

• This Week in the New Normal is our weekly chart of the progress of autocracy, authoritarianism and economic restructuring around the world.

=> ↺ Paraguay Voters Elect Conservative Economist as President

• The election of Santiago Peña keeps the right-wing Colorado Party in control of Paraguay, which it has run for all but five of the past 76 years.

=> ↺ Paraguay Picks a New President: What You Need to Know

• The South American nation is deciding between a candidate from the entrenched conservative party and two opposition candidates: an anti-corruption crusader and a far-right firebrand.

=> ↺ Taiwan ties in balance as Paraguay votes

• Future ties with Taiwan are in play as Paraguayans go to the polls Sunday to pick a president they hope will tackle endemic corruption, rising crime and economic inequality. A center-left coalition is aiming to end the almost unbroken, seven-decade hegemony of the ruling conservative Colorado Party in the closest race in many years.

=> ↺ UN Special Rapporteur: Japan key to supporting crisis response in Myanmar

• Japan’s leadership would be vital in restarting a failing international response to the crisis in Myanmar, a UN-appointed independent rights expert urged Friday.

=> ↺ Support for Japan PM Kishida tops 50% amid speculation on early election

• Renewing his mandate sooner might help Mr Kishida keep control of his ruling party.

Misinformation/Disinformation/Propaganda

=> ↺ How effective is Russia’s information war?

• It has been almost a decade since Russia’s information operations became widely recognised as a means by which Moscow can reach out to influence western democracies. And throughout almost all of that period, one question that has consistently been raised is whether or not these information operations work.

Censorship/Free Speech

=> ↺ Siberian actor who slashed his wrists on stage in protest reportedly fled Russia — Meduza

• Artur Shuvalov, a theater actor from Ulan-Ude, has fled Russia, reports the independent outlet OVD-Info. According to the actor, he was threatened with forced psychiatric hospitalization after slashing his wrists on stage in protest against the pro-war theater management in March.

=> ↺ 13-year-old child sued for insulting Erdoğan

• Charges have been brought in Istanbul against a 13-year-old child for insulting Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. According to the Birgün newspaper, the public prosecutor’s office in the Gaziosmanpaşa district accuses the child of attacking “the honour, dignity and reputation of the President of the Republic”. The case apparently stems from a complaint filed on CIMER, a web service of the Communications Centre of the Turkish President’s Office, through which citizens can send complaints, messages and requests to the president. A juvenile court has accepted the indictment against the child, who was born in 2009.

• According to the newspaper report, the background to the complaint filed with CIMER by Erdoğan supporters is a statement made by the child in a group chat on WhatsApp.

Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press

=> ↺ Espionage trial of former Saeima deputy continues

• In the trial of former Saeima member Jānis Ādamsons, accused of espionage, continued this week, according to Latvian Television’s program De Facto on April 30. The prosecution believes that Ādamsons provided information to the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) over a long period.

=> ↺ Journalists detained in Amed taken to Ankara

• A few weeks before the May 14 elections, Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office launched an investigation against 49 people and many were taken into custody as a result of police raids in 15 cities on April 29.

• The Dicle Fırat Journalists Association (DFG) co-chair Dicle Müftüoğlu, Mesopotamia Agency (MA) Editor Sedat Yılmaz and his wife Selma Yılmaz are among those detained in Amed (Diyarbakır) on Saturday. Sedat Yılmaz’s sister, Filiz Yılmaz, was detained in Istanbul in the scope of the same operation.x

=> ↺ Biden Meets With Parents Of U.S. Journalist Detained In Russia On Spying Charges

• Details of the conversation were not released, but Biden mentioned the meeting during his speech to an estimated audience of 2,600 people, including some guests wearing buttons reading “Free Evan.”

• Gershkovich, a Moscow-based reporter for The Wall Street Journal, has been imprisoned in Russia since March on the spying charges, which he, his newspaper, and the U.S. government have strongly denied.

Civil Rights/Policing

=> ↺ UN discrimination report raises concerns of racial profiling, slavery and human rights violations across several countries

• The UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination Friday issued findings concerning human rights in Argentina, Niger, the Philippines, Portugal, the Russian Federation and Tajikistan, reviewing their performance under the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. The report found a series of racial inequities throughout the countries reviewed.

=> ↺ Auchan faces probe into Russian subsidiary over fraud allegations

• French retailer Auchan said on Sunday it was fully co-operating with the French justice authorities in a probe into business practices at its Russian arm.

=> ↺ Nebraska, South Carolina abortion bans fail

• Abortion bans in Nebraska and South Carolina Thursday failed to pass state legislatures. Legislative Bill 626, known as the Nebraska Heartbeat Act, would have banned doctors from performing abortions after detecting a fetal heartbeat, with exceptions for a medical energy, an ectopic pregnancy, sexual assault, or incest.

Internet Policy/Net Neutrality

=> ↺ [Podcast] Network dependency measurement at IIJ

• Exposing dependencies between ASNs in BGP.

Monopolies

Patents

=> ↺ 30 years ago, one decision altered the course of our connected world

• “The web setting out as something which was universal, something which anybody could use, I felt was very important,” he said. “It’s no good having something which will run on any platform if, in fact, there is a proprietary hold on it.”

• Berners-Lee eventually convinced CERN to release the World Wide Web into the public domain without any patents or fees. He has since attributed the runaway success of the web to that single decision.

Copyrights

=> ↺ Coachella Threatens Legal Action Against Frank Ocean Filmmaker

• Coachella parent company AEG is threatening legal action against a filmmaker who created a concert film using found footage of Frank Ocean’s April 16 performance at the festival.

=> ↺ EU legislates disclosure of copyright data used to train AI

• The AI Act is the first major government effort to regulate the technology with new laws. It was first drafted over nearly two years ago and is still being debated and finalized.

=> ↺ EU proposes new copyright rules for generative AI

• Companies deploying generative AI tools, such as ChatGPT, will have to disclose any copyrighted material used to develop their systems, according to an early EU agreement that could pave the way for the world’s first comprehensive laws governing the technology.

• The European Commission began drafting the AI Act nearly two years ago to regulate emerging artificial intelligence technology, which underwent a boom in investment and popularity following the release of OpenAI’s AI-powered chatbot ChatGPT.

=> ↺ Why Linus Tech Tips’ Pirate Box Video Got 2.3m Views & Official PSAs Get Ignored

• In recent years numerous campaigns have attempted to scare pirates into submission by linking their habit with malware that suddenly empties their bank accounts. For various reasons these messages are largely ignored yet a Linus Tech Tips video on avoiding cheap, piracy-configured set-top boxes has been viewed 2.3 million times in two weeks. So what’s the secret sauce?

Gemini* and Gopher

Personal

=> ↺ 🔤SpellBinding: ABEJWON Wordo: GUYED

Technical

=> ↺ Linux Gaming

• I’ve been an enthusiastic Linux user since encountering it at Uni; so, how about some gaming?

• It’s always been possible to run some games on Linux. After switching it was nice to be encouraged to try some, shall we say, older games, like NetHack; various open source games; and all the different emulator and not-emulator options.

• I seem to remember that Doom 3 ran particularly well.

• 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

=> Techrights

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