𝕿𝖊𝖈𝖍𝖗𝖎𝖌𝖍𝖙𝖘 Bulletin for Tuesday, February 28, 2023
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Created by Dr. Roy Schestowitz (𝚛𝚘𝚢 (at) 𝚜𝚌𝚑𝚎𝚜𝚝𝚘𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚣 (dot) 𝚌𝚘𝚖)
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Gemini index for the day: gemini://gemini.techrights.org/2023/02/28/
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╒═══════════════════ 𝐈𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐗 ═══════════════════════════════════════════════════╕
⦿ EPO Has ’Guidelines on Rewards’, But Promotions Are Down Sharply and Potential to Recruit is Very Low (Except Scabs) | Techrights
⦿ IRC Proceedings: Monday, February 27, 2023 | Techrights
⦿ Microsoft Stabber Joseph Cantrell Boasts of Nazi Lineage and Made Disturbing Video Games | Techrights
⦿ NOW: Pensions and the Mystery of Fines by the Pensions Regulator | Techrights
⦿ Sirius ’Open Source’ Pensiongate: Pension Providers That Repeatedly Lie to the Clients and Don’t Respond to Messages | Techrights
䷼ Bulletin articles (as HTML) to comment on (requires login):
http://techrights.org/2023/02/28/epo-guidelines-on-rewards/#comments
http://techrights.org/2023/02/28/irc-log-270223/#comments
http://techrights.org/2023/02/28/microsoft-nazis/#comments
http://techrights.org/2023/02/28/now-pensions-breaches/#comments
http://techrights.org/2023/02/28/sirius-open-source-pensiongate-pension-providers-that-repeatedly-lie-to-the-clients-and-dont-respond-to-messages/#comments
䷞ Followed by Daily Links (assorted news picks curated and categorised):
http://techrights.org/2023/02/28/apache-openoffice-4-1-13/#comments
http://techrights.org/2023/02/28/godot-4-0-rc-6/#comments
http://techrights.org/2023/02/28/new-kde-release-2023/#comments
䷩ 𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚎 61
╒═══════════════════ 𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐈𝐂𝐋𝐄 ═════════════════════════════════════════════════╕
(ℹ) Images, hyperlinks and comments at http://techrights.org/2023/02/28/epo-guidelines-on-rewards/#comments
Gemini version at gemini://gemini.techrights.org/2023/02/28/epo-guidelines-on-rewards/
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Gemini_version_available_♊︎
✐ EPO_Has_‘Guidelines_on_Rewards’,_But_Promotions_Are_Down_Sharply_and
Potential_to_Recruit_is_Very_Low_(Except_Scabs)⠀✐
Posted in Deception, Europe, Finance, Patents at 1:08 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz
Summary: The Central Staff Committee at the EPO has a new publication which
reveals dishonesty about the EPO’s budget, staff prospects, and so much more
THE OTHER day we mentioned how the_EPO_crisis_had_happened and what_it_looks
like_from_the_inside. The short story is, there’s brain drain and the EPO can
barely recruit. It’s barely even trying to. From the looks of it, Benoît
Battistelli and António_Campinos only sought a ‘production line’ of monopolies
and now they pursue a kangaroo court to blindly accept these monopolies as
“valid”, in effect bypassing national courts in many countries (that’s both
illegal and unconstitutional). EPO stakeholders aren’t exactly happy about this
and they're_complaining.
“Lying and mischievous violations of the law have become so routine that
nowadays they’re simply expected.”The ‘production line’ mindset/mentality
impacts European_software_patents, based on EPO_leaks, so something must be
done about this.
Examiners are meanwhile warning that the regime keeps lying, typically relying
on nice-sounding titles (e.g. “Teams Together”) to do ruinous, harmful things.
One new example of that is described in a newly-circulated paper from the
Central Staff Committee. We’re reproducing it in full below (HTML, text,
GemText):
Zentraler Personalausschuss
Central Staff Committee
Le Comité Central du Personnel
Munich,20/02/2023
sc23021cp
§ Reward Exercise 2023⠀➾
§ Taking away with the other hand⠀➾
Dear Colleagues,
In his Communiqué of 14 February 2023, Mr Campinos presented his
Guidelines on Rewards 2023 as an improvement. However, in real terms,
the number of potential steps and promotions decreases (-8,2%)
compared to 2022 and the budget for steps and promotions decreases (-
6,4%) compared to the budget approved by the Administrative Council
(CA/D 1/22). The focus on bonuses rather than on career progression
confirms that management is not willing to invest in EPO staff in the
long term. This policy seems unsustainable at a time when production
is behind plan, quality has decreased to unbearable levels for our
users and the “Bringing Teams Together” project causes staff
disengagement. This paper gives more details.
Budget: real decrease of the envelope for steps and promotions
The draft budget1 for 2023 contained an envelope for steps and
promotions of EUR 14,690 million. The envelope was then reduced in
the final budget2 approved by the Council to EUR 14,380 million.
Instead of following the Council’s decision, Mr Campinos has further
reduced3 the envelope to EUR 11,700 million.
The table below shows the evolution between the budget approved by
the Council and the budget proposed by Mr Campinos:
🄸🄼🄰🄶🄴_🄳🄴🅂🄲🅁🄸🄿🅃🄸🄾🄽_⦇EPO_budget⦈_
60% of among eligible staff, but in practice?
____
1 CA/50/22, p. 168
2 CA/D 1/22, p. 166
3 GCC/DOC 3/2023, p. 6
=====================================================================
Two obvious comments come to mind:
Firstly, salaries have been adjusted by +10,8% as of 1 January 2023
to reflect the evolution of the purchasing power and the salaries of
national civil servants. Steps and promotions are therefore “more
expensive” in the same proportion. However, the envelope for steps
and promotions will only increase by 1,7% for 2023. This means, all
else unchanged, that about -8.2%4 less steps / promotions can be
granted. In contrast, the budget for bonuses has increased very
slightly in real terms.
Secondly, when setting the envelope, the Council budget took into
account the salary adjustment as well as departures, replacements and
recruitments foreseen in 2023 resulting in a calculated increase of
+8,6%. In 2022, Mr Campinos had already proposed an envelope
significantly below the one approved by the Council. One would expect
him to increase his envelope at least by the same percentage as the
one decided by the Council. This is however not the case. By
increasing his envelope by only +1,7% instead of +8,6% the ratio
between the two reveals that Mr Campinos has arbitrarily decreased
his envelope by -6,4% compared to the envelope approved by the
Council.
Quota: 60% among eligible staff
Steps or promotions are available for up to 60% of eligible staff,
which remains the lowest level since the introduction of the New
Career System in 2015. As explained below the effect is that, in
absolute numbers, fewer and fewer colleagues are receiving a step or
promotion and thus fewer and fewer colleagues are progressing in
their career.
To justify his policy, Mr Campinos still dares to refer to5 the
baseline scenario of the Financial Study 2019 corresponding to
granting a pensionable reward to 60% of eligible staff. Management
should refrain from referring to a study which has now proven
undeniably fundamentally wrong as it predicts deflation6 instead of
inflation. It is also questionable whether the 60% can even be
reached in view of the President’s cut in the envelope.
After eight reward exercises, the demotivating aspects of the New
Career System have also become obvious:
Staff in service on 31.12.2022 and still in service on
01.07.2023 may be considered for steps or promotion,
provided that they are not yet in the last step of the
highest grade of the respective job group or “off-scale”.
(section II, 1. 2)
The number of staff members who have reached the last step (G9(5) for
JG6, G10(5) for JG5 and G13(5) for JG4) has increased and they are
now deprived of any pensionable reward. This could create some
possibility of granting more pensionable rewards to the younger
colleagues if the envelope as approved by the Council were used.
However, the rigid 60%-quota combined with the arbitrary decrease of
the envelope prevents this. The reward exercise is more of a budget-
based and quota-based exercise than a merit-based one.
_____________
4 100%-(101,7%/110,8%)
5 GCC/DOC 3/2023, p. 6
6 CA/83/19, p. 20
=====================================================================
Calibration
At a time when production is a matter of concern for management, a
new amendment is
made:
The pensionable and non-pensionable envelopes are initially
distributed to the DGs on the basis of the demographic
structure (number and grading of staff). Each VP may then
calibrate them within the DG considering unit performance
and collaborative achievements. However, no transfer of the
different amounts between the different envelopes is
allowed. (section I, par. 3)
This new amendment now formalises the practice of arbitrarily
reducing the percentage for the teams considered less productive
without duly considering the specificities of their work. A COO, a PD
or a VP may further reduce the percentage to show that he or she is
acting more “sustainably” than other managers.
Conclusion
In his Christmas speech of 12 December 2022, Mr Campinos stated that
the salary method is now delivering on an initial promise with a
significant “pay rise”. However, in real terms, his envelope for
steps and promotions now presumably allows for -8,2% less pensionable
rewards and decreases by -6,4%. This gives the feeling that what Mr
Campinos had to (reluctantly) give with one hand, he is now taking
with the other.
Indeed, the Financial Study 2019 wrongly predicted deflation and
limited salary adjustments to Eurozone inflation + 0,2% in the hope
this cap would remain low. It was however not the case due to
historically high inflation. The new salary adjustment procedure led
after three years to a cumulative result similar to the previous
procedure. Management is now trying to “repair” what it sees as a
mistake with a real decrease in the envelope for steps and
promotions.
Salary adjustment and rewards serve different purposes: the former is
meant to maintain the purchasing power and parallelism with national
civil servants, the latter are meant to reward staff’s performance in
the previous year based on merit. The policy of the administration
appears to link both with purely financial considerations.
Staffing levels are already too low, production is behind7 plan,
quality has decreased 8 to unbearable levels for our colleagues and
for users, and the “Bringing Teams Together” project is further
disengaging staff. How does the management intend to motivate staff,
if they only propose more of the same?
The Central Staff Committee
_____
7 DG1 Beats – January 2023
8 “Concerns about deteriorating patent quality at the EPO”; Kluwer
Patent Blog, 11 February 2023
https://patentblog.kluweriplaw.com/2023/02/11/concerns-about-
deteriorating-patent-quality-at-the-epo/
As the above helps show, nothing that the EPO’s management says can be trusted.
Lying and mischievous violations of the law have become so routine that
nowadays they’re simply expected. There’s no oversight, only complicity from
the outside. █
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䷩ 𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚎 332
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(ℹ) Images, hyperlinks and comments at http://techrights.org/2023/02/28/irc-log-270223/#comments
Gemini version at gemini://gemini.techrights.org/2023/02/28/irc-log-270223/
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Gemini_version_available_♊︎
✐ IRC_Proceedings:_Monday,_February_27,_2023⠀✐
Posted in IRC_Logs at 2:38 am by Needs Sunlight
Also available via the Gemini protocol at:
* gemini://gemini.techrights.org/irc-gmi/irc-log-techrights-270223.gmi
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✐ Microsoft_Stabber_Joseph_Cantrell_Boasts_of_Nazi_Lineage_and_Made_Disturbing
Video_Games⠀✐
Posted in Microsoft at 9:35 pm by Guest Editorial Team
Microsoft Stabber Joseph Cantrell Boasts of Nazi Lineage and Made Disturbing
Video Games.
Reprinted with permission from Ryan
The news reports that Microsoft_employee_Joseph_Cantrell_attacked_and_stabbed
another_Microsoft_employee, whom he did not know, while they were walking off
the campus from work.
I did a little more digging.
On Cantrell’s personal Web site, he has a very long “about” page, which
includes this nugget.
“My evolved cells, their DNA, and everything else in my body have
their roots in my family. To get here, my grandmother, Paula Josefa
Cantrell (1922-2003), emigrated from Germany to the U.S.A. during
Adolf Hitler’s bolstering of Nazi Germany in the 1930’s.”
-Joseph_Cantrell,_Microsoft_Stabber
If bragging about Nazi lineage just ain’t doin’ it for ya, he has a list of
video games where you win points by killing Jesus Christ, the Prophet Muhammad,
and anyone you give it a picture of. Available in 2d and 3d.
His projects include something called an “Anne_Frank_Simulator”.
His favorite shows include “Death_Note”, where beings from another dimension,
called Shinigami, have special books where they write in human names, and then
basically that person drops dead and the victim transfers their remaining life
to these things. In the series, they occasionally drop these “death notes” into
the human world, where people pick them up and start writing names. Anyone they
don’t like basically dies of any cause they write down. So for example, you can
become a serial killer and take control of your victim and force them to do
something extremely gruesome to end their life.
Alone, is this proof he’s a nut? Not really, but taken as a whole some of this
could go along with that.
My impression from his “about me” page is that the guy is just kind of a loser
who wanted to overcompensate by boasting about himself in weird ways. There’s
no telling what set him off until and unless he decides to talk to the cops.
I wasn’t able to find much about his work at Microsoft except a GitHub
(Microsoft) repository with_some_things_about_Azure.
The only commit I found was about adding some Oxford commas to some documents.
“I came here to add commas and stab people, and I’m all out of commas.”
Microsoft gets a disturbing number of stabbers, rapists, stranglers, and other
assorted crazy people.
You’d seriously think that the hiring managers could open Google and find out
that they’re dealing with a crazy person though, which about, oh, two or three
minutes looking at his blog would have done.
Apparently, the victim’s Apple Watch alerted_his_wife there was something
wrong.
“Alert! Your husband is being stabbed by a Microsoft employee!”
Damned_rollercoasters.
I have also located a confession that Cantrell put on his own site detailing
illegal_drug_use.
(It’s under “secret-journal-wall-trump-card-v2” in the file “Joseph Cantrell-
alias.txt”.)
Note the following,
This was originally a document detailing my drug use and my thoughts
on or during their effects like the dream journal my mom bought me
when I was a kid. However, it is now my overall life journal and
literary practice. It should be freely and posthumously published to
help humanity or whatever. I’m sure it will help someone in the
future given the challenges I’ve faced with abnormal genetics of
decelerating neuron firing rates. Also, it’s a good deterrent. I’m
deep undercover with Luzianne sweet tea.
[...]
Most Intense Experience: LSD + MDA + 3-MeO-PCP + Cannabis
(potentially fatal combination)
Best Experience: LSD + 3-MeO-PCP + Cannabis
Drug Utility Shortlist:
Amphetamine sulphate: Intelligence training, motivation, long term
life enhancement
Marijuana: Malleable short term life enhancement, natural medicine
3-MeO-PCP: Amphetamine addiction and withdrawal, creativity,
motivation, depression
MDMA: Amphetamine withdrawal (sparingly)
Psychedelics: Appreciation
LSD: Weightlifting
DMT: Weightlifting, back pain, natural medicine
Dissociatives: Reflection, habit based depression
Drugs I’ve used to get high:
Amphetamine Sulphate
Caffeine
Marijuana
Alcohol
LSD
25I-NBOMe
Methylphenidate
LSA
Mushrooms
Nitrous Oxide
Dextromethorphan
Cocaine
MDMA
2C-B
DOM
Diphenhydramine
Kratom
DMT
Methoxetamine
2C-T-2
2C-E
5-MeO-MiPT
Ketamine S+ & -Racemic
Codeine & Promethazine
MDA
DOC
25B-NBOH
Salvia Divinorum
25I-NBOH
3-MeO-PCP
Alprazolam
Heroin
4-MeO-PCP
DCK
O-PCE/2-OxO-PCE
3-MeO-PCE
DOB
25E-NBOH
3-HO-PCP
3-HO-PCE
Flunitrazolam
2F-DCK
4-HO-MET
Mescaline
5-MeO-DMT
TMA-2
ETH-LAD
2C-C
PCP
Methamphetamine
2-FMA
4-HO-MiPT
4-AcO-DMT
3-Fl-PCP
Now with that very same list, I’ll divulge my thoughts on those
drugs. A ++ denotes I would use it again while a — means it is a
castaway.
Amphetamine Sulphate ++
This is the gold standard and my ticket to life with Neural
Deceleration Disorder. It trains me to be intelligent, motivated,
happy, and caring. It acts through releasing NE and DA, but it also
has other actions unbeknownst to me. I am most addicted to this drug,
and it will always be that way until I die. It causes massive
oscillations in the neurons of my body to the point I can hallucinate
toward a ketamine-like hole of white light and 3-MeO-PCP-like
hallucinations of rainbow women. It enhances my holistic
comprehension, calculation speed, working memory, short term memory,
and long term memory. It enhances adrenaline reserves when
appropriate, and adrenaline is more easily triggered for release,
even by withdrawal alone. Levoamphetamine mostly trains those things
related to NE and makes me hungry and cold. I can sleep on
levoamphetamine even with large amounts of dextroamphetamine as long
as the ratio is sufficient. Somehow levoamphetamine trains a moral
tending to the call of duty. It fosters integrity. Dextroamphetamine
trains my DA related motivation and reward and makes me hot, keeps me
awake, and mitigates my hunger. These two atomic arrangements work
together to keep me holistically capable. This is the only way I know
to increase intelligence, and it would be sufficient to transform a C
student to a P.h.D. graduate. This should have the ability to train
away fear, at least if used in childhood for six years.
Caffeine ++
This is the standard work drug, and it works well so long as I am not
oscillating too much from amphetamine. Caffeine boosts my enjoyment
of lifting weights, and I consume it in the form of Luzianne sweet
tea and flavored preworkout.
Marijuana ++
Weed is great for amplifying another drug’s effects. It can put me to
work or put me to bed and is good in almost every situation except
lifting weights. Marijuana puts me to work so long as I am in the
presence or afterglow of amphetamine. Weed will likely put motivated
people to work and put demotivated people to rest just as it does me
in the vicinity of my amphetamine dependence.
Alcohol –
I’ve given up alcohol for good because it has awful hangovers with
headaches, body aches, brain fog, and puking. It is extremely
addictive given that it is very frequently consumed in small
quantities. It contributes to cancer like that which killed my
mother. It is worth trying a couple times to experience GABA agonism.
LSD ++
This drug is a great way to enjoy the company of one’s own thoughts
and visualize oneself. LSD almost doubles the acquisition of muscular
strength from lifting weights. I’ve used LSD daily with no ill
effects to achieve that growth. LSD makes me see beautiful
caricatures of rainbow women and even a white light and full body
orgasm at high doses. No overdosing makes this one of the best
psychedelics. Like most psychedelics, no hangover and addictive
qualities make this an ideal choice.
25I-NBOMe ++
This drug is like LSD but is more precise in the serotonin receptors
it targets, namely 5HT-2A. This drug morphs the color black more than
other psychedelics. It numbs the tongue and must be dissolved under
the tongue. It is stimulating and gives me the giggles quite easily.
With a high enough dose or combined with enough weed, it can lead to
blacked out cackling.
Methylphenidate –
A DAT and NET inhibitor, this drug is often used as an NDD
medication, but it has been disavowed by me by making my NDD worse in
time of crisis in late 2017. It doesn’t foster any sort of
responsibility like amphetamine and is similar to cocaine in the
selfishness it induces, so this drug is noted as being inappropriate
for children among those educated about it.
LSA ++
This is a naturally occurring drug similar to LSD but producing more
sedation. Food tastes very good. Natural sources cause intense
puking, but the short nausea is worth the dreamy lethargy it induces.
Mushrooms –
Mushrooms have more morphing visuals than LSD a stronger mental
danger at high doses. I suspect I dislike mushrooms because of some
dopamine activity that isn’t compatible with my NDD much like DAT
inhibitors.
Nitrous Oxide ++
NO2 has very heavy NMDA antagonism and is purported to have mild
opiate and benzo effects. I can’t confirm those latter two
statements, but the rapidity of effects’ dissipation lends itself to
a greater addiction than other drugs. This is the most addictive
dissociative I have used, but given the lack of negative effects in
moderation, I would do it again. One would need to ingest hundreds of
eight gram cartridges every day for negative effects to quickly
manifest.
Dextromethorphan ++
DXM needs weed to feel good. Otherwise there is too much nausea. This
has the greatest chance of inducing double vision visuals while also
having the most complex closed eye visuals of any dissociative.
Massive planetary landscapes and castles can be imagined.
Cocaine –
This DAT and NET inhibitor drug is evil in the selfish, talkative
nature it induces. Constricted blood vessels and a hangover is
present the next day unlike methylphenidate which suggests additional
activity. Fascinations with evil plotting, lying, betrayal, gloating,
cameras, attention seeking, disregard, and sadism are present.
Clapping and running are stimulated behaviors. I read in the media
that sadism enhances sexual gratification with partners later in the
day, but I can’t verify that being a major drawing point. They call
that charging or hooking.
MDMA ++
This drug makes me feel very happy since it is very similar to my
medication, amphetamine. It’s a great substitute to alleviate
amphetamine withdrawal, and given my negative experiences with trying
things like MDA, it is dangerous to try anything else for amphetamine
withdrawal. It is very far reaching and has no noticeable hangover if
used in moderation. Despite common usage for group settings, I love
to use this drug to examine myself. However, because I had a bad
reaction to amphetamine withdrawal in combination with MDA, becoming
addicted to MDMA which metabolizes to MDA could become just as
disastrous. This drug is not something to use as often as I have in
the past.
2C-B ++
This drug produces morphing visuals more than LSD and also has more
intense bodily feelings except in high doses where LSD is more
intense in just about every way. Low headspace compared to LSD.
DOM ++
DOM is more stimulating and visually active than LSD and produces
much more detailed hallucinations for way longer. I’ve never seen a
white light of serotonin saturation like with LSD and won’t because
of the overdose potential. Vasoconstriction is prominent, so a little
weed is necessary to combat that. With 10 mg, the feeling of a
pinball moving back and forth in the brain is present.
Diphenhydramine –
DPH creates three dimensional visuals that are imperceptible from
reality. It can also create very realistic 2D textures on surfaces
like TV’s, ceilings, and pillows. DPH can also cause a dream like
state that is indistinguishable from reality. It is worthless for
recreation unless used with DXM and weed.
Kratom –
A mild natural opiate plant, this produces more nausea than the
negligible opiate high of contentment.
DMT ++
Vaporized, natural, tree formed DMT rapidly produces strong rainbow
visuals of humanoids, typically women, and even a white light of
serotonin saturation. It also has a full body orgasm. It shares all
of these qualities with high doses of LSD but these qualities are
more reproducible. Like LSD, DMT also helps muscle growth.
Methoxetamine ++
MXE is a very fiendish dissociative that in moderate doses even helps
with weightlifting throughput. Walking is more difficult with MXE
than other dissociatives but not impossible. Rainbow visuals are very
prominent and a white glow in a black void is present in the high
dose hole.
2C-T-2 ++
2C-T-2 has strong scenery drifting visuals and is clearheaded enough
to stimulate writing.
2C-E ++
2C-E has a very strong buzzing sensation across the body like pins
and needles pricking the skin. With low headspace, introspection is a
theme. Morphing visuals are more prominent than other psychedelics,
and I could reliably see rainbow dragons forming from the trees.
5-MeO-MiPT ++
Moxxy is clearheaded and produces rainbow dragon visuals in high
doses of 20 mg.
Ketamine S+ & -Racemic ++
The surgical dissociative, the hole begins with the body vibrating
like rustling bushes and even a sound of rustling bushes. This is
followed by swirling of the room, massive rainbow objects in a black
void, sensations of time oscillating, and white “ghosts” in a black
void. It is exclusively an NMDA inhibitor.
Codeine & Promethazine –
This drug combination produces a state of a stupefied bliss although
I only tried it once with blue vodka.
MDA ++
This is the best drug I’ve tried for sex and masturbation. Despite
being dangerous for abstinent amphetamine withdrawal, this is my
second favorite neurotransmitter releasing drug. This drug is a
natural metabolite of MDMA, and for recreation I think it is superior
to MDMA.
DOC –
This drug produces visuals for the longest of any psychedelic I’ve
tried. The visuals slightly more detailed than LSD but not as
detailed as DOM. I had a strange smell like burnt plastic for the
peak of my experiences. I woke up feeling fine despite having a trip
of 36 hours.
25B-NBOH –
This drug is like 25I-NBOMe but with too much vasoconstriction
throughout the experience.
Salvia Divinorum –
Unnatural feelings of discomfort and repeating patterns captivating
one’s vision are present.
25I-NBOH ++
This drug is just like 25I-NBOMe. It doesn’t elicit feelings of
happiness that are as strong.
3-MeO-PCP ++
This is the best dissociative ever since it is functional and
inspiring at low doses and catatonic at high doses. It is more of a
PCP2 inhibitor than NMDA but possesses a good stimulation. This is
one of the best ways to mitigate amphetamine addiction, get stuff
done, and have fun. This drug inhibits PCP2 more than any other
dissociative and thus rainbow faces are a common theme. This drug is
a better depression medication than ketamine since it is very
naturally motivating for day to day tasks like weight lifting. 3-MeO-
PCP enhances weightlifting output and has no effect on muscle growth.
This drug still leaves one alert enough to trigger life saving, slow
motion adrenaline release. It goes great with all
Alprazolam –
Xanax is a lot like alcohol and has the propensity to induce a
dangerous feeling hangover with sharp pains in the head. Blackouts
are much more dangerous as the user’s body is not as inhibited as
alcohol. It has zero positive effects to note unlike most other drugs
on this list. It is not very euphoric, but I suspect feelings of
relief and satiation can be found once one is addicted. Trying
alcohol a few times makes trying other benzos obsolete.
Heroin –
Opiates produce contented feelings and even a drift toward a rainbow
mist. It causes vomiting even after passing out just like alcohol. It
also causes constipation and a host of other side effects just from
that. The itchy, heaving hangover induced is not worth the trouble. I
would have been better off lifting weights until I could deadlift
heavy enough to truly experience the MOR receptor.
4-MeO-PCP –
I suspect I tried this drug by mistake. It prolongs masturbation and
allows for multiple ejaculations.
DCK –
This disso readily induces rainbow visuals and has a distinct stutter
as a short term hangover effect.
O-PCE/2-OxO-PCE –
This is the hardest disso to walk on, and it also is prone to
blackouts. It has an uncomfortable, strong stimulation of unknown
mechanisms.
3-MeO-PCE –
This disso is stimulating like 3-MeO-PCP and then sedating to the
point of sleep. It has more rainbow visuals than 3-MeO-PCP and low
doses. High doses can cause a ringing in the ears and an unpleasant
feeling of being overwhelmed.
DOB –
DOB is a long lasting, very stimulating, and vasoconstriction prone
drug with visuals that aren’t as intense or interesting as DOM and
DOC.
25E-NBOH ++
This is the most easy going NBOx drug and is more like LSD in terms
of visuals and bodily feelings. Combined with 3-HO-PCE, conscious
slow motion is reproducible without using any adrenaline.
3-HO-PCP ++
This drug produces the strongest bodily vibrations of any
dissociatives including NO2. It also produces more replicated rainbow
visuals than any other. This has the best bodily feeling of any
dissociative drug and is up there with DMT.
3-HO-PCE –
This drug inhibits PCP2 more than NMDA but is not stimulating like 3-
MeO-PCP. Rainbow faces are present but so is boredom. Weed is a must.
Flunitrazolam –
This drug is like alcohol and results in lying down and sleep.
2F-DCK –
2F-DCK is like ketamine but doesn’t elicit very much elation.
4-HO-MET –
This is a stimulating psychedelic that is alleged to have NET
properties which results in withdrawal with burning insides and a
hateful disposition. It doesn’t appear to have any TAAR-1 activity
like amphetamine, but I don’t know much about that receptor anyway.
Humanoid rainbow entities are often present like with DMT.
Mescaline –
Mescaline induces so much nausea compared to the visuals, and it
doesn’t produce much euphoria. I ate a purified extract from the
cactus, and I think the point of a cactus evolving needles and
chemicals like mescaline is to keep animals away. Other plants with
things like DMT and LSA are flowers and trees which haven’t evolved
to ward away people quite as much.
5-MeO-DMT ++
This natural toad excretion produces the feeling of levity in
addition to unique psychedelic visuals. It’s not as comfortable as
DMT. I suspect impurities like excess plant or toad materials
contribute to that.
TMA-2 –
This drug produces stimulation, nausea, and vasoconstriction with
barely any visuals and long lasting after effects of those three
effects.
ETH-LAD ++
ETH-LAD results in strong euphoria and visuals with a brief spout of
nausea on the comeup. Visuals are detailed and rounded like
serpentine dragons.
2C-C ++
2C-C produces strong, detailed visuals and stimulation. Visuals have
sharp corners like knives.
PCP –
The first synthetic dissociative, classic PCP produces antagonistic
feelings, stimulation, and decent dissociative visuals. It is the
infamous target of the PCP2 receptor. It also causes extreme hunger
at the beginning, shitting in the middle, and sleep after a few
hours. It also causes strong ejaculations that could hit me in the
eye if I was standing up. It promotes simple but not complex musical
and poetic creativity. There’s something more sinister about this
than meets the eye, but I can’t place it any more than I can place
the compulsions to eat and take a shit. There is truth to the manic,
antagonistic behavior, but I don’t know what causes that either.
Unknown mechanisms like that have the potential to kill me if used
while in amphetamine withdrawal. I’ve read rumors in various works of
art that this is how my NDD predecessor died.
Methamphetamine –
This drug feels like a dirty poison flowing through one’s veins like
alcohol’s bodily feelings. I don’t know what isomers I tried. It
burns like an NET inhibitor and given enough, excessive dopamine
output produces destructive cholinergic hallucinations like DPH. That
delirium has great potential for a CIA truth serum. It appears to
lack an inhibiting function on its dopamine output, leading to wild
ideas, spontaneous actions, and the infamous twitch. It is pure evil
and will melt not only the human brain but its face. It will teach
humanity the qualities of a faggot, both inside and out. Signs,
symbols, and ambiguity are nonstop here, and it shows in various
media. It is not comparable to amphetamine and is not a viable
substitute. Detrimental neural and other bodily changes are
permanent, shown by the faces of meth photos online. Similar to
cocaine, the roads here all lead to the dominion of Adolf Hitler, his
wife, and his Nazi regime of no remorse.
2-FMA ++
2-FMA is a stimulating drug that is purported to release dopamine and
norepinephrine. It doesn’t induce hunger like levoamphetamine, and
thus I am reluctant to try it and anything else as an NDD alternative
medicine. I assume it would produce the same disastrous results as
MDA if used to offset acute amphetamine withdrawal. After a week, I
felt strapped to my chair and glued to my artistic endeavors. I also
started watching TV all day while I worked on For My Aspect. After I
ran out, I kept being entertained by the TV.
4-HO-MiPT ++
This psychedelic induces a mild hunger. I ate fried chicken from
Publix about every day I used this. Otherwise, it is like LSD but
with less nausea and less headspace.
4-AcO-DMT –
This drug is purported to metabolize to 4-HO-DMT, the active
ingredient in mushrooms also called psilocin. I can’t be sure of
that, but it made it difficult to get comfortable in my bed and made
the temperature changes feel very drastic.
3-Fl-PCP ++
This drug makes me hungry. It feels like the amphetamine hunger
mechanism (calcium channel?) and norepinephrine release. That’s only
two of many mechanisms of my disorder dependent on amphetamine It has
light visuals except in high doses, and it has some visual qualities
that appear to be in common with DXM.
-Joseph_Cantrell,_Microsoft_Stabber
As you can see, this shows an extremely poor lack of judgment on the part of
the Microsoft hiring managers. This is all out where I found it in under 10
minutes.
It goes on at some length, including how much he enjoyed trick-or-treating
dressed up as Adolf Hitler and his penchant for “Software Piracy” including
some specific admissions, which is something that Microsoft actually always is
going on and on about.
There’s honestly so much more here I can’t even sit and read it. He goes into a
detailed description of basically dates and times he used all of the listed
illegal drugs and what effects they had on him. It started around 2015 and
clear through February 23rd, 2023 (4 days before the knife attack), at least.
Some excerpts approaching (week leading to) the attack, (the only thing I
changed was adding some stars to the N word and some bold for effect):
February 14, 2023: 7:24 a.m. – I got up to listen to music at 7:09
a.m. this morning, whereas I usually wait until about 7:30 or 7:40
lately. I used to wait and sleep in until about 8:30 starting in
October when I started using amphetamine again. Bright rainbow faces
are curling up everywhere and shimmering almost my entire visual
field in a way that’s impossible to ignore at times, but they aren’t
very detailed. NMDA lattices are also mucked among them. I’m in a
very disordered state. Two nights ago, I took 40 mg 3-Fl-PCP instead
of my usual 24 mg. That affected my neurons’ oscillations.
8:53 a.m. – The N****rberg Trials, reminiscent of the Nuremburg
Trials, are set to begin soon.
9:11 a.m. – I looked back and realize the last time I saw the woman
Taylor was February 16, 2021. I was thinking it was February 15. It
must have symbolic significance to the people who know about my
situation, just as my doctor’s appointment today. In light of all the
lies and evil I’ve documented these past 6.5 years, a safe America
will likely cease to exist within ten years just as it did in Nazi
Germany.
February 15, 2023: 10:05 a.m. – My cousin called me an asshole. All
he ever writes me back is “WTF!” I’m sure the U.S. military
government pumped him full of methamphetamine and told him to keep
quiet. He called me an asshole, analogous to amphetamine hole, which
is characteristic of my birth disorder and the neural and visual
holes in response to amphetamine treatment. That “asshole”
terminology is explained better in Scarface and the more obviously
military movie, Idiocracy, and it’s own movie called Ass. Teja used
to say that word with her condescending, gleeful smile. I think I
know what she meant now. Maybe she was some kind of shitty military
wife or gang leader. Whatever she is, she’s a fucking retard who was
retarding me the whole time I was trying to medicate and work.
This is fucked. My mom said she cooked while my aunt liked to clean,
and I’m sure somehow she meant meth was a part of that. She also said
Jonathon burned trash cans and went to boot camp for it, and I’m sure
she meant meth. My family is compromised, and I can’t count on them
to help me. They’re basically Nazis. The Nazis had families who
helped them. Hitler had a wife.
I’m playing Metro Last Light again. 2033 looks to be a hellish
warzone in the United States. I suppose China has it easy with their
wiggers being a small percentage of their rather homogeneous
population. Across America, people are chanting the wigger songs and
hoisting the wigger banner.
12:12 p.m. – Hayden decided to text me yesterday at like 6 p.m. on
Valentine’s Day with like 500 words that make it seem like momma was
right that Vickie’s side of the family can’t be trusted. He’s being
creepy on purpose, and he probably knows all about my situation. His
stepfather is in some biker gang, the very people holding me back
right now. She accused Vickie of stealing from my grandmother. I
think they might be raised to lie and cheat. Well, military guy
Jonathon clearly puts his government and gang friends over his cousin
and aunt Patricia, and so does his whole side of the family, so fuck
it. My mother was the only person in the whole world on whom I could
truly rely. She’d be storming her own blitzkrieg right from her
Facebook to the door. Fuck the whole thing.
5:18 p.m. – My temples are burning again, with the left burning much
more than the right.
February 16, 2023: 9:47 a.m. – I’ve finally started playing video
games again since my hiatus back in December.
4:32 p.m. – I can smell things again, and I’m seeing simple rainbow
faces. I could swear I’m starting to see gold spots, but it’s hard to
tell. I’m sure I’ll know it when I see it kind of thing. I’m sure
I’ll grow into it.
10:27 p.m. – I just kept repeating to myself while watching Jason VI,
“There’s wiggers in the trees!” I didn’t pluralize “There’s” in
combination with “wiggers”. There are wiggers in Georgia Tech,
wiggers at Microsoft, wiggers in Paris, wiggers in computers, and
soon to be more wiggers in space.
February 17, 2023: 12:42 p.m. – My lips and mouth are flooding with
moisture which then retreats in a cycle. I suspect it has something
to do with this undefined calcium channel and the oscillating hunger
in my stomach.
February 18, 2023: 5:20 p.m. – I took only 22 mg of amphetamine at 3
p.m. Rainbow faces and crimson slash marks littered my vision which
started to distort objects as well. They’re forming large shapes too
that start to resemble rainbow, smooth, simple humanoid shapes.
<Retrospective> 2/21/23: 9:33 a.m. – That day as noted, I saw a
rainbow, humanoid, rainbow silhouette kneeling and facing me with its
head pointed down to the ground.
February 19, 2023: 7:54 a.m. – Fuck the wigger nation. They’re
telling me my illness is wigger itch, jock itch, or some other
bullshit.
February 20, 2023: 4:32 p.m. – Joe Biden visits Ukraine on
President’s Day while I continue to bide their bullshit inherited
from the bullshit dynasty. Nobody knows a lot of the truths I’ve
written here. The U.S. government gives gang members, other
governments, and their respective gang members free reign to utilize
this knowledge against the people of the United States, especially
me. This is evidenced by all the people from all over the world who
have visited me to fuck me over. These are people like the nice,
affluent Chinese Vi Nguyen who knew of my necessity related to the
calcium channel hunger based neural mechanism, Teja from India, Anna
from Turkey, and Abhinav from India. These people are given free
reign to surround and destroy the lives of people in the United
States. Teja had a green card. She certainly didn’t deserve that. I
would rescind it from her if I had the power. I would ship her
nonstop shit talking, terrorist ass back to fucking India.
5:44 p.m. – When I roar like a lion and shake my head by doing so, my
vision simplifies into circles and squares like a lack of NMDA neural
signal transmission. This isn’t something new I’ve noticed, but it’s
the first time I’ve written it down.
1:19 a.m. – I have never been more justifiably paranoid in my life.
After everything I’ve written here describing my history, where do I
go to stop people from hurting me?
February 21, 2023: 9:24 a.m. – I refuse to be a part of the United
States’ officially declared Great Leap Backward. It was declared in
wigger doublethink, but “It is what it is.” according to President
Joe Biden. They just keep reversing their truck with NDRI drugs, with
meth being the worst offender of the bunch. It’s insane the
government so defiantly pushes drugs like methylphenidate on children
while also denying people the knowledge to truly help themselves
become smarter with amphetamine sulphate.
5:58 p.m. – Crimson slashes are forming in my vision as the
dextroamphetamine is finally mostly metabolized from my body.
9:48 p.m. – Given the secrets the U.S. government uses against
people, the U.S. government is the biggest sponsor of terrorism in
the world. This is written in the history of my diary. The U.S.
government refuses to teach people, and it’s committed to hurting
them by pushing secret sadist drugs through its various gangs and
puppet governments it set up: opioids and Taliban Afghanistan,
cocaine and Latin America, meth and the Philippines, etc. These are
the same abusive drugs they push through the pharmaceutical and
hospital industry: codeine, methylphenidate, and Vyvanse.
Hitler also hypocritically condemned recreational drugs while he, his
government, and his troops used them. I’ve heard rumors that military
adolescents will get into meth early on, and they will attract
teenage girls into their cult of meth. I’ve heard those rumors
through people like David Toelle and Austin Pritchett from Columbus
High School, next to Fort Benning. That’s just like military Hitler
youth. I think that’s fucked up. I wish there was a way to stop that.
Clearly meth doesn’t foster a good enough sense of responsibility,
else the literature would be less scarce. It must be abolished by
providing better drug education and better substitutes.
February 22, 2023: 3:34 p.m. – Behind my right eye has hurt a lot for
the past ten minutes. I stayed up late again yesterday. I’ll have to
check my consumption of 3-Fl-PCP. It looks like I’ll have to burst
fire this drug over a month or so. On a side note, I heard a
helicopter sound in my TV a few days ago, and Howshe mentioned I had
a new TV when I saw him at work. Perhaps my TV really does have a
speaker trying to manipulate me.
I love Patricia Cantrell, Bruce Denham, Breezy, ESi, and Taylor
forever. I pray to live in peace. I wish I had impregnated ESi or
Taylor, gotten my act together, settled down in a house, and lived in
peace making art. However, my history sucks. Even though I don’t
believe in God, I hope and pray everyone does better for each other.
I’d go to church with those pretty latina girls if they wanted; I’d
do just about anything for them to live in peace.
4:23 p.m. – I’m coughing up some phlegm. It snowed today too! I’m
watching Look Who’s Back again. I’ve been marathoning it for a bit.
It’s the only good German movie of which I know.
4:37 p.m. – I just coughed up a huge glob of phlegm I had to throw
up. It was sticky and like 5 inches in diameter.
-Joseph_Cantrell,_Microsoft_Stabber
This guy should have been committed, involuntarily, and never allowed out.
I think if he gets an attorney, he should submit all of this to the court in
the stabbing case and plead Insanity.
They’ll probably put him in a strait jacket and give him some major
antipsychotics if they get ahold of this, but that’s what needs to be done. It
needed to be done over 10 years ago if anyone was paying attention, but
Microsoft hired him.
How is a person who even writes things like this not setting off alarms just
being in the same room as the hiring manager?
MinceR in #Techrights IRC suggested that maybe Microsoft was using their shitty
Bing engine.
I found all of this on Google, but Bing didn’t return anything about him except
the attempted murder stories in the news.
I couldn’t figure out the race of his victim.
Reading through his texts where he’s obviously falling apart and using lots of
drugs, it becomes obvious that this guy is right-wing, possibly a Nazi, and
that he has a serious grudge against Blacks and Indians, but sexually
objectifies Latinas.
The sort of media he tends to consume and create along with his writing sort of
shows a pattern forming of an increasingly generalized anger, which could
indicate an unprovoked knifing, as it could simply go along with the
decompensation. (But it’s also possible that he was so under the influence of
drugs that he was hallucinating.)
If I had to guess, although this would be speculation, he sexually objectifies
women in general, and complains that he doesn’t have a girlfriend or wife. He
probably has unhealthy sexual obsessions which would lead to porn hoarding and
further disconnect from reality. Incel? Possible repressed homosexuality?
In any event, he’s going to get a lot of psychiatric attention.
As usual, the government did nothing, Microsoft hired him, his university in
Georgia did nothing even though people like this cannot function in public
without severe tells.
The attention he needs comes too late for the victim. █
䷩ 𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚎 1242
╒═══════════════════ 𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐈𝐂𝐋𝐄 ═════════════════════════════════════════════════╕
(ℹ) Images, hyperlinks and comments at http://techrights.org/2023/02/28/now-pensions-breaches/#comments
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Gemini_version_available_♊︎
✐ NOW:_Pensions_and_the_Mystery_of_Fines_by_the_Pensions_Regulator⠀✐
Posted in Deception, Finance at 9:25 pm by Dr. Roy Schestowitz
Facilitator of Fraud? There Is Already an Official Track Record of Misconduct.
🄸🄼🄰🄶🄴 🄳🄴🅂🄲🅁🄸🄿🅃🄸🄾🄽 ⦇NOW: Pensions logo⦈ Summary: There seems to be quite a
crisis in British pension funds, which casualty ‘disappear’ funds and enable
companies to plunder staff and former staff; in this series we focus on two
such funds, one of which employs close to 10,000 people and covers very many
companies (millions of people’s pensions)
Founded relatively recently (2011), the pension provider currently used by
Sirius_‘Open_Source’ has quite a colourful (and surprisingly short) past. It
was moaning about the state of the economy in recent years (in public filings
that we saw) and it probably struggles a lot. It’s a very small company,
already sold to another due to difficulties, and its service has been truly
appalling.
I cautioned them that I would take this public and name them unless things
improved. It started in December and we’re in March already. It’s only getting
worse. “Your repeated lies to me and your stonewalling have left me without any
option but taking this public,” I said to them yesterday. “Rest assured many
colleagues and clients of yours are reading this. Tomorrow I shall name your
company in public and release telephone recordings to show your utterly poor
record as a company, including the lies. This will be only the start.”
“I cautioned them that I would take this public and name them unless things
improved.”They didn’t respond. They never respond. I did this patiently and
politely for months already. The above is an escalation in tone.
So who’s behind this company? Not many people and public records show a
volatile board with many resignations. It was put_up_for_sale_5_years_ago or
just over a year after Sirius had moved funds into it (after Sirius apparently
silently plundered all the older pensions — the subject of further verification
these days, maybe even an impeding class action lawsuit).
For some context see our prior writings about that:
Have_Squandered/Plundered_the_Pensions_of_Many_People
to_the_Clients_and_Don’t_Respond_to_Messages
As it turns out, NOW: Pensions is considered dodgy; according_to_Wikipedia
(after many edits, some of which controversial): “During the three years
leading up to June 30, 2017 Now:Pensions achieved a 2.8 percent annualized
return, which was significantly less than the returns achieved by almost all of
its competitors during the same time.[1] In November 2017 the Pensions
Regulator fined the trustees of Now:Pensions £50,000 for administration
problems. Followed by a fine for £20,000 in February 2018.[1][2] In February
2019 The Cardano Group acquired Now:Pensions from ATP[3] after Now:Pensions ran
into multiple administration problems and years of poor performance.[1]”
“We’ll release some audio soon.”So they already got fined for breaches. Only
less than a year before the fines Sirius chose this company. How come? And
where did the money go?
I’ve already cautioned former colleagues about this and if this is
representative of the state of the “pension industry”, then we’re all in deep
quicksand and generally in trouble. Based on recent articles in the media, more
and more people nowadays realise they’re affected.
In the case of NOW: Pensions, maybe they realise that some of the money that
they possess is linked to fraudsters and they’d rather protect the fraudsters
than do what’s right. We’ll release some audio soon. █
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䷩ 𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚎 1355
╒═══════════════════ 𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐈𝐂𝐋𝐄 ═════════════════════════════════════════════════╕
(ℹ) Images, hyperlinks and comments at http://techrights.org/2023/02/28/sirius-open-source-pensiongate-pension-providers-that-repeatedly-lie-to-the-clients-and-dont-respond-to-messages/#comments
Gemini version at gemini://gemini.techrights.org/2023/02/28/sirius-open-source-pensiongate-pension-providers-that-repeatedly-lie-to-the-clients-and-dont-respond-to-messages/
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Gemini_version_available_♊︎
✐ Sirius_‘Open_Source’_Pensiongate:_Pension_Providers_That_Repeatedly_Lie_to
the_Clients_and_Don’t_Respond_to_Messages⠀✐
Posted in Deception, Finance, Fraud, Free/Libre_Software at 3:18 am by Dr. Roy
Schestowitz
Previously:
Have_Squandered/Plundered_the_Pensions_of_Many_People
🄸🄼🄰🄶🄴_🄳🄴🅂🄲🅁🄸🄿🅃🄸🄾🄽_⦇Pension_letter_1⦈_
See more: Evidence_of_Sirius_‘Open_Source’_(or_Sirius_Corporation)_Failing_to
Pay_Pensions,_Failing_to_Inform_Staff,_Not_Responding_to_Staff
Summary: Sirius_‘Open_Source’ has chosen rather questionable pension providers
that ‘cover up’ for the_company's_abusive_behaviour
TODAY we resume the series not because of progress but due to a lack of
progress. We set some deadlines or ultimatums and those have already been
missed/exceeded by over a week. The short stories, as we shall tell them in the
coming days, might not be applicable to all pension providers in the UK, only
at least two of them — the ones I’ve dealt with personally for months already
(as did former colleagues).
Before we share some audio of conversations (likely some time tomorrow or later
this week) let’s just say that this is still an ongoing investigation. At least
2 people were saying they cannot find anything about me on their system. Upon
escalation, however, a “Standard_Life”supervisor_or_line_manager_or_whatever
(Leah_Brown)_said_the_pension_had_been_transferred (why could her colleagues
not see the name?) but still refused to give all sorts of critical information.
This was done without any authorisation from those impacted and, yet worse,
without even notifying them that it happened.
This investigation of ours follows some pension-related abuses at Sirius, as
covered here back_in_December (we shared some letters too). It was escalated
further in light of two revelations: 1) the older pension ‘vanished’. 2) the
existing one is being elusive, the provider evasive, and those who phone to ask
about it are being provided with only “template” responses.
At first, I had to submit complaints to them at least twice only to finally
receive a phonecall (about 3 weeks late). At a later stage they sent out an E-
mail:
Dear Roy,
Thank you for contacting [redacted].
Following on from our conversation on Friday the 6^th of January
2023, I can confirm your employer has now sent us over the
contributions for October and November.
I’ve arranged for a contribution history to be sent to your home
address within 10 working days.
If you need any more help, we have a new alternative way for you to
make your request digitally. You can securely confirm your details
and send your request to our team *here.*
[redacted]
We would also appreciate if you could click on the link below and let
us know how we did today.
Kind Regards,
[redacted]
[redacted] Helpdesk
I then responded:
Dear [redacted] (or colleague),
There seems to be about 5000 pounds missing. The statement was
received by post, but it lacks about 5 years of my pension — money
passed to you from another provider back in 2016. Please phone us, as
before, to clarify why the statement omits this. I’m on [redacted]
My reference number is [redacted]
Regards,
They never responded to this. They never followed up at all.
After a long while (maybe days) I said:
Please phone me and my wife ASAP. We both have pensions with you and
it is a matter [that's] urgent because:
a) there seems to be a lot of “missing” money
b) the employer may be committing fraud
c) I am a whistleblower (see (b)), so they might try to retaliate
Regards,
PS – call me today, it is very urgent.
There were several more messages like this (about 5 in total, sent days apart).
They did not reply to this either. Days later I phoned them up and they lied to
me. They gave false, empty assurances. I sent the following:
Hi,
Your handling of clients is totally irresponsible and completely
unacceptable. You did not reply to any of my urgent E-mails (about 5
of them), so after a week I phoned you up, at my expense, and spoke
for nearly an hour with [redacted]. He later spoke to my wife as
well.
We both demanded written assurances that the former employer cannot
plunder the pension like it did with our previous one. You said you
would send us written assurances within 10 working days. Today we
finally received two letters, but those are just balance statements
(like a template reply) and nothing else. It’s a repeat of what you
sent us before. It’s redundant. Nothing at all was written for us. In
other words, [redacted] gave us false verbal assurances and you gave
us nothing at all.
Hence, I hereby demand that you send us the money of our current
balance (yes, I am aware of the very high taxes). Phone us
immediately. We live nearby and will come to collect our money ASAP.
You failed us repeatedly. You failed numerous times. You gave false
assurances. You moreover fail to heed our warning about an employer
(your client) that plunders people’s pensions. This bodes well for
the pension sector as a whole.
Please phone us now to arrange collection of our funds.
At this stage we already spoke to other victims; we suspected they had paid us
salaries using our own money (our pensions) without telling us. Or maybe
someone paid his mortgage using our pension money. Whatever it is, many
people’s money seems to have gone “missing”.
I wrote to them again:
Hi [redacted],
My wife and I still wait for the letters you promised us. If we don’t
hear back in the next day or so, we’ll take this public.
That was over a week ago. They just lied over the telephone (we have that
recorded as proof) and they never responded to any E-mail. It’s as if their
policy became, “do not speak to the client” (if the client phones us, lie to
the client).
And we just got the phone bill 4 days ago. We paid almost 20 pounds for
phonecalls (to just one pension provider, not even counting the other one).
A financial firm that kept lying or made false promises would typically not
survive, would it?
Among the other expenses in the phone bill:
08 Feb
13:10
[redacted]
Calls to UK landlines
00:25:06
£5.94
27 Jan
09:20
[redacted]
Calls to UK landlines
00:45:53
£10.51
27 Jan
09:19
[redacted]
Calls to UK landlines
00:01:12
£0.46
This story isn’t over and it’s still an ongoing dispute. The other pension
provider is even more scandalous, but we’ll cover that separately (some former
colleagues are also “on the case”).
As one former colleague put it, “I was in the [redacted] one and got the weird
e-mails saying some payments were missing but when I got a statement from them
they had all been fixed” (or so we’re told; there are other issues).
The bottom line is, if you work for a company that has gone rogue and is acting
‘dodgy’ (British slang), then you might want to check what pension provider it
chose and what happens ‘behind the scenes’. They may be arranging the looting
of staff’s salaries (or partial wage theft) under the guise of “pension”. █
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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠠⠄⢲⡿⢿⣵⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢹⢷⣻⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿
⠀⠀⠀⣀⣀⣀⣀⣀⣀⣀⣀⣀⣀⡀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⡗⢽⢟⣽⢾⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿
⠀⠀⣾⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠈⠂⠀⠉⠉⠈⢻⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿
⠀⠀⠈⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠁⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠠⠰⠌⣻⣧⣥⣮⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠐⠀⠐⠙⠓⠿⠏⠻⠻⠿⠟⠿⠿⠿⠻⠿⠿⠻⠻⠿⠟⡿⠻⠿⠿⠿⢿⠿⠿⠿⡿⠿⡿⣿⢿⢿⣿⡿⠿⠿⠿⡿⢿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠂⠀⠀⠠⠐⠠⠺⠂⠖⠒⠶⠒⠲⢶⠶⠶⠶⠶⠳⡶⠶⠶⡶⠶⠶⠶⠶⠷⠶⡤⣦⣤⣦⣤⡧⢾⣴⢦⣧⣤⣤⡴⣤⡤⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠂⠐⠀⠐⠖⠢⠀⠰⠔⠶⠖⠶⠶⠶⠶⠶⡖⢶⠖⠶⠷⠶⠶⢧⠶⠴⡶⠶⢶⠤⣧⢤⣤⢶⣴⡤⢤⣤⣴⣤⣧⣤⢧⢄⣧⣥⣦⣤⣽⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠒⠢⠐⠐⠐⠲⠒⠰⠖⠶⠶⠶⠶⠷⠶⢶⠶⠶⠷⠶⢦⠴⢶⢴⢶⢦⢶⣵⣤⣤⣤⣤⣧⡤⣤⣤⢤⣤⣤⣼⣤⡼⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠂⠀⠴⠐⡠⠐⡠⡆⠔⠦⣴⣶⣦⣧⣶⣶⣷⣶⣾⣶⣶⣶⣶⣶⣶⣴⣦⣬⣤⣴⣦⣴⣤⣴⣤⣤⣤⣤⣤⣤⣤⣤⣤⣧⣤⣤⣤⣤⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠁⠄⠆⠠⠂⠤⠃⠁⢀⣼⣻⡿⡿⢿⢽⣿⣿⣿⡿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿
⣿⣿⣏⠙⠛⡟⠛⢻⠛⠛⠛⠛⠛⠛⠛⢿⠛⠿⢿⠛⠿⠻⠿⠿⠻⡿⡟⠻⠿⡿⠿⣿⢿⠿⠿⡿⡿⠿⠿⠿⢿⢿⠿⡿⡿⡿⢿⡿⣿⣿⣾⣿⣾⣿⣷⣾⣾⣾⣿⣷⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿
⣿⣿⡟⠛⠛⠛⠛⠛⠻⠛⢻⠛⡛⢻⠛⠚⠛⡟⠟⠛⠻⠻⣟⠻⠿⡟⠿⠿⠟⡷⢺⠶⡻⠾⠷⠷⡶⠾⢿⠶⢶⠾⡶⠷⡾⡶⢶⢶⣾⣾⣾⣶⣮⣷⣶⣿⣤⣤⣤⣼⣤⣤⣤⣤⣄⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿
⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣷⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣾⣿⣿⣾⣾⣾⣿⣶⣶⣾⣶⣶⣾⣶⣾⣶⣶⣶⣿⣾⣶⣶⣷⣶⣶⣿⣾⣶⣶⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿
⣿⣿⣿⡙⠛⠉⠛⢛⠛⠋⠛⠛⠛⠛⠛⠛⠟⠛⠟⠛⢻⠻⠛⠛⢛⠻⠻⡿⣻⡿⠿⡿⠿⠿⠛⠟⠻⠻⢿⡿⠿⠿⠿⠿⡿⡿⠿⠿⢿⢿⣿⣿⡿⣿⢿⣿⡿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿
⣿⣿⣿⡛⠛⠛⣟⡛⠛⠛⢍⠛⠛⡛⠻⠛⠛⠛⠛⠛⠛⠛⠛⠚⠛⠻⠛⢟⡻⡿⠿⠾⡾⠷⠶⠷⠶⡶⠶⠷⠶⢶⠺⠶⠷⠶⠶⣷⠶⠶⢾⢷⢷⣿⣶⢶⣶⣴⣦⣷⣥⣴⡧⣤⣧⣤⣥⣮⣼⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿
⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣷⣶⣶⣶⣶⣶⣶⣶⣶⣶⣶⣶⣶⣶⣶⣶⣶⣶⣶⣶⣶⣶⣾⣶⣶⣾⣷⣾⣶⣶⣷⣶⣤⣬⣤⣤⣬⣤⣤⣤⣤⣬⣬⣤⣤⣽⣤⣤⣶⣦⣤⣭⣤⣽⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿
⣿⣿⣯⠉⡉⠛⠛⢻⠛⡛⡏⠙⠛⠛⠛⠛⠋⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿
⣿⣿⣯⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣷⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿
⣿⣿⡿⡙⢛⠋⡉⠉⠋⢻⠙⠙⠛⠋⠻⠉⠋⠛⡟⠛⢛⠛⠛⠛⠛⠛⡟⠛⠻⠻⠿⢻⠛⠿⢿⠿⠿⡟⠿⠿⢿⠿⠿⢿⠿⠿⠿⠿⠿⠿⡿⠿⣿⣿⡿⣿⢿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿
⣿⣿⡛⠛⠛⡟⠻⠛⠻⠟⠿⢿⠿⢿⠿⠛⠿⢿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣶⣾⣿⣿⣿⣷⣿⣷⣷⣷⣶⣷⣾⣶⣶⣶⣶⣶⣶⣶⣶⣶⣶⣶⣾⣷⣷⣾⣦⣤⣤⣤⣦⣥⣤⣷⣤⣤⣬⣬⣾⣬⣽⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿
⣽⣷⣻⣿⣾⣿⣷⣾⣶⣶⣶⣾⣶⣶⣶⣶⣶⣾⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿
⣿⣿⡇⡆⠒⠂⠐⠒⢲⠓⠛⠛⠛⢻⣿⡏⢻⠛⠿⠟⡏⠍⠭⠭⠭⣭⣭⣭⣭⣽⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿
⣿⡿⡃⡍⠩⠭⠩⠭⠍⠭⠭⡍⠭⠩⢭⡅⠭⠬⠥⡬⡥⢤⠶⠿⠶⢿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿
⣷⣿⣧⢷⣶⣶⣶⣶⣶⣶⣶⣒⣒⣒⣚⣃⣒⣒⣒⣒⣒⣚⣒⣛⣒⣚⣛⣛⣛⣻⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿
⣿⣿⡿⠿⠿⢿⠿⢿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡿⢿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿
⣿⣿⣧⣶⣴⣦⣴⣦⣤⣤⣦⣤⣼⣤⣤⣤⣼⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿
⣿⣿⡿⠿⠿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⢿⣿⢿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿
⣿⣿⡷⠷⠶⠧⢶⣤⣦⠤⠤⢼⣤⣼⢤⠤⣤⣤⡤⣤⣼⣤⣤⣤⣏⣤⣤⣾⣤⣭⣩⣍⣩⣉⣏⣩⣁⣏⣉⣉⣍⣉⣉⣉⣉⣩⣋⣏⣉⣛⣉⣙⡛⣋⡛⢻⠋⠛⢛⢻⠛⢻⡛⢟⠛⠻⡟⠻⠿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿
⣿⡿⣧⣴⣤⣴⣤⣤⣬⣦⣧⣤⣴⣼⣤⣤⣦⣼⣤⣼⣤⣼⣤⣤⣵⣧⣵⣧⣬⣬⣭⣦⣈⣉⣏⣉⣉⣏⣉⣉⣉⣉⣉⡉⡏⣉⣫⣛⣩⡛⣻⣙⢛⡟⡛⠛⢻⢛⣛⠛⠛⠿⠻⢻⠻⠷⡟⠻⠿⠿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿
⣿⣿⡿⠿⣿⣿⣿⡿⣿⣿⢿⣿⣿⣿⢿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣷⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣷⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿
⣿⣿⡧⣶⣤⢤⣤⡤⡤⣾⡤⣼⡤⣤⣤⣴⣤⣤⣤⣼⣶⣥⣤⣼⣤⣬⣽⣽⣤⣅⣹⣁⣉⣉⣉⣉⣉⣋⣉⣉⣉⣙⣛⣏⣹⣽⣛⢻⣛⣻⣛⡟⢛⠛⠛⢻⠛⡛⠛⣻⡻⠻⣿⠟⢿⠿⡿⠻⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿
⣿⣿⣷⣤⣴⣤⠤⣥⣤⣧⣤⣼⣤⣤⣼⡠⣤⣼⣦⣤⣤⣧⣾⣤⣬⣽⣬⣽⣻⣉⣉⣉⣉⣉⣭⣩⡟⣩⣙⣹⣙⣍⢛⡩⡛⡛⡿⣏⢹⢛⠛⢻⠛⠛⠙⣟⢻⠛⠛⢻⠻⢿⣿⢿⠟⠿⢶⢷⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿
⣿⣿⡧⣤⣴⣤⣤⣤⣴⣤⣤⣤⣤⣤⣥⣤⣦⣤⣤⣎⣤⣵⣤⣦⣩⣡⣈⣉⣁⣉⣏⣍⣹⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿
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䷩ 𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚎 1668
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Gemini_version_available_♊︎
✐ Links_28/02/2023:_Apache_OpenOffice_4.1.13_and_GIMP_2.10.34_Released⠀✐
Posted in News_Roundup at 10:38 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz
🄸🄼🄰🄶🄴 🄳🄴🅂🄲🅁🄸🄿🅃🄸🄾🄽 ⦇GNOME bluefish⦈
§ Contents⠀➾
* GNU/Linux
o Desktop/Laptop
o Server
o Audiocasts/Shows
o Kernel_Space
o Applications
o Instructionals/Technical
o WINE_or_Emulation
o Games
o Desktop_Environments/WMs
# K_Desktop_Environment/KDE_SC/Qt
* Distributions_and_Operating_Systems
o New_Releases
o Fedora_Family_/_IBM
o Debian_Family
o Canonical/Ubuntu_Family
o Open_Hardware/Modding
o Mobile_Systems/Mobile_Applications
* Free,_Libre,_and_Open_Source_Software
o Productivity_Software/LibreOffice/Calligra
o GNU_Projects
o Licensing_/_Legal
o Programming/Development
# Perl_/_Raku
o Standards/Consortia
* Leftovers
o Hardware
o Health/Nutrition/Agriculture
o Proprietary
o Security
# Privacy/Surveillance
o Defence/Aggression
o Environment
# Energy/Transportation
o Finance
o AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics
o Censorship/Free_Speech
o Civil_Rights/Policing
o Internet_Policy/Net_Neutrality
o Monopolies
# Patents
# Trademarks
* Gemini*_and_Gopher
o Personal
o Technical
* § GNU/Linux⠀➾
o § Desktop/Laptop⠀➾
# ⚓ Linux Gizmos ☛ Rockchip_RK3588_based_Mini-PCs_feature_touch
screen_display_and_dual_GbE⠀⇛
Indiegogo recently featured two Mini-PCs
integrating the Rockchip RK3568 multi-core
processor. The PlanetPC XR series Mini-PCs can be
configured with up to 32GB RAM, 256GB Flash, 2x
GbE, Wi-Fi/BL connectivity, SSD support and both
models run on Ubuntu 20.04.
The XR1 is described as an entry level Mini-PC
integrating a Quad-core Arm Cortex-A55 RK3568
processor clocked at 2.0GHz, an ARM G52 2EE GPU and
a [email protected] NPU.
# ⚓ PlanetPC_XR’s_series_of_computers_are_a_Linux-powered
alternative_to_the_Mac_mini⠀⇛
Computers come in all shapes and sizes, where there
are some who prefer having a PC with a large
chassis for better cooling, the ability to fit
larger motherboards and GPUs, while others might
prefer something small that can just sit on their
desk and don’t take up too much room.
# ⚓ Geeky Gadgets ☛ PlanetPC_XR_touchscreen_Linux_mini_PC⠀⇛
If you are in the market for a Linux mini PC you
might be interested in a new Indiegogo crowd
funding campaign launched by the team at Planets
Computers based in the United Kingdom. Their latest
creation features a 16 LED RGB light array and
integrated HD color touchscreen together with
microphone and stereo speakers.
Before pledging your funds however it might be
worth your while checking out the previous projects
by the company which still seem to be outstanding
for some even years after funding was successfully
raised. If you are still interested in risking your
hard earned cash more details are available over on
the official Indiegogo project page by following
the link below.
# ⚓ Is_Linux_a_Good_Alternative_to_Windows?⠀⇛
Choosing an operating system is one of the most
important decisions a user has to make. And whereas
it is pretty easy when it comes to mobile devices –
you are basically forced to use iOS on iPhones or
Android on (almost) every other phone – on the
desktop the case is not that simple.
In a nutshell, the OS market gives you 3 main
options: Windows, MacOS and Linux. Of course, every
‘family’ of operating systems has many distinctive
versions, but to put it simply, it is safe to say
that within a Windows or Linux brand, all of them
are based on the same virtues and their heart pumps
similar digital blood.
# ⚓ Ubuntubuzz ☛ Collection_Of_System76_Laptop_Reviews_2009-
2014⠀⇛
This is a list of reviews of System76 laptop and
desktop computers by different authors for five
years from 2009 to 2014. We managed to collect
reviews of several System76 models ranging from
Serval, Galago, Gazelle, Lemur, Pangolin, to Bonobo
Pro with various Intel technologies from Core 2 Duo
to generations of i7 with various graphics
processors from HD Graphics, Iris Pro to NVIDIA GTX
Mobile. We summarized every review by its
specifications, battery hour, and the author’s
conclusion and linked to every original website so
you can read further. We hope this really helps
everyone considering then purchasing GNU/Linux-
preinstalled branded computers suitable for them.
Please read on and look forward for the next
collection too. Happy reading!
# ⚓ GamingOnLinux ☛ Kubuntu_Focus_announce_the_second-gen_mini
desktop_Focus_NX⠀⇛
Need some power in a small box with full Linux
support? The Kubuntu Focus team recently revealed
their second-generation Focus NX. This is a small
form factor desktop that comes with Kubuntu (KDE
Plasma desktop) 22.04 LTS.
o § Server⠀➾
# ⚓ The Next Platform ☛ Japan_Buys_Supercomputer_Just_To
Predict_Torrential_Downpours⠀⇛
You know that climate change is a problem when a
supercomputer to do short-term prediction of the
formation of linear rainbands and the torrential
downpours that they cause is 3.4X as powerful as
the machines that do the day-to-day weather
forecasting in a country.
o § Audiocasts/Shows⠀➾
# ⚓ Video ☛ Which_Linux_Distro_Should_You_Pick?_–_Invidious⠀⇛
With countless distributions of Linux available,
which one should you pick for your computer?
# ⚓ Video ☛ How_to_install_Notepadqq_on_Linux_Lite_6.2_–
Invidious⠀⇛
In this video, we are looking at how to install
Notepadqq on Linux Lite 6.2.
# ⚓ Video ☛ How_to_install_Athena_OS_2023.02.20_–_Invidious⠀⇛
In this video, I am going to show how to install
Athena OS 2023.02.20.
o § Kernel Space⠀➾
# ⚓ Slashdot ☛ Asahi_Linux_Disputes_Report_That_Linux_6.2_Will
Run_on_Apple_M1_Chips [Ed: ZDNET spreads lies.]⠀⇛
# ⚓ LWN ☛ A_Linux-on-M1_update_[LWN.net]⠀⇛
The Asahi Linux project has posted an update and
reality check on the status of Linux support for
Apple’s M1 hardware.
# ⚓ Asahi_Linux⠀⇛
There is an ongoing news cycle about Linux 6.2
being the first kernel to support the M1, started
by ZDNET. This article is misleading and borderline
false.
You will not be able to run Ubuntu nor any other
standard distro with 6.2 on any M1 Mac. Please
don’t get your hopes up.
# ⚓ Ars Technica ☛ Linux_is_not_exactly_“ready_to_run”_on_Apple
silicon,_but_give_it_time⠀⇛
It’s an odd thing to see the leaders of an
impressive open source project ask the press and
their followers to please calm down and stop
celebrating their accomplishments.
But that’s the situation the Asahi Linux team finds
itself in after many reports last week that the
recently issued Linux 6.2 kernel made Linux “ready
to run” on Apple’s M-series hardware. It is true
that upstream support for Apple’s M1 chips is
present in 6.2 and that the 6.2 kernel will
gradually make its way into many popular
distributions, including Ubuntu and Fedora. Work on
Apple’s integrated GPU by the four-person Asahi
core team has come remarkably far. And founder
Linus Torvalds himself is particularly eager to see
Linux running on his favorite portable hardware,
going so far as to issue a kernel in August 2022
from an M2 MacBook Air.
But the builders of the one Linux system that runs
pretty well on Apple silicon are asking everybody
to please just give it a moment.
# ⚓ It’s FOSS ☛ SSDFS_is_a_New_Linux_Filesystem_for_NVMe_ZNS
SSDs⠀⇛
ZNS stands for ‘Zoned Namespaces’; it is a
relatively new command set for NVMe SSDs that
exposes a zoned block storage interface between the
host and the SSD, allowing it to align the data
better.
To complement that, a new Linux file system ‘SSDFS’
has been proposed to be included in the kernel by a
developer that aims to leverage ZNS for lower I/
O latency, reduced write amplification, prolonged
SSD lifetime, and more.
Let’s take a look at it.
# ⚓ Ubuntu Pit ☛ XanMod_Linux_Kernel_6.2.1_Released:_What’s
New⠀⇛
If you’re searching for an exceptional Linux kernel
distribution that will guarantee a steady and
efficient desktop experience, look no further than
XanMod.
o § Applications⠀➾
# ⚓ 9to5Linux ☛ FFmpeg_6.0_“Von_Neumann”_Released_with_Radiance
HDR_Image_Support,_New_Decoders⠀⇛
Dubbed “Von Neumann,” FFmpeg 6.0 is here more than
a year after FFmpeg 5.0 “Lorentz” and introduces
several new features like support for the Radiance
HDR (RGBE) image format, VA-API (Video Acceleration
API) decoding and encoding for 10bit and 12bit 422/
444 HEVC and VP9 streams, as well as a new mode to
the cropdetect filter to allow it to detect crop-
area based on motion vectors and edges.
FFmpeg 6.0 also introduces support for the WBMP
(Wireless Application Protocol Bitmap) image
format, NVEC AV1 encoding support, oneVPL support
for QSV, and support for the filtergraph syntax in
FFmpeg’s command line interface to pass file
contents as option values by prefixing the option
name with ‘/’.
o § Instructionals/Technical⠀➾
# ⚓ H2S Media ☛ How_to_install_PHP_Imagemagick_on_Ubuntu
22.04⠀⇛
Are you a web developer looking for ways to enhance
your PHP scripts with image manipulation
capabilities? If so, then the Imagick PHP module is
likely one of the tools you should add to your
arsenal.
# ⚓ H2S Media ☛ Learn_ROS_Noetic_installation_on_Ubuntu_20.04
LTS⠀⇛
Introduction Robotics is one of the fastest-growing
areas which will change everything around us and
also it not showing any signs of slowing down.
# ⚓ HowTo Forge ☛ How_to_Setup_IKEv2_IPSec_VPN_Using_strongSwan
and_Let’s_Encrypt_on_Rocky_Linux_9⠀⇛
In this tutorial, you will learn how to set up an
IKEv2 IPSec VPN using strongSwan using EAP-MSCHAPv2
authentication along with Let’s Encrypt SSL
certificates on a Rocky Linux 9 server. You will
also learn how to connect to the VPN using Windows,
macOS, Linux, and Android clients.
# ⚓ Linux Capable ☛ How_to_Install_Cinnamon_Desktop_Environment
on_Fedora_Linux⠀⇛
Cinnamon is a free, open-source desktop environment
developed by the Linux Mint team. It is based on
the GNOME desktop environment but comes with a
unique and intuitive user interface designed to be
user-friendly and customizable.
# ⚓ Linux Capable ☛ How_to_Install_and_Enable_SSH_on_Fedora
Linux⠀⇛
Secure Shell, commonly called SSH, is a network
protocol that allows secure remote access and
management of Linux servers. Its strong encryption
and authentication features have gained popularity
over older unsecure methods such as Telnet and FTP.
# ⚓ Linux Capable ☛ How_to_Install_GitLab_on_Debian_11_or_10⠀⇛
GitLab is a web-based Git repository management
tool that provides a complete DevOps platform,
enabling teams to collaborate on projects easily.
It is an open-source application that offers
various features, such as continuous integration/
continuous deployment (CI/CD), version control, and
issue tracking.
# ⚓ Linux Capable ☛ Improving_MySQL_Performance:_A_Guide_to
Using_MySQL_Tuner⠀⇛
MySQL Tuner is a popular open-source tool for
analyzing and optimizing the performance of MySQL
servers. The tool provides recommendations for
improving the configuration of your MySQL server
based on its analysis of key metrics and
statistics.
# ⚓ Linux Capable ☛ How_to_Install_Slack_on_Fedora_Linux⠀⇛
Slack is a cloud-based team collaboration tool that
has gained widespread popularity for its ability to
streamline communication and increase productivity
in the workplace.
# ⚓ Ubuntu Handbook ☛ KDE_Plasma_5.27_Available_to_Install_in_
(K)Ubuntu_via_PPA⠀⇛
The latest KDE Plasma Desktop 5.27 was released 2
weeks ago. (K)Ubuntu 22.10 based systems can now
get it via KUbuntu Backport PPA. And, KUbuntu 23.04
will ship with Plasma 5.27 by default.
# ⚓ Linux Capable ☛ How_to_Install_Python_3.8_on_Ubuntu_22.04
or_20.04⠀⇛
Python 3.8 is an older release of the Python
programming language that is now in security
maintenance. Despite being an older release, Python
3.8 is still widely used and is known for its
simplicity, flexibility, and readability.
# ⚓ Linux Capable ☛ How_to_Install_Prometheus_on_Ubuntu_22.04
or_20.04⠀⇛
Prometheus is an open-source monitoring and
alerting system that helps you track the
performance and health of your systems,
applications, and services. Originally developed at
SoundCloud, Prometheus has become one of the most
popular monitoring tools in the industry, used by
companies such as Airbnb, DigitalOcean, and Red
Hat.
# ⚓ Make Tech Easier ☛ How_to_Display_Information_on_Your_Linux
Desktop_With_Conky⠀⇛
If you’ve ever spent time browsing a Linux
community on Reddit, Twitter, or other social
networks, you might have noticed some beautifully-
made screenshots of sleek-looking systems where the
time, date, and other information about the system
are on full display in the desktop. To do this on
your system, you need to to master one of the most
useful applications in Linux: Conky.
# ⚓ ZDNet ☛ How_to_enable_guest_sessions_on_an_Ubuntu_desktop_|
ZDNET⠀⇛
Your privacy is important and nearly every Linux
distribution is filled with features, tricks, and
underpinnings that take the security of your
information very seriously. Take, for instance, the
idea of the guest session.
The concept is a special login for your operating
system that allows others to use the machine,
without having access to any of your data. At the
same time, no information would be saved between
guest sessions. In other words, anyone could use
your computer, and — once they logged out of the
guest session — any and all data collected during
the session would be automatically trashed.
# ⚓ XDA ☛ Can_the_HP_Dragonfly_Pro_run_Linux?⠀⇛
Unlike other laptop lineups, the HP Dragonfly Pro
series uses both ChromeOS and Windows 11. There’s
the HP Dragonfly Pro Chromebook which runs
ChromeOS, and then the HP Dragonfly Pro, which runs
Windows. But what about Linux? While you can run
Linux on both of these great HP laptops, you’ll
need some workarounds.
On the standard HP Dragonfly Pro, you can
virtualize Linux, run Linux apps with the Windows
Subsystem for Linux, or try to run it in place of
Windows with the risk of driver issues and certain
parts of your device not running right. Then, with
the HP Dragonfly Pro Chromebook, you can run Linux
apps on top of ChromeOS apps. Here’s everything
else you need to know.
# ⚓ Make Tech Easier ☛ How_to_Display_Information_on_Your_Linux
Desktop_With_Conky⠀⇛
If you’ve ever spent time browsing a Linux
community on Reddit, Twitter, or other social
networks, you might have noticed some beautifully-
made screenshots of sleek-looking systems where the
time, date, and other information about the system
are on full display in the desktop. To do this on
your system, you need to to master one of the most
useful applications in Linux: Conky.
o § WINE or Emulation⠀➾
# ⚓ GamingOnLinux ☛ ScummVM_2.7.0_‘The_Real_Slim_Shader’
supports_even_more_classics⠀⇛
ScummVM 2.7.0, The Real Slim Shader, is officially
out now bringing more compatibility for retro
titles to modern platforms so here’s what’s new.
What exactly is ScummVM? To put it simply: it’s a
whole set of different open source game engines
under one roof, with each focusing on a different
type of retro games.
o § Games⠀➾
# ⚓ GamingOnLinux ☛ Building_a_Retro_Linux_Gaming_Computer_–
Part_27:_Lost_Souls⠀⇛
Return to Part 1: Dumpster Diving
# ⚓ GamingOnLinux ☛ Beat_Hazard_3_gets_a_“Huge”_optimization
for_Steam_Deck⠀⇛
Beat Hazard 3 is a music-driven twin-stick shooter
currently in Early Access, and it should now play a
whole lot better on Steam Deck. Released initially
back in November 2022, it still has a good while
left in Early Access so more work is to be done but
some fun stuff landed recently.
# ⚓ GamingOnLinux ☛ Open_source_tabletop_game_simulator_gets_a
second_Beta_release⠀⇛
Free, open source and getting better all the time.
Tabletop Club has a fresh Beta release available
with a whole lot of fixes and improvements.
o § Desktop Environments/WMs⠀➾
# § K Desktop Environment/KDE SC/Qt⠀➾
# ⚓ 9to5Linux ☛ KDE_Plasma_5.27.2_Is_Out_with_Lots_of
Plasma_Wayland_Improvements⠀⇛
Coming only a week after KDE Plasma 5.27.1,
the KDE Plasma 5.27.2 point release is here
to improve the first-time setup experience of
your Plasma desktop by omitting apps that are
pinned to the Task Manager by default but
aren’t installed on your GNU/Linux
distribution so you won’t end up with broken
icons.
KDE Plasma 5.27.2 also brings lots of
improvements for the Plasma Wayland session,
including a fix for a recent regression
causing line artifacts to appear around
panels when using a fractional scale factor,
as well as support for correctly rendering
the mouse cursor in XWayland-using apps when
using a fractional scale factor.
* § Distributions and Operating Systems⠀➾
o § New Releases⠀➾
# ⚓ On_February_27,_2023,_EmmaDE4_1.03_focused_on_parental
control_–_Emmabuntüs⠀⇛
On February 27th 2023, the Emmabuntüs Collective is
happy to announce the release of the Emmabuntüs
Debian Edition 4 1.03 update (32 and 64 bits),
based on the Debian 11.6 Bullseye distribution and
supporting both Xfce and LXQt desktop environments.
This distribution was originally designed to
facilitate the reconditioning of computers donated
to humanitarian organizations, starting with the
Emmaüs communities (which is where the
distribution’s name obviously comes from), to
promote the discovery of GNU/Linux by beginners, as
well as to extend the lifespan of computer
hardware, in order to reduce the waste induced by
the over-consumption of raw materials.
This new update of our distribution adds the
CTparental control, as well as a script to help
install and configure it. This will greatly
simplify the deployment of CTparental for the
parents who want to protect their children against
unsuitable content on the Internet, see our
tutorial presenting the parental control.
o § Fedora Family / IBM⠀➾
# ⚓ GamingOnLinux ☛ Flathub_seeks_funding_to_add_payments,
donations_and_subscriptions⠀⇛
Making the rounds recently is a proposal being made
to add in payments, donations and subscriptions
options to Flathub.
# ⚓ G42_Cloud_announces_availability_of_Red_Hat_Enterprise
Linux_and_Red_Hat_OpenShift_on_G42_Cloud⠀⇛
G42 Cloud, the UAE’s leading Cloud provider,
announced the availability of Red Hat Enterprise
Linux and Red Hat OpenShift on G42 Cloud. This
collaboration will enable public sector and
regional enterprises to seamlessly move their Red
Hat Enterprise Linux and Red Hat OpenShift
workloads to G42 Cloud. As part of the engagement
G42 Cloud has become a Red Hat Certified Cloud and
Service Provider.
The collaboration will further enhance G42 Cloud’s
portfolio through the addition of Red Hat open
hybrid cloud technologies. Customers can now
utilize Red Hat Enterprise Linux and Red Hat
OpenShift on G42 Cloud infrastructure in order to
create an enterprise offering with enhanced
security capabilities for regional customers.
# ⚓ Red Hat Official ☛ Connect_Prometheus_alerts_to_IT_service
management_(ITSM)_workflows⠀⇛
# ⚓ Enterprisers Project ☛ 6_precautions_for_CIOs_to_consider
about_ChatGPT [Ed: Red Hat is once again publishing SPAM for
Microsoft's proprietary junk; second time in this site, makes
Red Hat looks like a division of Microsoft...]⠀⇛
o § Debian Family⠀➾
# ⚓ CNX Software ☛ Armbian_23.02_out_with_Linux_6.1,_DietPi
8.14_adds_experimental_RISC-V_support⠀⇛
Two of the most popular projects providing images
for Arm and RISC-V single board computers have
released new updates with Armbian 23.02 adding
Linux 6.1-based Debian and Ubuntu images, and
DietPi 8.14 adding experimental RISC-V support for
the StarFive VisionFive 2 SBC and new Arm boards.
Linux 6.1 is the latest LTS kernel, so Armbian is
now providing Ubuntu 22.04 Jammy and Debian 11
Bullseye images based on Linux 6.1.y for boards
that support it, as well as the first development
images based on Debian 12 Bookworm and Ubuntu 23.04
Lunar.
I could not find any new boards added in the
changelog, but the release brings several
improvements and bug fixes to some of the already
supported SBCs including the Raspberry Pi 3, Orange
Pi R1 Plus LTS, ROCK Pi S, ROCK Pi 4, NanoPi R2S,
NanoPi NEO3, and Banana Pi BPI-M2 Pro. The
announcement also highlights that Armbian OS works
well on RK3588 with official support for Radxa Rock
5 and Orange Pi 5, albeit some are still using
Linux 5.10.x.
o § Canonical/Ubuntu Family⠀➾
# ⚓ 9to5Linux ☛ Linux_Mint_21.2_Promises_Better_Support_for
Flatpak_Apps,_Faster_File_Management⠀⇛
In Linux Mint 21.2 “Victoria”, the devs promise
better support for Flatpak apps, as well as for
apps using GNOME’s libadwaita library by
implementing support for the xdg-desktop-portal
desktop integration portal and frontend service for
Flatpak and other similar containment frameworks.
This change will make Flatpak and libadwaita-based
apps work seamlessly on all supported desktop
environments, including Cinnamon, Xfce, and MATE,
even if they’re usually written only for the GNOME
desktop environment, and support features like dark
mode and screenshots.
# ⚓ ZDNet ☛ Ubuntu_22.04.2_is_as_predictable_as_an_operating
system_can_be…_and_that’s_a_good_thing_|_ZDNET⠀⇛
When the latest point release of Canonical’s Ubuntu
desktop operating system was made available, it
made me realize that this particular take on Linux
(as well as the mother of all distributions…
Debian) is totally antithetical to much of society.
Let me illustrate this by way of a mobile phone
metaphor. For a very long time, anyone who
designed, created, and manufactured smartphones
understood that every release had to have a serious
“wow” factor. Without that, no one would pay
attention. Why? Because society wants to be wowed,
wooed, and impressed. Society is always looking for
the “latest and greatest,” the thing that makes the
biggest splash and has the most impressive set of
new features.
Those who embrace technology came to expect
projects to come out with new features that would
blow them away. They wanted pomp, circumstance, and
cake (because who doesn’t want cake?).
# ⚓ FOSSLinux ☛ Ubuntu_backup_and_recovery:_Keeping_your_data
safe_and_recovering_lost_data⠀⇛
Backup and recovery are crucial components of any
data management strategy, regardless of whether
you’re dealing with personal files, business data,
or mission-critical applications. Accidental
deletion, hardware failure, theft, cyber-attacks,
and natural disasters are some factors that can
lead to data loss. The consequences can be severe,
ranging from the inconvenience and financial losses
to reputation damage and legal liabilities.
# ⚓ FOSSLinux ☛ Ubuntu_gaming:_A_comprehensive_guide_to_playing
games_on_Linux⠀⇛
Gaming on Linux has come a long way in recent
years, and Ubuntu is one of the most popular Linux
distributions for gaming enthusiasts. With the
right setup, Ubuntu can provide an excellent gaming
experience, offering access to a broad range of
games, including popular titles like Counter-
Strike: Global Offensive, Dota 2, and Rocket
League.
# ⚓ Ubuntu News ☛ Ubuntu_Weekly_Newsletter_Issue_776⠀⇛
Welcome to the Ubuntu Weekly Newsletter, Issue 776
for the week of February 19 – 25, 2023. The full
version of this issue is available here.
# ⚓ Ubuntu Fridge ☛ The_Fridge:_Ubuntu_Weekly_Newsletter_Issue
776⠀⇛
o § Open Hardware/Modding⠀➾
# ⚓ Ubuntubuzz ☛ KiCAD_7_Released⠀⇛
KiCAD is a professional free software application
for electronic design automation (EDA). It is
mainly used for electronic purposes like designing
schematics, electronic circuits and drawing printed
circuit board (PCB). Drawing circuitry with
electronic components like resistors, capacitors,
diode, switch etc. is easy with KiCAD. It includes
important tools to create a bill of materials
(BoM), artwork, Gerber files, and 3D views of the
PCB and its components. It is licensed under GNU
GPLv3 or later license. Its website is https://
www.kicad.org.
# ⚓ Tom’s Hardware ☛ Raspberry_Pi_Helps_TRS-80_Model_102_Deploy
Kubernetes⠀⇛
The TRS-80 Model 102 is a classic computer from the
mid-1980s and with the help of a Raspberry Pi and
an ESP32 it is capable of much more exciting
things.
# ⚓ Raspberry Pi ☛ Raspberry_Pi_Backpack⠀⇛
Portability is one of the great benefits of owning
a small, yet powerful, computer such as Raspberry
Pi. So long as you have a screen and keyboard to
hand, you can pop one into your bag and take it on
your travels. Or, as Nicholas Hacault has shown,
you can actually make Raspberry Pi a feature of
your bag and gain instant access to it wherever you
go.
Nicholas came up with the idea when he was looking
for a way of transporting a Linux device. At first,
he considered running a virtual machine on his
laptop. “But that sounded like too easy a
solution,” he says. “Since I was already bringing a
bag to school, I figured that a backpack would be
the perfect housing for my project.” With the idea
in the bag, he was ready to get going.
o § Mobile Systems/Mobile Applications⠀➾
# ⚓ Hindustan Times ☛ 5_Best_hidden_features_Android_users
should_know_about_|_How-to⠀⇛
# ⚓ Geeky Gadgets ☛ How_to_check_your_screen_time_on_Android_–
Geeky_Gadgets⠀⇛
# ⚓ The Sun ☛ Millions_of_Android_users_warned_over_mysterious
‘cursed’_YouTube_video_–_don’t_watch_it_|_The_US_Sun⠀⇛
# ⚓ TheHinduBusinessLine ☛ Not_stopping_rivals_from_getting
pre-installed_OVHP_Apps_in_Android_phones,_Google_tells_NCLAT
–_The_Hindu_BusinessLine⠀⇛
# ⚓ Express ☛ Motorola’s_rollable_phone_fixes_massive_issue
with_big_Android_devices_|_Express.co.uk⠀⇛
* § Free, Libre, and Open Source Software⠀➾
o ⚓ XenSummit_2023_announced!⠀⇛
The annual Xen Project Developer and Design Summit 2023
will be held 24-26 June.
o ⚓ EIN Presswire ☛ Linux_Foundation’s_LF_Edge_and_Open_Grid_Alliance
Collaborate_on_Accelerating_Innovation_for_Reimagining_the_Edge⠀⇛
o ⚓ The Register UK ☛ Pop_open_a_cask:_Homebrew_version_4.0.0_is_here
[Ed: Can work with GNU/Linux too]⠀⇛
Homebrew is a handy tool if you work in a terminal window
on a Mac, which lets you quickly and easily install a
wide variety of familiar tools from the wider FOSS world.
The add-on package manager doesn’t need superuser
permissions and installs programs into your home
directory: it “does for macOS what apt-get does for
Debian”. The new version 4.0.0 is faster than before,
especially when it comes to the update process.
o ⚓ GamingOnLinux ☛ Wayland_driver_for_Wine_is_getting_closer⠀⇛
Back late last year, Collabora developer Alexandros
Frantzis blogged about a whole lot of work going into
getting full Wayland support for Wine and now a big first
step towards it being included in Wine is happening.
o § Productivity Software/LibreOffice/Calligra⠀➾
# ⚓ LibreOffice_installer_improvements_coming,_thanks_to_Ximena
Alcaman,_Rachael_Odetayo_and_Outreachy⠀⇛
Today we’re talking to Ximena Alcaman, who is
working on LibreOffice installer improvements as
part of the Outreachy programme. Outreachy provides
internships to people subject to systemic bias and
impacted by underrepresentation in the technical
industry where they are living.
Ximena is working alongside Rachael Odetayo on the
LibreOffice installer, and is being mentored by
Marina Latini and Jussi Pakkanen, with support from
sponsors SUSE and The Document Foundation. Let’s
learn more…
# ⚓ Ubuntubuzz ☛ LibreOffice_7.5_ReleasedLibreOffice_7.5
Released⠀⇛
LibreOffice is a cross-platform, free libre open
source software (FOSS) office suite from Germany
developed by worldwide community under stewardship
of a non-profit organization. It was originally
developed from OpenOffice.org in 2010, first
released in 2011 and the latest version 7.5
released in 2023. It is consisted of six
applications namely Base (database), Calc
(spreadsheet), Draw (illustrator), Impress
(presentation), Math (equation editor), and Writer
(word processor). It is mostly viewed as an
alternative to Microsoft Office or Google Docs. It
is the de facto office suite on all GNU/Linux
operating systems especially Ubuntu. Its website is
https://libreoffice.org.
# ⚓ AOO_4.1.14_Release_Notes⠀⇛
Apache OpenOffice 4.1.14 is a Maintenance release,
incorporating bug fixes and little enhancements.
All users of Apache OpenOffice 4.1.13 or earlier
are advised to upgrade. You can download Apache
OpenOffice 4.1.14 here. Windows 10 and 11 users can
now also get Apache OpenOffice for selected
languages in the “Microsoft Store” App.
Please review these Release Notes to learn what is
new in this version, as well as important remarks
concerning known issues and their workarounds.
Only use the original website “https://
www.openoffice.org/download/” to download. The
installed software can be verified with the About
box (see menu “Help – About OpenOffice”) by
comparing the numbers with the reference data on
the download webpage (see the text in the light
green box). For Apache OpenOffice 4.1.14 it has to
be “AOO4114m1 | Build ID 9811 | Rev. a0d24fb625″.
o § GNU Projects⠀➾
# ⚓ GNU Image Manipulation Program (GIMP) ☛ GIMP
2.10.34 Released⠀⇛
o § Licensing / Legal⠀➾
# ⚓ [Old] The Verge ☛ The_lawsuit_that_could_rewrite_the_rules
of_AI_copyright⠀⇛
Microsoft and OpenAI are far from alone in scraping
copyrighted material from the web to train AI
systems for profit. Many text-to-image AI, like the
open-source program Stable Diffusion, were created
in exactly the same way. The firms behind these
programs insist that their use of this data is
covered in the US by fair use doctrine. But legal
experts say this is far from settled law and that
litigation like Butterick’s class action lawsuit
could upend the tenuously defined status quo.
To find out more about the motivations and
reasoning behind the lawsuit, we spoke to Butterick
(MB), Manfredi (TM), and Zirpoli (CZ), who
explained why they think we’re in the Napster-era
of AI and why letting Microsoft use other’s code
without attribution could kill the open source
movement.
o § Programming/Development⠀➾
# ⚓ Qt ☛ Qt_Project:_Top_Contributors_of_2022!⠀⇛
So, 2022 was a successful year for Qt – and we
highlight the Qt_6.3 and Qt_6.4 releases, Qt World
Summit, and Qt Contributor Summit.
And our community members keep up with the activity
by writing diligent bug reports, contributing
patches, giving technical advice, or helping out
other users in forums and mailing lists.
# ⚓ Earthly ☛ Go_with_the_Gin_Framework⠀⇛
The Gin framework is one of the popular web
packages in the Go ecosystem for building web
applications. Gin provides most of the
functionalities you’ll need in a web framework
featuring a martini-like API with high performance
and easy error management.
# § Perl / Raku⠀➾
# ⚓ Rakulang ☛ Raku™_documentation⠀⇛
Welcome to the official documentation of the
Raku™ programming language!
o § Standards/Consortia⠀➾
# ⚓ uni Michigan ☛ My_love_for_physical_media_will_never_die⠀⇛
If my current position as a writer on The Michigan
Daily’s Arts section hasn’t already made it
obvious, I love art. Whether it’s books, music,
movies, TV shows or anything in between, chances
are that I have made the media I consume a part of
my personality at some point in my life.
* § Leftovers⠀➾
o ⚓ Tim Bray ☛ Two_ongoing_Decades⠀⇛
Today is the 20th anniversary of the first-ever public
post on this blog (Spoiler: Not that interesting). Some
posts mark milestones: Is This Thing On? (one day), One
ongoing Year, 730 ongoing Days, Thirty-six ongoing
Months, and for the ten-year mark, Birthday!
I just re-read that last ten-years note and I think it’s
good. If you care about this subject at all, do me a
favor and go read it. I’ll wait. Then, a few more words
about doing this in 2023 and into the future.
o § Hardware⠀➾
# ⚓ RFA ☛ Empty_containers_stack_up_at_major_Chinese_ports
after_zero-COVID_effect_lingers⠀⇛
Shipping industry sources say the flow of goods has
reversed direction, with more entering ports than
leaving.
# ⚓ Tom’s Hardware ☛ PC_GPU_Shipments_Drop_35%_Year-over-Year
in_Q4_2022:_Report⠀⇛
As sales of CPUs decrease, shipments of discrete
desktop graphics cards increase in Q4 2022, says
Jon Peddie Research.
o § Health/Nutrition/Agriculture⠀➾
# ⚓ Hong Kong Free Press ☛ BREAKING:_Hong_Kong_axes_Covid-19
mask_mandate_from_March_1_after_over_2.5_years⠀⇛
Hong Kong’s long-standing Covid-19 mask mandate
will be scrapped from Wednesday, Chief Executive
John Lee has announced.
# ⚓ The Straits Times ☛ Hong_Kong_scraps_one_of_the_world’s
longest_Covid-19_mask_mandates_on_March_1⠀⇛
Masks will still need to be worn at high-risk
places including hospitals.
# ⚓ Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Covid-19:_PCR_test_requirement_for
entry_to_Hong_Kong_public_hospitals,_care_homes_axed_from
March_1⠀⇛
Visitors and staff at Hong Kong’s public hospitals
and elderly care homes will no longer need to
present a negative result from a Covid-19
polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test from
Wednesday, the government has announced.
# ⚓ Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Covid-19:_Macau_drops_outdoor_mask
mandate,_as_survey_shows_60%_of_Hongkongers_want_end_to_all
restrictions⠀⇛
Macau’s Covid-19 mask mandate has been partially
lifted, leaving Hong Kong as one of the few
remaining places across the globe to enforce a mask
mandate in all public settings, according to an
expert from the University of Hong Kong (HKU).
# ⚓ Hong Kong Free Press ☛ When_can_Hongkongers_stop_wearing
masks?⠀⇛
This is a question that keeps cropping up in Hong
Kong, which is currently one of the last places in
the world where universal mask wearing in all
public settings is compulsory.
# ⚓ RFA ☛ Falling_short_of_targets,_North_Korean_factories
start_selling_sweet_potatoes⠀⇛
But the food stalls are hurting families who run
small food shops to make ends meet
# ⚓ US News And World Report ☛ North_Korea’s_Kim_Calls_for
Unity_to_Boost_Grain_Production⠀⇛
North Korean ruler Kim Jong Un has called for
stronger public solidarity behind his leadership to
significantly increase grain production
# ⚓ Danish_health_authority_withdraws_Covid-19_pill⠀⇛
The Danish Health Authority (Sundhedsstyrelsen) no
longer recommends the Covid-19 therapeutic medicine
Lagevrio, citing the medicine’s lack of
effectiveness.
# ⚓ The Scientist ☛ How_an_Early_Warning_Radar_Could_Prevent
Future_Pandemics⠀⇛
Metagenomic sequencing can help detect unknown
pathogens, but its widespread use faces challenges.
# ⚓ Vice Media Group ☛ What_‘Low_Confidence’_in_the_Lab_Leak
Theory_Actually_Means⠀⇛
The lab leak theory may turn out to be true, but
we’re nowhere near being able to say that right
now.
# ⚓ Helsinki Times ☛ Over_half_of_Finns_have_both_vaccine_and
disease-induced_COVID-19_antibodies:_Study⠀⇛
Over half of Finns have developed hybrid immunity
to the coronavirus by the end of 2022 through a
combination of vaccination and natural infection,
according to a study conducted by the Finnish
Institute for Health and Welfare (THL). This hybrid
immunity provides long-lasting, high protection
against severe disease.
THL has been monitoring the occurrence of
antibodies produced in response to coronavirus
infection in the population since April 2020.
# ⚓ New Yorker ☛ COVID-19_at_Three:_Who_Got_the_Pandemic
Right?⠀⇛
Dhruv Khullar examines what strategies worked to
control the virus, and talks to the C.D.C.’s
director, Rochelle Walensky, about the issue of
misinformation.
# ⚓ New Yorker ☛ [Satire]_George_Santos_Quickly_Removes_Job_at
Wuhan_Lab_from_Résumé⠀⇛
Speaking to reporters on Capitol Hill, Santos said
that he had “no idea” how the Wuhan job wound up on
his C.V.
# ⚓ New Yorker ☛ Phosphorus_Saved_Our_Way_of_Life—and_Now
Threatens_to_End_It⠀⇛
Fertilizers filled with the nutrient boosted our
ability to feed the planet. Today, they’re creating
vast and growing dead zones in our lakes and seas.
o § Proprietary⠀➾
# ⚓ Data Breaches ☛ How_Offensive_Action_is_Countering
Ransomware⠀⇛
Ransomware attacks have crossed a red line for many
countries with continued merciless attacks. The
threat to national economies and critical
infrastructure marked a turning point. Governments
are fighting back, and one of the strategies now
routinely employed is infiltrating the servers and
infrastructure of ransomware gangs. A recent
offensive action against a top ransomware gang
shows it can be a powerful tool both to rattle
ransomware groups and provide real-time help to
victims.
# ⚓ 37signals LLC ☛ Don’t_be_fooled_by_serverless⠀⇛
But what happens if a customer needs the
performance of a whole box, most of the time? Then
they’re paying $1,400/month for $1,000′s worth of
computing. Or maybe, because they’re reserving the
whole box, they’ll get a deal at $1,250/month by
committing to a whole year. That deal is far less
obviously good on both sides. It’s basically a
credit agreement at a 25% APR. Tread wisely!
Enter serverless. It’s the same financial mechanics
as above, but you can slice the server far more
thinly. Instead of renting out your one big server
to seven customers at $200/month, you rent out
individual function executions to 100 customers at
$20/month. This now clears $1,000/month in profit
instead of just $400/month. No wonder cloud
providers love serverless!
# ⚓ Terence Eden ☛ Responsible_Disclosure:_Abandoned_Buckets
and_Billing_Emails⠀⇛
This is a problem. Amazon doesn’t reserve bucket
names after they’re abandoned. Which means digital
miscreants can claim them.
# ⚓ Data Breaches ☛ 553_days_from_discovery_to_notification?
DataBreaches_asked_Dental_Health_Management_Solutions_why.⠀⇛
Why did it take 553 days from discovery to notify
patients? Is the delay acceptable? Applying the
standards for HIPAA-covered entities, and having
reported on many breaches by now, DataBreaches
believes a delay that long is not acceptable unless
there are factors we do not know about in play.
DataBreaches sent inquiries to both DHMS and their
external counsel at Wilson Elser to ask for an
explanation for the serious delay. No replies have
been received.
o § Security⠀➾
# ⚓ Danish_hospital_websites_targeted_in_cyber_attack⠀⇛
A hacker group took nine Danish hospital websites
offline on Sunday afternoon, following a similar
attack on Danish airports last Wednesday, and
another in Sweden.
# ⚓ LWN ☛ Security_updates_for_Monday_[LWN.net]⠀⇛
Security updates have been issued by Debian (apr-
util, freeradius, mono, nodejs, php7.3, php7.4, and
python-cryptography), Fedora (epiphany, haproxy,
and podman), SUSE (chromium, libraw, php7, php74,
python-pip, and rubygem-activerecord-4_2), and
Ubuntu (apr, clamav, curl, intel-microcode, nss,
openvswitch, webkit2gtk, and zoneminder).
# § Privacy/Surveillance⠀➾
# ⚓ Light Blue Touchpaper ☛ Bugs_still_considered
harmful⠀⇛
A number of governments are trying to mandate
surveillance software in devices that support
end-to-end encrypted chat; the EU’s CSA
Regulation and the UK’s Online Safety bill
being two prominent current examples.
# ⚓ Vice Media Group ☛ US_Military_Signs_Contract_to_Put
Facial_Recognition_on_Drones⠀⇛
Operators will use the tech on small drones
to help them with intelligence gathering,
reconnaissance, and identifying targets.
# ⚓ Vice Media Group ☛ Top_Kickboxers_Advertised
Encrypted_Phones_Used_by_Organized_Crime⠀⇛
Dutch police hacked and shutdown Exclu, a
phone network used by alleged criminals. A
promotional video shows professional fighters
promoting the phones.
# ⚓ Vice Media Group ☛ This_Hacker_Hoodie_Uses
Surveillance_Camera_Parts_to_Blind_Surveillance
Cameras⠀⇛
The ‘Camera Shy Hoodie’ renders its wearer
anonymous to night vision surveillance
cameras, using infrared LEDs usually found in
the cameras themselves.
o § Defence/Aggression⠀➾
# ⚓ France24 ☛ ‘They_burned_everything’:_Israeli_settlers_torch
Palestinian_homes,_cars_after_West_Bank_attack⠀⇛
Palestinians in the occupied West Bank on Monday
counted the cost of deadly violence and arson by
Israeli settlers targeting a town where two Israeli
brothers were killed.
# ⚓ RFERL ☛ Moldova_Expels_Two_Foreigners_Caught_In_Alleged
‘Destabilization’_Plot⠀⇛
Moldova’s intelligence agency said on February 27
that two foreign nationals have been expelled from
the country and banned from returning for 10 years
after they were caught carrying out “subversive
actions” to destabilize Moldova.
# ⚓ RFERL ☛ Canada_Slaps_Sanctions_On_Dozen_Iranian_Officials
Linked_to_IRGC,_Law_Enforcement⠀⇛
The Canadian government has imposed sanctions on 12
senior officials from Iran’s IRGC and Law
Enforcement Forces for “gross violations of human
rights” in a deadly crackdown on protesters angered
by the death of a young woman while in police
custody for allegedly wearing a head scarf
improperly.
# ⚓ US News And World Report ☛ TikTok_Banned_on_All_Canadian
Government_Mobile_Devices⠀⇛
Canada is banning TikTok from all government-issued
mobile devices, reflecting widening worries from
Western officials over the Chinese-owned video
sharing app
# ⚓ RFERL ☛ Turkey’s_NATO_Talks_With_Sweden_And_Finland_Set_To
Resume_On_March_9⠀⇛
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu says
talks with Sweden and Finland over their NATO
membership bids would resume on March 9, although
he said Sweden had still not fulfilled its
obligations under a memorandum signed last year.
# ⚓ teleSUR ☛ Hungary_Welcomes_Chinese_Plan_for_Peace_in
Ukraine⠀⇛
“We need a ceasefire and the start of peace talks,
Hungary calls for peace in all international
forums,” Viktor Orban said.
# ⚓ teleSUR ☛ China_Slams_US_Sanctions_on_Chinese_Firms_Related
to_Russia⠀⇛
Washington set sanctions using non-existent
shipments of Chinese arms to Russia as a pretext.
# ⚓ Helsinki Times ☛ Hungary_wants_answers:_Demands_UN
investigation_into_Nord_Stream_pipeline_attack⠀⇛
Hungary is calling for a UN investigation into the
“scandalous” attack on the Nord Stream pipelines
that journalist Seymour Hersh has asserted were
destroyed by the United States. The pipelines,
which connected Russia to Germany, were sabotaged
last September, leading to a state of dependence on
US energy and prompting European countries to
support the escalation of the war in Ukraine.
# ⚓ Helsinki Times ☛ Always_look_on_the_bright_side_–_costs_of
NATO_membership⠀⇛
Nearly a year ago I was writing a trilogy of
articles for Helsinki Times outlining the problems
and risks for Finland joining NATO.
Groupthink clearly prevailed when making the
decision to join. Irving Janis who developed the
concept years before warned that when decision
makers look inward and invest in a perspective that
is biased in favour of their own world view without
sufficient recognition of other viewpoints, then it
leads to poor and damaging decisions.
# ⚓ YLE ☛ Record_number_switch_from_reserve_to_civilian
service⠀⇛
The civilian service says it attributes the spike
in applications to Russia’s war in Ukraine.
# ⚓ YLE ☛ Turkey_to_resume_Nato_talks_with_Finland,_Sweden⠀⇛
Turkey may separate Finnish and Swedish membership
bids, according to Reuters.
# ⚓ TruthOut ☛ Human_Rights_Groups_Condemn_Settler_Pogrom
Against_Palestinians_in_West_Bank⠀⇛
# ⚓ The Dissenter ☛ March_To_Iraq_War,_20_Years_Later:_February
27,_2003⠀⇛
o § Environment⠀➾
# ⚓ Omicron Limited ☛ Far-reaching_UN_treaty_a_must_to_cut
global_plastic_use:_experts⠀⇛
On current trends, plastic use will nearly double
from 2019 across G20 countries by 2050, reaching
451 million tonnes each year, according to the
report, jointly produced by Economist Impact and
The Nippon Foundation.
In 1950, only two million tonnes of plastic were
produced worldwide.
“The findings highlight the level of ambition and
the sense of urgency needed at the negotiation
table,” co-author Gillian Parker told AFP.
# ⚓ Copenhagen Post ☛ Nord_Stream_explosions_severely_impacted
maritime_life_–_report⠀⇛
They released sediment containing toxic substances
that could potentially kill off several maritime
populations, including Baltic Sea cod and
porpoises, which both had breeding grounds close to
the blast zones.
# ⚓ France24 ☛ Antarctic_sea_ice_shrinks_to_new_record_low,_US
data_center_says⠀⇛
Antarctic sea ice likely shrunk to a record low
last week, US researchers said Monday, its lowest
extent in the 45 years of satellite record-keeping.
# ⚓ The Age AU ☛ ‘Should_send_shockwaves’:_ASIC_sues_Mercer
Super_in_greenwashing_crackdown⠀⇛
The financial market regulator says Mercer was
investing in companies such as BHP and AGL while
marketing an investment product as being suitable
for members who “are deeply committed to
sustainability”.
# § Energy/Transportation⠀➾
# ⚓ H2 View ☛ Australia_to_review_National_Hydrogen
Strategy_in_response_to_global_policy_support⠀⇛
The Australian Government looks set to review
its National Hydrogen Strategy in response to
global policy changes to support the hydrogen
industry.
# ⚓ Renewable Energy World ☛ Battery_recycler_Li-Cycle
Holdings_inks_$375m_DOE_loan_pledge⠀⇛
Canada-based Li-Cycle Holdings said that it
received a conditional commitment for a $375
million loan from the Department of Energy’s
Loan Programs Office, through DOE’s Advanced
Technology Vehicles Manufacturing program.
# ⚓ Danish_environmental_organisations_concerned_over
Nord_Stream_leaks_impact⠀⇛
Sabotage at the Nord Stream pipelines near
the Danish island of Bornholm last year may
have resulted in increased pollution which
threats natural habitats, a study has found.
# ⚓ WhichUK ☛ Energy_price_cap_falls,_but_your_bills_are
still_set_to_rise⠀⇛
Bills for gas and electricity look likely to
go up from 1 April – and Which? is
calling on the government not to change the
energy price guarantee
o § Finance⠀➾
# ⚓ Michael West Media ☛ Top_earners_benefiting_most_from_super
tax_breaks⠀⇛
The Albanese government has set the scene for
trimming back super tax concessions with new
costings showing the tax breaks are collectively
worth up to $50 billion a year and largely flow to
high income earners.
# ⚓ Zimbabwe ☛ China_dropping_big_four_accounting_firms,_should
Zimbabwe_do_the_same?⠀⇛
You know, for a little while it looked like those
hippies’ dreams of one global village had come
true. Some of us grew up in the ‘we are the world’
era and really believed Lucky Dube when he said ‘we
gotta stand together as one.’
# ⚓ The Local SE ☛ Booze_price_hikes_and_tax_deadlines:_What
changes_in_Sweden_in_March?⠀⇛
Alcohol is set to get more expensive and tax
declaration season gets under way. Here’s more on
that and everything else that changes in Sweden in
March 2023.
# ⚓ Vice Media Group ☛ The_Invisible_Workers_Who_Train_Google’s
Algorithm_Fought_for_$15/Hr_and_Won⠀⇛
After delivering a union petition with over 1,000
signatures, the company’s subcontractors will now
earn Alphabet’s minimum standard wage.
# ⚓ The Age AU ☛ Tax_to_double_on_superannuation_earnings_for
balances_over_$3_million⠀⇛
Tax on super earnings over $3 million will go from
15 per cent to 30 per cent, commencing in two years
time.
# ⚓ The Age AU ☛ Super_and_capital_gains_tax_breaks_cost_budget
more_than_$100_billion⠀⇛
A report shows the total cost of concessions around
super will be worth almost $51 billion this
financial year, with the bulk of the tax breaks
flowing to high-income earners.
# ⚓ YLE ☛ MOT:_Oligarch_Rotenberg_violated_EU_sanction_rules_by
not_declaring_assets_in_Finland⠀⇛
Yle’s investigative team found that Boris Rotenberg
has not submitted all of the ownership
notifications that he should have.
# ⚓ YLE ☛ Threatened_public_transport_worker_strikes_may_cause
headaches_in_Finland⠀⇛
If negotiations are unresolved, threatened strikes
may cause lengthy disruptions of public transport
services across the country, starting this week.
o § AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics⠀➾
# ⚓ New Yorker ☛ New_Twitter_Check_Marks_in_a_Rainbow_of
Colors⠀⇛
How about Orange? (Trump and Trump-related
impersonators only.) Or Blue Sweater/Glasses? (For
@georgesantosreallyIswear.) A Shouts & Murmurs by
Bill Scheft.
# ⚓ France24 ☛ France_must_demonstrate_‘profound_humility’
toward_Africa,_Macron_says_ahead_of_four-nation_trip⠀⇛
President Emmanuel Macron on Monday outlined
France’s new strategy for Africa, where anti-French
sentiment runs high in some of its former colonies.
Ahead of a visit to Gabon, Angola, Congo-
Brazzaville and the Democratic Republic of Congo,
Macron said that France needs to demonstrate a
“profound humility” in Africa.
# ⚓ France24 ☛ Nigeria’s_opposition_leaders_reject_early
results_showing_ruling_party_lead⠀⇛
Tensions rose Monday during the counting of
Nigeria’s hotly contested presidential election
when representatives from the parties of the two
main opposition candidates walked out in anger from
the center where state-by-state results were being
announced.
# ⚓ France24 ☛ What_is_in_the_new_post-Brexit_trade_deal_on
Northern_Ireland?⠀⇛
Britain and the European Union announced a new deal
for post-Brexit trading arrangements for
Northern Ireland on Monday in a bid to end a row
that has overshadowed their ties since Brexit.
# ⚓ France24 ☛ Live:_Treasury_Secretary_Yellen_on_surprise
visit_to_Kyiv_to_reaffirm_US_support⠀⇛
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen arrived in Kyiv
on a surprise visit to highlight US economic
support on Monday as a deadly Russian drone attack
targeted the western Ukrainian city of
Khmelnytskyi. The UN Human Rights Council convened
for its annual session in Geneva as the UN chief
warned that the invasion of Ukraine had led to
“massive violations of human rights”.
# ⚓ Press Gazette ☛ ABCs:_Regional_dailies_see_average_print
decline_of_19%_(but_online_looking_brighter)⠀⇛
Data reveals large drops in UK regional print
circulation, although some brands’ online audiences
have grown.
# ⚓ Press Gazette ☛ Sky_News_reveals_new_leadership_structure
following_departure_of_John_Ryley⠀⇛
Jonathan Levy is stepping up after head of Sky News
John Ryley’s departure.
# ⚓ Bruce Schneier ☛ Banning_TikTok⠀⇛
Congress is currently debating bills that would ban
TikTok in the United States. We are here as
technologists to tell you that this is a terrible
idea and the side effects would be intolerable.
Details matter. There are several ways Congress
might ban TikTok, each with different efficacies
and side effects. In the end, all the effective
ones would destroy the free Internet as we know it.
# ⚓ Vice Media Group ☛ Twitter_Lays_Off_Manager_Who_Slept_on
Office_Floor_After_Musk_Takeover⠀⇛
Twitter has laid off hundreds of workers in another
chaotic incident, some of whom were die-hard
loyalists to Musk’s new regime.
# ⚓ New Yorker ☛ Battling_Corruption_in_Ukraine—and_the_U.S.⠀⇛
The Biden Administration calls for greater
financial transparency around the world. This
country could use more of it, too.
# ⚓ US News And World Report ☛ Murdoch_Testified_Fox_News_Hosts
Endorsed_Idea_That_Biden_Stole_Election⠀⇛
Fox Corp Chairman Rupert Murdoch acknowledged under
oath that some Fox hosts “endorsed” the notion…
o § Censorship/Free Speech⠀➾
# ⚓ France24 ☛ Florida_Governor_DeSantis_takes_over_Disney
district_for_opposing_‘Don’t_Say_Gay’_law⠀⇛
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a bill on
Monday that gives him control of Walt Disney
World’s self-governing district, making good on his
threats to punish the company over its opposition
to his so-called Don’t Say Gay law.
# ⚓ HRW ☛ Satire_in_Congo_is_No_Laughing_Matter⠀⇛
On February 10, government security agents arrested
the satirical comedian Junior Nkole in central
Kinshasa in the latest attack on freedom of
expression in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Nkole’s relatives told Human Rights Watch that he
and his brother Serge Nkole were waiting for a
meeting with a business contact in the restaurant
of the Hotel Mayotte. At around 10:00 a.m., in what
appears to have been a trap, a dozen men in
plainclothes who turned out to be officers of
Congo’s National Intelligence Agency (Agence
nationale de renseignements, ANR) showed up. They
beat the two, forced them into an SUV with tinted
windows, and took them to an ANR office. The
authorities released Serge a few hours later, but
Junior remains in detention.
# ⚓ RFERL ☛ Prosecutors_In_Belarus_Seek_Lengthy_Prison_Terms
For_Opposition_Leaders_Living_Outside_County⠀⇛
Belarusian prosecutors have demanded lengthy prison
terms and hefty fines for Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya
and four other opposition leaders living outside
the country.
o § Civil Rights/Policing⠀➾
# ⚓ France24 ☛ The_‘dalalas’,_the_middlemen_who_prey_on
vulnerable_women_in_Saudi_Arabia⠀⇛
Many foreign domestic workers in Saudi Arabia are
forced to work in terrible conditions, often with
highly abusive employers. However, they are trapped
because of a system that allows Saudi’s staff ro
nexties their working rights in the country to the
employer. Enter the dalalas — middlemen who prowl
Facebook offering desperate women help to flee
their terrible employers for better jobs and
improved working conditions.
# ⚓ Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Ex-Hong_Kong_police_officer
convicted_of_sedition_over_comments_over_death_of_marine
officer⠀⇛
A former police officer has been convicted under
the colonial-era sedition law over Facebook
comments about the death of a marine officer. Chui
Chun-man appeared before Acting Principal
Magistrate Veronica Heung at the West Kowloon
Magistrates’ Courts on Monday. Heung is one of the
city’s handpicked national security judges.
# ⚓ HRW ☛ Myanmar_Junta_Extends_Martial_Law⠀⇛
# ⚓ RFA ☛ Cambodia’s_Hun_Sen_ramps_up_efforts_to_bring
political_opponents_to_heel⠀⇛
Facebook commentator, provincial party officials
latest to be targeted in efforts to gain ruling
party support.
# ⚓ RFA ☛ Myanmar’s_junta_denies_ousted_leaders_access_to_legal
representation⠀⇛
Critics say the junta wants to isolate Aung San Suu
Kyi and President Win Myint from the outside world.
# ⚓ The Local SE ☛ ‘A_shock’:_Brit_finds_out_he’s_living_in
Sweden_illegally_after_nine_months⠀⇛
After 11 years in Sweden, James, a British citizen
working in the building industry, found out he no
longer had residency in Sweden after calling the
Migration Agency to ask about a rejected
application for parental leave.
# ⚓ Vice Media Group ☛ Pornhub,_OnlyFans,_and_Meta_Join_New
Sextortion_Prevention_Platform⠀⇛
‘Take It Down,’ a new initiative by the National
Center for Missing and Exploited Children, creates
a hash from non-consensual images of minors without
requiring them to upload anything.
# ⚓ JURIST ☛ Biden_administration_announces_new_policies_aimed
at_combatting_child_labor⠀⇛
The US Department of Labor (DOL) Monday announced
new measures aimed at combatting child labor and,
in particular, the exploitation of migrant child
labor.
# ⚓ JURIST ☛ Legal_age_of_marriage_increases_from_16_to_18_in
England_and_Wales⠀⇛
The UK’s Marriage and Civil Partnership (Minimum
Age) Act 2022 came into force Monday, raising the
legal age of marriage from 16 to 18 in England and
Wales. The act amended the Marriage Act 1949, which
regulates marriages in the two countries.
# ⚓ JURIST ☛ HRW:_Tunisia_must_reinstate_judges_and_uphold
judicial_independence⠀⇛
Human Rights Watch (HRW) Tunisia Director Salsabil
Chellali Monday urged Tunisian authorities to
reinstate dismissed judges and prosecutors and
remove all measures used to subdue judicial
authority. President Kais Saied dismissed 57
magistrates last year as part of an “anti-
corruption” crusade.
# ⚓ JURIST ☛ Ukraine_human_rights_ombudsman_accuses_Russia_of
illegally_detaining_180_political_prisoners_in_occupied
Crimea⠀⇛
Ukraine’s human rights ombudsman Sunday reported
that Russia is illegally detaining 180 political
prisoners in occupied Crimea. Dmytro Lubinets’
report comes as the country marks the ninth
anniversary of Russia’s occupation of the
peninsula.
# ⚓ JURIST ☛ UK_dispatch:_new_Holocaust_Memorial_Bill
introduced_in_Parliament⠀⇛
The Government introduced a new Holocaust Memorial
Bill to Parliament last week on February 23rd. The
bill, called the Holocaust Memorial Act 2023, was
launched under section 19(1)(a) of the Human Rights
Act 1998. T
# ⚓ LRT ☛ Lithuanian_border_guards_want_state_of_emergency
extended_despite_drop_in_migrant_flows⠀⇛
Although flows of irregular migrants have ebbed
recently, the Lithuanian State Border Guard Service
(VSAT) believes that the existing state of
emergency in border areas should be extended.
# ⚓ LRT ☛ Pro-Russian_group_places_flowers_on_destroyed_tank
displayed_in_Vilnius,_gets_into_fight⠀⇛
A destroyed Russian tank displayed in front of the
Cathedral Square in Vilnius attracts not only
Ukraine’s supporters. A fight broke out after a
group of people laid flowers on the tank on Sunday
evening.
o § Internet Policy/Net Neutrality⠀➾
# ⚓ CCIA ☛ A_Ruling_Against_Google_in_Gonzalez_Could_Create_a
“World_of_Lawsuits”_and_“Economic_Dislocation”⠀⇛
Without the longstanding interpretation of Section
230 as providing broad protections to digital
intermediaries and their users, the digital
economy, built on user interactions with an
enormous variety of content, could not continue to
exist.
# ⚓ MIT Technology Review ☛ Four_ways_the_Supreme_Court_could
reshape_the_web⠀⇛
We shouldn’t read too much into the oral arguments
heard this week, and they’re not a firm indication
of how the court will rule (likely by summer).
However, the questions the justices ask can signal
how the court is thinking about a case, and we can
extrapolate what might happen with more confidence.
I’ve broken down some of those more probable
scenarios below.
# ⚓ Vice Media Group ☛ How_Shock_Sites_Shaped_The_Internet⠀⇛
We owe the cultural evolution of the internet to
the likes of ‘Two Girls, One Cup,’ ‘Goatse,’ and
‘Tubgirl.’
# ⚓ India Times ☛ Big_Tech_‘fair_share’_debate_set_to_dominate
Barcelona_Mobile_Congress⠀⇛
Last Thursday, EU industry chief Thierry Breton
launched a 12-week consultation on its “fair share”
proposals, under which Big Tech platforms would
bear more of the costs of the systems which give
them access to consumers.
o § Monopolies⠀➾
# § Patents⠀➾
# ⚓ Unified Patents ☛ Unified_provides_comments_for_USPTO
Initiatives_To_Ensure_the_Robustness_and_Reliability_of
Patent_Rights⠀⇛
Unified Patents provided comments to the
USPTO’s_RFC_on_USPTO_Initiatives_To_Ensure
the_Robustness_and_Reliability_of_Patent
Rights and those were recently published.
# ⚓ EPO_announces_CodeFest_winners [Ed: EPO breaks the
law. It's governed by criminals. It's potraying itself
to the public as all "fun and games"]⠀⇛
Outstanding solutions highlight the potential
of machine learning for identifying
sustainable innovation in the field of
plastics.
# ⚓ New_Patent_Filing_Tool_in_Spain_and_Lithuania [Ed:
Almost nobody in Lithuania files for European Patents
because it's too expensive and the quality of the work
is very very low; many granted patents are bogus.]⠀⇛
First two countries implement filing tool
# § Trademarks⠀➾
# ⚓ TTAB Blog ☛ TTABlog_Test:_How_Did_These_Three_Section
2(e)(1)_Mere_Descriptiveness_Appeals_Turn_Out?⠀⇛
The TTAB recently ruled on the appeals from
the three Section 2(e)(1) mere
descriptiveness refusals summarized below.
Let’s see how you do with them. Results will
be found in the first comment.
* § Gemini* and Gopher⠀➾
o § Personal⠀➾
# ⚓ 🔤SpellBinding:_YLNOPTC_Wordo:_NOVAE⠀⇛
# ⚓ Self-involved_egocentric_bullshit⠀⇛
My support worker is excellent. They’re 26, a kinky
enm nonbinary/transmasc dyke; i’ll refer to them as
‘Z’. Z’s been doing this sort of work for at least
a few years now. They often have lived experience
of the sort of issues i blab about, and i regularly
find that i don’t need to explain certain things
because it’s very clear to me that they _get it_,
that they very much know what i’m talking about.
i’m very grateful for this, given my decades of
shitty experiences with various health and allied
workers.
During our session today, Z mentioned a recent
experience with one of their other clients
(without, of course, giving any identifying
information). The client is 19, and told Z that Z
is ‘queerphobic’ and ‘transphobic’, and that they
thus want to take a few weeks’ break from seeing Z.
Why? Because in the short period since their last
session with Z, they’d changed and/or added
identities and/or pronouns, and Z hadn’t somehow
automatically known this, and had thus got language
wrong. According to the client, Z “should be able
to keep up”.
# ⚓ i_don’t_belong_to_the_queer/tgd_communities⠀⇛
i don’t feel i ‘belong’ to the queer/tgd
communities. i am, of course, a ‘member’ of those
communities by virtue of being queer and
transgenderqueer. But decades of experience and
activism involving these communities have led me to
feel that they project themselves in ways i don’t,
and can’t, relate to. In some cases, they can feel
actively marginalising.
The primary example of this is being ‘fabulous’,
i.e. outgoing and colourful (both literally and
figuratively). Both the queer and tgd communities
are apparently _very_ invested in representing
themselves as ‘fabulous’. No, i don’t think there’s
anything wrong with someone being ‘fabulous’; i’m
here for it. Yes, i understand this is at least
partly a response to being expected (at best) to
remain in the closet, instead being ‘out, loud and
proud’.
# ⚓ What_was_the_last_book_you_read?⠀⇛
What was the last book you read?
Why did you choose it? What did you get from
reading it?
Under what circumstances would you recommend it to
someone else?
# ⚓ Daily_life⠀⇛
On work days a Casio F-91W wristwatch, draped over
the clock radio, beeps me awake at 0415. It cost
$15 at walmart, survived a month under mud, water,
& snow when I lost it in the backyard. Its battery
lasts 10 years and is replacable. It goes on my
wrist before I leave the house.
Shower, eggs & greens, maybe yoga, scrubs on, chant
a psalm because it’s Lent, drive 100km to hospital
for work. I listen to St Thomas Aquinas’s Summa
Theologica on a busted old offline Android discard-
ed by my friend Kirsa on the way. Thanks Librivox &
VLC.
o § Technical⠀➾
# ⚓ SSH_client_configurations⠀⇛
Here is a set of SSH client configurations I
usually use and find useful.
=> =============================================================================
World Wide Web but a lot lighter.
䷩ 𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚎 3918
╒═══════════════════ 𝐃𝐀𝐈𝐋𝐘 𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐊𝐒 ═════════════════════════════════════════════╕
⠀⌧ █▇▆▅▄▃▂▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁ 02.28.23⠀▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▂▃▄▅▆▇█ ⌧
Gemini_version_available_♊︎
✐ Links_28/02/2023:_qBittorrent_4.5.2_and_Godot_4.0_RC_6⠀✐
Posted in News_Roundup at 4:43 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz
🄸🄼🄰🄶🄴 🄳🄴🅂🄲🅁🄸🄿🅃🄸🄾🄽 ⦇GNOME bluefish⦈
§ Contents⠀➾
* GNU/Linux
o Server
o Audiocasts/Shows
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 BSD
o Fedora_Family_/_IBM
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
# Mozilla
o Programming/Development
# Perl_/_Raku
# Python
o Standards/Consortia
* Leftovers
o Science
o Education
o Hardware
o Health/Nutrition/Agriculture
o Security
# Privacy/Surveillance
o Defence/Aggression
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 Monopolies
# Trademarks
# Copyrights
* Gemini*_and_Gopher
o Personal
o Technical
* § GNU/Linux⠀➾
o § Server⠀➾
# ⚓ The New Stack ☛ New_SmartOS:_Ready_to_Serve_as_Next_VM_or
Container_Host⠀⇛
SmartOS isn’t nearly as well known as some of the
other UNIX or Linux-like operating systems built
for virtual machines
# ⚓ Container Journal ☛ Analyzing_Kubernetes_Workload_Costs?
Compare_to_the_Benchmark⠀⇛
Moving to the cloud is a critical business
initiative for many organizations. According to
Flexera’s 2022 Tech Spend Pulse, 65% of respondents
state that cloud and cloud migrations are one of
their top priorities for the year ahead. As
organizations press forward on digital
transformation plans, they are moving more
o § Audiocasts/Shows⠀➾
# ⚓ Destination_Linux_314:_Can_Linux_Get_Viruses?_plus_Ubuntu
Flavours_Removing_Flatpaks⠀⇛
# ⚓ Tux Digital ☛ Destination_Linux_314:_Can_Linux_Get_Viruses?
plus_Ubuntu_Flavours_Removing_Flatpaks⠀⇛
This week’s episode of Destination Linux, we will
be discussing what makes Linux secure? Then we talk
about Flatpaks getting their eviction papers in
Ubuntu Flavors. Plus, we have our tips/tricks and
software picks.
# ⚓ Linux_User_Space_Episode_3:17:_Pass-Ackward⠀⇛
Coming up in this episode
1. Plasma’s Kind of Hot Right Now
2. Brush your passwords
3. Browser Watch!
4. A little feedback
5. And a little FOCUS
0:00 Cold Open
1:33 Akademy Awards
3:22 Plasma 5.27
24:33 Your Last Pass… Word
47:05 Browser Watch!
55:36 The Mailbag
1:05:35 Community Focus: Vashinator
1:08:08 App Focus: ClamAV
1:20:24 Next Time: EndlessOS History
1:22:25 Stinger
# ⚓ Bryan Lunduke ☛ Linux_is_the_new_“It_Just_Works”_OS⠀⇛
Listen now (20 min) | The Lunduke Journal of
Technology Podcast – Feb 27, 2023
# ⚓ Bryan Lunduke ☛ Starting_this_Sunday:_“Lunduke’s_Big_Sunday
Placeholder_Tech_Show”⠀⇛
Gearing up for the big radio show later this
Spring!
# ⚓ WordPress ☛ WP_Briefing:_Episode_50:_3_Interesting_Trends
from_WordCamp_Asia⠀⇛
Join Josepha as she discusses her top 3 takeaways
from the first-ever WordCamp Asia in Bangkok!
o § Applications⠀➾
# ⚓ Neowin ☛ qBittorrent_4.5.2⠀⇛
The qBittorrent project aims to provide a Free
Software alternative to µtorrent. qBittorrent is an
advanced and multi-platform BitTorrent client with
a nice user interface as well as a Web UI for
remote control and an integrated search engine.
qBittorrent aims to meet the needs of most users
while using as little CPU and memory as possible.
qBittorrent is a truly Open Source project, and as
such, anyone can and should contribute to it.
o § Instructionals/Technical⠀➾
# ⚓ Kifarunix ☛ How_to_Install_Docker_Desktop_on_Kali_Linux⠀⇛
How can you install Docker desktop on Linux? In
this tutorial, you will learn how to install Docker
desktop on Kali Linux.
# ⚓ OSTechNix ☛ How_To_Solve_“error:_required_key_missing_from
keyring”_In_Arch_Linux,_EndeavourOS,_Manjaro_Linux⠀⇛
This brief tutorial explains how to solve “error:
required key missing from keyring” in Arch Linux,
EndeavourOS and Manjaro Linux.
# ⚓ TecAdmin ☛ How_to_Save_and_Quit_in_Nano⠀⇛
Nano is a popular text editor used in Linux and
other Unix-like operating systems. It is a powerful
and easy-to-use tool that can help you create and
edit files quickly and efficiently. However, if you
are new to Nano, you might be wondering how to save
and quit your work.
# ⚓ Trend Oceans ☛ How_to_Create_a_WiFi_Hotspot_for_Sharing_a
Wireless_Internet_Connection_in_Linux⠀⇛
It’s very simple and easy to create a hotspot from
your network card to get other devices to connect
with the internet using the linux-wifi-hotspot tool
that turns your network card into a hotspot.
# ⚓ UNIX Cop ☛ How_To_Install_Neovim_on_Ubuntu_20.04_|_22.04
LTS⠀⇛
In this guide, we will show you how to install and
use Neovim on Ubuntu systems Neovim is a refactor,
and sometimes redactor, in the tradition of Vim.
# ⚓ UNIX Cop ☛ How_To_Install_Discord_on_Ubuntu_20.04_|_22.04
LTS⠀⇛
In this guide, we will show you how to install
Discord on Ubuntu Systems with two different
methods. D
# ⚓ FOSSLinux ☛ Understanding_iptables_chains_and_targets_in
Linux_firewall⠀⇛
If you are working with Linux and managing a
network or a server, chances are you have heard
about iptables. iptables is a powerful tool used to
manage network traffic by filtering packets, and
its use is essential to ensure the security of your
system. However, iptables can be complex and
challenging to master, especially when
understanding chains and targets.
# ⚓ Dan Langille ☛ Home_Assistant_running_natively_on_FreeBSD
via_bhyve⠀⇛
This is is mostly written after-the-fact without
good notes.
# ⚓ ID Root ☛ How_To_Install_LXDE_Desktop_on_Ubuntu_22.04_LTS⠀⇛
In this tutorial, we will show you how to install
LXDE Desktop on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS.
# ⚓ ID Root ☛ How_To_Install_Jellyfin_Media_Server_on_Ubuntu
22.04_LTS⠀⇛
In this tutorial, we will show you how to install
Jellyfin Media Server on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS.
# ⚓ ID Root ☛ How_To_Install_Prometheus_on_Ubuntu_22.04_LTS⠀⇛
In this tutorial, we will show you how to install
Prometheus on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS. For those of you
who didn’t know, Prometheus is a powerful and
flexible monitoring solution that is well-suited
for modern cloud-native applications and
infrastructure.
o § Games⠀➾
# ⚓ Boiling Steam ☛ Steam_Deck:_First_Anniversary_of_the
Ultimate_Gaming_Platform⠀⇛
The Steam Deck has been about a year on the market
now (it started shipping at the end of February
2022). This first anniversary is a good chance to
review what has happened since then.
o § Desktop Environments/WMs⠀➾
# § K Desktop Environment/KDE SC/Qt⠀➾
# ⚓ Make Use Of ☛ SteamOS_Used_to_Run_GNOME:_6_Reasons
Why_KDE_Plasma_Makes_Sense⠀⇛

The version of SteamOS that first came with
the Steam Deck wasn’t Valve’s first attempt
at making a Linux distro. It was actually
version 3.
Before then, SteamOS used the GNOME desktop
environment. But for the Steam Deck, Valve
chose KDE Plasma instead.
GNOME is a more popular and arguably more
mobile-oriented Linux interface. So why go
with Plasma instead? We can’t speak for
Valve, but here are several good reasons.
# § GNOME Desktop/GTK⠀➾
# ⚓ OMG! Linux ☛ ‘Conjure’_is_a_New_GTK_Image_Effects_App
for_Linux⠀⇛
ImageMagick is an incredibly popular image
processing library that a huge number of open
source image editors make use of — the latest
being Conjure.
* § Distributions and Operating Systems⠀➾
o ⚓ Hackaday ☛ MorphOS:_A_Modern_Operating_System_for_PowerPC⠀⇛
When it comes to modern operating systems for PowerPC-
based systems like pre-Intel Macs, or other PowerPC-based
systems like older or newer AmigaOS-compatible systems,
there is an increasing lack of options. For 32-bit PPC,
official Linux support has been dropped already, leaving
only unofficial builds and of course AmigaOS as well as
AmigaOS-like operating systems. So what do you do if you
have a PPC-based Mac system lying around which you do not
simply want to run the same old, unsupported copy of
MacOS on? In a recent video, [Michael MJD] decided to
give MorphOS 3.17 a shot on a Mac G4 Cube.
o § BSD⠀➾
# ⚓ MWL ☛ Jan/Feb_2023_Column_Out_in_the_FreeBSD_Journal⠀⇛
Somehow, I’ve written 28 “We Get Letters” columns
for the FreeBSD Journal. The latest is out.
o § Fedora Family / IBM⠀➾
# ⚓ Container Journal ☛ Red_Hat_Pushes_OpenShift_to_the_Network
Edge⠀⇛
At the Mobile World Congress, Red Hat today
extended its effort to make the Kubernetes-based
Red Hat OpenShift platform a foundation for edge
computing by extending alliances with NVIDIA and
partnerships with Samsung, Airspan, Druid Software
and OMRON.
# ⚓ Container Journal ☛ Red_Hat_Donates_Kepler_Tool_for
Tracking_Power_Usage_to_CNCF⠀⇛
At the Mobile World Congress event today, Red Hat,
in collaboration with IBM Research, launched an
open source project to capture power usage metrics
from Kubernetes clusters.
# ⚓ Red Hat ☛ Edge_computing:_From_30_tons_to_30_grams⠀⇛
When the ENIAC computer was introduced in 1946, it
was housed in a huge room—1,800 square feet—and
weighed 30 tons. It had to be assembled in place,
and it wasn’t going to be moved. The era of
electronic computers had arrived, but only for an
elite few. The idea of edge_computing was science
fiction—unbelievable science fiction at that. My,
how things have changed.
§ Mainframes
The IBM mainframe computers, introduced in 1952,
became the standard of computing for corporations
and government agencies in the 1960s and 1970s.
Those of us old enough can remember, for example,
getting their home water bill in the form of a
punched card with the words “Do_not_fold,_spindle
or_mutilate” on it. These mainframe computers moved
processing to the corporate headquarters. Sales
from cash registers, for example, would be sent to
headquarters on punched paper tape where it could
be read into the mainframes for reporting.
# ⚓ Silicon Angle ☛ Red_Hat_collaborates_with_Nvidia,_Samsung
and_Arm_on_efficient,_open_networks⠀⇛
Open-source software giant Red Hat Inc. announced a
series of updates at the MWC 2023 event in
Barcelona today, underscoring its ambitions
stretching across advanced 5G, telecommunications
clouds, industrial edge, artificial intelligence,
radio-access networks and energy efficiency.
§ Canonical/Ubuntu Family⠀➾
* ⚓ DebugPoint ☛ Ubuntu_Plans_for_Mini_ISO_Images_for_Minimal_Desktop
Workloads⠀⇛
Answering a question from an Ubuntu user about the possibility
of a minimal Ubuntu ISO image, the developers confirmed that an
official minimal ISO image (less than 200MB) is under
development.
The said work is already underway and has progressed a lot. The
plan is to introduce an alternate minimal installer for the
upcoming Ubuntu 23.04 Lunar Lobster release.
Here are all the details.
§ Devices/Embedded⠀➾
* ⚓ CNX Software ☛ NanoPi_R6S_RK3588S_mini_PC_&_router_review_–_Part_2:
Ubuntu_22.04⠀⇛
NanoPi R6S is both a mini PC and a router based on Rockchip
RK3588S processor. I received some samples in November and
started the NanoPi R6S review with OpenWrt/FriendlyWrt quickly
testing the 2.5GbE interfaces and routing with iperf3, and it
worked pretty well. But using a system with an octa-core
Cortex-A76/A55 processor and 8GB RAM as an OpenWrt router only
feels like a waste of resources, so I wanted to install a more
versatile operating system – Ubuntu 22.04 – for further
testing.
FriendlyELEC provides various images on the Wiki either booting
from an SD card, installing from a MicroSD to the eMMC flash
(aka eFlasher imagers), or flashing through USB with Windows
tools. I like the eFlasher images since the OS runs from the
internal eMMC flash and no special tools are needed. I had just
used the FriendlyWrt eFlasher image, so I thought switching to
the Ubuntu 22.04 eFlasher imager image would be a breeze.
§ Open Hardware/Modding⠀➾
* ⚓ Purism ☛ My_Top_10_Lapdock_Kit_Tips⠀⇛
Two years ago I started an experiment to see if I could replace
my personal laptop with my Librem 5 with a lapdock (spoiler: I
could). A year later I wrote a follow-up post that talks about
my impressions of the Librem 5 and lapdock kit as a personal
computer.
§ Mobile Systems/Mobile Applications⠀➾
* ⚓ India Times ☛ Antivirus_for_Android:_Keep_your_smartphones_–_tablets
safe_–_Times_of_India_(February,_2023)⠀⇛
* ⚓ Samsung_Galaxy_A14_Launched:_Checks_Specs,_Features_Of_Budget_Android
Smartphone⠀⇛
* ⚓ TechCrunch ☛ Daily_Crunch:_Mobile_World_Congress_2023_kicks_off_with
new_features_for_Android,_Chromebook_and_Wear_OS_|_TechCrunch⠀⇛
* ⚓ 9to5Google ☛ What_apps_support_Android_13′s_new_media_player_[Update:
Tidal]⠀⇛
* ⚓ CNX Software ☛ Amlogic_S928X_specifications_–_A_penta-core_Arm_Cortex-
A76/A55_SoC_with_Mali-G57_GPU,_3.2_TOPS_NPU_–_CNX_Software⠀⇛
* ⚓ Lifewire ☛ How_to_Check_the_Phone_Model_on_Your_Android⠀⇛
* ⚓ The Sun ☛ Billions_of_Android_owners_issued_‘red_alert’_–_check_your
Google_apps_now_or_risk_huge_bill_|_The_US_Sun⠀⇛
* ⚓ The Sun ☛ People_are_just_realizing_Android_phones_have_hidden_‘battery
drain’_–_stop_‘charge_vampire’_right_now_|_The_US_Sun⠀⇛
§ Free, Libre, and Open Source Software⠀➾
* ⚓ OpenSource.com ☛ Delegate_common_tasks_with_an_open_source_automation
tool⠀⇛
Rundeck is an open source software used to quickly automate
manual tasks. Use it to create workflows consisting of
commands, scripts, and APIs. These workflows might include
software management, configurations, and scheduled events.
Rundeck logs these activities for transparency and
troubleshooting. How can Rundeck address the example of a
developer needing an environment in the organization’s cloud?
Consider the following points.
* ⚓ Medevel ☛ 10_Open_Source_Solutions,_Hospitals_Need⠀⇛
In today’s digital age, hospitals increasingly rely on
technology to provide quality patient care and manage
operations. However, the high cost of proprietary software
solutions can be a significant barrier for hospitals,
particularly in low-resource settings.
* § Web Browsers/Web Servers⠀➾
o § Mozilla⠀➾
# ⚓ Mozilla ☛ Mozilla_Performance_Blog:_The_Firefox_Profiler
team_was_at_FOSDEM_2023⠀⇛
The Free_and_Open_source_Software_Developers’
European_Meeting_(FOSDEM)_2023 took place on the
4th and 5th of February. This was the first in-
person FOSDEM since 2020, and for this reason,
coming back to the good ol’ ULB building felt very
special. The event was just like we left it in
2020: lots of people, queues in front of the most
popular rooms, queues for the food trucks, mud,
booths, many many developer rooms and talks to see,
and this was just like a reunion between old
friends.
As the Profiler team is very distributed, just like
the rest of Mozilla, it’s been also great seeing
each other again, living this event together, and
strengthening our relationships around some
carbonade flamande, meatballs, waffles, and
(edible) mushrooms.
The Firefox_Profiler was very much represented
there, with no less than 5 talks in 3 different
rooms!
Here is a quick overview of these talks as well as
links to the slides and videos.
§ Using the Firefox Profiler for web performance
analysis, by Julien Wajsberg
The_talk took place in the JavaScript_room, at the
very last slot on Sunday.
This was mostly an introduction talk about the
Firefox Profiler. Julien talked about what a
profiler is, described how to capture a profile,
and showed how to navigate in the Firefox Profiler
UI like a pro. He explained that measuring is
always better than guessing in the performance
world.
# ⚓ Exple.Tive.Org ☛ Mike_Hoye:_Never_Work_In_Theory,_Spring
2023⠀⇛
Indulge me for a minute; I’d like to tell you about
a conference I’m helping organize, and why. But
first, I want to tell you a story about measuring
things, and the tools we use to do that.
Specifically, I want to talk about thermometers.
Even though a rough understanding of basic
principles of the tool we now call a thermometer
are at least two thousand years old, for centuries
the whole idea that you could measure temperature
at all was fantastical. The entire idea was absurd;
how could you possibly measure an experience as
subjective and ethereal as temperature?
* § Programming/Development⠀➾
o ⚓ Evan Hahn ☛ The_lone_developer_problem⠀⇛
In short: in my experience, if a single programmer builds
something, it’s often hard for others to maintain later.
There are several possible reasons why. Even great
programmers fall into this trap!
This post is anecdotal from my own experience, so it
might not be right or apply to you. But here goes:
A lot of software is built by one person. It might be an
entire product built by a lone developer or a significant
piece of a system.
When this happens, I’ve observed that code written by a
single developer is usually hard for others to work with.
This code must’ve made sense to the author, who I think
is very smart, but it doesn’t make any sense to me!
o ⚓ Godot Engine ☛ Release_candidate:_Godot_4.0_RC_6⠀⇛
One more time! We’ve now fixed all critical regressions
we are aware of, so things are looking great for the
stable release!
o ⚓ J Pieper ☛ UART_tunneling_with_moteus⠀⇛
With the release of more flexible I/O support, the moteus
controller auxiliary port can be used to monitor encoders
using an onboard UART. Now, with firmware release 2023-
02-01, those UART pins can be used as an arbitrary logic
level serial port controlled by the application!
o ⚓ Kev Quirk ☛ My_Static_Site_Workflow⠀⇛
I’ve managed to come up with a static site workflow that
I think is as good as WordPress. Here’s the details…
Cast your mind back to January 2022, dear reader, when I
wrote a post about managing_content_with_Jekyll. Shortly
after writing it, I realised it was bloody_hard_to_do, so
I went back to WordPress.
I didn’t make the decision to go back to WP lightly; I
considered my options (of_which_there_were_many) but
decided, at the time, that good old WP was the best of
the bunch.
o § Perl / Raku⠀➾
# ⚓ Rakulang ☛ 2023.09_Docu_Renewed⠀⇛
The Raku Programming Language Documentation Team
has released the newly reformatted documentation
site after what has been a multi-year project in
separating content from presentation, and bringing
a more modern outlook to the documentation.
o § Python⠀➾
# ⚓ TecAdmin ☛ Files_and_Directory_Handling_in_Python⠀⇛
Python is a powerful programming language that can
be used for various purposes, including file and
directory management. In this article, we will
explore the various ways in which Python can be
used for managing files and directories.
# ⚓ TecAdmin ☛ Write_a_Python_Program_to_Return_Multiple_Values
From_a_Function⠀⇛
Python is a popular programming language that is
widely used for developing a variety of
applications. One of the features that makes Python
stand out is its ability to return multiple values
from a function.
# ⚓ TecAdmin ☛ Write_a_Python_Program_to_Check_the_File_Size⠀⇛
When working with files in Python, it’s often
necessary to check the size of a file.
* § Standards/Consortia⠀➾
o ⚓ DEV Community ☛ Billy_Warren:_My_take_on_IRCs_–_let’s_rest_from
Slack_and_Discord_for_a_while.⠀⇛
I want to interest those that haven’t used IRCs for a
while through this article. This article generally leans
toward the Debian Community but I hope it gives you some
perspectives into IRCs and also interests you in joining
the Debian Community as well.
Most Generation Z developers I know have at least used
slack, discord, discourse and so many other communication
tools but so few have used IRCs so heavily and this could
be because they find it boring and limited to what kind
of content they can share and what community they are
participating in. I got interested in using IRCs when I
joined Debian and was able to navigate my way through
using some online resources. While IRC may not be as
popular as other communication tools like Slack or
Discord, it remains a valuable tool for communication and
collaboration within the open-source community. Its open-
source nature and lightweight protocol make it a flexible
and customizable tool that can be used in various
settings.
Internet Relay Chat (IRC) is a communication protocol
that has been around since the late 1980s. Despite its
age, it is still a popular tool for communication and
collaboration, especially within the open-source
community. It is mostly known to be used by people that
work on ‘boring’ projects or maintain legacy code (I
can’t state how true this is though). Interesting facts
about IRC include that it was created by a Finnish
developer named Jarkko Oikarinen, who wanted to create a
communication tool that would allow him to chat with his
friends in real-time (the FaceBook of those days). The
first IRC network was called EFnet, and it quickly grew
in popularity as more and more people began to use the
protocol for communication and collaboration.
IRC allows users to connect to servers and join channels
(chat rooms) where they can communicate in real time with
other users who have also joined the same channel. Many
open-source projects use IRC channels for communication
and collaboration among developers. The Debian project
has a number of IRC channels that are used for
communication and collaboration among developers and
users. I have at least interacted with three of them
which include;-
§ Leftovers⠀➾
* ⚓ Quartz ☛ Should_a_workplace_have_a_soundtrack?⠀⇛
Imagine this: you walk into an office building on the day of a
big client meeting. You’re feeling anxious, apprehensive. As
you approach the receptionist and check in digitally for your
appointment, you see a new option to receive a “personalized
bio-soundscape”while you wait. You could use a distraction,
so—why not?…
* ⚓ Modern Diplomacy ☛ How_to_make_a_nuclear_clock_tick⠀⇛
While not primarily useful for telling the time, nuclear clocks
could allow scientists to test humankind’s fundamental
understanding of how reality works.
* ⚓ Ruben Schade ☛ A_rattling_truck_of_the_mind⠀⇛
Last week I’d rushed back to my desk for a client meeting, when
I heard the sound of a large truck idling outside. A driver had
decided the street under our balcony was a fabulous place to
stop and idle their behemoth while they did who knows what.
* ⚓ Thomas_Vander_Stichele:_Meet_Me_in_the_Bathroom⠀⇛
“Welcome to pre-9/11 New York City, when the world was unaware
of the profound political and cultural shifts about to occur,
and an entire generation was thirsty for more than the
post–alternative pop rock plaguing MTV. In the cafés, clubs,
and bars of the Lower East Side there convened a group of
outsiders and misfits full of ambition and rock star dreams.“
Music was the main reason I wanted to move to New York – I
wanted to walk the same streets that the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, the
National, Interpol, the Walkmen, the Antlers and Sonic Youth
were walking. In my mind they’d meet up and have drinks with
each other at the same bars, live close to each other, and I’d
just run into them all the time myself. I’m not sure that
romantic version of New York ever existed. Paul Banks used to
live on a corner inbetween where I live and where my kids go to
school now, but that is two decades ago (though for a while, we
shared a hairdresser). On one of my first visits to New York
before moving here, I had a great chat with Thurston Moore at a
café right before taking the taxi back to the airport. And
that’s as close as I got to living my dream.
But now the documentary “Meet me in the Bathroom” (based on the
book of the same name) shows that version of New York that only
existed for a brief moment in time.
“Meet Me In The Bathroom — ??inspired by Lizzy Goodman’s book
of the same name — chronicles the last great romantic age of
rock ’n’ roll through the lens of era-defining bands.“
* ⚓ OpenSource.com ☛ Essential_tips_and_tricks_for_your_first_tech_job⠀⇛
First days at work are scary. I still recall many instances
where I lay awake at night before my first day at work, having
an internal meltdown over what would happen the next day.
Starting a new job is uncharted territory for most people. Even
if you’re a veteran in the industry, there’s no denying that
there can be a part of you that’s a bit terrified of what is to
come.
Understandably, a lot is happening. There are new people to
meet, new projects and technologies to understand,
documentation to read, tutorials to sit through, and endless HR
presentations and paperwork to fill out. This can be
overwhelming and, coupled with the considerable degree of
uncertainty and unknowns you’re dealing with, can be quite
anxiety-inducing.
Two reasons motivated me to write about this subject. The first
one being that back when I was a student, most of the
discussion revolved around getting a job in tech, and no one
talked about what happened next. How do you excel in your new
role? Now that I look back, I think I assumed that the hard
part is getting the job, and whatever comes after, I could
probably figure out myself.
Similarly, once I started working in the industry, most of the
career-related content I came across was about how to go from
one senior level to another. No one really talked about what to
do in the middle. What about the interns and the junior
engineers? How do they navigate their early careers?
After completing three years of full-time professional
experience as a software engineer (and a couple of internships
before), I reflected on my time. I put together a list of tips
and tricks I’ve employed while settling into a new tech role. I
wanted to look beyond just the first couple of months and
prioritize helping achieve long-term success.
* § Science⠀➾
o ⚓ uni Stanford ☛ Faculty_Senate_hears_President_address_research
misconduct_allegations,_discusses_graduate_students’_affordability
issues⠀⇛
President Tessier-Lavigne rejected Daily’s allegations,
saying, “the first publication is almost never the final
word.” The Faculty Senate also discussed the topic of
graduate affordability concerns and upcoming
accreditation.
* § Education⠀➾
o ⚓ Mexico News Daily ☛ University_for_Indigenous_languages_to_begin
classes_in_2023⠀⇛
The National University of Indigenous Languages will
teach Indigenous tongues using immersion and initially
offer four related degrees.
o ⚓ Buttondown ☛ Teaching_Implication_Better⠀⇛
Hello everyone! It’s finally March, or at least close
enough to March for my purposes. First thing, we’re a
month off from April_Cools! April cools is a less-cringe
version of April fools, where content creators like me
publish content that is both genuine and totally out of
genre. Last year I took a break from software engineering
to write about microscopy. Other people wrote about
singing_church_music, marathon_food, and how_to_read
rot13. If you’ve got a blog, I’d_heartily_recommend
joining! It’s a lot of fun.
Anyway, between that and a bunch of work obligations,
this is going to be a real busy month for me. I’m still
committed to updating the newsletter six times a month,
but it might be a bit erratic: instead of the alternating
1-2-1 schedule I’ve been on, it might be 2-2-0-2 instead.
Just a heads up.
* § Hardware⠀➾
o ⚓ Ruben Schade ☛ Daniel_Aleksandersen_on_split_keyboard
accessibility⠀⇛
He suggests split keyboards duplicate certain keys that
straddle the split, such as B and Y. Alternatively, they
could be made detachable.
Like Daniel, I have an injury on one of my fingers that
makes typing difficult. The damaged nerves and muscle in
my right pinkie make it hard to strike Return or colon
reliably, so over the years I adapted by using my ring
finger to perform double duty.
o ⚓ CNX Software ☛ UP_Squared_Pro_7000_SBC_features_up_to_Intel_Core
i3-N305_Alder_Lake-N_processor,_up_to_16GB_LPDDR5⠀⇛
AAEON UP Squared Pro 7000 is an upcoming single board
computer (SBC) based on a choice of Alder Lake-N SoCs up
to the Core i3-N305 octa-core processor, up to 16GB
LPDDR5 RAM, and 64GB eMMC flash. The board supports up to
three displays and comes with a MIPI CSI port, dual
2.5GbE networking, three USB 3.2 ports, two RS232/RS422/
RS485 interfaces, as well as several M.2 sockets for
storage and wireless expansion that makes it suitable for
machine vision solutions for smart factories, robotics
applications, and retail/digital signage.
* § Health/Nutrition/Agriculture⠀➾
o ⚓ Quartz ☛ Giving_birth_in_the_US_is_becoming_a_deadlier_affair⠀⇛
>
That the US is a deadly country_for_new_mothers,
particularly Black mothers, has become a well-known fact.
o ⚓ Latvia ☛ LTV’s_De_Facto_probes_dairy_industry_crisis_in_Latvia⠀⇛
Latvian dairy farmers have been experiencing a crisis for
several weeks. This week, the Ministry of Agriculture
will present a plan to support the sector to the
government, while the industry is planning protests,
Latvian Television’s broadcast De Facto reported on
February 26.
o ⚓ Federal News Network ☛ Coronavirus_origins_still_a_mystery_3
years_into_pandemic⠀⇛
Did the coronavirus originate in animals or leak from a
Chinese lab? Governments and health agencies around the
world have been trying to answer that question since the
COVID-19 pandemic began. Now, the U.S. Department of
Energy has assessed with “low confidence” that it began
with a lab leak. That’s according to a person familiar
with the report who was not authorized to discuss it and
was granted anonymity by The Associated Press to confirm
its contents.
o ⚓ Gizmodo ☛ CDC_Sounds_the_Alarm:_A_Diarrhea_Superbug_Is_Resisting
Drugs_and_Spreading_Fast⠀⇛
Officials with the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention are sounding the alarm over a diarrhea-causing
superbug. The CDC’s data shows a noticeable rise in
extensively drug-resistant strains of Shigella bacteria
over the past half-decade.
o ⚓ NYPost ☛ My Brazilian_butt_lift_was_so_painful_—_like_my_a–_was
whooped_by_20_gorillas [Ed: Social control media influences people
to do very harmful things -- very bad for their health]⠀⇛
The woman shared her experience on TikTok, calling her
BBL surgery “traumatizing.”
o ⚓ PHR ☛ Global_Medical_and_Human_Rights_Groups_Call_on_Türkiye_to
End_Persecution_of_Doctors⠀⇛
In a letter issued today, four international medical and
human rights organisations call on Turkish authorities to
drop the baseless charges against the leadership of the
Turkish Medical Association (TMA) at a time when doctors
are urgently needed to tend to victims of the 6 February
earthquake that have caused over 50,000 deaths in
Türkiye…
o ⚓ Defence Web ☛ Hawks,_SARS_seize_R30_million_worth_of_illicit
cigarettes⠀⇛
National Hawks Head, Lieutenant General Godfrey Lebeya,
has commended the Directorate’s Serious Commercial Crime
Investigation team for seizing R30 million worth of
suspected illicit cigarettes in Limpopo.
o ⚓ France24 ☛ As_UK_supermarkets_ration_fruits_and_vegetables,_many
blame_Brexit_for_shortages⠀⇛
Due to a shortage of certain fruits and vegetables,
British supermarkets have been forced to ration their
supplies. This situation is likely to continue for some
time, leading to fears of price hikes. But how did the UK
get to this point? While most officials say that bad
weather and rising energy prices are to blame, some
observers are pointing the finger at Brexit.
o ⚓ NYPost ☛ NYC_official_ousted_over_‘Wu-Flu’_wants_back_in_after
China_lab_reveal,_claims_he’s_‘vindicated’⠀⇛
Former Queens community board member Richard Huber said
he was “vindicated” by a classified US intelligence
report that said the COVID-19 most likely leaked from a
lab in Wuhan, China.
o ⚓ NYPost ☛ Moms_who_give_birth_in_early_20s_at_higher_risk_of_heart
attack,_stroke:_study⠀⇛
The largest analysis of how reproductive factors can
influence women’s heart health found a direct link to
increasing a woman’s risk of heart attack and stroke.
o ⚓ NYPost ☛ There’s_no_easy_fix_to_Midtown’s_post-COVID_half-empty
offices⠀⇛
As the city approaches the third anniversary of COVID
lockdowns, Manhattan’s skyscrapers hover around the 50%
occupancy mark.
* § Security⠀➾
o ⚓ NVISO Labs ☛ OneNote_Embedded_file_abuse⠀⇛
In recent weeks OneNote has gotten a lot of media
attention as threat actors are abusing the embedded files
feature in OneNote in their phishing campaigns.
In this post we will analyze this new way of malware
delivery and create a detection rule for it.
o ⚓ Security Week ☛ LastPass_Says_DevOps_Engineer_Home_Computer
Hacked⠀⇛
LastPass DevOp engineer’s home computer hacked and
implanted with keylogging malware as part of a sustained
cyberattack that exfiltrated corporate data from the
cloud storage resources.
o ⚓ Security Week ☛ Cyberattack_on_Boston_Union_Results_in_$6.4M
Loss⠀⇛
A cyberattack on the Boston-based Pipefitters Local 537
union’s health fund resulted in the loss of $6.4 million.
o ⚓ Security Week ☛ ‘PureCrypter’_Downloader_Used_to_Deliver_Malware
to_Governments⠀⇛
Threat actor uses the PureCrypter downloader to deliver
malware to government entities in Asia-Pacific and North
America.
o ⚓ Security Week ☛ QNAP_Offering_$20,000_Rewards_via_New_Bug_Bounty
Program⠀⇛
New QNAP Systems bug bounty program covers
vulnerabilities in applications, cloud services, and
operating systems.
o ⚓ Security Week ☛ Media_Giant_News_Corp_Discloses_New_Details_of
Data_Breach⠀⇛
News Corp says a threat group, previously linked to the
Chinese government, had access to its systems for two
years before the breach was discovered.
o ⚓ Daniel Lange ☛ Daniel_Lange:_Thunderbird_gpg_key_import⠀⇛
5MB (or 4.8MiB) import limit. Sure. My modest pubring
(111 keys) is 18MB. The Debian_keyring is 28MB.
May be, just may be, add another 0 to that if statement?
So, until that happens, workarounds …
§ Option 1:
Export each pubkey into a separate file. The import
dialog allows to select them all in one go. But – of
course – it will ask confirmation for each. So prepare
some valerian tea.
o ⚓ Daniel Lange ☛ Daniel_Lange:_Getting_gpg_to_import_signatures
again⠀⇛
Now the changed_defaults_in_gpg to “mitigate” this issue
are trickling down to even the conservative
distributions. Debian Bullseye has self-sigs-only on gpg
2.2.27 and it looks like Debian Bookworm will get gpg
2.2.40. This would add import-clean but Daniel Kahn
Gillmor patched_it_out. He argues correctly that this new
default could delete data from good locally store
pubkeys.
This all ends in you getting some random combination of
self-sigs-only and / or import-clean depending on which
Linux distribution and version you happen to use.
o ⚓ Port Swigger ☛ Password_managers:_A_rough_guide_to_enterprise
secret_platforms⠀⇛
The second part of our password manager series looks at
business-grade tech to handle API tokens, login
credentials, and more
o ⚓ Port Swigger ☛ Chromium_bug_allowed_SameSite_cookie_bypass_on
Android_devices⠀⇛
Protections against cross-site request forgery could be
bypassed
o ⚓ Silicon Angle ☛ News_Corp_reveals_hackers_had_access_to_internal
network_for_two_years⠀⇛
Media conglomerate News Corp has disclosed that attackers
behind a data breach revealed in February 2022 had access
to parts of its internal systems for two years. The
initial attack was first detected in January last year,
affecting News Corp. publications and business units,
including The Wall Street Journal and its parent company
Dow Jones…
⚓ Silicon Angle ☛ LockBit_3.0_remains_the_most_active_threat_actor_as
ransomware_attacks_drop_in_January [Ed: Microsoft Windows TCO]⠀⇛
In a surprising finding, a new report from NCC Group plc finds that
the number of ransomware attacks dropped in January from December,
but the number of attacks was still the highest for January in three
years.
⚓ Scoop News Group ☛ ‘A_year_of_cyberwar’_with_Russia:_An_inside_look_from_a
top_Ukrainian_cybersecurity_official [Ed: Reliance on Windows has done them a
lot of harm and the "solution" was outsourcing to Microsoft, which worsens
things and helps Microsoft grab taxpayers' money]⠀⇛
Victor Zhora has been at the forefront of coordinating Ukraine’s
cyberdefense and describes lessons learned from fending off Russian
attacks.
⚓ Scoop News Group ☛ CISA_director_urges_tech_sector_to_stop_shipping_unsafe
products⠀⇛
Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Director Jen
Easterly said the cybersecurity burden should no longer be placed on
consumers.
⚓ Data Breaches ☛ 553_days_from_discovery_to_notification?_DataBreaches_asked
Dental_Health_Management_Solutions_why.⠀⇛
Why did it take 553 days from discovery to notify patients? Is the
delay acceptable? Applying the standards for HIPAA-covered entities,
and having reported on many breaches by now, DataBreaches believes a
delay that long is not acceptable unless there are factors we do not
know about in play. DataBreaches sent inquiries to both DHMS and
their external counsel at Wilson Elser to ask for an explanation for
the serious delay. No replies have been received.
There is currently no notice on HHS’s breach site (but they often
have a delay in posting), and there is nothing on the Texas Attorney
General’s breach site. Nor is there any notice on DHMS’s website.
⚓ How_Offensive_Action_is_Countering_Ransomware [Ed: So does deleting Windows,
and that's a lot cheaper.]⠀⇛
Ransomware attacks have crossed a red line for many countries with
continued merciless attacks. The threat to national economies and
critical infrastructure marked a turning point. Governments are
fighting back, and one of the strategies now routinely employed is
infiltrating the servers and infrastructure of ransomware gangs. A
recent offensive action against a top ransomware gang shows it can be
a powerful tool both to rattle ransomware groups and provide real-
time help to victims.
The latest occurred last month. Top U.S. prosecutors revealed Jan.
26, 2023, a law enforcement operation involving 13 countries that
infiltrated the Hive ransomware group’s infrastructure starting in
July 2022. As a top U.S. law enforcement official characterized it:
“Simply put, using lawful means, we hacked the hackers.” Hive was one
of the most prolific ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) groups, with
affiliates using its ransomware to execute attacks and extort more
than 1,500 victims. For seven months, investigators had “clandestine,
persistent” access to Hive’s control panel and database. That enabled
investigators to swipe decryption keys without Hive’s knowledge and
distribute those keys to 336 victims actively under attack. More than
1,000 decryption keys were provided to previous Hive victims, and
authorities estimated the action meant US $130 million was not paid
to the gang. What does this mean for the Hive gang, and what
influence will this action have with respect to the broader
ransomware environment?
⚓ The Record ☛ Danish_hospitals_hit_by_cyberattack_from_‘Anonymous_Sudan’⠀⇛
The websites of nine hospitals in Denmark went offline on Sunday
evening following distributed-denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks from a
group calling itself Anonymous Sudan.
Copenhagen’s health authority said on Twitter that although the
websites for the hospitals were down, medical care at the facilities
was unaffected by the attacks. It later added the sites were back
online after “a couple of hours.”
⚓ Dallas News ☛ Thousands_of_Asian_Texans_targeted_in_driver’s_license_breach⠀⇛
The state shipped thousands of Texas driver’s licenses to an
international organized crime group in a security lapse that is still
under investigation, Department of Public Safety Chief Steve McCraw
said Monday.
* § Privacy/Surveillance⠀➾
o ⚓ Gizmodo ☛ Yikes,_the_U.S._is_Now_Using_Facial_Recognition_Rigged
Drones_for_Special_Ops⠀⇛
Flying killer robots used to be a nightmarish sci-fi
fantasy—something that only existed in James Cameron
movies or Michael Crichton novels.
o ⚓ ACLU ☛ Firestorm_Over_Green_Bay_City_Hall_Surveillance
Microphones_is_a_Reminder_of_Country_We_Don’t_Want_to_Live_In⠀⇛
A heated controversy over audio recording in Green Bay,
Wisconsin has resurfaced an important privacy issue that
we have been monitoring for years: the placement of
surveillance microphones in public places. When it
emerged that live microphones had been installed in
public hallways as part of the security system in city
hall, a number of politicians objected, including a city
alderperson and members of the Wisconsin State Senate,
who subsequently filed a lawsuit. City officials,
meanwhile, defended the mics.
Similar deployments have come to light in the district
attorney’s office in Nashville, and the city_clerk’s
office in East Providence, Rhode Island. The deployment
of surveillance microphones in this manner needs to stop.
§ Defence/Aggression⠀➾
* ⚓ Federal News Network ☛ UN_will_struggle_to_unify_Libya_with_elections
this_year⠀⇛
The United Nations is making a new push to convince Libya’s
rival factions to hold presidential and legislative elections
this year. But any optimism was dampened Monday by a lack of
details and continued disputes. Abdoulaye Bathily, the top U.N.
diplomat for Libya, told the Security Council in New York that
the latest initiative aims for elections within 10 months.
* ⚓ AntiWar ☛ Nine_More_Ukraines⠀⇛
Joe Biden must think that he’s the world’s Rich Uncle. In a
meeting with the so-called Bucharest Nine today he promised
these former Warsaw Pact nations – which should never have been
admitted to NATO in the first place – unlimited economic and
military support. Nine more Ukraines if need be.
* ⚓ AntiWar ☛ What_if_the_West_Can’t_Put_Ukraine_Back_Together?⠀⇛
America’s twenty-year involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan
demonstrated that nation building is often more expensive,
prone to failure, and politically unpopular than expected at
the outset.
* ⚓ AntiWar ☛ Ukraine:_The_Violence_Before_the_Violence⠀⇛
The violence in Ukraine is unimaginable. But before the
violence, there was violence. The military conflict in Ukraine
has received an unprecedented amount of media coverage. The
major US networks have given more coverage to Russia’s war in
Ukraine than they did to America’s war in Iraq.
* ⚓ Security Week ☛ US_National_Cyber_Strategy_Pushes_Regulation,
Aggressive_Hack-Back_Operations⠀⇛
The U.S. government is set to green-light a more aggressive
‘hack-back’ approach to dealing with foreign adversaries and
mandatory regulation of critical infrastructure vendors.
* ⚓ Security Week ☛ US_Sanctions_Several_Entities_Aiding_Russia’s_Cyber
Operations⠀⇛
US Department of Treasury has announced a fresh set of
sanctions against entities helping Russia in the war against
Ukraine.
* ⚓ Gizmodo ☛ The_War_in_Ukraine_Is_Accelerating_the_Global_Drive_Toward
Killer_Robots⠀⇛
The U.S. military is intensifying its commitment to the
development and use of autonomous weapons, as confirmed by an
update to a Department of Defense directive. The update,
released Jan. 25, 2023, is the first in a decade to focus on
artificial intelligence autonomous weapons.
* ⚓ Modern Diplomacy ☛ Four_Years_of_Operation_Swift_Retort,_Commemorating
Pakistan_as_a_Responsible_NWS⠀⇛
Today marked 4th anniversary of “Operation Swift Retort” when
Pakistan Armed Forces responded appropriately to India’s failed
misadventure. It all started on February 26, 2019, when Indian
Air Force planes carried out airstrikes in Balakot, a town in
Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
* ⚓ NYPost ☛ Biden_needs_to_step_up_military_aid_for_Ukraine_—_fast⠀⇛
Does President Joe Biden truly want to end the war in Ukraine?
* ⚓ Defence Web ☛ FATF_grey_lists_South_Africa_over_money_laundering_and
terrorism_funding_concerns⠀⇛
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the global money
laundering and terrorist financing watchdog, has grey listed
South Africa because it deems the country’s financial controls
being not strict enough to prevent financing of terrorist
organisations and money laundering.
§ Environment⠀➾
* ⚓ Quartz ☛ China’s_lithium_crackdown_could_roil_global_markets_for_the
critical_metal⠀⇛
Fresh volatility may hit the red hot global lithium market,
potentially disrupting supplies of the critical metal needed
for batteries that power the energy transition.
* § Energy/Transportation⠀➾
o ⚓ Trail Of Bits ☛ Reusable_properties_for_Ethereum_contracts⠀⇛
As smart contract security constantly evolves, property-
based fuzzing has become a go-to technique for developers
and security engineers. This technique relies on the
creation of code properties – often called invariants –
which describe what the code is supposed to do.
o ⚓ Quartz ☛ South_Africa’s_power_blackouts_will_cost_the_economy
$1.3_billion_this_year⠀⇛
South Africa’s power problem is taking a huge chunk out
its GDP after its central bank estimated that $51 million
is lost every day due to load shedding.
o ⚓ Latvia ☛ Solar_panel_boom_expected_to_continue_this_year_in
Latvia⠀⇛
Last year there was a boom of solar panels in Latvia. In
total, 12,300 households have already installed solar
panels or microgenerators with a total capacity of more
than 80 megawatts (MW). More state aid is still available
for those who want to install them, Latvian Radio
reported on February 27.
o ⚓ Gizmodo ☛ When_It’s_Time_to_Ban_Crypto,_According_to_the_IMF⠀⇛
The world needs a new crypto crackdown, or else there’s
the nuclear option—at least according to one of the
world’s biggest financial bodies.
o ⚓ uni Stanford ☛ Will_the_pre-pandemic_Marguerite_lines_return?⠀⇛
Students advocate for the reinstatement of weekend and
late-night public shuttle lines, citing affordability,
public safety and equity concerns.
* § Wildlife/Nature⠀➾
o ⚓ Latvia ☛ Latvia’s_celebrity_white-tailed_eagles_ready_the_nest⠀⇛
In the livestreamed nest of white-tailed eagles in Durbe,
Latvia, the eagle couple Milda and Voldis are preparing
to lay eggs, ornithologist Jānis Ķuze told Latvian Radio
on February 27.
o ⚓ Latvia ☛ Dead_dolphin_washed_up_on_Latvian_coast⠀⇛
A dead dophin washed up on a Latvian beach on Saturday,
February 25, reports LSM’s Latvian language service.
§ Finance⠀➾
* ⚓ Quartz ☛ Twitter_fired_more_employees_after_Elon_Musk_said_layoffs_had
ended⠀⇛
Dozens of Twitter employees have reportedly lost their jobs
last week, despite CEO Elon Musk promised layoffs had ended in
November, after he made drastic cuts to the company’s workforce
shortly after completing his $44 billion takeover.
* ⚓ Gizmodo ☛ Elon_Musk_Lays_Off_Twitter_Employee_Who_Slept_on_the_Floor_to
Meet_His_Crazy_Deadlines⠀⇛
Twitter CEO Elon Musk has a message for employees: Loyalty
means nothing. Over the weekend, Musk laid off more than 50
employees at the social media company, including one of his
most vocal supporters, product head Esther Crawford.
* ⚓ Latvia ☛ Construction_costs_up_by_17.6%_on_year_in_Latvia⠀⇛
Data publushed on February 27 by the Central Statistical Bureau
show that in January 2023, compared to January 2022, the level
of construction costs in Latvia increased by 17.6 %.
* ⚓ Federal News Network ☛ Tesla_requests_$330M-plus_in_additional_Nevada
tax_breaks⠀⇛
Tesla may receive over $300 million in tax abatements over the
next two decades for a massive new expansion of its northern
Nevada facility, the product of a 2014 deal for when the
company first came to the area on the promise of new jobs and
major investments in the area. The long-awaited sum will be
voted on Thursday by the Nevada Governor’s Office of Economic
Development. Tesla projects it will bring in 3,000 jobs at an
average rate of $33.49 per hour and invest $3.6 billion into
the economy.
* ⚓ Gizmodo ☛ Tesla_Could_Get_More_Than_$300_Million_in_Tax_Breaks_for
Gigafactory_Expansion⠀⇛
A Tesla deal may come to fruition for its facility in Nevada on
Thursday, which may allocate more than $300 million in tax
abatements to the company. The Nevada Governor’s Office of
Economic Development will hold a vote on Thursday to decide
whether the company will receive the sum over the course of two
decades.
* ⚓ Reason ☛ Now_the_CHIPS_Act_Is_Going_To_Subsidize_Child_Care_Too⠀⇛
If Congress wants to spend taxpayer money on child care
services, it should pass a bill authorizing that.
* ⚓ Silicon Angle ☛ Weak_outlook_sends_Workday’s_stock_down_in_extended
trading⠀⇛
Enterprise software provider Workday Inc. beat expectations on
earnings and revenue today as it posted its fourth-quarter
financial results, but its guidance for the coming quarter came
up light and its stock fell almost 3% in extended trading.
§ AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics⠀➾
* ⚓ Quartz ☛ The_UK_and_the_EU_have_reached_an_agreement_on_Northern
Ireland⠀⇛
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak reached an agreement with
the European Union (EU) on Monday (Feb. 27) on a new Brexit
deal that defines the trade status of Northern Ireland.
* ⚓ France24 ☛ PM_Sunak_and_EU_chief_announce_deal_on_post-Brexit_trade_for
Northern_Ireland⠀⇛
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has struck a new deal with
the European Union on post-Brexit trade rules for Northern
Ireland and he said it would pave the way for a new chapter in
London’s relationship with the bloc.
* ⚓ Atlantic Council ☛ Experts_react:_Will_a_new_deal_on_Northern_Ireland
repair_UK-EU_relations?⠀⇛
What would the deal mean for regional trade and diplomacy? What
does it say about Sunak’s approach to foreign policy? Our
experts ship off their answers.
* ⚓ Quartz ☛ A_former_Obama_campaign_staffer_is_the_first_woman_to_lead
Italy’s_main_left-wing_party⠀⇛
A rising star of the Italian left has won election to the
leadership of the Democratic Party, the country’s second-
largest political group.
* ⚓ Mexico News Daily ☛ Thousands_in_Mexico’s_cities_protest_‘Plan_B’
election_reform⠀⇛
The protests happened four days after the Senate approved
reform legislation that critics say poses a threat to Mexican
elections’ integrity.
* ⚓ Atlantic Council ☛ From_Twitter_spats_to_island_disputes,_Egypt_and
Saudi_Arabia_have_a_bone_to_pick_with_each_other⠀⇛
Cairo’s relationship with its Gulf ally has become increasingly
fractious in recent weeks after a Saudi official made clear
that any future Gulf assistance ”will come with strings
attached.”
* § Misinformation/Disinformation/Propaganda⠀➾
o ⚓ Silicon Angle ☛ Canada_bans_TikTok_on_government_devices⠀⇛
The Government of Canada has joined the European
Commission and the U.S. House of Representatives in
banning TikTok on government-issued devices amid ongoing
concerns that the Chinese government can use the app to
spy on users. The ban, effective starting Feb. 28, was
announced earlier today by the Treasury Board of Canada.
⚓ Federal News Network ☛ TikTok_banned_on_all_Canadian_government_mobile
devices⠀⇛
Canada is banning TikTok from all government-issued mobile devices,
reflecting widening worries from Western officials over the Chinese-
owned video sharing app. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says it might
be a first step to further action. TikTok is wildly popular with
young people, but its Chinese ownership has raised fears that Beijing
could use it to collect data on Western users or push pro-China
narratives and misinformation.
⚓ Digital Music News ☛ Canada_Bans_TikTok_On_All_Government-Issued_Devices,
Effective_Immediately⠀⇛
Canada has banned TikTok on all government-issued devices, citing an
“unacceptable” security risk to privacy and security. TikTok is owned
by Chinese firm ByteDance, which has drawn scrutiny from around the
world.
§ Censorship/Free Speech⠀➾
* ⚓ Gizmodo ☛ BBC_Removes_Sabrina_Carpenter’s_Raunchy_Freestyle_From
YouTube_Clip⠀⇛
The BBC apparently isn’t a fan of porn puns, especially ones
that pertain to its own name. A live performance by Sabrina
Carpenter was cut a tiny bit shorter after it was uploaded to
YouTube, removing the singer’s riff at the very end that refers
to an obvious sexual innuendo.
* ⚓ Michel Alexandre Salim ☛ Goodbye_New_York_Times:_your_TERF_transphobia
is_one_step_too_far⠀⇛
Dear NYT,
Because of your repeated transphobia and your doubling down by
silencing your internal critics, I can no longer support your
publication.
I tolerated you continuously giving the anti-choice Douthat a
platform, or Dowd’s anti-Clinton hatred and your biased
coverage in 2016 contributing to the decline of US democracy
(that you never did a mea culpa on) … but now you are just
ganging up against one of the most vulnerable groups in our
society, and showing your own illiberalism in doing so.
* ⚓ Off Guardian ☛ WATCH:_Canada_Criminalizes_Dissent⠀⇛
The freedom convoy commission has delivered its verdict:
dissent is now illegal whenever the government declares it so!
Find out about the commission’s final report and what it means
for Canadians and freedom lovers the world over on this
important edition of The Corbett Report.
§ Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press⠀➾
* ⚓ Ruben Schade ☛ Journalists_failing_in_their_AI_chatbot_reporting⠀⇛
Let’s do an experiment! I’m going to quote an_article_in_the
popular_press about a chatbot, and we’ll see if anything sounds
weird. We’ll start under the subtitle How does $CHATBOT work?:
$CHATBOT was trained in writing that already exists
on the internet up to the year 2021. When you type in
your question or prompt, it reacts with lightning
speed.
The journalist can’t even write a factual sentence without
immediate embellishment. Ruben is a handsome, well-respected
genius who’s wit and modesty are matched only by the delightful
freshness imparted by his regular bathing regime and impeccable
aftershave choices. AI clearly stands for awesome-smelling
individual.
§ Civil Rights/Policing⠀➾
* ⚓ Sterk_leaves_Atlanta_Police_Foundation_Board_of_Trustees,_University
denies_connections_following_Cop_City_protests⠀⇛
Former Emory University President and Charles Howard Candler
Professor of Public Health Claire Sterk is no longer a member
of the Atlanta Police Foundation Board of Trustees as of Feb.
7. Her departure follows pressure from an open letter
—spearheaded by public health students and professionals —
released on Feb. 5 calling for her resignation.
* ⚓ Digital Music News ☛ YouTube_Music_Staffers_Face_Harassment_Allegations
As_Strike_Enters_Third_Week:_‘They’re_Trying_to_Smear_Low-Wage_Workers’⠀⇛
The third week of the YouTube Music strike is in full swing,
and around 40 team members (contracted by Cognizant) are
continuing to speak out against a return-to-office order that
they say violates the terms of their employment.
§ Internet Policy/Net Neutrality⠀➾
* ⚓ James G ☛ IndieWeb_Principles_Poster⠀⇛
The rain outside here in San Francisco is unyielding. This is
perhaps a sign that I should let my feet rest after two long
days of walking outdoors. While the rain falls, I have taken an
opportunity to do a bit of writing and design. I decided to
make a poster that shows the IndieWeb_principles.
* ⚓ AccessNow ☛ Human_rights_organizations_and_associations_call_for_the
Tunisian_government_to_postpone_the_launch_of_digital_platform_for
subsidies_compensation⠀⇛
The undersigned organizations and associations call on the
Tunisian government to postpone launching a digital platform
for subsidies compensation.
§ Monopolies⠀➾
* ⚓ Digital Music News ☛ U.S._Senators_Klobuchar,_Lee_Urge_DOJ_Action
Against_Ticketmaster,_Live_Nation_After_Judiciary_Hearings⠀⇛
U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Mike Lee (R-UT) are
calling for the Department of Justice to continue investigating
Ticketmaster and Live Nation’s anti-competitive practices. In a
bipartisan letter after the recent Senate Judiciary Committee
hearings, both Senators urge the DOJ to take action.
* § Trademarks⠀➾
o ⚓ Quartz ☛ Nokia_is_changing_its_logo_to_move_away_from_its_mobile
manufacturer_image⠀⇛
* § Copyrights⠀➾
o ⚓ Michael Geist ☛ The_Law_Bytes_Podcast,_Episode_157:_Stephen_Spong
on_the_“Goblin_Mode_Gaslighting”_of_Canadian_Copyright_and_Fair
Dealing⠀⇛
Last week was Fair Dealing Week, a chance for a wide
range of Canadians – educators, students, librarians,
archivists, and creators – to celebrate the important
role that fair dealing plays in facilitating both fair
access and fair compensation to copyrighted works. I ran
a series of posts on Canadian education, fair dealing and
copyright that will continue into the coming week.
o ⚓ Digital Music News ☛ Musicians’_Union_Announces_‘Milestone’
Recording_and_Broadcasting_Agreements_With_the_BBC,_Sky,_and
Others⠀⇛
London’s Musicians’ Union has announced the completion of
a “significant round” of collective bargaining
negotiations with the BBC, Sky, and others, which it says
will deliver “meaningful pay increases” to its
approximately 32,000 members in the approaching years.
o ⚓ Digital Music News ☛ U.S._Copyright_Office_Seeks_Comments_on_Late
Fees_for_Mechanical_Royalty_Payments⠀⇛
The US Copyright Office issues a notification of inquiry
soliciting public comments on late fees for mechanical
royalty payments under the Music Modernization Act. The
US Copyright Office is asking for public feedback on
digital music royalty late fees and whether it should
consider revising the current system.
§ Gemini* and Gopher⠀➾
* § Personal⠀➾
o ⚓ deluge⠀⇛
There’s a deluge outside my apartment’s window. My cat
and I both are enjoying it.
I’ve always liked a nice rain, and today’s is
particularly heavy. I can tell by the way it washes off
the nearest streetlamp, flooding the cap at the light’s
top which was designed to withstand this much a torrent,
but none more. I suppose the cat and I are easily
captivated by the mundane in the same way.
* § Technical⠀➾
o ⚓ Lists,_renders,_submissions,_and_Smol_talk⠀⇛
Continuing the conversation around Ctrl-ZINE, I have made
more progress with the assembly of Issue.1.
First, I made an 11-point list of topics/suggestions that
people can take “queue” from in regards to *what* should
be submitted, but additional topics and suggestions are
welcome, and are welcome for submission. Tech-oriented
content is what this zine is going for, but it’s not set
in stone.
=> =============================================================================
World Wide Web but a lot lighter.
䷩ 𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚎 5908
╒═══════════════════ 𝐃𝐀𝐈𝐋𝐘 𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐊𝐒 ═════════════════════════════════════════════╕
⠀⌧ █▇▆▅▄▃▂▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁ 02.28.23⠀▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▂▃▄▅▆▇█ ⌧
Gemini_version_available_♊︎
✐ Links_28/02/2023:_New_KDE_Release_and_Some_Politics⠀✐
Posted in News_Roundup at 9:05 pm by Dr. Roy Schestowitz
🄸🄼🄰🄶🄴 🄳🄴🅂🄲🅁🄸🄿🅃🄸🄾🄽 ⦇GNOME bluefish⦈
§ Contents⠀➾
* GNU/Linux
o Audiocasts/Shows
o Applications
o Instructionals/Technical
o Desktop_Environments/WMs
# K_Desktop_Environment/KDE_SC/Qt
* Distributions_and_Operating_Systems
o Fedora_Family_/_IBM
o Canonical/Ubuntu_Family
o Open_Hardware/Modding
o Mobile_Systems/Mobile_Applications
* Free,_Libre,_and_Open_Source_Software
o Licensing_/_Legal
o Programming/Development
* Leftovers
o Science
o Hardware
o Health/Nutrition/Agriculture
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 Monopolies
# Patents
# Trademarks
# Copyrights
* Gemini*_and_Gopher
o Personal
o Technical
# Internet/Gemini
# Programming
* § GNU/Linux⠀➾
o § Audiocasts/Shows⠀➾
# ⚓ Video ☛ The_Steam_Deck_just_had_its_first_birthday._But_is
it_for_you?_–_Invidious⠀⇛
You wanna hear something crazy: I’ve had a Steam
Deck for a year. Yeah. Valve sent me a review unit
and it arrived here on February 24th, 2022. To
think back on the state of the Deck when I first
got mine. How far it has come in that time… The
question is: should you buy a Steam Deck in 2023?
# ⚓ Video ☛ No_Flatpak_for_Ubuntu?_|_LMDE_5_Followup_|_Q-A_–
Invidious⠀⇛
What do you think about Ubuntu and Snap vs.
Flatpak? I dig into some of your comments and
answer your questions… This is going to be fun.
🄸🄼🄰🄶🄴 🄳🄴🅂🄲🅁🄸🄿🅃🄸🄾🄽 ⦇:)⦈
# ⚓ Video ☛ Rolling_Release_Linux_Distro_Probably_Isn’t_For_You
–_Invidious⠀⇛
As much as I love my rolling release distro being
Arch Linux I know that this kind of system is
absolutely not for everyone and shouldn’t be, so
let’s go over some things to consider before
picking yourself up a rolling release.
o § Applications⠀➾
# ⚓ Linux Links ☛ 9_Best_Free_and_Open_Source_Electronic_Design
Automation_Tools⠀⇛
There are a wide range of EDA tools out that are
released under an open source license which let
developers customize, and create their latest
designs. To provide an insight into the quality of
software that is available, we’ve compiled a list
of 9 high quality free Linux EDA applications.
Hopefully, there will be something of interest here
for anyone who wants to design electronic systems.
# ⚓ Linux Links ☛ Best_Free_and_Open_Source_Software_–_February
2023_Updates⠀⇛
Here are the latest updates to our compilation of
recommended software. Open source software at its
finest.
It’s been an extremely busy month in February with
a smorgasbord of new and updated group tests
published.
As always, we love receiving your suggestions for
new articles or additional open source software to
feature. Let us know in the Comments box below or
drop us an email.
o § Instructionals/Technical⠀➾
# ⚓ Linux Shell Tips ☛ 4_Commands_to_List_Mounted_File_Systems
in_Linux⠀⇛
The Linux operating system provides multiple
filesystems, including ext4, xfs, tmpfs,
securityfs, and many more. This guide demonstrates
various ways to list all mounted
# ⚓ UNIX Cop ☛ How_to_automate_updates_on_Ubuntu_and_Redhat-
based_Systems⠀⇛
# ⚓ UNIX Cop ☛ What_is_/dev/null_in_Linux⠀⇛
# ⚓ Cloudbooklet ☛ Building_an_Effective_ML_Deployment_Stack
with_Docker_on_Ubuntu_22.04⠀⇛
In this comprehensive guide, we’ll walk you through
the process of building a powerful ML deployment
stack on Ubuntu 22.04, complete with step-by-step
instructions and commands.
# ⚓ UNIX Cop ☛ How_To_Install_NoMachine_on_CentOS_9_/
RockyLinux_9_/_AlmaLinux_9⠀⇛
In this guide, we will show you how to download and
install NoMachine on AlmaLinux, RockyLinux and
CentOS systems. NoMachine is a cross-platform,
fastest, and highest quality remote desktop tool
that enables you to access the desktop of any other
machine with NoMachine installed.
# ⚓ UNIX Cop ☛ How_To_Install_Bitwarden_on_CentOS_9_/AlmaLinux
9/_RockyLinux_9⠀⇛
In this tutorial, we will show you how to install
Bitwarden on your CentOS, AlmaLinux and RockyLinux
systems.
# ⚓ UNIX Cop ☛ How_To_Install_Discord_on_CentOS_9_/AlmaLinux_9/
RockyLinux_9⠀⇛
In this guide, we will show you how to install
Discord on CentOS, AlmaLinux and RockyLinux Systems
with two different methods.
# ⚓ Peter_Czanik:_Syslog-ng_101,_part_9:_Filters⠀⇛
This is the ninth part of my syslog-ng tutorial.
Last time, we learned about macros and templates.
Today, we learn about syslog-ng filters. At the end
of the session, we will see a more complex filter
and a template function.
You can watch the video or read the text below.
https://youtu.be/2JZNuRbZc_8
§ Declaring filters
Filters are expressions to select, or in other
words, filter log messages. They make sure that the
right messages reach the right destinations. For
example, you can use filters to discard debug level
log messages, or make sure that all authentication-
related messages are routed to your SIEM system.
A filter definition is a collection of one or more
filter functions. It consists of two parts. It
starts with the word “filter”, followed by an
identifier for the filter which you will use later
to refer to the given filter. After that, it lists
the filter functions with their parameters. You can
combine multiple filter functions using boolean
operators. Here is how its syntax looks like:
filter name { filterfunction(); };
filter f_default { level(info..emerg) and not
(facility(mail)); };
# ⚓ Linux Made Simple ☛ How_to_install_Notepadqq_on_Linux_Lite
6.2⠀⇛
# ⚓ Linux Made Simple ☛ How_to_install_Reaper_on_a_Chromebook⠀⇛
# ⚓ Barry Kauler ☛ How_to_install_Vivaldi_browser_or_any_DEB⠀⇛
Forum member tallboy asked how to install Vivaldi
web browser in
EasyOS. Forum member kinoe replied with a link to a
Vivaldi appimage.
I also posted a couple of replies. Yes, appimages
will work in Easy,
and .deb packages can be installed just by clicking
on then. There are
some caveats though, see my replies:
# ⚓ DebugPoint ☛ How_to_Install_LibreOffice_in_Arch_Linux_
(Fresh_and_Still_versions)⠀⇛
LibreOffice comes in two variants. The latest
version by number is the community edition which
contains the latest features and enhancements and
targets early adopters. And the business version is
a little behind on features but it’s stable and
solid.
However, in the Arch Linux package repository, the
names remained as “fresh” and “still”.
Here’s how to install it.
o § Desktop Environments/WMs⠀➾
# § K Desktop Environment/KDE SC/Qt⠀➾
# ⚓ Ubuntu Pit ☛ KDE_Plasma_5.27.2_Released:_What’s
New?⠀⇛
The KDE team has announced the second point
release of the Plasma 5.27 LTS desktop
environment series: Plasma 5.27.2. This
release brings fixes for reported user
issues, as well as a more streamlined
experience with improved usability and
efficiency overall.
# ⚓ KDE ☛ KDE_Plasma_5.27.2,_Bugfix_Release_for
February⠀⇛
Today KDE releases a bugfix update to KDE
Plasma 5, versioned 5.27.2.
Plasma 5.27 was released in February 2023
with many feature refinements and new modules
to complete the desktop experience.
This release adds a week’s worth of new
translations and fixes from KDE’s
contributors. The bugfixes are typically
small but important and include…
* § Distributions and Operating Systems⠀➾
o § Fedora Family / IBM⠀➾
# ⚓ CentOS ☛ CentOS_Community_Newsletter,_February_2023⠀⇛
CentOS hosted its annual CentOS Connect at FOSDEM
2023. CentOS Connect is a series of mini-
conferences where people from across the Enterprise
Linux ecosystem can connect at learn. CentOS
Connect at FOSDEM is the largest of these events.
This was our first return to being in person at
FOSDEM, and we were very happy with the turnout and
overall experience. We also ran the event
virtually. We’re committed to running hybrid
events, and we’ll continue to improve on the
virtual experience. If you attended, either in
person or virtually, check your email for a post-
event survey. It only takes a few minutes, and it
really helps us create better events for you in the
future.
o § Canonical/Ubuntu Family⠀➾
# ⚓ Ubuntu ☛ Top_10_robotics_snaps_in_the_Snap_Store_–_Part_1⠀⇛
The number of robotics applications being
distributed by snaps just keeps growing! From
toolkits and plugins to dedicated robotics launch
files and ROS-based snaps, robotics developers keep
sharing their apps with snaps
o § Open Hardware/Modding⠀➾
# ⚓ Arduino ☛ Self-guided_circular_saw_automates_woodworking⠀⇛
A circular saw is a must-have tool for anyone who
wants to do even basic woodworking. But getting
clean, straight cuts is a skill that takes practice
to develop. To automate the process in order to
perform clean cuts every time with zero effort, Red
Tie Projects created this self-guided circular saw.
# ⚓ Arduino ☛ Time_Slider_is_an_interesting_spin_on_clock
design⠀⇛
You can build a simple and accurate clock with any
Arduino board, an RTC (real-time clock) module, and
a four-digit seven-segment display. But if you want
to be inspired by a more unique design, check out
Hans Andersson’s Time Slider. This clever clock
features four sliders — one for each digit of the
time.
o § Mobile Systems/Mobile Applications⠀➾
# ⚓ Android Police ☛ Best_Mario_Kart_alternatives_on_Android_in
2023⠀⇛
# ⚓ Android Police ☛ LastPass_reveals_its_recent_security
attack_was_worse_than_it_initially_thought⠀⇛
# ⚓ Giz China ☛ This_YouTube_video_crashes_some_Android
smartphones⠀⇛
# ⚓ India Today ☛ Phone_slowing_down?_How_to_speed_up_your
Android_smartphone_quickly_–_India_Today⠀⇛
# ⚓ Geeky Gadgets ☛ Raspberry_Pi_stress_testing_–_Geeky
Gadgets⠀⇛
# ⚓ 9to5Google ☛ Android_security:_How_to_set_a_PIN,_password,
and_biometric_login⠀⇛
# ⚓ Make Use Of ☛ What_Are_Android_Banking_Trojans_and_How_Do
You_Avoid_Them?⠀⇛
# ⚓ The Sun ☛ Billions_of_Android_users_warned_over_‘harmless’
apps_spying_on_your_every_move_–_including_creating_map_of
location_|_The_US_Sun⠀⇛
# ⚓ The Sun ☛ Billions_of_Android_users_can_unlock_dozens_of
secret_Google_features_for_free_using_‘instant_upgrade’
loophole_|_The_US_Sun⠀⇛
# ⚓ Pocket Lint ☛ OnePlus_Pad_initial_review:_A_charming
Android_tablet⠀⇛
# ⚓ Android Police ☛ Razer_Edge_review:_Thanks,_but_I_already
have_a_phone⠀⇛
* § Free, Libre, and Open Source Software⠀➾
o § Licensing / Legal⠀➾
# ⚓ Austin Z Henley ☛ AI-generated_code_needs_permission_labels
[Ed: It is not "AI-generated", it is plagiarism]⠀⇛
o § Programming/Development⠀➾
# ⚓ Nicholas Tietz-Sokolsky ☛ If_software_engineering_roles
were_chess_pieces,_what_would_they_be?⠀⇛
* § Leftovers⠀➾
o ⚓ Meduza ☛ Belarusian_IKEA_knockoff_company_Swed_House_to_open_in
Russia_—_Meduza⠀⇛
The Russian Union of Shopping Centers has signed a
cooperation agreement with the Belarusian company Swed
House, a home goods firm that sells items intended to
look like IKEA products.
o ⚓ Meduza ☛ Prosecution_requests_19-year_prison_terms_for_Belarusian
opposition_leaders,_Sviatlana_Tsikhanouskaya_and_Pavel_Latushko,
tried_in_absentia_—_Meduza⠀⇛
Belarusian opposition leaders Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya
and Pavel Latushko are being tried in absentia in
Belarus. They have been charged with conspiracy,
organizing an extremist group, and undermining the
government of Belarus and its state security.
o ⚓ Meduza ☛ 18_human_skeletons_found_on_Dagestan_beach,_where_they
may_have_been_buried_in_1930s_—_Meduza⠀⇛
Human remains were found on a Caspian Sea beach in
Makhachkala, Dagestan, the Russian state media outlet RIA
Novosti reported on Monday, citing local law enforcement.
o ⚓ Hackaday ☛ Pokemon_ROM_Hacks_Brought_To_The_Real_World⠀⇛
If you were a kid anywhere in the last 30 years, it was
nearly impossible to avoid at least some exposure to the
Pokemon franchise. Whether that’s through games like Red
and Blue to Scarlet and Violet, the brief summer everyone
played Pokemon Go, or to other media such as the trading
card game or anime, it seems to have transcended
generations and cultures fairly thoroughly. And, if
you’ve consumed all there is of official Pokemon video
gaming, you may be surprised to know there are a number
of slightly modified games floating around out there that
can be translated onto game carts just like their
official counterparts.
o ⚓ Hackaday ☛ Collection_Of_Old_Films_Rescued_For_Preservation⠀⇛
PeriscopeFilm owners [Doug] and [Nick] just released a
mini-documentary about the rescue of a large collection
of old 35 and 16 mm celluloid films from the landfill.
The video shows the process of the films being collected
from the donor and then being sorted and organized in a
temporary storage warehouse. There is a dizzying variety
of films in this haul, from different countries, in both
color and black and white.
o ⚓ World_Bank:_Earthquake_damage_in_Türkiye_estimated_to_exceed_$34
billion⠀⇛
The rapid damage assessment report after the February 6
earthquakes also acknowledges that recovery and
reconstruction costs will be much larger, potentially
twice as large.
o ⚓ Union_of_bars_files_case_against_switch_to_remote_education_due
to_earthquakes⠀⇛
Higher education will continue online, with earthquake
survivors placed in university dormitories.
o ⚓ Xe’s Blog ☛ Talon_is_amazing⠀⇛
When I was writing this post,
I was in a unique level of flow state working with Talon.
It’s
probably gonna come across a little bit weird. Sorry!
In my last article I discussed the voice control
challenge, it is a
very simple thing: put your hands at your sides and use
only your
voice to do your daily tasks. In essence, doing this
makes you get
exposed to what it is like for people who have to rely in
these
technologies on a daily basis.
For many of you reading this post, this is just a thought
experiment.
This is something that you try once or twice and then go
back to
normal. It can be frustrating, none of your applications
will work
correctly. Selecting some UI elements may be difficult or
even
impossible.
One way to look at a challenge like this is to help you
train empathy
for those who have to rely on this technology. it can
make you feel
powerless. This is a feeling that we rarely get to have
as
technologists.
The thing that I really feel exemplifies the difficulty
of the voice
control challenge is controlling a text editor. Text
editors require
arbitrary keyboard inputs. They require pressing weird
key binds.
Doing this with voice control on a mac or iPad can be
difficult to
impossible.
o ⚓ Counter Punch ☛ Letter_from_London:_Meeting_at_Maison_Bertaux⠀⇛
I made a nostalgic venture back into London’s Soho last
week to meet up for a coffee and chat with writer and
journalist Christopher Howse. We had arranged to meet at
well loved patisserie Maison Bertaux on Greek Street,
enjoyed by CNN only a few weeks ago, I noticed. It was
not exactly Marlow getting the ship fixed and setting off
upriver again but the drums of my past were certainly
beating as I wandered up from Charing Cross. Not often
these days did I meet with a broadsheet journalist,
either. I have known my fair share, some also who gave up
once it became impossible to make a living from it. Two I
knew actually became barristers — funny, as, also last
week, I had come across Harry Mount’s ‘My Brief Career’
in one of those appetising piles of free books you find
at overland London railway stations. The kind you are
encouraged to pluck like fruit and take back once read.
As my train was late, I began reading Mount’s expose, and
was immediately thankful to be taken away from news on my
phone from Ukraine. It is a tidy account of how Mount
travelled in the opposite direction from the two
barristers by journeying instead from law to journalism.
‘A hilarious account of the splendid miseries of being a
pupil in a barrister’s chamber,’ John Mortimer wrote.
Mount is now editor of The Oldie, whose founding editor
was former Private Eye and Soho luminary Richard Ingrams,
and I wonder how the view is for him now.
At least London seemed its usual eccentric and capricious
self. I couldn’t help but notice the man in Leicester
Square marching in front of me with the word
‘ELECTRICITY’ on the back of his high-vis jacket. ‘I’m
shocked,’ he kept saying into his mobile phone, rather
troublingly for an electricity man. ‘I am shocked!’ he
repeated, perhaps too loudly this time. Leaving him to
whatever power game he was playing, I sneaked a left into
Chinatown and suddenly found myself beneath a marvellous
sea of tethered bright orange lanterns, as if each
chuckling away at the big grey sky. There were so many of
them, all so light and crisp and beautiful, that I had to
take a photograph. Only later did I realise each was
bearing the name of a giant casino. In fact, serious
gambling among London’s Chinese community is sufficiently
common nowadays for the many first-time Chinese students
heading to our universities being made aware of the
impending risk of unlimited access to it. This sounds
like something they may have once said to communists
about to experience capitalism. On my left, meanwhile,
was Wan Chai Corner, where many years ago I would eat
delicious dim sum with a gracious backgammon-playing
friend. By now I was really looking forward to seeing
Christopher again. We are two quite different people who
share many of the same interests — poetry, travel, the
cosmos — or so I like to think. I reviewed his book ‘Soho
in the Eighties’ in these pages a few years ago, and if
ever a London memoir demonstrates an acute power of
observation, it is this one. In equal measure, I am also
a fan of his crescent-like ‘A Pilgrim in Spain’ based on
years of travelling across the Castilian interior.
o ⚓ Oona Räisänen ☛ Using_HDMI_radio_interference_for_high-speed_data
transfer⠀⇛
This story, too, begins with noise. I was browsing the
radio waves with a software radio, looking for mysteries
to accompany my ginger tea. I had started to notice a
wide-band spiky signal on a number of frequencies that
only seemed to appear indoors. Some sort of interference
from electronic devices, probably. Spoiler alert, it
eventually led me to broadcast a webcam picture over the
radio waves… but how?
o § Science⠀➾
# ⚓ Hackaday ☛ Move_Over_Steel,_Carbon-Reinforced_Concrete_Is
Here⠀⇛
Reinforced concrete is the miracle material which
made possible so many of the twentieth century’s
most iconic structures, but here in this century
its environmental footprint makes it something of a
concern. As part of addressing this problem, a team
at TU Dresden in Germany have completed what is
believed to be the world’s first building made with
carbon-reinforced concrete, in which the steel
rebar is replaced with carbon fiber.
o § Hardware⠀➾
# ⚓ Hackaday ☛ DIY_STM32_Scope_Is_Simple,_Cheap,_And
Featureful⠀⇛
Would you like to have a small digital
oscilloscope? Do you have a spare BlackPill
(STM32F401) board and a TFT display laying around?
[tvvlad1234] presents us with a simple and
educational digital storage oscilloscope design
that barely needs any components for you to build
one, and it’s packed with features just like you
would expect from a self-respecting open-source
project. Not just that — it can even stream data to
your computer, in a format compatible with the
TekScope software!
# ⚓ Hackaday ☛ Watch_Time_Slide_By_With_This_Electromechanical
Clock⠀⇛
Back in the 18th century, clockmakers were held in
high esteem, as turning pieces of metal and wire
into working timepieces must have seemed like magic
at the time. The advent of mass production made
their profession largely obsolete, but today there
are several hardware hackers whom you could
consider modern heirs of the craft. [Hans
Andersson] is one of them, and has made a name for
himself with an impressive portfolio of
electromechanical clocks. His latest work, called
the Time Slider, is every bit as captivating as his
previous work.
o § Health/Nutrition/Agriculture⠀➾
# ⚓ CNN ☛ After_959_days,_this_city_is_no_longer_imposing
$1,000_fines_for_not_wearing_a_mask⠀⇛
One of the last major international cities
requiring face coverings on Tuesday announced it
will end its controversial Covid mask mandate
nearly three years after it was enacted to prevent
the spread of the virus.
# ⚓ CNN ☛ Zero-calorie_sweetener_linked_to_heart_attack_and
stroke,_study_finds⠀⇛
A sugar replacement called erythritol — used to add
bulk or sweeten stevia, monk-fruit, and keto
reduced-sugar products — has been linked to blood
clotting, stroke, heart attack and death, according
to a new study.
# ⚓ TruthOut ☛ Exposure_to_Chevron’s_“Climate-Friendly”_Fuel
May_Pose_Severe_Risk_of_Cancer⠀⇛
# ⚓ Brownstone_flack_Gabrielle_Bauer_admits_that_the_Great
Barrington_Declaration_was_wrong⠀⇛
From the vantage point of three years into the
COVID-19 pandemic, at times October 2020 seems like
ancient history, although I do still remember it
well. The pandemic was building as the first deadly
winter approached, and it was not clear when (or
if) there would be safe and effective vaccines
against COVID-19. There was hope, of course,
because the reports coming out about the clinical
trials of the mRNA-based vaccines from Pfizer/
BioNTech and Moderna sounded promising, but even
the most optimistic wouldn’t have predicted that
the vaccine would receive emergency use
authorization (EUA) and start rolling out to high
risk frontline workers a mere two months later and
then to the high risk general public not long after
that. The 2020 Presidential election was in full
swing, as much as it could be given the pandemic-
driven restrictions on large gatherings. It was
truly a bizarre election.
# ⚓ Pro Publica ☛ Minnesota_Looks_to_a_New_Approach_to_“Crisis
Pregnancy_Centers”⠀⇛
Anti-abortion counseling centers, often called
“crisis pregnancy centers,” may soon face an
existential choice in Minnesota: Leave behind their
explicit agenda of dissuading people from having
abortions or risk losing state funding.
While some center operators could see that as a
nonstarter, state Democrats may leave the door open
for them to continue receiving taxpayer dollars —
albeit under a battery of rules some Minnesota
lawmakers hope could expand services for pregnant
people amid the country’s rapidly shifting abortion
landscape.
# ⚓ Pro Publica ☛ How_We_Found_That_Sites_of_Ebola_Outbreaks
Risk_Facing_It_Again⠀⇛
As a devastating outbreak of Ebola spread to Tommy
Garnett’s homeland of Sierra Leone in 2014, the
conservationist had a hunch.
Garnett long lamented the deforestation from
farming, mining and logging in the region and
wondered if tree loss had anything to do with the
outbreak that had swept into Sierra Leone from a
forested area of Guinea. With activities in his
country at a standstill due to the outbreak,
Garnett asked the ERM Foundation, the nonprofit arm
of a sustainability consulting firm in London, to
help him analyze patterns of deforestation.
# ⚓ Pro Publica ☛ On_the_Edge⠀⇛
Generations ago, families fleeing tribal violence
in southern Guinea settled in a lush, humid forest.
They took solace among the trees, which offered
cover from intruders, and carved a life out of the
land. Their descendants call it Meliandou, which
elders there say comes from words in the Kissi
language that mean “this is as far as we go.”
By 2013, a village had bloomed where trees once
stood — 31 homes, surrounded by a ring of forest
and footpaths that led to pockets residents had
cleared to plant rice. Their children played in a
hollowed-out tree that was home to a large colony
of bats.
# ⚓ New York Times ☛ Hong_Kong_Mask_Mandate,_One_of_World’s
Last,_Will_End⠀⇛
As of Wednesday, the city will no longer require
people to wear masks indoors, outdoors or on public
transportation.
o § Security⠀➾
# ⚓ Patrick Louis ☛ Secure_the_Border_and_Build_the_Wall⠀⇛
⠀⌧ █▇▆▅▄▃▂▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁
Introduction⠀▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▂▃▄▅▆▇█ ⌧
Plenty of cheesy quotes often say that total
security stands on the
opposite of total freedom.
Undeniably, in computers and operating systems this
is a fact. However,
universal privilege used to be the norm, and
restricting actions was
a concept that wasn’t part of the vocabulary.
Today, this idea is a
must. Our machines are constantly interacting with
the external world,
exchanging information, and deliberately fetching
and executing pieces
of code and software from servers hosted in places
we might never
visit. Meanwhile, we trust and intertwine our lives
with these machines.
A system that is trustworthy is not the same as a
system we must
trust. This distinction is important because
systems that need to be
trusted are not necessarily trustworthy.
This article will focus on the topic of access
control on Unix-like
systems. Sit back and relax as it transports you on
a journey of
discovery. We’ll unfold the map, travel to
different places, allowing to
better understand this wide, often misunderstood,
and messy territory. The
goal of this article is to first and foremost
describe what is present,
allowing to move forward, especially with the
countless possibilities
already present. How can we better shape the future
if we don’t know
the past.
# ⚓ WhichUK ☛ Scammers_are_imitating_HMRC_in_fake_tax_refund
emails⠀⇛
Government issues warning about latest tax office
impersonation scam
# § Privacy/Surveillance⠀➾
# ⚓ Scoop News Group ☛ Illinois’_biometric_privacy_law
provides_blueprint_as_states_seek_to_curb_data
collection⠀⇛
An estimated 17 pieces of privacy legislation
backed by both Democrats and Republicans are
pending across the country.
# ⚓ Techdirt ☛ Signal:_If_UK_Government_Undermines
Encryption_It_Can_Kiss_Messaging_Service_Used_By_Its
Employees_Goodbye⠀⇛
If anyone can call a government’s bluff, it’s
Signal. It’s a nonprofit, which means it
doesn’t need to make a bunch of shareholders
happy by capitulating to ridiculous
government demands in order to retain market
share.
# ⚓ Techdirt ☛ Supreme_Court_Denies_Cert_To_NSA_Case,
Allows_State_Secret_Privilege_To_Roll_On_Unaltered⠀⇛
While we’re waiting to see if the Trump-
stocked Supreme Court is going to end the
internet as we know it, the nation’s top
court has been rejecting, without comment,
other essential cases that really could have
used another set of judicial eyes.
o § Defence/Aggression⠀➾
# ⚓ The Nation ☛ America_Is_a_Gun⠀⇛
# ⚓ The Dissenter ☛ March_To_Iraq_War,_20_Years_Later:_February
28,_2003⠀⇛
# ⚓ Scheerpost ☛ Western_Leaders_Privately_Say_Ukraine_Can’t
Win_the_War⠀⇛
The German and French leaders have told Ukraine
they must seek peace with Russia in exchange for a
post-war defense pact, according to a report in The
Wall Street Journal.
# ⚓ Meduza ☛ Gleb_Pavlovsky,_political_strategist_who_turned
from_Kremlin_advisor_to_Kremlin_critic,_dies_at_71_—_Meduza⠀⇛
Russian political scientist and political
strategist Gleb Pavlovsky has died at 71, according
to Simon Kordonsky, the head of the local self-
government department at Moscow’s Higher School of
Economics. He reportedly died from an unspecified
illness.
# ⚓ Meduza ☛ Russia’s_Aerospace_Forces_augmented_with_new_anti-
aircraft_units,_specialized_in_combat_air_defense_—_Meduza⠀⇛
Military anti-aircraft systems and units that
previously belonged to Russia’s Ground Forces have
been reassigned to the main command of the Russian
Aerospace Forces, writes TASS, citing sources close
to Russia’s Defense Ministry.
# ⚓ Meduza ☛ One_reported_dead_after_Russia_carries_out_drone
attacks_in_multiple_Ukrainian_regions_—_Meduza⠀⇛
Russian forces attacked multiple regions of Ukraine
with Iranian-made Shahed drones on Sunday night,
the Ukrainian General Staff reported on Monday.
According to preliminary data, Ukrainian forces
shot down 11 of the 14 drones that were used.
# ⚓ The Gray Zone ☛ European_antiwar_protests_gain_strength_as
NATO’s_Ukraine_proxy_war_escalates⠀⇛
# ⚓ Atlantic Council ☛ Russia’s_invasion_one_year_on:_Ukraine
is_stronger_than_ever⠀⇛
Vladimir Putin expected a short and victorious war
that would extinguish Ukrainian independence and
force the country back into the Russian orbit. One
year on, Ukraine has never been stronger, writes
Vitaly Sych.
# ⚓ Counter Punch ☛ The_Biden_National_Security_Team_Must_Get
Smarter…Sooner⠀⇛
The conventional wisdom at the tragic first year
mark of the Russian-Ukrainian War is that President
Joe Biden and his national security team have done
an excellent job of managing support for Ukraine
and challenging Russia’s invasion. The New
Yorker’s editor, David Remnick, an excellent
Kremlinologist, summed it up this way in the
current issue: “Biden has conducted a foreign
policy of competence and moral clarity, skillfully
balancing strength, diplomacy, and restraint.”
Well, I would take issue with the conventional
wisdom.
Biden and his secretaries of state and defense have
pursued a policy of dual containment of both Russia
and China that has contributed to the strengthening
of Sino-Russian bilateral relations and created a
worsening Cold War situation with both Beijing and
Moscow. Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger have
been credited with manipulating the U.S.-Soviet-
Chinese triangle in a way that gave the United
States stronger relations with both China and the
Soviet Union than China and the Soviet Union had
with each other. Biden will probably be credited
with contributing to the worsening of these
bilateral relations and weakening the U.S.
geopolitical situation in general.
# ⚓ Counter Punch ☛ Iranians_Need_to_Drop_the_Hammer⠀⇛
The uprising in Iran has transformed into a
postponed earthquake, one that is inevitable and
most likely will be very destructive. The pent-up
anger and frustration will surely come to the
surface again but in what shape or form is to be
determined. Maybe it will take place when Ali
Khamenei dies.
The regime has lost all credibility and is a dead
man walking. The voting that is taking place
against the regime is through the dumping of the
currency and the purchase of dollars and gold.
Within the past month the dollar has gone from
37,000 tomans to 54,000 tomans, and all indications
are that by the end of the Norouz holidays the
dollar will go above 60,000 tomans.
# ⚓ Counter Punch ☛ Why_Much_of_the_Global_South_Isn’t
Automatically_Supporting_the_West_in_Ukraine⠀⇛
# ⚓ Telex (Hungary) ☛ Fact-check:_Soros_did_not_write_that
Russia_must_be_defeated_at_the_cost_of_Eastern_Europeans’
lives⠀⇛
# ⚓ Scheerpost ☛ Caitlin_Johnstone:_There_Has_Never_In_History
Been_A_Greater_Need_For_A_Large_Anti-War_Movement⠀⇛
Things are escalating more and more rapidly between
the US-centralized power structure and the few
remaining nations with the will and the means to
stand against its demands for total obedience,
namely China, Russia, and Iran.
# ⚓ Meduza ☛ Suspended_flights,_false_flag_claims,_and_an
alleged_coup_plan_What_we_know_about_Moscow’s_designs_in
Moldova_—_Meduza⠀⇛
Wizz Air, one of Europe’s largest budget airlines,
is suspending flights to and from Moldova beginning
on March 14. The company’s press service told the
news outlet RBC that the decision is “difficult,
but it’s the responsible one” given “recent events”
in Moldova and the “elevated risk” in the country’s
airspace. (It didn’t specify what “recent events”
it was referring to.) Since the start of Russia’s
full-scale war against Ukraine, missile fragments
have been found on Moldovan territory multiple
times.
# ⚓ Meduza ☛ Authorities_blame_hackers_after_‘missile_strike
threat’_warnings_take_over_Russian_airwaves_for_second_time
in_six_days_—_Meduza⠀⇛
TV and radio broadcasts in multiple Russian regions
were interrupted by messages warning of impending
missile strikes on Tuesday morning.
# ⚓ Meduza ☛ ‘The_FSB_said_I’m_raising_my_daughter_wrong’_A
single_father_faces_felony_charges_after_his_daughter_drew_an
anti-war_picture_at_school_—_Meduza⠀⇛
In April of last year, an art teacher in Russia’s
Tula region asked her sixth-grade class to draw
pictures to show support for the Russian military
in Ukraine. When one girl drew an anti-war image
instead, the teacher immediately called the police.
By the end of the following day, the Russian FSB
and child protective services were involved. Now,
the student’s single father is facing felony
charges, and the student herself is at risk of
being sent to live in a shelter.
# ⚓ Meduza ☛ The_‘biggest_beneficiary’_weighs_in_A_China_expert
assesses_Beijing’s_‘peace_plan’_for_Russia_and_Ukraine_—
Meduza⠀⇛
# ⚓ Meduza ☛ Putin_honors_American_actor_and_Russian_citizen
Steven_Seagal_with_Order_of_Friendship_—_Meduza⠀⇛
Vladimir Putin has signed a decree to honor the
American actor Steven Seagal with the state Order
of Friendship. The reason for the decoration is
Seagal’s “significant contribution to the
development of international cultural and
humanitarian cooperation.”
# ⚓ Counter Punch ☛ ‘Truth,_No_Matter_What’:_Why_Watering_Down
Palestinian_Reality_is_a_Crime⠀⇛
On February 20, the United Nations Security Council
approved a statement, described in the media as a
‘watered-down’ version of an earlier draft
resolution which would have demanded that Israel
“immediately and completely cease all settlement
activities in the occupied Palestinian territory.”
The intrigues that led to the scrapping of what was
meant to be a binding resolution will be the
subject of a future article. For now, however, I
would like to reflect on the fact that the so-
called international community’s relationship with
the Palestinian struggle has always attempted to
‘water down’ a horrific reality.
# ⚓ Common Dreams ☛ ‘Watering_Down’_the_Reality_of_Life_Under
Israeli_Apartheid_Is_a_Crime⠀⇛
On February 20, the United Nations Security Council
approved a statement, described in the media as a
‘watered-down’ version of an earlier draft
resolution which would have demanded that Israel
“immediately and completely cease all settlement
activities in the occupied Palestinian territory.”
# ⚓ Techdirt ☛ Yet_Another_Former_Israeli_Intelligence_Officer
Linked_To_Yet_Another_Shady_Company_Offering_Hacking_Tools⠀⇛
I’m not sure what’s happening inside Israel’s
intelligence services, but it’s not sending the
world its best when it’s done with them.
# ⚓ Common Dreams ☛ Israeli_Rights_Group_Condemns_Settler
‘Pogrom’_Against_Palestinians_in_West_Bank⠀⇛
Israeli settlers tore through the occupied West
Bank on Sunday, violently attacking Palestinians
and setting fire to their cars, houses, and
businesses in what one rights group called a
“pogrom” sanctioned by the far-right government of
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
# ⚓ TruthOut ☛ Media_Orgs_Demand_McCarthy_Hand_Over_Jan._6
Footage_He_Gave_to_Tucker_Carlson⠀⇛
# ⚓ TruthOut ☛ Russian_War_Crimes_Have_Hardened_Ukrainians
Against_Peace_Talks,_Activist_Says⠀⇛
# ⚓ Counter Punch ☛ Campism_and_the_War_in_Ukraine⠀⇛
Campism generally splits the world into two
antagonistic orders, or great ‘camps’ – in
simplistic terms, it is the split between the camp
of capitalism and the camp of socialism; the great
Cold War rivalry between the United States, its
NATO allies and (neo)colonies, versus the Union of
Socialist Soviet Republics and its Iron Curtain
puppet states; today, it’s the imperialist and
capitalist West versus the other(s) opposed to
Western hegemony – China, North Korea, Iran, Cuba,
Venezuela. With these distinctions in mind,
reflecting heavily on the original split between
capitalism and socialism that constitutes the very
foundation of the campist worldview, an important
question must be asked – why are some Western
socialists and avowed anti-imperialists today
proclaiming bourgeois capitalist states like Russia
to be fighting for the great camp of socialism?
Arguments made on social media platforms by
anonymous commentators, publishings by pro-Putin
‘patriotic socialist’ political formations, and
even the Russian communist party all claim that
Moscow’s brutal invasion of Ukraine serves the
purpose of destabilising US hegemony, challenging
imperialist expansion through military
organisations like NATO, and disrupting the
exploitive Western global economic system. Frankly,
these are selective claims that are as dishonest as
they are delusional. Moreover, these are
grotesquely revisionist and historically unfounded
claims, flying disrespectfully in face of the
theoretical contributions and revolutionary
analysis of Marx and Lenin. We must turn towards
historical and political fact in order to debunk
such positions, ensuring that the revolutionary and
socialist spirit and character of the Marxist
tradition are not dishonestly distorted and
denigrated to support a reductionist and campist
view on the inter-imperialist capitalist rivalry
underpinning the Russia-Ukraine war.
o § Transparency/Investigative Reporting⠀➾
# ⚓ Techdirt ☛ What_Transparency?_Twitter_Seems_To_Have
Forgotten_About_Transparency_Reporting⠀⇛
One of the key things that Elon Musk promised in
taking over Twitter was about how he was going to
be way more transparent. He’s mentioned it many
times, specifically noting that transparency is how
he would build “trust” in the company.
o § Environment⠀➾
# ⚓ Common Dreams ☛ Thunberg,_Norwegian_Sami_Activists_Demand
Wind_Turbine_Removal_on_Traditional_Lands⠀⇛
Demanding that all countries center climate justice
as they take steps to transition away from fossil
fuel-sourced energy, Fridays for Future leader
Greta Thunberg joined dozens of Norwegian Sami
people and their supporters Monday at Norway’s
Energy Ministry to protest wind turbines that have
been constructed on Indigenous lands.
# ⚓ Scheerpost ☛ A_Looming_El_Niño_Could_Give_Us_a_Preview_of
Life_at_1.5C_of_Warming⠀⇛
The hotter weather pattern might push the Earth
into unprecedented territory next year.
# § Energy/Transportation⠀➾
# ⚓ Common Dreams ☛ ‘Time_Is_Up’:_Greenpeace_Warns_UN
Ocean_Treaty_Under_Threat_of_Failure⠀⇛
Greenpeace warned Monday that nations are
“once again stalling” as they enter the final
week of talks on the United Nations Ocean
Treaty, a pact the environmental group says
would “safeguard marine life and be the
biggest conservation victory for a
generation” if negotiators get it right.
# ⚓ The Nation ☛ Why_More_Alaskans_Aren’t_Fighting_a_Huge
Potential_Oil_Project_on_the_North_Slope⠀⇛
It’s hard to imagine any place in the United
States that is more precarious, more rugged,
or home to people more tenacious than the
North Slope of Alaska. A frigid region of
tundra and coast roughly the size of Oregon,
it is home about 10,000 residents scattered
across eight communities, the largest of
which is Utqiagvik, formerly named Barrow.
The region’s economy is driven mostly by
activities on and near the largest oil field
in the country, Prudhoe Bay, which operates
under some of the most extreme conditions on
Earth. The North Slope is also defined by the
rhythms of a much older set of Alaska Native
subsistence practices, such as fishing,
whaling, and caribou-hunting.1
# ⚓ Meduza ☛ Fire_breaks_out_at_Rosneft_oil_terminal_in
Krasnodar_Krai_after_two_reported_drone_explosions_—
Meduza⠀⇛
A fire broke out at an oil terminal in the
town of Tuapse in Russia’s Krasnodar Krai
early Tuesday morning, according to town
officials.
# § Wildlife/Nature⠀➾
# ⚓ The Revelator ☛ Wildlife_Wins_From_Biden’s_Bipartisan
Infrastructure_Act⠀⇛
# ⚓ New York Times ☛ Why_23_Dead_Whales_Have_Washed_Up_on
the_East_Coast_Since_December⠀⇛
An unlikely confluence of factors, including
climate change and online shopping, appears
to be at least partially to blame for the
uptick.
o § Finance⠀➾
# ⚓ Common Dreams ☛ Groups_Warn_of_‘Financial_Disaster_for
Millions’_If_Supreme_Court_Kills_Student_Debt_Relief⠀⇛
Striking down President Joe Biden’s student debt
relief plan would have devastating impacts on
millions of borrowers, advocacy groups warned in a
report released Monday, one day before the U.S.
Supreme Court is set to hear oral arguments over
the White House’s cancellation bid.
# ⚓ TruthOut ☛ Millions_Face_Financial_Disaster_If_Supreme
Court_Ends_Student_Debt_Relief⠀⇛
# ⚓ Axios ☛ Why_poverty_rates_are_likely_to_rise_this_year⠀⇛
One of the last remaining major COVID relief
programs — the expansion of SNAP benefits, aka food
stamps — ends this month, pushing about 32 million
Americans off a “hunger cliff.”
# ⚓ Axios ☛ Chip_makers_must_provide_childcare_plan_for_access
to_federal_funds⠀⇛
Chip makers who want access to billions of dollars
in new federal funding will first have to figure
out how workers will access affordable child care,
per a new requirement from the Commerce Department.
# ⚓ WhichUK ☛ Common_food_storage_mistakes_to_avoid⠀⇛
We reveal what should – and shouldn’t – be in your
fridge, and the foods to store separately to
prolong their life. Plus: the science-based tactics
to reduce food waste and save money
# ⚓ WhichUK ☛ Hot_water_bottle_or_electric_blanket_–_what’s
best_and_cheapest_for_keeping_you_warm_in_bed?⠀⇛
On cold nights when an extra pair of bed socks
won’t cut it, discover your best alternative
# ⚓ TruthOut ☛ Biden_Officials:_Chip_Makers_Wanting_Federal
Subsidies_Must_Provide_Child_Care⠀⇛
# ⚓ TruthOut ☛ Supreme_Court_Takes_Up_Case_That_Could_Kill
Consumer_Finance_Protection_Agency⠀⇛
# ⚓ Counter Punch ☛ What_Will_Happen_When_Banks_Go_Bust?⠀⇛
Financial podcasts have been featuring ominous
headlines lately along the lines of “Your Bank Can
Legally Seize Your Money” and “Banks Can STEAL Your
Money?! Here’s How!” The reference is to “bail-ins:
” the provision under the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act
allowing Systemically Important Financial
Institutions (SIFIs, basically the biggest banks)
to bail in or expropriate their creditors’ money in
the event of insolvency. The problem is that
depositors are classed as “creditors.” So how big
is the risk to your deposit account? Part I of this
two part article will review the bail-in issue.
Part II will look at the derivatives risk that
could trigger the next global financial crisis.
# ⚓ Counter Punch ☛ Inequality_is_Weakening_Social_Security.
Here’s_How_We_Fix_That.⠀⇛
# ⚓ Democracy Now ☛ Will_the_Equal_Rights_Amendment_Finally_Be
Added_to_the_U.S._Constitution_50_Years_After_It_Passed?⠀⇛
The Equal Rights Amendment, which would codify
gender equality in the U.S. Constitution, has been
introduced in every session of Congress since 1923.
It was finally passed in 1972, and yet never
ratified. This week, the ERA will get its first
hearing in 40 years when, on Tuesday, the Senate
Judiciary Committee meets to discuss a joint
resolution to finally affirm the ERA. We speak to
Zakiya Thomas and Linda Coberly of the ERA
Coalition for more on the historic significance of
this hearing and the century-long fight for
constitutional protections against sex
discrimination.
# ⚓ Common Dreams ☛ Report_Shows_Big_Insurance_Profiting
Massively_From_Growing_Privatization_of_Medicare⠀⇛
A new analysis released Monday shows that insurance
giants are benefiting hugely from the accelerating
privatization of Medicare and Medicaid, which for-
profit companies have infiltrated via government
programs such as Medicare Advantage.
# ⚓ Common Dreams ☛ Global_Coalition_Urges_OECD_to_End
‘Reprehensible’_Oil_and_Gas_Export_Financing⠀⇛
More than 175 civil society groups spanning 45
countries urged the Organization for Economic
Cooperation and Development—an alliance of mostly
rich nations—to end export financing for oil and
gas, warning in a joint statement Monday that
failure to do so would compromise global efforts to
keep “a livable future within reach.”
# ⚓ The Nation ☛ The_Student_Debt_Cancellation_Movement_Is
About_to_Face_Its_Toughest_Fight_Yet⠀⇛
Last year, President Joe Biden used his
authority—as defined by the HEROES Act of 2003—to
cancel up to $20,000 in federal student loan debt
per borrower. The executive action was taken in
response to the lingering health and economic
impacts caused by Covid-19, and would help families
and borrowers recover while closing racial
disparities that widened during the pandemic. Right
now, Americans owe nearly $1.8 trillion in student
loan debt. On February 28, the Supreme Court will
begin hearing oral arguments for two cases
challenging this plan, Biden v. Nebraska and
Department of Education v. Brown.
# ⚓ Scheerpost ☛ Arkansas’s_Anti-BDS_Law_Remains_in_Effect
Because_SCOTUS_Refused_to_Review_It⠀⇛
Politically motivated consumer boycotts have played
a central role throughout U.S. history.
# ⚓ Hackaday ☛ Antenna_Hidden_In_Holiday_Lights_Skirts_HOA
Rules⠀⇛
For all their supposed benefits, homeowner’s
associations (HOAs) have a reputation of quickly
turning otherwise quaint neighborhoods into a sort
of Stanford prison experiment, as those who get
even the slightest amount of power often abuse it.
Arbitrary rules and enforcement abound about house
color, landscaping, parking, and if you’ve ever
operated a radio, antennas. While the FCC (at least
as far as the US is concerned) does say that HOAs
aren’t permitted to restrict the use of antennas,
if you don’t want to get on anyone’s bad side
you’ll want to put up an antenna like this one
which is disguised as a set of HOA-friendly holiday
lights.
o § AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics⠀➾
# ⚓ Axios ☛ White_House:_Federal_agencies_have_30_days_to
remove_TikTok_from_devices⠀⇛
The White House has mandated that federal agencies
remove TikTok from phones and systems in a bid to
keep U.S. data safe, the Office of Management and
Budget (OMB) announced Monday.
# ⚓ CBC ☛ Federal_government_banning_social_media_platform
TikTok_from_government_phones⠀⇛
# ⚓ Copenhagen Post ☛ Parliament_urging_members_to_avoid_using
TikTok⠀⇛
Centre for Cyber Security warned last week that
there was a risk of espionage in connection with
having the Chinese app on state devices
# ⚓ CNN ☛ Rupert_Murdoch_acknowledged_that_Fox_News_hosts
endorsed_false_stolen_election_claims⠀⇛
Rupert Murdoch, the chairman of Fox Corporation,
acknowledged in a deposition taken by Dominion
Voting Systems that some Fox News hosts endorsed
false claims the 2020 election was stolen.
# ⚓ Marcy Wheeler ☛ BREAKING_from_Fox_News:_Trump_Cheated_…_and
He_Still_Couldn’t_Beat_Joe_Biden⠀⇛
When Rupert Murdoch is forced to answer questions
about the 2020 election under oath, it becomes
clear the extent to which Fox News was — is! —
covering up what a loser (Rupert knows that) Trump
is.
# ⚓ Marcy Wheeler ☛ The_Search_For_The_Origins_Of_The_State⠀⇛
Were early societies “states” in the modern sense?
Nope.
# ⚓ Marcy Wheeler ☛ How_Holes_in_Ivanka’s_Testimony_Could_Help
Make_an_Obstruction_Case_against_Her_Father⠀⇛
In testimony before the January 6 Committee, Ivanka
and Eric Herschmann both failed to recall key
details of Trump’s refusal to ask his rioters to
leave the Capitol. For several reasons, one or both
may end up remembering more of those details before
a Jack Smith grand jury.
# ⚓ ACLU ☛ Crossing_the_Bridge_Together:_The_Fight_for_Voting
Rights_Marches_On⠀⇛
On January 12, a tornado tore across central
Alabama, including the historic city of Selma.
Since then, community groups have been
clearing roads and picking up the pieces from the
damage. Simultaneously, the city is preparing for
its annual Bridge Crossing Jubilee: a recognition
of Bloody Sunday, the Selma-to-Montgomery march,
and the passage of the Voting Rights Act.
As the ACLU of Alabama prepares for our annual trip
to Selma to commemorate the historic_bridge
crossing on March 5, amidst such devastation in the
city, I feel the immense tradition and history of
Selma, a place where our elders accomplished so
much to make voting rights possible. 58 years after
the historic movement that led to the 1965
enactment of the Voting Rights Act (VRA) and the
legal enfranchisement of Black voters, I remain
struck by the duality of what voting rights in
Alabama has meant for this nation.
# ⚓ The Strategist ☛ China’s_self-serving_Ukraine_‘peace
plan’⠀⇛
On 24 February, marking one year since Russia’s
all-out invasion of Ukraine began, China’s Ministry
of Foreign Affairs published China’s position on
the political settlement of the Ukraine crisis. In
theory, its 12 points form the basis …
# ⚓ Common Dreams ☛ Has_the_GOP_Lost_Its_Brain?_Hardly.⠀⇛
Timothy Noah is an incisive commentor on U.S.
politics. His recent New Republic essay, “How the
GOP Lost Its Brain,” nicely documents the ways that
the Republican party has become both increasingly
anti-intellectual and incoherent since the days of
Reagan. The GOP deserves to be skewered for its
inconsistencies, absurdities, and lunatics. And its
very real fissures ought to be analyzed with care,
for they can grow, and contribute to the party’s
weakening if they do. But it does not follow from
these fissures that the GOP is an agglomeration of
nihilists and no longer has “ideas.” It has ideas,
and they are summed up in the acronym MAGA, which
now defines both the Republican base and its major
leaders and presidential aspirants.
# ⚓ Common Dreams ☛ Dear_Gov._DeSantis:_You’re_a_History_Grad.
Please_Tell_Me_When_Systemic_Racism_Ended⠀⇛
When Ron DeSantis was asked by a Fox News host two
years ago if the United States is “systemically
racist,” the Florida governor quickly responded:
“It’s a bunch of horse manure.” He went on to boast
that he had banned such ideas in Florida’s schools.
# ⚓ TruthOut ☛ Former_Watergate_Prosecutor:_Trump_Should_Have
Been_Charged_Upon_Exiting_Office⠀⇛
# ⚓ Techdirt ☛ Getting_Kicked_Off_Social_Media_For_Breaking_Its
Rules_Is_Nothing_Like_Being_Sent_To_A_Prison_Camp_For
Retweeting_Criticism_Of_A_Dictator⠀⇛
It’s become frustrating how often people insist
that losing this or that social media account is
“censorship” and an “attack on free speech.” Not
only is it not that, it makes a mockery of those
who face real censorship and real attacks on free
speech. The Washington Post recently put out an
amazing feature about people who have been jailed
or sent away to re-education camps for simply
reposting something on social media. It’s titled
“They clicked once. Then came the dark prisons.“
# ⚓ Telex (Hungary) ☛ Budapest-based_Russian_“spy_bank”_in
critical_situation⠀⇛
# ⚓ Telex (Hungary) ☛ A_battle_of_wills:_Hungarian_doctors_vs
the_government⠀⇛
# ⚓ Common Dreams ☛ Analysis_Spotlights_the_Lasting_Pain
Inflicted_by_Reagan’s_Social_Security_Cuts⠀⇛
In 1983, just before signing legislation that cut
Social Security benefits, then-President Ronald
Reagan declared that “we’re entering an age when
average Americans will live longer and live more
productive lives.”
# ⚓ Common Dreams ☛ Leftist_Elly_Schlein—’Italy’s_AOC’—Elected
to_Confront_Far-Right_Giorgia_Meloni⠀⇛
Calling her victory “a clear mandate for real
change,” left-wing Italian politician Elly Schlein
on Sunday was named the new leader of her country’s
Democratic Party after winning against a centrist
supported by the political establishment.
# ⚓ Common Dreams ☛ Sanders_Warns_of_‘Primary_Care_Cliff’_as
Federal_Funds_for_Local_Clinics_Set_to_Expire⠀⇛
Sen. Bernie Sanders warned Monday that without
swift congressional action, the $5.8 billion in
federal funding relied on each year by community
health centers around the United States will expire
on September 30, resulting in a devastating
“primary care cliff.”
# ⚓ The Nation ☛ Do_Voters_Really_Want_More_CIA_Analysts_in
Congress?⠀⇛
Elissa Slotkin, the first Democratic hopeful
seeking to replace retiring Michigan Senator Debbie
Stabenow, is the sort of candidate national
Democratic strategists fantasize about. She
represents a closely divided district in Lansing,
after initially getting elected to a solidly
Republican one, and she has a solid centrist voting
record likely to appeal to the highly coveted white
suburban mom demographic. She’s also a former CIA
analyst who served three tours in Iraq. She has the
same political CV, in other words, that delivered a
clutch of traditional GOP congressional seats to
security-minded women during the 2018 blue wave
that granted House Democrats a strong majority in
the midst of the Trump years. Pundits eagerly
dubbed that landmark ballot “the year of the badass
woman”—and they will no doubt be closely monitoring
Slotkin’s Senate bid for further confirmation of
this reassuring political trendlet.
# ⚓ The Nation ☛ It’s_Time_to_Call_Out_the_DeSantis
Deflection⠀⇛
When Ron DeSantis recently threatened to end AP
courses for all high schoolers in Florida, he did
more than escalate the culture war that right-wing
reactionaries are waging against “critical race
theory” and anti-racism. DeSantis signaled his
willingness to join a long line of Southern
governors who have used racism to deflect attention
from their failure to help people hurting in their
states, especially poor and low-wealth people. Even
if DeSantis never attacked Black history or trans
people, moral leaders and impacted people should be
standing up, speaking out, organizing, and voting
because of the way his policy decisions have
sacrificed the well-being of Floridians, especially
the more than 10 million poor and low-wage people,
be they Black, white, Latino, Asian, Native,
LQBTQIA, or straight. DeSantis wants to argue about
whether white students feel guilty when they learn
the truth about America’s past, but he has been
silent about the fact that 47 percent of Florida’s
citizens are poor and low-income, including 39
percent of all white people in his state. Since
1979, income for the top 1 percent of Floridians
has nearly doubled. But for everyone else, real
income has actually fallen over the same four
decades. That’s as true for poor white folks as it
is for poor Black folks.
# ⚓ The Nation ☛ Why_the_Media_Just_Can’t_Stop_Whitewashing_the
Koch_Family⠀⇛
If you want to suffer through Hollywood at its
sappiest, you could waste an afternoon watching
Mary Pickford’s 1917 tearjerker The Poor Little
Rich Girl and its 1936 remake of the same name
starring Shirley Temple (the original source
material being a 1913 Broadway play by Eleanor
Gates). Both films, as one could guess from the
titles, explore the difficulties of being the child
of plutocratic wealth. Pickford plays Gwendolyn,
the neglected offspring of a mother who prefers
high society to her daughter and a father mired in
moneymaking schemes. Growing up in a chilly
household, Gwendolyn finds friendship in the rowdy
company of the warm if ragged working class,
including an organ grinder and a plumber. Temple’s
suffering young princess, Barbara Barry, has only
one, and a negligent, parent, a widowed father
immersed in business. Like Gwendolyn, Barbara also
discovers nurturing kindness in the company of the
immiserated, including yet another organ grinder.
# ⚓ The Nation ☛ Argentina,_1985_Is_a_Political_Tale_for_Our
Time⠀⇛
Argentine President Alberto Fernández wasted no
time in sounding the alarm. A little more than two
weeks removed from a January 6–style insurrection
in Brazil—and following a series of violent
crackdowns by Peru’s newly formed
government—Fernández opened the seventh summit of
the Community of Latin American and Caribbean
States in Buenos Aires with a warning: “We believe
in democracy, and democracy is definitively at
risk. After the pandemic, we have seen how the
ultra-right has stood up, and it is threatening
each of our countries. What we can’t allow is for
this recalcitrant and fascist right to threaten our
institutions.”
# ⚓ The Nation ☛ Sara_Nelson_Could_Be_the_Greatest_Labor
Secretary_Since_the_New_Deal⠀⇛
When Sara Nelson agreed to come to Madison, Wis.,
to discuss the future of labor at an ideas festival
on the University of Wisconsin campus in the fall
of 2021, it was supposed to be just another
appearance by one of America’s most engaged and
energetic labor leaders. Then, Nelson, the
international president of the Association of
Flight Attendants, ended up having a pair of
surgeries that required her to use a wheelchair for
several months. Of course, she could have canceled
the trip. But that’s not how Sara Nelson rolls.
# ⚓ Democracy Now ☛ A_History_of_California,_Capitalism,_and
the_World:_Malcolm_Harris_on_New_Book_“Palo_Alto”⠀⇛
We speak with author Malcolm Harris about his new
book, Palo Alto: A History of California,
Capitalism, and the World, in which he writes how
his hometown in the heart of Silicon Valley and
home to many tech billionaires has helped to
reshape the economy by exporting its brand of
capitalism to the rest of the United States and
around the world. “It’s important to see the
internet and its history as this relation between
capital and the government,” says Harris in a wide-
ranging interview.
# ⚓ Scheerpost ☛ Why_Much_of_the_Global_South_Isn’t
Automatically_Supporting_the_West_in_Ukraine⠀⇛
In October 2022, about eight months after the war
in Ukraine started, the University of Cambridge in
the UK harmonized surveys conducted in 137
countries about their attitudes towards the West
and towards Russia and China.
# ⚓ Scheerpost ☛ ‘Argentina,_1985’_Is_a_Political_Tale_for_Our
Time⠀⇛
Argentina’s nominee for Best Foreign Film offers an
urgent warning to democracies in Latin America and
across the West.
# ⚓ Scheerpost ☛ West_Is_Out_of_Touch_With_Rest_of_World
Politically,_EU-Funded_Study_Admits⠀⇛
A study by the elite EU-funded European Council on
Foreign Relations found the West is out of touch
politically with the rest of the world. Most people
in China, India, and Türkiye see Russia as an
important ally, and they want multipolarity, not
continued “American global supremacy”.
# ⚓ Counter Punch ☛ Building_Direct_Democracy_in_an_Atlanta
Forest⠀⇛
On the edge of a forest just south of Atlanta, I
sat in the shade of a gazebo on a hot day in May of
2022, speaking to two activists. Parkgoers sweated
in their short sleeves as they strolled past a
concrete wall, on which graffiti said DEFEND THE
FOREST over a fist sprouting up from roots like a
squat tree trunk.
The two activists, along with many others, had
taken the graffiti’s message to heart and were
trying to stop large tracts of the South River
Forest from being developed into a privately owned
soundstage and a sprawling training center for
police, dubbed Cop City. Since that day, the gazebo
has been ripped apart by heavy equipment, eighteen
activists have been charged with “domestic
terrorism,” and one forest defender has been shot
and killed by police.
# ⚓ Pro Publica ☛ The_Democratic_Insider_Who_Fought_the_Trump
Administration⠀⇛
As chief U.S. House counsel for four years, Douglas
Letter advised then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi
through tense legal standoffs with the Trump
administration. He helped shape strategy for the
Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th
Attack on the United States Capitol, leading to
contempt of Congress charges against Trump advisers
Steve Bannon and Peter Navarro and subpoenas for
five sitting members of Congress.
Now, Letter, a Justice Department attorney for 40
years, has begun a new role as legal counsel for
the Brady campaign, defending victims of gun
violence and taking on gun laws, such as a local
statute in Highland Park, Illinois, that restricts
assault weapons like one used in a July 4 parade
massacre. Letter said he carries with him lessons
learned counseling House Democrats as they faced
growing partisan hostilities and concerns for their
safety.
# ⚓ Green Party UK ☛ Green_Party_response_to_deal_on_Northern
Ireland_protocol_|_The_Green_Party⠀⇛
Responding to the deal agreed between the UK and
the EU on the Northern Ireland protocol, Green
Party co-leader Adrian Ramsay said:
“We welcome closer cooperation between the UK
government and the EU. Boris Johnson had promised
an ‘oven-ready’ deal which has caused pain,
division and turmoil for communities and businesses
in Northern Ireland.
“Hopefully today’s agreement marks a turning point
when we can begin to heal these problems and strive
towards much closer relationships.”
o § Censorship/Free Speech⠀➾
# ⚓ NCAC ☛ AAUP,_AFT,_NCAC_Issue_Statement_Denouncing_Florida
HB_999⠀⇛
The AAUP, the American Federation of Teachers
(AFT) and the National Coalition Against Censorship
(NCAC) issued the following statement condemning
the introduction of Florida HB 999.
# ⚓ The Guardian UK ☛ Record_number_of_countries_enforced
internet_shutdowns_in_2022_–_report⠀⇛
# ⚓ The Washington Post ☛ Governments_shut_down_the_internet
more_often_than_ever,_report_says⠀⇛
# ⚓ Hindustan Times ☛ India_topped_global_list_of_internet
shutdowns_for_5th_year_in_row_in_2022⠀⇛
# ⚓ The Wire ☛ India_Remains_Internet_Shutdown_Capital_of_the
World_for_Fifth_Year_Running:_Report⠀⇛
# ⚓ AccessNow ☛ Resurging_internet_shutdowns_in_2022:_weapons
of_control,_shields_of_impunity⠀⇛
# ⚓ AccessNow ☛ Five_years_in_a_row:_India_is_2022’s_biggest
internet_shutdowns_offender⠀⇛
In 2022, India shut down the internet at least 84
times — more than any country, for the fifth
consecutive year. Read “Weapons of control, shields
of impunity: Internet shutdowns in 2022.”
# ⚓ AccessNow ☛ Internet_shutdowns_in_Myanmar:_facilitating
brutal_human_rights_violations_in_2022⠀⇛
Access Now’s new report, “Weapons of control,
shields of impunity: Internet shutdowns in 2022,”
unpacks internet shutdowns in Myanmar and globally.
# ⚓ AccessNow ☛ Internet_shutdowns_in_Africa:_fewer_offenders
in_2022,_still_causing_harm⠀⇛
Access Now’s new report, “Weapons of control,
shields of impunity: Internet shutdowns in 2022,”
unpacks internet shutdowns in Africa and globally.
o § Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press⠀➾
# ⚓ WSWS ☛ Der_Spiegel_asks:_“Is_the_CIA_hunting_Assange’s
supporters?”_–_WSWS⠀⇛
In a feature article published last Thursday, the
well-known German weekly magazine Der Spiegel
pointedly asked whether the US Central Intelligence
Agency (CIA) was “hunting” associates and
supporters of Julian Assange.
# ⚓ CPJ ☛ At_least_14_journalists_detained,_attacked,_or
harassed_covering_Nigeria’s_election⠀⇛
# ⚓ CPJ ☛ Editor_Tamás_Bodoky_on_threats_to_Hungary’s
independent_media_funding⠀⇛
o § Civil Rights/Policing⠀➾
# ⚓ The Nation ☛ Seattle’s_Working_People_Won_the_Nation’s
First_Ban_on_Caste_Discrimination⠀⇛
Standing in the Seattle City Council chambers on
February 21, an Indian-American tech worker named
Naresh recalled the caste discrimination he has
faced beginning at age 5 in India. His voice
quivered with anger as he thought about the dignity
denied to him. If he touched a dominant-caste
person, he said, they would claim that they needed
to “take a shower because they consider me
untouchable.” Over the course of the meeting, many
other oppressed-caste speakers joined Naresh,
sharing their own experiences with caste
discrimination—often in their own workplaces in the
United States.
# ⚓ The Nation ☛ The_Long_History_of_Conservative
Indoctrination_in_Florida_Schools⠀⇛
When I was growing up, my Florida high school
required me to endure a course called “Americanism
vs. Communism.” I was hardly alone. Between 1962
and 1991, Florida mandated the class for all high
school juniors or seniors in public schools. Each
lesson had the same takeaway: “Americanism” was all
good and “Communism” all bad.
# ⚓ Meduza ☛ Russia’s_Human_Rights_Commissioner_says_she’s
received_more_than_50_official_complaints_from_jailed
opposition_figure_Alexey_Navalny_—_Meduza⠀⇛
Russian Human Rights Commissioner Tatyana
Moskalkova said at a briefing on Monday that she’s
received more than 50 complaints from jailed
Russian opposition politician Alexey Navalny,
according to the Russian state news outlet TASS.
# ⚓ Türkiye_arrests_184_people_over_earthquakes,_including_AKP
mayor⠀⇛
Legal action has been initiated against 612
suspects so far, the justice minister has said.
# ⚓ Common Dreams ☛ Plainclothes_Paramilitaries_and_the
Predator_State⠀⇛
To residents of Memphis’s resource-poor,
predominantly nonwhite neighborhoods, the Scorpions
were easy to spot. The plainclothes patrols were
known for driving their unmarked Dodge Chargers
through the streets, often all too recklessly,
sowing fear as they went, spitting venom from their
windows, jumping out with guns drawn at the
slightest sign of an infraction.
# ⚓ The Nation ☛ Predatory_Policing_Has_Become_a_National
Crisis⠀⇛
To residents of Memphis’s resource-poor,
predominantly non-white neighborhoods, the Scorpion
units were easy to spot. The plainclothes patrols
were known for driving their unmarked Dodge
Chargers through the streets, often all too
recklessly, sowing fear as they went, spitting
venom from their windows, jumping out with guns
drawn at the slightest sign of an infraction.
# ⚓ Common Dreams ☛ This_Is_Not_A_Difficult_Decision⠀⇛
After his creator went on a loathsome tirade
declaring black people “a hate group” that white
people should “get away” from, once-amusing office
drone and comic anti-hero Dilbert has been dropped
by hundreds of newspapers, his distributor and his
book publisher in a rare move of decency and
solidarity befitting the close of Black History
Month. Online, his still-bellicose creator Scott
Adams is whining he’s been “cancelled” for “being
white.” Nope, many argue. It’s for “being a racist
douchebag.”
# ⚓ Common Dreams ☛ US_and_EU_Groups_Call_for_‘Ceasefire’_on
Trade_Challenges_to_Climate_Policies⠀⇛
A coalition of more than three dozen progressive
advocacy groups based in the United States and the
European Union on Monday implored E.U. policymakers
to stop pursuing challenges to the Inflation
Reduction Act and urged governments on both sides
of the Atlantic to start prioritizing
decarbonization over corporate-friendly trade
rules.
# ⚓ Common Dreams ☛ 50_Years_On,_Legacy_of_Wounded_Knee
Uprising_Lives_in_Indigenous_Resistance⠀⇛
As many Native Americans on Monday marked the 50th
anniversary of the militant occupation of Wounded
Knee, South Dakota, participants in the 1973
uprising and other activists linked the deadly
revolt to modern-day Indigenous resistance, from
Standing Rock to the #LandBack movement.
# ⚓ Common Dreams ☛ Consumer_Advocates_Welcome_Chance_for
SCOTUS_to_Redress_5th_Circuit’s_‘Harebrained’_Attack_on
CFPB⠀⇛
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday agreed to hear
arguments in a case challenging the
constitutionality of the Consumer Financial
Protection Bureau’s funding, a move that was
welcomed by some advocates as an opportunity for
the nation’s highest court to protect American
consumers from a lower court ruling.
# ⚓ TruthOut ☛ Rail_Workers_Demand_“Immediate_Action”_From
Lawmakers_to_Rein_In_Rail_Industry⠀⇛
# ⚓ TruthOut ☛ Will_the_Equal_Rights_Amendment_Finally_Be_Added
to_the_US_Constitution?⠀⇛
# ⚓ Counter Punch ☛ How_Howard_Schultz_Made_Starbucks_the
Poster_Child_of_Corporate_Abuse⠀⇛
Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz, in a recent interview
with CNN’s Poppy Harlow, proudly showed off his
newest invention: a tablespoon of olive oil added
to a cup of coffee to bring out rich, complex
flavors. The conversation took place in Italy and
was meant to showcase Schultz’s commitment to the
innovation and quality of Starbucks coffee as he
gets ready to step down as CEO of the company for
the third time.
When Harlow asked him why he was in Italy doing
interviews rather than sitting down with
representatives from Starbucks Workers United (SWU)
to negotiate a contract, he responded, “We want to
and are willing to enter into bargaining, but we
want to do it face to face. That’s what we think is
the right thing to do.”
# ⚓ Meduza ☛ FSB_raids_Moscow_anarchists’_homes,_possibly
trying_to_mount_terrorism_case_against_imprisoned
mathematician_Azat_Miftakhov_—_Meduza⠀⇛
On Monday morning, the FSB raided the homes of
several Moscow anarchists, in connection with an
inquiry into the existence of a Moscow branch of
Network (“Set”), a leftist political association
labeled “terrorist” and banned in Russia.
# ⚓ Telex (Hungary) ☛ Hungary_to_pay_€6,500_to_Iraqi_dentist
detained_for_three_months_years_ago⠀⇛
# ⚓ Scheerpost ☛ Welcome_to_the_Predator_State,_Where_the
Scorpions_on_the_Corner_Just_Might_Kill_You⠀⇛
With the police ever better funded (just as the
U.S. military is), war has come home to roost in
our streets, no less disastrously than it did
abroad in the years of this country’s war on
terror.
o § Internet Policy/Net Neutrality⠀➾
# ⚓ Democracy Now ☛ Free_Speech_on_Trial:_Supreme_Court_Hears
Cases_That_Could_Reshape_Future_of_the_Internet⠀⇛
We look at two cases before the Supreme Court that
could reshape the future of the internet. Both
cases focus on Section 230 of the Communications
Decency Act of 1996, which backers say has helped
foster free speech online by allowing companies to
host content without direct legal liability for
what users post. Critics say it has allowed tech
platforms to avoid accountability for spreading
harmful material. On Tuesday, the justices heard
arguments in Gonzalez v. Google, brought by the
family of Nohemi Gonzalez, who was killed in the
2015 Paris terror attack. Her family sued Google
claiming the company had illegally promoted videos
by the Islamic State, which carried out the Paris
attack. On Wednesday, justices heard arguments in
the case of Twitter v. Taamneh, brought by the
family of Nawras Alassaf, who was killed along with
38 others in a 2017 terrorist attack on a nightclub
in Turkey. We speak with Aaron Mackey, senior staff
attorney with the Electronic Frontier Foundation,
who says Section 230 “powers the underlying
architecture” of the internet.
# ⚓ Techdirt ☛ FCC_‘Investigating’_Repeated_Broadband_Industry
Coverage_Lies⠀⇛
After years of criticism about their inaccuracy,
the FCC recently spent another $50 million (on top
of the $350 million they’d already spent) on
supposedly better broadband maps. But the end
result is still a bit of a mess, with entrenched
telecom monopolies like Comcast being repeatedly
caught claiming to deliver broadband in areas that
can’t receive service. Often to glean subsidies the
company doesn’t deserve.
# ⚓ APNIC ☛ Transiting_UAVs_in_aerial_mesh_networks⠀⇛
Guest Post: How to maintain continuous network
connectivity during movement.
# ⚓ APNIC ☛ Welcome_to_APRICOT_2023⠀⇛
APRICOT 2023 starts today in Manila, Philippines!
Here are some highlights.
# ⚓ APNIC ☛ IETF_roundup_for_the_APNIC_community⠀⇛
Guest Post: Investigating IETF activities relevant
to the APNIC community at APRICOT 2023.
o § Monopolies⠀➾
# § Patents⠀➾
# ⚓ JUVE ☛ BSH_defends_vacuum_cleaner_patent_against
Electrolux⠀⇛
# § Trademarks⠀➾
# ⚓ Techdirt ☛ Slim_Shady_Files_Shady_Trademark
Opposition_Over_Application_For_‘Reasonably_Shady’
Podcast⠀⇛
And if that title didn’t really confuse you
all that much, then you’ve managed to get the
point. Eminem hasn’t been shy about asserting
his intellectual property rights in the past,
though much of his efforts on that front have
actually been to the benefit of artists from
his fights with record labels. That doesn’t
mean that Em’s team isn’t capable of some IP
missteps, however.
# § Copyrights⠀➾
# ⚓ Creative Commons ☛ Zarya_of_the_Dawn:_US_Copyright
Office_Affirms_Limits_on_Copyright_of_AI_Outputs⠀⇛
Just this week, the United States Copyright
Office (USCO) provided a bit more clarity, at
least as to its views about US law and works
generated by AI. While it affirms some of the
limits that we articulated, it leaves open
many questions about where exactly the
boundaries of copyrightability lie.
# ⚓ Torrent Freak ☛ Pirate_Couple_Got_Caught_Uploading,
Promised_to_Abstain,_Got_Caught_Again⠀⇛
In 2018, Dutch anti-piracy outfit BREIN
targeted a middle-aged couple who uploaded
pirated content in breach of copyright. In
exchange for a relatively small settlement
and a promise not to infringe again, BREIN
took no further action. After being caught
for a second time, harsh financial
consequences mean that the man and woman are
no longer a couple.
# ⚓ Torrent Freak ☛ Sony_vs._Datel:_Game_Cheat_Copyright
Questions_Referred_to_EU’s_Top_Court⠀⇛
After more than a decade of litigation in
Germany, key questions emerging from a Sony
lawsuit targeting cheat maker Datel have been
referred to Europe’s highest court. The
lawsuit concerns cheat mechanisms created for
Sony’s long-dead Playstation Portable that
affected gameplay but ran alongside
copyrighted code without directly modifying
it.
* § Gemini* and Gopher⠀➾
o § Personal⠀➾
# ⚓ Part_Time_Work⠀⇛
Over the last 4 months (since my dance with c0v1d)
I’ve been having ongoing health issues. So much so
that I can no longer work full time. Of course the
bills have to be paid so I find myself looking for
alternative modes of operation.
At first I though that freelancing might be the
answer but that lacks stability.Some weeks you have
income and others you don’t. One might think that a
higher hourly rate is the answer but that approach
is getting harder and harder to do in such a
competitive market. A part time role could be the
answer.
# ⚓ Collecting_links_about_skills⠀⇛
I feel like I’m going overboard with the
references. When I listen to podcasts, I
practically never check the pages with references.
But in this case, the four of us bring so much
stuff to the table that deserves a link. If you can
think of more stuff that needs to be added, please
do so.
One link I was unable to find was a post by James
Raggi where he first mentioned the specialist class
in Lamentations of the Flame Princess and ditching
percentage thieves’ abilities for X-in-6 rolls with
the d6.
# ⚓ Christians_Speaking_out_against_Christian_Nationalism⠀⇛
I was born and spent the first 32 years of my life
in Oklahoma. I hate the place with a passion. For
an example of how terrible it is: a couple years
after I left, the governor called for a statewide
day of prayer for the petroleum industry. I still
try and keep an eye on the place. Occasionally I
browse the r/okc and r/oklahoma subreddits, to get
an idea of what’s going on down there. Last night,
I stumbled on a very wonderful article, that I’m
going to reproduce in full here.
# ⚓ Moon/Star_Gazing_2023-02-27_Evening_(Fairbanks,_AK,_USA)⠀⇛
Fairbanks was inside a high-pressure bubble last
night, and skies were clear. Not knowing how many
more such opportunities I would get before we were
overwhelmed by Alaska’s increasing daylight hours,
I decided to head out to the boat launch for some
stargazing. I was dressed quite stiffly in multiple
layers of artic gear, expecting the temperatures to
get extremely cold, and in fact they did drop down
to -26 deg F at my viewing location.
# ⚓ Tuesday⠀⇛
As I enter the Midnight, along the counter a few
new heads turn to see, who’s coming in. It’s only
me. As I carefully close the door to leave the cold
wind outside, a whizzing sound can be heard —
apparently emanating from my backpack. Ya ya, I
know, it’s my trusted notebook grinding away on a
build of emacs 29 …
I turn to my favorite table in the corner, because
it has a power outlet close. Hastily I retrieve the
machine from my backpack and plug in the power
supply. That very moment the whizz dies. make
completed. Puh. No errors. Lucky me, I guess.
# ⚓ On_being_an_ally⠀⇛
Sometimes I read posts on Mastodon about allyship
and it always reminds me of a longer discussion I
had with my wife about the rights of women and
microagressions and related topics and she didn’t
care much about all that. The main point she came
back to again and again was: I don’t care about
this, I just want equal pay for equal work.
I think what she was getting at is that the finger
pointing at the moon is not the moon: Talking about
being an ally is not the same as actually being an
ally for real people in your life.
# ⚓ gemini://rawtext.club/~deerbard/glog/2023-02-28-back-to-
flow.gmi⠀⇛
As a child, I entered the flow state naturally.
Simply by attending to what interested me.
Then I gradually lost access to it. Now, having
passed the halfway point of my life expectancy, I’m
regaining it again.
o § Technical⠀➾
# ⚓ Decimal_watch,_short_update⠀⇛
Of course it is not exactly as I would have
imagined. I had meant to only work with decimal
time directly when using the watch. My plan was to
memorise a handful of decimal equivalents to my
regularly daily events and just use the watch to
compare how close I was to them throughout the day.
As a secondary usage the watch gives me something
to glance at and see the day pass without really
caring about the specific time.
My assumption was that the above two use cases
would account for the overwhelming majority of my
watch usage. The other use case I imagined was ad
hoc times, like catching a bus and needing to
compare against a time table that uses traditional
time. Here I had already decided I would just use
other time sources, like pulling out my phone (or
looking at nearby clocks). I was OK with this
because I suspected it would not do it often.
# ⚓ Notes_on_tldr_hosting⠀⇛
I wasn’t sure if this was worthwhile, and although
I’ve used it occasionally myself, I largely forgot
about it. But recently I got email from someone who
found it helpful, which put it back in my mind.
# ⚓ Alt-Text_&_Link_Rot_—_How_Accessibility_Features_Benefit
Everyone⠀⇛
Links rot. It’s unfortunate, but it’s just a part
of the web. Content disappears and links rot; if
you don’t host your own images, then you can’t
guarantee that your images will always appear. In
this situation, alt-text can be the difference
between your piece still making sense and it being
completely useless. This is because many browsers
show the alt-text with the missing image icon, so
descriptive alt-text can make sure your audience
still gets the necessary information.
# ⚓ Punking_PCB_layout_with_GEDA-PCB⠀⇛
I’ve spent most of my adult life laying out PCB
boards (not all the time…). I go through phases
when I do a lot of PCB layout. I’ve used various
software to do so, but in the end, my favorite way
to do it is punking it with PCB.
# § Internet/Gemini⠀➾
# ⚓ Certificate_Change_on_skyjake.fi⠀⇛
Sometime in the next few days I will be
updating the server certificate on skyjake.fi
with a new one that includes “*.skyjake.fi”
as a DNS wildcard.
The private key of the certificate will
remain the same, so your client may trust the
new certificate automatically.
# § Programming⠀➾
# ⚓ Unlikely_Unicode,_Episode_MMCMVIII⠀⇛
English has zoning rules against placing the
sound represented by ŋ at the head of the
word–that would be using English wrongly, you
see. The discussion spawned from NixOS and
nginx and whether the two alliterate, or not.
Probably it’s just that nginx is popular, and
is favored by certain perhaps too vocal
commentators who also happen to use NixOS.
These words alliterate by regular expression,
qr/\b(?i)n/, which we might term a visual
alliteration, just as one can have visual
rhymes, “I love that stove”.
A leading ŋ could make an appearance in
comic-book, perhaps the Penguin was preparing
to pontificate when that protector of peace,
Batman, punched him in the paunch. Speaking
of children’s materials, I am informed that /
vr/ is likewise verboten at the start of a
word–vroom, vroom! But these are not serious
examples, and doubtless they will be grown
out of in good time. After all, Don Quixote
put an end to the sale of chivalric romances.
=> =============================================================================
World Wide Web but a lot lighter.
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