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● 08.31.23

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● Links 31/08/2023: MidnightBSD 3.1.0 and Coreboot 4.21 Released

Posted in News Roundup at 8:47 pm by Dr. Roy Schestowitz

GNU/Linux

Audiocasts/Shows

=> ↺ Video ☛ How’s KDE Plasma 6 Going FEAT. Nick from The Linux Experiment!

=> ↺ Tux Digital ☛ Sudo Show 65: Summer of Conferences

• Bill and Brandon have a discussion with Neal about the conferences he was able to attend this summer. We also talk about the outcomes of other open-source conferences this from this year. Conference Links Conference Video Playlists on Youtube: Coming Up LinuxFest NorthWest in Bellingham, WA

=> ↺ Tux Digital ☛ Linux Out Loud 72: Types of Linux Users

• This week, Linux Out Loud chats about the different types of Linux users. Welcome to episode 72 of Linux Out Loud. We fired up our mics, connected those headphones as we searched the community for themes to expound upon. We kept the banter friendly, the conversation somewhat on topic, and had fun doing it.

Kernel Space

=> ↺ Ars Technica ☛ ReiserFS is now “obsolete” in the Linux kernel and should be gone by 2025

• When Apple was about to introduce Time Machine in Mac OS X Leopard, John Siracusa wrote in the summer of 2006 about how a new file system should be coming to Macs (which it did, 11 years later). The Mac, Siracusa wrote, needed something that could efficiently handle lots of tiny files, volume management with pooled storage, checksum-based data integrity, and snapshots. It needed something like ZFS or, perhaps, ReiserFS, file systems “notable for their willingness to reconsider past assumptions about file system design.”

• Two months later, the name Reiser would lose most of its prestige and pick up a tragic association it would never shake. Police arrested the file system’s namesake, Hans Reiser, and charged him with murder in connection with the disappearance of his estranged wife.

• Reiser’s work on Linux file systems was essentially sentenced to obscurity from that point on. Now that designation has been made official, as the file system that was once the default on systems like SUSE Linux has been changed from “Supported” to “Obsolete” in the latest Linux 6.6 kernel merge process (as reported by Phoronix). While a former employee of Reiser’s company, Namesys, continues out-of-source work on later versions of ReiserFS, it is likely to disappear from the kernel entirely in a matter of years, likely 2025.

=> ↺ Linux Magazine ☛ Linux Kernel 6.5 Has Been Released

• The newest Linux kernel, version 6.5, now includes initial support for two very exciting features.

=> ↺ Collabora ☛ Linux kernel 6.5: USB4v2 and Wifi7 have arrived

• The 6.5 release is here and it comes with many changes. As is often the case, Collabora has been actively involved in the submission of patches, mostly in the task of hardware enablement for Mediatek and Rockchip SoCs.

Applications

=> ↺ Ubuntu Handbook ☛ Transmission 4.0.4 Released with Various Bug-fixes [Ubuntu PPA]

• Transmission, Ubuntu’s default BitTorrent client, announced new 4.0.4 release with various bug-fixes. For users of Transmission 4.0.x, it’s recommended to update to the new release for stability improvements. For me, the last 4.0.3 crashes often when downloading Kali Linux image in 7z format. Now, it’s working good in the new 4.0.4 release.

=> ↺ Medevel ☛ Dragonfire Is an Open-source Virtual Assistant For Linux Desktop

• Dragonfire is an open-source virtual assistant designed specifically for Ubuntu based Linux distributions. Its functionality is impressive, and it goes through several steps for each command you give it.

• Firstly, it searches through the built-in commands and evaluates algebraic expressions.

=> ↺ Linux Links ☛ 7 Best Free and Open Source CLI Command Schedulers

• The software utility cron also known as cron job is a time-based job scheduler in Unix-like computer operating systems. But there are other high quality CLI command schedulers.

Instructionals/Technical

=> ↺ ID Root ☛ How To Install GlassFish on Fedora 38

• In this tutorial, we will show you how to install GlassFish on Fedora 38. In the realm of web application development, the utilization of robust and efficient servers is paramount. GlassFish, an exemplary Java EE application server, has earned its reputation as a stalwart in deploying and managing Java applications.

=> ↺ ID Root ☛ How to Use Bat Command on Linux

• In the realm of Linux command-line utilities, the bat command emerges as a powerful tool for enhancing your file-viewing experience. Unlike its predecessors such as cat and less, bat offers a unique blend of syntax highlighting, language detection, and Git integration, making it an indispensable asset for developers, sysadmins, and Linux enthusiasts alike.

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

• In this tutorial, we will show you how to install Erlang on Debian 12. For those of you who didn’t know, Erlang, a programming language designed for building highly concurrent and fault-tolerant systems, has gained remarkable prominence in the realm of modern software development.

=> ↺ Linux Host Support ☛ How to Set Up an OpenVPN Server on Debian 11

• OpenVPN is a well-known VPN protocol that secures your connection when accessing the internet. It is a tool that lets you browse the internet world with some level of anonymity.

=> ↺ Net2 ☛ How to Configure Network Settings in Ubuntu 22.04

• Properly configuring networking is vital for any Ubuntu desktop or server. In this introduction, we’ll cover the key topics involved in managing network settings on Ubuntu 22.04 systems.

=> ↺ Own HowTo ☛ How to set Chrome as default web browser on Debian 12

• When you click a link on terminal, or on another app on your Desktop, the browser window that pops up, is the browser that is set as default web browser on your system.

Desktop Environments/WMs

GNOME Desktop/GTK

=> ↺ 9to5Linux ☛ How to Enable AVIF Thumbnails in Nautilus and Support for Other GTK Apps

• In this tutorial we show you the easiest way to see thumbnails for AVIF (AV1) images in the Nautilus file manager, as well as to enable AVIF image support on other GTK apps.

Distributions and Operating Systems

=> ↺ 9to5Linux ☛ Emmabuntüs Debian Edition 5 Is Here Based on Debian GNU/Linux 12.1

• Coming almost two years after Emmabuntüs Debian Edition 4, the Emmabuntüs Debian Edition 5 release is based on the Debian GNU/Linux 12.1 “Bookworm” operating system and it’s powered by the long-term supported Linux 6.1 LTS kernel series, which is a major bump from Linux 5.10 LTS used in the previous release.

• Emmabuntüs DE 5 sticks to using a dual desktop setup with Xfce being the primary graphical environment for the live session and LXQt remaining the alternative for those who want even a lighter desktop environment. This release ships with Xfce 4.18.1 and LXQt 1.2.0 by default.

BSD

=> ↺ MidnightBSD 3.1.0 release

• MidnightBSD 3.1.0 has been released.

SUSE/OpenSUSE

=> ↺ OpenSUSE ☛ Tumbleweed Slows for Open Build Service Move

• The rolling release for openSUSE temporarily slowed the frequency of its snapshot releases cycle to support the migration efforts and data center move of the Open Build Service from last week.

• The release engineer team reported in its weekly meeting that the check in of Tumbleweed builds were intentionally paused so as not put additional stress on the OBS migration that was needed.

• The first check in build happened on Monday, passed openQA and snapshot 20230828 was released to update a half-dozen packages. An update of ImageMagick 7.1.1.15 removed a Common Vulnerability and Exposure patch after it was merged upstream. Some settings for RGBA images were corrected and some image compatibility issues were resolved. An update of clamav 0.103.9 addressed a possible denial of service vulnerability fixing CVE-2023-20197. The update also includes fixes for compiler warnings that may become errors in the Clang 16 compiler. The package for hardware identification and configuration data, hwdata, updated to version 0.373 and brings updates to Peripheral Component Interconnect, USB, and vendor IDs. An update of java-11-openjdk 11.0.20.1 brought an emergency release in response to a regression in the July 2023 update and addresses an issue of an invalid Central Directory Entry header. The wtmpdb package, which is meant to help solve the Y2038 problem, updated to 0.9.1 and includes a fix manual page reference and had a correction of the printf format specifier on 32-bit systems. Xfce users will be happy to see an update of xfce4-terminal 1.1.0 that introduces various changes, including allowing passing arguments to custom commands, translating strings in the unsafe paste dialog and improving window synchronization for showing tabs. The package also adds support for kinetic scrolling in VteTerminal and enhances the preferences dialog.

Fedora Family / IBM

=> ↺ Linuxiac ☛ Rocky Linux Confirmed to Remain 1:1 Fully Compatible with RHEL

• Red Hat’s move to restrict access to its source code at the end of June left the enterprise Linux market’s leading players, Rocky Linux, AlmaLinux, and Oracle Linux, in an unexpected predicament.

• Each of them was looking for a solution to get out of the situation, and now, two months later, we have a relatively good idea of the path each of these distributions will take.

• In this light, and alongside the recently established by CIQ, SUSE, and Oracle, the ОpenELA project, in an announcement on the topic, Rocky Linux confirmed its decision to strictly adhere to this to be a 1:1 fully compatible, drop-in replacement to RHEL.

Debian Family

=> ↺ Linuxiac ☛ antiX 23 Systemd-Free Linux Distro Released Based on Debian 12

• Powered by Linux kernel 6.1, antiX 23, codenamed “Arditi del Popolo,” comes with the latest IceWM 3.4.1 and an updated software stack.

Canonical/Ubuntu Family

=> ↺ Ubuntu ☛ Get familiar with “Rusty” kernel programming in Ubuntu Lunar Lobster

• The Linux kernel has recently introduced the Rust programming language as an alternative to C for creating kernel modules. Rust is a strongly, statically typed programming language with a focus on memory safety features which produces extremely compact executable code.

=> ↺ Ubuntu ☛ Ubuntu Blog: Meet Canonical and OpenSearch.org at Open Source Summit Europe 2023

• We are excited to celebrate all things open source at the upcoming Open Source Summit Europe 2023 in the beautiful city of Bilbao, Spain. The event will take place on 19-21 September. The summit serves as a reminder of the open source movement’s ongoing significance, fostering a space where attendees can explore the latest trends, developments and breakthroughs. In the three-day event, open-source developers, technologists, and community leaders will collaborate, share expertise, solve problems, and work on creating an even more sustainable open source ecosystem. 

=> ↺ Ubuntu ☛ LLMs explained: how to build your own private ChatGPT

• Large language models (LLMs) are the topic of the year. They are as complex as they are exciting, and everyone can agree they put artificial intelligence in the spotlight.

Devices/Embedded

=> ↺ CNX Software ☛ Fairphone 5 smartphone comes with 8 years of software updates thanks to Qualcomm QCM6490 industrial IoT processor

• The Fairphone 5 is the latest version of the ethical, repairable, and sustainable smartphone with the company promising 8 years of software updates thanks to the use of a Qualcomm QCM6490 industrial IoT processor that benefits from a longer life cycle than consumer-grade processors typically found in phones.

• The phone comes with 8GB RAM, a 256GB flash, a replaceable 6.46-inch display, 50 MP front-facing and read cameras both of which are replaceable, 5G, WiFi 6, BlueTooth 5.2, GNSS, and NFC connectivity, as well as a replaceable battery.

Open Hardware/Modding

=> ↺ CNX Software ☛ LuckFox Pico Rockchip RV1103 Cortex-A7/RISC-V camera board comes with an optional Ethernet port

• LuckFox Pico is a small Linux camera board based on the Rockchip RV1103 Cortex-A7 and RISC-V AI camera SoC and offered with an Ethernet port in a longer version of the PCB called LuckFox Pico Plus. Both models come with 64MB RAM (apparently embedded in RV1103), a microSD card slot for storage, a MIPI CSI camera connector, a USB Type-C port for power, and a few through holes for expansion through GPIO, I2C, UART, and so on.

Mobile Systems/Mobile Applications

=> ↺ Ars Technica ☛ Russia targets Ukraine with new Android backdoor, intel agencies say | Ars Technica

=> ↺ Android Police ☛ Xgimi’s latest Android TV projector is its brightest and most advanced yet

=> ↺ India Times ☛ Google Chrome removes this important feature for Android users – Times of India

=> ↺ GO Media ☛ How to Take Screenshots on Android

=> ↺ Digital Trends ☛ This cool Android phone shows just how boring the iPhone is | Digital Trends

=> ↺ Android Police ☛ OnePlus phones will start getting Android 14 on September 25

=> ↺ OnePlus Spoils Launch Timing of Android 14 Update

=> ↺ 9to5Google ☛ OnePlus to launch Android 14 in September

=> ↺ GSM Arena ☛ Samsung One UI 6 beta with Android 14 reaches India, Galaxy S23 series first in line – GSMArena.com news

=> ↺ Android Police ☛ The 11 best, worst, and weirdest Android Easter eggs of all time

=> ↺ Wired ☛ Google Fixes Serious Security Flaws in Chrome and Android | WIRED

=> ↺ SlashGear ☛ Best 5 Messaging Apps On Android Auto

=> ↺ The Sun ☛ Millions of Android owners to receive major free ‘emergency’ upgrade that could be a lifesaver | The US Sun

=> ↺ Silicon Angle ☛ Google to host Pixel 8 and Pixel Watch 2 launch event Oct. 4

Free, Libre, and Open Source Software

=> ↺ It’s FOSS ☛ FOSS Weekly #23.35: Linux Kernel 6.5, GNOME Search, Productivity Tips and More

• Kernel 6.5, Kali Linux, Mageia, Firefox, Vivaldi. Plenty of new releases this week.

=> ↺ Coreboot (Official) ☛ coreboot version 4.21 released

• The coreboot 4.21 release was tagged on August 21st, 2023. In the past quarter year, the coreboot project has gotten over 1250 new patches from around 140 authors, 21 of whom contributed for the first time.

=> ↺ Medevel ☛ StoryTeller Is an Open-source Free Multimodal AI Story Teller, built with Stable Diffusion, ChatGPT, and neural text-to-speech (TTS).

• Multimodal AI Story Teller, built with Stable Diffusion, GPT, and neural text-to-speech

Web Browsers/Web Servers

Mozilla

=> ↺ OMG! Linux ☛ Thunderbird 115.2 Released with a Flurry of Fixes

• The latest point release of Thunderbird 115 – aka the new version you’ve no-doubt heard people raving about — features a flurry of fixes.

SaaS/Back End/Databases

=> ↺ PostgreSQL ☛ Announcing the release of v1.0-rc1 of pg_cirrus – Hassle-free PostgreSQL cluster setup

• We are pleased to announce the 1.0-rc1 release of pg_cirrus. This automated tool streamlines the process of setting up a 3-node cluster, making it significantly easier for users to set up and manage high availability in PostgreSQL.

• We understand that configuring a PostgreSQL cluster can be a complex and time-consuming task, which is why we have designed pg_cirrus to help make the process faster and more efficient.

Content Management Systems (CMS)

=> ↺ Kiwi TCMS: Kiwi TCMS 12.6.1

• We’re happy to announce Kiwi TCMS version 12.6.1!

• IMPORTANT: This is a small release which contains several improvements, bug fixes and new translations!

• You can explore everything at https://public.tenant.kiwitcms.org!

• Supported upgrade paths: [...]

Programming/Development

rpmlint updates (August 2023)We are at the end of the summer and this means that this year Google Summer of code is ending.The recent changes applied now in the main branch include:Remove usage of pkg_resource because it’s deprecated.Fix elf binary check with ELF files with a prefix.New check for python packages with multiple .pyc files for different python versions.Improve the testing framework (merged the work done during the GSoC 2023)Summer of Code 2023 updatesThe summer of code is ending and the work done by Afrid was good enough to be merged,

=> ↺ Rlang ☛ Geographic data analysis in R and Python: comparing code and outputs for vector data

• In this blog post, we talk about our experience teaching R and Python for geocomputation. The focus of the blog post is on geographic vector data, meaning points, lines, polygons (and their ‘multi’ variants) and the attributes associated with them.

=> ↺ Rlang ☛ How to: one-way ANOVA by hand

• Data and hypotheses ANOVA by hand

• Overall and group means SSR and SSE ANOVA table Conclusion of the test

=> ↺ MauiKit ☛ Maui Release Briefing # 3

• Today, we bring you a report on a brand-new release of the Maui Project.

=> ↺ Robert Heaton ☛ How to pass a coding interview with me

• In the last 10 years I’ve given more than 400 coding interviews. That’s the equivalent of 2 working months just watching strangers having a crack at the same handful of programming challenges. Some of my would-be colleagues solve the problems without incident, but others run into trouble for similar, easily-correctable reasons. I wish I could give better feedback, but because of legal and time constraints that’s not how the system works.

• So instead of personalised advice, I’ve written this cheat sheet containing 22 tips about how to pass a programming challenge interview with me. The tips can’t replace skill and practice, but they will help you calm your nerves, avoid silly mistakes, and showcase the best of your ability. Most of the tips are easy to implement, and put together they’ll increase the number of interviews that you pass.

=> ↺ Karl Dubost: The lucky day of me falling hard professionally

• Let me tell you a story…

• In my first professional year (~1995/1996) as a ~~web developer~~, well webmaster at that time, I was working on the BNP website (around 300 html files). Yes, the BNP French bank website, except at that time it was only a couple of hundreds static web pages.

• The client asked us to fix the footer of all these html files. The job was assigned to me.

• I open the local FTP folders with all the files for the site and started to look at the HTML and noticed a simple search and replace would not do it.

• Let’s use Regex for parsing/fixing HTML. Haha.

=> ↺ Firefox Developer Experience: Firefox WebDriver Newsletter — 117

• WebDriver is a remote control interface that enables introspection and control of user agents. As such it can help developers to verify that their websites are working and performing well with all major browsers. The protocol is standardized by the W3C and consists of two separate specifications: WebDriver classic (HTTP) and the new WebDriver BiDi (Bi-Directional).

• This newsletter gives an overview of the work we’ve done as part of the Firefox 117 release cycle

=> ↺ Rust Blog ☛ The Rust Programming Language Blog: Electing New Project Directors

• Today we are launching the process to elect new Project Directors to the Rust Foundation Board of Directors. As we begin the process, we wanted to spend some time explaining the goals and procedures we will follow. We will summarize everything here, but if you would like to you can read the official process documentation.

Rust

=> ↺ Rust Weekly Updates ☛ This Week In Rust: This Week in Rust 510

• Hello and welcome to another issue of This Week in Rust!

Leftovers

=> ↺ Ruben Schade ☛ Overheard coffee shop chatter, late August 2023

• These posts really write themselves.

=> ↺ Alan Pope ☛ Alan Pope: Silly brain

• A re-enactment of an event yesterday evening.

• I was just leaving an online game when I noticed a conversation among the Late Night Linux Telegram group about printing. One person quipped that people don’t print much anymore. Someone else suggested that they print more these days than they used to.

• My brain saw this and thought “Huh, I wonder how many pages my printer has completed in its lifetime. I imagine that’s easy to find out.

=> ↺ Ruben Schade ☛ Voicing quotation marks

• I only noticed this difference recently. In the Commonwealth, we voice quote marks like this this:

• She said she’d quote get it done unquote.

• This is the same way it’s written: “get it done”.

=> ↺ Ruben Schade ☛ Those free supermarket deals aren’t

• I’m not sure if supermarkets elsewhere do this, but the local duopoly in Australia are always doing these cheesy voucher promotions. Spend a certain amount of money, you accrue points, and you can use them to get a cheap saucepan, for free. It might even have a handle!

• Of course, none of it is free… and deep down I think we all know this. The cost of the items are factored into the prices we pay for other goods. It’s the same reason supermarkets will boast how cheap their staples are, then raise prices on everything else.

Science

=> ↺ Science Alert ☛ Two of The World’s Most Advanced Telescopes Remain Closed Following Cyberattack

• Just … why?

Education

=> ↺ Axios ☛ How WVU cutting foreign language could be “blueprint” for more universities

• The news that West Virginia University (WVU) may ax its entire world languages program sent humanities scholars and others into a tailspin — so much so that the university backpedaled a bit late Tuesday.

Hardware

=> ↺ Tom’s Hardware ☛ Nvidia’s GeForce Now to Shutter in Russia Amid Quality Concerns

• Nvidia’s GeForce Now gaming service, run by partner GFN.ru, is shutting down in Russia.

=> ↺ APNIC ☛ [Podcast] The chips are down: Moore’s Law coming to an end

• Discussing the current and future economics of silicon chip fabrication.

Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

=> ↺ New York Times ☛ Legionnaires’ Disease Outbreak in Poland Kills 16

• Infections have surged in Rzeszow, whose strategic location near the Ukrainian border has transformed it into a hub for the Western response to Russia’s invasion.

Proprietary/Artificial Intelligence (AI)

=> ↺ GeekWire ☛ Cloud automation startup SkyKick lays off 140 employees

• Seattle-based cloud automation and migration startup SkyKick laid off 140 employees, including 98 in the U.S.

=> ↺ International Business Times ☛ Software Startup SkyKick Cuts 181 Jobs After March Layoffs

• The startup also announced SecurityRadar, which has been purpose-built to support 100,000 Microsoft cloud partners with security insights that can be used for personalized customer engagement.

=> ↺ Tedium ☛ Lightning’s Lost Spark

• We’re near the one-cable-to-rule-them-all point, but odds are that further battles will emerge from here. Let’s consider the state of port standards in the waning days of Lightning.

=> ↺ Quartz ☛ Google’s new AI-powered search results are ripping off news sites

• Earlier this year, as part of its experiments with artificial intelligence, Google released a new search feature that provides an AI-generated overview of search results. The idea is to get users to their answers faster, without needing to leave the search results page.

=> ↺ The Verge ☛ Microsoft is using malware-like pop-ups in Windows 11 to get people to ditch Google

• I thought I had malware on my main Windows 11 machine this weekend.

• [...]

• This annoying popup even appeared above a game.

Security

=> ↺ Troy Hunt ☛ 68k Phishing Victims are Now Searchable in Have I Been Pwned, Courtesy of CERT Poland

=> ↺ Security Week ☛ How Quantum Computing Will Impact Cybersecurity

• While quantum-based attacks are still in the future, organizations must think about how to defend data in transit when encryption no longer works.

=> ↺ Security Week ☛ High-Severity Memory Corruption Vulnerabilities Patched in Firefox, Chrome

• Mozilla and Google have released stable updates for the Firefox and Chrome browsers to address several memory corruption vulnerabilities.

=> ↺ Jupiter Broadcasting ☛ Critical Failure in Open Source | Coder Radio 533 [Ed: Microsoft lobbying/aggression in action]

• U.S. officials are warning open-source software could be a cyber security threat. Their solution? Money. But do we want them picking the winners and losers of open source?

=> ↺ Bruce Schneier ☛ When Apps Go Rogue

• Interesting story of an Apple Macintosh app that went rogue. Basically, it was a good app until one particular update…when it went bad.

=> ↺ TechCrunch ☛ Malwarebytes lays off 100 employees ahead of business split | TechCrunch

• The cybersecurity giant’s CEO confirmed the layoffs ahead of a major corporate restructuring that will see its business split into two.

Privacy/Surveillance

=> ↺ NYOB ☛ Your Fitbit is useless – unless you consent to unlawful data sharing

• Your Fitbit is useless – unless you consent to unlawful data sharing

Defence/Aggression

=> ↺ RFERL ☛ Montenegro Refuses To Extradite Former FSB Colonel To Russia

• Montenegro has rejected Russia’s extradition request for Dmitry Senin, a former officer for the Federal Security Service (FSB).

=> ↺ France24 ☛ North Korea fires two short-range ballistic missiles in ‘nuclear strike drill’

• North Korea has said it fired two short-range ballistic missiles as part of a “tactical nuclear strike drill” prompted by US-South Korean military exercises, state media reported Thursday.

=> ↺ The Straits Times ☛ North Korea stages tactical nuclear strike drill to protest allied exercises

• It conducted a simulated “scorched-earth” nuclear strike on targets across South Korea.

=> ↺ New York Times ☛ Rare Protests in Syria Summon Echoes of Arab Spring

• After 12 years of conflict, anger over growing economic hardships has boiled over. Protesters are demanding the ouster of the authoritarian President Bashar al-Assad and an end to the war.

=> ↺ France24 ☛ UN sanctions in Mali to end after Russia vetoes resolution

• United Nations sanctions in Mali will end on Thursday after Russia vetoed a renewal of the regime that targeted anyone violating or obstructing a 2015 peace deal, hindering aid delivery, committing rights abuses or recruiting child soldiers.

=> ↺ AntiWar ☛ By Now Jake Sullivan Expected Russia To Be Destroyed

• The extraordinary Seymour Hersh, now 86 and still more worth reading than the entire output of The New York Times, The Washington Post, CNN, Time, Newsweek, and the farcical PBS news coverage combined, has just released another enormous scoop on his personal sub stack.

Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine

=> ↺ Meduza ☛ ‘We don’t need heroes who marched on Moscow’: Kremlin and FSB decided to bury Yevgeny Prigozhin secretly, without military honors — Meduza

=> ↺ RFERL ☛ Former Belarusian Security Officer To Face Trial In Switzerland Over Abductions Of Politicians

• Yury Harauski, a former member of Belarusian authoritarian leader Alyaksandr Lukashenka’s special security forces, is set to face trial on September 19 in a Swiss court for allegedly participating in the abduction of Belarusian politicians in the late 1990s.

=> ↺ Meduza ☛ Russian forces strike Kyiv in most ‘powerful attack since spring’ — Meduza

=> ↺ Meduza ☛ The ripples of the ruble How the collapse of Russia’s currency could impact its neighbors and cause a damaging decline in labor migration — Meduza

=> ↺ LRT ☛ Lithuania invites Vatican rep for talks after Pope praises Russia’s ‘great humanity’

• The Foreign Ministry has invited the Vatican’s representative in Lithuania for a conversation in the wake of Pope Francis’ statements praising Russia.

=> ↺ LRT ☛ Man who fled Lithuania with child named hero by Russian propaganda

• The story of Algirdas Švanys, who abducted his baby and fled to Russia, has been exploited by Russian propaganda, which portrayed him as a hero and defender of family rights.

=> ↺ LRT ☛ Lithuania celebrates 30th anniversary of Russian army withdrawal

• On August 31, Lithuania marks Freedom Day, commemorating the 30th anniversary of Russian troops leaving the country.

=> ↺ Latvia ☛ Defense Ministry denies Latvia’s involvement in Pskov drone incident

• The Ministry of Defense has categorically denied any involvement of Latvia in the drone attack on Pskov airport, which took place on Tuesday evening. Russian media reports that around 20 drone vehicles were involved in this attack; several vehicles, Il–76, were damaged by the attack.

=> ↺ Meduza ☛ Reserves and reservations Combat within the Robotyne–Verbove–Novoprokopivka triangle may well determine the outcome of Ukraine’s entire summer campaign — Meduza

=> ↺ New York Times ☛ What’s Stopping Ukraine From Flying F-16s

• Ukraine’s sense of urgency in obtaining the fighter jet reflects concerns about the war against Russia, but also the political calendar in the West. But training pilots and support crew is a lengthy process.

=> ↺ New York Times ☛ Russia-Ukraine War: Russia and North Korea in ‘Actively Advancing’ Talks on Weapons, U.S. Says

• The leaders of the two countries have exchanged letters, a White House spokesman said, as Moscow searches for another source of weapons to fight the war in Ukraine.

=> ↺ New York Times ☛ Thursday Briefing: Drone Attacks Reach Deep Into Russia

• Also, a referendum divides Australia.

=> ↺ New York Times ☛ An Obsolete German Tank Seeks a Second Life on Ukraine’s Front Lines

• The Cold War-era Leopard 1A5 may be old, but it is still effective, Germany says. The country is now training Ukrainian troops to operate the weapons.

=> ↺ New York Times ☛ Ukraine and Russia Are Hit by Dueling Overnight Aerial Attacks

• Four military cargo planes at a Russia airfield were damaged, and the Kyiv region was hit with one of the most significant missile and drone barrages in months.

=> ↺ CS Monitor ☛ The other war reporting from Ukraine

• The country’s progress in ensuring equality before the law and curbing graft is as critical as the military counteroffensive.

=> ↺ New Yorker ☛ Does Diplomacy Have a Chance of Ending War in Ukraine?

• Keith Gessen discusses whether the United States should encourage negotiations with Russia.

=> ↺ RFERL ☛ Belarusian Arrested For 2021 Photo With Ukrainian, Georgian Flags In Background

• A court in Belarus placed a man from the northern city of Novopolotsk in administrative arrest for 15 days for taking a photo of himself while on vacation in Georgia in 2021 against the backdrop of the Georgian and Ukrainian flags.

=> ↺ RFERL ☛ Kyrgyz Supreme Court Overturns Sentence Of Man Convicted For Fighting In Ukraine War

• The Supreme Court of Kyrgyzstan has reversed a verdict handed to Askar Kubanychbek, who was convicted of mercenary activities over his involvement in Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

=> ↺ RFERL ☛ Russia, U.S. Separately Discuss Potential Alternatives To Black Sea Grain Deal

• Russia and the United States separately discussed alternatives to the UN-brokered Black Sea grain deal, which fell apart last month after Moscow backed out of the arrangement aimed at allowing the safe passage of Ukrainian exports to world markets.

=> ↺ RFERL ☛ Zelenskiy Vows To Stamp Out Corruption In Military Draft Process

• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in his nightly video address on August 30 said authorities will crack down on corruption in the drafting of men for the country’s military service.

=> ↺ RFERL ☛ RFE/RL Film Crew Escapes Injury After Vehicle Hit In Ukraine’s East

• A film crew working for RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service escaped injury after their vehicle came under rocket fire in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region on August 30.

Environment

=> ↺ teleSUR ☛ Floods Caused by Heavy Rains Hit Russian National Parks

• On Tuesday, heavy rainfall hit the Primorye region. Currently, 29 villages are isolated from road access.

=> ↺ Axios ☛ Tropical Storm Idalia floods Southeast coast with historic storm surge

• Tropical Storm Idalia was producing “very heavy rains” over North and South Carolina and causing “significant” flooding Wednesday night after earlier making landfall in Florida as a Category 3 hurricane, per the National Hurricane Center.

=> ↺ SANS ☛ Home Office / Small Business Hurricane Prep, (Mon, Aug 28th)

• With what is (or was by now?) hurricane Idalia crossing past my house today, I decided to write a quick summary of what I usually do in cases like this to prepare. This is for a home office or a small business, assuming you have the resources for a typical home. Unlike natural disasters like Earthquakes, Hurricanes are somewhat predictable, and you typically have a couple of days warning. If you live in a hurricane-prone area like Florida, you are likely familiar with nhc.noaa.gov. The site provides “raw data” about current storm activity and avoids some of the hype added by some news outlets.

=> ↺ France24 ☛ Florida residents grapple with aftermath of Hurricane Idalia

• The hot Florida sunshine is broken by a gentle breeze, carrying with it salty sea air. But the mood is anything but idyllic as the town of Keaton Beach assesses the damage from Hurricane Idalia, which left overturned trees and destroyed homes in its wake after making landfall nearby Wednesday morning.

Energy/Transportation

=> ↺ Barry Kauler ☛ Milo Stove: final assembly and first test

• This is post #6. The previous post in this Milo Stove project:

• https://bkhome.org/news/202308/milo-stove-making-some-small-parts.html

• I decided to use a barbecue skewer on which the pot will sit: [...]

Wildlife/Nature

=> ↺ Meduza ☛ Wildfire consumes close to 300 acres of forest in Russia’s Gelendzhik — Meduza

=> ↺ RFERL ☛ Forest Fires Hit Russian Black Sea Resort Town

• Forest fires have reached the town of Gelendzhik, one of Russia’s most popular resort areas on the Black Sea, local officials said.

Finance

=> ↺ T-Mobile to cut more than 400 Bellevue employees in 1st wave of layoffs

• According to data from the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN), T-Mobile has begun its layoffs. WARN data shows that 401 employees at T-Mobile headquarters will be laid off on Oct. 24 of this year.

Censorship/Free Speech

=> ↺ RFERL ☛ Serbia Annuls Residence Permit Of Russian Anti-War Concert Organizer

• Serbian authorities have canceled the residence permit of Yevgeny Irzhansky, a Russian citizen who organized concerts of anti-war bands and arts events in Serbia, the Belgrade-based expat NGO Russian Democratic Society announced on August 29, the latest in a series of harassment incidents targeting anti-war Russian expatriates.

=> ↺ JURIST ☛ Federal judge finds Rudy Giuliani liable for defaming 2 Georgia election workers

• A federal court in Washington DC found former Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani guilty on Wednesday of defaming Georgia election workers Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss during the 2020 US presidential election.

=> ↺ Techdirt ☛ State Governments Can’t Resist The Siren Song Of Censorship

• The states have gone rogue. In the last year alone, at least nine states enacted internet censorship laws. And more legislators are promising to take up the cause. But these laws are directly at odds with the First Amendment’s command that the government shall not abridge the freedom of speech. 

Civil Rights/Policing

=> ↺ ACLU ☛ How Mastercard is Endangering Sex Workers

• Back in 2021, Mastercard developed a new policy for adult content websites using its credit card or payment options. The policy imposed requirements such as pre-approval of all content before publication, forbidding certain search terms, and keeping records of age and identity verification for all performers. These restrictions not only restrict free speech and harm the livelihood of sex workers, but fail to make adult content platforms safer.

=> ↺ Quartz ☛ Hollywood’s working class turns to nonprofit funds to make ends meet during the strike

• Shawn Batey was sweating in the August sun on the 100th day of the writers strike, carrying her “IATSE Solidarity” sign on the picket line outside Netflix’s New York offices, but she was glad to be there.

=> ↺ AccessNow ☛ El Salvador: how dirty data entraps immigrants to the U.S.

• The U.S. is using unreliable information from El Salvador for immigration processes, entrapping innocent immigrants. It’s time to stop dirty data-sharing agreements, reform the process, and protect people’s rights.

=> ↺ Quartz ☛ Locomotive manufacturer, union reach tentative deal to end 2-month strike

• The country’s largest locomotive manufacturer and its striking union workers have reached a tentative agreement that could end a two-month strike that saw about 1,400 people walk off the job at its Pennsylvania plant.

=> ↺ Quartz ☛ American Airlines flight attendants vote to authorize a strike, although a walkout still unlikely

=> ↺ JURIST ☛ Federal judge strikes down New Jersey ban on detaining immigrants awaiting deportation

• A federal judge in New Jersey struck down AB 5207 on Tuesday, concluding that New Jersey’s ban on detaining individuals for violating US civil immigration laws is unconstitutional. US District Judge Robert Kirsch found that the New Jersey law, as applied to a private prison operators, violates the US Constitution’s Supremacy Clause.

Internet Policy/Net Neutrality

=> ↺ APNIC ☛ Voting open on EC proposals to update APNIC By-laws

• Voting is now open on the APNIC By-laws resolutions.

=> ↺ APNIC ☛ Online voting for the NRO NC election 2023 opens today

• Submit your online vote for the NRO NC election. Voting closes on 14 September.

Monopolies

Patents

=> ↺ Patent Office’s Proposed Restrictions on Validity Review Would Hurt Small- and Medium-sized Enterprises

• New rules floated by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in its April Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM), followed by the PREVAIL Act’s introduction in Congress, have generated considerable discussion in recent months.

=> ↺ JUVE ☛ Bristol-Myers Squibb and Hogan Lovells remove generics from market in apixaban dispute [Ed: Patents are killing the public. Nobody except monopolies benefits when generics are withdrawn.]

• The blood thinner Eliquis is one of Bristol-Myers Squibb’s most important blockbuster products, and for two years now a dispute has been raging throughout Europe over the market entry of generic products containing the active ingredient apixaban.

=> ↺ Dennis Crouch/Patently-O ☛ “Intent Engine” Claims Fail 101 for Lack of Technological Inventive Concept

• In a non-precedential opinion authored by Judge Pauline Newman, the Federal Circuit has affirmed USC IP Partnership’s asserted patent claims are all invalid.  Back in 2020, USC IP sued Facebook for infringing its U.S. Patent No. 8,645,300.  The arguably pro-patentee Judge Alan Albright served as the district court judge.  Like Judge Newman, he had also found the claims invalid as unduly directed to an abstract idea. USC IP P’ship, L.P. v. Facebook, Inc., 576 F. Supp. 3d 446 (W.D. Tex. 2021) (granting summary judgment of ineligibility).

Trademarks

=> ↺ TTAB Blog ☛ “ICE MONSTER” for Electronic Cigarette Liquid Not Confusable With MONSTER ENERGY, Says TTAB

• The Board dimissed another opposition brought by frequent TTAB litigant Monster Energy Company, finding Applicant SS Vape’s mark ICE MONSTER and Design for “electronic cigarette liquid (e-liquid) comprised of flavorings in liquid form, other than essential oils, used to refill electronic cigarette cartridges,” not confusingly similar to various “MONSTER” marks owned by Opposer for, inter alia, nutritional supplements in liquid form, energy drinks, and collateral merchandise. The findings that the goods are not related and are offered in different channels of trade, coupled with the lack of proof of actual confusion, carried “great weight” in the Board’s Section 2(d) analysis. Monster Energy Company v. SS Vape Brands, Inc., Opposition No. 91255786 (August 28, 2023) [not precedential] (Opinion by Judge Marc A. Bergsman).

=> ↺ Press Gazette ☛ Conservative Party apologises for sending ‘Chronicle’ fake local papers on Chronicle Week’s turf

• The Conservative Party distributed three Chronicle-branded pamphlets in areas covered by MNA’s Chronicle Week.

=> ↺ TTAB Blog ☛ USPTO Issues Examination Guide 3-23: “Examination Procedures for Reviewing Domicile Addresses”

• The USPTO has issued Examination Guide 3-23 (pdf here) to provide further guidance regarding domicile addresses in trademark applications.

Copyrights

=> ↺ Digital Music News ☛ U.S. Copyright Office Solicits Feedback About AI & Copyright

• The U.S. Copyright is seeking feedback from the public surrounding AI and copyright issues.

=> ↺ LRT ☛ Three people fined for [unauthorised copyrighted] content in Lithuania’s first

• Lithuania’s media watchdog has fined three people for using the torrenting site Linkomanija.net to download pirated films.

=> ↺ Vice Media Group ☛ OpenAI Says Authors’ ChatGPT Copyright Claims ‘Defective’ In Motion to Dismiss

• The firm behind ChatGPT is asking a court to dismiss all but one of authors’ claims in lawsuits alleging AI outputs infringe their copyright.

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