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● 06.14.23

Gemini version available ♊︎

● Links 14/06/2023: Reddit Latest Social Control Network to Wane, Microsoft Targeted by FTC

Posted in News Roundup at 12:56 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz

GNU/Linux

=> ↺ Linux Links ☛ Linux Around The World: Serbia

• We cover user groups that are running in Serbia. This article forms part of our Linux Around The World series.

Audiocasts/Shows

=> ↺ Late Night Linux – Episode 233

• A great way to access documentation offline, moving Windows installations to new disks without breaking them, streaming VR games from a PC, replacing Pocket with a proper open source solution, living with Google’s flagship phone for a few months, and more.

=> ↺ LWN ☛ Videos from the 2022 Tracing Summit

• Videos from the 2022 Tracing Summit are now available on YouTube. They include talks about Visual eBPF, Perfetto, the state of Linux tracers, libpatch, hardware trace, and more.

Applications

=> ↺ ZDNet ☛ Looking to switch to Linux from Windows? The Feren OS Transfer Tool makes it easy

• Anyone looking to adopt Linux as their daily operating system should give Feren OS a try.

=> ↺ Linux Links ☛ Best Poker Tools and Software

• We’ll discuss the poker tools that will help you improve your hand while playing this favorite game of chance.

=> ↺ Linux Links ☛ cli-chess – play chess in your terminal

• cli-chess is a command-line chess program that lets you play online against human players and offline against the computer.

=> ↺ Linux Links ☛ ONLYOFFICE Docs v7.4 released: drawing tools, radar charts, combining documents, upgraded ChatGPT plugin and other improvements

• The developers of ONLYOFFICE Docs rolled out a new version of their collaborative office suite that comes with a lot of new features and improvements for text documents, spreadsheets, presentations and fillable forms. Let’s take a deep look at what’s new in this version of the ONLYOFFICE online and desktop editors.

• ONLYOFFICE Docs v7.4 offers new drawing tools allowing you to draw whatever you want in your documents, spreadsheets, presentations and fallible forms. Using the newly added Draw tab on the top toolbar, you can choose a pen or a highlighter as well as the desired colour and line thickness. If you don’t like what you get, you can always use the Eraser tool to scrub your drawings.

Instructionals/Technical

=> ↺ ZDNet ☛ How to install the latest version of the free LibreOffice office suite on Linux

• Soon, users of RHEL-based Linux distributions (such as Fedora, AlmaLinux, and Rocky Linux) will find an important piece of software missing from the official repositories…the LibreOffice office suite.

• There’s no need to panic, as this is not an end-of-the-world scenario (far from it). Not only is this not cataclysmic, but there will also always be the means to install LibreOffice on your favorite RHEL-based operating system. On top of that, there are other office suites you can install (such as WPS Office and Softmaker Office).

=> ↺ Digital Journal ☛ Optimize Ubuntu Email Server Configuration with Herrod Tech’s Guide [Ed: This is spammy, obviously sponsored]

• Herrod Technology, a leading provider of technology solutions, is pleased to announce the release of a comprehensive guide on setting up an email server on Ubuntu. Titled “How to Setup Email Server on Ubuntu: A Comprehensive Guide,” this blog post provides detailed instructions and insights for individuals and businesses seeking to configure a fully functional and secure email server on the Ubuntu operating system.

=> ↺ Make Use Of ☛ The Best Free Resources to Prepare for CompTIA Linux+ [Ed: This seems rather spammy, maybe even sponsored]

=> ↺ Discover Your CPU’s True Limits With Stress-Terminal UI for Linux – The Tech Edvocate

• As a Linux user, it can be frustrating to not know what your system’s true limits are. Sure, you can take a guess based on the specs of your processor, but what if you want to truly push your CPU to its maximum potential? This is where Stress-Terminal UI comes in.

• Stress-Terminal UI is a powerful tool for Linux users that allows you to stress-test your CPU and other system components. It is a simple command-line application that runs stress tests on different parts of your system, including your CPU, RAM, and disk I/O. This allows you to determine the true limits of your system and identify any performance bottlenecks that may be hindering its performance.

• One of the biggest advantages of Stress-Terminal UI is that it is incredibly easy to use. Once you have installed the application, simply launch it from the command line and select the stress test you wish to run. You can choose from tests that focus solely on your CPU, or you can opt for more comprehensive tests that include RAM and disk I/O stress tests.

=> ↺ Network World ☛ Using aliases on Linux | Network World

• Setting up aliases on Linux systems can save you a lot of time and trouble on the command line. This post shows how to set up and manage aliases and provides a number of examples on how and why to use them.

=> ↺ Cloudbooklet ☛ How to Add Users to Sudoers in Linux

• Learn how to add users to the sudoers list in Linux, granting them administrative privileges securely and maintaining a robust security framework.

=> ↺ Make Tech Easier ☛ How to Switch to Xorg from Wayland in Linux

• For a long time, most Linux distros have slowly been transitioning their users away from Xorg and into Wayland. In most cases, this is a good thing. Wayland is more secure, performs much better than X, and overcomes many of the hurdles of the older protocol. The bad news is that your applications may not function perfectly if they expect to be running in X11.

=> ↺ Share Your Work: How to Publish Docker Images to the Registry

• Docker is a popular containerization tool that enables developers to package their applications in a portable and lightweight manner. Docker images are pre-configured snapshots of an application, which include all the necessary dependencies and configurations.

=> ↺ Linux Capable ☛ How to Install Vue.js on Debian 12/11/10

• Vue.js, a progressive JavaScript framework, has emerged as a critical tool in the contemporary web development landscape. The brainchild of Evan You, an ex-Google engineer, Vue.js was born out of a vision to amalgamate the best features of Angular and React while mitigating their weaknesses. Why Vue.js?

=> ↺ ID Root ☛ How To Install Sysdig on Rocky Linux 9

• In this tutorial, we will show you how to install Sysdig on Rocky Linux 9. For those of you who didn’t know, Sysdig is an open-source, powerful system monitoring and troubleshooting tool that provides in-depth visibility into your system’s processes, files, network connections, and more.

=> ↺ Net2 ☛ How to install Git on Ubuntu 18.04

• Developers nowadays are using Git to help them control and manage their ever changing source code versions as well as to keep track of potential code changes. Git enables developers and programmers to create different branches, revert to previous code versions, make sophisticated code comparisons and many other features.

=> ↺ It’s FOSS ☛ Using head Command in Linux

• The head command is one of the several ways to display file contents or part of it. You can also do more with it. Here are some common examples to explore.

=> ↺ Geeks For Geeks ☛ How to Plot Timeseries using highcharter library in R

• Time series data is a sequence of data points that are measured at regular intervals over time.

=> ↺ Linux Capable ☛ How to Install LEMP Stack on Debian 12/11/10

• In the realm of web application development, selecting the appropriate software stack can be a critical factor for the successful deployment of your application. The LEMP stack, an acronym derived from the four open-source components it employs — Linux, ENGINX, MariaDB, and PHP, is a powerful, flexible, and scalable solution for managing web servers.

=> ↺ Linux Capable ☛ How to Install TeamViewer on Debian 12/11/10

• TeamViewer is a comprehensive and robust software tool designed to provide seamless remote access, collaboration, and support capabilities. With its origins dating back to 2005, TeamViewer has continually adapted and grown, offering a myriad of functionalities to meet the changing needs of the tech industry.

=> ↺ Linux Capable ☛ How to Install MATE Desktop on Fedora 38/37/36 Linux

• Fedora users, accustomed to the GNOME desktop environment, may find the MATE Desktop Environment a welcome shift for a number of reasons. MATE, originally an acronym for MATE Advanced Traditional Environment, offers a unique blend of tradition and modernity, all wrapped into an intuitive and user-friendly package. Why MATE Stands Out?

=> ↺ Join the Docker Hub Community: Setting up Your Account

• In today’s world, technology is advancing at an incredible rate. Businesses are always looking for ways to streamline their processes, make their infrastructure more efficient, and reduce costs. One of the most popular technologies available today is Docker Hub, a cloud-based registry service that allows developers to store and manage their container images.

=> ↺ Docker Image Registry: A Comprehensive Guide to Logging In and Out

• Docker is one of the most popular and widely used containerization platforms in the world. It allows developers to deploy their applications in a portable and efficient manner, making it an excellent choice for modern software development.

=> ↺ TecAdmin ☛ The ls Command in Linux with Practical Examples

• The ls command is a crucial tool in the repertoire of both novice and advanced Linux users. It’s a simple yet versatile command that provides a list of files and directories in the current directory by default.

=> ↺ Unveiling the Past: Analyzing Docker Image History

• Docker is a game-changing technology that has revolutionized the way software is developed and deployed. It provides an open-source platform for creating, shipping, and running applications inside containers. These containers are lightweight, portable, and self-contained environments that can run on any infrastructure without any modifications.

=> ↺ FOSSLinux ☛ Guide to Zipping and Unzipping .xz Files in Linux

• If you’re working with Linux, it’s almost certain that you’ll need to deal with compressed files at some point. One of the formats you might come across is the XZ format. The .xz format is known for its high compression ratio, which can be handy when you need to save space or make file transfers more manageable. This guide will walk you through the process of compressing (zipping) and decompressing (unzipping) .xz files using the command line in Linux.

=> ↺ 2 ways to install Element Desktop Client on Ubuntu 22.04 | 20.04

• Introduction: A step-by-step guide showing two ways to install the Element messaging client on Ubuntu 22.04 or 20.04 using the command terminal. Element is an open-source application that uses Matrix protocol for offering an end-to-end encrypted messaging and collaboration platform.

=> ↺ IT Pro Today ☛ How to Use AppImage in Linux

• This tutorial discusses what AppImage is and how you can use it to run a Linux application across all Linux distributions.

=> ↺ Linux Links ☛ Alternatives to popular CLI tools: xargs

• This article spotlights alternative tools to xargs, a command that builds and executes command lines from standard input.

Games

=> ↺ Medevel ☛ Azuriom: Open Source Gaming CMS

• Azuriom is a modern, reliable, fast and secure game CMS.

=> ↺ GamingOnLinux ☛ Moonstone Island set to release this Summer with a new trailer

• Moonstone Island from Studio Supersoft and Raw Fury looks sweet! It’s a creature-collecting life-sim set in an open world with 100+ islands to explore and now we have more details.

=> ↺ GamingOnLinux ☛ Portal Reloaded – The Cooperative Update is out now

• Ready for one more run through the testing chambers? The free and very popular mod Portal Reloaded just recently had The Cooperative Update release.

=> ↺ GamingOnLinux ☛ SMITE now works on Linux and Steam Deck in the latest update

• Titan Forge Games and Hi-Rez Studios have updated their popular MOBA game SMITE, and with it an improvement to allow it to now work on Linux with Easy Anti-Cheat.

=> ↺ GamingOnLinux ☛ Nova Roma is a new city-builder from the Kingdoms and Castles developer

• Kingdoms and Castles is a great city-builder but it seems Lion Shield want to do something a bit different, so they’ve revealed Nova Roma. It was announced at the PC Gaming Show.

=> ↺ GamingOnLinux ☛ After eating up lots of game studios Embracer Group set to close a bunch

• Ah yes, game industry consolidation is great isn’t it. What could possibly go wrong when one company acquires a ton of others and then screws up?

=> ↺ Mike Blumenkrantz: Gotta Go Fast

• No time for an intro because it’s time to go fast and when you’re going this fast you don’t have time to explain things or catch anyone up on what’s happening or edit out tpyos or even use punctuation let’s gooooooooooooooooooooo

=> ↺ David Revoy ☛ Pepper&Carrot Game Jam

• 3 days left before the Pepper&Carrot game jam starts!

• It’s hosted by Brett Chalupa here: → https://itch.io/jam/pepper-carrot-jam

• Good luck to the 17 participants who already joined, and because I cannot wait to see the results, I colored a sketch with Pepper and Carrot playing a ‘VS Fighter’ (Carrot is clearly winning).

=> ↺ Helsinki Times ☛ The double-edged sword of online gaming: Addiction, education, and the pursuit of profit

• The rapid development and widespread accessibility of technology have opened up a world of online gaming, with millions of people around the globe logging in to play every day. While these games can be a source of entertainment and camaraderie, they also come with potential risks. In this article, we will delve into the multifaceted world of online gaming, exploring its addictive nature, educational potential, and games for money. We’ll provide examples of each, helping you to better understand the complex landscape of online gaming.

Distributions and Operating Systems

New Releases

=> ↺ 9to5Linux ☛ Ultramarine Linux 38 Launches with System76’s Scheduler, Based on Fedora 38

• Based on Fedora Linux 38, but shipping with Linux kernel 6.3 by default, Ultramarine Linux 38 (codename Tortuga) now uses System76’s CPU scheduler for prioritizing processes for improved desktop responsiveness.

• The devs note the fact that System76’s scheduler is included in all four editions, but only the GNOME one will automatically detect the application that’s currently in use. In addition, Ultramarine Linux 38 offers a tweaked shutdown sequence where the services were limited for faster/shorter shutdown times.

=> ↺ Makulu Max Released !

• MakuluLinux Max, the worlds First AI- Voice integrated Operating system has been released, it is live. you can grab your copy from the Download Section.

=> ↺ Barry Kauler ☛ EasyOS Kirkstone-series version 5.4.1 released

• Released the day after 5.4! Just one change, printing fixed, see this forum discussion:

• https://forum.puppylinux.com/viewtopic.php?t=8913

• Plus some very small changes committed:

• https://github.com/bkauler/woofq/commits/38b9dfa2bb52a677166f3255e66f3ffaf703feec

• If running 5.4, just click the “update” icon, the update to 5.4.1 is only 929KB.

• If you are new to EasyOS, please read the 5.4 announcement first: [...]

Fedora Family / IBM

=> ↺ F38 election results for FESCo

=> ↺ LWN ☛ Fedora election results

• The Fedora project has posted the results of its elections for members of the Fedora Engineering Steering Committee (Stephen Gallagher, Neal Gompa, Major Hayden, and Tom Stellard), Fedora Council (Sumantro Mukherjee), and Mindshare Committee (David Duncan).

=> ↺ Fedora Infrastructure Status: Networking upgrades

• Various network switches and routers will be updated and rebooted. This will result in short times of no connectivity, possibly lasting 20minutes at a time during the outage window.

Debian Family

=> ↺ GNU ☛ Debian GNU/Hurd 2023 released!

Canonical/Ubuntu Family

=> ↺ ZDNet ☛ Ubuntu Studio is the perfect operating system for creators | ZDNET

• Do you create content? Audio? Video? Images? If that’s what you spend your time doing, there’s a Linux distribution specifically designed for you. That distribution is another official “flavor” of Ubuntu, called Ubuntu Studio, and with it, you’ll find nearly everything you need to work on your creative endeavors.

Open Hardware/Modding

=> ↺ Tom’s Hardware ☛ An Inside Look at How Raspberry Pis Are Made

• Jeff Geerling shares an inside look at how Raspberry Pi 4s are manufactured at the Sony Tech Center in Wales.

Mobile Systems/Mobile Applications

=> ↺ Notebook Check ☛ Unihertz Jelly Star: Smallest Android 13 smartphone arrives with performance – NotebookCheck.net News

=> ↺ The Sun ☛ Android users told to switch OFF emergency phone feature causing accidental 999 call chaos | The US Sun

=> ↺ Mirror UK ☛ Nothing will rival Samsung next month as powerful new Android phone confirmed – Mirror Online

=> ↺ 9to5Google ☛ Android Auto gets a garage door opener app

=> ↺ Top 8 Ways to Fix Android Vibrates Randomly for No Reason – Guiding Tech

=> ↺ Android 13 Beta Program Comes to a Close With Android 14 Next

=> ↺ 9to5Google ☛ Pixel 7 and 7a get 32 fixes with Android 13 QPR3 update

=> ↺ 9to5Google ☛ June Pixel Feature Drop with Android 13 QPR3 rolling out

=> ↺ Phone Arena ☛ Google Messages gets home screen redesign rolling out now to Android 14 Beta subscribers – PhoneArena

=> ↺ HowTo Geek ☛ 7 Android 14 Features I’m Excited About

Free, Libre, and Open Source Software

=> ↺ Heather J Meeker ☛ Open Atom Foundation, and My Book in Chinese [Ed: Shill for corporations, rewriting history]

=> ↺ Heather J Meeker ☛ Open Atom Foundation, and My Book in Chinese [Ed: Shill for corporations, rewriting history]

• I am excited to announce that my book Open Source for Business is now available for free download in Chinese. Many thanks to Open Atom Foundation, China’s first open source foundation, for preparing the translation and making it available.

SaaS/Back End/Databases

=> ↺ PostgreSQL ☛ pgBackRest 2.46 Released

• Crunchy Data is pleased to announce the release of pgBackRest 2.46, the latest version of the reliable, easy-to-use backup and restore solution that can seamlessly scale up to the largest databases and workloads.

• Over the last year pgBackRest has introduced many exciting new features including block incremental backup, file bundling, repository verification, backup annotations, and SFTP repository storage.

• IMPORTANT NOTE: pgBackRest 2.44 is the last version to support PostgreSQL 9.0/9.1/9.2.

• pgBackRest supports a robust set of features for managing your backup and recovery infrastructure, including: parallel backup/restore, full/differential/incremental backups, block incremental backup, multiple repositories, delta restore, parallel asynchronous archiving, per-file checksums, page checksums (when enabled) validated during backup, multiple compression types, encryption, partial/failed backup resume, backup from standby, tablespace and link support, S3/Azure/GCS/SFTP support, backup expiration, local/remote operation via SSH or TLS, flexible configuration, and more.

=> ↺ PostgreSQL ☛ credcheck v2.0.0 released

• Release v2.0.0 adds a major feature and the compatibility with PostgreSQL 16. Upgrade require a PostgreSQL restart to reload the credcheck library.

• Add “Authentication failure ban” new feature

• PostgreSQL doesn’t have any mechanism to limit the number of authentication failure attempt before the user being banned. With the credcheck extension, after an amount of authentication failure defined by configuration directive credcheck.max_auth_failure the user can be banned and never connect anymore even if it gives the right password later. This feature requires that the credcheck extension to be added to to shared_preload_libraries configuration option.

Programming/Development

=> ↺ Paul E. McKenney ☛ Paul E. Mc Kenney: Parallel Programming: June 2023 Update

• The v2023.06.11a release of Is Parallel Programming Hard, And, If So, What Can You Do About It? is now available! The double-column version is also available from arXiv.org.

• This release contains a new section on thermal throttling (along with a new cartoon), improvements to the memory-ordering chapter (including intuitive subsets of the Linux-kernel memory model), fixes to the deferred-processing chapter, additional clocksource-deviation material to the “What Time Is It?” section, and numerous fixes inspired by questions and comments from readers.  Discussions with Yariv Aridor were especially fruitful.  Akira Yokosawa contributed some quick quizzes and other upgrades of the technical discussions, along with a great many improvements to grammar, glossaries, epigraphs, and the build system.  Leonardo Bras also provided some much-appreciated build-system improvements, and also started up continuous integration for some of the code samples.

=> ↺ LWN ☛ McKenney: Parallel Programming: June 2023 Update

• Paul McKenney has announced a new version of his book Is Parallel Programming Hard, And, If So, What Can You Do About It?.

=> ↺ Qt ☛ Qt/.NET — Hosting .NET code in a Qt application (1/3) [Ed: Qt has been promoting a lot of Microsoft's proprietary junk lately. What's going on?]

=> ↺ Rlang ☛ R Consortium Funding for R User Groups! Highlighting R-Ladies São Paulo

• The R Consortium has begun the disbursement of grants to help R User Groups (RUGS) around the world organize, share information, and support each other.

=> ↺ Niko Matsakis: Higher-ranked projections (send bound problem, part 4)

• I recently posted a draft of an RFC about Return Type Notation to the async working group Zulip stream. In response, Josh Triplett reached out to me to raise some concerns. Talking to him gave rise to a 3rd idea for how to resolve the send bound problem. I still prefer RTN, but I think this idea is interesting and worth elaborating. I call it higher-ranked projections.

=> ↺ Rlang ☛ rOpenSci Champions Program Teams: Meet Cheryl Isabella Lim and Mauro Lepore

• We designed the rOpenSci Champions Program with a mentorship aspect. Mentoring plays a significant role in the growth and development of both mentors and mentees alike.

Perl / Raku

=> ↺ Rakulang ☛ 2023.23/4 At 48

• The TIOBE index for June 2023 puts the Raku Programming Language at #48, so inside the top 50 for the first time! With an actual mention by TIOBE’s CEO: [...]

Shell/Bash/Zsh/Ksh

=> ↺ It’s FOSS ☛ Bash Basics Series #1: Create and Run Your First Bash Shell Script

• Start learning bash scripting with this new series. Create and run your first bash shell script in the first chapter.

Leftovers

=> ↺ New York Times ☛ How MrBeast Became the Willy Wonka of YouTube

• Jimmy Donaldson, a.k.a. MrBeast, has become a viral sensation for his absurd acts of altruism. Why do so many people think he’s evil?

=> ↺ CS Monitor ☛ Forget perfect pitch, I had perfect timing – or so I thought

• Sometimes you discover you have a true superpower. And sometimes things are not exactly what they seem.

=> ↺ The Straits Times ☛ British daredevil arrested after climbing to 73rd floor of Seoul skyscraper

• He was said to be wearing just shorts, climbing shoes and carrying a small backpack.

=> ↺ The Atlantic ☛ How to Talk to People: What Makes a House a Home

• Two married couples who bought a home together have found that expanding their household led to a deeper sense of community.

Science

=> ↺ Science Alert ☛ Does This Animation Really Show What ‘Happiness Looks Like’?

• If only happiness could be this simple.

=> ↺ Vice Media Group ☛ Scientists Created a Shape-Shifting Robot Made of Triangles for Future Space Missions

• The polygonal Mori3 robot is similar in concept to the shape-shifting robot TARS from ‘Interstellar,’ and could make repairs in space.

Education

=> ↺ Latvia ☛ Around 10% of Latvian adults are learning

• Recent data from Eurostat shows that just under 10% of Latvia’s adult population is engaged in formal or informal training and education.

=> ↺ RFERL ☛ Romanian Prime Minister Transfer Moves Forward Following Settlement Of Teacher Strike

• Romanian Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca on June 12 submitted his resignation as part of a scheduled plan to swap premiers following the 2020 parliamentary elections that left the two leading parties with near-equal strength.

Hardware

=> ↺ Ruben Schade ☛ Connecting a CD-ROM to a Sound Blaster 32 IDE header in DOS

• Back in April I talked about connecting my Am386’s CD-ROM to the IDE header on an ESS AudioDrive ISA sound card, and using it in DOS. I wanted to see if I could repeat this with a Creative Sound Blaster 32 that also has an IDE controller. It worked!

=> ↺ CNX Software ☛ AOOSTAR AMD Ryzen 5 mini PC also works as a two-bay NAS and 2.5GbE router

• AOOSTAR mini PC is a 3-in-1 AMD Ryzen 5 5500U mini PC with two 3.5-inch SATA bays making it usable as a NAS, and two 2.5GbE networking interfaces to use the mini PC as a software 2.5GbE router that has recently shown up on Amazon for $399. The mini PC ships with a 512GB NVMe SSD preloaded with Windows 11 by default, as well as 16GB DDR4 memory.

=> ↺ The New Stack ☛ Challenger to x86 RISEs to Solve the Software Problem

• A new chip architecture called RISC-V is emerging as a hot-ticket item to unseat the dominant x86 processor in computer hardware, but it has a problem — it has poor software support.

• To solve that problem, some of the biggest names in tech have joined hands to establish RISC-V Software Ecosystem, also called RISE, which is a consortium to promote software development for the free-to-license RISC-V instruction set architecture.

• The goal is to create the underlying software tools and middleware that developers will need to write applications for devices or servers with RISC-V chips.

=> ↺ European Commission ☛ Stronger EU product safety rules enter into force today

• European Commission Press release Brussels, 12 Jun 2023 Today, the General Product Safety Regulation (GPSR), enters into force.

=> ↺ Tom’s Hardware ☛ U.S. to Let Samsung, SK Hynix, TSMC Expand Fabs in China: Report

• U.S. set to allow South Korean and Taiwanese companies to upgrade fab operations in China using American wafer fab tools.

Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

=> ↺ Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Japan’s handling of nuclear plant wastewater ‘selfish,’ says labour union, as Hong Kong mulls import bans

• Members of the pro-Beijing Federation of Trade Unions (FTU) have rallied against Japan’s plan to release wastewater from a nuclear power plant into the sea. They accused Tokyo of ignoring objections from the local agricultural sector and neighbouring countries.

=> ↺ Latvia ☛ Heated debate about potential smoking products ban: LTV’s De Facto

• Few subjects considered in the parliament gain so much attention from lobbying organizations as changes in smoking restrictions. MPs have received a pile of objections from various associations, particularly regarding the plan to ban flavors in electronic cigarettes, the De Facto broadcast of Latvian Television reported on June 11.

=> ↺ Science Alert ☛ Boosting This Amino Acid – Not Telomeres – Might Be The Secret to Longer Lifespan

=> ↺ Federal News Network ☛ Hundreds of tribal members, mostly Navajo, living on Phoenix streets amid fake sober home crackdown

• Navajo Nation Attorney General Ethel Branch says Navajo law enforcement teams that fanned out over metro Phoenix in recent weeks made contact with several hundred Native Americans from various tribes living on the streets amid a state crackdown on Medicaid fraud that recruited them to unlicensed sober living homes. Branch says Monday the teams have made contact with more than 270 Native Americans, the majority of them Navajo. Many tribal members accepted offers of temporary housing before moving to legitimate facilities, while others agreed to return to their reservations. State officials believe the homes defrauded Arizona out of hundreds of millions of its federal Medicaid dollars.

=> ↺ Science Alert ☛ Mediterranean Diet ‘De-Ages’ Patients’ Brains by Up to 9 Months in New Study

• Intriguing…

=> ↺ Latvia ☛ Liepāja hospital accused of placebo research without consent

• A patient at the Liepāja hospital has received a placebo medicine intended for participants in a clinical trial without the consent of the patient or their family, Latvian Television reported on June 12.

=> ↺ JURIST ☛ Poland health authorities declare pregnant woman’s death violated patient rights

• Polish health authorities stated Monday a woman who died in the fifth month of pregnancy had her patient rights violated. The patient died of sepsis in hospital after going into early labor.

=> ↺ New York Times ☛ Obamacare Mandate for Preventive Care Is Restored, for Now

• Health plans must pay for all types of preventive care, including a pill to prevent H.I.V., while an appeals court deliberates whether to strike down part of the Affordable Care Act.

=> ↺ Federal News Network ☛ Amid fight over Covenant school shooting records, medical examiner releases autopsy report

• An autopsy report says the shooter who killed three children and three adults at a Nashville Christian school died from gunshot wounds to the head, torso and other parts of the body. The autopsy released Monday said the manner of death of 28-year-old Audrey Hale was homicide. Hale opened fire at the school before being shot to death by officers. The release of the report comes as a growing collection of groups are embroiled in a complex legal battle over the release of Hale’s writings and other documents in the police investigation. On Monday, a Nashville judge declined to pause the court proceedings so that those seeking the records could wait on an appeal of a previous decision in the case.

=> ↺ Off Guardian ☛ From Net Zero to Glyphosate: Agritech’s Greenwashed Corporate Power Grab

• Today, in the mainstream narrative, there is much talk of a ‘food transition’. Big agribusiness and ‘philanthropic’ foundations position themselves as the saviours of humanity due to their much- promoted plans to ‘feed the world’ with ‘precision’ farming’, ‘data-driven’ agriculture and ‘sustainable’ production.

Proprietary

=> ↺ Vice Media Group ☛ Twitter’s T-Shirt Bots Are Undefeated and Verified by Elon Musk

• T-Shirt bots have been on Twitter for years, but now they’ve got blue check marks and prominent placement on your timeline.

=> ↺ MIT Technology Review ☛ An algorithm intended to reduce poverty in Jordan disqualifies people in need

• An algorithm funded by the World Bank to determine which families should get financial assistance in Jordan likely excludes people who should qualify, according to an investigation published this morning by Human Rights Watch.

=> ↺ OS News ☛ Google further guts the Android Open Source Project by deprecating the dialer and messaging apps – OSnews

=> ↺ The Register UK ☛ Office Open XML signatures are ‘practically worthless’ • The Register

=> ↺ Medevel ☛ 10+ Free and Open-source Self-hosted Questions and Answers Solutions Similar to Reddit and Stackoverflow

• Build your own self-hosted and private Reddit clone for your community, team, school, company, and customers with these 10 open-source alternatives

=> ↺ Ruben Schade ☛ Reddit, LLMs, APIs, TLAs

• If I were a YouTube essayist, I’d say this is a story about power, language, and Digg… ing one’s grave. Wait, damn it.

• Beleaguered link aggregator site Reddit recently followed in Twitter’s well-received footsteps in imposing steep costs to access their API, attributed to large-language models training against their corpus of material without their permission, and for free. Hey, you and I know how that feels! It’s coached less in terms of defending individual writers from plagiarism, and more with words like “value” (don’t forget who owns your material when you post to a commercial site), but I’ll take it.

• Given how generative AIs and LLMs are now dickishly disseminating dull derivative dystopian detritus at scale across the web, knock-on effects are hardly surprising. Dickishly. It also raises what people like me have been saying for months: AIs depend on training data made by people who aren’t attributed or compensated. Tech pundits don’t care, though their lack of social responsibility is hardly new. I’ve been running an experiment about this, which I hope to post soon.

=> ↺ New York Times ☛ Reddit Communities Go Dark to Protest New App Policy

• Volunteer moderators closed off access to numerous subreddits and denounced the platform’s pricing plan for developers of popular outside apps used to navigate the site.

=> ↺ Quartz ☛ Thousands of subreddits are going dark for at least two days

• Thousands of communities on the platform will become inaccessible today (June 12), and stay that way for at least two days.

Security

=> ↺ LWN ☛ Security updates for Tuesday [LWN.net]

• Security updates have been issued by Debian (vim), Fedora (kernel), Oracle (emacs, firefox, python3, and qemu), SUSE (firefox, java-1_8_0-ibm, and libwebp), and Ubuntu (firefox, glusterfs, and sniproxy).

=> ↺ Texas Tightens State’s Data Breach Notification Law

• On May 27, 2023, Texas’ Governor signed Senate Bill 768 amending Texas’ data breach notification law. The law in question, Section 521.053 of the Texas Business and Commerce Code, sets out the specific requirements any person conducting business in the state who owns or licenses sensitive personal information in a computerized format must follow in the event of any breach of system security.

=> ↺ Data breach prompts University of Pittsburgh Medical Center billing contractor to contact 25,000 patients

• Some 25,000 University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) patients are being contacted by a Tennessee billing contractor following a data breach caused by a software bug that may have exposed names, addresses, social security numbers and other personal information.

• Kingsport-based Intellihartx LLC, which provides UPMC with billing and collection services, is contacting UPMC patients by mail, offering complimentary credit monitoring and identity restoration services to anyone whose records have been used illegally.

=> ↺ Data Breaches ☛ CloudSEK report says hackers don’t have access to CoWin’s backend database

• A day after a Telegram bot provided access to the personal information of individuals who had reportedly registered for vaccination through the government’s CoWIN portal, an independent analysis by CloudSEK has shown that the threat actors do not have access to the entire portal or the backend database.

• CloudSEK is a Singapore-based contextual AI company that claims it can forewarn cyber threats.

• “Based on the matching fields from the Telegram data and previously reported incidents affecting health workers of a region, we assume the information was scraped through these compromised credentials,” CloudSEK said in a report.

=> ↺ Data Breaches ☛ Maimondes Medical Center notifies 33,000 patients of hacking incident

• Investigation revealed that the hacker had access to the server from March 18, 2023 to April 4, 2023. Information that might have been accessed included names and addresses and limited clinical information, including diagnosis and treatment information. “In a small numbers of instances, social security number could also have been involved,” MMC wrote in a statement.

=> ↺ School community OSG Hengelo closes deal with hackers after ransomware attack

• OSG Hengelo says that at the moment it is still unclear exactly what data the hackers have obtained. “It is still under investigation. As soon as there is more clarity about this, we will tell you,” the board says in a response to students and parents. Employees and students can now use WiFi again. In addition, almost all printers work again.

=> ↺ Data Breaches ☛ Commonwealth Health Physician Network-Cardiology notified 181,764 patients of network breach

• According to the notice by the Commonwealth Health Physician Network, the breach occurred on February 2 and continued until April 14. It was first discovered by GVC on April 13, but as some great reporting by Borys Krawczeniuk of The Times-Tribune made clear, GVC only discovered the breach then when they were alerted by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

=> ↺ Data Breaches ☛ Rhysida claims to have attacked Paris High School in Illinois

• There is nothing on the district’s website to indicate any problems or breach. The only possible indicator currently found was on the district’s Facebook page in the form of a May 22 notice that their phone systems were down. There do not seem to be any follow-up posts to that although there were other posts about graduation and other normal activities.

=> ↺ CNN ☛ Cyberattack is a factor in Illinois hospital’s closure

• A hospital in Illinois will close on Friday due in part to a cyberattack – a rare case of a health care provider publicly linking a hack incident to its closure.

• The 2021 cyberattack on St. Margaret’s Health, a hospital in Spring Valley, Illinois, hobbled computer systems for months and prevented it from filing insurance claims, Linda Burt, a hospital vice president, told CNN on Monday.

• “It took months after we went back online to catch up with billing,” Burt said in an email. Other factors in the hospital’s closure were staffing costs brought on by the coronavirus pandemic and supply chain and inflation issues, she said.

Defence/Aggression

=> ↺ Axios ☛ Israel to announce plans for thousands of new settlement units in occupied West Bank

• The Israeli government told the Biden administration it intends to announce later this month the building and planning of thousands of new housing units in the settlements in the occupied West Bank, three Israeli and U.S. officials told Axios.

=> ↺ Defence Web ☛ SA Presidency acknowledges receipt of call for farm murder commission

• The latest spate of farm killings has seen renewed calls for action including a commission of inquiry and an appeal to the national agricultural community to “intensify” security and readiness. Since the start of June there have been at least eight farm related murders reported in Limpopo and Western Cape.

=> ↺ New York Times ☛ Mother of 6-Year-Old Who Shot Teacher in Virginia Pleads Guilty to Gun Charges

• The mother pleaded guilty to breaking federal law by using marijuana while owning a firearm and making false statements about drug use when she bought the gun.

=> ↺ New York Times ☛ NATO Nations Open Giant Air Force Drills in Germany

• More than 250 aircraft from 24 NATO countries and Japan will participate in a two-week military exercise.

=> ↺ Atlantic Council ☛ What’s really behind plans for a NATO office in Japan

• What’s really behind Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s recent announcement that his government is exploring opening a NATO-liaison office in Tokyo?

=> ↺ The Straits Times ☛ Japan to consider delaying defence spending tax increase to 2025 or beyond: Source

• Opposition among lawmakers effectively delayed a decision on when to implement the unpopular move.

=> ↺ Atlantic Council ☛ Should NATO extend Stoltenberg’s term as leader?

• As NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg meets with US President Joe Biden at the White House, the question of the “who” and the “when” of changing NATO’s top leader is on the agenda.

=> ↺ France24 ☛ Sweden to extradite self-proclaimed PKK supporter to Turkey amid NATO bid

• The Swedish government decided Monday to extradite a Turkish citizen resident in Sweden who had been convicted in 2013 of drug crime in Turkey.

=> ↺ The cost of exiting the crisis for Turkey

• The increase in the exchange rate will raise the costs for industries heavily dependent on imported raw materials and intermediate goods. To balance this, reducing labor costs will be presented as a necessity.

=> ↺ YLE ☛ Finland joins “largest-ever” Nato military exercise

• Air Defender 23 will involve up to 250 aircraft and about 10,000 military personnel from 25 different countries.

=> ↺ IT Wire ☛ Staffing issues delay US Virginia-class subs program by two more years

• “Due to delays, program officials are developing a new, more realistic schedule for Block V. They said that they expect to complete this process in early 2023,” the audit, the 21st annual review of the Department of Defence’s weapon system acquisition, said.

• “Program officials stated that the shipbuilders do not have sufficient workforce to complete VCS while also constructing the Columbia-class submarines and overhauling several Los Angeles-class submarines. They noted VCS construction is about 25% below staffing needs as of September 2022.”  

=> ↺ New Yorker ☛ Biden’s Dilemma at the Border

• America’s broken immigration system has spawned a national fight, but Congress lacks the political will to fix it.

=> ↺ RFERL ☛ Iran’s Raisi Visits U.S.-Sanctioned Trio Venezuela, Cuba, Nicaragua

• Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi arrived in Venezuela on June 12 for the start of a visit to “friendly countries” that also include Cuba and Nicaragua, all under sanctions from a common adversary, the United States.

=> ↺ RFERL ☛ Iran Puts Eight Teachers On Trial Amid Pressure On Educators Over Protests

• Eight Iranian teachers have been put on trial at the Islamic Revolutionary Court in the southern city of Shiraz for participating in union protests, part of a plan, the Iranian Teachers’ Union’s Coordination Council says, aimed at pressuring on educators unhappy with working conditions.

=> ↺ JURIST ☛ Guatemala court orders release of soldiers convicted of crimes against humanity

• Guatemala’s First High-Risk Appeals Chamber mandated the release of three military officers who were previously convicted of crimes against humanity Friday, directly contravening a March ruling from the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR).

=> ↺ YLE ☛ Vantaa police search for teen group suspected of stabbing bus driver, attacking bystanders

• Police believe a group of teenagers attacked a bus driver and two more people in Vantaa’s Länsimäki area on Sunday morning.

=> ↺ Federal News Network ☛ Police: Maryland fatal shooting of 3 happened after parking dispute

• Police say a man has been charged in a shooting that killed three men — including a father and son — and wounded three others in a neighborhood dispute over parking during a party. Charles Robert Smith, 43, of Annapolis, was charged Monday with three counts of second-degree murder, three counts of attempted murder, assault and other offenses in the shooting that happened Sunday evening. Annapolis Police Chief Edward Jackson told reporters at a media briefing that Smith surrendered to authorities Sunday night without incident. He was ordered held without bond Monday.

=> ↺ YLE ☛ Vandalism costs e-scooter rental firms thousands of euros a day

• Companies say vandalism is mainly carried out by underage kids, but older people also have been known to angrily or drunkenly knock over and break the devices.

=> ↺ The Straits Times ☛ Taiwan civil defence handbook includes tips on identifying Chinese soldiers

• The Taiwanese soldiers are shown smiling, whereas the Chinese ones have downturned mouths and a severe expression.

=> ↺ The Straits Times ☛ China says US eagerness to engage is an ‘illusion’

• It comes days before an expected visit by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

=> ↺ Hong Kong Free Press ☛ New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins announces China trade visit

• New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins announced on Monday a visit to China later this month aimed at boosting trade ties, despite deepening concerns about Beijing’s actions in the Pacific. “Today I can announce that I’ll be leading a major trade delegation to China at the end of this month,” Hipkins said.

=> ↺ Federal News Network ☛ California’s Newsom pushes constitutional amendment to tighten gun access amid 2024 campaign

• California Gov. Gavin Newsom is proposing an amendment to the United States Constitution that would enshrine into law regulations on guns, including implementing universal background checks and raising the minimum age to buy a firearm to 21. Newsom’s proposed 28th Amendment would also institute a “reasonable” waiting period for all gun purchases and ban assault rifles throughout the country. Amending the Constitution requires support from two-thirds of the members of both chambers of Congress. A proposed amendment then must be ratified by three-fourths of state Legislatures or ratifying conventions.

=> ↺ New York Times ☛ Militia in Congo Kills Dozens at Camp for Internally Displaced

• The attack was attributed to a group that the United Nations says has killed hundreds of civilians in the region and forced thousands to flee.

=> ↺ JURIST ☛ Militia attacks DRC internally displaced persons camp, killing dozens

• The Democratic Republic of the Congo’s (DRC) military announced Monday that around 40 residents of an internally displaced persons (IDP) camp in the country’s northeastern Ituri region were killed in an attack by local militia groups.

=> ↺ New York Times ☛ ‘The State Killed My Brother’: Senegal in Uproar After Deadly Protests

• After several protesters were killed by live ammunition this month in Senegal, many in the usually stable West African nation wonder what comes next.

=> ↺ France24 ☛ Who are the armed men in civilian clothes seen with police in Senegal protests?

• During a press conference on June 4, Senegalese police showed the press a series of video clips that they claimed documented the presence of armed protesters at recent demonstrations. However, the full videos, which have been widely circulating on social media, show the same armed individuals alongside the police. So who are these armed men? And whose side are they on?

=> ↺ Mexico News Daily ☛ 16 soldiers arrested in Nuevo Laredo extrajudicial killings case

• The army soldiers, in preventative custody, face a military trial and could eventually also answer to murder charges in a civilian court.

=> ↺ New York Times ☛ A Saudi-China Business Conference Underscores Strengthening Ties

• The kingdom hosted a lavish Arab-China business conference days after a visit from the American secretary of state, inviting companies blacklisted by the United States.

=> ↺ New York Times ☛ 22 U.S. Troops Are Hurt in Helicopter ‘Mishap’ in Syria

• The military provided few details about the accident, saying the troops had sustained “injuries of various degrees.”

=> ↺ Atlantic Council ☛ I work in Syrian civil society. There were gaps in our performance after the February 6 earthquake.

• It is clear that humanitarian response planning in Syria requires a full review process that reconsiders existing approaches and involves local partners while listening to their experiences.

=> ↺ France24 ☛ Netherlands, Canada take Syria to International Court of Justice over torture claims

• Canada and the Netherlands have taken Damascus to the International Court of Justice over allegations of torture, the tribunal said Monday, in the first case at the UN’s top court over Syria’s brutal civil war.

=> ↺ CS Monitor ☛ Ending a war through a wide embrace

• A ceasefire deal in Colombia with a guerrilla group welcomes civilians to track the ceasefire, opening a way for them to also participate in a final peace agreement.

=> ↺ CS Monitor ☛ Citizenship fast track: US military entices immigrants to sign up

• To counter recruiting shortfalls, the United States military is enlisting immigrants by offering them a fast track to American citizenship. An important part of the effort is using recruiters with similar backgrounds to those of potential recruits.

=> ↺ The Strategist ☛ AUKUS needs trilateral technology safeguards, not just capabilities

• We’re at an important inflection point on the AUKUS timeline.

War in Ukraine

=> ↺ LRT ☛ Belarusian officers tried arming migrants, says Latvian official

• Belarusian authorities have offered firearms to migrants attempting to cross the border irregularly, according to the Latvian border guards.

Environment

=> ↺ YLE ☛ Finland set for heatwave conditions by weekend

• Temperatures this week are expected to be about 10 degrees higher than normal for this time of year.

=> ↺ Latvia ☛ Anyone for an ice cream?

• What would summer be without ice cream? Not just in sun-kissed states does everyone love the sweet, creamy treat but also people in the Baltics are avid consumers of frozen desserts. Here are some facts and figures about thus seasonal treat that you might find interesting.

=> ↺ RFERL ☛ Pakistani Authorities Order Evacuations Along Arabian Sea Coast As Cyclone Approaches

• Authorities in Pakistan on June 12 began evacuating tens of thousands of people who are at “high risk” of an approaching cyclone that is expected to bring high winds along the coastline of the Arabian Sea regions of Pakistan and India.

=> ↺ The Straits Times ☛ Residents in for months-long displacement as Philippine volcano spews lava, gases

• Incandescent lava was seen flowing slowly from the mouth of the 2,462m Mayon volcano.

=> ↺ Quartz ☛ Most companies’ net-zero emission plans are largely meaningless

• The number of fossil fuel companies pledging to reach net zero has risen dramatically in the past year. Out of 112 named in a report released on June 12 by the nonprofit Net Zero Tracker, 75 have signed the Pledge to Net Zero—24 more than in 2022.

=> ↺ Federal News Network ☛ Relatives fight for custody of kids who survived plane crash and weeks in Amazon jungle

• A custody battle has broken out among relatives of four Indigenous children who survived a plane crash and 40 harrowing days alone in the Amazon rainforest. Their maternal grandparents are vying with the father of the two youngest to take care of the children, whose mother died in the May 1 crash. They have accused him of domestic abuse. The siblings range in age from 1 to 13. They are still in a hospital and are expected to stay there for several more days. Social workers are using that time to interview relatives to determine who should have custody. The head of the Colombian Institute of Family Welfare says a caseworker has been assigned at the grandparents’ request.

=> ↺ CS Monitor ☛ Do children have a right to a healthy climate? Montana case is a test.

• A lawsuit in Montana marks the first time that young people in the U.S. have gotten a chance in court to demand the right to a stable climate – part of a larger global effort by children to demand government action.

=> ↺ New York Times ☛ Young Environmentalists Bring Climate Case to Trial in Montana

• Sixteen young people argue that the state is robbing their future by embracing policies that contribute to climate change.

=> ↺ JURIST ☛ Youth plaintiffs’ constitutional climate change case against Montana goes to trial

• Trial began Monday in a lawsuit brought by 16 youth plaintiffs alleging that the state of Montana has failed to protect them and future generations from the harmful effects of climate change.

=> ↺ France24 ☛ Landmark youth climate trial begins in US state of Montana

• The first ever constitutional climate trial in the United States opened Monday in Montana, brought by young activists suing the north-central state for violating their right to a “clean and healthful environment.”

=> ↺ Atlantic Council ☛ Leader perspective: Forging a green special relationship between the United States and United Kingdom

• The United Kingdom had long been a climate leader, but other countries have caught up. By working with its close ally the United States, the United Kingdom can reassert its climate leadership through a green special relationship that can galvanize net-zero objectives domestically and abroad.

=> ↺ The Atlantic ☛ A Clear Indication That Climate Change Is Burning Up California

• A new study maps the relationship between human-caused warming and California’s summer fires over the past five decades.

Energy/Transportation

=> ↺ France24 ☛ ‘Critical’ Philadelphia highway collapses following oil tanker blaze

• An overpass on one of America’s busiest highways collapsed early Sunday after a tanker crossing underneath burst into flames, Pennsylvania’s governor said, predicting it will take months to fully restore the “critical artery.”

=> ↺ H2 View ☛ EnBW, VNG, JERA reveal plans for ammonia cracker study in Rostock, Germany

• Energie Baden-Württemberg (EnBW), VNG, and JERA today (June 12) revealed plans to conduct a study into establishing an ammonia cracker at Rostock’s port in Germany to facilitate hydrogen imports.

=> ↺ The Straits Times ☛ Driver appears in court after deadly Australia bus crash, granted bail

• The crash left 10 dead, and fourteen are still hospitalised, including one in intensive care.

=> ↺ Federal News Network ☛ Australian bus driver released on bail after being charged over 10 passengers’ deaths

• Police in Australia allege a bus driver was driving too fast when his 57-seat vehicle rolled on its side and hit a guard rail in heavy fog, killing 10 wedding guests and injuring 25 others. Brett Andrew Button was driving 35 passengers on a 20-minute journey from a wedding reception at the Wandin Estate Winery to the town of Singleton late Sunday when the Volvo bus rolled at a roundabout. Button had been in police custody but was released on bail when he appeared in a Cessnock court Tuesday charged with 10 counts of dangerous driving in relation to each death and one count of negligent driving. Police alleged the “speed was too quick for him to negotiate that roundabout.”

=> ↺ The Straits Times ☛ China’s southern cities call for power saving as grid stress increases

• Southern China has been hit by a combination of hot temperatures and heavy rainfalls in recent weeks.

=> ↺ Quartz ☛ Montana’s fossil fuel-friendly policies are facing young people’s scrutiny in the first US trial of its kind

• Since 1972, Montana’s constitution has guaranteed “a clean and healthful environment.” In 2020, a group of young people sued the state for failing to uphold that right. The trial in this fight, a first in the US, begins today (June 12).

=> ↺ RFA ☛ Junta ban on private oil wells could affect 300,000 owners and workers

• Observers say the closures are part of a bid to cut off tax revenue to opposition forces.

Wildlife/Nature

=> ↺ Axios ☛ Canadian officials warn historic wildfires could “last all summer”

• Some 435 wildfires were burning across Canada overnight as smoke from the blazes lingered in New York City and other parts of the U.S.

=> ↺ YLE ☛ Birdlife Finland: Gulls, crows ‘fiercely’ protect young in breeding season

• Newborn chicks are unable to fly until around the beginning of July, which means the vulnerable birds may be on the ground when people approach.

=> ↺ Hong Kong Free Press ☛ In Pictures: Inside a Hong Kong shelter for animals without a home

• Hong Kong stray animal shelter House of Joy and Mercy does not just provide refuge for four-legged creatures. “I would call this place my home because I live here,” Ivy Tse, the centre’s founder, told HKFP. The shelter is located in a remote corner of Yuen Long.

=> ↺ YLE ☛ Swedish People’s Party votes against fur farming ban

• Party leader Anna-Maja Henriksson voted against the ban, citing the importance of fur farms to local economies.

=> ↺ Science Alert ☛ Bird Brains Can Sense Magnetic Fields With The Flick of a Switch

• Migration on/off.

=> ↺ Science Alert ☛ Mind-Controlling Fungus Forces Zombie Flies Into A Death Climb

• Not exactly a stairway to heaven.

Overpopulation

=> ↺ The Straits Times ☛ Japan’s PM Kishida to unveil new child care plan amid election rumours

• He is seeking to double child-care spending, as the birth rate drops to a record low of 1.26 in 2022 from 1.57 in 1990.

=> ↺ Science Alert ☛ What Would Happen to The World if People Vanished?

• Earth wouldn’t miss us.

=> ↺ The Straits Times ☛ As climate change hits, China weighs new water megaprojects

• Officials released plans to build a network of canals, reservoirs and storage facilities to boost irrigation.

Finance

=> ↺ Quartz ☛ New York City’s food delivery workers will be the first in the country to get a minimum wage

• Food delivery workers in the Big Apple will be the first in the country to get a minimum pay rate.

=> ↺ Neritam ☛ History’s Lessons On Capitalism’s Failures

=> ↺ LRT ☛ Persistently high inflation risk to Lithuanian economy, says IMF

• The Lithuanian economy is expected to shrink by 1.4 percent this year, according to Borja Gracia, the IMF mission chief for Lithuania. The persistently high inflation remains a threat to the economy, he said.

=> ↺ Turkey’s latest official figures report unemployment rate of 10.2%

• The overall unemployment rate increased by 0.1%, while the youth unemployment rate dropped by 1.2% to reach 19.1%, according to a recent TurkStat study.

=> ↺ Turkey raises Bosphorus crossing tariffs to boost foreign currency inflow

• Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu announced that starting from July 1, the fee for a 10,000-ton ship will increase to 17,760 dollars, up from 16,393 dollars.

=> ↺ The Straits Times ☛ More Filipino millennials, Gen Zs get side jobs: Survey

• More than half of Filipino millennials and Gen Zs worry they won’t be able to cover their expenses.

=> ↺ The Straits Times ☛ Hong Kong to unveil plan to recruit foreign labour amid shortage as business surges

• The city wants to bring in at least 18,000 construction, transport and logistics workers, a local newspaper reported.

=> ↺ The Straits Times ☛ ‘Blind boxes’ of discounted unsold food becoming popular in China

• This trend has gained popularity among young people, who eagerly grab these deals at certain moments.

=> ↺ Quartz ☛ Even in countries where women are better educated, men earn more

• There isn’t a single country in the world where women earn more than men, or even as much as them, according to new data on gender equity released by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).

=> ↺ Minimum wage negotiations to begin amidst lira depreciation

• The Minimum Wage Determination Committee’s decisions will significantly impact minimum wage and related compensations like unemployment benefits, disability allowances, and internship allowances.

=> ↺ New York Times ☛ WeWork Faces More Turmoil After Its CEO Departs

• The company’s top boss, a real estate industry veteran, abruptly left in May after growing frustrated with SoftBank, its largest shareholder and lender.

=> ↺ Quartz ☛ How many UBI trials do we need to prove giving away money works?

• For the next two years, 30 people in the United Kingdom will receive £1,600 ($1,984) a month from the think tank Autonomy to help researchers understand the effects of universal basic income (UBI) policies. Will the program teach us anything other UBI pilots haven’t?

=> ↺ WhichUK ☛ Government extends state pension top-up deadline again – should you boost your contributions?

• Workers who miss the deadline could lose out on thousands in retirement

=> ↺ WhichUK ☛ Pensions dashboard: 5 things you need to know

• Once launched, millions of workers will be able to view all of their pension pots in one place

=> ↺ WhichUK ☛ Another major lender pulls mortgage deals: what you need to know

• Santander follows HSBC and Nationwide in temporarily removing mortgage products from sale

AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

=> ↺ Off Guardian ☛ WATCH: Exploding the Malthusian, Anti-Human One Health Myth

• Dr Meryl Nass is joined by James Corbett to continue on from their previous discussion of the history of the World Health Organization, and the One Health Agenda, this time accompanied by Dr David Bell. Where did the global biosecurity agenda come from?

=> ↺ Reason ☛ Trump’s Federal Indictment Presents New Evidence of Deliberate Deceit and Obstruction

• The former president’s retention of classified documents looks willful and arguably endangered national security.

=> ↺ New York Times ☛ Where Presidential Hopes Go to Die

• The former president serves up a classic combination of shocking and stupid.

=> ↺ Reason ☛ Trump’s Own Attorney General Says Indictment Is ‘Very, Very Damning’

• Plus: Mark Zuckerberg reacts to the Twitter Files, CNN’s lockdown hypocrisy, and more…

=> ↺ Federal News Network ☛ Jill Biden says ‘it’s a little shocking’ many Republicans support Trump after indictment

• Jill Biden warned Democratic donors Monday that the 2024 election presents a choice between what she described as the “strong, steady leadership” of President Joe Biden or “chaos and corruption, hatred and division” of “MAGA Republicans.” The first lady was making her first solo outing of the 2024 campaign and commented on the federal indictment of former President Donald Trump, a subject her husband has tried to avoid speaking about. She expressed surprise that Trump, who is set to appear in a Florida court on Tuesday, had not lost support within his party after the indictment.

=> ↺ Reason ☛ Did Trump Break a Law That Shouldn’t Exist?

• Plus: A rundown of recent nonsensical proposals for constitutional amendments

=> ↺ The Atlantic ☛ The Right Response to Threats of Political Violence

• Trump’s sycophants in the GOP are stepping up their efforts to spread fear in American politics, and they deserve the public’s scorn.

=> ↺ New Yorker ☛ Will the Judge in Trump’s Case Recuse Herself—or Be Forced To?

• Federal law requires a judge to step away from a case in which her impartiality “might reasonably be questioned.”

=> ↺ Marcy Wheeler ☛ Scooter Libby, Whom Trump Pardoned, Serves as Precedent for the CIPA Challenge His Prosecution Presents

• The CIPA processes of Josh Schulte — who was the topic of Donald Trump’s first classified compromise — and Scooter Libby — whom Trump pardoned — will be key precedents to this CIPA process.

=> ↺ CS Monitor ☛ As Trump legal woes worsen, 2024 rivals toe a delicate line

• Former President Donald Trump’s claim that the justice system has been “weaponized” is making it hard for rivals to capitalize on his indictment.

=> ↺ CS Monitor ☛ Trump’s response to felony charges: Rally allies and stoke protests

• With numerous felony charges on the docket for Donald Trump’s federal court appearance, the former president and his allies are trying to undermine the case. They have compared it to Hillary Clinton’s dropped email investigation and called for protests.

=> ↺ New York Times ☛ Trump Has Options for Fighting Charges, but They Might Face Challenges

• The former president has already tested a variety of arguments to challenge his indictment in the classified documents case. They could be hard to sustain in court.

=> ↺ New York Times ☛ In South Florida, Voters Ponder Trump Case

• The complicated feelings among some residents about former President Donald J. Trump and the case against him reflect the complicated politics of the state.

=> ↺ New York Times ☛ Trump’s Candidacy: Evaluated by 11 Opinion Writers

• Times columnists and contributors evaluate the former president’s chances in the G.O.P. primary contest.

=> ↺ European Commission ☛ Statement by President von der Leyen at the joint press conference with Brazilian President Lula da Silva

• European Commission Statement Brasilia, 13 Jun 2023 President Lula,

• Thank you very much for the warm welcome, I am very glad to be here in Brasília.

=> ↺ European Commission ☛ Statement by the European Commission and the High Representative on the occasion of World Day against Child Labour

• European Commission Statement Brussels, 12 Jun 2023 “The European Union has a longstanding commitment to eradicate child labour and safeguard the rights of the children.

=> ↺ JURIST ☛ Canada foreign interference rapporteur resigns amid accusations of partiality

• Canada’s foreign interference special rapporteur David Johnston resigned on Thursday amid accusations of partiality, citing a “highly partisan atmosphere” that emerged around his work. Johnston, a former governor-general of Canada, was appointed as the country’s first special rapporteur on foreign interference in 2020.

=> ↺ Press Gazette ☛ News diary 12 – 18 June: Davie before Lords amid BBC strikes, Trump arraigned

• A look ahead at the key events leading the news agenda next week, from the team at Foresight News.

=> ↺ Marcy Wheeler ☛ 31 Flavors of Stolen Classified Documents

• One possible explanation for why the Intelligence Community was willing to charge Trump with hoarding 31 highly sensitive documents is that they’ve operated since September on the assumption that they’ve all been compromised.

=> ↺ Axios ☛ What to know ahead of Trump’s arraignment in Miami

• Former President Trump arrived in Miami on Monday ahead of his Tuesday court appearance for criminal charges related to his possession of classified documents.

• Why it matters: Trump’s indictment was unsealed on Friday, outlining 37 felony counts against the former president. He has been outspoken against the charges, the Department of Justice and the special counsel at the forefront of the investigation.

=> ↺ France24 ☛ Trump faces historic legal challenge as documents case opens in court

• Donald Trump is due in court Tuesday to face dozens of felony counts of mishandling US government secrets, in the most serious yet of a firestorm of criminal probes threatening to derail his bid to win back the White House.

=> ↺ The Strategist ☛ Seoul’s new national security strategy flips the script, Korean style

• South Korea today lives under an unprecedented tempo of North Korean missile tests and nuclear threats.

=> ↺ New York Times ☛ Scotland’s Independence Movement Is Down, but Not Out, Analysts Say

• Support for Scottish independence has dipped, but backing for Scotland remaining part of the United Kingdom is fragile, too. Nicola Sturgeon’s arrest leaves the fate of the movement in flux.

=> ↺ New Yorker ☛ Nicola Sturgeon’s Calamitous Arrest

• Just months ago, the First Minister of Scotland was a hero to progressives and independence seekers. Then she resigned—merely the start of her downfall.

=> ↺ Latvia ☛ Half of politically repressed status claims rejected in recent years

• Over the last five years, a total of 70 persons have requested the politically repressed status. Of those, half have been rejected. Is the problem in the system or in the people? Latvian Radio sought answers June 13.

=> ↺ New York Times ☛ Netanyahu Trial Gets a Hollywood Mention From a Political Rival

• Yair Lapid, a former colleague and now nemesis of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, testified that he had been asked to help a wealthy film producer with a tax break.

=> ↺ France24 ☛ US plans to rejoin UNESCO from July, ending membership dispute

• The United States plans to rejoin UNESCO from July this year, ending a lengthy dispute that saw Washington end its membership in 2018, the UN cultural agency announced on Monday.

=> ↺ New York Times ☛ U.S. Will Rejoin UNESCO in July, Agency Says

• The decision came after over a decade of turbulent relations between American administrations and the United Nation’s cultural organization.

=> ↺ CS Monitor ☛ US rejoins the UNESCO. What’s China got to do with it?

• The U.S. is rejoining the U.N. cultural and scientific agency UNESCO after a decade-long dispute over Palestine’s membership and will pay $600 million in back dues. The move intends to counter China’s influence in UNESCO policymaking, say officials.

=> ↺ France24 ☛ No progress on biases against women during past decade, UN reports

• Data tracking biases against women has shown no progress over the past decade, with prejudices remaining “deeply embedded” in society despite rights campaigns such as MeToo, a UN report said Monday.

=> ↺ Quartz ☛ JPMorgan is following Deutsche Bank in settling with Epstein’s victims

• JPMorgan Chase announced today (June 12) it agreed “in principle” to settling a lawsuit filed by one of Jeffrey Epstein’s victims that alleges the bank was complicit in his sex-trafficking operation.

=> ↺ Latvia ☛ STRATCOMCOE publishes new social media report

• A newly-published report from the Rīga-based NATO Strategic Communications Center of Excellence (STRATCOMCOE) examines recent developments in the world of social media and related topics, including online artificial intelligence.

=> ↺ Federal News Network ☛ McCarthy and conservatives reach a truce to allow House to move forward on bills

• House Speaker Kevin McCarthy appears to have resolved, for now, an impasse with some of the more conservative members of his caucus who had brought the chamber to a standstill last week. McCarthy met Monday with nearly a dozen lawmakers in his office in an effort to quell a revolt and jumpstart various priorities that had stalled last week amid the GOP infighting. He called it a productive meeting where “everybody’s attitude was, ‘How do we find where we all work together?’” McCarthy promised more meetings with last week’s holdouts and a focus on reducing federal spending in the weeks ahead.

=> ↺ RFERL ☛ Taliban Calls For Strict Ban On Music At Kabul Wedding Halls

• The Taliban’s religious police have called again on wedding hall owners in Kabul to refrain from playing music and activities that contradict its Islamic rulings for weddings or similar events.

Censorship/Free Speech

=> ↺ Hong Kong Free Press ☛ ‘Too early’ to say if ‘Glory to Hong Kong’ ban would result in Google withdrawal, data scientist says

• It is too early to tell if the government’s move to ban protest song Glory to Hong Kong, including online, would result in Google becoming unavailable in the city, a data scientist has said.

=> ↺ RFA ☛ Banned anthem ‘Glory to Hong Kong’ gets global airing on protest anniversary

• Rallies mark the first tear gas attack on protesters outside the city’s legislature in 2019

=> ↺ Axios ☛ Scoop: Fox demands Tucker Carlson cease-and-desist in new letter

• Fox News has sent a cease-and-desist letter to Tucker Carlson as he ramps up a competing series on Twitter that drew a combined 169 million views for its first two episodes, Axios has learned.

=> ↺ NCAC ☛ Supporters Rally Around “It’s Perfectly Normal”

• Children’s book author Robie H Harris’ and artist Michael Emberley’s million+ copy bestselling book, It’s Perfectly Normal, A Book About Changing Bodies, Growing Up, Sex, Gender, and Sexual Health, has been continuously challenged and/or banned since it was first published in 1994 and continues to be challenged even in recent days.

=> ↺ The Straits Times ☛ ‘Outright lie’: India denies threatening to shut down Twitter

• PM Narendra Modi’s government has repeatedly denied engaging in online censorship.

=> ↺ Hong Kong Free Press ☛ 3 film festival movies feature ‘black images and muted sound,’ after Hong Kong gov’t censors demand cuts

• Filmmakers who had movies shown at a local festival replaced censored scenes with “black images and muted sound,” according to organisers, after government censors demanded certain scenes be cut.

=> ↺ ACLU ☛ Core First Amendment Rights are Implicated in This Supreme Court Case about True Threats

• The internet is full of strong, impassioned, sometimes offensive language. In response to an activist’s post about being choked by a sheriff’s deputy, someone posted to Facebook, “Wow, brother they wanna hit our general. It’s time to strike back. Let’s burn this motherfucker’s house down.” And someone listening to music posted lyrics about “student bodies lying dead in the halls, a blood splattered treatise of hate.”

• While this speech might be offensive — or even feel threatening — to some people, to others it is an expression of a political opinion, an unfiltered reaction to a recent event, or an attempt to rally support for a cause. The freedom to share provocative ideas and spark robust debate about political issues is essential to democracy, social justice, and progress. Our right to free speech generally protects such communications.

• The freedom to share provocative ideas and spark robust debate about political issues is essential to democracy, social justice, and progress.

• However, “true threats” are not protected by the First Amendment. The government can prosecute someone who intentionally threatens another person with death or serious bodily harm, and whose language is reasonably perceived as threatening. But can a speaker be convicted of making a true threat solely because some people could reasonably perceive it as threatening, regardless of the speaker’s intent? That’s the question before the Supreme Court in Counterman v. Colorado.

=> ↺ Mint Press News ☛ Shadowy, Israel-Linked Group Attempts to Censor Pro-Palestine Spotify Artists

• Alan Macleod uncovers how a shadowy pressure group linked to Israel is attempting to silence artists advocating for Palestinian liberation on Spotify.

=> ↺ JURIST ☛ Illinois governor signs law prohibiting book bans in public libraries

• Illinois Governor JB Pritzker signed a first-of-its-kind bill into law on Monday which eliminates book bans, requiring public libraries in the state to ensure they offer a diverse range of materials. House Bill 2789 obligates all libraries to adopt the American Library Association’s Library Bill of Rights.

=> ↺ Reason ☛ Allegations That Particular Conduct Stemmed from a Racist Motivation Generally Aren’t Defamatory

• (though false allegations  about the details of the conduct may be).

Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press

=> ↺ New York Times ☛ Fred Ryan, Publisher of Washington Post, Will Step Down

• Patty Stonesifer, the former chief executive of Martha’s Table, will be The Post’s interim chief executive.

=> ↺ New Yorker ☛ In a Divided Era, the New York Times’ Publisher Makes a Stand [Ed: Conde Nast covering up for NY Times this month. Many puff pieces for Sulzberger of Wall Street Times.]

• At a moment of political polarization and attacks on the media, A. G. Sulzberger goes public in defense of traditional journalistic values.

Civil Rights/Policing

=> ↺ New York Times ☛ Time Is Running Out for John Roberts and the Supreme Court

• If the court won’t fix its ethics mess, Congress should.

=> ↺ Reason ☛ Chief Justice Roberts Is Not A “Weather Vain.” He’s Just So Vain.

• He probably thinks the Court is about him.

=> ↺ Vice Media Group ☛ The Minimum Wage for Delivery Drivers in NYC Is Now $17.96 an Hour

• The city is raising the minimum wage for “deliveristas” to $17.96 per hour, making it the first city in the U.S. to implement such a law.

=> ↺ New York Times ☛ New York City Sets New Minimum Wage for Food Delivery Workers

• The increase, which requires app-based delivery workers to be paid $17.96 per hour before tips, is the first such minimum wage in the country for an industry that has exploded in popularity.

=> ↺ uni Michigan ☛ On language and belonging: a mother tongue’s link to cultural community

• Although I now speak and think in English, my first words were not in this language. I was raised by a village of relatives; as a result, I grew up speaking in a patchwork of Cantonese, Mandarin and Taishanese.

=> ↺ Quartz ☛ Women are quitting India’s biggest IT firm as it ends work-from-home

• An end to Tata Consultancy Services’ (TCS) work-from-home policy may be pushing its woman employees to quit.

=> ↺ The Atlantic ☛ How to Fix the Government

• If you want to rebuild America, start with its code.

=> ↺ New York Times ☛ Cuban Government Is Responsible for Death of Oswaldo Payá, Report Says

• The findings in the death of Oswaldo Payá contradict the Cuban government’s official version of what happened 11 years ago.

=> ↺ New Yorker ☛ How Dowries Are Fuelling a Femicide Epidemic

• Every year in India, many thousands are killed in marriage-payment disputes. Why does this war on women persist?

=> ↺ The Straits Times ☛ Married Indian priest allegedly kills lover after she pressured him to marry her

• He bludgeoned the woman to death and dumped her body in a manhole.

=> ↺ EDRI ☛ Open letter: e-Evidence package lacks appropriate safeguards, EU Parliament must reject it

• Civil society, doctors, lawyers and journalists associations and internet service providers are calling on MEPs to reject the so-called “e-Evidence” package during the plenary vote on June 13 because the proposed system of cross-border access to data in criminal matters would severely undermine fundamental rights.

=> ↺ New York Times ☛ NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell to Resign

• Ms. Sewell, who was appointed by Mayor Eric Adams in 2022, announced her decision on Monday. She did not provide a reason for her departure.

=> ↺ New York Times ☛ Hard Right Agrees to Allow House Votes but Threatens Continued Blockade

• Republican rebels who blocked action in the House for the past week said they would allow votes on Tuesday, but warned that they would wrest control of the floor again unless leaders met their demands.

=> ↺ CS Monitor ☛ Greek beaches and Moroccan holidays: Two signals of acceptance

• Progress roundup: In Greece, wheelchair users have an easier way to enjoy the ocean. And in Morocco, a holiday recognizes the Berbers, 40% of the population.

=> ↺ Reason ☛ Ohio Cops Raided Afroman’s House Looking for a Dungeon Because of a Bizarre Confidential Informant Tip

• All they found was some cool cars and clothes.

=> ↺ Mexico News Daily ☛ Mexico establishes new work-from-home regulations

• Employers will need to cover the costs of internet service and electricity for workers who spend more than 40% of their workday at home.

Internet Policy/Net Neutrality

=> ↺ Zimbabwe ☛ I spent a year using a phone with no Google Mobile Services. Is it worth it?

• I used a phone with no Google mobile services for a year so I try and answer the question of whether or not it is possible.

=> ↺ Michael Geist ☛ The Law Bytes Podcast, Episode 170: The Bill C-18 End Game – What the Senate Heard About the Online News Act

• Bill C-18, the Online News Act, heads to clause-by-clause review this week at the Senate Transport and Communications Committee. The committee’s study of the bill wasn’t as extensive as Bill C-11, but it did hear from a very wide range of stakeholders and experts. Last month, I devoted the Law Bytes podcast to my appearance before the committee, including my opening statement and exchanges with various senators. This week’s Law Bytes podcast takes listeners into the committee room for clips from media big and small, independent experts, Google and Meta, and Canadian Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez.

Digital Restrictions (DRM)

=> ↺ Digital Music News ☛ Almost Six Years Later, Spotify Is Selling Soundtrap Back to Its Founders [Ed: Spotify loses a billion dollars a year. It shows.]

• Nearly six years after announcing the purchase of music-collaboration and -creation platform Soundtrap, Spotify is selling the 11-year-old company back to its founders.

Monopolies

=> ↺ Silicon Angle ☛ EU reportedly set to greenlight Broadcom’s $61B VMware acquisition

=> ↺ Quartz ☛ The FTC is making its next move against Microsoft’s Activision Blizzard acquisition

• The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) plans an injunction seeking to block Microsoft Corp.’s acquisition of the popular video game company Activision Blizzard, according to an exclusive report by CNBC.

=> ↺ Silicon Angle ☛ Report: FTC seeking injunction to block Microsoft’s Activision Blizzard acquisition

• The Federal Trade Commission is reportedly seeking an injunction to prevent Microsoft Corp.’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard Inc. from closing.  CNBC reported the FTC’s plans today, citing a person familiar with the matter.

Patents

=> ↺ First Unitary Patents on their way to publication [Ed: Unitary Patent system is illegal and unconstitutional; what we have here is the corrupt EPO getting all giddy about another crime]

• European Patent Bulletin releases data about first European patents with requests for unitary effect

=> ↺ Dennis Crouch/Patently-O ☛ Providing a Detailed Explanation of the Evidence

• The decision in Parus Holdings, Inc. v. Google LLC, — F.4th — (Fed. Cir. 2023), underscores the importance of adhering to the PTAB procedural requirements, particularly the prohibition against incorporating arguments by reference from one document into another during an IPR, as stipulated in 37 C.F.R. § 42.6(a)(3). The court’s affirmation of the PTAB’s decision not to consider arguments and evidence that violated this rule sends a clear message to future litigants: all arguments must be explicitly presented in the briefs, and the PTAB is not obligated to consider evidence or arguments that are not properly

Copyrights

=> ↺ Digital Music News ☛ South Korean Girl Group (G)I-DLE Tops NetEase Cloud Music Sales Charts with 300,000 Mini Albums Sold

• South Korean girl group (G)I-DLE tops the NetEase Cloud Music charts with 300,000 copies sold of their latest mini-album. Chinese online music platform NetEase Cloud Music has announced that the latest mini-album from South Korean girl group (G)I-DLE has dominated the platform’s 2023 charts with 300,000 copies sold.

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