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● 07.29.23

Gemini version available ♊︎

● Links 29/07/2023: More Backlash Against Google’s “Web DRM” (WEI API)

Posted in News Roundup at 7:24 pm by Dr. Roy Schestowitz

GNU/Linux

Server

=> ↺ TechRepublic ☛ 5 Best CentOS Replacement Options for 2023

• CentOS Linux 7, the popular free and open-source Linux distribution based on Red Hat Enterprise Linux, has set its end of life for June 2024. The enterprise operating system, loved by scientists, businesses and developers for its reliability, stability and security, has been a leading technology for web hosting, cloud computing, storage servers, networks and software development.

• As users consider whether to migrate to CentOS Stream 9, a new upstream distribution that is designed to be a rolling release of Red Hat Enterprise Linux and is not considered a replacement for CentOS, other competitors stand out as good alternatives.

Graphics Stack

=> ↺ 9to5Linux ☛ Mesa 23.2 Brings OpenGL 3.1 & OpenGL ES 3.0 Support on Asahi, New RADV Features

• Highlights of Mesa 23.2 include OpenGL 3.1 and OpenGL ES 3.0 on Asahi, support for new Vulkan extension on the Radeon Vulkan driver (RADV), including VK_EXT_attachment_feedback_loop_dynamic_state, VK_EXT_dynamic_rendering_unused_attachments, VK_KHR_fragment_shader_barycentric, VK_KHR_ray_tracing_pipeline, VK_EXT_depth_bias_control, VK_EXT_fragment_shader_interlock, and VK_EXT_pipeline_robustness, as well as support for extendedDynamicState3SampleLocationsEnable.

• As expected, Mesa 23.2 brings improvements for numerous video games, including Rise of the Tomb Raider on RDNA 3 GPUs, Blasphemous, Overwatch 2, Borderlands 2, The Long Dark on R600/R700, Elden Ring, Metro Last Light Redux, Trackmania 2020, Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus, and Heroes of Might and Magic 5.

Applications

=> ↺ Linux Links ☛ 6 Best Free and Open Source Command-line FTP clients

• File Transfer Protocol (FTP) used to be a popular and time-honored method of transferring files to and from a remote network site. The need for FTP has declined significantly; many consider FTP to be an unfriendly protocol when it comes to accessing data. Further, it is an insecure protocol as it sends your credentials in plain text to the server. However, there are still occasions where transferring files via this protocol has been useful; the time to put FTP to bed has not yet come. SFTP and FXP are also supported by these clients.

• This article provides our pick of the best open source command line file transfer programs. The software featured here supports a number of different protocols, not just FTP. They offer shell-like command syntax, and are great for scripting purposes.

• Here’s our verdict captured in a legendary LinuxLinks.com chart. Only free and open source software is eligible for inclusion.

=> ↺ It’s FOSS ☛ Getting Started With Linux Terminal

• The Linux terminal could be intimidating. The dark screen with just commands to use. It’s easy to feel lost.

• The thing is that Linux command line is a vast topic. You can manage the entire system using just the commands. I mean that’s the role of sysadmins, network engineers and many other jobs.

• The aim of this tutorial collection is not to make you job-ready. It intends to give you the starting point of your Linux command line journey. It will give you enough to navigate the terminal and understand a few basic things like reading files and editing them.

• Since it’s just the beginning, most of the tutorials are in the ‘file operation’ category. That’s where most Linux books and courses begin.

=> ↺ DebugPoint ☛ Best Video Editors for Linux in 2023

• Video editing software can indeed be expensive, particularly the more advanced options like Adobe Premiere Pro. However, the good news is that plenty of free and open-source video editors are available. These alternatives offer excellent functionality without the price tag. Here, we’ve compiled a list of ten such free video editors for Linux that could be of great help for your specific needs.

Instructionals/Technical

=> ↺ ID Root ☛ How To Fix 526 Invalid SSL Certificate Error

• In today’s digital landscape, securing sensitive information and maintaining user trust is paramount for any website owner. SSL certificates play a crucial role in encrypting data and providing a secure connection between the user’s browser and the web server.

=> ↺ ID Root ☛ Mastering Array Length in PHP

• Arrays are fundamental data structures in PHP, serving as containers to store multiple values in a single variable. As a PHP developer, mastering array manipulation is crucial for writing efficient and optimized code.

=> ↺ ID Root ☛ How To Install MongoDB on Debian 12

• In this tutorial, we will show you how to install MongoDB on Debian 12. MongoDB, a robust NoSQL database, has gained immense popularity for its scalability and flexibility, making it a go-to choice for modern applications.

=> ↺ Own HowTo ☛ How to install and uninstall kernels on Linux Mint

• With Update Manager you can update packages on Linux Mint, but you can also install or remove a kernel from your system.

=> ↺ TecAdmin ☛ How To Enable Server Side Includes (SSI) in Apache

• Server Side Includes (SSI) is a simple interpreted server-side scripting language used almost exclusively for the web. It is utilized for managing web content through the inclusion of “directives” within web pages, which are parsed and executed by the web server.

=> ↺ TecAdmin ☛ How to Disable ETags in Apache

• Entity tags (ETags) are a mechanism that web servers and browsers use to validate cached components. The server generates and sends an ETag value, which is a token representing a specific version of a component, to the client when the component is initially sent.

=> ↺ Linux Capable ☛ How to Set Environment Variables in Linux

• In Linux, environment variables play a crucial role in defining various system settings, user preferences, and executable paths. These dynamic variables can significantly impact the behavior of processes and applications running on the system. This comprehensive guide will provide a walk-through on setting environment variables in Linux.

=> ↺ Linux Capable ☛ How to Install PHP 8.3, 8.2, 8.1 or 8.0 on Ubuntu 22.04 | 20.04

• PHP, an acronym for “PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor,” is a widely-used open-source general-purpose scripting language suitable for web development. As an HTML-embedded scripting language, PHP allows you to do things such as create simple web pages, send and receive cookies, and interact with databases.

=> ↺ ID Root ☛ How To Install ImageMagick on Debian 12

• In this tutorial, we will show you how to install ImageMagick on Debian 12.

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

• In this tutorial, we will show you how to install Asterisk on Rocky Linux 9. For those of you who didn’t know, Asterisk, a powerful open-source communications platform, has revolutionized the way organizations manage their phone systems.

=> ↺ Grep Command in Linux/Unix | Explained

• In the world of Linux and Unix systems, the grep command stands as a powerful tool for searching and filtering text. Whether you’re a system administrator, developer, or an everyday user, understanding grep its various options will empower you to efficiently locate and extract specific content from files and directories. In this comprehensive guide, you’ll explore the ins and outs of the grep command, its usage, practical examples, and how to harness its full potential. What is Grep Command in Linux and Unix? The name “grep” is derived from the ed (Unix text editor) command “g/re/p,” which stands for “global/regular expression/print.”

=> ↺ Hacking Like a Pro: Nmap Firewall Evasion Techniques in Kali Linux

• What is a firewall? Firewall is a software or hardware to protect private network from public network.

=> ↺ ELinux ☛ MailScanner fails to start Can’t locate Sys/Hostname

• If you are trying to start MailScanner on CPanel/WHM server and getting error Can’t locate Sys/Hostname MailScanner fails to start with startup errors matching:  If a server is using either of these ConfigServer MailScanner installer/products below, with the listed versions or lower: MailScanner Installer (msinstall) version 3.17 or lower MailScanner Front-End (MSFE) version 8.28…

=> ↺ Own HowTo ☛ How to uninstall an app on Debian 12

• In this tutorial, you will learn how to uninstall an app from Debian 12.

• There are several ways to uninstall a package from your system.

=> ↺ GNOME ☛ Christian Hergert: How to use Sysprof (again)

• Every once in a while I take a moment to test GNOME OS on physical hardware.

• The experience today was quite a bit underwhelming. Fresh install, type a few characters into the search box, and things grind to a halt.

• Being the system profiler author I am, where would I consider spending time to make this better? Here ya go, and please do help because I can make the tools but I need people like you to help go resolve them.

• I had to build Sysprof from source quick on GNOME OS until new GNOME OS builds are out (soon).

=> ↺ MongoDB Installation and Usage on Linux

• MongoDB, a leading open-source document-oriented database management system, is a powerful “NoSQL” database that empowers businesses to effortlessly store and manage massive amounts of data.

=> ↺ How to Install and Use Yay on Arch Linux and Manjaro

• Yay (Yet Another Yaourt) is a popular Arch User Repository (AUR) helper for Arch Linux and its derivatives, such as Manjaro, after the discontinuation of Yaourt and Packer. It is a command-line utility that simplifies the process of searching, installing, and managing packages from both

=> ↺ TecAdmin ☛ How To Setup Apache ModSecurity on Ubuntu & Debian

• ModSecurity is an open-source web application firewall (WAF) that is designed to protect web applications from various types of attacks. It is a module for the Apache web server that intercepts incoming web traffic and analyzes it for signs of malicious activity.

=> ↺ TecAdmin ☛ How to Disable ETag in NGINX

• NGINX is a powerful and versatile open-source software that can be used for various purposes such as HTTP server, reverse proxy, load balancer, and more. It is known for its high performance, stability, and rich feature set.

=> ↺ FOSSLinux ☛ How to safely downgrade your Ubuntu installation

• Ubuntu, a popular Linux distribution, often impresses users with its stability and feature-rich updates. However, sometimes, an upgrade might not go as planned or new versions might not sit well with your current setup or specific applications. In such cases, downgrading to a previous version of Ubuntu might be the most viable solution. This guide provides detailed instructions on how to safely downgrade your Ubuntu installation to a previous version.

=> ↺ HowTo Forge ☛ How to Install PowerDNS and PowerDNS-Admin on Ubuntu 22.04

• PowerDNS is a free and open-source authoritative nameserver written in C++. It supports several databases such as MySQL, MariaDB, PostgreSQL, and Oracle to store zone files and records. In this post, we will explain how to install PowerDNS and PowerDNS admin on Ubuntu 22.04 server.

=> ↺ Real Linux User ☛ How to use Timeshift to backup and restore Linux Mint – Linux Mint 21.2 edition

Desktop Environments/WMs

GNOME Desktop/GTK

=> ↺ This Week in GNOME ☛ This Week in GNOME/Felix Häcker: #106 GUADEC 2023

• During this year’s Annual General Meeting on Friday, the annual Community Appreciation Award (a.k.a. Pants of Thanks) was awarded to someone who cares deeply about GNOME, helps out app developers (almost every single day), plays the guitar (but just one song), holds controversial opinions (some even turn out to be right), and who is a climate advocate and activist … Tobias Bernard! A standing ovation was offered along with a flattering pair of red and blue plaid pajama pants. Congratulations, Tobias!

Distributions and Operating Systems

Fedora Family / IBM

=> ↺ Red Hat ☛ DevNation Day: Modern App Dev videos are now available

• Last month Red Hat Developer hosted DevNation Day: Modern App Dev. This one-day virtual event brought together application developers, DevOps and platform engineers, enterprise architects, and application managers from across the globe.

=> ↺ Welcoming KubeVirt v1.0

• KubeVirt v1.0 was released earlier this week. Having gained features, maturity, trust, and adopters over the past years, this version 1.0 is a reflection of the status of the project with its mature codebase and healthy community.

• KubeVirt is a Kubernetes Operator with a virtualization API and runtime in order to run virtual machines on Kubernetes. KubeVirt is the foundation of OpenShift Virtualization and enables data center owners to modernize their infrastructure, converge on one platform, and unify their operations. Developers benefit as they can develop and automate containerized and virtual machine-based applications consistently on the very same platform.

=> ↺ Red Hat Official ☛ Red Hat OpenShift Service on AWS GovCloud is prioritized for FedRAMP® High JAB Authorization

• Public sector organizations run some of the most sensitive and mission critical workloads in the world, but the need for stringent security requirements doesn’t need to hinder their ability to adopt modern, transformative technologies. To help agencies minimize risk while also empowering them to scale cloud-native innovation, we are pleased to announce that Red Hat OpenShift Service on AWS GovCloud is prioritized for Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP®) JAB Authorization.

=> ↺ Red Hat Official ☛ Swiss Federal Railways Drives Cloud Migration with Red Hat

• Red Hat, the world’s leading provider of enterprise open source solutions, today announced a collaboration with Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) to help complete an extensive IT migration project. Using Red Hat AMQ Streams, Red Hat Consulting helped move Apache Kafka services to SBB’s new cloud environment with minimal effects on uptime.

• The pressure of rising costs reached a significant level during the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, SBB’s IT team decided to move their workloads to another cloud environment to increase flexibility and lower costs.

Canonical/Ubuntu Family

=> ↺ It’s FOSS ☛ Understanding Ubuntu’s Repository System

• Let’s start with the essentials first. Understands the basic concept of the package manager and the repositories. This will build a foundation for you to understand how things work underneath.

• In simpler words, a package manager is a tool that allows users to install, remove, upgrade, configure and manage software packages on an operating system.

• Ubuntu provides the software through repositories. The repositories contain software packages of different kinds. They also have metadata files that contain information about the packages such as the name of the package, version number, description of package and the repository name etc.

• The package manager interacts with the metadata and creates a local metadata cache on your system. When you ask it to install a software, the package manager refers to this cache to get the information and then uses the internet to connect to the appropriate repository and downloads the package first before installing it on your system.

=> ↺ 9to5Linux ☛ Ubuntu Touch OTA-2 Rolls Out with Support for Fairphone 3, F(x)tec Pro1 X

• Arriving exactly four months after the first OTA update, Ubuntu Touch OTA-2 is here with support for new devices, including Fairphone 3, F(x)tec Pro1 X, and Vollaphone X23 smartphones.

• This second Ubuntu Touch update based on the Focal Fossa series also brings various improvements to the System Settings app, including a more consistent layout for several pages, the ability to delete custom wallpapers, as well as a new option in Gestures to adjust the sensitivity of edge gestures for Lomiri.

Open Hardware/Modding

=> ↺ Hackaday ☛ The ESP32 Doesn’t Need Much

• For those looking to add wireless connectivity to embedded projects or to build IoT devices, there is perhaps no more popular module than the ESP32. A dual-core option exists for processor intensive applications, the built-in WiFi and Bluetooth simplify designs, and it has plenty of I/O, memory, and interoperability for most applications. With so much built into the chip itself, [atomic14] wondered how much support circuitry it really needed and set about building the most minimalist ESP32 development board possible.

Mobile Systems/Mobile Applications

=> ↺ Gizmodo ☛ Is Apple CarPlay or Android Auto Better for Your Car?

=> ↺ XDA ☛ Can Samsung’s Galaxy Watch series work with any Android phone?

=> ↺ SlashGear ☛ Android’s Guided Access Alternative: What It Is And How To Enable It

=> ↺ Android Police ☛ Turkey’s tragic earthquake showed that Android’s early warning system still needs work

=> ↺ SlashGear ☛ How To Turn Off Android Auto Completely

=> ↺ Make Use Of ☛ How to Install Firefox Add-Ons on Android

=> ↺ Android Police ☛ BMW took Android and slapped it on a round display in its new Mini

=> ↺ Giz China ☛ Android 14 Beta 4.1 Update: Fixing Pixel Bugs and Enhancing Performance – Gizchina.com

=> ↺ XDA ☛ Can Samsung’s Galaxy Watch series work with any Android phone?

Free, Libre, and Open Source Software

SaaS/Back End/Databases

=> ↺ PostgreSQL ☛ Timescale’s 2023 State of PostgreSQL Survey Now Open

• Our love for PostgreSQL runs deep. We built our products on PostgreSQL, are proud members of the PostgreSQL community, and wouldn’t exist without it and the extensibility it provides.

• In 2019, Timescale launched the first State of PostgreSQL report, advancing our desire to provide more significant insights into the specificities and features applicable to the PostgreSQL community. Thanks to your contribution, we have continually delivered this report. We are pleased to announce that the 2023 survey is now open for submissions! We are keen to learn more about how you use PostgreSQL for work and personal projects, how you deploy it, and how we can collectively improve it.

Programming/Development

Python

=> ↺ Tom’s Hardware ☛ How to use For Loops in Python

• For loops provide a means to control the number of times your code performs a task. This can be a range, or iterating over items in an object. In this how to we will go through the steps to create your own projects using for loops.

Standards/Consortia

=> ↺ Hackaday ☛ Understanding And Using Unicode

• Computer engineer [Marco Cilloni] realized a lot of developers today still have trouble dealing with Unicode in their programs, especially in the C/C++ world. He wrote an excellent guide that summarizes many of the issues surrounding Unicode and its encoding called “Unicode is harder than you think“. He first presents a brief history of Unicode and how it came about, so you can understand the reasons for the frustrating edge cases you’re bound to encounter.

Leftovers

Education

=> ↺ Scheerpost ☛ UPS & Teamsters Reach Tentative Deal, Averting Strike

• As the deal reached Tuesday goes out to union members for approval, Natalia Marques points out four things about the last-minute talks.

Hardware

=> ↺ Hackaday ☛ OLED Display Lets Vintage PC Engage Turbo Mode In Style

• Back in the 486 days, it was common to see a “Turbo” button on the front panel of many PCs, which was used to toggle between the CPU’s maximum speed and a slower clock rate that was sometimes necessary for compatibility with older software. Usually an LED would light up to show you were running at this higher speed, or if you’re machine was very fancy, it might even have a numerical display that would show the current CPU frequency.

Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

=> ↺ Techdirt ☛ California Senator Nancy Skinner Falls For Junk Science Moral Panic; Makes Blatantly False Claims In Support Of Social Media Addiction Bill

• What you see below is part one of a two parter about a terrible bill in California. It started out as a single post, but there was so much nonsense, I decided to break it up into two parts. Stay tuned for part two.

=> ↺ Pro Publica ☛ Lawmakers Propose $45M to Fight U.S. Stillbirth Crisis

• Members of Congress on Thursday introduced sweeping legislation that aims to reduce the country’s stillbirth rate, tackling gaps in research, data and awareness as well as authorizing tens of millions of dollars in new funding.

• If passed, the Stillbirth Health Improvement and Education (SHINE) for Autumn Act of 2023 would be the most comprehensive federal stillbirth law on record. Rep. Young Kim, R-Calif., who introduced the bill in the House, called it “the first step in the right direction” to help prevent stillbirths and ensure healthy pregnancies.

=> ↺ Michael West Media ☛ Food aid cut for millions due to lack of funding: UN

• The United Nations has been forced to cut food, cash payments and assistance to millions of people because of “a crippling funding crisis” as acute hunger hits record levels.

• Carl Skau, deputy executive director of the World Food Program (WFP), says at least 38 of the 86 countries where the program operates have already seen cuts or plan to cut assistance soon — including Afghanistan, Syria, Yemen and West Africa.

=> ↺ The Atlantic ☛ One More COVID Summer?

• A mid-year wave might be brewing for the fourth year in a row. Will it always be like this?

=> ↺ Reason ☛ Biden White House Pressured Facebook To Censor Lab Leak Posts

• “Can someone quickly remind me why we were removing—rather than demoting/labeling—claims that Covid is man made,” asked Meta’s president for global affairs.

Proprietary/Artificial Intelligence (AI)

=> ↺ DeSmog ☛ ChatGPT and other generative AI could foster science denial and misunderstanding – here’s how you can be on alert

• This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license.

• Until very recently, if you wanted to know more about a controversial scientific topic – stem cell research, the safety of nuclear energy, climate change – you probably did a Google search. Presented with multiple sources, you chose what to read, selecting which sites or authorities to trust.

=> ↺ Microsoft Internal Polls Leak Exposes Employee Discontent With Culture And Leadership: ‘It’s Not Right’

• The company’s Daily Signals polls show that the percentage of employees witnessing a positive change in Microsoft’s workplace culture fell from 62% in January to 40% in July. Confidence in the effectiveness of organizational leaders also took a hit, dropping from 75% in January to 59% in July.

• “Here employees take pay cuts as our company and leadership make record profits,” one employee wrote in response to CEO Satya Nadella‘s thank you note for a “landmark” fiscal year.

Security

Privacy/Surveillance

=> ↺ Scheerpost ☛ The UK Government Is Very Close to Eroding Encryption Worldwide

• Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash By Joe Mullin / Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) The U.K. Parliament is pushing ahead with a sprawling internet regulation bill that will, among other thing […]

Defence/Aggression

=> ↺ Michael West Media ☛ Half a bil per aerial truck for the Royal Australian Air Force – what’s the scam?

• It’s not often the Australian Government acquires the same type of aircraft, from the same company, to perform a similar role across a span of 66 years. The Albanese Government’s purchase of new transport aircraft provides an interesting insight into the eye-watering costs of defence procurement. What’s the scam?

• In 1957, the Menzies Government acquired 12 new C130A Hercules transport aircraft from the Lockheed Corporation for the Royal Australian Airforce. The total cost of the project was £14.681 million. That’s approximately $520.9m in 2022 value (using the Reserve Bank Inflation Calculator), or $43.4m for each aircraft.

=> ↺ Scheerpost ☛ 70 Years Later, The Korean War Must End

• A fragile ceasefire halted the Korean War 70 years ago. With nuclear tensions rising and the environment under threat, it’s time to end it for good.

=> ↺ Scheerpost ☛ A Story More Provocative Than Oppenheimer?

• Academy Award nominated director Steve James and esteemed journalist David Lindorff join Scheer Intelligence to discuss their new film [...]

=> ↺ Scheerpost ☛ Could Europe’s Next War Start Here?

• With tensions between Serbia and Kosovo reaching dangerous levels, Declassified visited disputed towns in northern Kosovo to see if another war could break out, which would likely draw in British t…

=> ↺ NYPost ☛ ‘Exiled’ Russian mercenary boss Prigozhin hails Niger coup, touts services

• A voice message on Telegram app channels associated with Wagner that they said was Prigozhin did not claim involvement in the coup, but described it as a moment of long-overdue liberation from Western colonizers and made what looked like a pitch for his fighters to help keep order.

=> ↺ Federal News Network ☛ Soldiers declare Niger general as head of state after he led a coup and detained the president

• Mutinous soldiers in Niger have declared the general who led a coup as the head of state. The announcement on state television Friday came hours after Gen. Abdourahmane Tchiani defended the takeover and asked for support from the nation and international partners. Concerns are growing that the political crisis could set back the country’s fight against jihadists and boost Russia’s influence in West Africa. Various factions of Niger’s military have reportedly wrangled for control since members of the presidential guard detained President Mohamed Bazoum on Wednesday. He was elected two years ago in Niger’s first peaceful, democratic transfer of power since independence from France.

=> ↺ teleSUR ☛ Russia Keen to Boost Multifaceted Ties With Africa: Putin

• He noted that Western countries were “obstructing the supply of Russian grain and fertilizers,” while “hypocritically” accusing Moscow of creating a global food crisis.

=> ↺ teleSUR ☛ St. Petersburg Hosts the Russia-South Africa Business Dialogue

• The event was dedicated to the development of long-term business relations between both nations.

=> ↺ teleSUR ☛ Russia-Africa Forum Analyzes Urban Infrastructure Development

• Participants discussed the issues of modernisation and improvement of infrastructure and the introduction of innovative approaches⁠

=> ↺ The Gray Zone ☛ Ukraine’s baby factories rake in record profits amid chaos of war

=> ↺ Meduza ☛ Explosion reported at oil refinery in Russian city of Samara — Meduza

• State Duma Deputy Alexander Khinshtein reported that an explosion occurred at the Kuybyshevsky Oil Refinery in the Russian city of Samara.

=> ↺ Meduza ☛ Rostov governor reports missile explosion in center of Taganrog — Meduza

• An explosion rocked the city of Taganrog in Russia’s Rostov region on Friday, local media reported, citing witnesses.

=> ↺ JURIST ☛ Hong Kong courts convict 10 people of riot in 2019 anti-extradition bill protest

• Ten people were convicted by two different Hong Kong courts Wednesday for unrest that took place on November 18, 2019 during the anti-extradition bill amendment protest. One case before Deputy District Judge Amy Chan involved four defendants, each with a count of riot.

War in Ukraine

=> ↺ RFERL ☛ Russian Parliament’s Upper Chamber Approves Bill Raising Maximum Age For Mandatory Military Service

• Russian parliament’s Federation Council on July 28 approved a bill raising the maximum age for mandatory one-year military service for men to 30 from 27.

=> ↺ RFERL ☛ Kyrgyzstan Prolongs Detention Of Two Russian Anti-War Activists

• The Kyrgyz State Committee of National Security (UKMK) says that the detention of Russian activists Alyona Krylova and Lev Skoryakin, who face extradition, has been extended.

=> ↺ Meduza ☛ ‘They’re coming here and telling us we’re the occupiers’: A protest against Russian tourists in a Georgian coastal city ended with their cruise ship leaving ahead of schedule — Meduza

• On the morning of July 27, the cruise liner Astoria Grande arrived in the Georgian resort town of Batumi. The ship was carrying more than 800 people, most of whom were tourists from Russia.

=> ↺ Meduza ☛ ‘The point is to scare viewers’: TV Rain Editor-in-Chief Tikhon Dzyadko speaks to Meduza about joining the ranks of Russia’s ‘undesirable’ organizations — Meduza

• Russia’s Prosecutor General has declared television news network TV Rain “undesirable” in Russia. The prosecutor’s office believes that the network “discredits” the Russian authorities, disseminates “fakes” about the war, supports “foreign agents,” and cites material from other “undesirable” organizations — like Meduza. After the announcement, TV Rain said that it would stop receiving donations from Russia and would cancel active subscriptions for Russian nationals, so as not to expose them to the risk of criminal prosecution. Meduza spoke to TV Rain’s editor-in-chief, Tikhon Dzyadko, about what comes next for the network.

=> ↺ Meduza ☛ Russian missile attack hits residential building and Ukrainian Security Service building in Dnipro — Meduza

• Russia launched a missile strike on a high-rise residential building in Dnipro, report Ukraine’s Minister of Internal Affairs Ihor Klymenko and the People’s Deputy of Ukraine Oleksandr Bakumov.

=> ↺ New York Times ☛ Europe Vowed to Make Russia Pay for the War. It’s Not That Easy.

• Confiscating Russian state assets frozen by the United States and Europe could breach international law and set a dangerous precedent, experts say.

=> ↺ New York Times ☛ 2 Ukrainian Fighters Take a Break From the War to Marry Each Other

• Their wedding was hosted by a charity group that provides uniforms, boots and other essentials to female soldiers, but because of demand recently started to organize such celebrations.

=> ↺ LRT ☛ Baltics need more self-reflection, not self-righteousness – opinion

• As the Baltic states continue to resist Russia’s historical narratives and falsifications, self-reflection would be more productive than self-righteousness, writes Violeta Davoliūtė, a professor at the Vilnius University Institute of International Relations and Political Science (TSPMI).

=> ↺ RFERL ☛ Russian Court Rejects Appeals Of Crimean Tatar Leader, Co-Defendants Against Prison Terms

• A court in Russia has rejected appeals filed by Crimean Tatar leader Nariman Dzhelyal and two activists — brothers Aziz and Asan Akhmetov — against prison terms handed to them in September on a sabotage charge that Kyiv and rights groups call politically motivated.

=> ↺ New York Times ☛ Ukraine Offensive Aims for Better Shot at Russian Targets

• Ukraine is hoping that mile-by-mile gains could bring its weapons closer to Russian supply lines, if its forces can overcome Russia’s heavy defense.

=> ↺ New York Times ☛ Ukraine Launches Missile Strikes in Russia, Moscow Says

• Kyiv did not take responsibility for the attacks, which could be a bid to broaden a war that has mostly rained ruin and death on Ukraine.

=> ↺ RFERL ☛ Explosion Hits Oil Refinery In Russian City Of Samara

• An explosion hit a major oil refinery in the Volga River city of Samara.

=> ↺ RFERL ☛ Russian, Belarusian Players Denied Entry To Prague Women’s Tennis Event

• Czech police stopped an unnamed female Russian tennis player from entering the country ahead of the WTA Prague Open, organizers said, as a new government resolution banning athletes from Russia or Belarus caused the event to scratch other competitors.

=> ↺ teleSUR ☛ Russia-Africa Summit Ends With Signing of Final Declaration

• The final declaration commits to adopting coordinated approaches to the role for the development of Russian-African cooperation and efforts in the international arena, presidential aide Yury Ushakov said.

=> ↺ teleSUR ☛ Russia Sets the Age of Military Service Between 18 and 30 Years

• The increase in the maximum age was justified by the argument that it compensates for the reduction in the number of citizens who can be drafted.

=> ↺ YLE ☛ Russian embassy staff in Helsinki flees in large numbers after spy expulsion

• While Finland expelled nine embassy staff in June over espionage concerns, an exceptional number more have left Helsinki this summer according to a report by the Finnish News Agency STT.

=> ↺ New York Times ☛ Brazil Declines to Extradite Accused Russian Spy to U.S.

• Analysts had seen the Russian as a potential candidate in a prisoner swap with Russia, which holds two Americans on spying charges, Evan Gershkovich and Paul Whelan.

=> ↺ Meduza ☛ Russia accuses Ukraine of missile attack in Rostov region after explosion rocks Taganrog — Meduza

• The city of Taganrog in Russia’s Rostov region was hit by an explosion on Friday. Local media and Telegram outlets reported that the blast shattered windows in multiple nearby buildings. Shortly after the explosion occurred, Governor Vasily Golubev reported that a “missile” had “presumably exploded” near a cafe on the city’s Lermontovsky Lane.

=> ↺ Meduza ☛ Ukraine’s offensive in the south, Russia’s offensive in the north Meduza shares an updated combat map with the latest developments in Bakhmut, Velyka Novosilka, and Orikhiv — Meduza

• Since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Meduza has adopted a consistent antiwar position, holding Russia responsible for its military aggression and atrocities. As part of this commitment, we regularly update an interactive map that documents combat operations in Ukraine and the damage inflicted by Russia’s invasion forces. Our map is based exclusively on previously published open-source photos and videos, most of them posted by eyewitnesses on social media. We collect reports already available publicly and determine their geolocation markers, adding only the photos and videos that clear this process.

=> ↺ Meduza ☛ Ukrainian armed forces say they lack ammunition for air defense against Russian attacks on grain infrastructure — Meduza

• The Ukrainian army lacks the means to counter Russian strikes on grain infrastructure, which have become more and more frequent after Russia’s withdrawal from the grain deal, Natalia Humeniuk, spokesperson for operational command South, said.

=> ↺ Meduza ☛ Putin administration originally against keeping lower draft limit 18, but Defense Ministry convinced president more soldiers needed — Meduza

• According to independent outlet Verstka, citing its sources, the political bloc of the presidential administration was originally against keeping the lower end of the draft age at 18, but the Defense Ministry convinced Vladimir Putin that the army did not have enough soldiers.

=> ↺ Atlantic Council ☛ Ullman in United Press International on finding a way to end the war in Ukraine

• On July 26, Atlantic Council senior advisor Harlan Ullman published an op-ed in United Press International on how the United States must identify possible resolutions to Russia’s war in Ukraine.

=> ↺ France24 ☛ 🔴 Live: Zelensky visiting Ukrainian special forces near Bakhmut

• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Saturday he was visiting “advanced positions” of Ukraine’s special forces near Bakhmut, the eastern city that Russian forces seized in May. The toll from a Russian missile strike on Friday in the city of Dnipro rose to nine people injured, including two children, Ukraine’s State Emergency Service said.

=> ↺ RFERL ☛ EU Sanctions Russian Companies For Spreading War Propaganda

• European Union countries have placed sanctions on seven Russian individuals and five entities over a “digital information manipulation” campaign.

=> ↺ RFERL ☛ Zelenskiy Visits Eastern Front Line In Ukraine As Surge Of Fighting Reported In South

• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has visited the front line near the embattled eastern city of Bakhmut as heavy fighting continued in the country’s south.

=> ↺ France24 ☛ Counterattack or ploy? Kyiv vigilant despite heavy Russian shelling of northeast region

• Russian troops have mounted fierce assaults in Ukraine’s northeastern Kupiansk region, located at the northern end of the country’s 600-mile front line. While Moscow’s troops have reportedly gained some ground, military experts caution against calling this a full-blown offensive.

=> ↺ JURIST ☛ Ukraine legislature extends martial law and general mobilization through November

• Ukraine’s Parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, approved bills on Thursday that extends martial law and general mobilization in the country for an additional 90 days. The move marks the eighth extension since the start of the war in Ukraine.

=> ↺ LRT ☛ ‘Like day and night’: long-time Ukrainian residents feel less welcome in Lithuania than refugees

• More than 70,000 Ukrainian refugees have arrived in Lithuania since the full-scale Russian invasion. However, around 14,000 Ukrainians lived in Lithuania even before the war broke out. Those who have been living here for years do not call themselves refugees but see a big difference in attitudes to them and their recently arrived compatriots.

=> ↺ RFERL ☛ U.S. Says Russia’s Shoigu Looking For Weapons In North Korea

• Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on July 29 that the United States believes Russia’s defense minister is in North Korea to secure supplies of weapons to aid the stalled invasion of Ukraine.

=> ↺ RFERL ☛ Ukrainian Swordswoman Allowed To Compete Again At World Championships After Disqualification

• Ukrainian multiple saber fencing world champion Olha Kharlan was set to compete later on July 29 in the team event at the world championships in Milan, after originally being disqualified for refusing a handshake with a Russian opponent in the individual event.

=> ↺ RFERL ☛ Ukrainian Fencer Invited To Olympics After Refusing To Shake Russian’s Hand

• The International Olympic Committee (IOC) on July 28 awarded Ukrainian fencer Olha Kharlan a place in the Paris Olympics after she was disqualified at the World Fencing Championships for refusing to shake her Russian opponent’s hand.

=> ↺ RFERL ☛ African Union Chairman Says Putin’s Grain Offer Is Not Enough, Calls For Cease-Fire In Ukraine

• The chairman of the African Union said on July 28 that proposals by Russian President Vladimir Putin to provide grain to Africa were insufficient.

=> ↺ RFERL ☛ Moscow Says It Shot Down Two Ukrainian Missiles Over Russian Territory

• The Russian Defense Ministry said on July 28 that it shot down a Ukrainian missile over the city of Taganrog in the Rostov region that borders Ukraine.

=> ↺ Helsinki Times ☛ Finnish Immigration Service witnesses decrease in reception centre demand

• The Finnish Immigration Service has observed a decline in the need for reception centre capacity as fewer Ukrainians have arrived in the country compared to the previous year, and many have left the reception system. Consequently, several reception centres will be closed, aligning the capacity with the reduced demand.

• The Finnish Immigration Service is responsible for coordinating, planning, and overseeing the reception system, which depends on the number of individuals seeking international and temporary protection upon arriving in Finland.

=> ↺ RFERL ☛ Russian Taxi Driver Gets 18 Years In Prison For Setting National Guard’s Headquarters On Fire

• A Russian court sentenced a taxi driver to 18 years in prison on July 28 for setting the entrance of the National Guard’s headquarters in the city of Komsomolsk-on-Amur on fire in June last year.

=> ↺ RFERL ☛ Brazil Rejects U.S. Request To Extradite Alleged Russian Spy Sergei Cherkasov

• Brazilian authorities said they have rejected a request by the United States to extradite Sergei Cherkasov, who Washington alleges collected information on the war in Ukraine while posing as a graduate school student.

=> ↺ New York Times ☛ Russia Strikes Ukrainian Grain Terminal, Kyiv Says

• President Volodymyr Zelensky has promised to build up defenses around his country’s southern coast, but Kyiv must make tough decisions about where to put its resources.

=> ↺ New York Times ☛ In Odesa, Attacks Stoke Hatred of Russia

• President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia views Odesa as a culturally important part of his nation. But many in the Ukrainian city reject the connection and view the country that has been attacking it with loathing.

=> ↺ Security Week ☛ In Other News: Data Breach Cost Rises, Russia Targets Diplomats, Tracker Alerts in Android

• Weekly cybersecurity news roundup that provides a summary of noteworthy stories that might have slipped under the radar for the week of July 24, 2023.

Transparency/Investigative Reporting

=> ↺ Bleeping Computer ☛ Apple rejects new name ‘X’ for Twitter iOS app because… rules

Environment

=> ↺ Democracy Now ☛ As the U.N. Warns “The Era of Global Boiling Has Arrived,” Biden Resists Declaring a Climate Emergency

• July is on pace to be the hottest month ever recorded, and the impact of the soaring temperatures is being felt across the globe in massive heat waves, wildfires, flooding and more. On Thursday, U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres said the world has entered the “era of global boiling,” and President Joe Biden gave a major speech to unveil new measures to combat the crisis but resisted calls to declare a climate emergency. David Wallace-Wells, an opinion writer for The New York Times and a columnist for The New York Times Magazine, says the world is not moving quickly enough to phase out fossil fuels, and even some of the progress that has been made is easily erased by massive wildfires like those burning in Canada right now. We also speak with Dharna Noor, fossil fuels and climate reporter at The Guardian US, who wrote an exposé on “Project 2025,” a right-wing plan to dismantle environmental policies and many regulatory protections if a Republican takes the White House in the next election. She calls the document’s drafters “a who’s who of the far right.”

Energy/Transportation

=> ↺ Techdirt ☛ Tesla Lied About EV Range, Then Created A Team Built Specifically To Undermine Customer Attempts To Get Help

• Elon Musk’s companies are routinely heralded for unbridled innovation, but when it comes to very basic customer service, most of them are an incompetent nightmare. Starlink customers looking for refunds after being on waiting lists for years are routinely ghosted. Tesla Solar customers often have it even worse; shelling out huge sums of money only to be jerked around for months or years on end.

=> ↺ Michael West Media ☛ Chopper crash overshadows defence talks, missile deal

• A helicopter crash and the desperate search for the four personnel on board have overshadowed top-level strategic talks between Australian and United States officials.

• Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Defence Minister Richard Marles met their US counterparts in Brisbane on Saturday morning to discuss security, stability and the progression of a major defence deal.

=> ↺ Meduza ☛ IAEA experts detect explosions near Zaporizhzhia NPP — Meduza

• Experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) have detected explosions near the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, says Oleh Korikov, Chief State Inspector for Nuclear and Radiation Safety of Ukraine.

Wildlife/Nature

=> ↺ The Revelator ☛ Protect This Place: World-Renowned Elwha River Threatened by State Logging

Finance

=> ↺ Scheerpost ☛ Ignoring Warnings of Mass Job Loss, Fed Hikes Rates to Highest Level in Decades

• “The dangerous reflex to hike rates, no matter the causes of inflation, is both a policy failure and a failure to imagine a world in which workers are anything other than expendable,” […]

=> ↺ Meduza ☛ Billing Russia’s billionaires: How Ukraine is going after Mikhail Fridman and Roman Abramovich’s sanctioned wealth — Meduza

• Mikhail Fridman and Roman Abramovich are among Russia’s most prominent oligarchs. But outside of Russia, their billions are tied up due to international sanctions imposed in response to Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The Ukrainian authorities are seeking to seize these assets, both at home and abroad, to help fund Ukraine’s post-war reconstruction, which is already slated to cost hundreds of billions of dollars. However, a lack of legal precedent has complicated international efforts to transfer Russian funds to Ukraine. Meduza special correspondents Elizaveta Antonova and Svetlana Reiter go behind the scenes of Ukraine’s attempts to seize Fridman and Abramovich’s frozen wealth.

AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

=> ↺ Insight Hungary ☛ Romanian and Slovak Foreign Ministry summons Hungarian ambassador over Orbán’s comments

• The Slovak Foreign Ministry summoned the Hungarian ambassador after Viktor Orbán’s speech in Băile Tuşnad, Romania on Saturday. The nationalist prime minister spoke about Slovakia as a “partitioned part of [Hungary]“, Slovak news outlet Napunk reports.

• “Czechoslovakia (and later Slovakia) or Hungary are successor states to Austria-Hungary. They could therefore not secede anything from present-day Hungary,” the Slovak Foreign Ministry said in a statement. “Any direct or indirect questioning of the territorial integrity or sovereignty of Slovakia is absolutely unacceptable to us,” they added.

=> ↺ Michael West Media ☛ Giant ‘X’ logo on Twitter building ruffles feathers

• The city of San Francisco has opened a complaint and launched an investigation into a giant “X” sign installed on top of the building formerly known as Twitter headquarters.

• The sign was installed on Friday as owner Elon Musk continues his rebrand of the social media platform.

=> ↺ Scheerpost ☛ Ralph Nader: Open Letter to Members of Congress: Crises Demand More Time Shorter Vacation

• “US Congress 02” by Bjoertvedt is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0. By Ralph Nader / Nader.org The Congress is about to embark on the longest of its numerous annual  “recesses” – some w…

=> ↺ Techdirt ☛ Ex-Twitter Resorts To Threatening Companies It Will Take Away Their Verification If They Don’t Start Buying More Ads

• It’s no secret that Elon Musk is desperate for advertisers to return to the platform. He just recently admitted that the company is still cashflow negative and that around 50% of advertisers have left (other reports say the number is bigger). This is despite his earlier claims that the company would break even on a cashflow basis in Q2 (not to mention, despite not paying a bunch of bills).

=> ↺ Quartz ☛ Meta admits more than half of Threads users have already stopped using the app

• Threads has lost more than half of its users, according to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, just weeks after attracting more than 100 million signups to the text-based social media launched to rival X, the app formerly known as Twitter.

Misinformation/Disinformation/Propaganda

=> ↺ DeSmog ☛ ‘Eco-Fraud’: Influential Motorcycle Lobby Group Promotes Climate Science Denial

• A well-connected motorcycle lobby group is denying climate science and telling bikers that climate change is an “eco-fraud” that will “cost you your freedom”, DeSmog can reveal. 

• The Motorcycle Action Group (MAG) is one of the UK’s largest motorcyclist associations, and claims to have some 50,000 members. It met with the government in June, when it lobbied ministers to halt the proposed phase-out of conventional cars with internal combustion engines. 

Censorship/Free Speech

=> ↺ EFF ☛ Government Needs Both the Ability to Talk to Social Media Platforms and Clear Limits, EFF Argues in Brief to Appellate Court

• “Government co-option of the content moderation systems of social media companies is a serious threat to freedom of speech,” the brief notes, although “there are clearly times when it is permissible, appropriate, and even good public policy for government agencies and officials to non-coercively communicate with social media companies about the user speech they publish on their sites.” 

• EFF filed the amicus brief to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in Missouri v. Biden, a lawsuit brought by Louisiana, Missouri, and several individuals alleging that federal government agencies and officials illegally pushed social media platforms to censor content about COVID safety measures and vaccines, elections, and Hunter Biden’s laptop, among other issues.   

• Judge Terry A. Doughty of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana sided with the plaintiffs, issuing a broad preliminary injunction July 4. The appellate court has stayed the injunction temporarily.  

=> ↺ Meduza ☛ Council of Mothers and Wives, organization dedicated to helping conscripts and mobilized men, announces termination of its work — Meduza

• The Council of Mothers and Wives, which was organized by relatives of mobilized men and conscripts, announced the cessation of its work, due to its declaration as a “foreign agent.”

=> ↺ Scheerpost ☛ As Book Bans Sweep the US, Incarcerated People Face the Worst Censorship

• The freedom to read for everyone requires an end to prisons.

=> ↺ Reason ☛ Another Internet Sleuth / “True Crime” Podcast Libel Lawsuit, Here About Kiely Rodni Case

• From the Complaint in Robertson v. Upchurch (M.D. Tenn.), just filed today (paragraph numbers and some paragraph breaks deleted); recall, of course that these are all just the plaintiffs’ allegations: Ryan Upchurch is a media personality, musician, and prolific “YouTuber” who has approximately 3,110,000 subscribers on YouTube as of the date of this filing.

Civil Rights/Policing

=> ↺ Pro Publica ☛ After Investigation, PA Lawmakers Rethink Funding for Child ID Kits

• Two months after Texas lawmakers stripped millions of dollars from a company that supplies child identification kits, a bill to fund a similar program in Pennsylvania is facing key opposition.

• In March, two Pennsylvania senators filed legislation that called for purchasing and distributing child identification kits for all of the state’s first graders. The kits, which would cost the state about $350,000, needed to use “inkless” fingerprinting technology, according to the bill.

=> ↺ Democracy Now ☛ Texas Rep. Greg Casar on Why He Undertook “Thirst Strike” to Demand Heat Protections for Workers

• As nearly half of Americans face heat advisories, President Biden announced new steps Thursday to provide relief, and Texas Congressmember Greg Casar held an eight-hour thirst strike Tuesday on the steps of the U.S. Capitol to highlight the need for a federal workplace heat standard, including mandatory water breaks for workers. This comes as Texas Governor Greg Abbott recently signed legislation overturning local rules for mandatory workplace water breaks. “It is a slap in the face. It is dangerous. It will get people killed. But most of all, it’s disrespectful to working people,” says Casar. “I’m outraged, but, unfortunately, not surprised.” At least 2,000 workers in the United States die every year from heat exposure, and the risk is likely to increase as the planet continues to warm due to the climate crisis.

=> ↺ The Nation ☛ The Teamsters’ Proposed Agreement With UPS Is a Great Victory by and for the Workers

• Six days before their national contract with the United Parcel Services was set to expire—the moment US labor law officially removes complex pro-employer barriers banning workers from waging a strike—the Teamsters announced that they had reached a Tentative Agreement (TA) in their national negotiations with UPS. Teamster members will have from August 3 to August 22 to read, celebrate, debate—and ultimately vote to ratify or reject the proposed TA. While at press time full details aren’t yet available, we’ve known for almost a month that important issues at the top of the workers’ demands had already been achieved before the talks broke down on July 5. Teamsters President Sean O’Brien had announced some of these key provisions with justified fanfare as each significant breakthrough was won in late June.

=> ↺ Democracy Now ☛ Emmett Till’s Cousin, Rev. Wheeler Parker Jr., Welcomes New National Monument for Lynched Teenager

• On what would have been Emmett Till’s 82nd birthday, President Joe Biden designated a new national monument in Mississippi and Illinois honoring Emmett Till and his mother, Mamie Till-Mobley. Emmett Till was just 14 years old when a white mob abducted him from his great-uncle’s home in Money, Mississippi, in 1955 before torturing and lynching him. His mother’s decision to hold an open-casket funeral revealing his mutilated body shocked the country and served as a galvanizing moment in the civil rights movement. This comes amid efforts to suppress such history from being included in school textbooks, led by Florida governor and Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis. We speak with Emmett Till’s cousin, Reverend Wheeler Parker Jr., who was Till’s best friend and witnessed his abduction.

=> ↺ The Nation ☛ American Character

=> ↺ The Nation ☛ How Stan Lee Became the Face of an Exploitative Industry

• In early June, there was an intense outpouring of grief from the many friends of the cartoonist Ian McGinty, known for his work on winsome manga-inflected children’s comics such as Welcome to Sideshow and Adventure Time, who passed away unexpectedly at the age 38. Private mourning can sometimes explode into public anger when a death is resonant with larger problems. The world of comic books and graphic novels, like Hollywood and television in this era of labor strife, is one of many cultural industries where anger at shoddy working conditions has made nerves raw. As Chris Kindred reported in The Daily Beast, an angry tweet by fellow cartoonist Shivana Sookdeo provoked debate that “soon took on a life of its own as industry novices and veterans alike began commiserating over the labor conditions that colleagues have speculated contributed to McGinty’s passing. Their stories of long hours, frequent burnout, and chronic illness were filed under the hashtag #ComicsBrokeMe, illuminating for the wider public how dangerous the comics industry has become.”

=> ↺ The Nation ☛ Sinéad O’Connor Always Knew That Black Lives Mattered

• Sinéad O’Connor explained the point of her career in her 2021 memoir: “Everyone wants a pop star. See? But I am a protest singer.”

=> ↺ Michael West Media ☛ Say her name: inquiry reminded of women who have died

• A public hearing into missing and murdered First Nations women and children has finished with a list of Aboriginal women who have died in custody and a poignant reminder: say her name.

• Latoya Rule, from the Jumbunna Institute for Indigenous Education and Research, read out some of the names of Aboriginal women who have died in custody to the senate inquiry in Sydney.

=> ↺ Techdirt ☛ Federal Court Accepts Arizona AG’s Admission Of Defeat, Blocks ‘No Recording Cops Within 8 Feet’ Law

• One of a long series of laws written to limit police officer accountability has been not only rejected by a federal judge, but also the cops it was supposed to “protect” and Arizona’s top prosecutor.

Internet Policy/Net Neutrality

=> ↺ Techdirt ☛ California Lawmakers Say It’s Time To Regulate The Internet The Same Way China Does

• Here’s Part Two of my two parter about the Satanic Panic-level moral panic that has befallen the disconnected-from-reality California legislature (in a bipartisan way) as they seek to destroy the internet “to protect the children).

Digital Restrictions (DRM)

=> ↺ Bleeping Computer ☛ Browser developers push back on Google’s “web DRM” WEI API

Monopolies

Copyrights

=> ↺ Techdirt ☛ Korean Royalty Collecting Society Fined For Acting Like Racketeering Thugs

• Copyright royalty collection societies don’t exactly have a stellar reputation for operating on the ethical up and up. Our pages are filled with these collection societies pulling all sorts of bullshit. Some of my favorites are things like when one society insisted on collecting royalties from a bar that was shut down due to COVID, all the stories about these groups failing to pay artists what they’re supposed to, or the collection society that wanted children to pay up for playing music at high school graduation parties.

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