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● 05.14.23

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● Links 14/05/2023: IBM Has Cut Into Fedora, Not Just OpenSource.com; Turkish Election Today

Posted in News Roundup at 12:22 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz

GNU/Linux

Graphics Stack

=> ↺ Mike Blumenkrantz: Friday Updates

• A number of members of my team at Valve don’t blog, and I like to bring visibility to their work when I can. Here’s a quick roundup of what some of them have been doing, in no particular order.

• Or maybe from most important work to least important work.

• You decide.

• After another week of heroic work, his implementation of VK_EXT_descriptor_indexing for Lavapipe has finally passed CI. This means it will probably be merged within the next week or two.

• Given that Dave Airlie is practically done with his VK_EXT_mesh_shader (it draws multiple triangles now), this means the only thing remaining for full VKD3D-PROTON functionality on Lavapipe is sparse binding. I think.

• Which begs the question: will Lavapipe get sparse binding support before Intel?

• It’s depressing, it seems impossible given how many years we’ve all been waiting, and we don’t want to admit it to ourselves, but we already know the answer.

Instructionals/Technical

=> ↺ Trend Oceans ☛ How to Start and Stop Monitor Mode in Linux

• It’s a no brainer to start and stop monitor mode in Linux when you know what command to use. The Wifi module comes with multiple modes and one of them is monitor mode, which you have commonly heard from security enthusiasts to sniff over a network using Wireshark. >

=> ↺ ! Avi Alkalay ¡: MariaDB backups in one line

• First allow the Unix user that will make backups (root, in my case) to access MariaDB without a password (works only if accessing from same host that the server is running):

• Now the backup script, shown here in multiple lines for education purposes:

• Explained line by line: [...]

=> ↺ peppe8o ☛ How to use SANE with Raspberry PI terminal, plus Project to upgrade a scanner to Scan-to-Mail

• With more and more people going near programming languages, the requirement to get common external devices running from terminal commands can become useful…

Distributions and Operating Systems

Fedora Family / IBM

=> ↺ Ben Cotton: #inaction bcotton

• On 25 June 2018, I published a post called “It’s hattening”. After years of rejected applications, I was finally starting a job at Red Hat. On 24 April 2023, Red Hat announced a 4% reduction in global staff. As a member of that 4%, today is my last day at Red Hat.

• This is the first time I’ve been laid off from a job. I hope it will be the last, but who can say? I’d be lying if I said I haven’t felt a big range of emotions in the past three weeks: confusion, anger, sadness, amusement.

Debian Family

=> ↺ Holger Levsen: 20230512-Debian-Reunion-Hamburg-2023

• We’ll have days of hacking (inside and outside), a day trip and a small cheese & wine party, as well as daily standup meetings to learn what others are doing, and there shall also be talks and workshops. At the moment there are even still some beds on site available and the CfP is still open!

Devices/Embedded

=> ↺ Tom’s Hardware ☛ DietPi v8.17 Announced With New Software and SBC Enhancements

• DietPi, the lightweight Debian based alternative OS announces a new update which sees new software and enhancements for many different SBCs

Open Hardware/Modding

=> ↺ Tom’s Hardware ☛ PLANKuter: The LattePanda Powered Maker Laptop

• Protolino has created a custom LattePanda build with GPIO access and a drawer full of goodies for tinkering on the go.

=> ↺ Tom’s Hardware ☛ Leica MPi Camera Uses Raspberry Pi Zero W with HQ Camera Module

• Michael Suguitan has put a Raspberry Pi Zero W inside of a Leica M2 camera along with a Raspberry Pi HQ Camera module.

=> ↺ Tom’s Hardware ☛ DIY Laser Text Projector Made Using Old Hard Drive

• Ben from Ben Makes Everything is using an old hard drive to power a DIY laser text projector with a little help from an Arduino.

Free, Libre, and Open Source Software

=> ↺ Valhalla’s Things: I hate proprietary software

• Years ago I watched my SO play Brütal Legend and of course loved it, but I’ve been only using used computers for a long time, and none of them was really able to run modern games.

• Admittedly, he told me that I could use his computer to play the game while he wasn’t home (and I do have an account on that computer, that I’ve sporadically used to do computationally intensive stuff, but always remotely), but it was a hassle, and I never did.

• This year, however, he gifted me a shiny new CPU and motherboard, and among other things that meant games from this century!

• The first thing I’ve spent time on was 0ad (which admittedly already worked on one of the old computers, as long as the map wasn’t too big), but now it was time to play basically the one recent proprietary game I had been wanting to play.

• So, this afternoon I started by trying to copy the installer (it was bought from an humble bundle, I don’t have steam) from the home server to my PC, and the home server froze. Ok, I could copy it through something else than git annex (or from the offline hard disk backup, as I did).

• Then I tried to run the installer, which resulted in the really helpful error message:

=> ↺ Silicon Angle ☛ From proprietary to open source: The new landscape of the software industry

=> ↺ Nathan Willis: Friends, Romans, Italics: lend me your eyes! (for just a few minutes)

• I should really subtitle this “part 1,” to fit into my established idiom of starting what’s meant to be a series and then letting the follow-ons stack up like cordwood in the Drafts folder. It’s worked well so far. I’m looking at several of them now … they seem so happy….

• ANNYWAY, what I actually wanted to say is that I’ve got kind of an “ask.” I’m running an online survey as part of my PhD research, and I’d really be grateful if you’d give it a try. It’s about fonts; what you do is look at text samples and mark any stuff that looks bad. It’s designed to be something that you could finish entirely in less than half an hour (if you do all five samples), but you can do fewer if you want.

• If you’re game and want to jump at it, the survey site is letter.fit — please go for it, and thanks!

• The gist of this is that we want to collect responses from as wide a variety of readers as we can. It’s not about right answers or wrong answers. I’d love it if you’d give it a go and maybe spread the word, but if you don’t, that’s totally cool.

• Just to be less self-promotey (although I certainly don’t reap any profit from it) for the unintrigued, and also to make for a more informative blog-read, I’ll say a tad more about what the survey does and why it’s a question. My apologies if you’ve listened to this song & dance twice….

Content Management Systems (CMS)

=> ↺ Press Gazette ☛ What do you really think about WordPress? Survey seeks publisher views

• Once just a tool for bloggers and sole traders, WordPress has rapidly evolved into a leading CMS for enterprise brands, with The Times, Vogue and even the White House among its regular users.

Programming/Development

=> ↺ Qt ☛ Responsive Layouts in Qt

• Qt has (almost) been here since the dawn of graphical user interfaces, being released just 5 years after Windows 3.0. Needless to say, technologies, expectations and duties for an UI toolkit evolved substantially over the years. Organizing and layouting of visual elements like buttons is one of those duties that changed significantly: From small screens with few pixels and fixed size embedded apps we came a long way to high resolution screens and handheld devices of all form factors. The changes in design philosophy are even more dramatic. Applications need to look and feel good on many devices as well as in different configurations, landscape and portrait, windowed and full screen. More than that, they need to be able to switch seamlessly between those modes.>

=> ↺ Godot Engine ☛ Release candidate: Godot 4.0.3 RC 2

• Another round of cherry-picks for the upcoming Godot 4.0.3, fixing a few regressions reported against RC 1 and backporting more important fixes.

=> ↺ Rlang ☛ Introducing {ggflowchart}

• Back in April 2022, I participated in the

• #30DayChartChallenge and for the Storytelling prompt on day 29 in the Uncertainty category, I created the Goldilocks Decision Tree.

Leftovers

=> ↺ New York Times ☛ Olympic Swimming in the Seine? How Paris Is Remaking a River.

• Organizers of the 2024 Summer Games promised a waterway clean enough for Olympic swimmers and then Parisians to swim in. The job was bigger than anyone knew.

=> ↺ YLE ☛ Hospitals release over half of bridge collapse victims, investigation continues

• At least 24 people, including teenagers on a class trip, fell about five metres after the plywood-based bridge gave way on Thursday morning.

Education

=> ↺ Latvia ☛ 15 Liepāja teachers lose jobs over Latvian language proficiency

• Since teachers in Latvia have had to pass the official – Latvian – language proficiency tests, 15 teachers have lost their jobs permanently or temporarily in Liepāja, Kurzeme Television reported on May 11.

=> ↺ uni Stanford ☛ Faculty Senate divided: Should Hoover cut ties with Murdoch and Mercer?

• After a heated 25-minute debate over the media magnates, the senate ultimately did not come to a vote over the resolution due to the loss of a quorum. President Marc Tessier-Lavigne opposed the resolution, claiming it would make the senate a “thought police.”

=> ↺ uni Stanford ☛ Latine students demand inclusion, support from El Centro

• Following the postponement of a community town hall planned to address several incidents of racial discrimination in Casa Zapata earlier this year, more than 100 Latine students advocated for their community center to be more representative on Friday. The demonstration was led by “ComuniLove NOW! Collective.”

=> ↺ New Yorker ☛ The Diary of a Rikers Island Library Worker

• Every week for a year, I pushed a cart of books through the largest jail complex in New York City.

Hardware

=> ↺ Federal News Network ☛ Tennessee company refuses US request to recall 67 million potentially dangerous air bag inflators

• A Tennessee company could be heading for a legal battle with U.S. auto safety regulators after refusing a request to recall millions of potentially dangerous air bag inflators. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is demanding that ARC Automotive of Knoxville recall 67 million inflators because they could explode and hurl shrapnel. The agency says at least two people have been killed in the U.S. and Canada, and six others have been hurt as a result of defective ARC inflators. The recall would cover about one-quarter of the vehicles now on U.S. roadways. In a letter posted late Friday, the agency told ARC that it has tentatively concluded a that the inflators have a safety defect. But ARC responded that no defect exists.

=> ↺ Michael West Media ☛ US maker refuses to recall 67 million air bag inflators

• A US company could be heading for a legal battle with car safety regulators after refusing a request that millions of potentially dangerous air bag inflators be recalled. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NGTSA) is demanding that ARC Automotive recall 67 million inflators in the US because they could explode and hurl shrapnel.

=> ↺ US News And World Report ☛ Tennessee Company Refuses US Request to Recall 67 Million Potentially Dangerous Air Bag Inflators

• A Tennessee company could be heading for a legal battle with U.S. auto safety regulators after refusing a request to recall millions of potentially dangerous air bag inflators

=> ↺ Quartz ☛ Peloton tried to switch into the right gear—but then seats started falling off its bikes

• Peloton users should watch out for issues with their bike seats.

=> ↺ CNX Software ☛ UDOO VISION SBC with Intel Atom x5-E3940 or x7-E3950 CPU offers Arduino Leonardo compatibility

• UDOO VISION single board computer is powered by either an Intel Atom x5-E3940 or x7-E3950 Apollo Lake processor and features the same Microchip ATmega32U4 8-bit AVR microcontroller found in the Arduino Leonardo board to control GPIOs. Two versions of the Pico-ITX SBC are available: the X5 with an Atom x5 processor, 4GB RAM, 32GB eMMC flash, and the X7 with an Atom x7 processor, 8GB RAM, and 64GB eMMC flash.

=> ↺ Tom’s Hardware ☛ Steam Deck vs. Asus ROG Ally: Gaming Handheld Faceoff

• The Valve Steam Deck and Asus ROG Ally are both fighting to be the best handheld console / gaming PC on the market. Which one you should pick depends on if you prefer a tightly integrated system or more versatility and cutting-edge components.

Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

=> ↺ New Yorker ☛ The Superbloom Is a Glimpse of California’s Past

• This year’s rains reversed, temporarily, more than a decade of catastrophic drought. Some of the seeds that caused the bloom have lain dormant for years.

=> ↺ Latvia ☛ Man refuses booze check while driving, waves goodbye to Porsche

• The Prosecutor’s Office has confiscated a man’s Porsche car after the owner refused an intoxicating substance test while behind the wheel, the Prosecutor’s Office said May 12.

=> ↺ New York Times ☛ What to Know About the New Treatment for Hot Flashes

• Veozah, a nonhormonal drug, is effective against a signature symptom of menopause.

=> ↺ The Straits Times ☛ G-7 plans new vaccine programme for developing nations: Media [Ed: How about getting rid of the patents then?]

• The new programme aims to pool rainy-day funds for vaccine production and purchases.

=> ↺ France24 ☛ Portuguese parliament votes to legalise limited euthanasia

• After a long battle, Portugal on Friday passed a law legalising euthanasia for people in great suffering and with incurable diseases, joining just a handful of countries around the world.

Proprietary

=> ↺ Federal News Network ☛ Judge sides with Ellison in Oracle shareholder suit over NetSuite acquisition

• A Delaware judge has ruled in favor of Oracle founder Larry Ellison in a shareholder lawsuit alleging that he coerced the company into paying a grossly inflated price to acquire software corporation NetSuite. The shareholders argued that the $9.3 billion deal in 2016 should be subjected to a rigorous “entire fairness” review because Ellison was both a controlling shareholder of Oracle at the time and owned almost 40% of shares in NetSuite, which he cofounded in 1998. The lawsuit alleges that Oracle overpaid for NetSuite by $3 billion. The judge acknowledged Friday that Ellison was “a force” at Oracle and a face of the company. But he said Ellison was not a controlling shareholder of Oracle and that the company empowered a special committee to negotiate the deal.

=> ↺ US News And World Report ☛ Judge Sides With Ellison in Oracle Shareholder Suit Over NetSuite Acquisition

• A Delaware judge has ruled in favor of Oracle founder Larry Ellison in a shareholder lawsuit alleging that he coerced the company into paying a grossly inflated price to acquire software corporation NetSuite

Linux Foundation

=> ↺ Silicon Angle ☛ Open source, AI and the customer journey in FinOS: Insights from Discover Financial Services [Ed: Some more 'Linux' Foundation sponsored spam and openwashing]

Security

=> ↺ Silicon Angle ☛ OpenSSF: Making SBOMs more dynamic to reduce software security risks [Ed: Not a good approach, but this is what monopolists and the states that they control are after. This article is also sponsored by the so-called 'Linux' Foundation, sponsored by Microsoft et al]

• Since 41% of organizations are still not confident about their open-source software security, more innovations are needed to change this narrative.

=> ↺ KSOC Publishes SBOM Specification for Kubernetes

• Kubernetes Security Operations Center (KSOC) this week published a Kubernetes Bill of Materials (KBOM) specification that promises to make it simpler to discover vulnerabilities. KBOM, available via an open source command line interface (CLI) tool, provides a quick view of workload count, cost and type of hosting service, vulnerabilities for

=> ↺ Silicon Angle ☛ As cloud computing gets more complex, so does protecting it. Here’s what companies need to do [Ed: Clown computing means complexity and outsourcing. Both lessen security.]

• Whether companies are repatriating their cloud workloads back on-premises or to colocated servers, they still need to protect them, and the market for that protection is suddenly undergoing some major changes.

=> ↺ Press Gazette ☛ Prince Harry vs Mirror hacking trial week one: Publisher apology and Piers Morgan denial

• The key points from the opening days in Prince Harry’s hacking trial against MGN.

Privacy/Surveillance

=> ↺ EDRI ☛ Commissioner Johansson cannot be trusted with the EU’s proposed CSA Regulation

• In the midst of a wide range of concerning practices and behaviours, EDRi has found it necessary to raise a formal complaint against the EU’s Home Affairs department for possible breaches of independence.

=> ↺ Quartz ☛ Toyota has been accidentally sharing personal data for millions of Japanese users over the last decade [Ed: Well, it's inevitably going to happen when data is collected that should not be]

• Toyota, the world’s largest car manufacturer, said that personal data for more than 2 million Japanese users of its T-Connect cloud service had been publicly available for the past decade. A spokesperson for the company blamed the oversight on human error, according to a report published by Reuters on Friday (May 12).

=> ↺ Vice Media Group ☛ CYBER: Inside the Italian Mafia’s Encrypted Phone of Choice

• A look inside the secretive world of ‘No. 1 Business Communication,’ an encrypted phone system used by the Mafia.

Defence/Aggression

=> ↺ TwinCities Pioneer Press ☛ Democrats in Minnesota Senate hold firm to pass contentious gun control measures

• Democratic Minnesota senators held firm despite only a one-vote majority to pass gun control legislation strongly supported by the governor. The bill passed 34-33 on a party-line vote late Friday after around nine hours of debate. It would align the battleground state with others nationally that have taken steps to keep guns out of the hands of people in crisis and criminals. The proposals include a “red flag law” that would allow authorities to ask courts for “extreme risk protection orders” to temporarily take guns away from people deemed to be an imminent threat to others or themselves. The bill also contains expanded background checks for gun transfers.

=> ↺ RFA ☛ Wolf out the door

=> ↺ RFERL ☛ HRW Raises Alarm Over Surge In Iran Executions

• Human Rights Watch on May 12 said a dramatic recent rise in the number of executions in Iran amounts to “a serious violation of the right to life” and urged condemnation by the international community.

=> ↺ The Strategist ☛ Working with the Pacific island nations to build resilience

• Soon after she became foreign minister in May last year, Penny Wong went on a self-described listening tour of the Pacific.

=> ↺ RFA ☛ Myanmar junta forces commit more atrocities, burn 19 civilians to death

• The death toll could rise because the area is ‘now like a battlefield,’ ethnic armed group says.

=> ↺ LRT ☛ German brigade takes part in exercise in Lithuania

• Christian Nawrat, commander of the German brigade assigned to Lithuania, and the battalion commanders have arrived at the Rukla military base in central Lithuania for an exercise, the Armed Forces said on Friday.

=> ↺ LRT ☛ Lithuanian volunteer soldiers awarded medals on return from mission in Mali

• Troops from Lithuania’s National Defence Volunteer Force (KASP) were awarded in a ceremony in Vilnius on Friday after completing their six-month mission in the UN-led stabilisation operation in Mali (MINUSMA).

=> ↺ Defence Web ☛ Somalia prepares to step up as ATMIS draws down

• After 18 years and three multinational peace missions, Somalia is getting ready to take full control of its own security.

=> ↺ Hong Kong Free Press ☛ National security case against 23-year-old Hong Kong student moved to High Court

• A national security case against a 23-year-old Hong Kong student was moved to the city’s High Court on Friday. Cheung Ho-yeung appeared at the West Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts in front of Chief Magistrate Victor So.

=> ↺ New York Times ☛ My Mother Returned From World War II a Changed Woman

• In her World War II photographs and those of her friends, my mother is laughing and bright-eyed in every single one. I almost don’t recognize her.

=> ↺ France24 ☛ How both sides in Sudan claim to be cracking down on gang violence and looting

• Amid the ongoing fighting in Sudan since April 15, reports of street gangs looting and assaulting civilians, especially in Khartoum and two nearby towns, have emerged. These gangs, known as the “Niqez”, have a long-standing presence in the country. However, both conflicting parties in Sudan are now taking measures to arrest and publicly shame gang members to improve their image among civilians, according to our Observer.

=> ↺ The Straits Times ☛ South Korea says not considering conscripting women amid ongoing debate

• S. Korea is facing shortages in military personnel, which have been exacerbated by its looming demographic crisis.

=> ↺ teleSUR ☛ UN: + 18,000 People Enter Ethiopia From Sudan

• “…more than 440 individuals have crossed the Kurmuk border crossing point…”

=> ↺ Latvia ☛ Data suggest scale of Latvia’s female homicide problem

• An appalling recent murder in Jēkabpils has brought the issues of stalking and the homicides of women into sharp focus in Latvia. Figures published by Eurostat May 11 underline the scale of Latvia’s problem.

=> ↺ New York Times ☛ Thousands of Guns Turned in After 2 Mass Shootings in Serbia

• The unregistered weapons were handed over to the authorities as the government vows to disarm the country after two mass shootings.

=> ↺ France24 ☛ Thirty killed as violence between Israel and Gaza escalates

• Israel and Gaza militants traded heavy fire Thursday, the third day of the worst escalation of violence in months that has killed 29 people in the blockaded Palestinian enclave and one in Israel.

=> ↺ France24 ☛ Renewed Israeli strikes rock Gaza amid Egypt’s push for truce

• Israel and Gaza traded heavy fire on Friday but Egyptian mediators launched a new bid to end days of fighting that has killed dozens, all but one of them Palestinian.

=> ↺ France24 ☛ Mali army, foreign fighters killed at least 500 people in March 2022, says UN report

• The Malian army and foreign fighters killed at least 500 people during an anti-jihadist operation in central Mali in March 2022, according to a report released on Friday by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).

Transparency/Investigative Reporting

=> ↺ American Oversight ☛ American Oversight Receives Indication That Durham Investigation Has Closed

=> ↺ American Oversight ☛ News Roundup: New Voting Restrictions, Harlan Crow, and Florida Textbooks

Environment

=> ↺ The Straits Times ☛ Bangladesh evacuations ahead of ‘very severe’ Cyclone Mocha

• Forecasters expect the cyclone to bring a deluge of rain, which can trigger landslides.

Energy/Transportation

=> ↺ CS Monitor ☛ Industry vs. poverty: Guyana’s challenge with offshore oil

• Guyana is poised to become the fourth-largest offshore oil producer in the world. But many Guyanese people worry their lives won’t improve for the better even if the oil boom generates billions of dollars for this largely impoverished nation.

=> ↺ New York Times ☛ China Orders Tesla to Recall 1.1 Million Vehicles Over Braking Risks

• Defects on certain Tesla models could lead drivers to step on the accelerator pedals for longer than necessary, increasing the risk of collisions, China’s market regulator says.

=> ↺ YLE ☛ VR: Technical fault behind train delays across Finland has been fixed

• Late on Friday afternoon, VR said it had resolved the problem but that some long-distance trains would still be behind schedule.

=> ↺ France24 ☛ Taiwanese battery maker Prologium to invest €5 billion in French factory

• Taiwanese battery maker Prologium said Friday it will invest billions of dollars in building a new factory in northern France for its first European plant.

Wildlife/Nature

=> ↺ Latvia ☛ Bird flu found in northern regions of Latvia

• Avian influenza H5N1 which has been raging in the eastern parts of Latvia has also been detected in Cēsis and Madona municipalities, as reported by the Food and Veterinary Service (PVD).

Overpopulation

=> ↺ teleSUR ☛ Death Toll In Kenya Starvation Cult Rises To 179

• In the second phase of exhumations started this week, 29 more bodies have been found in Shakahola forest.

=> ↺ Latvia ☛ Local fruit and berries will be scarce this summer

• Fruit orchards and gardens in all regions of Latvia have been damaged with the unusual frost last week. The damage will cost millions, estimated the Latvian Association of Fruit Growers, which will turn to the Ministry of Agriculture (ZM) for support to the sector, Latvian Radio reported on May 12.

=> ↺ Michael West Media ☛ Only rich can afford to have children in Italy: Pope

• Starting a family in Italy is becoming a “titanic effort” that only the rich can afford, Pope Francis says, warning that “savage” free-market conditions were preventing the young from having children.

=> ↺ France24 ☛ ‘Without water, we are nothing!’: Spain’s crippling drought reignites tensions over Tagus river

• An early scorching heatwave across Spain has worsened the impact of the country’s long-term drought, causing unprecedented damage to the country’s crops. As farmers grow desperate for irrigation, the government’s plan to limit the rerouting of water from the nation’s longest river – the Tagus – for agricultural purposes lies at the centre of a heated debate.

Finance

=> ↺ The Straits Times ☛ With a shortage of properties for rental in Australia, many are moving back to live with parents

• Many tenants have been forced to move back home to live with their parents, while others were even forced to sleep in cars.

=> ↺ WhichUK ☛ 100% mortgage makes a comeback: what are the risks?

• Skipton launches new no-deposit mortgage

=> ↺ WhichUK ☛ Investment platform fees compared: are you over-paying?

• Which? reveals how you can save hundreds of pounds on your stocks and shares Isa, all while getting better service, tools and research

=> ↺ US News And World Report ☛ Little Progress Has Been Made in Curbing Too High Inflation, Fed’s Jefferson Says

• Federal Reserve governor Philip Jefferson says inflation remains too high and there has been “little progress” made toward bringing it down to the central bank’s 2% target

=> ↺ Michael West Media ☛ G7 summit to target China’s ‘economic coercion’: source

• Leaders of the Group of Seven countries are set to issue a statement of concern about China’s use of economic leverage abroad when they gather next week, according to a US official familiar with the discussions.

=> ↺ teleSUR ☛ G7 Summit to Focus On China’s “Economic Coercion”

• The world’s seven most industrialized countries, their biggest concern to discuss at their next meeting.

=> ↺ teleSUR ☛ NATO Liaison Office in Japan Harms Regional Peace, China Warns

• “What is North Atlantic Treaty Organization really up to?,” Chinese diplomat Wang asked.

=> ↺ teleSUR ☛ China Urges G7 Not to Be Accomplice to US Economic Coercion

• Washington has imposed unilateral economic sanctions on nearly 40 countries around the world, affecting nearly half of the world’s population.

=> ↺ US News And World Report ☛ Honduras Will ‘Soon’ Launch Trade Talks With China as Ties Deepen

=> ↺ US News And World Report ☛ Exclusive-G7 Summit Statement to Target China’s ‘Economic Coercion’ -Source

=> ↺ New York Times ☛ Some U.S. Solar Makers Criticize Biden’s Tax Credits as Too Lax on China

• U.S.-based manufacturers of solar products say rules issued by the Biden administration on Friday will “cement China’s dominance” over the solar industry.

=> ↺ RFA ☛ North Korea cracks down on bribery in prisons

• Wealthy inmates bribe prison officials to get out of hard labor and live in ‘special cells.’

=> ↺ Zimbabwe ☛ What does Stanbic’s Unayo have to offer in crowded domestic remittance market?

• When we discussed Old Mutual joining the domestic USD remittance race, someone called it the ‘fintech and remittance gold rush.’ It really is a gold rush. Today, we are talking about another financial institution, Stanbic, launching its solution.

=> ↺ teleSUR ☛ Zimbabwe Lifts Restrictions on Basic Goods Imports

• “…Ncube affirmed the government’s commitment to preserve macroeconomic balance…”

=> ↺ teleSUR ☛ UK Economy Grows 0.1 Pct in Q1 2023

• The United Kingdom remains the only G7 country in which the main quarterly measure of GDP has not recovered to its pre-pandemic peak yet.

=> ↺ Helsinki Times ☛ Danske Bank: Almost fifth of Finns are considering moving due to rising costs

• NEARLY A FIFTH of Finns are considering moving or actively looking to move due to high housing costs, finds a survey commissioned by Danske Bank.

• Sari Takala, the director of consumer lending at Danske Bank, told Helsingin Sanomat on Wednesday that the survey respondents were asked about the possibility of relocation for the first time, making it difficult to say whether the share of respondents considering moving is high or low.

AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

=> ↺ Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Explainer: How Hong Kong’s District Council electoral overhaul gives new power to 3 gov’t-appointed committees

• When the Hong Kong government announced plans to overhaul District Council elections following a pro-democracy landslide in 2019, a spotlight was shone on three local-level committees in each of Hong Kong’s 18 districts.

=> ↺ Michael West Media ☛ Musk names Yaccarino as new CEO of Twitter

• Former NBCUniversal advertising chief Linda Yaccarino will become Twitter’s new CEO, current chief executive Elon Musk says in a tweet. “I am excited to welcome Linda Yaccarino as the new CEO of Twitter!” Musk said. He added “@LindaYacc will focus primarily on business operations, while I focus on product design & new technology”. Yaccarino modernised […]

=> ↺ France24 ☛ Musk picks advertising guru Linda Yaccarino to replace him as Twitter CEO

• Elon Musk has chosen top ad executive Linda Yaccarino to take the day-to-day reins of Twitter as he fights to reverse the tide at the struggling platform he bought for $44 billion last year.

=> ↺ Silicon Angle ☛ Elon Musk names NBCU’s Linda Yaccarino as Twitter’s new CEO

=> ↺ Reason ☛ Tucker Carlson’s Twitter Venture Tests Mainstream Media’s Eroding Grip

• The controversial host launches his effort at a promising moment for dissident voices.

=> ↺ ACLU ☛ Here’s How Connecticut Could Implement a Historic New Voting Law

• Known as the “land of steady habits,” Connecticut represents a microcosm of the racist legacy of voter suppression nationwide — but that might change soon.

• While some people think of Connecticut as progressive, in truth, we’re behind on protecting the right to vote: Connecticut is one of only four states that does not have in-person early voting, one of only 15 states without no-excuse absentee voting, and is in the bottom half of states for individual voters when it comes to our personal costs, in time and effort, for us to vote. All of this is a vestige of Connecticut’s long, racist history of trying to restrict Black, Indigenous, and Puerto Rican voters’ power — our state shamefully was the creator of literacy tests.

• Like most states, though, Connecticut also has a proud history of voters, led by voters of color, fighting for better access to the ballot box. In the past five years alone, Connecticut has banned prison gerrymandering and restored the right to vote for people on parole.

=> ↺ Quartz ☛ Linda Yaccarino says she’s inspired by “provocative leadership.” Elon Musk’s Twitter fits the bill

• Elon Musk announced that Linda Yaccarino would succeed him as Twitter CEO, confirming reports first published by the Wall Street Journal./blockquote>

=> ↺ New Yorker ☛ What Bluesky Tells Us About the Future of Social Media

• The new platform aims to be a decentralized alternative to Twitter. The vibe there is mostly like that of a Portland coffee shop.

=> ↺ Vice Media Group ☛ Keep Bluesky Weird

• The nascent social network feels like a small community of unhinged friends and freaks—and that’s maybe its most promising feature.

=> ↺ RFA ☛ Cambodia’s main opposition party may not appear on July ballots

• Candlelight Party may get rejected because election officials won’t recognize prior paperwork.

=> ↺ RFA ☛ Papua New Guinea foreign minister faces backlash over primitive animals comment

• Foreign Minister Tkatchenko is stepping aside to allow an investigation into the incident.

=> ↺ RFA ☛ Cyclone Mocha barrels toward Myanmar and Bangladesh

• Storm is similar in strength to 2008’s Nargis, which killed nearly 140,000

=> ↺ US News And World Report ☛ Elon Musk Sparred With New CEO Linda Yaccarino in On-Stage Interview: 3 Takeaways From the Exchange

• Elon Musk sat down in April for an on-stage interview with Linda Yaccarino, the advertising executive he named as Twitter’s new chief executive on Friday

=> ↺ US News And World Report ☛ Factbox: Linda Yaccarino – the Advertising Executive Musk Picked as New Twitter CEO

=> ↺ New York Times ☛ Elon Musk’s Twitter Show Makes Sense. Yes, Really.

• Elon Musk’s seemingly erratic behavior is rational if one looks at the true source of his wealth.

=> ↺ Off Guardian ☛ WATCH: A Better Way – #SolutionsWatch

• In the run up to the Better Way conference – taking place in Bath next month – James Corbett (who will be speaking at the conference) sits down with the one of organisers, Dr Tess Lawrie. D Lawrie is a medical doctor and research consultant based in the UK.

=> ↺ Axios ☛ Elon Musk says NBCU ad chief Linda Yaccarino will be new Twitter CEO

• NBCUniversal’s veteran ad chief Linda Yaccarino will become the new CEO of Twitter, Elon Musk tweeted Friday.

• Driving the news: Yaccarino will “focus primarily on business operations” in the role as CEO, Musk wrote, adding that he would be in charge of product design and new technology.

• /blockquote>

=> ↺ RFA ☛ Vietnamese activist sentenced to 8 years in jail for Facebook posts

• Case is the latest conviction for violating Article 117, a vague law often used to silence dissent.

=> ↺ Michael West Media ☛ Australian, China trade ministers hold ‘candid’ talks

• China’s Foreign Minister Qin Gang will visit Australia soon in a fresh sign of improved relations between the nations and the potential lifting of trade bans on Australian exports, Trade Minister Don Farrell says. Speaking on Friday in Beijing, Senator Farrell said he had also invited his Chinese counterpart Wang Wentao to visit Australia.

=> ↺ RFA ☛ On Sichuan quake anniversary, bereaved parents hit out at upbeat propaganda

• The Communist Party has broken its promise to investigate shoddy school construction, parents say

=> ↺ RFA ☛ Laos, China launch joint ‘Friendship Shield’ military exercises in Laos

• The drills come amid a larger push by Beijing to engage with its neighbors in Southeast Asia.

=> ↺ RFERL ☛ Kazakh President Says It’s ‘Absolutely Clear’ That Taiwan Is Part Of China

• Kazakh President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev said it is “absolutely clear” that Taiwan is a part of China as the Central Asian nation looks to build ties with its eastern neighbor.

=> ↺ New York Times ☛ From Rap Star to Engineer to Young Mayor Demolishing Swaths of Kathmandu

• A music idol in his early 20s and then an engineer, Balen, 33, next won an upset victory as mayor of Nepal’s capital, inspiring a wave of young politicians. Now, he’s tearing down parts of the city.

=> ↺ New York Times ☛ Behind the New Indictments of El Chapo’s Sons, Rivalry Seethed Between Agencies

• When sweeping charges against the Chapitos were announced last month, the Justice Department presented a unified front. It was another story behind the scenes.

Misinformation/Disinformation/Propaganda

=> ↺ teleSUR ☛ The US Has Been Meddling in Türkiye’s Elections, Soylu Warns

• If no presidential candidate gets over 50 percent of the votes on Sunday, a second round will take place on May 28.

=> ↺ Press Gazette ☛ Woodward, Bernstein and Schama call time on ‘post-truth’ era

• Watergate reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein discussed the role of journalism in a modern age.

Censorship/Free Speech

=> ↺ RFERL ☛ Two Jailed Iranian Educators Launch Hunger Strikes As More Colleagues Detained

• Two jailed Iranian educators have launched hunger strikes after authorities detained three more of their colleagues — bringing the total to 16 — for supporting nationwide protests over what is seen as the government’s trampling of rights and freedoms.

=> ↺ JURIST ☛ Vietnam activist sentenced to 8 years in prison for ‘spreading anti-government propaganda’

• Vietnamese media, including the state-owned Tuoitre newspaper, reported that the People’s Court of Ho Chi Minh City sentenced political activist Tran Van Bang on Friday to eight years in prison and three years of probation for “spreading anti-government propaganda.”

=> ↺ Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Books by satirical cartoonist Zunzi disappear from Hong Kong public libraries after paper axes comic

• Books by satirical cartoonist Zunzi have disappeared from Hong Kong public library listings, after his comic strip was axed by newspaper Ming Pao on Wednesday following criticism from an official.

Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press

=> ↺ Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Why I am giving up writing about Hong Kong politics

• Sometimes, as Joni Mitchell sang many years ago, you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone. Writing comments about public affairs only makes sense if there is a conversation to which you are contributing.

Civil Rights/Policing

=> ↺ US News And World Report ☛ On the Front Lines of the Writers Strike, Meet the True Rat Czar of NYC: Scabby the Rat

• For decades, a giant, inflatable rat with beady eyes, sharp teeth and a pustule-covered belly has been looming over union protests, drawing attention to construction sites or buildings with labor disputes

=> ↺ New York Times ☛ Chinese Dissident Sentenced to 8 Years After He Tried to Fly to His Dying Wife

• The activist Yang Maodong said he had only wanted China to “fully realize authentic freedom, democracy, human rights and rule of law.”

=> ↺ teleSUR ☛ German Railway Workers on Nationwide Strike

• The Railway and Transport Union is negotiating on behalf of around 230,000 employees from 50 different companies.

=> ↺ TwinCities Pioneer Press ☛ Pilots at United picket for higher pay as pressure builds before summer travel season

• The peak summer travel season is almost here, and pilots are stepping up their pressure on major airlines for new contracts that will include higher pay. United Airlines pilots walked picket lines at 10 big U.S. airports on Friday, although they’re not on strike. Their protests come right after pilots at American and Southwest voted to authorize strikes. Union officials at United say they might hold a strike vote too. But that doesn’t mean your summer trip will be ruined. Federal law makes it very hard for airline unions to conduct strikes, and gives Congress and the president power to block a strike.

=> ↺ Quartz ☛ Adidas has finally decided what to do with its Yeezy stock

• Unsold Yeezys have been hanging over Adidas ever since the German sportswear company decided to end its partnership with Ye, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West.

=> ↺ Digital Music News ☛ Adidas Won’t Destroy $1 Billion Worth of Unsold Yeezy Shoes After All — Here’s The Latest

• Adidas will sell through its $1.3 billion dollar stock of unsold Yeezy shoes after all. Here’s the latest. Adidas’ new CEO Bjørn Gulden says the company will sell through its stock of the shoes and donate the proceeds to charity.

=> ↺ The Wire ☛ Was Fake News About ‘Attacks’ on Migrant Labourers an Attempt to Malign Tamil Nadu?

• On March 1, several non-BJP leaders – including Congress president Mallikarjuna Kharge, National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah, Samajwadi Party’s Akhilesh Yadav and Rashtriya Janata Dal’s Tejaswi Yadav – descended in Tamil Nadu.

=> ↺ Atlantic Council ☛ Eight months into anti-regime protests, Iran’s women show creativity as they press on ‘full of anger’

• Three leading figures from the Iranian women’s protest movement spoke at an Atlantic Council Front Page event about how their struggle has attracted global attention and what’s next.

=> ↺ New York Times ☛ Iran Releases 2 French Citizens From Detention

• Benjamin Brière and Bernard Phelan had been accused of spying, which they denied. They had protested their captivity with hunger strikes, and their families had fought for their release.

=> ↺ France24 ☛ French citizens released from Iran prison return to France

• Iran on Friday released two French citizens, including one also holding Irish nationality, as Paris urged Tehran to free other foreigners jailed by the Islamic republic.

=> ↺ New York Times ☛ CUNY Law School Graduates Turn Their Backs to Mayor Adams

• As Mayor Eric Adams began speaking at the law school’s commencement service, many of the graduates, in their caps and gowns, turned away from him in a show of protest.

=> ↺ New York Times ☛ Clarence Thomas Can’t Undermine the Legitimacy of the Supreme Court Fast Enough

• Democrats are not out to weaken the Supreme Court. But they should be.

=> ↺ LRT ☛ Lithuanian border guards leave for counter-migration operation in the Mediterranean

• The Lithuanian State Border Guard Service’s (VSAT’s) Boomeranger 1100 high-speed boat on Friday is leaving for Joint Operation Themis 2023 in the Mediterranean Sea.

=> ↺ New York Times ☛ Striking Writers’ Union Denies Waiver, Imperiling Tony Awards Telecast

• The Writers Guild of America indicated it would not grant a waiver to allow a live telecast of the Tonys on June 11, threatening one of Broadway’s biggest marketing moments.

=> ↺ CS Monitor ☛ New ground: Churches transform land into affordable housing

• As affordable housing becomes harder to find, many churches with dwindling congregations find that their greatest community gift might be their real estate. Hundreds of faith groups in the United States are using their property to build much-needed housing.

=> ↺ CS Monitor ☛ Mother of all secrets: When the CIA’s top-ranked woman is your mom [Ed: And kills, tortures innocent people]

• It’s good to be enigmatic if you work for the CIA. But as her daughter, it took decades for me to understand.

=> ↺ CS Monitor ☛ Pakistan’s army vowed to avoid politics. Now it’s back in the middle.

• Mass protests over Imran Khan’s arrest have left a trail of destruction throughout Pakistan, and brought the integrity of the country’s most powerful institutions under fire.

=> ↺ The Straits Times ☛ Pakistan ex-PM Khan freed on bail after unlawful arrest

• Pakistani politicians have frequently been arrested and jailed since the country’s founding in 1947.

=> ↺ RFERL ☛ Pakistan Ex-PM Khan Granted Two-Week Bail After Freed From Arrest

• Former Prime Minister Imran Khan on May 12 was granted release on bail for two weeks by judges in Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad, a day after the Supreme Court ruled as unlawful his arrest that sparked a wave of deadly unrest across the south Asian nation.

=> ↺ France24 ☛ Former Pakistan PM Imran Khan granted bail after arrest cancelled

• A Pakistani court ordered former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s release on bail for two weeks, his lawyer said on Friday, following an arrest that sparked deadly unrest in the nuclear-armed nation.

=> ↺ Michael West Media ☛ Inquiry backs unamended laws on Indigenous voice

• A cross-party parliamentary committee has backed laws setting up a referendum to enshrine an Indigenous voice in the constitution. The inquiry report, released three days earlier than expected on Friday, said the need for constitutional recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples is “unquestionable”.

=> ↺ JURIST ☛ UK Government to reduce number of EU laws repealed in 2023

• The UK Business and Trade Secretary announced Wednesday that the UK will reduce the number of EU laws being revoked or replaced from 4,000 to 600 by the end of the year.

=> ↺ New York Times ☛ After Title 42 Ends, Thousands of Migrants in Border Towns Eye Next Steps

• Pandemic-era migration restrictions were lifted without a fresh spike in border crossings. Thousands of migrants now find themselves in a holding pattern.

=> ↺ RFERL ☛ Tens Of Thousands Of Protesters Decry Serbian Government’s Response To Mass Shootings

• Tens of thousands of people marched on May 12 in another protest in Belgrade following two mass shootings and a general increase of violence that have shaken the country.

=> ↺ JURIST ☛ HRW warns new Italy immigration law will have ‘devastating impacts’ on migrants’ rights

• Human Rights Watch (HRW) warned on Friday that Italy’s newly passed Cutro law will have “devastating impacts” on migrants’ rights, and threaten their ability to seek protection, access fair asylum and move freely throughout the country.

=> ↺ JURIST ☛ EU ratifies Istanbul Convention to prevent and combat gender-based violence

• The European Parliament voted in favor of EU accession to the Istanbul Convention, which aims to prevent and combat violence against women. The convention was originally signed six years ago, but the refusal of some member states prevented it from being ratified.

=> ↺ JURIST ☛ Human rights organizations condemn Biden administration response amid expiration of Title 42

• A delegation of human rights organizations traveled to the US’s southern border on Friday to “bear witness” to the end of Title 42, a Trump-era immigration policy. The organizations condemned the situation and described it as being “rooted in violence and abuse instead of compassion.”

=> ↺ New York Times ☛ After Title 42 Expires, U.S. Border Sees Crowds, but Not Chaos

• Despite the relative calm, the Biden administration faces court challenges that they say may undermine efforts to deal with record levels of border crossings.

=> ↺ New York Times ☛ New York City Plans to House Migrant Families in Public School Gymnasium

• The plan faced immediate criticism from a Brooklyn councilman, but a spokesman for the mayor said, “We are opening emergency shelters and respite centers daily, but we are out of space.”

=> ↺ New York Times ☛ The Most Disturbing Thing About Jordan Neely’s Killing

• It was all so calm and unhurried. Sometimes, somehow, the fear of violence shakes people more than violence itself.

=> ↺ New York Times ☛ Daniel Penny Arraigned on Manslaughter Charge in Jordan Neely Killing

• The Manhattan district attorney’s office charged Mr. Penny with second-degree manslaughter for choking Mr. Neely to death on the subway.

=> ↺ YLE ☛ Thai-Finnish couple suspected of pimping in six Finnish cities over a decade

• Two people aged around 60 are suspected of procurement operations via Thai massage parlours since 2014.

=> ↺ The Straits Times ☛ 7 Buddhist monks arrested for allegedly embezzling nearly $12m from Thai temple

• A Thai court said the actions of the ringleaders “gravely undermined Buddhism”.

=> ↺ New Yorker ☛ A Jewish Immigrant Novelist’s Radical Vision for Working Women

• The fiction of Anzia Yezierska captures the perennial tension between personal ambition and the obligations of care.

=> ↺ New Yorker ☛ W.G.A. Strike: Why Your Favorite Shows Could Go Dark

• Michael Schulman talks with Laura Jacqmin, a veteran TV writer and a Writers Guild strike captain. Plus, the comedian and essayist Samantha Irby in conversation with Doreen St. Félix.

=> ↺ Vice Media Group ☛ Amazon Delivery Drivers Unionized. Now They Have to Prove They Work For Amazon

• The Teamsters say that Amazon is in “complete control” of the conditions which caused drivers to organize. Amazon has declined to bargain.

Internet Policy/Net Neutrality

=> ↺ teleSUR ☛ New Zealand to Speed Up 5G Rollout to Towns, Rural Areas

• “By working together with our major mobile network operators, many more Kiwis will gain access to 5G services quicker…”

=> ↺ SANS ☛ The .zip gTLD: Risks and Opportunities, (Fri, May 12th)

• About ten years ago, ICANN started the “gTLD” program. “Generic TLDs” allows various brands to register their own trademark as a TLD. Instead of “google.com”, you now can have “.google”&#;x26;#;x21; Applying for a gTLD isn&#;x26;#;39;t cheap, and success isn&#;x26;#;39;t guaranteed. But since its inception, dozens of new gTLDs have been approved and started to be used [1].

Monopolies

=> ↺ The Straits Times ☛ Korean Air expects EU antitrust warning on Asiana bid by end-May

• The deal in which Korean Air would become the biggest shareholder in indebted Asiana was announced in late 2020.

Patents

=> ↺ PATLIB2023 conference [Ed: A patent maximalists' event, organised by a coup of criminal elements, hijacking the EPO to break the law and serve special interests]

• Further strengthening the PATLIB network, fostering new synergies in the innovation landscape.

Copyrights

=> ↺ Digital Music News ☛ TLC Re-Recording Classic Hits (TLC Version) for SongVest Fan Royalty Platform

• TLC is partnering with SongVest to re-record classic versions of its hits, giving fans an opportunity to purchase fractionalized royalties from these songs. TLC fans now have the opportunity to own a piece of their favorite songs and receive royalty payments from the group’s newly-recorded versions of their hits “No Scrubs,” “Diggin’ on You,”…

=> ↺ Digital Music News ☛ UK Government Formally Rejects CMA Proposal for Additional Secondary Ticketing Regulatory Action

• Back in August of 2021, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) called for “stronger laws to tackle illegal ticket resale” and published a comprehensive report on the secondary market. Now, the UK government has formally rejected the reform demands.

=> ↺ Digital Music News ☛ Seth Rogen Questions ‘Insane Salaries’ of Streaming Platform CEOs Despite Lack of Profits

• Seth Rogen is joining the chorus with Snoop Dogg asking why streaming platform profits don’t seem to end up in artists’ hands. The ongoing Writers Guild of America strike has prompted comments from Snoop Dogg, who suggested music artists might do the same to DSPs.

=> ↺ Digital Music News ☛ Lucian Grainge’s $150 Million+ Compensation Blowout Approved by Universal Music Shareholders

• Universal Music shareholders have approved Lucian Grainge’s $150 million+ compensation blowout despite recommendations that shareholders vote against UMG’s remuneration policy.

=> ↺ New York Times ☛ Rumored Taylor Swift Memoir Is Actually by K-Pop Stars BTS

• When rumors started swirling that the pop star was writing a book, Swifties were ready for it. But their hunt for Easter eggs led them to a different global phenomenon: BTS.

=> ↺ New York Times ☛ What I’m Reading: Summer-Snobs Edition

• Tales of status, those who have it and those who want it, are on my list.

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