𝕿𝖊𝖈𝖍𝖗𝖎𝖌𝖍𝖙𝖘 Bulletin for Thursday, February 23, 2023
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Generated Fri 24 Feb 02:43:52 GMT 2023
Created by Dr. Roy Schestowitz (𝚛𝚘𝚢 (at) 𝚜𝚌𝚑𝚎𝚜𝚝𝚘𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚣 (dot) 𝚌𝚘𝚖)
Full hyperlinks for navigation omitted but are fully available in the originals
The corresponding HTML versions are at 𝒕𝒆𝒄𝒉𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒔.𝒐𝒓𝒈
Latest in 𝒉𝒕𝒕𝒑://𝒕𝒆𝒄𝒉𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒔.𝒐𝒓𝒈/𝒕𝒙𝒕 and older bulletins can be found at 𝒉𝒕𝒕𝒑://𝒕𝒆𝒄𝒉𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒔.𝒐𝒓𝒈/𝒕𝒙𝒕-𝒂𝒓𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒔
Full IPFS index in 𝒉𝒕𝒕𝒑://𝒕𝒆𝒄𝒉𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒔.𝒐𝒓𝒈/𝒊𝒑𝒇𝒔 and as plain text in 𝒉𝒕𝒕𝒑://𝒕𝒆𝒄𝒉𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒔.𝒐𝒓𝒈/𝒊𝒑𝒇𝒔/𝒕𝒙𝒕
Gemini index for the day: gemini://gemini.techrights.org/2023/02/23/
╒═══════════════════ 𝐑𝐄𝐂𝐄𝐍𝐓 𝐁𝐔𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐒 ════════════════════════════════════╕
Previous bulletins in IPFS (past 21 days, in chronological order):
QmXe8bt58f7QFPCzPjfHLJEDufxCy9LYEr1x5WRuwvvwxd
QmXCyRSEqZvXQpdJJgNTZ2SmscGBN8faNeNbNZcV8zoX6D
QmbqEc6DR3dJD1Zez6UEB9NiyCWswQvsYE1yFxnM6ghvgG
QmaVY3HqyuHpVGyMxeT4Bud2vNW78oYnx8dJCM6ZZK5ziE
QmSUai4xNvwMKU2TbSerbPiWGAVberWqCyRsFtpfBmSJUA
QmdqfApkUHoNL7LgRhijLyQ917yqySCE8TFPFh8Efixmuk
QmYUwzBTiff9y3NpVBbZgEPJYspVVxmzVVYkzar4igJRiY
QmWU4whiYNSNx6oxSqvGVEkr1unaGuqfGtoiphqZLBAxVJ
QmQUWdJviNhacCKbEie2yYrdrQaNYjUhGH7B8majeYU6Vb
Qmckkfq1rqb7mTK7w6RbFZJjskRKcnUk8PdtMmcLwUhXgV
QmVY5cAKghhEttE24TaNrAQgciJau5j7EoeaEmfjYdbLMD
QmUUEWf3hsUuMVJFPVavJpe7kPpi5bCmXqN9PPz7qbVMEu
QmVBn9QkCHpe2cDLPr9H2kyS7vx3eRh5a9NN8CDSJEKw58
QmYGXGQ6SW216dEJ4TMfGyb7yDMBF4n6zCEwza8SfCQjDJ
QmbPtsyc7sJxSwGRbURzMBpmJpQAgABouVYWUyXdfGhcFh
QmSCXZVE6CQ7coFZMzXzjrALhoFTURwUpGRmU6CktGzSQz
QmPbC3tAdXsThGxVyQYA3w5ThD5inZGhqy6fsNKHm55vAM
QmfXoJrbKnWSQ2LZPdcn6D62y58ADQrCM6VaEptoYdSLz7
QmVFthGmR5Kh2aG2L3dgjZk4cCYoHhxwUKnwVSzKutqpZ9
Qmb1ifnMR1HKQVZSvpC4pPPzaFprCcVWkqqqznNJrvKGMT
QmRmM7KSPSMNkJa65wrPNTYM2RSbSjrTUjyFydLzyeS74W
╒═══════════════════ 𝐈𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐗 ═══════════════════════════════════════════════════╕
⦿ IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, February 22, 2023 | Techrights
䷼ Bulletin articles (as HTML) to comment on (requires login):
http://techrights.org/2023/02/23/irc-log-220223/#comments
䷞ Followed by Daily Links (assorted news picks curated and categorised):
http://techrights.org/2023/02/23/gnome-44-beta/#comments
http://techrights.org/2023/02/23/torvalds-pushes-back/#comments
http://techrights.org/2023/02/23/transmission-4-0-1/#comments
䷩ 𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚎 49
╒═══════════════════ 𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐈𝐂𝐋𝐄 ═════════════════════════════════════════════════╕
(ℹ) Images, hyperlinks and comments at http://techrights.org/2023/02/23/irc-log-220223/#comments
Gemini version at gemini://gemini.techrights.org/2023/02/23/irc-log-220223/
⠀⌧ █▇▆▅▄▃▂▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁ 02.23.23⠀▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▂▃▄▅▆▇█ ⌧
Gemini_version_available_♊︎
✐ IRC_Proceedings:_Wednesday,_February_22,_2023⠀✐
Posted in IRC_Logs at 2:59 am by Needs Sunlight
Also available via the Gemini protocol at:
* gemini://gemini.techrights.org/irc-gmi/irc-log-techrights-220223.gmi
* gemini://gemini.techrights.org/irc-gmi/irc-log-220223.gmi
* gemini://gemini.techrights.org/irc-gmi/irc-log-social-220223.gmi
* gemini://gemini.techrights.org/irc-gmi/irc-log-techbytes-220223.gmi
Over HTTP:
🄸🄼🄰🄶🄴_🄳🄴🅂🄲🅁🄸🄿🅃🄸🄾🄽_⦇H 🄸🄼🄰🄶🄴_🄳🄴🅂🄲🅁🄸🄿🅃🄸🄾🄽_⦇HTML5_logs⦈_
#techrights_log_as_HTML5 #boycottnovell_log_as_HTML5
🄸🄼🄰🄶🄴_🄳🄴🅂🄲🅁🄸🄿🅃🄸🄾🄽_⦇H 🄸🄼🄰🄶🄴_🄳🄴🅂🄲🅁🄸🄿🅃🄸🄾🄽_⦇HTML5_logs⦈_
#boycottnovell-social_log_as_HTML5 #techbytes_log_as_HTML5
🄸🄼🄰🄶🄴_🄳🄴🅂🄲🅁🄸🄿🅃🄸🄾🄽_⦇t 🄸🄼🄰🄶🄴_🄳🄴🅂🄲🅁🄸🄿🅃🄸🄾🄽_⦇text_logs⦈_
#techrights_log_as_text #boycottnovell_log_as_text
🄸🄼🄰🄶🄴_🄳🄴🅂🄲🅁🄸🄿🅃🄸🄾🄽_⦇t 🄸🄼🄰🄶🄴_🄳🄴🅂🄲🅁🄸🄿🅃🄸🄾🄽_⦇text_logs⦈_
#boycottnovell-social_log_as_text #techbytes_log_as_text
Enter_the_IRC_channels_now
=> =============================================================================
§ IPFS Mirrors⠀➾
CID Description Object type
IRC log for
QmS9PYVrPXG7BrhYCAca5co3ZBwBRu46yNosDV3LxrgV2n #boycottnovell 🄸🄼🄰🄶🄴 🄳🄴🅂🄲🅁🄸🄿🅃🄸🄾🄽 ⦇HTML5 logs⦈
(full IRC log
as HTML)
IRC log for
#boycottnovell
QmTqGdZtT486UjGRrVjkMAwcrmurHn9p1VGUPQkG7cdo2N (full IRC log 🄸🄼🄰🄶🄴 🄳🄴🅂🄲🅁🄸🄿🅃🄸🄾🄽 ⦇text logs⦈
as plain/ASCII
text)
IRC log for
#boycottnovell-
QmP6A7ndpE7skb4ocX1EzgH8THexpburrVR749ETpLvqKw social 🄸🄼🄰🄶🄴 🄳🄴🅂🄲🅁🄸🄿🅃🄸🄾🄽 ⦇HTML5 logs⦈
(full IRC log
as HTML)
IRC log for
#boycottnovell-
QmbptL9vq4e5CPnvacUNUX5BQGXPjkowFjZhqpvNZkLP19 social 🄸🄼🄰🄶🄴 🄳🄴🅂🄲🅁🄸🄿🅃🄸🄾🄽 ⦇text logs⦈
(full IRC log
as plain/ASCII
text)
IRC log for
QmQfDsHq8ARh87fZPnxausqVMH5Fu38V4Q6Eq7C5p9drY4 #techbytes 🄸🄼🄰🄶🄴 🄳🄴🅂🄲🅁🄸🄿🅃🄸🄾🄽 ⦇HTML5 logs⦈
(full IRC log
as HTML)
IRC log for
#techbytes
QmSuT6pj9Hzf19wjjxZJ9aLvLZFDtcp32wfVkpqwRpNe48 (full IRC log 🄸🄼🄰🄶🄴 🄳🄴🅂🄲🅁🄸🄿🅃🄸🄾🄽 ⦇text logs⦈
as plain/ASCII
text)
IRC log for
QmSux3CAnVmHsntkCokyAsaGFP3TBQes8dbBB9nyYoevKd #techrights 🄸🄼🄰🄶🄴 🄳🄴🅂🄲🅁🄸🄿🅃🄸🄾🄽 ⦇HTML5 logs⦈
(full IRC log
as HTML)
IRC log for
#techrights
QmbXGDSYk5NFKrtLpJSqYwosbfZDT1NoJNZkeiUqbv76Br (full IRC log 🄸🄼🄰🄶🄴 🄳🄴🅂🄲🅁🄸🄿🅃🄸🄾🄽 ⦇text logs⦈
as plain/ASCII
text)
🄸🄼🄰🄶🄴 🄳🄴🅂🄲🅁🄸🄿🅃🄸🄾🄽 ⦇IPFS logo⦈
§ Bulletin for Yesterday⠀➾
Local_copy | CID (IPFS): QmRmM7KSPSMNkJa65wrPNTYM2RSbSjrTUjyFydLzyeS74W
䷩ 𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚎 176
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Gemini_version_available_♊︎
✐ Links_23/02/2023:_Debian-based_TrueNAS_Scale_and_GNOME_44_Beta⠀✐
Posted in News_Roundup at 12:12 pm by Dr. Roy Schestowitz
🄸🄼🄰🄶🄴 🄳🄴🅂🄲🅁🄸🄿🅃🄸🄾🄽 ⦇GNOME bluefish⦈
§ Contents⠀➾
* GNU/Linux
o Audiocasts/Shows
o Kernel_Space
o Graphics_Stack
o Applications
o Instructionals/Technical
o Games
o Desktop_Environments/WMs
# K_Desktop_Environment/KDE_SC/Qt
# GNOME_Desktop/GTK
* Distributions_and_Operating_Systems
o Gentoo_Family
o SUSE/OpenSUSE
o Debian_Family
o Canonical/Ubuntu_Family
o Devices/Embedded
o Open_Hardware/Modding
o Mobile_Systems/Mobile_Applications
* Free,_Libre,_and_Open_Source_Software
o Web_Browsers/Web_Servers
# Chromium
# Mozilla
o Programming/Development
* Leftovers
o Science
o Hardware
o Health/Nutrition/Agriculture
o Linux_Foundation
o Security
# Privacy/Surveillance
o Defence/Aggression
o Environment
# Energy/Transportation
# Overpopulation
o Finance
o AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics
o Censorship/Free_Speech
o Freedom_of_Information_/_Freedom_of_the_Press
o Civil_Rights/Policing
o Internet_Policy/Net_Neutrality
o Monopolies
# Patents
# Trademarks
# Copyrights
* Gemini*_and_Gopher
o Personal
o Technical
# Programming
* § GNU/Linux⠀➾
o ⚓ Dignited ☛ 5_Great_Linux_Operating_Systems_to_Try_Out_in_2023⠀⇛
If you’re anything like me, then you’re always on the
lookout for the latest and greatest Linux distributions
to test-drive. And let’s be honest, there’s nothing quite
like the thrill of discovering a new distro that just
clicks with your workflow and personality.
So, let’s dive into the top Linux distros to watch out
for in 2023, and who knows, you might just find your next
Linux soulmate. Also, since Ubuntu has been the go-to for
many years and there are countless distros out there, why
not focus on these instead? Let’s dig in.
o ⚓ Hackaday ☛ A_Linux_Distro_For_All_Your_Ham_Needs⠀⇛
For anyone new to the world of ham radio, one of the
things that takes a little getting used to is visiting
the websites of authoritative experts in various fields
and feeling like you’ve traveled back to the Internet of
1999. As a hobby that lends itself to extremely
utilitarian amateurs, the software side can feel a little
left behind like that. [Andy] aka [KB1OIQ], on the other
hand, is also a Linux enthusiast and has been putting
together a complete Linux distribution with everything
needed to operate a radio in the modern era.
While most ham radio software seems to be developed for
Windows, there is a lot available for Linux. It just
takes a bit of tinkering and experimentation to get
everything configured just right. Andy’s Ham Radio Linux,
or AHRL, takes a lot of the guesswork out of this. The
distribution includes everything from contact logging
software to antenna modeling, propagation forecasting,
and electronic design. While tools like this are largely
optional for operating radios themselves, there are also
tools included to allow the user to operate various
digital modes as well, which require some sort of
computer interface to use.
o ⚓ insideHPC ☛ iXsystems Introduces TrueNAS_Mini R Appliance_with
Linux-based_TrueNAS_SCALE_–_High-Performance_Computing_News
Analysis_|_insideHPC⠀⇛
o ⚓ CNX Software ☛ TrueNAS_Mini_R_rack-mountable_system_supports
TrueNAS_CORE_or_Debian-based_TrueNAS_SCALE
⠀⇛
All three versions of TrueNAS support many of the same
features, but the main difference is that TrueNAS SCALE
is based on Debian Linux instead of FreeBSD, which leads
to differences in terms of supported applications (e.g.
plugins vs Docket Linux containers), virtualization (e.g.
OpenStack vs Kubernetes), and so on.
I had read forum threads in the past where people wanted
to run FreeNAS on Arm, but each time they were told it
was not going to happen, so I asked a company
representative who contacted CNX Software if the new
TrueNAS SCALE would be cross-platform or limited to x86.
Here’s the answer…
o ⚓ The Register UK ☛ Debian-based_TrueNAS_Scale_updated_–_and
iXsystems_wins_a_gong⠀⇛
Enterprise NAS vendor iXsystems has updated its
Kubernetes-capable Debian-based NAS OS, and scored
Digital Public Good status too.
iXsystems now has a family of dedicated storage-server
OSes, and the new release of TrueNAS Scale, version
22.12.1. The company has a very cautious, slow-moving
lifecycle – which is what you want from a vendor whose
offerings will hold all your corporate data.
o ⚓ Ubuntu Pit ☛ TrueNAS_SCALE_Bluefin_22.12.1_Released:_What’s
New?⠀⇛
TrueNAS SCALE is a powerful, open-source operating system
specifically built for enterprise-level data storage and
management. Powered by Debian Linux and the innovative
ZFS file system, it offers advanced features such as
snapshotting, replication, and data compression to make
sure that your organization’s most critical information
is always secured in the best way possible.
o ⚓ Finextra Research ☛ Computop_debuts_three_new_Linux-based_payment
terminals⠀⇛
The Linux-based devices from Swiss partner, PayTec,
expand the existing range with three options for the most
typical use cases in retail.
With the support of ZVT and OPI, the new Computop models
have been designed for the most common international
connection protocols of POS terminals. They enable card
acceptance via magnetic stripe, chip and contactless NFC
transmission and are certified according to the PCI PTS*
5.x and 6.x security standards. This guarantees that they
can be used for at least 10 years.
o § Audiocasts/Shows⠀➾
# ⚓ Tux Digital ☛ 51:_Linux_from_the_Start⠀⇛
This week, Linux Out Loud chats about up-and-coming
hardware using Linux. Welcome to episode 51 of
Linux Out Loud. We fired up our mics, connected
those headphones as we searched the community for
themes to expound upon.
# ⚓ Tux Digital ☛ 218:_KDE_Plasma_5.27,_Endless_OS,_Fedora_38,
Future_of_Thunderbird_&_More_Linux_News⠀⇛
On this episode of This Week in Linux, KDE has
released a new version of their Plasma desktop.
# ⚓ Bryan Lunduke ☛ UNIX_is_Everywhere⠀⇛
Listen now (19 min) | The Lunduke Journal of
Technology Podcast – Feb 23, 2023
o § Kernel Space⠀➾
# ⚓ It’s FOSS ☛ Linux_is_Just_a_Kernel:_What_Does_it_Mean⠀⇛
Well, technically, Linux is just a kernel, not an
operating system. However, the term Linux is often
referred to a complete operating system that
includes a shell (like bash) and command line and/
or GUI tools to control the system. The technically
correct term for this complete operating system is
Linux distribution or simply Linux distro. Examples
of popular Linux distributions include Ubuntu, Red
Hat, and Debian.
Back in 1991, what Linus Torvalds created was the
kernel only. Even today, he works on the Linux
kernel. He doesn’t code anymore but supervises
which code goes into the kernel.
# ⚓ Macworld ☛ Linux_6.2_is_up_and_running_on_M1_Macs_but_still
missing_many_key_features_|_Macworld⠀⇛
The latest Linux build can technically run on Apple
silicon, but you won’t be able to do much.
o § Graphics Stack⠀➾
# ⚓ 9to5Linux ☛ Mesa_23_Graphics_Stack_Released_with_Radeon
Memory_Visualizer_Support,_Rise_of_the_Tomb_Raider_Fixes⠀⇛
Highlights of Mesa 23 include Radeon Memory
Visualizer support, various raytracing, graphics
pipeline library, and RDNA3 improvements for the
RADV (Radeon Vulkan) driver, Rise of the Tomb
Raider’s Ambient Occlusion pass misrenders
(swimming shadows), improved support for the KDE
Plasma desktop environment when using the Plasma
Wayland session and the Gallium LLVMpipe driver.
Mesa 23 also implements more VK_EXT_dynamic_state3
features for the RADV and Turnip drivers, enables
the VK_EXT_mesh_shader extension by default on
RADV/RDNA2, fixes Rise of the Tomb Raider crashes
in Soviet Installation 20% with
VK_ERROR_DEVICE_LOST on Wine/DXVK, and improves
support for the Battlefield 1 (DX11), Hi-Fi Rush,
and Minecraft video games, as well as the VLC Media
Player software.
o § Applications⠀➾
# ⚓ 9to5Linux ☛ Fwupd_1.8.11_Linux_Firmware_Updater_Adds
Support_for_New_Devices,_New_Features⠀⇛
Coming a month after fwupd 1.8.10, the fwupd 1.8.11
release is here to add support for the CalDigit
Element Hub and CalDigit TS4 Dock devices, prefer
the Intel USB4 plugin over the Thunderbolt plugin
when required, allow desktop software to inhibit
the system to prevent updates, and add support for
replaying USB devices so they can be emulated in
CI.
Fwupd 1.8.11 also introduces support for using
requirements with depth=0 and no parent,
automatically sets the CCGX remove-delay to parse
DMC subcomponents, implements a new mechanism to
detect and warn users with broken NVMe 3B2QGXA7
firmware, and the ability to print errors as JSON
objects when using the fwupdmgr –json command.
# ⚓ Linux Links ☛ 14_Best_Free_and_Open_Source_Test_Automation
Tools⠀⇛
It’s very important to select the best set of test
automation tools for your specific needs and
requirements. There’s lots of tools available which
makes selection somewhat problematic.
You don’t need to spend money on test automation
software as there is a great range of free and open
source tools, libraries, and testing frameworks
available.
To start your automation journey, we make the
following recommendations captured in a LinuxLinks-
styled ratings chart. All of the programs are free
and open source goodness
# ⚓ Ubuntu Pit ☛ 10_Best_Comic_Book_Viewers_for_Linux⠀⇛
From our childhood, we’ve all been well-versed in
comic books. Many of us enjoyed reading them, and
they kept us amused during leisure time — it’s a
pastime that many of us still treasure today.
o § Instructionals/Technical⠀➾
# ⚓ Ubuntu Handbook ☛ Control_Screen_Brightness_for_External
Monitor_in_Ubuntu_(GUI_&_CLI)⠀⇛
Want to control screen brightness, color preset,
contrast etc for your external monitor connected in
Desktop PC or laptop?
# ⚓ Net2 ☛ How_to_Install_ffmpeg_on_Ubuntu_22.04⠀⇛
FFmpeg is a free and open-source tool that runs
through the command line. Basically, it’s used to
convert multimedia files from one format to
another. It’s got a bunch of audio and video
libraries that it shares, like libavformat,
libavcodec, and libavutil.
# ⚓ TecAdmin ☛ Configuring_Nginx_for_Laravel_on_Ubuntu_&
Debian⠀⇛
Laravel is a popular PHP web application framework
used to develop robust and dynamic web
applications. When it comes to deploying a Laravel
application, Nginx is a popular web server choice
due to its speed, stability, and scalability.
Configuring Nginx for Laravel is important for
production deployments.
# ⚓ TecAdmin ☛ Developing_a_Simple_Mobile_App_with_Ionic
Framework⠀⇛
Ionic Framework is a powerful and popular option
for developing cross-platform mobile applications.
In this article, we’ll walk you through a step-by-
step guide to creating a simple mobile app using
Ionic Framework.
# ⚓ TecAdmin ☛ Getting_Started_with_Vim:_A_Beginner’s_Guide⠀⇛
Vim is a powerful and widely used text editor that
provides users with a number of advanced features
for editing and manipulating text. If you’re new to
Vim, however, it can be a little intimidating to
get started.
# ⚓ Peter_Czanik:_Installing_a_syslog-ng_4_development_snapshot
on_FreeBSD⠀⇛
Unless there is a serious_problem, FreeBSD ports
usually contains the latest stable syslog-ng
release. However, sometimes people want to compile
a git snapshot to test a new feature or bugfix. To
do that, one way is to generate_a_syslog-ng_release
tgz_on_FreeBSD and edit the syslog-ng port files
yourself. However, this needs some practice. As
such, an easier solution is to use my weekly
development snapshots.
# ⚓ TecAdmin ☛ How_to_Set_Up_an_NFS_Share_on_Debian⠀⇛
NFS (Network File System) is a distributed file
system that allows clients to access files and
directories on remote servers over a network. NFS
is commonly used in environments with many systems,
where it is important to share resources between
different servers.
# ⚓ Trend Oceans ☛ Stig:_A_TUI_and_CLI_for_the_BitTorrent
Client_Transmission⠀⇛
If you’re looking for a terminal-based bittorrent
client that should do all your work with the
essence of a GUI, then Stig BitTorrent Client is
for you.
# ⚓ UNIX Cop ☛ How_to_Install_Helpy_Customer_Helpdesk_on_Ubuntu
22.04⠀⇛
Helpy is an open-source customer support system
based and written in Ruby on Rails language. It is
open-source and allows you to customize it
according to your needs. This tool can be used to
build up businesses allowing them to create
automated ticketing, emailing, and integration with
multiple apps.
# ⚓ UNIX Cop ☛ How_to_install_Zeek_Network_Security_Monitoring
Tool⠀⇛
Zeek is a highly used, free, open-source security
tool for detecting network interference and
analyzing network traffic. It is favored by
security experts who use it to identify irregular
patterns and monitor DNS, HTTP, and FTP traffic.
# ⚓ Network World ☛ Tailoring_your_Linux_command_prompt_|
Network_World⠀⇛
Here’s how to change your Linux command prompt to
something you might like better.
# ⚓ Linux Journal ☛ SFTP_Port_Forwarding:_Enabling_Suppressed
Functionality_|_Linux_Journal⠀⇛
The OpenSSH maintainers have determined that sftp
and scp have no legitimate use for port forwarding
(via the -L and -R options). A flag to explicitly
disable these features is unconditionally passed to
the child SSH executable during file transfers with
these utilities.
# ⚓ Hackaday ☛ Linux_Fu:_Sharing_Your_Single_WiFi_|_Hackaday⠀⇛
If you are trying to build a router or access
point, you’ll need to dig into some of the details
of networking that are normally hidden from you.
But, for a normal WiFi connection, things mostly
just work, even though that hasn’t always been the
case. However, I ran into a special case the other
day where I needed a little custom networking, and
then I found a great answer to automate the whole
process. It all comes down to hotel WiFi. How can
you make your Linux laptop connect to a public WiFi
spot and then rebroadcast it as a private WiFI
network? In particular, I wanted to connect an
older Chromecast to the network.
[...]
There had to be a better way to solve this than
fumbling with hostapd configurations after a long
flight. There is and it is called linux-wifi-
hotspot. It uses hostapd along with networking
tools like iproute2, iptables, and dnsmasq, to
create a hotspot with very little effort. It is
worth noting that NetworkManager can also do this
if you have two WiFi adapters. But, as far as I can
tell, it doesn’t know how to put the AP on the same
adapter as the incoming Internet connection.
I installed the program from a package and I had to
install hostapd, too. There’s also a ppa for
Ubuntu, or you can build it from source by
following the instructions.
The interface to the program is relatively simple.
You name your hotspot and provide a password. You
can make it a tough one because you can have the
program display a QR code that will let your phone,
for example, hook right up to it.
# ⚓ Linux Hint ☛ How_to_Use_“apt_install”_Correctly_in_Your
Dockerfile⠀⇛
To use apt install in Dockerfile…
# ⚓ Linux Hint ☛ Debian_AppArmor_Tutorial⠀⇛
Tutorial on how to work with the AppArmor profiles
to restrict the programs to specific resources and
connect the access control properties to the
programs.
# ⚓ Make Use Of ☛ How_to_Open_the_Terminal_in_Linux⠀⇛
The command line gives you complete control of a
Linux system. Here’s how you can open a terminal on
your Linux computer.
# ⚓ ID Root ☛ How_To_Install_OpenLiteSpeed_on_Rocky_Linux_9⠀⇛
In this tutorial, we will show you how to install
OpenLiteSpeed on Rocky Linux 9. For those of you
who didn’t know, OpenLiteSpeed is an open-source,
high-performance web server designed to handle
large volumes of traffic efficiently.
# ⚓ ID Root ☛ How_To_Install_Jira_Agile_Project_Management_on
Ubuntu_22.04_LTS⠀⇛
In this tutorial, we will show you how to install
Jira Agile Project Management on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS.
For those of you who didn’t know, Jira Agile
Project Management is a project management tool
designed specifically for software development
teams.
# ⚓ LinuxConfig ☛ Bash_and_DD:_Testing_Flash_Drive_Speed_with_a
Simple_Script⠀⇛
# ⚓ Linux Hint ☛ How_to_use_systemctl_in_Ubuntu?⠀⇛
In Ubuntu, the “systemctl” command is used to
control and manage the “systemd” services with a
combination of service commands.
# ⚓ Linux Hint ☛ How_to_Close_a_Browser_in_Selenium⠀⇛
Comprehensive tutorial on how to close a browser in
Selenium using the close() and quit() methods to
check whether the WebDriver session ID is alive or
not.
# ⚓ Linux Hint ☛ How_to_Push_Local_Docker_Image_to_AWS_ECR⠀⇛
AWS ECR is a fully managed registry that aids in
deploying docker containers using Docker images.
This guide provides detail about how to push a
docker image.
# ⚓ Linux Hint ☛ How_Do_I_Record_Audio_on_Ubuntu?⠀⇛
In Ubuntu, the “Gnome-Sound-Recorder” and the
“Audio Recorder” external software packages are
used to record the audio/voice from various
sources.
# ⚓ Linux Hint ☛ How_to_Create_and_Extract_TAR.GZ_Files_on
Ubuntu_22.04?⠀⇛
The pre-installed “tar” command utility supports
the compression and decompression operation of
“tar.gz” compressed files.
# ⚓ Linux Hint ☛ How_to_Install_the_Adobe_Reader_in_Linux
Mint⠀⇛
Tutorial on how to install the Adobe Reader in
Linux Mint by downloading the “.deb” package and
using the “sudo dpkg -i adobereader-*.deb” terminal
command.
# ⚓ Linux Hint ☛ How_to_Update_Grub_on_Arch_Linux⠀⇛
Tutorial on the uses of Grub in Linux-like
operating systems and how to update it on Arch
Linux using the grub customizer and the update-grub
repository of Git.
# ⚓ How_to_Install_and_Configure_Neo4j_on_AlmaLinux⠀⇛
Neo4j is a popular graph database used to store and
manage data in the form of graphs. Instead of rows
and columns, it uses nodes and relationships to
represent data. It is a highly scalable NoSQL
database system developed by Neo Technology.
# ⚓ Trend Oceans ☛ Lolcat:_Make_your_Terminal_Output
Colourful⠀⇛
Let’s add a bit of fun to the text that comes out
of our terminal using one of the internet’s most
beloved commands.
o § Games⠀➾
# ⚓ CubicleNate ☛ Super_Mario_World_Widescreen_on_the
SteamDeck⠀⇛
The SteamDeck is a great retro gaming platform. I
have loaded it up with many of my retro games and
one of my favorites to play on it is Super Mario
World but in a widescreen format. I have seen this
done elsewhere but wanted to do this for myself.
# ⚓ Boiling Steam ☛ New_Steam_Games_with_Native_Linux_Clients,
with_Blue_Fish_Yokohama_and_Selene_Apoptosis_–_2023-02-22
Edition⠀⇛
Between 2023-02-15 and 2023-02-22 there were 33 New
Steam games released with Native Linux clients.
# ⚓ Ruben Schade ☛ Atelier_Games_on_special_on_Steam⠀⇛
You can by_games_in_the_Atelier_franchise for ~35%
off on Steam until the end of the month. It’s not
an ad, it’s a recommendation! Right?
I only got into the Atelier games in the last few
years, but they’re so comfy and fun. The alchemy/
crafting mechanics are approachable and
interesting, the art is beautiful, and the voice
acting is top notch. Unlike previous Atelier titles
that had time limits, this slower gamer appreciates
that you can take the modern ones at your own pace.
They also reward you for exploring, which
admittedly is something I tend to do more in these
sorts of games.
o § Desktop Environments/WMs⠀➾
# § K Desktop Environment/KDE SC/Qt⠀➾
# ⚓ Djalel Oukid ☛ Plasma_5.27_is_released,_marking_the
end_of_Plasma_5′s_reign._It’s_time_to_hand_over_the
throne!⠀⇛
KDE plasma is one of the top Linux desktop
environments. For me, it is the top. Plasma
is free, open source, feature-rich, and
highly customizable DE. The KDE team develops
Plasma extensively and thoughtfully to offer
us a fresh and stable desktop experience.On
February 14, the efforts of dozens of KDE
developers and contributors in the past
months culminated in Plasma 5.27 release.
# § GNOME Desktop/GTK⠀➾
# ⚓ 9to5Linux ☛ GNOME_44_Beta_Released_with_Quick
Settings_Enhancements,_WireGuard_Support⠀⇛
GNOME 44 Beta is an important milestone in
the development cycle of the GNOME 44 desktop
environment and brings lots of changes to
further polish the final release, which will
probably be available in most GNU/Linux
distributions in mid- or late April 2023.
We already know from the GNOME 44 alpha
release that GNOME 44 promises a GTK4 port of
the Epiphany (GNOME Web) web browser, a grid
view for the GTK file chooser, support for
64px icon size in Nautilus (Files)’s grid
view, a new Bluetooth submenu in Quick
Settings, the ability to disable Settings
search results in Shell, and more.
* § Distributions and Operating Systems⠀➾
o ⚓ Linux Hint ☛ Top_7_Lightweight_Linux_Distributions⠀⇛
Top 7 lightweight Linux distributions are “Linux Lite”,
“antiX Linux”, “Xubuntu”, “Lubuntu”, “Tiny Core”, “Puppy
Linux” and “Bodhi Linux”.
o § Gentoo Family⠀➾
# ⚓ Gentoo ☛ Gentoo_accepted_into_Google_Summer_of_Code_2023⠀⇛
Do you want to learn more about Gentoo and
contribute to your favourite
free software project?! Once again, now for the
11th time,
we_have_been_accepted as
a mentoring organization for this year’s Google
Summer_of_Code!
The GSoC is an excellent opportunity for gaining
real-world experience
in software design and making oneself known in the
broader open source
community. It also looks great on a resume. Some
initial project ideas can
be found_here, but
new projects ideas are also welcome. For new
projects time is of the essence:
they have to be worked out, discussed with the
mentors, and submitted before
the April 4th deadline. It is strongly recommended
that contributors
refine new project ideas with a mentor before
proposing the idea formally.
o § SUSE/OpenSUSE⠀➾
# ⚓ OpenSUSE ☛ Awareness_Sessions_About_Projects_Available_for
GSoC_Applicants⠀⇛
Mentors and administrators of openSUSE are excited
to be accepted as a mentorship_organization for
this year’s Google_Summer_of_Code and will be
available for potential mentee to discuss the
projects that are listed on 101.opensuse.org.
There will be 15 minute sessions prior to all
openSUSE community meetings where mentees can join
our Jitsi meeting room to get in touch with members
of the openSUSE community who can help them
navigate_the_projects available during this year’s
GSoC.
o § Debian Family⠀➾
# ⚓ 9to5Linux ☛ New_Raspberry_Pi_OS_Release_Adds_Support_for
New_Touchscreen_and_Video_Drivers⠀⇛
Raspberry Pi OS 2023-02-21 was quietly released by
the Raspberry Pi Foundation and introduces support
for a new touchscreen driver to the Screen
Resolution tool, support for a new video driver
called msdri3, and installs the kms++-utils package
by default to allow you to set display resolution
and depth in the kernel space.
Another interesting change in the new Raspberry Pi
OS release is that the window titlebar buttons for
GTK message dialogs have been moved to the right.
Moreover, this release deprecated the glamor open-
source 2D graphics driver for all Raspberry Pi
boards except Raspberry Pi 4 with the legacy video
driver.
# ⚓ Paul_Tagliamonte:_Announcing_hz.tools⠀⇛
Ever since 2019, I’ve been learning about how
radios work, and trying to learn
about using them “the hard way” – by writing as
much of the stack as is
practical (for some value of practical) myself. I
wrote my first “Hello World”
in 2018, which was a simple FM radio player, which
used librtlsdr to read in
an IQ stream, did some filtering, and played the
real valued audio stream via
pulseaudio. Over 4 years this has slowly grown
through persistence, lots of
questions to too many friends to thank (although I
will try), and the eternal
patience of my wife hearing about radios nonstop –
for years – into a number
of Go repos that can do quite a bit, and support a
handful of radios.
I’ve resisted making the repos public not out of
embarrassment or a desire to
keep secrets, but rather, an attempt to keep myself
free of any maintenance
obligations to users – so that I could freely break
my own API, add and remove
API surface as I saw fit. The worst case was to
have this project feel like
work, and I don’t know that I can have that be true
if I feel frustrated by PRs
that are “getting ahead of me” – solving problems I
didn’t yet know about, or
bugs I didn’t understand the fix for.
As my rate of changes to the most central
dependencies has slowed, i’ve begun
to entertain the idea of publishing them. After a
bit of back and forth, I’ve
decided it’s time to make a number of them public,
and to start working on
them in the open, as I’ve built up a bit of
confidence around it, and feel
confident that the repo doesn’t contain overt lies.
That’s not to say it
doesn’t contain lies, but those lies are likely
hidden and lurking in the dark.
Beware.
# ⚓ Dirk Eddelbuettel ☛ Dirk_Eddelbuettel:_RcppArmadillo
0.12.0.1.0_on_CRAN:_New_Upstream,_New_Features⠀⇛
Armadillo is a powerful
and expressive C++ template library for linear
algebra and scientific
computing. It aims towards a good balance between
speed and ease of use,
has a syntax deliberately close to Matlab, and is
useful for algorithm
development directly in C++, or quick conversion of
research code into
production environments. RcppArmadillo
integrates this library with the R environment and
language–and is
widely used by (currently) 1042 other packages on
CRAN, downloaded 28.1 million
times (per the partial logs from the cloud mirrors
of CRAN), and the CSDA_paper (preprint
/_vignette) by Conrad and myself has been cited 513
times according
to Google Scholar.
o § Canonical/Ubuntu Family⠀➾
# ⚓ Linux Hint ☛ Xubuntu_Vs_Ubuntu⠀⇛
Ubuntu is a well-known Linux distribution that was
first released in 2004 and is now used all over the
world. In 2006, the derivative of Ubuntu was
released known as “Xubuntu” with another
derivative. Both distributions are open-source and
freely available for all types of users. Moreover,
Xubuntu can be developed for older systems.
# ⚓ Linux Hint ☛ Kubuntu_vs._Ubuntu⠀⇛
Ubuntu is a good choice for users who want a
reliable operating system, and Kubuntu is a great
choice for users who want more control over their
OS.
# ⚓ Linux Hint ☛ 5_Ubuntu_Alternatives_for_2021⠀⇛
There are various Ubuntu alternatives which include
“Linux Mint OS”, “Fedora OS”, “Arch OS”, “Ubuntu
OS”, and “Deepin OS”.
o § Devices/Embedded⠀➾
# ⚓ Tom’s Hardware ☛ Raspberry_Pi_Pico_C_SDK_Now_Has_One-Click
Installer⠀⇛
Raspberry Pi announces a one-click installation
package for Windows users wishing to write
Raspberry Pi Pico projects in C.
o § Open Hardware/Modding⠀➾
# ⚓ Liliputing ☛ Now_you_can_run_some_Windows_apps_on_Ubuntu
Touch_phones_(emphasis_on_some)_–_Liliputing⠀⇛
Ubuntu Touch is mobile version of the popular
Ubuntu GNU/Linux distribution that’s optimized for
phones, tablets, and other small touchscreen
devices. Like many mobile Linux distros, it also
allows you to run some Android apps if you install
Waydroid to run Android in a container.
Now you can run some Windows apps as well, thanks
developer Codemaster Freders, who has released an
Ubuntu Touch package called Winebox.
o § Mobile Systems/Mobile Applications⠀➾
# ⚓ Top_8_Ways_to_Fix_Google_Messages_Not_Downloading_MMS_on
Android_–_Guiding_Tech⠀⇛
# ⚓ PC Mag ☛ Don’t_Trust_the_‘Data_Safety’_Labels_on_These
Android_Apps_|_PCMag⠀⇛
# ⚓ TechCrunch ☛ Popular_Android_apps’_Play_Store_privacy
labels_don’t_match_up_to_their_claims,_Mozilla_says_|
TechCrunch⠀⇛
# ⚓ Phone Arena ☛ Google_drops_“Chat”_for_“RCS”_on_Android_–
PhoneArena⠀⇛
# ⚓ 9to5Google ☛ Vivaldi_for_Android_now_supports_YouTube
background_playback⠀⇛
# ⚓ Giz China ☛ OnePlus_7T_finally_pushes_Android_12/OxygenOS
12_system_update⠀⇛
# ⚓ India Times ☛ Xiaomi_to_launch_Android_13-based_MIUI_14_in
India_on_February_26_–_Times_of_India⠀⇛
# ⚓ Gizmo China ☛ Nokia_Adds_G10_to_the_List_of_Official
Android_13_Compatible_Phones⠀⇛
# ⚓ [Updated]_Android_13_update_tracker:_Here’s_everything_we
know_so_far_–_PiunikaWeb⠀⇛
# ⚓ Android_13_QPR2_Beta_3.2_Update_Hits_Pixel_Devices⠀⇛
# ⚓ CNX Software ☛ 2-channel_DSO-500K_WiFi_oscilloscope_is
based_on_Raspberry_Pi_Pico_W_board_–_CNX_Software⠀⇛
# ⚓ SamMobile ☛ Now_use_Google_Maps_on_your_Galaxy_phone_even
when_Android_Auto_is_running_–_SamMobile⠀⇛
# ⚓ Android Police ☛ Android_Auto_is_taking_some_smart_Maps
direction_from_CarPlay⠀⇛
# ⚓ The Sun ☛ Google_hands_out_surprise_free_upgrade_for
popular_Android_app_used_by_millions_–_it’s_a_game-changer_|
The_US_Sun⠀⇛
# ⚓ Liliputing ☛ Lilbits:_Linux_on_Apple_Silicon,_Motorola’s
next_flip-phone,_and_a_new_Acer_Android_tablet_–_Liliputing⠀⇛
* § Free, Libre, and Open Source Software⠀➾
o ⚓ It’s FOSS ☛ FOSS_Weekly_#23.08:_Kernel_6.2_Raspberry_Pi_Debugger,
40_FOSS_Android_Apps_and_More⠀⇛
Announcing a new tutorial series on NixOS.
o ⚓ Medevel ☛ Tiny_Tiny_RSS_Is_An_Open_Source_RSS_Feed_Aggregator⠀⇛
Tiny Tiny RSS is a tiny open source project which is an
advanced RSS reader/news aggregator. It is a self-hosted
RSS aggregator, which can also be used to read from
remote sources. With an intuitive UI and great
performance, it is fast and easy to install on any
hosting
o ⚓ Medevel ☛ Build_A_Backend_For_Your_Apps_in_Mins_with_The_Low-code
Pocketbase⠀⇛
Pocketbase is a free low-code open-source solution that
offers developers a fast way to build backend systems for
their apps.
It is written in the Go programming language and works
extremely fast. Also, it does not take much to setup on
Windows, Linux, and macOS.
o ⚓ Medevel ☛ 17_Open_Source_To_Share_Your_Files_Over_The_Network_and
The_Cloud⠀⇛
File and document sharing are required by companies, web
agencies, freelancers, and enterprise. It is an essential
to for teams to collaborate and share files and documents
internally and externally.
o ⚓ Container Journal ☛ 10+_Open_Source_Kubernetes-Native
Observability_Tools⠀⇛
Kubernetes is revolutionizing the way modern enterprises
manage their cloud infrastructure. But as the technology
develops, so does the need for visibility into systems
running on Kubernetes. Without proper observability, it’s
hard to monitor the health of applications and services
running on Kubernetes. Luckily, plenty of Kubernetes-
native observability tools can
o ⚓ Container Journal ☛ TCO_For_a_Cloud-Native_Environment?_$5.6
Million⠀⇛
A report published today by OutSystems, a provider of a
low-code platform for building applications, estimates
the total cost of building and maintaining a cloud-native
IT environment is, on average, $5.6 million. More
challenging still, the report notes it can take 18 months
to achieve that goal.
o § Web Browsers/Web Servers⠀➾
# § Chromium⠀➾
# ⚓ 9to5Google ☛ Microsoft_aggressively_trying_to_keep
Chrome_downloaders_using_Edge [Ed: Microsoft is
organised crime; always was, still is]⠀⇛
Microsoft sees its browser as an important
aspect and entry point for the new Bing.
Microsoft Edge on Windows is now showing a
rather aggressive ad on the Chrome download
page to dissuade people from switching.
# ⚓ OMG! Linux ☛ Google_Chrome_Now_Uses_Less_Memory_on
Linux⠀⇛
Google Chrome 110 is rolling out to users
across all platforms this week and there’s a
notable new feature included.
# § Mozilla⠀➾
# ⚓ Heather J Meeker ☛ FOSSDA_Launches_to_Celebrate_FOSS
Month⠀⇛
I am thrilled to announce that, with generous
support from Mozilla and the Apache
Foundation, we have officially launched
FOSSDA, the Free and Open Source Stories
Digital Archive. It’s time to tell the story
of the free and open source movement!
# ⚓ Mozilla ☛ Firefox_UX:_People_do_use_Add_to_Home
Screen⠀⇛
Last week Apple added a bunch of capabilities
for web apps added to an iPhone or iPad home
screen. This includes the ability for 3rd
party browsers, like Firefox, to offer Add to
Home Screen from the share menu and to open
home screen bookmarks if it’s the default
browser. I’d love to see us add this to our
iOS app. It looks like a contributor did some
investigation and this might be easy.
# ⚓ Mozilla ☛ Mozilla_Performance_Blog:_Announcing_side-
by-side_videos_for_performance_regressions⠀⇛
Early in the fall, I was talking about
integrating the side-by-side tool in
Continuous Integration (CI). This started as
a script for generating a side-by-side
comparison between two page load test runs,
and emphasizes the visual differences. Using
this tool, you can see more clearly which
metrics have regressed, and how they might be
experienced by a user. The first milestone
was to have a Minimum Viable Product (MVP).
§ What is the side-by-side comparison?
The page load tests measure the performance
of Firefox (and competitors) browsers and run
in Taskcluster (which is our CI) which are
then visualized in Treeherder. Perfherder is
our tool for catching performance
regressions. When a regression bug is filed,
the author of the regressing commit is
needinfo-ed and asked for a fix. Sometimes
the issue is not obvious and additional
debugging information is needed, in which
case the side-by-side comparison is very
useful to help preview the impact the
regression would have on the end-user.
o § Programming/Development⠀➾
# ⚓ Red Hat ☛ Our_advice_for_installing_Node.js_modules_using
npm_registry⠀⇛
The Node.js ecosystem is a vast landscape, and one
of the most important parts of that ecosystem is
its various modules. Installing these modules is
an easy process, thanks to the npm registry. It is
easy to download packages, create your own module,
and publish it to the npm registry. The Node.js
Reference Architecture team has recommendations for
creating and publishing your modules.
# ⚓ OpenSource.com ☛ How_I_do_automated_accessibility_testing
for_my_website⠀⇛
This article covers adding accessibility tests to
your site using Pa11y (pa11y-ci with axe) and
Cypress (with cypress-axe) in GitLab_CI/CD. I use a
Jekyll website as an example, but any website
technology that runs in CI/CD can leverage this
setup.
§ Prep your website
In addition to getting your website to run in CI/
CD, I recommend enabling an XML sitemap feature. A
sitemap allows the accessibility tests to parse all
URLs to find accessibility issues across the site.
I recommend the jekyll-sitemap_plugin for Jekyll
sites.
Collecting a list of all major URLs is a good
alternate step if a sitemap is not possible. The
URLs should cover all potential layouts of the
website, such as pages with the highest traffic or
the most landings. This approach won’t catch all
accessibility issues, especially content level
concerns, but it will test the layout and main
pages.
This scenario requires the npm or yarn package
managers. I used npm for this article. If your
project doesn’t have npm initialized, run the npm
init command to create the package.json file.
§ Begin with Pa11y
Pa11y is a free and open source software that tests
websites for accessibility issues. Pa11y-ci is the
command line utility geared towards continuous
integration (CI). Install pa11y-ci as a development
dependency with npm: [...]
# ⚓ OpenSource.com ☛ Mapping_the_program_counter_back_to_the
function_name_in_your_code⠀⇛
Compilers are commonly used to convert human-
readable source code into a series of instructions
that are directly executed by the computer. A
common question is “How do the debuggers and error
handlers report the place in the source code where
the processor is currently at?” There are various
methods to map instructions back to locations in
the source code. With the compiler optimizing the
code, there are also some complications in mapping
the instructions back to the source code. This
first article in the series describes how tools map
the program counter (also known as the instruction
pointer) back to the function name. Subsequent
articles in this series will cover mapping the
program counter back to the specific line in a
source file. It also provides a backtrace
describing the series of calls that resulted in the
processor being in the current function.
§ The function entry symbols
When translating source code into an executable
binary, the compiler keeps symbol information about
the entry to each function. Keeping this
information available makes it possible for the
linker to assemble multiple object files (.o
suffix) into a single executable file. Before the
object files are processed by the linker, the final
addresses of functions and variables are not known.
The object files have placeholders for the symbols
that do not yet have addresses. The linker will
resolve the addresses when creating the executable.
Assuming that the resulting executable is not
stripped, those symbols describing the entry of
each function are still available. You can see an
example of this by compiling the following simple
program: [...]
# ⚓ The_Hayes_Code⠀⇛
The obscure command set that gradually helped us
move past acoustic couplers and brought dial-up
modems into the mainstream. For a while, at least.
* § Leftovers⠀➾
o ⚓ Federal News Network ☛ 6.8_magnitude_earthquake_shakes_Tajikistan
near_China_border⠀⇛
A 6.8 magnitude earthquake shook part of Tajikistan early
Thursday near China’s far western Xinjiang region. It was
41 miles west of Murghob, Tajikistan and 12 miles deep,
according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The area is
remote and lightly populated. China Earthquake Networks
Center said the quake was 7.2 magnitude and 6 miles deep.
Preliminary seismic measurements by different agencies
often differ. Further information was not immediately
available.
o ⚓ Mexico News Daily ☛ English_stand-up_in_Mexico_a_growing_niche
over_last_decade⠀⇛
English-language stand-up comedy thrives here, with a
diverse audiences of tourists, expats in Mexico and
English-fluent Mexicans.
o ⚓ Ruben Schade ☛ The_OSs_Nico_Cartron_Uses⠀⇛
Last month I blogged about which_OSs_I_use_most
frequently, which may be different from ones I’d prefer
to use. The imitable Nico Cartron posted_his_own_list,
which is similar to mine.
The biggest difference? Aside from not needing to run
Windows (I’m jealous), he gives a notable mention to the
Amstrad CPC running C/PM, which is too cool. I came so
close to buying a later model Amstrad PPC on eBay with
the flippy LCD, but it went for silly money. One day I’ll
save up enough to have an apartment big enough for a
retrocomputer room, and shelving to fit all these
machines.
o § Science⠀➾
# ⚓ Science Alert ☛ The_White_Specks_in_This_Image_Aren’t_Stars
or_Galaxies._They’re_Black_Holes⠀⇛
We can’t stop staring.
# ⚓ Vice Media Group ☛ Futuristic_Body_Armor_Could_Be_Based_on
This_Weird_Mushroom,_Study_Finds⠀⇛
The overlooked fungus “fomen fomentarius” has
incredible properties that can be used to develop
strong, ultralight materials.
# ⚓ Vice Media Group ☛ ‘Truly_Bizarre’:_Scientists_Discover
Ancient_Galaxies_That_Should_Not_Exist⠀⇛
“I think I spat out my coffee,” said the scientist
leading the team that discovered the galaxies,
which should be impossible within current physics.
# ⚓ Gizmodo ☛ Webb_Telescope_Spots_Mature_Galaxies_Strangely
Early_in_the_Universe⠀⇛
# ⚓ Science Alert ☛ Astronomers_Detect_6_Massive_Galaxies_So
Old_They_Can’t_Be_Explained_by_Science⠀⇛
This could “transform our understanding of how the
earliest galaxies in our Universe formed.”
# ⚓ Science Alert ☛ A_New_Battery_In_Development_Means_We_Might
Be_Able_to_Spend_The_Day_On_Venus⠀⇛
It’s not a holiday up there.
# ⚓ Science Alert ☛ Experimental_Surgery-Free_Treatment
‘Shrinks’_Endometriosis_Lesions_in_Animals⠀⇛
“This was a rather unexpected result.”
# ⚓ uni Stanford ☛ Love_is_(still)_in_the_air:_Stanford
researchers_find_oxytocin_receptors_not_necessary_for_social
attachment⠀⇛
In a recent study of prairie voles, researchers
found that oxytocin — long thought to play a vital
role in social attachment — is not necessary for
this behavior and saw that the rodents still
exhibited social monogamy, even without oxytocin
receptors.
# ⚓ Science Alert ☛ This_Weird-Looking_Fungus_Could_Be_a
Biodegradable_Alternative_to_Plastic⠀⇛
Strong but incredibly light.
o § Hardware⠀➾
# ⚓ Gizmodo ☛ 40_Years_Later,_the_Original_Casio_G-Shock_Watch
Is_Back_With_Solar_Power_and_More_Accurate_Timekeeping⠀⇛
April will mark the 40th anniversary of Casio
releasing one of the most recognizable and enduring
brands in digital watches: the G-Shock.
# ⚓ E-Ink_Display_Modules_Are_Over-Rated:_Check_Out_These_3_E-
Ink_Alternatives!⠀⇛
It goes without saying, but playing around with e-
ink display modules in Arduino and Raspberry Pi
projects is fun. They’re bendable, keep their text
even without power, and you could look at them
under the sun without a backlight! Of course,
that’s not to say that they’re 100% perfect. Images
tend to burn-in.
# ⚓ The Next Platform ☛ Inflation_Up,_Economy_Jittery,_And_IT
Spending_Consequentially_Slows⠀⇛
The increasing cost of goods and services is making
everyone a little crazy, and corporate IT
departments are not immune from the effects of the
dual concerns of rising inflation and the desire by
central banks to use interest rates to curb our
economic enthusiasm and slow that inflation to a
much more sane level.
o § Health/Nutrition/Agriculture⠀➾
# ⚓ Latvia ☛ Latvian_potato_growers_hopeful_for_new_season⠀⇛
Recently, the staple of the Latvian diet – potatoes
– experienced one of the steepest price jumps in
the past 10 years, reaching an average increase of
50%. Growers are now preparing for the new season
in the hope that weather conditions will be
favorable enough to finally produce good results
after two years of poor harvest, Zemgale Television
reported February 22.
# ⚓ Latvia ☛ Latvia’s_Covid_vaccination_percentage_finally_near
desirable_level⠀⇛
At the beginning of January, in Latvia, the
percentage of primary vaccination against Covid-19
was 69.2% of the total population, which is close
to the desired public vaccination coverage rate of
70% and the average European Union (EU) and
European Economic Area (EEA) – 73%, according to
the information report prepared by the Ministry of
Health, LETA reported February 21.
# ⚓ Science Alert ☛ The_Secret_to_The_Naked_Mole-Rat’s_Unique
Fertility_Has_Finally_Been_Revealed⠀⇛
Just when you thought they couldn’t get any
weirder.
# ⚓ US News And World Report ☛ Explainer-What_Are_the_Risks_of
Materials_Released_in_the_Ohio_Derailment?⠀⇛
# ⚓ The Straits Times ☛ China_halts_some_classes_amid_school
Covid-19_cluster,_flu’s_return⠀⇛
The fresh surges mirror “twindemic” seen after
countries eased Covid-19 curbs.
# ⚓ The Straits Times ☛ Cambodian_girl_dies_of_bird_flu⠀⇛
The girl fell ill on Feb 16 with a fever, cough and
sore throat, and later died in hospital.
# ⚓ The Scientist ☛ SARS-CoV-2_Infection_Can_Alter_Future
Immune_Reponses⠀⇛
Males recovered from mild COVID-19 have baseline
immune states primed to mount stronger responses to
future challenges.
# ⚓ The Scientist ☛ Researchers_Make_Alternatives_to_Shark-
Sourced_Vaccine_Ingredient⠀⇛
Synthetic variations of squalene, which is used to
boost immune responses, could make vaccines more
effective while reducing fisheries for struggling
sharks.
# ⚓ The Scientist ☛ How_Genes_from_Neanderthals_Predispose
People_to_Severe_COVID-19⠀⇛
Researchers dissect the Neanderthal-derived region
on chromosome 3 that drives severe COVID-19 to zero
in on the key causal variants.
# ⚓ Science Alert ☛ ‘Forever_Chemicals’_Have_Been_Found_in
Animals_on_Every_Continent_Except_One⠀⇛
“This is really a global contamination issue…”
# ⚓ Breach Media ☛ After_pharma_lobbying,_minister_intervened
to_suspend_drug-price_reform⠀⇛
Documents reveal health minister pushed arms-length
regulator to delay reform intended to save
Canadians billions on drug costs
# ⚓ Reason ☛ ‘America_Has_Lost_the_War_on_Drugs,’_The_New_York
Times_Says,_but_Should_Keep_Fighting_It_Anyway⠀⇛
The paper pushes modest reforms while endorsing
continued criminalization.
# ⚓ Ruben Schade ☛ The_Covid_fog_has_(mostly)_lifted⠀⇛
Hi! How are you? Wow, it’s weird typing in a text
editor again.
My throat and head still hurt after getting the
spicy_cough, but I feel as though a mental
InfiniBand cable was plugged back in last night,
after subsisting on low-baud RS232 for the last
week. I can think again!
I empathise with those of you who’ve talked about
Covid “brain fog” now. Even when I began to
physically get better this week, my brain felt
sluggish. I didn’t know where to begin with most
tasks, and I was incapable of holding more than a
few thoughts in my head at the same time. My mum
used to say the same about chemotherapy.
# ⚓ Modern Diplomacy ☛ Tracking_malaria_and_mosquitoes_with_the
help_of_pregnant_women_and_city_dwellers⠀⇛
By Tom Cassauwers Arnau Pujol Vallribera is a
Spanish data whiz who used to study galaxies. Now
he tracks diseases spread by mosquitoes. ‘In
cosmology, we use algorithms to better understand
the laws of physics and how the universe evolves,’
said Pujol Vallribera of the Spain-based Barcelona
Institute for Global Health, or ISGlobal.
# ⚓ Science Alert ☛ Are_We_in_The_Midst_of_a_Wellbeing
‘Pandemic’?_Why_Wellness_Isn’t_Always_Good_For_Us⠀⇛
Researchers weigh in.
# ⚓ YLE ☛ Shoppers_hoarding_salmon_from_salad_bars_to_save
money⠀⇛
Certain K-Supermarket outlets have resorted to
removing salmon from their salad bar selection due
to excessive hoarding.
# ⚓ YLE ☛ Finland_sending_€5m_of_Ukrainian_grain_to_Africa_via
WFP⠀⇛
Around 65 percent of Ukrainian wheat and about half
of its corn were taken to developing countries,
according to the Finnish Foreign Ministry.
o § Linux Foundation⠀➾
# ⚓ PR Newswire ☛ Linux_Foundation_Welcomes_New_Open_Source
Projects_from_Peraton_Labs_to_Scale_5G_Security⠀⇛
o § Security⠀➾
# ⚓ Mozilla ☛ Why_settle_for_one_layer_of_security_when_you_can
have_2FA?⠀⇛
Protecting your online accounts with just a
password is like locking your front door with a
key: It might keep most people away, but an
intruder who’s determined to break in can still
force an entry.
# ⚓ Security Week ☛ R1Soft_Server_Backup_Manager_Vulnerability
Exploited_to_Deploy_Backdoor⠀⇛
Hackers have been exploiting a vulnerability
tracked as CVE-2022-36537 to hack hundreds of
R1Soft servers.
# ⚓ Security Week ☛ Intel_Paid_Out_Over_$4.1_Million_via_Bug
Bounty_Program_Since_2017⠀⇛
Intel paid out more than $935,000 through its bug
bounty program in 2022, but found over half of the
vulnerabilities internally.
# ⚓ Security Week ☛ Google_Paid_Out_$12_Million_via_Bug_Bounty
Programs_in_2022⠀⇛
Google rewarded over 700 researchers in 2022 for
contributions to its bug bounty program, with the
highest single payout at $605,000.
# ⚓ Security Week ☛ CISA_Warns_of_Two_Mitel_Vulnerabilities
Exploited_in_Wild⠀⇛
CISA has added two Mitel MiVoice Connect
vulnerabilities to its known exploited
vulnerabilities catalog and instructed federal
agencies to patch them within three weeks.
# ⚓ Cybernews ☛ Washington_State_city_allegedly_hit_by
ransomware⠀⇛
The BlackCat ransomware gang (ALPHV) has listed the
City of Lakewood, Washington, on its data leak
site, urging the affected companies to sue the
municipality.
Lakewood is a city in Pierce County, Washington,
with a population of over 63,000. BlackCat claimed
it had breached Lakewood City Council and stolen
over 250GB worth of data.
“Because of their misunderstanding and inability to
negotiate, we share information with you,” BlackCat
said and shared a link to download 252GB of
documents.
# ⚓ Trove_of_L.A._Students’_Mental_Health_Records_Posted_to
Dark_Web_After_Cyber_Hack⠀⇛
Detailed and highly sensitive mental health records
of hundreds — and likely thousands — of former Los
Angeles students were published online after the
city’s school district fell victim to a massive
ransomware attack last year, an investigation by
The 74 has revealed.
The student psychological evaluations, published to
a “dark web” leak site by the Russian-speaking
ransomware gang Vice Society, offer a startling
degree of personally identifiable information about
students who received special education services,
including their detailed medical histories,
academic performance and disciplinary records.
But people are likely unaware their sensitive
information is readily available online because the
Los Angeles Unified School District hasn’t alerted
them, a district spokesperson confirmed, and
leaders haven’t acknowledged the trove of records
even exists. In contrast, the district publicly
acknowledged last month that the sensitive
information of district contractors had been
leaked.
# ⚓ Lessons_From_a_Ransomware_Attack:_The_Importance_of
Partnership_&_Collaboration⠀⇛
Imagine a rural business is the victim of a
cyberattack. A nefarious person or group convinces
an unsuspecting employee to open an email promising
a bonus. Within 12 hours, every piece of technology
connected to that network, and every process needed
to conduct daily operations, is paralyzed.
Now imagine that business is a hospital. It serves
80,000 people and it’s the only one within 10,000
square miles. Add to the scenario a global pandemic
that is steadily ravaging the nation’s healthcare
system. On October 27, 2020, Sky Lakes Medical
Center went dark.
# ⚓ LWN ☛ Security_updates_for_Wednesday_[LWN.net]⠀⇛
Security updates have been issued by Debian
(amanda, apr-util, and tiff), Fedora (apptainer,
git, gssntlmssp, OpenImageIO, openssl, webkit2gtk3,
xorg-x11-server, and xorg-x11-server-Xwayland),
Oracle (firefox and thunderbird), Red Hat
(python3), SUSE (gnutls, php7, and python-Django),
and Ubuntu (chromium-browser, libxpm, and mariadb-
10.3, mariadb-10.6).
# ⚓ Port Swigger ☛ Cisco_ClamAV_anti-malware_scanner_vulnerable
to_serious_security_flaw [Ed: When your security software is
a security hole]⠀⇛
Patch released for bug that poses a critical risk
to vulnerable technologies
# ⚓ Announcing_Istio_1.16.3⠀⇛
This release contains bug fixes to improve
robustness. This release note describes what’s
different between Istio 1.16.2 and Istio 1.16.3.
This release includes security fixes in Go 1.19.6
(released 2/14/2023) for the path/filepath, net/
http, mime/multipart, and crypto/tls packages.
# ⚓ Gizmodo ☛ Activision_Got_Hacked_but_Didn’t_Tell_Its
Employees:_Report⠀⇛
This week, gaming giant Activision revealed that a
cybercriminal had managed to get inside of its
network late last year. How did the hacker do that,
exactly? Better take a guess.
# ⚓ Silicon Angle ☛ IBM_finds_defenders_are_becoming_more
successful_in_detecting_and_preventing_ransomware⠀⇛
# ⚓ Silicon Angle ☛ New_‘Stealc’_information-stealing_malware
grows_in_popularity_on_dark_web⠀⇛
# ⚓ WhichUK ☛ Beware_of_this_Disney+_impersonation_email_which
leads_to_a_phishing_website⠀⇛
This scam email offers a 12-month subscription to
Disney+ for £2
# § Privacy/Surveillance⠀➾
# ⚓ Stacey on IoT ☛ The_CSA_further_expands_with_a_data
privacy_working_group⠀⇛
Hot on the heels of announcing a Health and
Wellness working group, the Connectivity
Standards Alliance has created a working
group focused on data privacy. The new
working group will explore “the creation of a
harmonized global specification and
certification program.
# ⚓ Stacey on IoT ☛ Meta_may_offer_a_lesson_in_how_to
brick_a_surveillance_device⠀⇛
It’s the beginning of the end for Meta’s
Portal display. The company quietly removed
the app for Microsoft Teams from the Portal
app store in recent weeks, a little over a
year after the video chat service first
became available on Meta’s smart displays.
# ⚓ dwaves.de ☛ Stop_using_Telegram_–_it_is_not_safe_–_at
all⠀⇛
“know in some countries they believe Telegram
is safe. I will show you how safe it is,” he
said, before showing a screen in which he
appeared to scroll through the Telegram
contacts of one Kenyan strategist…
# ⚓ Gizmodo ☛ Tesla_Tweaks_Onboard_Cameras_Following
Allegations_of_Privacy_Invasion⠀⇛
The Dutch safety watchdog decided on
Wednesday that it had concluded its
investigation into Tesla and wouldn’t issue a
fine against the company for its vehicle’s
security cameras.
# ⚓ Media Nama ☛ Whistleblower_Leaks_Documents_And
Software_Of_Israeli_Surveillance_Tech_Company
Cellebrite⠀⇛
# ⚓ Access_Now_oral_statement_for_informal_meeting_of_the
UN_General_Assembly_Third_Committee⠀⇛
Access Now’s oral statement for an informal
meeting of the UN General Assembly Third
Committee convened by the Chair with ECOSOC
accredited NGOs.
# ⚓ AccessNow ☛ UNESCO’s_guidelines_for_regulating
digital_platforms_must_center_human_rights_for
everyone,_everywhere⠀⇛
UNESCO must work with all stakeholders to
ensure guidelines on regulating digital
platforms center human rights for people
everywhere.
# ⚓ Citizens_do_not_know_they_are_“monitored”_by_the
Russian_SORM_system⠀⇛
# ⚓ MSN ☛ UK:_Rail_minister’s_laptop_with_confidential
details_of_strike_talks_is_stolen_from_pub⠀⇛
# ⚓ Meta_successfully_resists_certification_in_data
privacy_collective_action⠀⇛
In an early victory for Meta, the Competition
Appeal Tribunal has refused to certify a
collective claim brought on behalf of some 45
million consumers by proposed class
representative Dr Liza Lovdahl Gormsen (the
“PCR”). Less than three weeks after the
certification hearing, the Tribunal has held
that the PCR “unequivocally failed” to
satisfy one of the tests for certification.
Rather than reject the claim outright, the
Tribunal has given the PCR six months to file
additional evidence setting out a “new and
better blueprint leading to an effective
trial”.
# ⚓ Reason ☛ Thoughts_on_Dubin_v._United_States_and_the
Aggravated_Identity_Theft_Statute⠀⇛
On February 27, the Supreme Court will hear
argument in Dubin v. United States, a case on
the Aggravated Identity Theft Statute, 18
U.S.C. § 1028A. This statute comes up often
in the context of computer crimes, and its
interpretation raises some interesting and
important questions. So I thought I would
blog about the case and offer some
impressions.
# ⚓ Charlie_v._Rehoboth_McKinley_Christian_Health_Care
Services⠀⇛
If Rehoboth McKinley Christian Health Care
Services Notified You of a Data Breach, You
May be Eligible for Payment From a Class
Action Settlement.
o § Defence/Aggression⠀➾
# ⚓ Latvia ☛ Fire-damaged_ship_‘Escape’_to_be_pulled_to_Rīga
port⠀⇛
Two tugboats have started pulling the ship “Escape”
on which a fire broke out during the night, to
Rīga, the navy public relations specialist Līva
Veita told LETA February 22.
# ⚓ Latvia ☛ Crew_evacuated_after_fire_on_cargo_ship_in_Baltic
Sea⠀⇛
In the early hours of February 22,
Latvia’s Maritime Search and Rescue Coordination
Center (MRCC Riga) of the Coast Guard Service of
the Navy received information from the cargo ship
“Escape” that a fire had broken out on board, which
could not be extinguished with the autonomous fire
extinguishing system, and assistance was requested.
# ⚓ Federal News Network ☛ Authorities:_TV_reporter,_girl
fatally_shot_in_Florida⠀⇛
Authorities say a central Florida television
journalist and a little girl were fatally shot near
the scene of a fatal shooting from earlier in the
day. Orange County Sheriff John Mina said during a
news conference Wednesday that they’ve detained a
19-year-old who they believe is responsible for
both shootings in the Orlando-area neighborhood.
Besides the Spectrum News 13 journalist and the 9-
year-old girl, a TV crewmember and the girl’s
mother were wounded during the second shooting.
Mina said they don’t immediately have a motive for
any of the shootings.
# ⚓ Modern Diplomacy ☛ Growing_Miscalculations_of_Parties_with
No_clear_End-State_Describes_One_Year_of_Russia_Ukraine_War⠀⇛
Backdrop As the war in Ukraine completes one year,
both sides put up a brave front, reiterating their
resolve to carry on, blaming the other side for the
conflict, and engaging in greater miscalculations
with a hope that a little extra push can put them
in a stronger position to dictate terms…
# ⚓ Modern Diplomacy ☛ Vladimir_Putin:_“The_Truth_is_on_our
side”⠀⇛
Vladimir Putin delivered his Address to the Federal
Assembly.The ceremony took place in Gostiny Dvor,
Moscow.
# ⚓ Modern Diplomacy ☛ Military_and_Pakistan:_A_Historic_Saga⠀⇛
Taking another U-turn from his previous popular
narrative of a US-sponsored regime change to oust
him from power, ex-PM Imran Khan blamed the ex-
Chief of Army Staff Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa for
masterminding the regime change operation.
# ⚓ teleSUR ☛ EU,_NATO,_Ukraine_to_Ramp_Up_Arms_Production_and
Procurement⠀⇛
Europeans are concerned about the current course of
the Ukrainian conflict because the consumption rate
of ammunition is greater than the production rate.
# ⚓ teleSUR ☛ Malcolm_X’s_Daughter_To_Sue_New_York_Police,_FBI,
and_CIA⠀⇛
“For years, our family has struggled to bring to
light the truth about my father’s murder, which
these institutions planned,” Ilyasah Shabazz
stated.
# ⚓ Danes_donate_record_amounts_to_Red_Cross_during_Ukraine
war⠀⇛
The Danish Red Cross has received just under 700
million kroner over the last 12 months in donations
towards humanitarian aid in Ukraine.
# ⚓ New Yorker ☛ War_as_Theatre,_at_a_Private_Home_in_Kharkiv⠀⇛
Most performance spaces in the city have been shut
down since the start of the war. Some residents are
reënacting experiences from the invasion
themselves.
# ⚓ New Yorker ☛ Joe_Biden’s_Showy_Defiance_of_Vladimir_Putin⠀⇛
After a year of war in Ukraine, the President
offers a strikingly personal rebuke—but little
clarity on what winning looks like.
# ⚓ Helsinki Times ☛ Anti-war_protests_in_Washington,_Munich
and_Helsinki⠀⇛
Last weekend, Hundreds of protesters gathered at
the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC for the
‘March Against the War Machine’ rally, which
featured several prominent speakers including
former US presidential candidates. The speakers
accused President Biden of pushing the world to the
brink of “nuclear holocaust” by supporting Ukraine
militarily and called for an end to such support in
favour of diplomacy.
# ⚓ Latvia ☛ Biķernieki_Holocaust_memorial_vandalism_under
investigation⠀⇛
The State Police’s Rīga Teika precinct has
initiated an administrative violation process
regarding the spray-painting of the letter Z on the
Second World War Holocaust Victims Memorial in
Rīga, Biķernieku forest, LETA reported February 22.
# ⚓ YLE ☛ Finland_to_unveil_possible_tank_delivery_to_Ukraine
on_Thursday⠀⇛
Finland’s contribution is not expected to be large,
as Leopard tanks are crucial for its own defence.
# ⚓ YLE ☛ Finland_to_fly_Ukrainian_flags_on_Friday,_marking
first_year_of_war⠀⇛
The City of Helsinki has issued an open invitation
to a candlelight memorial event commemorating the
deadly conflict’s first anniversary at Senate
Square on Friday afternoon and evening.
# ⚓ Latvia ☛ Levits_in_Poland_for_Biden_meeting_Wednesday⠀⇛
Latvian State President Egils Levits is in Warsaw,
Poland February 22 to participate in a meeting of
the ‘Bucharest Nine’ group of countries.
# ⚓ Latvia ☛ “Standing_by_Ukraine_Against_Russia’s_Aggression”
discussion_upcoming⠀⇛
On February 24, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in
cooperation with the Latvian Transatlantic
Organisation (LATO) is holding a discussion
titled “Standing by Ukraine Against Russia’s
Aggression”.
# ⚓ Federal News Network ☛ Jan._6_rioter_who_threatened_Ocasio-
Cortez_online_gets_3_years⠀⇛
A Texas man who threatened U.S. Rep. Alexandria
Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter after he stormed the U.S.
Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 has been sentenced to more
than three years in prison. Garret Miller was
wearing a shirt that read “I Was There, Washington
D.C., January 6, 2021” with a picture on President
Donald Trump on it when law enforcement officers
showed up at his Dallas-area home to arrest him two
weeks after the riot. Miller has already served
more than two years behind bars since his January
2021 arrest, and with credit for good behavior,
he’s expected to serve another eight months.
# ⚓ Latvia ☛ How_has_Russia’s_invasion_of_Ukraine_affected
Latvia’s_economy?⠀⇛
Latvian central bank economists Kārlis Vilerts and
Matīss Mirošņikovs examine the economic
consequences of Russia’s warmongering in this new
analysis for the central bank’s
macroeconomics.lv website.
# ⚓ Federal News Network ☛ Student_confessed_to_hoax_bomb
threat_on_Texas_flight⠀⇛
Authorities say a high school student confessed to
sending a hoax bomb threat via AirDrop that
resulted in an American Airlines flight being
diverted from the tarmac at a Texas airport last
week. The Texas Department of Public Safety said
while the flight was taxiing on Friday at El Paso
International Airport, a message went to
passengers’ Apple devices via AirDrop reading: “I
have a bomb would like to share a photo.” DPS said
that because of that message, the aircraft taxied
back to a gate. DPS said that an investigation
resulted in the identification of the juvenile, who
confessed to sending the AirDrop. Central Catholic
High School in Pittsburgh confirmed that the
juvenile was a student returning from a school-
sponsored trip.
# ⚓ Latvia ☛ De-Russianizing_street_names_stirs_historical
discussion⠀⇛
Because of the war in Ukraine, Latvia has taken to
remove Soviet-glorifying symbols from the public
environment, including changing street names, also
some that are simply linked to Russia in some way.
Residents of Staraja Rusas Street in Rīga are
dissatisfied with the new name and encourage
studying history, Latvian Television’s 4.
studija reported on February 22.
# ⚓ Latvia ☛ Defense_Minister_suspicious_of_predecessor’s
procurement⠀⇛
Defence Minister Ināra Mūrniece (National Alliance)
has grown suspicious of a procurement for the
National Armed Forces that took place during the
office of former minister Artis Pabriks
(Development/For!), Mūrniece said in an interview
to Latvian Radio on February 22.
# ⚓ AntiWar ☛ Washington_Post_Lets_Hersh’s_Dangerous_Cat_Out_of
the_Bag⠀⇛
Bombshell No. 1: Seymour Hersh’s Feb. 8 report that
President Joe Biden authorized the sabotage of the
Nord Stream pipelines built to carry cheap Russian
gas to Europe. Bombshell No. 2: The Washington Post
today ended the Establishment media embargo on
Hersh’s damning report, mentioning its findings and
even including a link to his article.
# ⚓ AntiWar ☛ While_We’re_Laughing_About_a_Balloon;_Biden_Paves
a_Path_to_War⠀⇛
There is reason to be alarmed by the recent China
balloon. However, that reason is not the alleged
China aggression but the very calculated aggression
towards China by the Obama, Trump and Biden
administrations. This hate and the manufactured
reasons for it have been layering on for years.
We’ve seen this playbook.
# ⚓ AntiWar ☛ Biden_Goes_All_in_on_Proxy_War_Against_Russia⠀⇛
No, Joe, that’s not Hunter you’re sniffing. But
Zelensky is a pretty good substitute – every bit as
corrupt, drugged-up and delusional as the First
Son. So hug away. You have already proven
(repeatedly) that there is no betrayal of America’s
true homeland security you will not eagerly
embrace.
# ⚓ AntiWar ☛ Who’s_Winning_and_Losing_the_Economic_War_Over
Ukraine?⠀⇛
With the Ukraine war now reaching its one-year mark
on February 24, the Russians have not achieved a
military victory but neither has the West achieved
its goals on the economic front.
# ⚓ AntiWar ☛ Is_China_Considering_Supplying_Russia_With
Weapons?⠀⇛
On February 3, following the balloon incident, US
Secretary of State Antony Blinken canceled his trip
to China. On February 18, he got a second chance on
the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference.
# ⚓ AntiWar ☛ War_in_Ukraine_and_ICBMs:_The_Untold_Story_of_How
They_Could_Blow_Up_the_World⠀⇛
Ever since Russia invaded Ukraine a year ago, media
coverage of the war hasn’t included even the
slightest mention of intercontinental ballistic
missiles (ICBMs). Yet the war has boosted the
chances that ICBMs will set off a global holocaust.
# ⚓ Quartz ☛ Ukraine_to_ask_G7_leaders_for_more_military
equipment_on_the_first_anniversary_of_Russia’s_invasion⠀⇛
On the anniversary of the Russian invasion of
Ukraine Friday (Feb. 24), leaders of G7 nations
will_hold_a_virtual_summit with Ukrainian President
Volodymyr Zelenskyy amid concern that Russia could
mark the anniversary with a major new offensive.
# ⚓ The Strategist ☛ How_Australia_can_use_all_its_tools_of
statecraft⠀⇛
Australian policymakers have increasingly spoken of
the need to use all the tools of statecraft in
international engagement.
# ⚓ The Strategist ☛ How_will_the_war_in_Ukraine_end?⠀⇛
On the eve of the first anniversary of Russia’s
invasion of Ukraine, it’s timely to consider how
this brutal war might be resolved.
# ⚓ The Strategist ☛ Espionage_and_foreign_interference
threaten_Australian_sovereignty⠀⇛
Literature and movies heavily feature themes of
espionage and foreign interference. They focus on a
dangerous, fast-moving world that provides people
with an escape from their everyday lives. However,
many in our community would not …
# ⚓ Latvia ☛ Ukrainian_couple_continue_medical_work_at_Latvian
hospital⠀⇛
Medical workers Tetyana and Serhiy Cherepov are
Ukrainian war refugees whose city Russian troops
invaded on the first day of the war. The Cherepov
family spent three months in the occupied city
before leaving. Now Tetyana and Serhiy, as well as
their two daughters, have found a home in Valmiera
and work at the Vidzeme Hospital, Latvian Radio
reported on February 23.
# ⚓ Latvia ☛ Meeting_in_support_of_Ukraine_in_Rīga_Friday⠀⇛
On Friday, February 24, at 10:00, a meeting will
take place near the Freedom Monument in Rīga to
express support for Ukraine and to condemn the
criminal and aggressive war launched by Russia, the
Civic Alliance Latvia said.
# ⚓ Latvia ☛ Russian_embassy’s_former_van_now_helps_Ukraine⠀⇛
Until March 16, 2022, a van had red – diplomatic
– number plates and was carrying personnel of the
Russian Embassy in Latvia. It was sold and turned
into a relief van for Ukraine. Aigars Loss, the
activist of the association “Tev”, has traveled to
Ukraine 17 times in it, Latvian Television reported
February 21.
# ⚓ Latvia ☛ Drunk_drivers’_cars_will_soon_head_to_Ukraine⠀⇛
As of Tuesday, February 21, amendments to the law
have entered into force, allowing cars confiscated
in Latvia from drunk drivers to be handed over to
Ukraine.
# ⚓ Federal News Network ☛ South_Carolina_Senate_OKs_‘shield
law’_for_lethal_injections⠀⇛
South Carolina Senators hope a bill passed
Wednesday will help the state resume capital
punishment after an involuntary pause for nearly 12
years. Lawmakers approved a bill concealing the
identity of pharmaceutical companies providing
lethal injection drugs for state executions. The
state has been unable to purchase the drugs
necessary for lethal injection since the state’s
batch expired in 2013. Officials have largely
blamed that inability to replenish the supply on
the lack of a so-called “shield law.” Republican
leaders have said pharmaceutical companies fear
public pressure from activists and therefore will
not sell to states that do not conceal their
identities.
# ⚓ Science Alert ☛ Lessons_From_Ukraine_Are_Escalating
Research_Into_Developing_Killer_Robots⠀⇛
*Humans not included.
# ⚓ YLE ☛ President_Niinistö:_Finland,_Sweden_want_Nato
membership_‘as_soon_as_possible’⠀⇛
Without specifically naming Turkish President Recep
Tayyip Erdogan, the Finnish president said that
there may be only one man in the world who knows
what Turkey’s plans are in the matter.
o § Environment⠀➾
# § Energy/Transportation⠀➾
# ⚓ Federal News Network ☛ Flights_canceled,_highways
closed_as_winter_storm_wallops_US⠀⇛
A brutal winter storm has closed interstate
highways from Arizona to Wyoming, trapped
motorists in their cars, knocked out power to
hundreds of thousands of people and prompted
the first blizzard warning in Southern
California in decades. Few places were
untouched by the wild weather. Nearly 300,000
customers were without power late Wednesday
in Michigan and Illinois, thousands more in
Arizona and some 65,000 in California.
Weather contributed to some 1,600 U.S. flight
cancellations. Plunging temperatures, high
winds, heavy snow and dangerous ice are
expected to hammer much of the country
through Friday.
# ⚓ Mexico News Daily ☛ CDMX’s_Metrobus_Line_3_now_fully
electric⠀⇛
The new 60-unit-fleet will reduce 7,500 tons
of carbon dioxide per year, said head of the
capital’s Mobility Ministry, Andrés Lajous.
# ⚓ The Age AU ☛ More_than_50_missing_in_deadly_Chinese
mine_collapse⠀⇛
A landslide has forced the suspension of the
search for the missing. At least two people
have been confirmed dead in the open-pit coal
mine.
# ⚓ The Straits Times ☛ Four_dead,_49_missing_in_China
mine_collapse⠀⇛
Premier Li Keqiang has demanded a quick
investigation into the cause of the collapse.
# ⚓ Helsinki Times ☛ Finnish_politicians_urge_electricity
retailers_to_adjust_prices_of_fixed-term_contracts⠀⇛
POLICY MAKERS in Finland have urged
electricity retailers to adjust the contracts
they sold to customers early this winter amid
widespread concerns about electricity prices,
reports Helsingin Sanomat.
Sanni Grahn-Laasonen (NCP), the chairperson
of the Parliament’s Commerce Committee, on
Tuesday stated in a press release that all
members of the committee are pleading with
electricity companies to adjust their
highest-priced fixed-term contracts.
# § Overpopulation⠀➾
# ⚓ Latvia ☛ Latvia’s_median_age_is_44_years_and_rising⠀⇛
On January 1, 2022, the median age of
the EU’s population reached 44.4 years, 0.3
years more than in 2021, according to data
published Fenruary 22 by Eurostat.
# ⚓ uni Stanford ☛ Family_Planning_Offers_the_Best_Means
for_Combating_Climate_Change:_An_interview_with_Carter
Dillard,_Fair_Start_Movement⠀⇛
Hardly a day passes in which news headlines
fail to inform us of the latest climate
crisis. As the global population increases,
formerly “once-in-a-lifetime” environmental
disasters occur with ever greater frequency.
# ⚓ Reason ☛ The_Answer_to_Population_Decline_Is_More
Immigration⠀⇛
Politicians’ go-to fixes like child tax
credits and federal paid leave are known for
creating disincentives to work without much
impact on fertility.
# ⚓ The Strategist ☛ The_geopolitical_implications_of
China’s_declining_population⠀⇛
In January, China officially acknowledged
that its population began to decline last
year—roughly nine years earlier than Chinese
demographers and the United Nations had
projected.
# ⚓ The Local SE ☛ MAP:_The_22_Swedish_areas_with_the
lowest_birth_rate_in_over_50_years⠀⇛
Sweden’s birth rate is falling – in some
places to the lowest since records began.
# ⚓ The Local SE ☛ Sweden’s_birth_rate_falls_to_lowest_in
17_years⠀⇛
Swedes gave birth to fewer children last year
than in any other year since 2005.
o § Finance⠀➾
# ⚓ Quartz ☛ A_month_after_the_Hindenburg_jolt,_Adani_continues
to_bleed⠀⇛
It’s been nearly a month since the US-based
Hindenburg_Research_published_a_report jolting one
of India’s largest conglomerates. A $120-billion
market_rout and a major_stock_market_U-turn later,
the Adani group continues to bleed from the bruise
it received.
# ⚓ Quartz ☛ How_highly_productive_people_at_work_can_cause
problems_for_their_teams⠀⇛
Being productive on an individual level is great,
but it actually becomes counterproductive if you
can’t work well with others.
# ⚓ Quartz ☛ The_growing_US_labor_movement_in_3_charts⠀⇛
Pro-union sentiment in the US reached a 57-year
high last year.
# ⚓ Quartz ☛ Toyota_and_Honda_announce_broad_raises_for
Japanese_workers⠀⇛
Honda and Toyota announced that they had fully met
the salary and bonus demands set out by the
national automobile workers’ union on Wednesday, as
the country’s largest automakers attempt to adjust
wages in line with last year’s record inflation.
# ⚓ Quartz ☛ How_Ghana_and_Gambia_are_planning_to_bolster_their
digital_economies⠀⇛
As legacy economies continue to fall out of favor
the world over, Ghana and Gambia are ramping up
efforts to build tech-based economies.
# ⚓ YLE ☛ Pharmacies_tighten_opening_hours_amid_staff
shortages⠀⇛
An increasing number of pharmacists are working in
hospitals and health centres, which is adding to
drugstores’ staffing strain.
# ⚓ Why_is_the_number_of_part-time_workers_in_Denmark_going
up?⠀⇛
The number of people who work on a part-time basis
in Denmark increased in 2022, newly-released
figures show.
# ⚓ The Local SE ☛ How_to_maximise_your_Swedish_pension_–_even
if_you’re_not_planning_to_stay⠀⇛
How the Swedish pension works, and what you need to
do about yours – even if you don’t plan to stay in
Sweden long-term.
# ⚓ Silicon Angle ☛ NetApp’s_stock_falls_on_revenue_miss_and
soft_guidance⠀⇛
Shares of the data storage company NetApp
Inc. trended down in after-hours trading today
after the company reported revenue that came in
below analysts’ estimates and followed with soft
guidance for the coming quarter.
⚓ Silicon Angle ☛ Shares_of_call_center_provider_Five9_drop_on_weaker-than-
expected_outlook⠀⇛
Shares in Five9 Inc. dropped in late trading after the call center
software provider delivered a weaker-than-expected outlook alongside
its latest earnings report.
⚓ The Straits Times ☛ Economists_urge_China_to_think_‘beyond_GDP’_to_head_off
climate_risks⠀⇛
The team also called on China to cap total fossil fuel consumption.
§ AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics⠀➾
* ⚓ European_Commission_bans_TikTok_on_staff_devices_—_True_Story⠀⇛
* ⚓ Gizmodo ☛ A_Supplement_Company_‘Hijacked’_Its_Amazon_Reviews_to_Boost
Sales,_According_to_the_FTC⠀⇛
Vitamin and supplement maker, The Bountiful Company (owned by
Nestlé), has to pay a $600,000 fine to the Federal Trade
Commission for allegedly misrepresenting numerous products
online.
* ⚓ Modern Diplomacy ☛ “I_raise_a_toast_to_the_memory_of_the_late_European
Union”⠀⇛
A single peaceful space, social democracy, the protection of
languages – this is what Europe looked like at the end of the
90s, when the USSR collapsed. But today, another reality has
won, writes columnist Benoît Duteurtre on the ‘Marianne’
website. America played an important role in this.
* ⚓ Modern Diplomacy ☛ African_Union:_future_role_in_BRICS+_and_G20⠀⇛
The summit of the African Union (AU) in February 2023 marked
the rising stature of Africa on the world stage and the
increasing support for African economic integration both
regionally and globally.
* ⚓ Press Gazette ☛ Magazine_ABCs_2022:_Private_Eye_leads_UK_news_mags_with
best_sales_since_2017⠀⇛
Private Eye grew by 5% and remains the UK’s biggest news and
current affairs magazine.
* ⚓ Press Gazette ☛ Women’s_interest_magazine_ABCs_2022:_Slimming_World
only_title_to_see_print_growth⠀⇛
Six titles recorded year-on-year digital circulation growth in
the UK and Ireland.
* ⚓ Press Gazette ☛ Magazine_ABCs_2022:_Digital_edition_circulation_up_by
22%⠀⇛
ABC consumer magazine data shows growth in digital circulation
in 2022.
* ⚓ Press Gazette ☛ National_press_ABCs:_Daily_Mail_dips_below_800,000_for
first_time_in_January⠀⇛
Press Gazette’s monthly analysis of ABC national newspaper
circulation figures.
* ⚓ Modern Diplomacy ☛ Challenges_and_Opportunities_in_the_India-U.S.
Partnership_on_iCET⠀⇛
Over time, the India-USA defence partnership has grown and
changed, as both nations have come to understand the importance
of strengthening their strategic alliance in the face of
domestic and international security threats. The Initiative on
Critical and Emerging Information Technology (iCET), which
intends to foster cooperation in cutting-edge technologies like
artificial intelligence, quantum computing,
* ⚓ Quartz ☛ Where_are_Nigeria’s_women_in_the_upcoming_elections?⠀⇛
This year, Africa will see presidential elections in 10 of its
countries. This is an excellent opportunity for more women to
take up the mantle of leadership at all levels, but it will be
an uphill battle.
* ⚓ Federal News Network ☛ Alaska_House_censures_GOP_lawmaker_over_child
abuse_comments⠀⇛
An Alaska lawmaker with a history of incendiary remarks has
been censured by the state House. Wednesday’s vote came after
Republican Rep. David Eastman earlier this week said it has
been argued that cases of fatal child abuse can be a “cost
savings” because the child won’t need related government
services. The House voted 35-1 to censure Eastman. He was the
lone dissent. Eastman was previously censured, in 2017, over
comments he made suggesting there are women in Alaska who try
to get pregnant to get a “free trip to the city” for abortions.
* ⚓ Federal News Network ☛ Federal_IT_leaders_see_‘critical_moment’_in
securing_systems_from_fraud⠀⇛
The CIO council convened a symposium to tackle “fraud
prevention and detection” after potentially tens of billions in
pandemic relief funds were stolen by fraudsters.
* ⚓ NYPost ☛ Schumer_blasts_Tucker_Carlson’s_access_to_Jan._6_tapes:_‘one
of_the_worst_security_risks_since_9/11’⠀⇛
“The speaker is needlessly exposing the Capitol complex to one
of the worst security risks since 9/11,” Schumer said in a
letter to Senate Democrats.
* ⚓ Modern Diplomacy ☛ Bangladesh_in_Democracy_Index-2022⠀⇛
In February 2023, the Democracy Index-2022 has been published.
London-based Economic Intelligence Unit (EIU) publishes it
every year since 2006. The index is considered a scientific and
objective study of global democratic health. It is a well-
accepted index worldwide.
§ Censorship/Free Speech⠀➾
* ⚓ Off Guardian ☛ The_War_on_Insensitivity⠀⇛
CJ Hopkins So, here’s a “conspiracy theory” for you. This one
is about the global-capitalist thoughtpolice and their ongoing
efforts to purge society of “insensitivity.” Yes, that’s right,
insensitivity. If there is anything the global-capitalist
thoughtpolice can’t stand, it is insensitivity.
* ⚓ Breach Media ☛ The_TV_series_Thunder_Bay’s_police_don’t_want_you_to
watch⠀⇛
The city’s cops say our series about systemic racism and the
loss of Indigenous lives in Thunder Bay is triggering…
* ⚓ Reason ☛ Libel_Suit_by_Gen._Michael_Flynn’s_Sister_Against_CNN
Dismissed⠀⇛
I’m too slammed today to comment in detail on it, but I just
thought I’d note the decision handed down today by Judge Mary
Scriven (M.D. Fla.) in Valerie Flynn v. CNN: Plaintiff, a
citizen of Florida, is a private individual and sister to
Retired General Michael Flynn. Plaintiff’s suit against Cable
News Network, Inc. ……
* ⚓ Reason ☛ No,_Vivek_Ramaswamy,_‘Political_Expression’_Shouldn’t_Be_a
‘Civil_Right’⠀⇛
There can be no freedom of association without the freedom to
disassociate from views you find erroneous, dangerous, or
repulsive.
* ⚓ Reason ☛ Ron_DeSantis_Wants_To_Rewrite_Defamation_Law⠀⇛
“The bill is an aggressive and blatantly unconstitutional
attempt to rewrite defamation law in a manner that protects the
powerful from criticism by journalists and the public,” said
one attorney.
§ Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press⠀➾
* ⚓ Press Gazette ☛ Print_ad_revenue_halves_in_six_years_as_three_tech
giants_make_$400bn_annually⠀⇛
Amazon, Alphabet and Meta are estimated to take $4 in every $10
spent in the global ad market.
* ⚓ Press Gazette ☛ Villains_of_Nicola_Bulley_media_coverage_were_on_social
media,_but_press_has_lessons_to_learn⠀⇛
Liz Gerard takes a closer look at press coverage of the Bulley
case and finds some aspects of it lacking.
* ⚓ Press Gazette ☛ Why_calls_for_tougher_press_regulation_over_Nicola
Bulley_coverage_are_misguided⠀⇛
Allegations of press misconduct in the Nicola Bulley case are
wide of the mark.
§ Civil Rights/Policing⠀➾
* ⚓ PHR ☛ PHR:_Biden’s_Asylum_Transit_Ban_“Replaces_One_Dangerous,
Draconian_Policy_with_Another”⠀⇛
NEW YORK– In response to the Biden administration’s Tuesday
announcement proposing a new rule that will restrict asylum
seekers who have traveled through other countries before
reaching the U.S. southern border from applying for asylum in
the United States, the following statement is attributable to
Michael Payne, deputy director of advocacy at PHR: [...]
* ⚓ Mexico News Daily ☛ US_proposes_new_immigration_rule_to_limit_asylum
eligibility⠀⇛
The proposed rule would take effect on May 11, allowing the
swift deportation of migrants who didn’t follow the
“established pathways.”
* ⚓ Danish_government_proposes_anti-grooming_law⠀⇛
Denmark’s government wants to criminalise grooming with
provisions for punishments of up to two years in prison.
* ⚓ HRW ☛ Iraq:_Environmentalists_Face_Retaliation⠀⇛
* ⚓ OpenRightsGroup ☛ Proposals_to_tackle_domestic_abuse_threaten
presumption_of_innocence⠀⇛
Open Rights Group has responded to government proposals to
tackle domestic abuse in the UK. Policy Manager, Sophia Akram
said: “It’s important that the government is committed to
tackling domestic abuse and supporting the women and girls who
are affected by it.
* ⚓ Helsinki Times ☛ Half_of_Finnish_workers_would_consider_leaving_jobs
without_remote_work_option:_Survey⠀⇛
Half of Finnish workers would consider changing jobs if they
were not allowed to work remotely, according to a recent
workplace survey. The Työelämägallup (working life survey) poll
also found that the number of employees working from home full-
time has dropped from 44% to just 25% in the past year.
Of those who have been working remotely, almost half (48%) said
they would consider leaving their current position if they were
no longer able to work from home.
* ⚓ HRW ☛ Thousands_of_Refugee_Students_Cut_off_from_Classes_in_Lebanon⠀⇛
* ⚓ Mint Press News ☛ Alex_Vitale,_Who_Wrote_the_Book_on_Police_Reform,
Says_Issue_Is_Politics,_Not_Training⠀⇛
In a recent interview with Lee Camp, well-known police reform
author and coordinator of the Policing and Social Justice
Project, Alex S. Vitale, sheds light on the recent murder of
Tyree Nichols and America’s ongoing fight for police reform.
* ⚓ Copenhagen_Police_extend_latest_stop-and-search_zone⠀⇛
A stop-and-search zone put in place by Copenhagen Police
earlier this month has been extended after several knives were
found in the affected area.
* ⚓ The Kent Stater ☛ Greater_Cleveland_LGBTQ+_Community_Needs_Assessment
aims_to_improve_lives_of_individuals⠀⇛
The College of Public Health is partnering with the LGBT
Community Center of Greater Cleveland to conduct an LGBTQ+
community needs assessment. The project aims to improve the
safety and lives of LGBTQ+ people in the area.
* ⚓ Gizmodo ☛ Amazon_Employees_Ask_Their_Boss_Not_to_Make_Them_Come_Back_to
the_Office_3_Days_a_Week⠀⇛
Amazon employees are petitioning CEO Andy Jassy to cancel his
return-to-office mandate and calling out his about-face on
remote work
§ Internet Policy/Net Neutrality⠀➾
* ⚓ Gizmodo ☛ Bin_Laden,_Burglars,_and_Banks:_The_Supreme_Court_Considers
Twitter’s_Role_in_Terrorism⠀⇛
Supreme Court justices whipped out their dictionaries and a
deep bucket of metaphors Wednesday in a cumbersome attempt to
understand whether or not social media companies can be held
legally liable for promoting ISIS videos under anti-terrorism
laws.
* ⚓ ACLU ☛ Is_This_the_End_of_the_Internet_As_We_Know_It?⠀⇛
Two pending Supreme Court cases interpreting a 1996 law could
drastically alter the way we interact online. That law, Section
230 of the Communications Decency Act, is often disparaged as a
handout to Big Tech, but that misses the point. Section 230
promotes free speech by removing strong incentives for
platforms to limit what we can say and do online.
Under Section 230, platforms generally may not be held liable
for the content posted by users. Without this protection,
important speech such as communication about abortion,
especially in states where abortion is outlawed, could be
silenced. Movements like #MeToo and #BLM may not have been able
to catch on if platforms were worried that they’d be sued, even
improperly, for defamation or other claims. People could have
found their voices censored, especially when talking about
ideas that are under political attack today:race_and_racism,
sexuality, and gender_justice. The internet as we know it would
be a very different place.
* ⚓ New Yorker ☛ Amy_Coney_Barrett_Searches_Bible_for_God’s_Opinion_of_the
Internet⠀⇛
“It doesn’t matter what we think about the Internet,” the
Supreme Court Justice said. “What does God think about it?”
§ Monopolies⠀➾
* § Patents⠀➾
o ⚓ UPC_and_Council_of_the_EU_report_on_UPC_system [Ed: Patently
illegal, but the patent system at this point does not care about
law and constitutions, as it is thoroughly infiltrated by lobbyists
and industry moles]⠀⇛
* § Trademarks⠀➾
o ⚓ TTAB Blog ☛ TTAB_Summarily_Sustains_BITVISION_Opposition_Due_to
Offensive_Claim_Preclusion⠀⇛
On summary judgment, the Board sustained this opposition
to registration of the mark BITVISION, in the form shown
first below, for closed circuit TV security systems,
concluding that the application must be denied on the
ground of claim preclusion. Applicant Creative Security
had defaulted in two prior oppositions brought by this
same opposer, for identical goods and substantially the
same mark.
* § Copyrights⠀➾
o ⚓ Public Domain Review ☛ Images_from_the_Collective_Unconscious:
Olga_Fröbe-Kapteyn_and_the_Eranos_Archive⠀⇛
In the 1930s, Olga Fröbe-Kapteyn, mystic and founder of
the multidisciplinary Eranos forum, began compiling a
diverse visual archive that would allow dreamers to
cross-reference their visions with the entirety of
cultural history. Frederika Tevebring explores this
grandiose undertaking and its effect on the archivist, as
images from the collection began to blur with her psyche.
o ⚓ Michael Geist ☛ Canadian_Copyright,_Fair_Dealing_and_Education,
Part_Two:_The_Massive_Shift_to_Electronic_Licensing⠀⇛
Canadian copyright lobby groups have spent years falsely
claiming that educational institutions refuse to pay for
licences to compensate for the use of educational
materials. This second post in my Fair Dealing Week
series on Canadian copyright, fair dealing, and education
focuses on this claim, which is a gross misrepresentation
of the data (first_post_on_Setting_the_Record_Straight).
o ⚓ Quartz ☛ Sci-fi_magazine_has_to_halt_submissions_after_receiving
too_much_AI-generated_fiction⠀⇛
Neil Clarke is one of the foremost editors of science
fiction—and now he’s faced with a very sci-fi problem.
§ Gemini* and Gopher⠀➾
* § Personal⠀➾
o ⚓ 🔤SpellBinding:_ABCKROM_Wordo:_HURLS⠀⇛
* § Technical⠀➾
o § Programming⠀➾
# ⚓ Federation_and_forges⠀⇛
One way GitHub could make itself a lot better and
less hated-by-me would be if they set up a way for
people who don’t have accounts on there to
contribute with git send-email and/or git request-
pull (the latter obviously requires some place to
host repos). They could translate those
contributions in the fancy-schmancy (probably
better known as super confusing) “pull request”
format and interface GitHub-using devs love so
much. Their gh cli thing is fun and all but that
still requires an account, which is the biggest
reason for my hatred of them.
I was looking enviously at sourcehut and being
intimidated by trying to install it (since the docs
are all like “warning warning warning this project
is a super scale project that stretches many
servers”) but the other day my envy disappeared
when I realized that my current setup—plain
cloneable repos + a mailing list—is, from a non-
maintainer contributor’s perspective, not much
different from sourcehut. A way to browse the repos
without cloning them is the only thing missing, and
I’m on that. (I just need spoons. Looking at
softserve and cgit as options. But I kinda also
don’t wanna do anything and just chill.)
Even if GitHub were made open source under the
AGPL, if it kept the same “you need an account to
contribute” problem we’d still be in trouble.
That’s also the problem with a lot of other forges
like Gitea.
=> =============================================================================
World Wide Web but a lot lighter.
䷩ 𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚎 3317
╒═══════════════════ 𝐃𝐀𝐈𝐋𝐘 𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐊𝐒 ═════════════════════════════════════════════╕
⠀⌧ █▇▆▅▄▃▂▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁ 02.23.23⠀▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▂▃▄▅▆▇█ ⌧
Gemini_version_available_♊︎
✐ Links_23/02/2023:_Torvalds_Pushes_Back_Against_Unwanted_Linux_Code⠀✐
Posted in News_Roundup at 2:57 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz
🄸🄼🄰🄶🄴 🄳🄴🅂🄲🅁🄸🄿🅃🄸🄾🄽 ⦇GNOME bluefish⦈
§ Contents⠀➾
* GNU/Linux
o Audiocasts/Shows
o Kernel_Space
o Instructionals/Technical
o Desktop_Environments/WMs
# K_Desktop_Environment/KDE_SC/Qt
* Distributions_and_Operating_Systems
o New_Releases
o SUSE/OpenSUSE
o Canonical/Ubuntu_Family
o Open_Hardware/Modding
* Free,_Libre,_and_Open_Source_Software
o Events
o GNU_Projects
o Programming/Development
* Leftovers
o Health/Nutrition/Agriculture
o Security
o Defence/Aggression
o Environment
# Energy/Transportation
# Overpopulation
o Finance
o AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics
o Freedom_of_Information_/_Freedom_of_the_Press
o Civil_Rights/Policing
o Monopolies
# Patents
* Gemini*_and_Gopher
o Technical
* § GNU/Linux⠀➾
o § Audiocasts/Shows⠀➾
# ⚓ Video ☛ Fedora_Linux_Unveils_New_5_Year_Roadmap_–
Invidious⠀⇛
Fedora Linux whilst making weird decisionfs from
time to time actually has the ability to make
decisions in the long term and recently unveiled
there plan for the next 5 years
# ⚓ Video ☛ Linux_Desktop_Randomly_Stuttering?_Here’s_Why
#shorts_–_Invidious⠀⇛
I’ve been dealing with this seemingly random
stutter on my Linux system for a while now and I’ve
had no idea what it was, it turns out it wasn’t
even a driver issue. License: CC BY (http://
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) DISCLOSURE:
Wherever possible I use referral links, which means
if you click one of the links in this video or
description and make a purchase I may receive a
small commission or other compensation.
# ⚓ Video ☛ Why_We_Need_Even_More_Linux_Distros!?!_–
Invidious⠀⇛
Every so often you’ll here people complain that we
have too many Linux distros so I thought why don’t
I try to defend the other position, we actually
need even more Linux distros
# ⚓ Jupiter Broadcasting ☛ Hay_Tay_|_Coder_Radio_506⠀⇛
It’s been one week, and Microsoft’s new bot’s
already gone full Tay.
# ⚓ Jupiter Broadcasting ☛ Linux_Action_News_281⠀⇛
Our favorite features in Linux 6.2, the Hollywood
tool getting open-sourced, and a systemd update you
need to know about.
o § Kernel Space⠀➾
# ⚓ It’s FOSS ☛ Linus_Torvalds_Reacts_to_Poorly-Executed_Pull
Requests_for_Linux_6.3⠀⇛
Seeing that the merge window for Linux Kernel 6.3
is open right now while looking at the pull
requests made by developers, Linus came across a
one-liner commit that mentioned “Merge branch ‘for-
linus/hardening’ intofor-next/hardening”.
While the request was merged, and it may have been
a fix for Linux 6.2 cycle, Linus Torvalds was not
happy to see it the way it was.
o § Instructionals/Technical⠀➾
# ⚓ Peter ‘CzP’ Czanik ☛ Peter_Czanik:_Installing_a_syslog-ng_4
development_snapshot_on_FreeBSD⠀⇛
Unless there is a serious problem, FreeBSD ports
usually contains the latest stable syslog-ng
release. However, sometimes people want to compile
a git snapshot to test a new feature or bugfix. To
do that, one way is to generate a syslog-ng release
tgz on FreeBSD and edit the syslog-ng port files
yourself. However, this needs some practice. As
such, an easier solution is to use my weekly
development snapshots.
# ⚓ MJ Fransen ☛ Zoom_window_in_Emacs⠀⇛
⠀⌧ █▇▆▅▄▃▂▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁ Zoom window in
Emacs⠀▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▂▃▄▅▆▇█ ⌧
§ Zoom in tmux
I am a great fan of the zoom function in tmux,
which can be
called with [escape-key]-z.
This is useful when you have split the tmux window
into two or
more panels.
# Calling zoom in tmux will enlarge the current
panel to fill the
entire window.
# Calling zoom again will return to the
‘normal’ state.
# ⚓ TecMint ☛ How_to_Add_a_Package_Repository_to_Debian,_Ubuntu
and_Mint⠀⇛
A package repository (repo in short) is a location
where software packages are stored and can be
retrieved from.
# ⚓ Sean_Davis:_Enable_Flatpak_in_Xubuntu⠀⇛
Out of the box, Xubuntu supports Debian, Snap, and
AppImage packages with no additional configuration
or packages to install. If you want to further
expand your options, you can easily add Flatpak
support to your Xubuntu desktop. Here&aposs how!
o § Desktop Environments/WMs⠀➾
# ⚓ Unicorn Media ☛ Xfce_Wins_Our_‘Favorite_Linux_Desktop’
Poll⠀⇛
Xfce takes home the award for “Favorite Linux
Desktop Environment.” Coming in second in our poll
was KDE Plasma, followed by Gnome and Cinnamon.
# § K Desktop Environment/KDE SC/Qt⠀➾
# ⚓ MauiKit ☛ Maui_Report_21⠀⇛
Today, we bring you a new report on the Maui
Project’s progress right before the upcoming
2.2.2 release; here you will find some
detailed information on the new features, bug
fixes, and improvements that have been made
to the Maui set of apps and frameworks.
§ What’s new?
Besides the common bug fixes, some of the
highlights include a refactor and cleanup of
the Cask components: the plugin templates and
the internal ones; the CaskServer interfaces
are gaining more features and exposing more
properties for interacting with the Cask
shell parts. In parallel, there are tweaks
and improvements for the MauiKit Frameworks
and new features coming to the core Maui
Apps.
§ Porting to Qt6
Work on the migration has been started, and
MauiKit can now be compiled with Qt6,
however, it has not been yet tested properly,
but now that the underlying technologies from
KDE Frameworks have been moved to Qt6 on
their master branches more progress can be
made. The plan is to move MauiMan and MauiKit
frameworks first and then proceed with Maui
Shell parts. Ideally this year we’ll have all
the projects ported to Qt6.
For now, the CMake build files for MauiKit
and MauiMan are compatible with Qt6, and the
rest of the frameworks should follow.
As part of the Qt6 transition, many MauiKit-
Core controls have been refactored and
reorganized internally, and some others have
been removed or renamed. More info about the
steps being taken to migrate to Qt6 and
MauiKit 3 can be found here: [...]
* § Distributions and Operating Systems⠀➾
o § New Releases⠀➾
# ⚓ Barry Kauler ☛ EasyOS_Kirkstone-series_version_4.101_(RC
for_5.0)⠀⇛
There were lots of issues with 4.99. Thanks to the
feedback, hopefully they are now resolved. Release
notes:
https://distro.ibiblio.org/easyos/amd64/releases/
kirkstone/2023/4.101/release-notes.htm
Download:
https://distro.ibiblio.org/easyos/amd64/releases/
kirkstone/2023/4.101/
Preferably do a pristine first-bootup, so that you
get to test the
ask-language GUI. This is now a text-mode GUI,
keyboard only. Photo:
o § SUSE/OpenSUSE⠀➾
# ⚓ Linux Magazine ☛ openSUSE_Leap_15.5_Beta_Now_Available⠀⇛
You might not be surprised that the final release
in the openSUSE Leap 15 series doesn’t include a
lot of new features. In fact, this new beta release
is quite bereft in the new features category.
As expected, Leap 15.5 is really just about bug
fixes and new versions of the installed
applications.
However, tucked inside the list of new packages,
you will find the Leap version migration tool,
which makes it possible to migrate from one release
to another with the ease of a GUI.
o § Canonical/Ubuntu Family⠀➾
# ⚓ Linuxiac ☛ Ubuntu’s_Latest_Move:_Goodbye_Flatpak_Support⠀⇛
A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far, away, Ubuntu
= Linux for human beings. Surely, however, in some
other life, on some different planet, in some
really far, far away galaxy. Canonical never stops
to amaze, adding another bright shining star to
their rich collection of unpopular decisions. In
short, starting with its upcoming April 20 release
Ubuntu 23.04 “Lunar Lobster,” Ubuntu flavors will
no longer include default support for Flatpak apps.
But let’s see what the official announcement says
first, and then I’ll give my thoughts on it.
# ⚓ DebugPoint ☛ Ubuntu_Flavours_Decide_to_Stop_Flatpak_by
Default⠀⇛
In a surprise move, Canonical announced that all
the official Ubuntu flavours would not ship Flatpak
support by default. The decision is taken in
agreement with all the official Ubuntu flavours
teams/maintainers. The change is planned from the
April 2023 release of “Lunar Lobster” onwards which
is due in a few weeks.
Here are all the details.
# ⚓ FOSSLinux ☛ 10_Must-Know_Features_of_Linux_Mint_OS⠀⇛
Over the years, Linux Mint has become one of the
most popular distributions because of its
simplicity and ease of use. Unlike some of its
counterparts, it provides an intuitive interface
that can be learned quickly to navigate and
complete stuff. Moreover, Linux Mint has a range of
software packages available. This makes it even
more appropriate for people who must carry out a
lot of varied stuff.
o § Open Hardware/Modding⠀➾
# ⚓ Arduino ☛ A_DIY_peristaltic_pump_controlled_by_an_Arduino⠀⇛
There are many different fluid pumping mechanisms
to choose from, but the peristaltic pump is a great
choice when you don’t want the liquid to contact
any moving parts.
# ⚓ Arduino ☛ Detecting_falls_by_embedding_ML_into_clothing⠀⇛
Bone density, strength, and coordination all
decrease as we age, and this fact can lead to some
serious consequences in the form of slips, falls,
and other accidents. In Finland, falling is the
most common type of accidental death among those
age 65 and over, amounting to around 1,200 per
year.
# ⚓ Arduino ☛ James_Bruton_improves_his_triangle-tracked_tank⠀⇛
Tanks are already quite maneuverable, because the
tracks allow them to rotate in place. But what if
they were even more maneuverable and could drive in
any direction? About a year ago, James Bruton built
a small robot tank that had that capability thanks
to a triangle-shaped track system with omniwheel-
style rollers.
* § Free, Libre, and Open Source Software⠀➾
o § Events⠀➾
# ⚓ APNIC ☛ NOGs:_Fostering_operational_excellence_in_the
region⠀⇛
Return to in-person NOG BoFs at APRICOT 2023!
o § GNU Projects⠀➾
# ⚓ GNU ☛ parallel_@_Savannah:_GNU_Parallel_20230222_
(‘Gaziantep’)_released⠀⇛
GNU Parallel 20230222 (‘Gaziantep’) has been
released. It is available for download at: lbry://
@GnuParallel:4
Quote of the month:
Praise GNU parallel, though. That gets me pretty
far.
— Your Obed. Servant, J. B. @Jeffinatorator
New in this release:
# parsort: –parallel now does closer to what
you expect.
# parallel: –files0 is –files but \0 separated.
# Bug fixes and man page updates.
News about GNU Parallel:
# 5 great Perl scripts to keep in your sysadmin
toolbox https://www.redhat.com/sysadmin/perl-
scripts
GNU Parallel – For people who live life in the
parallel lane.
If you like GNU Parallel record a video
testimonial: Say who you are, what you use GNU
Parallel for, how it helps you, and what you like
most about it. Include a command that uses GNU
Parallel if you feel like it.
✐ About GNU Parallel⠀✐
GNU Parallel is a shell tool for executing jobs in
parallel using one or more computers. A job can be
a single command or a small script that has to be
run for each of the lines in the input. The typical
input is a list of files, a list of hosts, a list
of users, a list of URLs, or a list of tables. A
job can also be a command that reads from a pipe.
GNU Parallel can then split the input and pipe it
into commands in parallel.
If you use xargs and tee today you will find GNU
Parallel very easy to use as GNU Parallel is
written to have the same options as xargs. If you
write loops in shell, you will find GNU Parallel
may be able to replace most of the loops and make
them run faster by running several jobs in
parallel. GNU Parallel can even replace nested
loops.
GNU Parallel makes sure output from the commands is
the same output as you would get had you run the
commands sequentially. This makes it possible to
use output from GNU Parallel as input for other
programs.
For example you can run this to convert all jpeg
files into png and gif files and have a progress
bar:
parallel –bar convert {1} {1.}.{2} ::: *.jpg :::
png gif
Or you can generate big, medium, and small
thumbnails of all jpeg files in sub dirs:
find . -name ‘*.jpg’ |
parallel convert -geometry {2} {1} {1//}/thumb
{2}_{1/} :::: – ::: 50 100 200
You can find more about GNU Parallel at: http://
www.gnu.org/s/parallel/
You can install GNU Parallel in just 10 seconds
with:
$ (wget -O – pi.dk/3 || lynx -source pi.dk/3 ||
curl pi.dk/3/ || \
fetch -o – http://pi.dk/3 ) > install.sh
$ sha1sum install.sh | grep
883c667e01eed62f975ad28b6d50e22a
12345678 883c667e 01eed62f 975ad28b 6d50e22a
$ md5sum install.sh | grep
cc21b4c943fd03e93ae1ae49e28573c0
cc21b4c9 43fd03e9 3ae1ae49 e28573c0
$ sha512sum install.sh | grep
ec113b49a54e705f86d51e784ebced224fdff3f52
79945d9d 250b42a4 2067bb00 99da012e c113b49a
54e705f8 6d51e784 ebced224
fdff3f52 ca588d64 e75f6033 61bd543f d631f592
2f87ceb2 ab034149 6df84a35
$ bash install.sh
Watch the intro video on http://www.youtube.com/
playlist?list=PL284C9FF2488BC6D1
Walk through the tutorial (man parallel_tutorial).
Your command line will love you for it.
When using programs that use GNU Parallel to
process data for publication please cite:
O. Tange (2018): GNU Parallel 2018, March 2018,
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.1146014.
If you like GNU Parallel:
# Give a demo at your local user group/team/
colleagues
# Post the intro videos on Reddit/Diaspora*/
forums/blogs/ Identi.ca/Google+/Twitter/
Facebook/Linkedin/mailing lists
# Get the merchandise https://
gnuparallel.threadless.com/designs/gnu-
parallel
# Request or write a review for your favourite
blog or magazine
# Request or build a package for your favourite
distribution (if it is not already there)
# Invite me for your next conference
If you use programs that use GNU Parallel for
research:
# Please cite GNU Parallel in you publications
(use –citation)
If GNU Parallel saves you money:
# (Have your company) donate to FSF https://
my.fsf.org/donate/
✐ About GNU SQL⠀✐
GNU sql aims to give a simple, unified interface
for accessing databases through all the different
databases’ command line clients. So far the focus
has been on giving a common way to specify login
information (protocol, username, password,
hostname, and port number), size (database and
table size), and running queries.
The database is addressed using a DBURL. If
commands are left out you will get that database’s
interactive shell.
When using GNU SQL for a publication please cite:
O. Tange (2011): GNU SQL – A Command Line Tool for
Accessing Different Databases Using DBURLs, ;login:
The USENIX Magazine, April 2011:29-32.
✐ About GNU Niceload⠀✐
GNU niceload slows down a program when the computer
load average (or other system activity) is above a
certain limit. When the limit is reached the
program will be suspended for some time. If the
limit is a soft limit the program will be allowed
to run for short amounts of time before being
suspended again. If the limit is a hard limit the
program will only be allowed to run when the system
is below the limit.
o § Programming/Development⠀➾
# ⚓ Qt ☛ Qt_Creator_9.0.2_released⠀⇛
We are happy to announce the release of Qt Creator
9.0.2!
* § Leftovers⠀➾
o ⚓ The Age AU ☛ Need_a_mystery_solved?_You_could_do_worse_than
hiring_a_teen_hacker⠀⇛
If you were teaching a course online detective work, you
could do worse than show Missing in the first class.
o ⚓ The Straits Times ☛ Indian_guru_jailed_for_rape_and_murder
allowed_131_days_of_parole_in_13_months,_sparking_outrage⠀⇛
Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh is serving long jail sentences
for committing rape and murder in India.
o ⚓ The Age AU ☛ ‘Follow_my_instructions_in_the_bedroom’:_Lawyer
accused_of_propositioning_former_clients⠀⇛
Embattled Melbourne lawyer Pat Lennon allegedly made
sexual advances on at least two former female clients but
continues to practise while under investigation by the
legal industry regulator.
o ⚓ Copenhagen Post ☛ When_life’s_this_good,_who_needs_the_Metaverse,
chorus_Danes_in_their_condemnation_of_virtual_worlds⠀⇛
Only the Irish hate it more, according to a new study,
but there’s a good reason why people in advanced
societies tend to shun such technology, according to an
expert
o ⚓ ‘Sorry,_we_thought_you_were_thieves’:_Refugee_recounts_attack
during_quake_rescue_efforts⠀⇛
A group of refugees from Syria were accused of thievery
and attacked by locals and relief officers in Hatay city.
o ⚓ FEBRUARY_6_EARTHQUAKES:_Demolition_of_Diyarbakır_residential
complex_begins_despite_pets_trapped_inside_buildings⠀⇛
At least 14 pets are trapped inside a residential complex
that was left severely damaged after the double
earthquake.
o § Health/Nutrition/Agriculture⠀➾
# ⚓ The Age AU ☛ ‘We_didn’t_ask_for_this’:_Residents_report_ill
health_after_Ohio_toxic_disaster⠀⇛
Two weeks after a train carrying hazardous material
came off the tracks, locals are still feeling the
effects. The town is also having to deal with a
celebrity influx.
o § Security⠀➾
# ⚓ Ubuntu ☛ Linux_security:_your_questions,_answered⠀⇛
At Canonical, we often get questions about open-
source security and of course, Linux security is a
common topic. Based on a recent webinar hosted by
our security team and an accompanying blog post, we
put together the most common questions we receive.
[...]
Are there plans to allow sysadmins to turn off auto
updates for snap packages to maintain system
stability?
Turning off auto updates is not recommended, as we
mentioned earlier about systems being compromised
when attackers exploit known vulnerabilities that
have not been patched. If you follow a stable track
for your snaps then you should only receive
important security updates that won’t compromise
stability.
o § Defence/Aggression⠀➾
# ⚓ YLE ☛ Finnish_Army_to_conduct_local_defence_drills_across
the_country⠀⇛
The exercises are meant to train participants in
securing transport, energy supplies and IT networks
in disturbance situations, as well as keeping
disturbances from spreading to other areas.
# ⚓ US News And World Report ☛ Mexico’s_Ex-Public_Security
Chief_Convicted_in_US_Drug_Case⠀⇛
A U.S. jury has convicted a former Mexican
presidential cabinet member of taking massive
bribes to protect the drug cartel…
# ⚓ US News And World Report ☛ Man_Tied_to_Lyft_Driver_Slaying
Charged_in_Separate_Case⠀⇛
A man who police say was driving the car of a dead
South Florida Lyft driver has been charged with
murder and other counts in a separate case
# ⚓ CNN ☛ Putin:_Russia-China_relations_are_‘reaching_new
milestones’⠀⇛
# ⚓ CNN ☛ US_can’t_keep_up_with_China’s_warship_building,_Navy
Secretary_says⠀⇛
China’s navy has significant advantages over its US
rival, including a bigger fleet and greater
shipbuilding capacity, as Beijing seeks to project
its power across the oceans, the head of the United
States Navy said Tuesday.
# ⚓ CNN ☛ Pentagon_releases_selfie_taken_by_US_pilot_showing
Chinese_spy_balloon_in_air⠀⇛
The US Defense Department has released a selfie
taken in the cockpit of a U-2 spy plane, as an
airman flew above the Chinese surveillance balloon
that was shot down by the US military earlier this
month.
# ⚓ US News And World Report ☛ Russia’s_Warship_With_Hypersonic
Missiles_Arrives_for_Drills_With_S.Africa,_China⠀⇛
# ⚓ US News And World Report ☛ Honduras_Extends,_Expands_State
of_Emergency_for_Second_Time⠀⇛
# ⚓ CNN ☛ Aerial_night_vision_video_shows_Ukrainian_attack_on
Russian_convoy⠀⇛
New video appears to show Ukrainian paratroopers
fend off a night attack by Russian convoys.
# ⚓ The Age AU ☛ Court_hears_of_bid_to_publicly_name_high-
profile_man_charged_with_rape⠀⇛
The man, who cannot be named under Queensland law,
did not appear in person in Toowoomba Magistrates
Court.
# ⚓ The Age AU ☛ The_Cold_War_spy,_the_KGB_and_photos_from_a
Moscow_orgy⠀⇛
A Norwegian man reviled as one of the most
notorious Russian spies of the Cold War era has
died aged 80.
# ⚓ The Straits Times ☛ China_says_Russia_ties_‘solid_as_rock’
amid_Ukraine_peace_push⠀⇛
Top diplomat Wang Yi said China sought to ‘promote
mutually beneficial cooperation in all areas’.
# ⚓ The Straits Times ☛ China_tells_Japan_it_is_troubled_by
Tokyo’s_military_build-up⠀⇛
Beijing and Tokyo are holding their first formal
security talks in four years.
# ⚓ CNN ☛ ‘So_many_tears’:_Ukrainian_volunteer_details_process
to_give_families_closure⠀⇛
CNN chief international correspondent Clarissa Ward
follows a volunteer who is a part of a group that
provides closure to grieving families of Ukrainian
soldiers.
# ⚓ CNN ☛ North_Korea_a_‘clear_and_present_danger,’_says_South
Korean_Foreign_Minister⠀⇛
North Korea is a “clear and present danger,” the
foreign minister of South Korea has told CNN in an
exclusive interview.
o § Environment⠀➾
# ⚓ The Straits Times ☛ Wetter_storms,_deforestation:_Manila
faces_worsening_floods⠀⇛
When it rains, many neighbourhoods in the
Philippine capital turn into disease-infested
swamps.
# ⚓ The Straits Times ☛ Ultramarathoners_trapped_as_severe
weather_hits_southern_New_Zealand⠀⇛
Six athletes among the 110 trapped were airlifted
to hospital, after suffering from symptoms of mild
hypothermia.
# § Energy/Transportation⠀➾
# ⚓ Copenhagen Post ☛ Consumer_rebate_on_the_cards?_State
audit_uncovers_huge_discrepancies_with_the_way_Danish
energy_is_delivered⠀⇛
Households and businesses have been
overcharged over 60 million kroner since 2018
– and this might just be a fraction of the
extra cost
# § Overpopulation⠀➾
# ⚓ The Straits Times ☛ South_Korea_again_smashes_own
record_for_world’s_lowest_fertility_rate_in_2022 [Ed:
This conflates tackling overpopulation with a health
problem ]⠀⇛
>
The number of babies expected per woman fell
to 0.78 in 2022, down from 0.81 in 2021.
# ⚓ CNN ☛ South_Korea_breaks_its_own_record_for_world’s
lowest_fertility_rate [Ed: False. They conflate people
choosing not to bear kids with a health issue.]⠀⇛
South Korea’s fertility rate, already the
world’s lowest, has dropped yet again in the
latest setback to the country’s efforts to
boost its declining population.
o § Finance⠀➾
# ⚓ The Straits Times ☛ No_income_tax_for_banks_as_Indonesia
seeks_new_capital_investors⠀⇛
That is one of various incentives being offered to
get businesses to support the billion dollar move
of the capital.
# ⚓ The Straits Times ☛ Hong_Kong_flags_handouts_to_speed_up
recovery_from_Covid-19_shock⠀⇛
The Covid-19 pandemic brought Hong Kong to its
knees, but all that is behind it now, says
Financial Secretary Paul Chan.
# ⚓ Axios ☛ Worker_strikes_increased_nearly_50%_last_year⠀⇛
Data: Bureau of Labor Statistics; Note: data
includes lockouts; Chart: Axios Visuals
The number of major worker strikes in the U.S. rose to its second highest level
in two decades in 2022, per a government_report out Wednesday.
Why it matters:The strength of the labor market and the rise in popularity_of
unions drove up the numbers. COVID-era issues, like short-staffing, burnout and
pay that didn’t keep up with inflation, also pushed workers_to_the_picket
lines.
⚓ Axios ☛ Most_workers_are_getting_raises_this_year,_survey_finds⠀⇛
Data: Payscale’s 2023 Compensation Best Practices Report; Chart:
Axios Visuals
Looks likea lot of folks may be getting raises this year, according to a
Payscale survey out Wednesday morning.
⚓ Axios ☛ Sneaker_resale_prices_are_falling_to_Earth⠀⇛
Data: Altan Insights, compiled from StockX; Chart: Axios Visuals
Coveting a pair of Travis Scott Jordans or Panda Dunks? You just might be able
to snag them for a reasonable price in the resale market — quite a turnaround
from a year ago.
Why it matters: Price declines are signaling that the froth has left the
market, leading sneaker heads and analysts alike to wonder if the market is
crashing — or just normalizing.
⚓ Axios ☛ Grocery_prices_remain_stubbornly_high⠀⇛
Grocery prices ticked up nationally in January after an apparent
inflation_respite in December, per the latest Consumer Price Index
(CPI) data.
§ AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics⠀➾
* ⚓ The Age AU ☛ News_Corp_says_$4.4_billion_deal_to_sell_US_real_estate
business_Move_is_off⠀⇛
A month after abruptly halting plans for a potential merger of
its major media companies Fox Corporation and News Corporation,
Rupert Murdoch’s business empire said it’s no longer involved
in discussions to sell its real-estate listings business Move
to rival CoStar.
* ⚓ Copenhagen Post ☛ Ex-defence_minister_charged_(again)_with_divulging
state_secrets⠀⇛
Claus Hjort Frederiksen to most likely face court behind closed
doors
* ⚓ Marcy Wheeler ☛ Trial_by_Combat:_Rudy_Giuliani_and_John_Eastman
Speeches_Included_in_Ed_Badalian_Exhibit_List⠀⇛
In the case where you can draw the clearest line between things
that Trump and Rudy Giuliani and John Eastman said at the
January 6 rally to an assault at the Capitol — Danny Rodriguez’
near-murder of Michael Fanone — DOJ has laid the ground work to
demonstrate that clear line.
* ⚓ Marcy Wheeler ☛ The_Evolving_Robert_Costello_–_Steve_Bannon_Timeline⠀⇛
Last year, Robert Costello said he had worked with Steve Bannon
for three years. In a lawsuit trying to force Bannon to pay for
legal services, Costello’s firm said they started working with
Bannon in late 2020. The discrepancy may involve “Hunter
Biden’s” “laptop.”
* ⚓ CNN ☛ Shamima_Begum_loses_UK_citizenship_appeal⠀⇛
Shamima Begum, who left the United Kingdom to join ISIS at the
age of 15, has lost her appeal against the decision to revoke
her British citizenship.
* ⚓ New York Times ☛ In_a_Celebration_of_War,_Moscow_Displays,_and_Demands,
Unity⠀⇛
A concert and rally in Russia’s largest stadium romanticized
the invasion of Ukraine, as Vladimir V. Putin and his
government seek to normalize the country’s war footing.
* ⚓ New York Times ☛ Putin_and_Biden_Shore_Up_Alliances_in_Dueling
Appearances⠀⇛
On the surface, it looked like a reversion to the Cold War era.
The reality was even more complicated.
* ⚓ New York Times ☛ Jared_Kushner_and_Ivanka_Trump_Subpoenaed_in_Jan._6
Investigation⠀⇛
The special counsel overseeing the inquiry into Donald Trump’s
efforts to retain power after the 2020 election wants the
former president’s daughter and son-in-law to testify to a
grand jury.
* ⚓ New York Times ☛ Giving_Jan._6_Tapes_to_Carlson,_McCarthy_Keeps_a
Promise_to_the_Hard_Right⠀⇛
In granting exclusive access to Jan. 6 Capitol surveillance
footage to a cable news host bent on rewriting the history of
the attack, the speaker effectively outsourced a politically
toxic re-litigation of the riot.
* ⚓ New York Times ☛ Here’s_the_Status_of_the_Four_Criminal_Investigations
Into_Donald_Trump⠀⇛
The revelations from grand jury proceedings in Georgia are the
latest signs that federal and local inquiries into the former
president could reach key decision points in coming months.
§ Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press⠀➾
* ⚓ FEBRUARY_6_EARTHQUAKES:_Türkiye’s_media_authority_fines_three_TV
outlets_over_earthquake_coverage⠀⇛
Opposition members of the council criticized the decisions.
§ Civil Rights/Policing⠀➾
* ⚓ The Straits Times ☛ ‘Please_go_home!’:_Indian_firm_deploys_software_for
work-life_balance⠀⇛
The software has a notification system that kicks in the moment
an employee’s shift is over.
§ Monopolies⠀➾
* § Patents⠀➾
o ⚓ Kluwer Patent Blog ☛ Embargoed_judgments:_lessons_learnt_from_the
recent_decisions_of_the_Court [Ed: Patents destroying businesses
instead of helping them]⠀⇛
A number of recent decisions have highlighted the risks
that can arise from the practice of supplying draft
judgments to litigants and their advisers under an
embargo.
o ⚓ Dennis Crouch/Patently-O ☛ Guest_Post:_Third-Party_Litigation
Funding:_Disclosure_to_Courts,_Congress,_and_the_Executive [Ed:
Microsoft can subsidise lawsuits against Linux this way, as
happened with SCO]⠀⇛
Patent assertion finance today is a multibillion-dollar
business.[2] Virtually nonexistent in the patent space
in the U.S. ten years ago—at least in part due to
longstanding common law rules on champerty, maintenance,
[3] and patent law’s relative high risk—today third-party
litigation funding (TPLF)[4] undergirds about 30% of all
patent litigation, by conservative estimates.[5]
Insurance options are suddenly plentiful,[6] funders are
expanding and multiplying,[7] and new deal commitments
are on the rise.[8] This general trend is seen in the
first chart below, adapted from a recent white paper by
Korok Ray.[9]
§ Gemini* and Gopher⠀➾
* § Technical⠀➾
o ⚓ Starforged_initial_impressions⠀⇛
This game is so great. It’s basically the never-ending
version of something like those old choose-your-own-
adventure books like Citadel of Chaos.
The strength of skill challenges are the low-prep /
pickup nature of them; create a textured description
purely generatively. They’re the ultimate extension of
the “wallpaper salience” #blorb principle.
The problem is that it’s at the expense of agency. It
reduces the joy of exploring to a drab one-dimensional
bingo. And the math is broken, too (that goes for 5e’s
group checks also). It’s one of the reasons why Diaspora
wasn’t that fun after a while.
=> =============================================================================
World Wide Web but a lot lighter.
䷩ 𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚎 4502
╒═══════════════════ 𝐃𝐀𝐈𝐋𝐘 𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐊𝐒 ═════════════════════════════════════════════╕
⠀⌧ █▇▆▅▄▃▂▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁ 02.23.23⠀▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▂▃▄▅▆▇█ ⌧
Gemini_version_available_♊︎
✐ Links_23/02/2023:_Transmission_4.0.1_and_Ubuntu_22.04.2_LTS⠀✐
Posted in News_Roundup at 9:41 pm by Dr. Roy Schestowitz
🄸🄼🄰🄶🄴 🄳🄴🅂🄲🅁🄸🄿🅃🄸🄾🄽 ⦇GNOME bluefish⦈
§ Contents⠀➾
* GNU/Linux
o Applications
o Instructionals/Technical
o Games
* Distributions_and_Operating_Systems
o Canonical/Ubuntu_Family
o Devices/Embedded
o Open_Hardware/Modding
o Mobile_Systems/Mobile_Applications
* Free,_Libre,_and_Open_Source_Software
o Education
o Programming/Development
# Python
* Leftovers
o Science
o Education
o Hardware
o Health/Nutrition/Agriculture
o Proprietary
o Security
# Privacy/Surveillance
o Defence/Aggression
o Transparency/Investigative_Reporting
o Environment
# Energy/Transportation
# Wildlife/Nature
o Finance
o AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics
o Censorship/Free_Speech
o Freedom_of_Information_/_Freedom_of_the_Press
o Civil_Rights/Policing
o Internet_Policy/Net_Neutrality
o Digital_Restrictions_(DRM)
o Monopolies
# Copyrights
* Gemini*_and_Gopher
o Personal
o Technical
# Internet/Gemini
* § GNU/Linux⠀➾
o § Applications⠀➾
# ⚓ Linux Links ☛ 6_Best_Free_and_Open_Source_Econometric
Software⠀⇛
Econometric software is statistical software that
is specialized for econometric analysis. This type
of software offers regression analysis including
time-series analysis and cross-sectional analysis.
Modern econometric software enhances the process of
model formulation, estimation and validation, and
provides helpful graphical information as well as
tables of output. They are important tools in the
analysis of stock markets, budget planning, and aid
in decision making by policy makers.
For many years the computer package SAS (developed
by the SAS Institute) has dominated the econometric
software market. Other prominent software includes
GAUSS, OxMetrics, Stata, and SPSS. All of these
applications are high quality and available for
Linux. However, they are commercial software
released under proprietary software licenses. The
purpose of this article is to identify open source
software which allow users to perform econometric
analyses.
# ⚓ Neowin ☛ Transmission_4.0.1⠀⇛
Transmission is a fast, easy-to-use bittorrent
client with support for encryption, a web
interface, peer exchange, magnet links, DHT, µTP,
UPnP and NAT-PMP port forwarding, webseed support,
watch directories, tracker editing, global and per-
torrent speed limits, and more.
Transmission has one of the lowest memory &
resource footprints of any major BitTorrent client.
Transmission’s light overhead is one reason why it
is so well suited for home NAS and media servers.
Having been used by Western Digital, Zyxel and
Belkin, Transmission gives truly impressive
performance on almost any compatible hardware.
Transmission is an open source, volunteer-based
project. Unlike some BitTorrent clients,
Transmission doesn’t play games with its users to
make money.
o § Instructionals/Technical⠀➾
# ⚓ Exple.Tive.Org ☛ Modern_Problems_Require_Modern_Solutions⠀⇛
Over on Mastodon I asked: “What modern utilities
should be a standard part of a modern unixy distro?
Why? I’ve got jq, pandoc, tldr and a few others on
my list, but I’d love to know others.”
Here’s what came back; I’ve roughly grouped them
into two categories: new utilities and improvements
on the classics.
In no particular order, the new kids on the block:
[...]
o § Games⠀➾
# ⚓ GamingOnLinux ☛ Valve_tricks_Dota_2_cheaters_and_then_bans
40,000_of_them⠀⇛
In a new post titled “Cheaters Will Never Be
Welcome in Dota”, Valve mentioned how they managed
to get a whole lot of cheaters to show themselves
and then gave them a swift boot to the buttocks.
# ⚓ Techdirt ☛ ‘Spellbreak’_Developer_Gets_It_Exactly_Right_In
‘Shutting_Down’_Its_Game⠀⇛
We’ve been talking a lot about video game
preservation and strategies for maintaining as much
of this cultural output as possible in an industry
where the norm is to sunset games after a certain
period of time. Most recently, we discussed the
comments made by legendary game designer John
Carmack, prescribing how game publishers and
developers could take steps to ensure their games
live on long after they are no longer supported
and/or hosted by them directly. At a high level,
his suggestions all amount to something that some
publishers and developers have a hard time doing:
giving up control in order to keep their games
alive.
* § Distributions and Operating Systems⠀➾
o § Canonical/Ubuntu Family⠀➾
# ⚓ 9to5Linux ☛ Ubuntu_22.04.2_LTS_Released_with_Linux_Kernel
5.19,_Updated_Components⠀⇛
Ubuntu 22.04.2 LTS is here six months after Ubuntu
22.04.1 LTS as an up-to-date installation media for
those who wish to deploy the Ubuntu 22.04 LTS
(Jammy Jellyfish) operating system on new computers
without having to download hundreds of updated
packages from the repositories after the
installation./p>
Apart from including various updated packages that
bring bug and security fixes to the Ubuntu 22.04
LTS (Jammy Jellyfish) operating system series, the
Ubuntu 22.04.2 LTS point release also comes with a
newer kernel, namely Linux 5.19, from the Ubuntu
22.10 (Kinetic Kudu) release, as well as newer
graphics stack, namely Mesa 22.2.5.
# ⚓ OMG Ubuntu ☛ Ubuntu_22.04.2_LTS_is_Available_to_Download⠀⇛
Serving as the second point release in the Ubuntu
22.04 LTS series, this update rolls together the
many security patches, bug fixes, and software
updates issued to the Jammy Jellyfish since the
previous point release.
More notably, Ubuntu 22.04.2 LTS intros a brand new
hardware enablement stack (HWE) composed of a newer
Linux kernel and updated Linux graphics drivers.
# ⚓ The Register UK ☛ By_order_of_Canonical:_Official_Ubuntu
flavors_must_stop_including_Flatpak_by_default⠀⇛
Canonical has issued an official edict: the
approved Ubuntu remixes must remove Flatpak support
as of the next release.
The various Ubuntu flavors are not Canonical
products. Only the original Ubuntu, with the GNOME
desktop, is the “real thing.” Even so, the company
does have some control as it’s Canonical that
officially sanctions and endorses what is an
official flavor, and what isn’t. And Canonical has
spoken: From the next release, no official variant
shall support Flatpak any more. Canonical has its
own official cross-platform packaging format, Snap,
and as from version 23.04, only Snap is to be built
in. The Flatpak plugin for the Software store will
be removed too.
o § Devices/Embedded⠀➾
# ⚓ Scoop News Group ☛ More_vulnerabilities_in_industrial
systems_raise_fresh_concerns_about_critical_infrastructure
hacks⠀⇛
The reports provide a startling view of some long-
known risks inside industrial systems that are
receiving fresh attention after such high-profile
cyberattacks as the Colonial Pipeline and JBS meat
packing ransomware incidents. That increased
attention means that both researchers trying to
defend critical systems — along with malicious
hackers looking to infiltrate them — are more
focused than ever on industrial systems.
“We’re seeing capabilities out there that could
have destructive capabilities, safety impacts:
think Triton and Trisis, and think Pipedream,” said
Puesh Kumar, director of the Cybersecurity, Energy
Security, and Emergency Response at the Energy
Department.
o § Open Hardware/Modding⠀➾
# ⚓ Olimex ☛ RISC-V_computer_system_on_Open_Source_Hardware
FPGA_iCE40HX8K-EVB_runs_UNIX_xv6_using_only_FOSS_(free_and
open_source_hard-_and_software)⠀⇛
He managed to build RISC-V computer running Unix
xv6 using only FOSS.
# ⚓ Purism ☛ Introducing_the_Lapdock_Kit⠀⇛
With the Lapdock kit, you can turn your Librem 5 or
Librem 5 USA into a PureOS laptop. While your
Librem 5 is fully able to run desktop apps on its
own, once attached to the Lapdock, you can take
advantage of the extra screen space, battery power,
and extra ports.
The Lapdock offers a USB-C with an adapter to a
full-sized USB, allowing you to attach just about
any USB device to your Librem 5.
You also get an extra Micro USB slot and a
headphone jack.The Lapdock also ships with a large
internal battery, keeping your Librem 5 topped off
while in use.
o § Mobile Systems/Mobile Applications⠀➾
# ⚓ The Sun ☛ People_are_just_realizing_secret_Android_‘bill
trick’_can_save_you_money_every_month_–_just_change_one
setting_|_The_US_Sun⠀⇛
# ⚓ The Verge ☛ Study_finds_Google_Play_app_privacy_labels_are
‘false_or_misleading’_–_The_Verge⠀⇛
# ⚓ Ars Technica ☛ Mozilla_says_“most_top_apps”_on_Android_have
misleading_privacy_labels_|_Ars_Technica⠀⇛
# ⚓ PR Newswire ☛ Research_Reveals_LockBit_Ransomware_Surges
While_Android_Droppers_Emerge_as_Top_Business_Threat⠀⇛
# ⚓ Android Central ☛ Magic_Eraser_is_finally_coming_to_more
Android_phones_|_Android_Central⠀⇛
# ⚓ TechRadar ☛ A_whole_host_of_top_Android_apps_really_aren’t
as_private_as_they_say_|_TechRadar⠀⇛
# ⚓ 9to5Google ☛ LumaFusion_video_editor_launches_for_Android
and_ChromeOS⠀⇛
# ⚓ PC Mag ☛ Qualcomm_Demos_AI_Art_Generator_Stable_Diffusion
Running_on_an_Android_Phone_|_PCMag⠀⇛
# ⚓ The Sun ☛ People_are_just_realizing_hidden_’3-tap_Android
superfix’_instantly_makes_your_phone_better_by_fixing
infuriating_issue_|_The_US_Sun⠀⇛
# ⚓ The Sun ☛ Google_gives_out_free_instant_upgrade_to_billions
of_Android_phones_–_it’s_a_dream_come_true_for_drivers_|_The
US_Sun⠀⇛
# ⚓ PC Mag ☛ Find_My_Android:_How_to_Locate_Your_Lost
Smartphone_|_PCMag⠀⇛
# ⚓ Lifewire ☛ How_to_Use_Android_Recovery_Mode⠀⇛
# ⚓ Make Use Of ☛ How_to_Customize_the_Quick_Settings_Panel_on
Android⠀⇛
# ⚓ GSM Arena ☛ Nokia_C02_silently_debuts_with_Android_12_(Go
edition)_and_entry-level_specs_–_GSMArena.com_news⠀⇛
# ⚓ India Times ☛ Android_13_beta_adds_Jio_5G_support_on_Pixel
6_and_Pixel_7_series_–_Times_of_India⠀⇛
# ⚓ Make Use Of ☛ You_Can_Now_Play_YouTube_Audio_in_the
Background_on_Android_With_Vivaldi⠀⇛
* § Free, Libre, and Open Source Software⠀➾
o § Education⠀➾
# ⚓ Business Wire ☛ FOSSDA_Project_to_Record_Open_Source
History⠀⇛
The free and open source software movement was
started by a generation of technical visionaries
who believed that access to information is
fundamental to human rights in our digital age. It
grew into a movement that has transformed software
development, business, and modern society. Open
source projects have resulted in global
collaboration and the creation of Linux, the most
popular operating system on earth–along with
community tools like Firefox, Sendmail, and the
backbone of the Internet. Today, there are over 50
publicly traded commercial open source software
companies representing billions in value, and they
are in the process of changing how business works
today.
“FOSSDA is about the personal stories of those who
came together to revolutionize our modern
technological world,” said Heather Meeker, FOSSDA’s
founder. “A lot has been written about open source
development and open source licensing — some
practical, some dogmatic, some thought-provoking.
But the FOSSDA Project is about a trailblazing
human journey.”
# ⚓ Unicorn Media ☛ Apache_and_Mozilla_Sponsor_Organization_to
Collect_FOSS_Oral_History⠀⇛
Since you’re reading FOSS Force, you probably don’t
need to be told that there’s a rich history behind
Linux and open source, going back to at least 1983,
which is when Richard Stallman founded the GNU
Project.
Along the way Stallman wrote his requirements for
The Four Essential Freedoms of Free Software and
issued the GPL; Linus Torvalds started work on
Linux, the operating system which has in many ways
taken over modern computing; BSD battled AT&T for
the right to issue Unix software as open source;
and more.
o § Programming/Development⠀➾
# ⚓ Daniel Miessler ☛ Exploring_the_intersection_of_security,
technology,_and_society—and_what_might_be_coming_next…⠀⇛
# ⚓ Fernando Borretti ☛ And_Yet_It_Understands⠀⇛
These dismissive analogies serve to create a false
sense of security—that if I can name something I
understand it and know how it works and it is no
longer a threat4—and to signal to the listeners
that the speaker has some revealed knowledge that
they lack. But nobody knows how GPT works. They
know how it was trained, because the training
scheme was designed by humans, but the algorithm
that is executed during inference was not
intelligently designed but evolved, and it is
implicit in the structure of the network, and
interpretability has yet to mature to the point
where we can draw a symbolic, abstract, human-
readable program out of a sea of weights.
# ⚓ Tim Bradshaw ☛ How_to_understand_closures_in_Common_Lisp⠀⇛
It’s easy to see why this has happened: the CL
standard has a lot of discussion of lexical
closures, lexical and dynamic environments and so
on. So it’s tempting to think that this way of
thinking about things is ‘the one true way’ because
it has been blessed by those who went before us.
And indeed CL does have objects representing part
of the lexical environment which are given to macro
functions. Occasionally these are even useful. But
there are no objects which represent closures as
distinct from functions, and no predicates which
tell you if a function is a closure or not in the
standard language: closures simply do not exist as
objects distinct from functions at all. They were
useful, perhaps, as part of the text which defined
the language, but they are nowhere to be found in
the language itself.
So, with the exception of the environment objects
passed to macros, none of these objects exist in
the language. They may exist in implementations,
and might even be exposed by some implementations,
but from the point of the view of the language they
simply do not exist: if I give you a function
object you cannot know if it is a closure or not.
# ⚓ OpenSource.com ☛ Learn_Lua_with_our_new_downloadable
guide⠀⇛
Lua is a programming language designed for
simplicity and performance, used by video game and
multimedia companies as a front-end scripting
language. It’s also used by the Awesome window
manager, the Far file manager, the Howl text
editor, and many more open source projects for its
clarity and clean design. Lua is embeddable, too,
so you can include Lua code in codebases of another
language (such as Java, C, and C++), as well as
interact with a rich C API. Whether you want to
want to learn Lua to get into the gaming and media
industry, or you’re just interested in an easy
scripting language with no upper limit, Lua is an
approachable and powerful programming language.
# § Python⠀➾
# ⚓ Andrew Healey ☛ My_Own_Python_Web_Framework⠀⇛
Jar is a toy Python web framework,
implemented in about 200 lines of code (see
cli.py). I built it to explore some ideas
around framework APIs, and to explore
frameworks from the author-side of things.
Please don’t actually use it. It’s called Jar
because it has almost no features and you
need to fill it up yourself!
* § Leftovers⠀➾
o ⚓ Terence Eden ☛ Necroposting_–_blogging_from_before_you_started
blogging⠀⇛
A blog isn’t an immutable chain of events. There’s
nothing to stop us travelling in time. When I go digital
sperlunking though my history, I often find interesting
things I wrote before I blogged. So I bring these “back
from the dead” and publish them as Necroposts.
o ⚓ Hicks Design ☛ Fiddling_makes_me_happy⠀⇛
I keep thinking about Ethan’s famous quote “let your
website be a worry stone”. I’m constantly fiddling with
hicks.design for this very reason. It’s my playground to
try different techniques and layout ideas, and here’s
what I’ve been fiddling with recently.
o ⚓ Zimbabwe ☛ This_is_what_Zimbabweans_do_on_the_internet_when_they
are_not_on_WhatsApp⠀⇛
There was a time when the Postal and Telecommunications
Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (Potraz) used to break
down the internet usage stats they release in their
sector reports. From that data, we found out that
WhatsApp accounted for close to half of all [Internet]
usage in the country.
o ⚓ The Hill ☛ Most_young_men_are_single._Most_young_women_are_not.⠀⇛
“We’re in a crisis of connection,” said Niobe Way, a
psychology professor and founder of the Project for the
Advancement of Our Common Humanity at New York
University. “Disconnection from ourselves and
disconnection from each other. And it’s getting worse.”
o § Science⠀➾
# ⚓ Matt Rickard ☛ Erdős_Vocabulary⠀⇛
Paul Erdős was a prolific mathematician who
published more than 1,500 papers in his lifetime.
You might hear someone refer to their Erdős number,
talking about the “collaborative distance” between
them. The distance is measured by the shortest path
via co-authorship of papers. The Kevin “Bacon
number” applies the same idea to movies.
But one of the most unique things about Erdős was
his distinctive vocabulary.
# ⚓ CNN ☛ Webb_telescope_makes_a_surprising_galactic_discovery
in_the_distant_universe⠀⇛
The telescope observes the universe in infrared
light, which is invisible to the human eye, and is
capable of detecting the faint light from ancient
stars and galaxies. By peering into the distant
universe, the observatory can essentially see back
in time up to about 13.5 billion years ago.
(Scientists have determined the universe is about
13.7 billion years old.)
o § Education⠀➾
# ⚓ NYPost ☛ Middle_school_math_question_stumps_politicians
during_debate⠀⇛
While the incumbent education Minister and her
challenger were worrying about pears, schools
across the nation were sweating bullets as the
results of the 2022 NAPLAN tests were released,
revealing that migrant students outperformed their
peers.
# ⚓ NYPost ☛ I’m_an_ER_nurse_and_made_$2M_selling_my_med_school
notes_on_Etsy⠀⇛
Stephanee Beggs, 28, began selling her study notes
when she graduated from nursing school, she told
Fox News, adding that she reached a sudden, “very
unintentional” level of [Internet] infamy.
# ⚓ Business Insider ☛ I_made_nearly_$2_million_in_2_years
selling_my_nursing-school_study_notes_on_Etsy_and_TikTok_—
here’s_how⠀⇛
People started messaging me asking if they could
buy the study sheets in my videos. I decided to
create an Etsy shop and figured I’d maybe sell
enough to be able to buy lunch every day, but I
ended up selling more than 64,000 items in the past
two years, making close to $2 million in revenue.
o § Hardware⠀➾
# ⚓ The Drive ☛ Hacker_Uncovers_How_to_Turn_Traffic_Lights
Green_With_Flipper_Zero⠀⇛
For the record, building and using one of these
transmitters as a member of the general public
isn’t exactly a good idea nor is it legal It’s best
treated like something read in The Anarchist’s
Cookbook unless you want to end up in prison for
six months, that is. But for those in a position
where they are authorized to use the devices as
part of their work, Fairlie’s example serves as a
low-cost proof of concept for agencies that don’t
have tons of cash to spend on first-party
transmitters.
o § Health/Nutrition/Agriculture⠀➾
# ⚓ ABC ☛ How_Did_TikTok_Bans_Go_Viral_In_State_Legislatures?⠀⇛
One big difference is that states banning TikTok
are taking a more targeted approach than Trump by
pinpointing state-owned or state-operated devices.
(Trump’s proposal would have effectively banned
TikTok in the U.S. entirely.) And the political
stars may be aligning to make the bans an appealing
issue for both parties, according to Thad Kousser,
a political science professor at the University of
California, San Diego. Republicans have long
harbored animus toward both China and social media
companies. Democrats, too, Kousser said, likely see
this as a winning issue given the escalating
tension between China and the U.S. over tech
competition and economic leadership. And lawmakers
at the federal level are trying to push the bans
even further, with some Republicans even calling
for TikTok’s outright ban.
# ⚓ uni John Hopkins ☛ Undergrads_partner_with_NATO_to_reduce
combat_casualties⠀⇛
Now combat triage is undergoing yet another
dramatic transformation—this time, a digital one.
Working with the NATO HQ Supreme Allied Command
Transformation Innovation Hub and the SACT Medical
Branch, student engineers and scientists at Johns
Hopkins University and the Czech Technical
University have leveraged artificial intelligence
to create a Digital Triage Assistant. Worn like a
watch on soldiers’ wrists, the device collects
their vital signs and location data, feeding that
information in real time to a dashboard that not
only tells medics where the wounded are located,
but also assesses the severity of their injuries.
# ⚓ The Atlantic ☛ Adults_Are_Letting_Teen_Girls_Down⠀⇛
When I gave up Facebook, it felt like I’d been
given back time and peace of mind. So our house
rule was no social media until age 18. We were
always open to talking with both of our kids about
our decision, but my husband and I both felt
strongly that it was the right choice and we stuck
with it.
I got a surprise when my daughter made an
impassioned plea to be allowed to use social media
at 17. I was wavering, thinking maybe we’d waited
long enough, and wanted to avoid conflict. But it
was her 20-year-old brother who spoke up and said,
“Don’t do it, Mom. It’s not a good place.”
In the end, our daughter agreed to wait another
year, albeit grudgingly. What convinced her was a
conversation we had about her workload and how easy
it is to lose yourself in your phone, even when
you’re not on social media. She was able to
acknowledge the danger of distraction and waited
until she turned 18.
o § Proprietary⠀➾
# ⚓ [Repeat] Federal News Network ☛ Federal_IT_leaders_see
‘critical_moment’_in_securing_systems_from_fraud [iophk:
Windows TCO]⠀⇛
And during a Congressional hearing earlier this
month, Comptroller General Gene Dodaro said the
Government Accountability Office is, for the first
time, trying to come up with an estimate of the
total amount of fraud across all federal programs.
Deidre Harrison, the acting controller at OMB, said
while federal CFOs are still identifying pandemic-
related fraud and recovering funds whenever
possible, they also need to look forward to prepare
with better fraud detection and prevention tools in
the future.
# ⚓ CyberRisk Alliance LLC ☛ NPM_repository_flooded_with_15,000
phishing_packages⠀⇛
The malicious packages were created using an
automated process to distribute links to phishing
campaigns across a few hours between Feb. 20 and
21. It was carried out through multiple user
accounts, making it difficult for security teams to
identify and remove packages quickly, Checkmarx
researcher Yehuda Gelb noted in a Tuesday blog
post.
# ⚓ Lionel Dricot ☛ We_need_to_talk_about_your_Github
addiction⠀⇛
Listen my fellow geeks in code, we need to have a
serious conversation about Github.
At first, Github was only a convenient way to host
a git repository and to collaborate with others.
But, as always with monopolies, once you are
trapped by convenience and the network effect, the
shitification process starts to try to get as much
money and data from you.
# ⚓ 37signals LLC ☛ We_stand_to_save_$7m_over_five_years_from
our_cloud_exit⠀⇛
Since declaring our intention to leave the cloud in
October, we’ve been busy at work making it so.
After a brief detour down a blind alley with an
enterprise Kubernetes provider, we found our stride
building our own tools, and successfully moved the
first small application out of the cloud a few
weeks ago. Now our sights are set on a total cloud
exit by the end of the Summer, and by our
preliminary calculations, we stand to save about
$7m in server expenses over five years from doing
so. Without changing the size of our ops team.
# ⚓ 37signals LLC ☛ Five_values_guiding_our_cloud_exit⠀⇛
I’ve talked a lot about cost in our reasoning for
leaving the cloud. But while cost is crucial, it is
not the only motivating factor. Here are five
values that have guided our decision, and that I
recently articulated in an internal post at
37signals (so excuse the code names etc): [...]
o § Security⠀➾
# § Privacy/Surveillance⠀➾
# ⚓ Rolling Stone ☛ Elon_Musk’s_Twitter_Goes_Dark_on
Government_Data_Grabs⠀⇛
For a decade, Twitter published rundowns
twice a year of all of those government
requests. But under Musk, that appears to
have ended.
Despite Musk’s rhetoric about government
bullying of social media, his company hasn’t
published one of the formerly regular
transparency reports detailing what
governments are demanding from Twitter — and
whether the company is bending to them.
# ⚓ VOA News ☛ Kenyan_App_Users_Pay_for_Health_Care_With
Personal_Data⠀⇛
To address the relatively high cost of health
care in Africa, a Kenyan mobile application
lets users pay for medical services by
selling their personal data through
blockchain technology. [...]
# ⚓ Deutsche Welle ☛ German_government_banned_from
operating_Facebook_page⠀⇛
Germany’s Data Protection Commissioner Ulrich
Kelber demanded on Wednesday that the federal
government stop operating its Facebook page.
A letter to the German government’s press
office (BPA) about this was sent out at the
beginning of the week. The press office has
four weeks from receipt of the notice to
close the page or file a legal objection to
Kelber’s decision.
Kelber justified his decision on doubts about
the page fulfilling all data protection
requirements. On Wednesday, Kelber pointed to
the “extensive processing of personal data”
of Facebook users, which made it impossible
to operate the page in compliance with data
protection laws.
# ⚓ Scoop News Group ☛ Digital_drivers_license_downloads
soar_in_Louisiana_amid_porn_restriction⠀⇛
The number of daily downloads of LA Wallet,
the state’s digital ID app, has jumped from
between 1,200 and 1,500 to more than 5,000,
since Dec. 31, a day before the law took
effect, according to Calvin Fabre, senior
analyst and president of Envoc, the vendor
that developed the app.
# ⚓ [Repeat] Scoop News Group ☛ Supreme_Court_declines_to
hear_Wikimedia_case_against_NSA_surveillance_program⠀⇛
The American Civil Liberties Union and Knight
First Amendment Institute filed a petition
for the high court to hear the case on behalf
of the Wikimedia Foundation after the U.S.
Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit sided
with the NSA’s defense that proceeding with
the trial would reveal sensitive state
secrets. By denying to hear the case, the
court leaves that judgment in place.
“It’s very disappointing. This surveillance
program is one of the most sweeping ever
enacted and it has yet to be subject to
judicial review in a court. That’s a real
problem for the rule of law,” Alex Abdo,
litigation director at the Knight First
Amendment Institute, told CyberScoop.
# ⚓ Data Breaches ☛ Trove_of_L.A._Students’_Mental_Health
Records_Posted_to_Dark_Web_After_Cyber_Hack⠀⇛
The student psychological evaluations,
published to a “dark web” leak site by the
Russian-speaking ransomware gang Vice
Society, offer a startling degree of
personally identifiable information about
students who received special education
services, including their detailed medical
histories, academic performance and
disciplinary records.
# ⚓ Deutsche Welle ☛ Facebook’s_subscription_plan_fails
to_impress⠀⇛
A blue badge for $15 a month is widely seen
as a raw deal for users and a desperate
attempt to boost revenues. Have Facebook and
Instagram’s abuse of privacy for advertising
bucks reached their limits?b
o § Defence/Aggression⠀➾
# ⚓ teleSUR ☛ Over_900,000_Asylum_Applicants_Arrived_In_Europe
In_2022⠀⇛
In a report presented on Wednesday, the European
Union Agency for Asylum (AUEA) said that it
registered over 966,000 asylum applications in EU
countries, Switzerland and Norway.
This is the highest number of asylum requests
processed in Europe since 2016 when 1.2 million
asylum seekers arrived on this continent after the
start of the armed conflict in Syria.
# ⚓ CNN ☛ British_woman_who_joined_ISIS_as_a_teen_loses_UK
citizenship_appeal⠀⇛
# ⚓ The Pillar ☛ Nigerian_Christians_brace_for_election_as
Islamic_clerics_call_all-Muslim_ticket_‘a_jihad’⠀⇛
The country’s upcoming election took on religious
significance after the governing All Progressive
Congress party decided to field an all-Muslim
ticket for president and vice president, in a
departure from the country’s customary electoral
practice, which sees parties pairing a Muslim and a
Christian.
The APC ticket has drawn support from prominent
Islamic clerics in Nigeria, who have called on the
country’s Muslims to vote along religious lines,
fueling national tensions amid an ongoing series of
mass attacks on Christian communities.
# ⚓ Meduza ☛ ‘Stay_tuned._We’re_coming_to_you.’_Ukraine
Intelligence_Chief_Kyrylo_Budanov_broadcasts_statement_on
Crimean_radio._—_Meduza⠀⇛
Two radio stations in the Russian-annexed Crimea
broadcast the Ukrainian anthem, followed by a brief
address from Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence Chief
Kyrylo Budanov.
# ⚓ Meduza ☛ On_the_eve_of_invasion:_Photos_from_around_Ukraine
in_the_weeks_leading_up_to_February_24,_2022_—_Meduza⠀⇛
Nearly one year ago, on February 24, 2022, millions
of lives changed forever. Despite countless
promises not to do so, Russia launched a full-scale
invasion of Ukraine. Meduza has chosen photos taken
in Ukraine on the eve of the Russian invasion — in
January and February of last year. You’ll see a
not-yet-destroyed Mariupol, Kyiv without air-raid
sirens or missile strikes, and people who don’t yet
have any idea what full-scale war is like. It’s
been nearly a year since Russia decided to deprive
millions of Ukrainians of their peaceful lives.
# ⚓ Meduza ☛ Russia_claims_Ukraine_is_preparing_false_flag
attack_in_Transnistria_—_Meduza⠀⇛
Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed in a statement
released Thursday that Ukraine is preparing to
conduct a false-flag attack in Moldova’s breakaway
region of Transnistria and to pin the blame on
Russia.
# ⚓ Meduza ☛ Russian_Defense_Ministry_plane_crashes_in_Belgorod
region_—_Meduza⠀⇛
A Russian Defense Ministry plane crashed in
Russia’s Belgorod region on Thursday, Governor
Vyacheslav Gladkov reported. According to local
media, the aircraft was a Su-25.
# ⚓ Meduza ☛ ‘They_drink_out_of_fear’:_A_dispatch_from_the
closed_Russian_military_village_where_six_draftees_have_died
since_mobilization_began_—_Meduza⠀⇛
# ⚓ Meduza ☛ ‘A_meat-grinder_in_the_woods’_As_Wagner_Group
edges_towards_enveloping_Bakhmut,_Russia’s_regular_army_risks
getting_bogged_down_near_Kreminna._Here’s_an_updated_map_of
the_combat_situation._—_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.
o § Transparency/Investigative Reporting⠀➾
# ⚓ Truthdig ☛ Did_Five_Supreme_Court_Justices_Lie_About
Abortion?⠀⇛
The Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Dobbs v.
Jackson Women’s Health Organization, issued last
year, overturned Roe v. Wade (1973) and Planned
Parenthood v. Casey (1992), and dismantled the
federal constitutional right to abortion. One of
the lingering questions in the aftermath of Dobbs
is whether any of the five justices who voted to
take that drastic step lied about their views on
abortion during their respective confirmation
hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
A strong argument can be made that each of them
either lied or made materially misleading
statements.
o § Environment⠀➾
# ⚓ CS Monitor ☛ Did_the_Ohio_train_derailment_break_a_social
contract?⠀⇛
As someone who worked in manufacturing years later
in Graniteville, I often thought about the idea of
the social contract. The social contract suggests
that big business should make decisions that
positively affect society. It’s not enough for a
corporation to produce jobs and support local
events and charities as a trade-off for
environmental calamity and insufficient
infrastructure.
# ⚓ Helsinki Times ☛ Lapland’s_snow-less_tourism_to_focus_on
midnight_sun_and_autumn_colors⠀⇛
The long-term goal of the tourism industry is to
increase Lapland’s reputation as a summer
destination and improve the accessibility of
Lapland’s destinations through new flight openings.
All major tourism areas in Lapland, including
Rovaniemi, Levi, Ylläs, Lapland North, and Ruka-
Kuusamo, as well as Visit Finland, which promotes
international tourism nationwide, are involved in
the development of summer tourism. The measures
will benefit the entire Lapland region as awareness
grows and connections improve.
# § Energy/Transportation⠀➾
# ⚓ The Economist ☛ A_new_way_to_clean_up_the_steel
industry⠀⇛
Cleaner ways of producing steel are being
explored. Mostly, these are based on the use
of hydrogen instead of coke as the reagent
which extracts the oxygen from iron-oxide
ore. But much of the pertinent technology is
in its infancy. That, together with the cost
of converting from old to new equipment,
which might run to several billion dollars
per plant, means it could take decades for
steelmakers to go green.
# ⚓ La Prensa Latina ☛ Cuba_reports_new_failure_in
electrical_grid⠀⇛
According to CMHW radio station, which
broadcasts from the central province of Villa
Clara, the power failure happened afresh in
the 220KW power line that connects Matanzas
with Cienfuegos.
# ⚓ BW Businessworld Media Pvt Ltd ☛ Indian_Railways
Reaches_100%_Electrification_In_Uttar_Pradesh⠀⇛
The 85 km long stretch of the Shubhagpur-
Pachperwa region in Gorakhpur under North
Eastern Railway has been electrified and
connects East Coast Railway, North Central
Railway, West Central Railway, Eastern
Railway and South Eastern Railway. All of
them are already electrified. The railway
ministry is further working on a target to
achieve 100 per cent electrification of all
its broad gauge routes. So far, 85 per cent
of the work has been completed.
# ⚓ Scoop News Group ☛ The_Energy_Department’s_Puesh
Kumar_on_grid_hacking,_Ukraine_and_Pipedream_malware⠀⇛
Cyberattacks against the energy sector have
received increasing attention since a
ransomware attack against Colonial Pipeline
catalyzed a nation’s understanding of the
risks to critical infrastructure. The
Department of Energy is the agency
responsible for ensuring that the energy
sector is secured against all types of
threats — whether physical or digital. The
DOE stood up the Office of Cybersecurity,
Energy Security, and Emergency Response, or
CESER, in 2018 under the Trump administration
to focus on such threats to the sector.
At the annual industrial cybersecurity
conference S4, CyberScoop caught up with
Puesh Kumar, director of CESER, to discuss
where the new office is heading, lessons
learned from the Russian invasion of Ukraine,
and how to protect the grid of the future.
The following interview has been edited for
length and clarity.
# § Wildlife/Nature⠀➾
# ⚓ New York Times ☛ Cocaine_Bear,_Meet_Cannabis_Raccoon
and_McFlurry_Skunk⠀⇛
Some of their stories are amusing, even
relatable. “I received a call of a skunk out
behind a hotel, running around in the parking
lot with a McFlurry cup on its head,” said
Jeff Hull, an environmental conservation
officer for New York’s Department of
Environmental Conservation. But animals’
taste for human goods — licit and illicit —
can also bring trouble for them and for us.
# ⚓ The Conversation ☛ In_defence_of_vultures,_nature’s
early-warning_systems_that_are_holy_to_many_people⠀⇛
Vultures act as a sentinel species, which are
animals that are more susceptible to hazards
in a habitat than humans. Vultures consume
any toxins a carcass may have carried. If
these toxins are particularly dangerous,
vultures that have fed on the chemical-filled
body may struggle to reproduce, become ill or
die. In this way, declines in vultures could
highlight pollutants in the environment that
may be harmful to many other species,
including humans.
o § Finance⠀➾
# ⚓ [Repeat] NPR ☛ NPR_says_it’s_cutting_jobs_by_10%_as_ad
revenue_drops⠀⇛
On an annual budget of roughly $300 million,
Lansing says, revenues are likely to fall short by
close to $30 million, although that gap could reach
$32 million.
# ⚓ Hollywood Reporter ☛ NPR_to_Cut_Workforce_by_10_Percent,_as
Advertising_Slowdown_Hits_Public_Media⠀⇛
“Our financial outlook has darkened considerably
over recent weeks,” Lansing wrote in a memo to
staff Wednesday. “At a time when we are doing some
of our most ambitious and essential work, the
global economy remains uncertain. As a result, the
ad industry has weakened and we are grappling with
a sharp decline in our revenues from corporate
sponsors. We had created a plan to address a $20M
sponsorship revenue falloff for FY23 but we are now
projecting at least a $30M shortfall. The cuts we
have already made to our budget will not be
enough.”
# ⚓ Meduza ☛ Ruben_Vardanyan_steps_down_from_Artsakh_prime
minister_post_after_less_than_4_months_in_office_—_Meduza⠀⇛
The ultra-wealthy entrepreneur and investor Ruben
Vardanyan has been dismissed from his prime
minister’s post in the breakaway Artsakh Republic,
also known as Nagorno-Karabakh.
o § AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics⠀➾
# ⚓ India Times ☛ Musk_continues_to_sack_Twitter_employees
despite_promise_not_to_do_so⠀⇛
Elon Musk is still laying off Twitter employees as
dozens of workers across sales and engineering
departments were laid off last week, including one
of Musk’s direct reporting executive who was
managing engineering for Twitter’s ads business.
It means that the new Twitter CEO has done at least
three rounds of layoffs, according to The Verge.
# ⚓ IT Wire ☛ Nokia_wins_new_10-year_5G_deal_with_Antina_in
Singapore⠀⇛
Nokia says the deal will improve the 5G
connectivity experience for businesses and
consumers underpinning Singapore’s vibrant 5G
ecosystem.
Under the deal, Nokia will equip new buildings
throughout the city state with its AirScale indoor
Radio (ASiR) small cell solution for seamless
indoor coverage and will also provide equipment
from its latest energy-efficient AirScale portfolio
including 5G base stations, massive MIMO adaptive
antennas for urban and wide-area coverage as well
as dual-band remote radio heads (RRH).
# ⚓ Hindustan Times ☛ Google_tests_blocking_content_for_some
Canadians_in_response_to_news_bill⠀⇛
Google is blocking some Canadian users from viewing
news content in what the company said Wednesday is
a test run of a potential response to a Canadian
government’s online news bill.
Bill C-18, the Online News Act, would require
digital giants such as Google and Meta, which owns
Facebook, to negotiate deals that would compensate
Canadian media companies for republishing their
content on their platforms.
# ⚓ MIT Technology Review ☛ Entering_the_software_economy⠀⇛
The acceleration of digital transformation and
speed of customer demands is turning almost every
business into a technology business. Creating,
using, or selling technology is now a critical part
of every enterprise. But how do companies add
emerging technologies and innovations?
# ⚓ Scheerpost ☛ AI_and_ChatGPT:_Yet_Another_Assault_on
Democratic_Governance?⠀⇛
The use of AI systems in the political sphere
raises some serious red flags. A Massachusetts
Democrat in the U.S. House of Representatives, Jake
Auchincloss, wasted no time using this untested and
still poorly understood technology to deliver a
speech on a bill supporting creation of a new
artificial intelligence center. While points for
cleverness are in order, the brief speech read by
the Auchincloss on the floor of the U.S. House was
actually written by ChatGPT. According to his
staff, it was the first time that an AI-generated
speech was made in Congress. Okay, we can look the
other way on this one because Auchincloss was doing
a little grandstanding and trying to prove a point.
But what about Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) who used AI
to write a bill to regulate AI and who now says he
wants Congress to pass it?
# ⚓ NBC ☛ Feds_fine_Mormon_church_for_illicitly_hiding_$32
billion_investment_fund_behind_shell_companies⠀⇛
In an order released Tuesday, the SEC alleged that
the church illicitly hid its investments and their
management behind multiple shell companies from
1997 to 2019. In doing so, it failed to disclose
the size of the church’s equity portfolio to the
SEC and the public.
The church was concerned that disclosure of the
assets in the name of the nonprofit entity, called
Ensign Peak Advisors, which manages the church’s
investments, would lead to negative consequences in
light of the size of the church’s portfolio, the
SEC said.
# ⚓ New York Times ☛ How_Arizona_Is_Positioning_Itself_for_$52
Billion_to_the_Chips_Industry⠀⇛
Arizona, which is vying for subsidies along with
Texas, New York and Ohio, may have a head start on
the action. The state has been home to
semiconductor makers since the 1940s and has 115
chip-related companies, whereas there is one major
manufacturer in Ohio.
Arizona has also led the nation in chip investments
since 2020, with the announcements of two new chip-
making plants by TSMC and two additional factories
from Intel that will cost a combined $60 billion.
State leaders had helped persuade the companies to
open the facilities by offering big tax breaks and
water and other infrastructure grants. They also
promised to expand technical and engineering
education in the state.
# § Misinformation/Disinformation/Propaganda⠀➾
# ⚓ RTL ☛ Online_manipulation,_hate_‘must_stop’:_UN
conference⠀⇛
Hundreds of officials, tech firm
representatives, academics and members of
civil society were invited to the two-day
meeting hosted by the UN’s cultural fund to
brainstorm how to best vet content while
upholding human rights.
“Digital platforms have changed the way we
connect and face the world, the way we face
each other,” UNESCO director general Audrey
Azoulay said in opening remarks.
But “only by fully evaluating this
technological revolution can we ensure it is
a revolution that does not compromise human
rights, freedom of expression and democracy.”
# ⚓ El País ☛ They’re_not_TV_anchors,_they’re_avatars:
How_Venezuela_is_using_AI-generated_propaganda⠀⇛
The alleged journalists are Noah and Daren,
two avatars created with artificial
intelligence from the Synthesia software’s
catalog of more than a hundred multiracial
faces. Like Noah and Daren, there are avatars
dressed as television hosts, but there is
also Dave who can be made to look like a
doctor or an executive, Carlo who wears a
construction helmet, a woman in a hijab, a
chef and even Santa Claus. A few months ago,
some of them, also in their role as
reporters, were used in a pro-China
disinformation campaign, as The New York
Times reported a few days ago.
The videos of the fake presenters talking
about Venezuela had hundreds of thousands of
views on YouTube, went viral on social media
apps like TikTok and were inserted as paid
advertising on that platform. In addition,
they were aired on the state broadcaster
Venezolana de Televisión, the Nicolás Maduro
administration’s main broadcasting
mouthpiece.
# ⚓ Gannett ☛ MSU_tragedy_brings_out_fake_photos_and
Spartan_Strong_scams⠀⇛
“They were NOT wearing this sweatshirt
design,” Parker wrote. “The company altered
the photo.”
Taking the callous capitalism up a notch, the
Facebook site that promotes the sweatshirt
design — called “Love MSU” — updated its
profile photo to feature Emma Riddle, an MSU
student who survived the Oxford High School
shooting.
# ⚓ Bridge Michigan ☛ Michigan_State_shooting_update:
Nessel,_university_warn_of_Spartan_Strong_scams⠀⇛
The university’s licensing department has
seen an uptick in the number of scams selling
unlicensed Spartan Strong products, meaning
the university can’t verify if proceeds from
those sales will be donated to the fund,
according to a news release.
o § Censorship/Free Speech⠀➾
# ⚓ Salon ☛ Against_the_bait_and_switch_censorship_of_Roald
Dahl⠀⇛
In other words: censorship. The censoring of Dahl
comes at a time when books, literature and their
writers face very real threats. In 2022, author
Salman Rushdie was stabbed onstage in a near-fatal
attack; the writer has since lost sight in one eye.
Thousands of books about race, gender and sexuality
have recently been banned around the country, with
librarians, including elementary school librarians,
on the front lines dealing with serious prosecution
for something as simple — and necessary — as
providing access to books.
Is the censoring of Dahl meant to avoid being
burned in this hot climate, or to somehow bring
relevance to an antiquated author? Either way,
censoring Dahl is a bad idea and actually commits
the ultimate sin in children’s literature: viewing
child readers as less-than.
# ⚓ Quillette ☛ Roald_Dahl_and_the_Ethics_of_Art⠀⇛
These changes (they are listed in full here) are at
best clumsy and gratuitous and at worst ludicrous
attempts to replace Dahl’s vivid grotesqueries with
sanitised language more suited to a corporate
diversity and inclusion training course. The
terrifying child-murdering witches of Dahl’s 1983
novel of that name, for example, wear wigs to
conceal their baldness, making them hard to detect,
since, as the protagonist’s grandmother tells him,
“you can’t go round pulling the hair of every lady
you meet” to see if it’s real. Instead, in the
revised version, the grandmother primly tells her
grandson, “there are plenty of other reasons why
women might wear wigs and there is certainly
nothing wrong with that.”
# ⚓ Reason ☛ Save_Roald_Dahl_Books_From_the_Dreaded_Sensitivity
Readers⠀⇛
The sensitivity readers have come for beloved
children’s author Roald Dahl. A recent report in
The Telegraph notes that Puffin, publisher of
classics such as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
and The Witches, will soon release new editions of
the books, sans problematic phrasing and
terminology.
# ⚓ RFERL ☛ Activist_Handed_18_Years_In_Prison_After_Calling
For_Iran’s_Supreme_Leader_To_Resign⠀⇛
Criticism of Khamenei, who has the last say on
almost every decision in the Islamic republic, is
considered a red line in Iran, and his critics
often land in prison, where political prisoners are
routinely held in solitary confinement and
subjected to various forms of torture.
# ⚓ RFA ☛ YouTube_shuts_down_satirical_spoof_video_channel
targeting_Chinese_leader_Xi_Jinping⠀⇛
The takedown comes as Chinese censors grow
increasingly concerned about satirical content
about Xi Jinping coming from overseas, where
students and activists recently demonstrated in
solidarity with the “white paper” protests that
swept China at the end of 2022, and where social
media accounts often post content that would be
banned or blocked in China.
It suggests Chinese censors are using YouTube’s
copyright infringement reporting system to shut
down content they find politically unacceptable,
according to a fellow satirist.
# ⚓ New York Times ☛ Supreme_Court_Seems_Wary_of_Limiting
Protections_for_Social_Media_Platforms⠀⇛
In the course of a sprawling argument lasting
almost three hours, the justices seemed to view the
positions taken by the two sides as too extreme,
giving them a choice between exposing search
engines and Twitter shares to liability on the one
hand and protecting algorithms that promote pro-
ISIS content on the other.
At the same time, they expressed doubts about their
own competence to find a middle ground.
“You know, these are not like the nine greatest
experts on the [Internet],” Justice Elena Kagan
said of the Supreme Court, to laughter.
# ⚓ Jerusalem Post ☛ Iranian_foundation_offers_land_to_Salman
Rushdie’s_attacker_–_state_media⠀⇛
An Iranian foundation has praised the man who
attacked novelist Salman Rushdie last year, leaving
him severely injured, and said it will reward him
with 1,000 square meters of agricultural land,
state TV reported on Tuesday through its Telegram
channel.
# ⚓ NPR ☛ The_story_of_Section_230_goes_back_to_an_AOL_troll.
Now_the_law_may_be_undone⠀⇛
It gives [Internet] platforms a legal shield that
tech companies have benefited from since 1996. The
law essentially allowed the [Internet] to blossom
in its early days without being bogged down with
pesky lawsuits, supporters say. It also allowed
tech companies to decide what is allowed and what
isn’t on their own sites, without being on the hook
legally for every single thing a user posts.
# ⚓ Broadband Breakfast ☛ Supreme_Court_Justices_Express
Caution_About_Entering_Section_230_Debate⠀⇛
Gonzalez v. Google, argued on Tuesday, hinges on
whether YouTube’s use of recommendation algorithms
puts it outside the scope of Section 230, which
generally provides platforms with immunity for
third-party content.
A separate case involving terrorism and social
media, Twitter v. Taamneh, was argued on Wednesday.
Although the basic circumstances of the cases are
similar — both brought against tech companies by
the families of terrorist attack victims — the
latter focuses on what constitutes “aiding and
abetting” under the Anti-Terrorism Act.
# ⚓ The Hill ☛ Supreme_Court_appears_hesitant_to_hold_Twitter
responsible_for_ISIS_terror_attack⠀⇛
Google asserted that Section 230 — a controversial
liability shield for internet companies — protects
the company from the underlying terrorism claims.
If the justices ultimately rule in favor of Twitter
in the second case, they wouldn’t need to touch the
Section 230 question in Google’s dispute because
the company wouldn’t need the protections in the
first place.
# ⚓ Vox ☛ The_Supreme_Court_is_befuddled_by_whether_Twitter_is
liable_for_ISIS’s_terrorism⠀⇛
Should Twitter be held responsible for the Islamic
State’s terrorist acts because ISIS used Twitter’s
website? That’s the central question underlying a
case the Supreme Court heard on Wednesday, which
concerns the 2016 Justice Against Sponsors of
Terrorism Act (JASTA).
But unfortunately, JASTA reads like it was written
by someone who takes a perverse pleasure in
watching lawyers and judges try to navigate a maze
of vague rules, incomprehensible legal standards,
and multi-factor tests layered on top of other
multi-factor tests.
# ⚓ Gannett ☛ What_happens_to_our_culture_when_books_are
banned:_‘A_chilling_effect’⠀⇛
But have you thought about the bigger picture? What
do book bans do to our relationship with reading?
And to our relationships with our neighbors? How do
they impact our community?
o § Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press⠀➾
# ⚓ CPJ ☛ Turkey_indicts_10_journalists_on_terrorism_charges⠀⇛
On February 8, the Ankara chief prosecutor’s office
indicted 10 Kurdish journalists, nine of whom have
been under pretrial arrest since late October, on
the charge of membership in a terrorist
organization. The indictment was made available to
the journalists’ lawyers and CPJ on Friday,
February 17, after it was approved by the court.b
# ⚓ Hindustan Times ☛ TV_journalist_shot_dead_in_US’_Florida
while_reporting_on_a_murder:_Report⠀⇛
The journalist was from Spectrum News 13,
Associated Press reported. Besides the journalist
and the 9-year-old girl, a TV crewmember and the
girl’s mother were wounded during the second
shooting.
# ⚓ NPR ☛ A_girl_and_a_TV_journalist_were_fatally_shot_near_the
scene_of_another_shooting⠀⇛
According to witnesses, a man approached the news
vehicle later Wednesday and opened fire, hitting
the two reporters. The man then walked to a nearby
home and shot the mother and daughter.
# ⚓ The Hill ☛ 3_killed,_including_child_and_journalist,_in
Florida_shootings;_suspect_in_custody⠀⇛
Around 4 p.m., with news crews around reporting on
the homicide from the morning, the same suspect
allegedly returned to the scene and shot two male
journalists — a reporter and a photographer — one
of whom later died, according to Mina. The suspect
then allegedly entered a nearby house and shot a
woman and her 9-year-old daughter, who died. Mina
said it was unclear why the suspect returned to the
scene or entered the house.
o § Civil Rights/Policing⠀➾
# ⚓ Vox ☛ The_five-day_workweek_is_dead⠀⇛
Then as now, the country may be ripe for a change.
Some employers are testing out four-day workweeks.
A recent study of shorter workweeks in Iceland was
a big success, boosting worker well-being and even
productivity. And workers themselves are pushing
back against schedules that crowd out everything
that isn’t work. During the pandemic, there was a
growing feeling that “we have one life — and are we
working to live, or are we living to work?” Rachel
Deutsch, director of worker justice campaigns at
the Center for Popular Democracy, told Vox.
But to really make the workweek fair and humane for
all Americans — and give people more time to do
things that aren’t work — the country will need
systemic changes to help workers take back their
power. Otherwise, only the most privileged will
benefit from the new interest in shorter workweeks
— if anyone benefits at all.
# ⚓ RFA ☛ China_increases_surveillance,_security_in_run-up_to
Tibetan_New_Year_celebrations⠀⇛
“Beginning in February, Chinese authorities started
installing more surveillance cameras in Lhasa ahead
of the start of Losar, citing unreasonable reasons
such as for security,” said a Tibetan from the
region, who like other sources in the story
declined to be named so as to speak freely and
without retribution by authorities.
“Police are stationed every kilometer where
[members of] the public are summoned for random
searches, especially of their cell phones,” he told
Radio Free Asia.
# ⚓ Vice Media Group ☛ AI_Use_by_Cops,_Child_Services_In_NYC_Is
a_Mess:_Report⠀⇛
AI systems are being used by agencies like the
police, child services, and more, and the policies
guiding their implementation in New York City are a
mess, a new report has found.
# ⚓ Reason ☛ Colorado_Cop_Kills_a_Man_Who_Accidentally_Got_Into
the_Wrong_Car⠀⇛
McWhorter drew his gun during the scuffle and fired
three shots; according to Chostner’s letter, Ward
was struck in the throat, chest, and collarbone. As
Ward rolled over onto his back and his mother
screamed, “Is my son shot?!” from the front seat,
Gonzales yelled for Ward to “stop moving!” The
deputies called for paramedics but did not attempt
to render aid, leaving Ward bleeding on the
pavement while forcing his mother to stay in the
vehicle.
The encounter, from approaching the car to shooting
Ward three times, took less than two-and-a-half
minutes, all within view of middle school students
and their parents. Ward was pronounced dead when
paramedics arrived.
o § Internet Policy/Net Neutrality⠀➾
# ⚓ Techdirt ☛ T-Mobile_Has_Axed_9,501_Employees_Since_Its_2018
‘Job_Creating’_Merger_Was_Announced⠀⇛
Former T-Mobile CEO John Legere repeatedly promised
in print that the Sprint merger would result in
a massive surge in new jobs. In a rambling missive
that took aim at critics of the deal, who predicted
job losses, the charming potty-mouth CEO proclaimed
that critics were lying, and that the deal would be
“job positive from day one” and every day
thereafter.
o § Digital Restrictions (DRM)⠀➾
# ⚓ Tom’s Hardware ☛ Windows_11_Watermark_Showing_Up_On
Unsupported_Systems⠀⇛
Windows 11 has some surprisingly strict minimum
system requirements, because it requires TPM 2.0
security. As a result, Windows 11 is only
officially supported on CPUs equivalent to, or
newer than, Intel’s 8th-Gen (and some 7th-Gen) and
AMD’s 2nd-Gen processors. It also requires 4GB RAM
and 64GB storage, minimum. If your PC meets these
requirements and you’re getting this message, you
may need to enable TPM 2.0 in your BIOS.
At the moment, it looks like unsupported systems
will only have to deal with a mildly-annoying
watermark, but this could be the first step toward
more drastic measures. Microsoft has warned that it
will disable updates on unsupported systems (though
this clearly has yet to come to fruition, as you’ll
only get the watermark if you install the latest
update).
o § Monopolies⠀➾
# § Copyrights⠀➾
# ⚓ Creative Commons ☛ CC_Needs_Assessment_Report_on
Public_Domain_Tools_in_Cultural_Heritage_Sector_Unveils
Key_Insights⠀⇛
From 1 January (Public Domain Day) to 15
February 2022, we ran a multilingual online
survey using Google Forms to share a 50-
question questionnaire in English, French and
Spanish. We received responses from 133 field
practitioners — working in libraries, museums
and archives and other areas of open culture
— from 44 different countries on five
continents.
# ⚓ Creative Commons ☛ CC_Open_Education_Platform
Lightning_Talks_February_2023:_Recordings_and_Slides⠀⇛
Ravon Ruffin, Educational Programs Manager at
MHz Foundation, and Amanda Figueroa,
Community Director at MHz Foundation,
showcased the Curationist platform for
decolonial methodologies in curation,
education, and art.
* § Gemini* and Gopher⠀➾
o § Personal⠀➾
# ⚓ Hebrew_Planets_and_Astronomical_Terms⠀⇛
I think it is a shame that the planets have been
named after Roman gods, and I have wondered if
there might be alternative Hebrew names available.
One such list is given in the article linked above.
I’ve condensed the list (removed the discussion)
and reproduced it below. Now, not all of the terms
are used in the Bible; some, e.g., have a Talmudic
origin. There are also a few less common, or
speculative, terms which are not reproduced below —
see the article for details.
# ⚓ ChatGPT_On_Electronic_Pets⠀⇛
In my view, e-pets promote a culture of laziness
and detachment, as they allow people to avoid the
responsibilities that come with owning a real pet.
They do not require any real effort or care, and
can be easily ignored or forgotten about. This lack
of accountability can lead to a lack of empathy and
understanding for the needs of real animals, and
can contribute to the mistreatment of pets in the
real world.
o § Technical⠀➾
# ⚓ parabola⠀⇛
This is a command line program that takes a gmisub
url (on gemini), such as Antenna, follows all the
links, and prints an Atom feed with all the post
included and converted to HTML to stdout.
Any links in them retain the gemini:// scheme so
you can open your Gemini browser from your Atom
reader if you wanna browse around further.
# § Internet/Gemini⠀➾
# ⚓ We’ve_Been_on_That⠀⇛
I’m annoyed by a lot of the changes happening
to the fediverse lately. Unlike what seems to
be the majority over there, I don’t really
see a massive influx of new users as a Good
Thing™. That said, there are some things
which are fascinating to watch. The recent
tech layoffs and reaction to chatbots is
definitely one of those things.
I am not a tech worker (although I would like
to be). I never went to college. I would not
have made it through college, not because of
any lack in intelligence or innate talent,
but more due to what I like to call my
severely low bullshit tolerance. Being made
to live in a dorm rather than finding cheaper
housing off campus? That would have made me
quit. And I know it’s a thing because my kids
have complained about it. Mandatory courses
that have no relation to my major? Another
deal breaker. But mostly I just don’t believe
in the concepts of intellectual property or
paying for knowledge. That’s the biggest line
of bullshit that has ever existed. My feeling
is and always has been that the entire sum of
human knowledge should be freely available to
anyone who has the desire to learn it. With
no further qualifiers. This is only
tangentially related to the subject of the
post, but an introduction to my life’s
circumstances.
=> =============================================================================
World Wide Web but a lot lighter.
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