𝕿𝖊𝖈𝖍𝖗𝖎𝖌𝖍𝖙𝖘 Bulletin for Tuesday, September 12, 2023
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Generated Wed 13 Sep 02:53:27 BST 2023
Created by Dr. Roy Schestowitz (𝚛𝚘𝚢 (at) 𝚜𝚌𝚑𝚎𝚜𝚝𝚘𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚣 (dot) 𝚌𝚘𝚖)
Full hyperlinks for navigation omitted but are fully available in the originals
The corresponding HTML versions are at 𝒕𝒆𝒄𝒉𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒔.𝒐𝒓𝒈
Latest in 𝒉𝒕𝒕𝒑://𝒕𝒆𝒄𝒉𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒔.𝒐𝒓𝒈/𝒕𝒙𝒕 and older bulletins can be found at 𝒉𝒕𝒕𝒑://𝒕𝒆𝒄𝒉𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒔.𝒐𝒓𝒈/𝒕𝒙𝒕-𝒂𝒓𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒔
Full IPFS index in 𝒉𝒕𝒕𝒑://𝒕𝒆𝒄𝒉𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒔.𝒐𝒓𝒈/𝒊𝒑𝒇𝒔 and as plain text in 𝒉𝒕𝒕𝒑://𝒕𝒆𝒄𝒉𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒔.𝒐𝒓𝒈/𝒊𝒑𝒇𝒔/𝒕𝒙𝒕
Gemini index for the day: gemini://gemini.techrights.org/2023/09/12/
╒═══════════════════ 𝐑𝐄𝐂𝐄𝐍𝐓 𝐁𝐔𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐒 ════════════════════════════════════╕
Previous bulletins in IPFS (past 21 days, in chronological order):
QmWKPms4oLgJhFJZPgySVW8kBSCBHkHuEbpSJ9Hu8w899a
QmYRNEXfEKgCkNrxSJTkmHBQSawGzsT7jTG9zeGBgLZpYW
QmXuNJQvwQEw7vxCEMaH6S2XP6CJWxyQPwQ5XwEnWrbwNY
QmU8r9irxybJVwzTWsCaejmJ4dDWJ8vAHAHHAKEkyeufpQ
QmeryNavwPZxt2XqRC8WzQsxzm8Q2aJpPrHDJjt4MVx7j9
QmV1aDkYP6Y7Yv8Eg5mojpfKfRqGkjzLoJiut9uECHzXbF
QmNRJcNP3MBmn7dGr91i3qjc8AouAjwSZWUmroRDLJDj2W
QmR3skFpi5NU2DwodXGtVWF1yWK1pJNg7U4BHJZ26DXmJr
QmNyZCmQoHYnCZYzsD7hZtwEa43PmCo6mPJQSvxSE2bjMR
QmbHjgPAAcGNUG9Sej4vSKhK8DfUYokfFkXLdKwr1JtGJG
QmdLsuRLzrwb58dZaSmJah6oCmNNZ6cW4ick4chqJmHjmY
QmTNR3uqcbMYjPAbbHjBqyNJb3ib8kytQvdFnATzkBFVvo
QmfCHrqMLfMsHXYnQeAvVuNYt91Zw2AmMJ5mx4RqsrWy3b
QmR2rr1yXDANjQBEz2oGtd2UMgy9U37FHdjpUhPfAk7h5z
QmWE6ucdKk9Q1pi6ce3ko9xPWd9Y4BjpLij3W7tJ5TMjG3
QmaoEDiALTYYZdaq3SQ86aQpMwUji1nqCeLbXAoszFRYvJ
QmSTkZUY74BcgbgqS6JKwwNbVnbzY5uqwpgWtYonGJua8s
QmXZcp3rXLYa24pYd7jUu6sPDrhziRCNCok875WLJTLysP
QmUE7nd24kx2soZFbSYKDsb1ik1wpirFTRTBhDTj6w9sjh
QmdKeWBhfnjgQLYU48wto7DdStpXsB5mE1yEEnWcxQ53vu
QmfSnnTnjcAe3YvtRsVgAwUJfpcEk1dM5J5yjJLyv7MxqM
╒═══════════════════ 𝐈𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐗 ═══════════════════════════════════════════════════╕
⦿ IRC Proceedings: Monday, September 11, 2023 | Techrights
⦿ GNU/Linux Market Share Has Doubled Since Last Summer, According to Survey (in Vietnam, 2 Out of 3 Clients Now Use Linux) | Techrights
⦿ The Death of Comedy, Corporations Offer Jobs to Silence Critics and Shut Down Opposition, and “Power Tool Product Activation” | Techrights
⦿ Vietnam’s and Other Nations’ Adoption of GNU/Linux in an Age of Rotting Financial Systems and Corporate Administrations | Techrights
䷼ Bulletin articles (as HTML) to comment on (requires login):
http://techrights.org/2023/09/12/irc-log-110923/#comments
http://techrights.org/2023/09/12/linux-in-vietnam/#comments
http://techrights.org/2023/09/12/shutting-down-opposition/#comments
http://techrights.org/2023/09/12/vietnams-and-other-nations-adoption-of-gnulinux-in-an-age-of-rotting-financial-systems-and-corporate-administrations/#comments
䷞ Followed by Daily Links (assorted news picks curated and categorised):
http://techrights.org/2023/09/12/kde-plasma-5-27-8/#comments
http://techrights.org/2023/09/12/one-year-without-windows/#comments
http://techrights.org/2023/09/12/osi-attacking-the-osi-mission-for-microsoft/#comments
http://techrights.org/2023/09/12/pgexporter-0-4-released/#comments
䷩ 𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚎 59
╒═══════════════════ 𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐈𝐂𝐋𝐄 ═════════════════════════════════════════════════╕
(ℹ) Images, hyperlinks and comments at http://techrights.org/2023/09/12/irc-log-110923/#comments
Gemini version at gemini://gemini.techrights.org/2023/09/12/irc-log-110923/
⠀⌧ █▇▆▅▄▃▂▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁ 09.12.23⠀▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▂▃▄▅▆▇█ ⌧
Gemini_version_available_♊︎
✐ IRC_Proceedings:_Monday,_September_11,_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-110923.gmi
* gemini://gemini.techrights.org/irc-gmi/irc-log-110923.gmi
* gemini://gemini.techrights.org/irc-gmi/irc-log-social-110923.gmi
* gemini://gemini.techrights.org/irc-gmi/irc-log-techbytes-110923.gmi
Over HTTP:
🄸🄼🄰🄶🄴_🄳🄴🅂🄲🅁🄸🄿🅃🄸🄾🄽_⦇H 🄸🄼🄰🄶🄴_🄳🄴🅂🄲🅁🄸🄿🅃🄸🄾🄽_⦇HTML5_logs⦈_
#techrights_log_as_HTML5 #boycottnovell_log_as_HTML5
🄸🄼🄰🄶🄴_🄳🄴🅂🄲🅁🄸🄿🅃🄸🄾🄽_⦇H 🄸🄼🄰🄶🄴_🄳🄴🅂🄲🅁🄸🄿🅃🄸🄾🄽_⦇HTML5_logs⦈_
#boycottnovell-social_log_as_HTML5 #techbytes_log_as_HTML5
🄸🄼🄰🄶🄴_🄳🄴🅂🄲🅁🄸🄿🅃🄸🄾🄽_⦇t 🄸🄼🄰🄶🄴_🄳🄴🅂🄲🅁🄸🄿🅃🄸🄾🄽_⦇text_logs⦈_
#techrights_log_as_text #boycottnovell_log_as_text
🄸🄼🄰🄶🄴_🄳🄴🅂🄲🅁🄸🄿🅃🄸🄾🄽_⦇t 🄸🄼🄰🄶🄴_🄳🄴🅂🄲🅁🄸🄿🅃🄸🄾🄽_⦇text_logs⦈_
#boycottnovell-social_log_as_text #techbytes_log_as_text
Enter_the_IRC_channels_now
=> =============================================================================
§ IPFS Mirrors⠀➾
CID Description Object type
IRC log for
QmfJPV6sTYDzZ7Lue2kr58TGUd7ThWjtaSaZgZF6ZLZ9gs #boycottnovell 🄸🄼🄰🄶🄴 🄳🄴🅂🄲🅁🄸🄿🅃🄸🄾🄽 ⦇HTML5 logs⦈
(full IRC log
as HTML)
IRC log for
#boycottnovell
QmX9KMcQgnKybHYTVESwPA4viVU7h2a7eB9bFTvzzni3sH (full IRC log 🄸🄼🄰🄶🄴 🄳🄴🅂🄲🅁🄸🄿🅃🄸🄾🄽 ⦇text logs⦈
as plain/ASCII
text)
IRC log for
#boycottnovell-
QmboXJeHyNicAtF9XrA3SMu3HFR7m6vjQxjXaGRttPME7J social 🄸🄼🄰🄶🄴 🄳🄴🅂🄲🅁🄸🄿🅃🄸🄾🄽 ⦇HTML5 logs⦈
(full IRC log
as HTML)
IRC log for
#boycottnovell-
QmSzciMNyHgrPZhEuBauXNUHADt7crYFbZJBVsKLK1aVMT social 🄸🄼🄰🄶🄴 🄳🄴🅂🄲🅁🄸🄿🅃🄸🄾🄽 ⦇text logs⦈
(full IRC log
as plain/ASCII
text)
IRC log for
QmXmsq5ZbCy56oD5JuekdsV11Mca5xMmX741T6sLpX42ut #techbytes 🄸🄼🄰🄶🄴 🄳🄴🅂🄲🅁🄸🄿🅃🄸🄾🄽 ⦇HTML5 logs⦈
(full IRC log
as HTML)
IRC log for
#techbytes
QmTccRQ4pyFtGoR227ahH5ZPkK5GE2NSe2DKTQD9aAYfLr (full IRC log 🄸🄼🄰🄶🄴 🄳🄴🅂🄲🅁🄸🄿🅃🄸🄾🄽 ⦇text logs⦈
as plain/ASCII
text)
IRC log for
QmQWGhVw9VHgsmGwGMQsMGrEdJYCh2LNfZckNcGsVGQbgV #techrights 🄸🄼🄰🄶🄴 🄳🄴🅂🄲🅁🄸🄿🅃🄸🄾🄽 ⦇HTML5 logs⦈
(full IRC log
as HTML)
IRC log for
#techrights
Qmdbf5WpFC2WW6hA6scKu6LbmkU2jXRPqt4VDwfE1sfvV3 (full IRC log 🄸🄼🄰🄶🄴 🄳🄴🅂🄲🅁🄸🄿🅃🄸🄾🄽 ⦇text logs⦈
as plain/ASCII
text)
🄸🄼🄰🄶🄴 🄳🄴🅂🄲🅁🄸🄿🅃🄸🄾🄽 ⦇IPFS logo⦈
§ Bulletin for Yesterday⠀➾
Local_copy | CID (IPFS): QmfSnnTnjcAe3YvtRsVgAwUJfpcEk1dM5J5yjJLyv7MxqM
䷩ 𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚎 186
╒═══════════════════ 𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐈𝐂𝐋𝐄 ═════════════════════════════════════════════════╕
(ℹ) Images, hyperlinks and comments at http://techrights.org/2023/09/12/linux-in-vietnam/#comments
Gemini version at gemini://gemini.techrights.org/2023/09/12/linux-in-vietnam/
⠀⌧ █▇▆▅▄▃▂▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁ 09.12.23⠀▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▂▃▄▅▆▇█ ⌧
Gemini_version_available_♊︎
✐ GNU/Linux_Market_Share_Has_Doubled_Since_Last_Summer,According_to_Survey(in
Vietnam,_2_Out_of_3_Clients_Now_Use_Linux)⠀✐
Posted in Asia, GNU/Linux, Microsoft at 7:44 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz
In Vietnam, Linux share doubled since April 2021:
🄸🄼🄰🄶🄴_🄳🄴🅂🄲🅁🄸🄿🅃🄸🄾🄽_⦇Android_and_Linux_in_Vietnam⦈_
Underlying_data_as_OpenDocument_Format_(ODF)
Windows sagged as low as 6% this past summer:
🄸🄼🄰🄶🄴_🄳🄴🅂🄲🅁🄸🄿🅃🄸🄾🄽_⦇Vietnam_OS_stats⦈_
Globally, taking GNU/Linux into account and not counting Android at all,
Windows is down to less than 30% and GNU/Linux is at over 3%:
🄸🄼🄰🄶🄴_🄳🄴🅂🄲🅁🄸🄿🅃🄸🄾🄽_⦇The_global_share_of_GNU/Linux⦈_
Underlying_data_as_OpenDocument_Format_(ODF)
So Android is at around 40%, GNU/Linux and ChromeOS at over 3%, and Windows
keeps falling
Summary: According to this_month’s_statistics_from_statCounter, Microsoft_is
having_a_terrible_time_in_Vietnam (offering_"AI"_to_Vietnam_is_ludicrous
vapourware); in the world at large Microsoft’s Windows is losing monopoly
power/rents
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⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡇⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿
⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⠉⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣿⣿⣧⡾⢮⣦⣤⢤⣾⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿
⣿⣿⡿⠿⣿⠿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡿⠉⠋⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣻⣿⣿⡿⠶⠷⠶⠿⠿⠿⠿⣿⣿⣿
⣿⣿⣷⣶⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣿⣿⡿⢿⠶⠷⠶⡷⡶⢶⠾⠿⢿⣿
⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣿⣿⣿⣿⣶⣷⣶⣿⣿⣾⣶⣶⣾⣿
⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡿⠀⣿⣿⣿⠋⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿
⣿⣿⣧⣤⣯⣶⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⠿⣿⣿⣿⡿⠃⠀⣿⣿⡟⠀⠈⢹⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿
⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡿⣿⠀⢻⣿⠿⠇⠀⠀⠀⠘⠃⠀⠀⠈⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⠉⢸⡿⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿
⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡟⠁⠙⠀⠘⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢸⠀⣿⡟⠃⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿
⣿⣿⡿⣛⣟⣯⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡿⠉⠃⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠁⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣽⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿
⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡿⠃⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿
⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡿⠋⠉⠉⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿
⣿⣿⣿⠿⡿⠟⠛⠛⠛⠛⠛⠛⠛⠛⠛⠛⠛⠋⠉⠉⠁⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢀⣻⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿
⣿⣿⣿⡶⠻⣿⡟⢿⠟⢻⡿⠛⣿⠻⢿⣟⢻⡿⠻⣿⠟⢿⠟⢻⣿⠻⣿⢿⣿⠟⢻⣿⡻⡿⠛⣿⠟⢻⡿⠻⡿⠛⣿⢟⢿⡟⣻⡿⠻⣿⡟⢿⠿⢻⡿⡻⣿⠟⣿⠟⢿⣿⠻⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿
⣿⡿⠋⣰⠞⣍⠖⢁⡵⠫⣻⢚⣉⠖⢍⡷⠋⣱⢊⣨⠞⢅⡵⠛⡱⢊⣨⠟⢍⡶⢋⡱⠊⣨⠞⢏⡖⣓⡿⠪⣨⠞⢉⡗⣁⡵⠫⣪⠞⣙⠖⣙⡷⠫⡹⢊⣸⠞⢅⡴⢋⣱⣾⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿
⣿⣿⣾⣿⣷⣿⣷⣿⣿⣾⣿⣷⣿⣷⣿⣿⣾⣿⣷⣿⣷⣿⣿⣾⣿⣶⣿⣷⣿⣿⣾⣿⣾⣿⣷⣿⣿⣾⣿⣾⣿⣷⣿⣷⣾⣿⣾⣿⣷⣿⣷⣿⣿⣾⣿⣶⣿⣷⣿⣿⣾⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿
⣿⡿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿
⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿
⣿⣿⣿⣿⣫⣭⡟⣛⡿⣛⡟⣻⣛⡏⡋⣟⣛⣟⣛⣿⡩⢝⣿⡛⣻⢛⢟⣻⢛⣛⣻⣿⠹⡿⢹⣛⢿⣛⠹⡻⣛⡏⣻⣏⠭⣟⡛⣟⣻⣟⣛⡛⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡇⠀⡀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢸⣿⣿
⣿⣿⣿⣿⣬⣭⡇⣭⣧⣭⣿⣧⣭⣧⣥⣿⣿⡧⠌⣿⣭⡽⢦⣯⣼⣬⣮⣽⣼⣿⣿⣿⣼⣼⣼⣭⣼⣿⣴⣥⣭⣧⣽⣯⣭⣿⣧⣯⣽⣿⣯⣭⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡇⠀⠁⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠈⠀⠈⠀⠀⠁⠀⢸⣿⣿
⣿⣿⣿⣿⣻⢳⡟⠿⡏⣿⡇⡹⣿⠻⢻⣻⢻⢻⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣷⣶⣶⣶⣶⣶⣶⣶⣶⣶⣶⣶⣶⣶⣶⣶⣾⣿⣿
⣿⣿⣿⣿⣧⣿⣷⣭⣷⣽⣧⣿⣾⣭⣼⣿⣼⣼⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿
⣿⣿⣿⣿⡿⠉⣿⡗⢼⢆⡰⡧⣸⣟⡧⢼⠯⠹⡹⣿⠢⡰⡗⢴⢼⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿
⣿⣿⣿⣷⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣾⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿
⣿⣿⣿⣿⠯⣛⠙⡟⠛⠛⣛⡛⢛⣛⣛⣛⣛⣛⣛⣛⣛⣛⣛⣛⣛⣛⣛⣛⣛⣛⣛⣛⣛⣛⣛⣛⣛⣛⣛⣛⣛⣛⣛⣛⣛⣛⣛⣛⣛⣛⣛⣛⣛⣛⣛⣛⣛⣛⣛⣛⣛⣛⣛⣛⣛⣛⣛⣛⣛⣛⣛⣛⣛⣛⣛⢻⣿⣿
⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣶⣶⣶⣶⣶⣤⣤⣍⣉⡙⠛⠿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⢸⣿⣿
⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣇⠹⠿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⢸⣿⣿
⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣷⣦⢸⢋⠙⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⢸⣿⣿
⣿⣿⣿⣿⡟⠛⠛⡿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⠀⢸⣇⢹⠁⠉⠃⠸⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⢸⣿⣿
⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣀⣾⣿⠈⢸⣷⣄⡀⢁⢹⣿⠉⢹⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⢸⣿⣿
⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡏⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣶⣿⡿⠿⢷⣿⡀⠃⢀⢸⠋⢹⣿⠟⢿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡏⠉⠉⣿⣿⣿⠟⠙⠀⣀⠈⠏⢹⣿⣿⡿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⢸⣿⡏
⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡇⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⠟⠋⠉⠀⠀⠀⠈⠳⠀⣿⣄⣤⠘⠃⢰⡈⠿⢿⣿⣿⠟⠃⣦⡆⠹⣿⡏⢰⡇⢰⣿⣧⣦⠈⠙⢉⡀⢸⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⢸⣿⡇
⣿⣿⣿⣿⡟⠛⠛⡇⠿⠿⠿⠿⠿⠿⠿⠿⠿⠿⠿⠿⠿⠿⠿⠿⠏⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠹⠿⠿⠟⠆⠰⠿⠳⠤⠄⠁⠹⠀⠾⠿⠧⠀⠘⠁⠿⠷⠾⠿⠿⠿⠶⠤⠿⠇⠸⠿⠿⠿⠿⠿⠿⠿⠿⠀⠹⠿⠿⢸⣿⡇
⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡇⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡄⠀⠀⠸⢿⠟⠀⠀⡀⣿⣗⣈⣇⣋⣁⣸⣘⣁⣛⡄⠀⢀⣀⣀⣸⣠⢀⣀⣐⣂⣾⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡇⢸⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡇⢸⣇⠀⢸⢸⣿⡇
⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡇⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣷⡀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢀⣴⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡀⢸⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡇⢸⣿⣿⣿⣿⡟⢻⠀⠃⣸⣿⣦⠀⢸⣿⡇
⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡇⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣷⣦⣤⣴⣾⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣇⣼⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡇⠀⠁⢹⣿⡿⠁⠀⠀⠀⣿⣿⣿⣷⢸⣿⡇
⣿⣿⣿⣿⡿⠿⠿⡇⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣧⣼⣶⠈⠋⠀⠀⠀⣸⣾⣿⣿⣿⣿⢸⣿⡇
⣿⣿⣿⣿⣷⣶⣶⡇⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣶⡧⢰⣶⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⠛⢸⣿⡇
⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡇⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⠻⠟⢀⠁⠈⠙⣿⣿⣿⣿⡏⢰⢸⣿⡇
⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡇⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡏⠀⡄⢰⣿⣷⠀⠀⢹⢿⡿⠟⠁⣾⢸⣿⡇
⣿⣿⣿⣿⡿⠿⠿⡇⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⠏⢹⣿⣿⣿⠛⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡇⢸⣿⣿⣿⣿⠆⠀⠀⠀⣰⣾⣶⣿⢸⣿⡇
⣿⣿⣿⣿⣷⣶⣶⡇⣶⣶⣶⣶⣶⣶⣶⣶⣶⣶⣶⣶⣶⣶⣶⠀⢰⣶⣶⣶⣶⣶⡶⣶⡶⠒⣶⣶⣶⠖⢲⣶⡶⠖⠖⠀⢀⠰⠲⣶⡆⠀⠀⠀⢶⣶⣶⣶⣶⣶⠶⠲⣶⡆⠐⠶⢀⡀⠒⢠⣤⠀⠀⢰⣶⣶⣶⢸⣿⡇
⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡇⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⠀⢸⣿⠀⢹⣿⣿⠀⡈⠀⡄⠹⠁⠹⠀⠀⠙⠀⣤⣤⡀⢸⡀⠂⠀⠀⠃⢰⠀⠈⠏⠸⢩⢭⣭⣤⣤⣭⣤⢤⠤⠬⢭⣭⣭⣭⡤⡥⢬⢭⣭⣭⡌⣿⡇
⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡇⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡿⠿⠏⢀⠘⠏⣸⣄⣀⣉⡰⠷⠊⢀⠀⢰⣤⢾⣿⣶⣾⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⠦⡀⠁⠰⠿⠗⠀⠀⠀⠘⠒⠚⠓⠒⠓⠛⠚⠛⠚⠚⠊⠚⠓⠓⠛⠚⠚⠛⠛⠃⣿⡇
⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡇⣿⡿⠿⠿⠿⠿⠿⠿⠟⠛⠛⠛⠃⠀⠀⠘⠀⠀⠁⠉⠁⠀⠀⠒⠚⠉⠉⠁⠀⠀⠁⠈⠉⠋⠁⠀⠀⠤⠤⠔⠶⠶⠤⠾⠏⠉⠹⠿⠿⠿⠿⠿⠿⠇⠐⠀⠠⠀⠀⠀⠀⠐⠀⠡⠤⠆⠘⢸⣿⡇
⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣤⣤⣤⣤⣤⣤⣤⣤⣤⣤⣤⣤⣤⣶⣶⣶⣶⣶⣶⣶⣶⣶⣶⣶⣶⡒⣶⣶⣶⣶⣶⣶⣶⣶⣶⣤⣤⣤⣤⣤⣤⣤⣤⣤⣤⣤⣤⣤⠀⣤⣤⣤⣤⣤⣤⣤⣤⣤⣤⣤⣤⣤⣤⣤⣤⣤⣤⣤⣤⣤⣼⣿⡇
⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡁⣸⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡁⣰⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡇
⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⠃⣽⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⠃⣽⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡇
⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣷⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣷⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡇
⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣔⣬⣄⣀⣎⣀⣈⣁⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣯⣻⣝⣄⣀⣀⣀⣅⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣥⣮⣇⣂⣨⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣔⣼⣐⣂⣢⣺⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡇
⣿⡟⡟⡿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣾⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣷⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣾⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣷⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣾⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿
⣿⣿⣿⡇⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿
⣿⣿⣿⡇⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿
⣿⣿⣉⡇⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿
⣿⣿⣿⡇⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿
⣿⣿⣿⡇⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿
⣿⣧⣧⡇⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣭⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿
⣿⣿⣿⡇⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿
⣿⣿⣿⡇⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿
⣿⣿⣥⡇⣶⣶⣶⣶⣶⣶⣶⣶⣶⣶⣶⣶⣶⣿⣶⣶⣶⣶⣶⣶⣾⣶⣶⣶⣶⣶⣶⣾⣷⣶⣶⣾⣶⣶⣶⣿⣶⣶⣾⣷⣶⣶⣾⣶⣶⣶⣿⣶⣶⣾⣷⣶⣶⣾⣶⣶⣶⣿⣾⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿
⣿⣿⣿⡇⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡿⢿⣿⣿⠛⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⠉⣿⣿⣿⣿⡿⡿⠿⣿⣿⣿⡿⡿⢿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿
⣿⣿⡿⡇⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⠀⣿⣿⡇⢸⣿⣿⠀⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⠀⣿⣿⣿⣿⣷⣿⡷⢶⢶⣶⣿⣶⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿
⣿⣶⣷⡇⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⠀⣿⣿⡇⢸⣿⣿⠀⣿⣿⣿⠿⣿⣿⡏⢹⣿⣿⠀⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣟⡖⢶⢞⣿⡛⣻⢿⢿⢿⠛⡛⣿
⣿⣿⣿⡇⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⠀⣿⣿⣿⠀⣿⣿⡇⢸⣿⣿⠀⣿⣿⣿⠀⣿⣿⡇⢸⣿⣿⠀⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿
⣿⣿⣿⡇⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡇⢸⣿⣿⠀⣿⣿⡿⠀⣿⣿⡇⢸⣿⣿⠀⣿⣿⡿⠀⣿⣿⡇⢸⣿⣿⠀⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿
⣿⣿⣿⡇⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⠀⣿⣿⡇⠀⣿⣿⡇⢸⣿⣿⠛⣿⣿⣿⠀⣿⣿⡇⢸⣿⣿⠀⣿⣿⣿⠀⣿⣿⡇⢸⣿⣿⠀⣿⣿⣿⠀⣿⣿⡇⢸⣿⣿⠀⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿
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⣿⣿⣩⣅⣤⣭⣭⣥⣤⣭⣭⣥⣬⣭⣍⣤⣭⣭⣥⣤⣭⣭⣥⣬⣭⣍⣤⣭⣭⣭⣤⣭⣭⣥⣬⣭⣍⣤⣭⣭⣭⣤⣭⣭⣥⣬⣭⣍⣤⣭⣭⣭⣤⣭⣭⣥⣬⣭⣍⣤⣭⣭⣽⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿
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䷩ 𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚎 320
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✐ The_Death_of_Comedy,_Corporations_Offer_Jobs_to_Silence_Critics_and_Shut_Down
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Posted in Deception, DRM, Microsoft at 12:03 am by Guest Editorial Team
Reprinted with permission from Ryan_Farmer.
Corporations Offer People Jobs to Silence Critics and Shut Down the Opposition.
The other day, I heard a commercial on the radio where Jim Gaffigan was
shilling Walmart’s prepaid cell phones, “Straight Talk”.
Even good comedians, like George Carlin, ended up doing advertising. Carlin
didn’t apologize for it, nor should he have.
Doing a few commercials for a phone company trying to get people to take their
collect call business there wasn’t particularly unethical, and nobody was
trying to cancel him or his message.
(Besides, everyone knew how to use collect calls for free. You just hurried up
and said the pay phone’s public phone number when it asked for your name and
hung up after the other party declined the call. Then they knew which pay phone
to call.)
Everyone knew that George Carlin, was a fairly crass comedian, he pissed some
people off, but it was the 80s, 90s, 2000s.
So you had comedians like Sam Kinison, George Carlin, and Bill Hicks, and when
they pissed people off, nobody cared.
It wasn’t career-ending, and most people just weren’t even pissed off, they
shrugged and went about their way, like grown ups used to do before everyone
suddenly got so soft.
Even when Gilbert Gottfried had a gaffe, he went to New York City right after
9/11 and said he would have flown, but they wanted to make a quick stop at the
Chrysler Building, people shouted “Too soon, man!”, but they took it in stride.
New Yorkers used to be tough.
Even though Gottfried would have never worked with material like he had in the
90s, were he to start today, Disney put him in movies. He was the parrot in
Aladdin, alongside Robin Williams, who also had “interesting” material.
Jim Gaffigan is one of these “new” comedians. Not that funny.
Not his fault, honestly.
Society has become so thin-skinned that if you tell the wrong joke, you’ll
never work again, so “comedy” is very sanitized now, and there’s really nothing
out there that will make you fall out of your chair laughing.
Most of the “fall out of your chair laughing” jokes are raunchy, socially
inappropriate, a lampoon of someone that is now considered “marginalized” and
“needing other people to feel offended for them”.
As a gay man, I say that Married With Children was one of my favorite shows.
Still is. It’s held up pretty well.
Al, the every man. Al, with “the Dodge with no upholstery, no gas, and six more
payments”. Al where, “I can always have more kids, but we all know that’s the
only car I’ll ever be able to afford.”
Al whose life went wrong because he “kept washing out and reusing a condom”
which finally broke, causing him to get Peggy pregnant while they were in high
school.
Mind you, this was on TV, not even “premium” cable, at a time when the Moral
Majority was everywhere and Ronald Reagan was in the White House!
Also mind you, the United States CDC posted to “Twitter” just in 2019, I
believe, that “We say it because people do it. Don’t put your condoms in the
dishwasher.”
Al Bundy was conveying an important public health message almost 40 years
before the CDC would openly talk about condoms.
When Married With Children “finally went too far”, it was the episode where Al
and Steve went to a sex shop, and there were some jokes about transvestites and
gay men, and I found them absolutely hysterical.
My parents didn’t even care if I watched this show when I was 7-8 years old,
you know.
What makes Married With Children so funny is that it was a spoof of the Cosby
Show. Where the Cosby Show was wholesome, and Bill Cosby was presented to
people as the Moral Majority’s “TV Dad”, Al Bundy was dysfunction as all hell,
not that bright, salty, and absolutely not a role model.
Later, we’d find out that Bill Cosby was putting roofies in women’s drinks and
raping them while they were unconscious.
It’s always the people who are “too clean” that end up having the most dirty
laundry, isn’t it? Bill liked pudding, in the commercials.
Bill Cosby was doing Jell-O and Jell-O “puddin’” commercials.
In real life, Bill liked pudding, pudding his dick where it didn’t belong.
In a statement about how sick the real world actually is, his convictions were
overturned by a court and he’ll die a free man while people worry about what
jokes a comedian might tell.
The truly great comedians are all gone.
You start saying shit like this, you lose advertisers, you get canceled shows
in Vegas (Carlin was in Vegas a lot), and you just “don’t work again”.
So comedy has gotten rather un-funny thanks to “Social Justice Warriors”.
Nobody asked me, as a gay man, if I thought Al’s trip to the sex shop was funny
or not. I thought it was hysterical. It wasn’t like, some vicious anti-gay
assault. But it wouldn’t have flown today.
Why? Well, we have too many people like “Brandon Lobsta” (as we call him on
Techrights, one of the trolls that harasses us…) claiming you can sue people
for being impolite.
Anyway, “Brandon Lobsta” and the rest of the modern “Left”, are like that
stupid lady in Michigan who complained about “Al Bundy” to the FCC, but even
back then, the network just went to the producers and said “tone it down, just
a little, okay?” and they went on to make fun of “some lady in Michigan” on a
future episode.
But Jim Gaffigan, the closest he got to funny, the thing that made him notable
at all, was the Hot Pockets routine.
You can’t roast people, but you can call garbage Nestle “food” products,
“Diarrhea Pockets” and go into all sorts of vitriol about how much you hate the
barbecue beef.
I read that after he started this routine, Nestle tried to hire him to do Hot
Pockets commercials.
Control the opposition. “If we hire him, he’ll stop telling people how bad Hot
Pockets are. His routine is bad for the brand. Hiring him will be cheap.”
It reminded me of when Apple tried to hire Linus Torvalds in 2000.
Steve Jobs said they’d give him a lot of money and an important title at Apple,
and he’d work on “the UNIX with the largest user base”.
He refused. Linux is the “*nix” with the largest user base now. Across the
widest variety of computers. Mac OS is falling apart and many of the people who
attempted to use it as UNIX even admit it and switch to Linux.
The stipulation to take the job at Apple was he’d have to quit working on Linux
forever.
Steve Jobs realized, years ahead of Android (Linux powers their iPhone
competitor and has stopped Apple from gaining the other 86% of the global phone
market), that Linux would be a problem for Apple someday and they should nip it
in the bud.
It would have been cheap, and it would have been brilliant (for Apple), if he
took the bait, and the appeals to ego.
Hell, the Mac might actually be a more serious operating system today if it had
an actual kernel programmer that knew what he was doing working at Apple.
The time period also was around the point that Steve Jobs tried to convince
Richard Stallman to allow Apple to violate the GNU GPL and create a proprietary
Objective-C compiler for GCC. When Stallman refused and told him the FSF would
take action, we got a Free Software compiler for Objective-C.
Later, Apple replaced GCC with a different compiler platform that does not
generate very good compiled code, but it is under a license that allows
proprietary compiler front-ends.
The threat of “controlling the opposition” and keeping things “corporate
friendly”, with stuff that seems innocent enough, like “Codes of Conduct” will
always be out there.
The powers that be have already done enormous damage this way. Being aware of
the problems can help us avoid more.
Apple didn’t manage to kill Linux or GCC, but they tried, through sabotage and
appeals to vanity and ego.
Clang has done enormous damage to the goal of having Free Software compiler
tools.
Mozilla even defamed the GNU Project, lied and said Clang produced better
binaries, and then sabotaged the build environment for Firefox if you use GCC.
(They don’t update the build system for that and so it’s basically lost its
optimization options that way.)
While we’re dealing with all of these “Leftist Karens” who get mad about
comedy, we face bigger issues. Real issues.
Today, I was listening to NPR while I was bored. They tipped me off to
something Home Depot and Lowes are going to do.
They’re going to sell power tools that_don’t_work_if_you_don’t_buy_them.
They have “bluetooth” something-or-other, and of course it’s the future so
“blockchain blockchain!”, and next it’ll be “AI!”.
Maybe they can bring Microsoft in and create DeWalt 365 or something, where you
have to subscribe to your power saw and if you don’t pay them $6.99 a month
forever after you buy it, you can’t work.
Also, no work for days when Azure crashes.
It can be just like Microsoft Office.
Sure it could start out as an anti-shoplifting measure, then you’ll have to pay
a fee every month to keep using tools you own.
Crazy? Hardly. My mechanic couldn’t do an alignment on my car several months
ago because the activation server for the computer that runs the machine from
Snap-On wouldn’t respond.
When they called the vendor, Snap-On says “Oh we don’t support Windows XP
anymore. So you’ll need a new machine running Windows 11, and we’re going to
bill you for all the hardware on the rack, because it won’t work with the new
computer. Also, it’s a monthly subscription now.
Their attitude is, you need it to work. What are you going to do about it?
Like Microsoft.
The CEO of Home Depot says that the change is supposed to be less visible than
putting the power tools behind locked cases or something. That they don’t want
to “Look like an armed encampment” to the customers there to pickup their
“hammers and nails”.
The CEOs of the major hardware chains tend to be a bunch of MAGA people, really
awful people. You know. “Spike the homeless, cut food stamps, kill Social
Security! What? They’re stealing power tools? PRODUCT ACTIVATORS!”
Perhaps, eventually, they can be like Walmart, cutting my spouse’s hours while
they pay off duty police officers to stand there and not do anything about the
arsonists and looters, but they have plenty of time for writing my license
plate in their little clipbook for parking in a yellow zone (not a fire zone,
not a handy crapped spot) for 2 minutes.
When I go there to pick him up now, I just circle the parking lot following the
arrows, at idle speed. Instead of getting out of the way, I can just let my car
loop around a few times real slow until he comes out.
I’m really glad to know they’re paying these people $25 an hour to mind where I
idle for a couple minutes, but the CEOs still scream of “shrink”. █
䷩ 𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚎 651
╒═══════════════════ 𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐈𝐂𝐋𝐄 ═════════════════════════════════════════════════╕
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Posted in America, Asia, GNU/Linux, Microsoft at 6:49 am by Guest Editorial
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Reprinted with permission from Ryan_Farmer. Also available in Gemini.
More car thoughts about economics.
As America falls over and stores complain about how much they lose to theft, I
have some more musings on what’s going on with Capitalism in America.
Capitalism, makes bad products, ones that even violate the minimum safety
regulations that theoretically exist in America, and nobody does anything about
it.
About 10 years ago, I was broke, and I was looking for ways to save money on
almost anything I could. When I went to the Dollar Tree, where everything
really was $1, I bought some bags of coffee.
They said, “Product of Vietnam”, but they were $1. So I bought several bags and
figured I was done buying coffee for the month.
When I got home, and brewed a pot, it left a plastic-like residue all over my
coffee maker carafe, and I had to chisel it apart with a butter knife before I
could use the coffee maker again.
I have no idea what that stuff was, but needless to say I did not drink the
coffee.
I’ve bought a couple other products there before I realized completely what
Dollar Tree actually was. It’s not a way to be frugal, it’s a false economy.
They aim for low prices, because so many people in America can’t afford
anything better, and it does not matter at all if any of the products are
“good”, at least on some level.
When I read that Dollar Tree is complaining about rampant theft, I because
quite concerned about the current situation in America and what it means for
the future.
Previously, for an item to be considered worthy of theft, it had to appeal to
people who would see it as sort of a “religious artifact”, yet didn’t have the
money that a Capitalist economy demands for such a thing.
Consider the $300-600 Air Jordan shoes, and how there are so many ways people
get them. From smash-and-grab retail theft, to working a lot to buy just one
pair of shoes, which cost 10-20 times what a perfectly good unbranded pair of
shoes cost, to even using rent-to-own, and paying $1,200 for the shoes,
eventually.
Marx gave us the concept of “Commodity Fetishism”.
It’s when an object loses its appeal over its utilitarian value to the
consumer, and takes on, sort of a life of its own, being given an, almost
mystical or mythological qualities in the person’s mind.
Consider Apple products. They have very little utilitarian value. If you want a
set of earbuds, you can get something as good as AirPods for no more than $40,
yet Apple charges up to, I think $300 for a codec with a battery and a little
plastic.
This is commodity fetishism. People are encouraged through advertising, to pay
for their own brainwashing, and a premium for an otherwise limited-value
proposition.
People who fall victim to fetishism of commodities will end up paying too much
for everything from coffee to computers.
While there is definitely a point where things get too cheap to possibly be
good in a Capitalist economy ($1 coffee or $1 3.5 oz frozen ribeye steaks at
the dollar store), there’s also a point where you get a good product, but
you’re paying 10 times as much as you should, because there was a point where
the utilitarian value of the purchase leveled off, and it was a long time ago.
So now you’re in debt to the “credit card” people and the “finance company”,
and reality sets in that the product did not raise your standard of living, but
you are paying for them fooling you.
Commodity fetishism leads to high levels of debt and dissatisfaction.
When people say that nobody in America is poor because they all have flat
screens and nice shoes, that’s what this means.
You have no….money, per se, but Capitalism has made you rich in flat screen
TVs, BMW cars, Apple phones, AirPods, Air Jordans, and Kirby vacuums…
(I know, you just opened the door and before you knew it, the guy had you
signing papers, and you don’t even have any carpet!)
If a product is actually so much better that it earns its high price, then this
isn’t automatically commodity fetishism, but this is a rarity.
“A religion may be discerned in capitalism – that is to say,
capitalism serves essentially to allay the same anxieties, torments,
and disturbances to which the so-called religions offered answers.”
“Capitalism is probably the first instance of a cult that creates
guilt, not atonement.”
– Walter Benjamin, Capitalism as Religion
Most people born in America engage in Commodity Fetishism.
It’s almost inevitable thanks to the cradle to grave brainwashing that you’re
only one product away from happiness.
Hell, I don’t know ONE person who isn’t affected by this lunacy, except me, and
I must confess there have been times. But it seems everyone else I know has it
so much worse.
70 hour work weeks and the whole Amazon warehouse in their closet. They don’t
even open the boxes anymore. It’s rather disgusting.
But human nature is to be greedy, and advertisers like this.
Even in the Soviet Union, where you could get into huge trouble for having an
underground dance club with Western music, booze, cigarettes, and clothing,
they happened and the government was never successful in shutting them down
although some did get raided.
One of the latest, and weirdest, phenomenons of Capitalism is their belief that
they can eventually replace most workers with “AI”.
The third world…the third world….the southern hemisphere!
The third world…..the third world….the southern hemisphere……A
stop_job_is_running_1m_30s….
The computer is rebooting NOW….Reason: User pressed Ctrl-Alt-Del 5
times…..hangs.
*sigh* *Holds in the power button.*
-Joe Biden’s Brain and Karen Jean-Pierre
When Bonehead Biden was in Vietnam the other day, where_his_brain_took_another
dump_on_him_mid-sentence and he started saying “The third world, the third
world, the southern hemisphere.” followed by a word salad and Press Secretary
Karine Jean-Pierre quickly rushing the demented old coot off the stage, it was
said that the United States will have Microsoft “export AI” to Vietnam.
One does wonder what a “Communist worker’s state” will do with “Microsoft AI”,
which has lost its novelty, and which people here don’t really use much
anymore.
As soon as people got tired of ELIZA on Steroids, they started leaving
“ChatGPT” alone.
The barely noticeable uptick in Bing market share quickly evaporated.
Again, what are Communists going to do with a chat bot?
Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller?
The closest thing we have to a Communist Party in America is something called
“RevCom” for Revolutionary Communism.
I only became aware of it while I was in South Chicago for a while.
I don’t think any of them have been brushing up on Marx. It’s a bit, uhm, dry
reading, and the people calling themselves Revolutionary Communists don’t
strike me as big readers who know a lot of five dollar words.
I’ve never encountered, actual Communists, in America.
The label is so toxic that the only people using it officially are derelicts
who have nothing and are pissed.
Even people who are basically Communists here swear up and down that they’re
not.
They’re Democrats, or Socialists, or Democratic Socialists, or they make up new
words.
Anything but Communism.
What does amaze me is how a country that takes away everything from people and
leaves them homeless or dying from lack of food or medical care, has been so
good about suppressing revolt.
The United States has been unbelievably more successful with violently
suppressing dissent than the Soviet Union was.
There came a point where so many people in the Soviet Union were so
dissatisfied with it that it broke apart, and instead of murdering EVERYONE
eventually the powers that be let it go.
That rather says a lot about America, I think.
We have long since crossed the point where people would replace it with
something else if they possibly could. If they had the power to change things.
Except that our government always credibly threatens “the most vicious dogs”
and “when the looting starts, the shooting starts” (two of Trump’s best), and
people just quietly go back inside their home (or tent) and quit “causing
trouble”, again.
There’s something different that’s happening this time, though. More people are
just going into the stores and taking things and they don’t even care if the
police are watching them. They have no job, despite the fake government
statistics saying everyone is flush with cash, well fed, and gainfully
employed.
Communist governments would be too ashamed to produce statistics such as the
ones that the Bureau of Labor Statistics has gotten away with.
When Trump had them make a “math error” to not count a million unemployed
people, Barack Obama stepped in and claimed nobody at BLS would ever lie to us.
Oh sure, right.
(The same BLS that says the dollar has only lost two-thirds of its value since
I was born in 1984, through 2023, when I’ve seen it lose at least that much as
it pertains to rent and food since 2003.)
They’re all swamp monsters. Trump was just one that didn’t get along with the
rest.
Everyone who has been paying attention to this country knows that this is not a
happy crew and that our current president is basically full-on Weekend at
Bernie’s because his mind is so gone. Turns out, we don’t even need a
president, because they can put documents in front of a confused old man and
have him sign ’em.
Maybe that’s how they got him to say Microsoft will export AI to Vietnam.
One of the only things that a lot of Communist governments did get right was
basing a national operating system on GNU/Linux.
This isn’t actually just about Communism trying to provide affordable
technology for its citizens. It’s a national security issue. Windows is
horribly architected and impossible to secure. It’s also got built-in spyware
for the US government.
You would have to be retarded to rely on something like this from an enemy
country that wants to keep tabs on you.
It’s not just Communists that are ripping Windows and other US tech out of
their computing, and a lot of it is because Microsoft is also an economic drain
on their country’s economy. But that’s not even the main concern.
I just fail to see how wasting money on some Microsoft chat bot is going to
help them when their government throws Windows out because it doesn’t want to
be the victim of espionage.
Maybe they just don’t actually plan to use it for anything but had to do
something to get the corrupt Bernie_Lomax Biden Administration to open talks
with Vietnam. █
䷩ 𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚎 990
╒═══════════════════ 𝐃𝐀𝐈𝐋𝐘 𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐊𝐒 ═════════════════════════════════════════════╕
⠀⌧ █▇▆▅▄▃▂▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁ 09.12.23⠀▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▂▃▄▅▆▇█ ⌧
Gemini_version_available_♊︎
✐ Links_12/09/2023:_KDE_Plasma_5.27.8⠀✐
Posted in News_Roundup at 12:01 pm by Dr. Roy Schestowitz
🄸🄼🄰🄶🄴 🄳🄴🅂🄲🅁🄸🄿🅃🄸🄾🄽 ⦇GNOME bluefish⦈
§ Contents⠀➾
* GNU/Linux
o Desktop/Laptop
o Server
o Audiocasts/Shows
o Kernel_Space
o Graphics_Stack
o Applications
o Instructionals/Technical
o Games
o Desktop_Environments/WMs
# K_Desktop_Environment/KDE_SC/Qt
* Distributions_and_Operating_Systems
o Debian_Family
o Canonical/Ubuntu_Family
o Devices/Embedded
o Mobile_Systems/Mobile_Applications
* Free,_Libre,_and_Open_Source_Software
o Productivity_Software/LibreOffice/Calligra
o GNU_Projects
o Programming/Development
# Shell/Bash/Zsh/Ksh
o Standards/Consortia
* § GNU/Linux⠀➾
o § Desktop/Laptop⠀➾
# ⚓ 9to5Linux ☛ TUXEDO_Aura_Linux_Laptops_Now_Come_with_Wi-Fi
6E,_LTE_Modem,_and_TPM_2.0⠀⇛
The Gen3 TUXEDO Aura 14 and 15 laptops come with an
Intel Core i5-1235U processor with 10 cores and 12
threads, Intel Iris Xe graphics, as well as 15
watts TDP, up to 64G DDR4 RAM, up to 4TB M.2 SSD
PCIe Gen4 storage, a Full HD 1080p webcam with
privacy shutter, and a 49 Wh battery with optional
USB-C charging.
Two models are available, TUXEDO Aura 14 with a
14.0 inch display and TUXEDO Aura 15 with a 15.6
inch display. Both displays are Full HD with a
1920×1080 pixels resolution, up to 100% sRGB,
around 300 nits brightness, 1200:1 contrast for
Aura 14 and 800:1 contrast for Aura 15, and a non-
glare (matte) coating.
# ⚓ Beta News ☛ TUXEDO’s_3rd_gen_Linux-optimized_Aura_notebooks
are_powerful_and_affordable⠀⇛
As students start heading back to school, TUXEDO
ushers in the third generation of their acclaimed
Aura laptop line. These notebooks will provide
high-quality Linux-optimized computing for the
everyday user. Best of all, these computers are
very affordable too.
Aura 14, the most compact of the series boasts an
ultra-mobile, lightweight but durable partial
aluminum frame. It’s built to efficiently navigate
everyday tasks, leveraging the strength of the
Intel Core i5-1235U and its 2 performance and 8
efficiency cores. Users can select from a range of
RAM options – 8, 16, 32, or even 64GB of speedy
DDR4, complemented by an SSD that expands up to
4TB.
o § Server⠀➾
# ⚓ Unix Men ☛ Data_Security_and_Privacy_in_Cloud_Migration
[Ed: Linkspam_disguised_as_“advice”_about_“Linux_and_Unix”]⠀⇛
Cloud-based computing has revolutionized the way
businesses operate. It provides secure data storage
as well as cost-efficient access to vast amounts of
information.
# ⚓ Kubernetes Blog ☛ Comparing_Local_Kubernetes_Development
Tools:_Telepresence,_Gefyra,_and_mirrord_|_Kubernetes⠀⇛
The Kubernetes development cycle is an evolving
landscape with a myriad of tools seeking to
streamline the process. Each tool has its unique
approach, and the choice often comes down to
individual project requirements, the team’s
expertise, and the preferred workflow.
Among the various solutions, a category we dubbed
“Local K8S Development tools” has emerged, which
seeks to enhance the Kubernetes development
experience by connecting locally running components
to the Kubernetes cluster. This facilitates rapid
testing of new code in cloud conditions,
circumventing the traditional cycle of
Dockerization, CI, and deployment.
In this post, we compare three solutions in this
category: Telepresence, Gefyra, and our own
contender, mirrord.
o § Audiocasts/Shows⠀➾
# ⚓ Late_Night_Linux_–_Episode_246⠀⇛
The Steam Deck pushes Linux gaming stats over a
small but significant threshold, why you should
definitely switch from Chrome to Firefox, Microsoft
throws its legal weight behind its generative AI, a
quick KDE Xorner, and more.
# ⚓ Petros Koutoupis ☛ [Old]_Reality_2.0_Episode_149:
Everything_Is_Personal⠀⇛
New episode of the Reality 2.0 podcast is uploaded
and out today: Reality 2.0 Episode 149: Everything
Is Personal. Tune in to our new episode!…
# ⚓ Linux in the Ham Shack ☛ [Old]_[Linux_in_the_Ham_Shack]_LHS
Episode_#509:_The_Weekender_CV⠀⇛
It’s time once again for The Weekender. This is our
departure into the world of hedonism, random topic
excursions, whimsy and (hopefully) knowledge.
# ⚓ Linux in the Ham Shack ☛ [Old]_LHS_Episode_#512:_The
Weekender_CVI⠀⇛
It’s time once again for The Weekender. This is our
departure into the world of hedonism, random topic
excursions, whimsy and (hopefully) knowledge.
Thanks for listening and, if you happen …
o § Kernel Space⠀➾
# ⚓ Linux Magazine ☛ KSMBD_Has_Finally_Reached_a_Stable_State⠀⇛
KSMBD (Kernel SMB Daemon) is the in-kernel module,
developed by Samsung, that implements the SMB/CIFS
protocol for sharing files and folders over a
network. SMB3 server could take the place of the
traditional Samba software.
KSMBD was originally merged for Linux 5.15 but was
tagged as experimental. That came about in 2021,
and it’s taken some time to get KSMBD to a state
that was considered stable. That time has come, and
KSMBD is planned for Linux kernel 6.6.
But why is KSMBD important? First off, it promises
considerable performance gains and better support
for modern features such as Remote Direct Memory
Access (RDMA). KSMBD also supports a number of
features such as multiple dialects (SMB2.1, SMB3.0,
SMB3.1), oplock cache mechanism, compound requests,
ACL, and DCE/RPC.
o § Graphics Stack⠀➾
# ⚓ GamingOnLinux ☛ VKD3D-Proton_v2.10_brings_various_game
fixes,_DirectStorage_additions_and_lots_more⠀⇛
VKD3D-Proton, the tool that translates Direct3D 12
to Vulkan for Steam Play Proton, has a brand new
release out with version 2.10 and it’s an exciting
one. And hey, I’m actually on time with this news
unlike DXVK v2.3…
# ⚓ GamingOnLinux ☛ DXVK_2.3_has_game_fixes_for_The_Sims_2,
Tomb_Raider_Anniversary,_Far_Cry_2⠀⇛
Somehow, I missed that DXVK 2.3 went out last week.
So here’s a run over what’s new for this Vulkan-
based translation layer that converts Direct3D 9/
10/11 for Wine and Proton.
# ⚓ GamingOnLinux ☛ DXVK-NVAPI_0.6.4_out_now_expanding_HDR
support⠀⇛
DXVK-NVAPI is an alternative NVAPI (NVIDIA API)
implementation used with DXVK and VKD3D-Proton for
running Windows games on Linux and Steam Deck
through Proton.
o § Applications⠀➾
# ⚓ Linux Links ☛ 16_Best_Free_and_Open_Source_Linux_Earth
Science_Software⠀⇛
Linux has a particularly strong and mature set of
scientific software including a wide range of open
source earth science software. We have not
forgotten about astronomy software, but we’ve
previously published recent articles on the finest
astronomy software and astronomical data analysis
tools.
To provide an insight into the open source software
that is available, we have compiled a list of 16 of
our favorite earth science software. Hopefully,
there will be something of interest here for
budding scientists that need to work with large
amounts of data with spatial attributes. Here’s our
findings for each of the software. Here’s our
ratings chart in the legendary LinuxLinks-style.
# ⚓ TecMint ☛ 15_Best_Open_Source_Music_Making_Software_for
Linux_in_2023⠀⇛
Are you a music producer and use Linux as your
primary operating system, then music production is
going to become easy for you after reading this
article.
There is good music production software in Linux
just as it is in Windows and Mac OS, though a few
features may vary, but the underlying
functionalities mostly are the same.
o § Instructionals/Technical⠀➾
# ⚓ Writer_Guide_7.6_is_Ready_for_You!⠀⇛
Jean H. Weber (photo) and the Documentation Team
are happy to announce the immediate availability of
the Writer Guide 7.6, the latest update based on
the recently released LibreOffice 7.6
Writer is the word-processing application. It is
compatible with a wide range of document formats
including Microsoft Word (.doc, .docx), and you can
export your work in several formats including PDF.
Anyone who wants to get up to speed quickly with
Writer will find this book valuable. You may be new
to word processing software, or you may be familiar
with another office suite.
The Writer Guide 7.6 incorporates the latest
features of the software release including the
Themes management for better MS Word compatibility,
the accessibility checker used to produce
accessible document and the Styles Spotlight to
assist user in the best practices in document
editing with styles.
# § idroot⠀➾
# ⚓ ID Root ☛ How_To_Install_Kubernetes_on_AlmaLinux_9⠀⇛
In this tutorial, we will show you how to
install Kubernetes on AlmaLinux 9. In the
realm of modern container orchestration,
Kubernetes has emerged as the gold standard
for managing containerized applications at
scale. AlmaLinux 9, a robust and dependable
Linux distribution, serves as an excellent
foundation for hosting Kubernetes clusters.
# ⚓ ID Root ☛ How_To_Fix_“E:_Unable_to_Locate_Package”
Error_on_Ubuntu⠀⇛
If you’re an Ubuntu user who has encountered
the “E: Unable to Locate Package” error,
you’re not alone.
# ⚓ ID Root ☛ How_To_Install_Wireshark_on_Debian_12⠀⇛
In this tutorial, we will show you how to
install Wireshark on Debian 12. Wireshark,
the acclaimed open-source network protocol
analyzer, is a crucial tool for network
administrators, security professionals, and
anyone seeking insights into network traffic.
# ⚓ It’s FOSS ☛ Install_and_Use_Additional_Gedit_Color_Themes⠀⇛
Don’t like the default looks for the Gedit text
editor? You can surely try to change the color
themes. Here’s how to do that.
# ⚓ Dan Langille ☛ Bacula:_copying_jobs_from_one_bacula-sd_to
another_bacula-sd_on_FreeBSD⠀⇛
I’m moving some backups from one bacula-sd to
another bacula-sd. If you don’t know what that
means, this is not the post for you. You need more
Bacula knowledge.
I’m retiring a host and moving some of the backups
on that host to another host.
# ⚓ [Updated] Linux Handbook ☛ Proxmox_Series_#8:_Upgrading
Proxmox_version⠀⇛
As the final chapter of the Proxmox series, learn
how to upgrade Proxmox version.
# ⚓ Linux Handbook ☛ Proxmox_Series_#7:_Clustering_and_High
Availability⠀⇛
One of my favorite features of Proxmox is its
ability to form clusters from multiple nodes
(servers).
# ⚓ OSTechNix ☛ How_To_Easily_Configure_Flatpak_Apps
Permissions_With_Flatseal⠀⇛
Flatpak is a software deployment tool that aims to
simplify software distribution and usage on Linux.
It was primarily developed to contain applications
in a secure virtual sandbox, allowing users to
operate applications without the need for root
privileges, all while not compromising the system’s
security. Since Flatpak apps are housed within this
sandbox environment, they must request permissions
to access other parts of the operating system,
hardware devices (like Bluetooth, network, etc.)
and sockets (like pulseaudio, ssh-auth, cups,
etc.). This guide teaches you how to easily
configure Flatpak apps permissions with Flatseal on
Linux.
# ⚓ RoseHosting ☛ How_to_Install_Odoo_on_Debian_12⠀⇛
Odoo (previously known as OpenERP) is a collection
of open source Business applications. The most
utilized components or modules for Odoo are Point
of Sale (POS), Stock, CRM, Website, Live Chat,
eCommerce, Invoicing, Accounting, Warehouse, etc.
# ⚓ TecMint ☛ Apache_Virtual_Hosting:_Name-Based_and_IP-Based
Virtual_Hosts_in_RHEL_Systems⠀⇛
Virtual Hosting is a concept where multiple
websites or domains are hosted on a single server,
which is done to reduce resource overhead and
running costs of a business or organization.
Apache web server simplifies hosting multiple sites
by allowing system administrators to easily
configure virtual hosts for each website. Virtual
hosting can either be IP-based or name-based.
o § Games⠀➾
# ⚓ GamingOnLinux ☛ Toaplan_Arcade_Shoot_‘Em_Up_Collection
Vol.2_definitely_delivers⠀⇛
If you’re a fan of retro games and you love your
shoot ‘em ups, you should check out Toaplan Arcade
Shoot ‘Em Up Collection Vol.2.
# ⚓ GamingOnLinux ☛ Deckbuilding_RPG_‘Gordian_Quest’_gets_Steam
Deck_Verified⠀⇛
Need some more deckbuilding? Gordian Quest looks
great and it recently became Steam Deck Verified,
with the developer talking about the work involved
in it. Nice to see more developers improving their
older games like this!
# ⚓ GamingOnLinux ☛ PSP_emulator_PPSSPP_adds_RetroAchievements
support⠀⇛
PPSSPP is a free and open source emulator for the
Sony PSP, with release 1.16 out now adding in
support for the popular RetroAchievements project.
# ⚓ GamingOnLinux ☛ Sid_Meier’s_Alpha_Centauri_gets_an_in-
development_open_source_remake⠀⇛
Seems like another classic is getting revived with
the power of open source. Sid Meier’s Alpha
Centauri from 1999 has a remake in progress called
GLSMAC. All unofficial, like most open source
reimplementations and it’s early days for the
project but it’s showing a lot of promise.
# ⚓ GamingOnLinux ☛ RollerCoaster_Tycoon_2_reimplementation
OpenRCT2_gets_a_new_title_theme⠀⇛
The team and community behind OpenRCT2, the open
source re-implementation of RollerCoaster Tycoon 2
have a brand new update out which includes some fun
changes like a whole new title theme.
# ⚓ Linux Links ☛ Understanding_RNG_(Random_Number_Generators)
in_Linux-based_Casino_Games⠀⇛
In the ever-evolving world of online gaming, RNG
stands as a beacon of trust, and Linux is at the
heart of ensuring this trust is never broken. With
its transparent, community-driven approach, Linux
is poised to continue driving the future of RNG in
online casino games, ensuring fairness and
excitement for all players.
o § Desktop Environments/WMs⠀➾
# § K Desktop Environment/KDE SC/Qt⠀➾
# ⚓ ZDNet ☛ I_tested_KDE_Plasma_6_and_found_it_very
familiar._Here’s_why_that’s_a_good_thing⠀⇛
When I first heard that KDE Plasma 6 was on
the way, I immediately assumed it would be a
major release with big changes. After all,
the development and design team rarely fails
to make a splash with a new release.
But when I downloaded the unstable version of
KDE Neon (which includes KDE Plasma 6), I was
quite surprised to find the default layout
and functionality to seem just as it was with
the previous iteration.
# ⚓ 9to5Linux ☛ KDE_Plasma_5.27.8_Improves_Hybrid_Sleep
and_Monitoring_of_NVIDIA_GPUs⠀⇛
Coming six weeks after KDE Plasma 5.27.7, the
KDE Plasma 5.27.8 update is here to add
support for the new cross-desktop accent
color standard to the KDE desktop portal
implementation (xdg-desktop-portal-kde),
improve Hybrid Sleep, and improve monitoring
of NVIDIA GPUs on multi-GPU systems with
Plasma System Monitor.
KDE Plasma 5.27.8 is also here to fix a bug
preventing the Night Color feature from being
properly deactivated after waking up your
computer from sleep at a time when it
should’ve turned off automatically, as well
as to improve taking screenshots with the
Spectacle app on Plasma X11 sessions.
# ⚓ KDE ☛ KDE_Plasma_5.27.8,_Bugfix_Release_for
September⠀⇛
Today KDE releases a bugfix update to KDE
Plasma 5, versioned 5.27.8.
Plasma 5.27 was released in February 2023
with many feature refinements and new modules
to complete the desktop experience.
This release adds five months’ worth of new
translations and fixes from KDE’s
contributors. The bugfixes are typically
small but important and include…
* § Distributions and Operating Systems⠀➾
o § Debian Family⠀➾
# ⚓ 9to5Linux ☛ Linux_Mint_Debian_Edition_6_“Faye”_Is_Now
Available_for_Public_Beta_Testing⠀⇛
Based on the Debian GNU/Linux 12 “Bookworm”
operating system series, Linux Mint Debian Edition
6 is powered by the long-term supported Linux 6.1
LTS kernel series and features the latest Cinnamon
5.8 desktop environment that was introduced with
the Linux Mint 21.2 “Victoria” release in July
2023.
LMDE 6 contains all the changes of Linux Mint 21.2
Cinnamon and it appears to use PipeWire as the
default audio backend. Other than that, you’ll get
a solid Debian base, all of the goodies of the
Cinnamon 5.8 desktop, improved support for Flatpak
apps, and a global Dark Mode setting to support
GTK4/libadwaita apps.
o § Canonical/Ubuntu Family⠀➾
# ⚓ Linuxiac ☛ Ubuntu_23.10_to_Introduce_an_Experimental_TPM-
Backed_FDE⠀⇛
Trusted Platform Module (TPM) full disk encryption
is a security technology that combines hardware and
software to protect the data stored on a computer’s
hard drive.
It is a hardware-based component, a
microcontroller, that is typically integrated into
a computer’s motherboard and provides various
security-related functions, one of which is helping
to secure encryption keys used for full disk
encryption.
For the past 15 years, Ubuntu’s solution to full
disk encryption has relied on the well-known Linux
Unified Key Setup (LUKS), with users authenticated
via passphrases. At the same time, on Ubuntu Core
20 and subsequent versions, full disk encryption
has been implemented using trusted platform modules
(TPMs).
# ⚓ DebugPoint ☛ Ubuntu_23.10_(Mantic_Minotaur):_Best_New
Features⠀⇛
Ubuntu 23.10, code-named “Mantic Minotaur” release,
is gearing up as the final short-term release of
2023. With a support duration of nine months, this
release aims to enhance Ubuntu’s core
infrastructure while embracing new packages and
cutting-edge technology.
Let’s find out the best new features of Ubuntu
23.10.
o § Devices/Embedded⠀➾
# ⚓ The Atlantic ☛ Car_Hackers_Are_Out_for_Blood⠀⇛
The Tesla in question was equipped with heated rear
seats, but the feature is hidden behind a paywall
and activated only after the driver forks over
$300. To get around that, three Ph.D. students from
Technische Universität Berlin, along with an
independent researcher (and the Tesla’s owner), say
they physically tampered with the voltage supply
that powers the car’s infotainment system. This
allowed them to essentially glitch the computer, in
the process gaining access to the rear heated seats
free of charge. By “jailbreaking” the car, they
were also able to access many of its internal
systems and private user data. “We are not the evil
outsider, but we’re actually the insider, we own
the car,” one of the researchers told TechCrunch
last month ahead of a cybersecurity conference
where they presented their findings. “And we don’t
want to pay these $300 for the rear-heated seats.”
# ⚓ Linux Gizmos ☛ SemiDrive-based_CPU_module_aims_for
industrial_applications⠀⇛
# ⚓ Hackaday ☛ Balloon-Eye_View_Via_Ham_Radio⠀⇛
If you’ve ever thought about launching a high-
altitude balloon, there’s much to consider. One of
the things is how do you stream video down so that
you — and others — can enjoy the fruits of your
labor? You’ll find advice on that and more in a
recent post from [scd31]. You’ll at least enjoy the
real-time video recorded from the launch that you
can see below.
# ⚓ Hackaday ☛ This_Arduino_Debugger_Uses_The_CH552⠀⇛
One of the things missing from the “classic”
Arduino experience is debugging. That’s a shame,
too, because the chips used have that capability.
However, the latest IDE has the ability to work
with external debuggers and if you want to get
started with a classic ATMega Arduino, [deqing]
shows you how to get started with a cheap CH552 8-
bit USB microcontroller board as the debugging
dongle.
o § Mobile Systems/Mobile Applications⠀➾
# ⚓ Explainer:_Why_are_Android_devices_prone_to_malware_and_how
can_users_guard_against_it?_–_TODAY⠀⇛
# ⚓ Notebook Check ☛ Nokia_G42_touted_as_new_Super_Fast_5G
Android_smartphone_on_launch_–_NotebookCheck.net_News⠀⇛
# ⚓ 9to5Google ☛ Threads_for_Android_gets_themed_icon,_other
updates⠀⇛
# ⚓ Digital Trends ☛ Fairphone_5_review:_the_Android_phone_that
lasts_for_years_|_Digital_Trends⠀⇛
# ⚓ Indian Express ☛ Gmail_app_on_Android_might_soon_get
‘Select_All’_option⠀⇛
# ⚓ SlashGear ☛ 5_Essential_Android_Auto_Utility_Apps_You
Should_Have_Installed⠀⇛
# ⚓ Make Use Of ☛ 7_Helpful_Android_Tips_to_Curb_Your_Mobile
Gaming_Addiction⠀⇛
# ⚓ Giz China ☛ Google’s_Long-Awaited_Android_TV_Redesign:_A
Closer_Look⠀⇛
# ⚓ Hindustan Times ☛ Indian_government_warns_Android_phone
users_of_dangerous_vulnerabilities;_do_this_now_|_Tech_News⠀⇛
# ⚓ SlashGear ☛ Here’s_How_You_Can_Use_Android_Auto_To_Control
Your_Smart_Home⠀⇛
# ⚓ SlashGear ☛ How_To_Enable_Smart_Lock_On_Android_(And_Why
You_Might_Want_To)⠀⇛
# ⚓ SlashGear ☛ This_Handy_Android_Lifehack_Allows_You_To_Read
Webpages_Offline⠀⇛
# ⚓ XDA ☛ Motorola’s_popular_wireless_Android_Auto_adapter_is
now_just_$70_in_this_limited-time_deal⠀⇛
# ⚓ The_Best_Android_Match_Three_Puzzlers_–_Droid_Gamers⠀⇛
# ⚓ 9to5Google ☛ OnePlus_11_gets_its_first_Android_14_beta
update⠀⇛
# ⚓ GSM Arena ☛ vivo_announces_Android_14-based_Funtouch_OS_14
Preview_Program_for_X90_Pro_–_GSMArena.com_news⠀⇛
# ⚓ Android Authority ☛ OnePlus_11_gets_first_taste_of_Android
14_with_OxygenOS_14_Open_Beta_-⠀⇛
# ⚓ What_Android_can_do_to_be_more_like_Apple_–_Phandroid⠀⇛
# ⚓ CBC ☛ All_TTC_subway_riders_getting_cellphone_service
starting_Oct._3,_federal_minister_says⠀⇛
Champagne said that following an expedited public
consultation process, “the licences of all major
carriers will be revised to ensure that all TTC
riders will now be able to have coverage in the
subway system in Toronto.”
* § Free, Libre, and Open Source Software⠀➾
o § Productivity Software/LibreOffice/Calligra⠀➾
# ⚓ Linuxiac ☛ LibreOffice_7.6_Hits_1.5_Million_Downloads⠀⇛
LibreOffice’s success story is, in many ways, the
epitome of open-source software’s potential. It is
a testament to the collaborative spirit of the
global open-source community.
One of the primary reasons behind LibreOffice’s
popularity is its comprehensive suite of tools.
From the powerful Writer to the versatile Calc and
the dynamic Impress, this impressive office suite
ensures that users have all the tools they need to
accomplish their tasks efficiently.
o § GNU Projects⠀➾
# ⚓ FSF ☛ The_GNU_System_is_turning_forty:_Come_and_celebrate
with_us⠀⇛
The GNU Project is turning forty. Come and
celebrate this event with us together with kith and
kin! For those of you located in the United States,
the Free Software Foundation (FSF), the sponsor of
the GNU Project, is preparing a family hackday in
Boston, MA. For those located in the European
Union, the GNU Project is organizing a hacker
meeting in Biel/Bienne, Switzerland.
# ⚓ FSF ☛ Call_for_Volunteers:_Flyering_for_the_fortieth
anniversary_of_GNU⠀⇛
The fortieth anniversary of the GNU System is an
excellent opportunity to bring free software to the
attention of the people around us. By helping us
invite people to this event, you will be helping to
promote computer user freedom. Together, let’s show
the people of Boston what free software is all
about! Volunteering is a way to directly support
the FSF’s work, have a great time meeting other
free software enthusiasts, swap stories, and graze
like a gnu. If you volunteer, you might just make
some friends — and you will certainly make some
memories.
o § Programming/Development⠀➾
# ⚓ Rlang ☛ First_Publicly_Available_R-Based_Submission_Package
Submitted_to_FDA_(Pilot_3)⠀⇛
The pilot 3 test submission is an example of an all
R submission package following eCTD specifications.
These include the installation and loading of the
proprietary {pilot3} R package and other open-
source R packages, R scripts for the analysis data
model (ADaM) datasets from pilot 3 and tables,
listings, figures (TLFs) from pilot 1, analysis
data reviewer’s guide (adrg), and other required
eCTD components. To our knowledge, this is the
first publicly available R-based FDA submission
package, which includes R scripts to generate ADaM
datasets and TLFs. We hope this submission package
and our learnings can serve as a good reference for
future R-based regulatory submissions from
different sponsors. Additional agency feedback will
be shared in future communications. [...]
# ⚓ Doug Brown ☛ Porting_my_Mac_ROM_SIMM_programmer_from_AVR_to
ARM⠀⇛
Long story short, I was able to get the firmware
working with the AT90USB1286, but it was more
difficult than I thought it would be. For some
strange reason, the 646 and 1286 have a subtle
difference other than the flash size: the USB PLL
bits have different meanings. Debugging this
remotely without hardware of my own was “fun” to
say the least, but I got it working! (Will offered
to send me one, which was very kind, but I declined
and later built my own.) I was able to
automatically detect the chip type at runtime so
that the same firmware binary could be used on both
variants.
# ⚓ Matt Rickard ☛ The_Low-Hanging_Fruit⠀⇛
Finding the “low-hanging fruit” is not only the
most straightforward plan, but it’s often one of
the most effective. Continuously executing against
the obvious plan gets you much further than you’d
think.
# ⚓ Nicholas Tietz-Sokolsky ☛ A_systematic_approach_to
debugging⠀⇛
I’ve got a reputation at work as being a skilled
debugger. It’s a frequent occurrence that the weird
stuff lands on my desk1 after it goes through
another skilled engineer or two. To say my job is
substantially “debug the weird shit” would not be
an understatement and I’m here for it.
This extends throughout our codebase, and into code
I haven’t seen before at all. I’m the longest
tenured engineer at my company, so I’m familiar
with most of our systems. But I’ve lost track of
most of the features that get deployed, and we have
way more code changes than I can personally review.
And my debugging spans the stack: backend to
frontend to database to weird Ubuntu behavior on
our dev laptops. (Yes, our principal engineer also
does tech support, and again, I’m so here for it.)
So… How do I do it? If I’m presented routinely with
bugs I’m expected to solve in systems I’m
unfamiliar with, what’s the process? And does it
extend to things outside of code?
# ⚓ Data Swamp ☛ How_to_add_pledge_to_a_program_in_OpenBSD⠀⇛
This article is meant to be a simple guide
explaining how to make use of the OpenBSD specific
feature pledge in order to restrict a software
capabilities for more security.
While pledge falls in the sandboxing features, it’s
different than the traditional sandboxing we are
used to see because it happens within the source
code itself, and can be really tightened. Actually,
many programs requires lot of privileges like
reading files, doing DNS etc… when initializing,
then those privileges could be removed, this is
possible with pledge but not for traditional
sandboxing wrappers.
# § Shell/Bash/Zsh/Ksh⠀➾
# ⚓ Ciprian Dorin Craciun ☛ Please_don’t_write
application_launchers_in_`sh`!⠀⇛
Thus, just like I’ve done a few years ago
with Erlang, I’ll try to write my own erl and
iex launchers in Rust…
o § Standards/Consortia⠀➾
# ⚓ Hackaday ☛ Exploring_Hidden_Lyrics_On_1990s_DCC_Audio
Tapes⠀⇛
Having a fondness for old and obscure audio and
video media formats, [Techmoan] recently revisited
the Philips Digital Compact Cassette (DCC) format
introduced in 1992. Despite being billed as the
successor to Philips’ original analog Compact
Cassette format from 1963, DCC was short-lived and
slipped away after only four years in 1996.
[Techmoan] obtained a unique cassette that purports
to be the only known published DCC tape which
contains embedded song lyrics that scroll on the
DCC player’s tiny screen in sync with the music —
“Size Isn’t Everything” by the Bee Gees from 1993.
Sure enough, he is able to demonstrate this in the
video down below the break.
䷩ 𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚎 1969
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⠀⌧ █▇▆▅▄▃▂▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁ 09.12.23⠀▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▂▃▄▅▆▇█ ⌧
Gemini_version_available_♊︎
✐ Gemini_Links_12/09/2023:_On_Human_Rights_and_One_Year_Without_Windows⠀✐
Posted in News_Roundup at 6:44 pm by Dr. Roy Schestowitz
🄸🄼🄰🄶🄴 🄳🄴🅂🄲🅁🄸🄿🅃🄸🄾🄽 ⦇GNOME bluefish⦈
§ Contents⠀➾
* Gemini*_and_Gopher
o Personal/Opinions
o Politics_and_World_Events
o Technology_and_Free_Software
# Internet/Gemini
# Games
* § Gemini* and Gopher⠀➾
o § Personal/Opinions⠀➾
# ⚓ 🔤SpellBinding:_CHKMYUO_Wordo:_GUANO⠀⇛
# ⚓ Garden_Room⠀⇛
In my last post, I talked about a straw bale course
I went on, and a few projects I had in mind coming
out of it. One of them was the idea of a “garden
room”.
[...]
I got one hundred bales. It works out at about 16
cubic metres of straw (top tip – 1M³ of straw more
or less equates to one linear metre of wall). not
all of it fitted in the garage – I’ve got an
overflow pile in the garden, and we had to sort and
throw away / gift / recycle a whole bunch of stuff
that *was* in the garage. If I can’t use it, things
might get a bit strained at home ^^.
The bales are barley straw, very similar to what we
worked with at CAT; as there, most of the bales are
~900mm long, with a few much-longer outliers. I
don’t have a suitable moisture meter, but they feel
dry – the farmer’s son said they monitor moisture
when baling, and stop if it goes above 15%, and
then they’re stored up high and under cover, so I’m
not worried by that. The strings are nice and
tight, and their density is ~105kg/M³. That could
be higher, but it’s certainly good enough. Best of
all – no wasps.
# ⚓ Star_Log_2023-09-10_(Fairbanks,_AK,_USA,_publ._2023-09-
12)⠀⇛
Last Sunday (Sept 10) I had a brief opportunity for
stargazing early in the morning, about 3am. The
clouds mostly cleared away early that morning, so I
went out to the boat launch. The boat launch itself
was stuffed with campers and assorted folk, but
providentially I found an unoccupied pull-off area
a little further down the highway, which I noticed
when I accidentally missed my turn-off into the
boat launch. The pull-off area had a decent view of
the skies in most directions, though I occasionally
had to deal with the bright lights of passing
vehicles. And i had a view of the city lights,
through some spruce trees:
[...]
It seems that the S5300 has no way to allow
manually setting the exposure time of the camera,
like a bulb mode, but I found out later that there
is a “fireworks” mode with a larger exposure of
four seconds, which I would like to try out some
time.
Something interesting right now is that Uranus is
located in the sky about halfway between the
Pleiades and Jupiter, making it pretty easy to find
with binoculars: [...]
o § Politics and World Events⠀➾
# ⚓ “On_Education”⠀⇛
“On Education” by Bertrand Russell opens with the
“evils” of educational institutions. One perhaps
should define what “evil” means. Homeschooling is
noted as perhaps lacking in sufficient
socialization, and could make an outcast of a
child. Evil softens to “grave defects”, and then to
“not satisfactory”.
A noteworthy question is whether education should
produce independent judgment, or instill particular
beliefs. Or, what kind of individuals, and what
kind of community do we hope to see?
# ⚓ Human_Rights⠀⇛
Last Sunday I was at a protest here in Stockholm
against the world’s grossest and disgustingest
snitch law, and I agree 100% that this law needs to
be stopped. It’s a law mandating teachers,
librarians, health personnel etc to turn in
“illegal” refugees and immigrants. Others can and
have written more eloquently & better against that
law than I can.
This (what I’m about to write about) is a much less
important tangent, not at all meant to distract
from the vital fight against the fascist law
proposal.
[...]
“Eat the rich” is not gonna work but maybe we can
starve ‘em by working for each other instead of for
them. The coming mass automatization of centralized
means of production via artifical learning models
is an obstacle to that but maybe not an
insurmountable one.
o § Technology and Free Software⠀➾
# ⚓ The_Opaque_Corpus⠀⇛
I came of age in the dot com boom: Pentium chips,
Herman Miller chairs, the first wave of media
darling startups (who remembers pets.com?). It was
a era before massive computational power was easily
available, and long before “compute” entered the
lexicon as a noun. AI was still not in a
particularly good place – after the promises of the
1970s failed to deliver the general AI its
practitioners were sure was on the horizon, funding
dried up. For a long, long time.
The state of the art in the 1970s was neural
networks; after that, there were researchers
involved in investigating other ideas, such as
Bayesian networks, which work off probability and
priors.
These investigations yielded success in some very
early-internet ways, with Naive Bayesian
classifiers showing incredible promise in spam
filtering. Before Google clogged up the web with
SEO spam (whether written by underpaid writers, or
now wholesale by AI), spam was a real plague
# ⚓ Jumbled_thoughts_on_using_pinyin_instead_of_characters⠀⇛
For the most part i believe that switching to
pinyin would not have any detrimental consequences.
My reasoning for this is:
(A) for a long time many people in china were
illiterate and did not have trouble communicating
without resorting to characters.
(B) today in general speech people can have
conversations without needing to resort to writing.
(C) i have converted many wikipedia articles to
pinyin and asked native speakers to read them. The
consensus is that doing so is slow, but the content
is understandable.
# ⚓ Locust_cider_thoughts⠀⇛
I love Locust ciders, and I’ve tried enough of the
flavors to make a semi-substantial post commenting
on them.
# ⚓ This_week_—_I_Welcome_My_New_Pixel_Overlords⠀⇛
TL;DR: I jumped down the rabbit hole of click-based
pixel art virtual pets. I also grinded hard in
GBF’s Exo Cocytus Crucible event, answered some
surveys, and discovered some interesting websites.
This is a late, brief update because I had to do
some heavy chores last weekend.
(For anyone curious on what I’ve done at work this
week: I’ve made several preparations for my
upcoming training program, while finishing other
tasks here and there. Nothing exciting, really.)
# ⚓ One_year_without_a_PC⠀⇛
I swapped my Windows 10 desktop machine for a
Raspberry Pi 4 around a year ago. Time for a resume
and asking “would I do it again”?
Let’s start with the big question: Would I do it
again, knowing what I know today?
Well, yes and no. I’m much more happy with the
streamlined, terminal UI based workflow that I have
now. I feel more focussed and *way* less
distracted. I spend less time procrastinating and
I’m not really missing much. So that way it was
totally worth it.
# § Internet/Gemini⠀➾
# ⚓ AuraGem_Relaunch⠀⇛
I have just announced the relaunch of
AuraGem! The address has changed to
auragem.letz.dev. Most of the capsule should
be as it was in 2022, aside from various
updates and some things which I have taken
down until they can be fixed (the music
service and the starwars database). I was
planning on waiting until I can pay for the
original auragem domain, but I went with
FreeDNS instead, which should mean that there
should be no more DNS mishaps in the future.
I have also made some updates to the search
engine (AuraGem Search) which I am excited
about, and will continue to make updates to
it. One can read more about this on the
search engine’s new About and Features page.
# ⚓ More_Updates_to_AuraGem⠀⇛
Over the past two days I have made some more
updates to AuraGem, particularly the Search
Engine. These are mostly stability and QoL
updates.
# ⚓ Celebrating_the_small_web,_too⠀⇛
Recently Kagi’s announcement that they’d gone
and done something to highlight small-web
sites crossed my desk.
I’m in favor of this. While the small not-web
is nice — if you’re reading this, it’s
probably on the small not-web — it doesn’t
fit everything. If you’ve got a blog with a
lot of pictures on every single post, things
will probably be nicer for your audience if
they don’t have to click on every single
picture.
Then there’s gwern.net, which does all sorts
of fancy things with what I am told is
completely optional JavaScript. Turning
footnotes into sidenotes, that sort of thing.
It has an entire Design page describing all
the fancy stuff that goes into it, as well as
an entire separate page that went into things
that ended up not working out.
# ⚓ linkhut2outdoors⠀⇛
This is a posix shell script for converting
linkhut bookmarks to Solderpunk’s Smol Earth
Compendium.
You’ll get a text file; it’s up to you to
then place that textfile on Gemini or Gopher.
I’m not telling you to go use linkhut—the
Smol Earth Compendium’s own format is much
simpler, just use it straight up; this script
is only good for people already using
linkhut.
It’ll only grab ones with the ‘outdoors’ tag
(and remove that tag), and only bookmarks to
pages on Gemini or Gopher, and not if they
contain a tag that starts with the string
“expires-2”. I want to submit more permanent
entries.
# § Games⠀➾
# ⚓ Dragons_of_Stormwreck_Isle⠀⇛
I finally got a chance to look at Dragons of
Stormwreck Isle. This is a “capsule review”
as opposed to a “playtest review” since I
haven’t played it, only quickly thumbed
through it! That’s right, I didn’t even read
every room, just some of the intros.
The original starter set, The Lost Mine of
Phandelver, I’ve whole-heartedly recommended
to new groups or people who wanna get started
with D&D.
=> =============================================================================
World Wide Web but a lot lighter.
䷩ 𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚎 2343
╒═══════════════════ 𝐃𝐀𝐈𝐋𝐘 𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐊𝐒 ═════════════════════════════════════════════╕
⠀⌧ █▇▆▅▄▃▂▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁ 09.12.23⠀▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▂▃▄▅▆▇█ ⌧
Gemini_version_available_♊︎
✐ Leftover_Links_12/09/2023:_OSI_Continues_Attacking_the_OSI’s_Mission_and_Open
Source_Definition_on_Microsoft’s_Money⠀✐
Posted in News_Roundup at 11:55 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz
🄸🄼🄰🄶🄴 🄳🄴🅂🄲🅁🄸🄿🅃🄸🄾🄽 ⦇GNOME bluefish⦈
§ Contents⠀➾
* Leftovers
o Science
o Education
o Hardware
o Health/Nutrition/Agriculture
o Proprietary/Artificial_Intelligence_(AI)
o Pseudo-Open_Source
# Openwashing
o Security
# Integrity/Availability/Authenticity
# Privacy/Surveillance
# Confidentiality
o Defence/Aggression
o Transparency/Investigative_Reporting
o Environment
# Energy/Transportation
o Finance
o AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics
o Censorship/Free_Speech
o Freedom_of_Information_/_Freedom_of_the_Press
o Civil_Rights/Policing
o Internet_Policy/Net_Neutrality
o Digital_Restrictions_(DRM)
o Monopolies
# Patents
# Copyrights
* § Leftovers⠀➾
o ⚓ Terence Eden ☛ What_if_civilisation_*doesn’t*_collapse?⠀⇛
I don’t want to live like a prepper and have a basement
full of pickled vegetables slowly fermenting, or a
library of paper slowly crumbling.
I want to take full advantage of the modern world while
it still exists.
o § Science⠀➾
# ⚓ Hackaday ☛ Out_With_The_Circus_Animals,_In_With_The
Holograms⠀⇛
As futuristic as holographic technology may sound,
in a sense it’s actually already in widespread
commercial use. Concerts and similar events already
use volumetric projection, with a fine mesh
(hologram mesh or gauze) acting as the medium on
which the image is projected to give the illusion
of a 3D image. The widespread availability of this
technology has now enabled Germany’s Roncalli
circus to reintroduce (virtual) animals to its
shows after ceasing the use of live lions and
elephants in 1991 and other animals in 2018.
o § Education⠀➾
# ⚓ APNIC ☛ Welcome_to_APNIC_56⠀⇛
There’s plenty of great content to look forward to
over the next few days, including five technical
sessions on topics including routing, DNS,
multihoming, automation, and satellites. There are
also two FIRST/APCERT/APNIC security sessions, an
IPv6 deployment session, a Lightning Talks session,
and more.
# ⚓ RIPE ☛ CAPIF_2:_The_Road_to_Interconnection⠀⇛
From 19-20 September, network operators, local
IXPs, peering coordinators, Internet researchers
and government officials will meet at CAPIF 2 to
build a more diverse interconnection environment in
Central Asia, Iran, and beyond. To prepare, we’ve
been examining changes in local interconnection and
peering, IPv6 deployment, and network security.
o § Hardware⠀➾
# ⚓ John Goerzen ☛ John_Goerzen:_For_the_First_Time_In_Years,
I’m_Excited_By_My_Computer_Purchase⠀⇛
Some decades back, when I’d buy a new PC, it would
unlock new capabilities. Maybe AGP video, or a
PCMCIA slot, or, heck, sound.
Nowadays, mostly new hardware means things get a
bit faster or less crashy, or I have some more
space for files. It’s good and useful, but sorta…
meh.
# ⚓ John Goerzen ☛ For_the_First_Time_In_Years,_I’m_Excited_By
My_Computer_Purchase⠀⇛
Lately my aging laptop with 8GB RAM started OOMing
(running out of RAM). My desktop had developed a
tendency to hard hang about once a month, and I
researched replacing it, but the cost was too high
to justify.
But when I looked into the Framework, I thought:
this thing could replace both. It is a real shift
in perspective to have a laptop that is nearly as
upgradable as a desktop, and can be specced out to
exactly what I wanted: 2TB storage and 64GB RAM.
And still cheaper than a Macbook or Thinkpad with
far lower specs, because the Framework uses off-
the-shelf components as much as possible.
# ⚓ Bruce Schneier ☛ On_Robots_Killing_People⠀⇛
As we move into a future where robots are becoming
integral to our lives, we can’t forget that safety
is a crucial part of innovation. True technological
progress comes from applying comprehensive safety
standards across technologies, even in the realm of
the most futuristic and captivating robotic
visions. By learning lessons from past fatalities,
we can enhance safety protocols, rectify design
flaws, and prevent further unnecessary loss of
life.
# ⚓ Hackaday ☛ Cheap_LCD_Uses_USB_Serial⠀⇛
Browsing the Asian marketplaces online is always an
experience. Sometimes, you see things at
ridiculously low prices. Other times, you see
things and wonder who is buying them and why — a
shrimp pillow? But sometimes, you see something
that probably could have a more useful purpose than
the proposed use case.
# ⚓ Hackaday ☛ This_Keyboard_Doesn’t_Work_Without_Game_Boy
Cartridges⠀⇛
Just when we though we’d seen it all when it comes
to custom keyboards (or most of it, anyway), along
comes [Stu] with the TypeBoy and TypePak. Like the
title implies, TypeBoy and TypePak are inseparable.
# ⚓ Hackaday ☛ Flip_The_Switch_On_This_I2C_Controlled_USB_Hub⠀⇛
You’ve probably seen USB hubs with physical
switches for each port, they provide a handy way to
cut the power to individual devices, but only if
you’re close enough to flip them. They won’t do you
much good if you want to pull the plug on a USB
gadget remotely.
o § Health/Nutrition/Agriculture⠀➾
# ⚓ Reason ☛ Gavin_Newsom_Spins_Revisionist_History_of_His
COVID_Record⠀⇛
Plus: internet censorship, outdoor dining land
grabs, and more…
# ⚓ The_clueless_conspiracy_theory_that_COVID-19_is_bacterial
pneumonia⠀⇛
To antivaccine conspiracy theorists, it is always
of the utmost importance to find a way to explain
deaths from the pathogens that cause vaccine-
preventable diseases as somehow not being due to
that pathogen. The reason is simple. If antivaxxers
can spin a convincing sounding narrative claiming
that a specific pathogen isn’t causing disease and
death that can be prevented by vaccines targeted
against that pathogen, then they can add to that
narrative the claim that the vaccine doesn’t work
(because it’s not targeting the “true” cause of the
disease and death) and is therefore unnecessary.
Add to that claims that the vaccine is dangerous,
and they can spin a narrative that seems compelling
if you don’t know a lot about infectious disease.
For COVID-19, we saw this narrative in the form of
conspiracy theories falsely claiming that death
certificates were misattributing deaths during the
pandemic as being due to COVID-19 when they
supposedly were not, leading to false claims that
people were dying “with COVID-19” and “not of
COVID-19” or that “only” 6% of deaths attributed to
COVID-19 were actually caused by COVID-19. That
latter lie was based figures showing that 94% of
COVID-19 death certificates had multiple
contributing factors but also involved conflating
sequelae of COVID-19 infection that ultimately led
to death with primary causes of death. As I like to
say, everybody dies of cardiac arrest. Whatever
ultimately kills you, your proximate cause of death
will be cardiac arrest. That’s a trivial
observation. The far more important thing to know
is: What caused the cascade of events that led to
your cardiac arrest and death.
# ⚓ [Old] Iowa State University ☛ Cutting_back_on_social_media
reduces_anxiety,_depression,_loneliness⠀⇛
Researchers at Iowa State University found a simple
intervention could help. During a two-week
experiment with 230 college students, half were
asked to limit their social media usage to 30
minutes a day and received automated, daily
reminders. They scored significantly lower for
anxiety, depression, loneliness and fear of missing
out at the end of the experiment compared to the
control group.
They also scored higher for “positive affect,”
which the researchers describe as “the tendency to
experience positive emotions described with words
such as ‘excited’ and ‘proud.’” Essentially, they
had a brighter outlook on life.
# ⚓ [Old] Technology, Mind, and Behavior ☛ The_Effect_of_Self-
Monitoring_Limited_Social_Media_Use_on_Psychological_Well-
Being⠀⇛
An experimental study was conducted to investigate
the effect of self-monitoring limited social media
usage on psychological well-being. After completing
pretest measures, 230 undergraduate students from a
large Midwestern university were randomly assigned
to one of two experimental conditions: either limit
their social media usage to 30 min a day or to use
social media as usual. After 2 weeks of limiting,
the self-monitored group showed significant
improvements in their psychological well-being.
Anxiety, depression, loneliness, fear of missing
out, and negative affect decreased while positive
affect increased. These results suggest that
limiting social media usage may improve
psychological well-being on multiple dimensions.
This study is one of the first to experimentally
investigate feasible alternatives to social media
use abstinence or experimenter-managed limitation.
Future studies could investigate motivations and
mechanisms of social media use through qualitative
explorations.
# ⚓ Science Alert ☛ US_Teen_Dies_After_Eating_Notorious_Spicy
Chip_in_Viral_Challenge⠀⇛
In extreme cases the impact can be violent. Social
media presents countless hours of individuals
swearing, sweating, and slamming the table as they
attempt to hold down chicken wings doused in hot
sauces or entire record-breaking peppers.
Serious complications from the heightened
responses, such as the dangerous narrowing of
cerebral arteries or damage to the esophagus with
repeated retching, are thankfully uncommon, with
fatalities – though recorded – even rarer.
# ⚓ New York Times ☛ America_Already_Knows_How_to_Make
Childbirth_Safer⠀⇛
Researchers, medical professionals and advocates
say the United States should adopt best practices
similar to those deployed in states like
California, which according to federal data has the
lowest rate of maternal deaths in the country;
focus on improving the health care received by
American women — but especially Black and Native
women — during pregnancy and delivery, and up to a
year after; and enhancing the social services
offered to pregnant women, from transportation to
housing.
# ⚓ Techdirt ☛ Techdirt_Podcast_Episode_363:_Social_Media_&
Mental_Health⠀⇛
Social media isn’t the first phenomenon to spark a
moral panic about its impact on people’s (and
especially young people’s) mental health, and it
surely won’t be the last — but for now, it’s the
star of the show. A lot of people will gladly latch
on to, and casually misrepresent, any research that
might strengthen their belief in social media’s
harms. But that doesn’t mean there are no harms:
it’s just that good research needs to account for
the complexity of the subject and social media’s
myriad impacts, good and bad. One person doing such
research is Professor Andy Przybylski from the
University of Oxford, who joins us on this week’s
episode for a more detailed and meaningful
discussion about social media and mental health.
# ⚓ Reason ☛ Rick_Doblin:_The_Man_Behind_the_‘Psychedelic
’20s’⠀⇛
The founder of MAPS talks about FDA approval for
MDMA-assisted therapy and the “psychedelic
renaissance” he has helped create.
# ⚓ New Yorker ☛ How_Does_Extreme_Heat_Affect_the_Body?⠀⇛
During the hottest summer in history, The New
Yorker’s Dhruv Khullar undergoes testing in a
specialized chamber where researchers monitor the
effects of heat on the body.
# ⚓ Tux Digital ☛ Mastering_Your_Workday_with_Optimal_Sleep_and
Lifestyle_Choices⠀⇛
Join us in this episode as we unlock the secrets to
supercharging your workday through intentional
lifestyle adjustments. From harnessing the power of
sleep to crafting an invigorating morning routine
and conquering mid-day slumps, we’ll guide you
towards a more productive and fulfilling work life.
# ⚓ Reason ☛ Why_We_Can’t_Have_Nice_Things:_The_Great_Baby
Formula_Shortage_of_2022⠀⇛
A combination of “absurdly high” federal tariffs
and excessive FDA regulations created the
conditions for a crisis.
# ⚓ The Atlantic ☛ Are_You_Plagued_by_the_Feeling_That_Everyone
Used_to_Be_Nicer?⠀⇛
Don’t succumb. It’s a psychological illusion.
o § Proprietary/Artificial Intelligence (AI)⠀➾
# ⚓ Gen_AI_Product_Development_Could_Slow_as_Reality_Catches
Up⠀⇛
Startups and investors are learning, once again,
that great technology doesn’t necessarily translate
into great business. After months of hype
surrounding the potential of generative AI,
investors and startups are ratcheting back their
enthusiasm and trying to take a more measured
approach to the market.
A number of startups built on a foundation of AI
are confronting declining customer interest and the
need for layoffs, reports The Wall Street Journal.
Adding to the pressure: Investors aren’t convinced
that new companies will survive as brand-names like
Microsoft and Google push into the space.
In addition, the flood of products unveiled since
last year is bewildering many technology customers.
On the one hand, they want time to understand how
AI’s capabilities can fit their needs. On the
other, they’re pressuring vendors to keep up with
developments. “Some of our customers, all they want
to hear is that we’re thinking about AI,” said
Ellen Loeshelle, director of product management –
intelligence platform at Qualtrics. “Like I could
say that in one sentence and get off the phone and
they’d be happy.”
[...]
How patient investors will be remains to be seen.
OpenAI reportedly lost $540 million in 2022,
despite ChatGPT’s popularity. While it’s unlikely
investors will back away from generative AI bets
entirely, numbers like that are sure to put a brake
on things.
# ⚓ Market_intelligence_firm_Sensor_Tower_conducts_layoffs,
several_execs_out⠀⇛
According to LinkedIn’s headcount, a significant
chunk of the 270+ employees at the renowned market
intelligence company for the app economy Sensor
Tower were let go last week—roughly 40 of them. The
chief product officer, chief financial officer, and
chief marketing officer are a few of the
individuals who told TechCrunch about the layoffs.
Both the finance department and almost all of the
marketing are supposedly affected.
The corporation held an all-hands conference to
review the adjustments, which could still be in the
works as part of a more extensive organizational
restructure at Sensor Tower. Although Sensor Tower
recognized the layoffs, it withheld further
details, announcing that a more comprehensive
announcement would be made the following week.
According to Melissa Sheer, a Sensor Tower
spokesperson, in an email statement made available
to TechCrunch, “Earlier this week, Sensor Tower’s
management team took necessary steps to reorganize
and right-size our business under a talented and
experienced senior leadership team.
# ⚓ Software_Cos._See_Slight_Increase_in_OC_Employees⠀⇛
Blizzard’s parent company Activision Blizzard Inc.
(Nasdaq: ATVI) of Santa Monica is awaiting a
takeover by Microsoft to create a video game
colossus.
# ⚓ The Gamer ☛ 2023_Has_Been_A_Horrible_Year_For_Gaming⠀⇛
2023 has been a great year for video games. Yeah, I
know. Forget the headline for a second, alright?
I’m going somewhere with this. Just three months
after The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
launched to one of the highest Metacritic review
scores of all time, Baldur’s Gate 3 beat it by a
point. We’ve had a remake of the best horror game
ever made, Resident Evil 4, which somehow managed
to improve on the original. We’re in the midst of
enjoying Starfield. We’re still full from Street
Fighter, Metroid Prime, Sea of Stars, Final
Fantasy, Armored Core, and Dead Space. We have
Spider-Man, Super Mario, Mortal Kombat, and
Assassin’s Creed still to come. We’re so sick of
good games we’ve decided Diablo 4 is terrible. It’s
been a good year for video games. A great year. A
challenger to the likes of 2020, 2013, and 1998 as
the best ever. But it has been a bad year for
gaming.
# ⚓ Microsoft_outage_worsened_by_staff_shortage⠀⇛
Only three people on duty during “power sag”.
Microsoft has blamed insufficient staffing and
automation issues for an outage at an Australian
data centre which shook its Azure, Microsoft 365
and Power Platform services for over 24 hours.
Between 30 August and 1 September, Australian
businesses reliant on software giant Microsoft’s
cloud services suffered significant downtime when a
“power sag” caused an outage impacting multiple
products.
“This event was triggered by a utility power sag in
the Australia East region which tripped a subset of
the cooling units offline in one data centre,
within one of the Availability Zones,” said
Microsoft.
# ⚓ Security Week ☛ MGM_Resorts_Confirms_‘Cybersecurity_Issue’,
Shuts_Down_Systems⠀⇛
The incident began sometime on Sunday and affected
hotel reservation systems throughout the United
States and other IT systems that run the casino
floors.
# ⚓ The Register UK ☛ Google_thinks_$20M_ought_to_be_enough_to
figure_out_how_or_if_AI_can_be_used_responsibly⠀⇛
The $20 million set aside for this Digital Futures
Project – not a whole lot of money for Google but a
lot for academics and think tanks – will go towards
supporting outside researchers exploring how
machine-learning technology will shape society as
it increasingly encroaches on people’s lives. The
project is particularly interested in AI’s
potential to upend economies, governments, and
institutions, and is funding boffins to probe
issues such as: [...]
# ⚓ Jim Nielsen ☛ LLMs,_Intuition,_and_Working_With_Computers⠀⇛
I am by no means on the leading edge of LLMs.
However, one thing I’ve noticed listening to people
who are closer to the leading edge than I, is this
idea that nobody quite knows why LLMs give the
results they do — and the results can’t be repeated
either (which is why experience and intuition are
key to using them effectively).
In science, you say you “understand” something when
you can describe how it works and reliably predict
(and even manipulate) its outcomes.
# § Windows TCO⠀➾
# ⚓ The Register UK ☛ Save_the_Children_feared_hit_by
ransomware,_7TB_stolen⠀⇛
BianLian added that its victim, “the world’s
leading nonprofit,” operates in 116 countries
with $2.8 billion in revenues. The
extortionists claim to have stolen 6.8TB of
data, which they say includes international
HR files, personal data, and more than 800GB
of financial records. They claim to also have
email messages as well as medical and health
data.
o § Pseudo-Open Source⠀➾
# § Openwashing⠀➾
# ⚓ OSI Blog ☛ Open_Source_Initiative_Hosts_2nd_Deep_Dive
AI_Event,_Aims_to_Define_‘Open_Source’_for_AI [Ed:
Microsoft propaganda fest, sponsored by Microsoft, for
OSI_to_help_Microsoft_violate_the_GPL_instead_of
fighting_against_Microsoft’s_GPL_violations. OSI is
bribed and corrupted.]⠀⇛
The Open Source Definition isn’t directly
applicable to AI systems, so global experts
will gather to establish shared principles to
protect the values of Open Source during this
period of hyper growth in AI technology.
o § Security⠀➾
# ⚓ Alan Pope ☛ Alan_Pope:_A_virus_for_the_BBC_Micro⠀⇛
About a year ago, I left a comment on a Nostalgia
Nerd video about Viruses. It’s a good video, worth
a watch, like most of their content.
Here’s my silly comment.
# ⚓ Techdirt ☛ FBI,_Federal_Judge_Agree_Fighting_Botnets_Means
Allowing_The_FBI_To_Remotely_Install_Software_On_People’s
Computers⠀⇛
The ends aren’t always supposed to justify the
means. And a federal agency that already raised the
hackles of defense lawyers around the nation during
a CSAM investigation probably shouldn’t be in this
much of hurry to start sending out unsolicited
software to unknowing recipients.
# § Integrity/Availability/Authenticity⠀➾
# ⚓ Mandiant ☛ Deleting_Your_Way_Into_SYSTEM:_Why
Arbitrary_File_Deletion_Vulnerabilities_Matter⠀⇛
Windows arbitrary file deletion
vulnerabilities should no longer be
considered mere annoyances or tools for
Denial-of-Service (DoS) attacks. Over the
past couple of years, these vulnerabilities
have matured into potent threats capable of
unearthing a portal to full system
compromise. This transformation is
exemplified in CVE-2023-27470 (an arbitrary
file deletion vulnerability in N-Able’s Take
Control Agent with a CVSS Base Score of 8.8)
demonstrating that what might initially seem
innocuous can, in fact, expose unexpected
weaknesses within your system.
# § Privacy/Surveillance⠀➾
# ⚓ India Times ☛ India_Navy,_Uber_team_up_for_private
travel_of_naval_personnel,_families⠀⇛
Uber will extend several benefits to Indian
Navy’s personnel and their families,
including a personalised profile on the Uber
app; premier executive cab category
“providing surge price protection during peak
office hours”; availability of top-rated
drivers; zero cancellation fee on all its
rides and a 24×7 premium business support,
the official said.
# ⚓ Site36 ☛ Council_of_Europe_against_spyware:_Five
members_to_investigate_cases_of_abuse⠀⇛
Among the main suppliers of state Trojan
programs are companies from Israel. The
country has observer status with the Council
of Europe. The parliamentarians are calling
on the government in Jerusalem to report on
exports to countries where the software could
be used for human rights violations. Morocco,
which is considered a “partner for democracy”
by the PACE Assembly, is also to investigate
the use of “Pegasus” that has become known.
# § Confidentiality⠀➾
# ⚓ Cendyne Naga ☛ Exploring_the_impact_of_PQC_on
Cryptography_Key_Management⠀⇛
Sofía shares a short presentation on Post-
Quantum Cryptography’s (PQC) development. PQC
is special and different in how it uses
complex problems with no efficient quantum
solution to satisfy security goals. The panel
commences on several topics and a few prompts
from the audience. The competition should
provide multiple solutions for exchanging
keys and digital signatures so that when one
solution is no longer secure, applications
can change to another. The largest concern is
how the performance characteristics will
affect applications that need key exchange
and digital signatures. Google will be
testing key exchange at scale, but there is a
gap for digital signatures. Cryptographic
agility gets redefined with an emphasis on
updating applications and hard to reach
hardware like TPMs and satellites.
This talk summary is part of my DEF CON 31
series. The talks this year have sufficient
depth to be shared independently and are
separated for easier consumption.
# ⚓ Scoop News Group ☛ Taxpayer_information_is
potentially_at_risk_due_to_IRS_oversight_weaknesses,
watchdog_says⠀⇛
The review found other weaknesses,
specifically those involving information
systems, contractor oversight, information
sharing, etc. The report also said that the
IRS does not employ overall oversight efforts
related to unauthorized access of
contractors, even though multiple IRS offices
oversee said contractors.
# ⚓ USGAO ☛ Security_of_Taxpayer_Information:_IRS_Needs
to_Address_Critical_Safeguard_Weaknesses:_GAO-23-
105395⠀⇛
In this review, we found weaknesses in
training, information systems, contractor
oversight, information-sharing, and more. Of
the related recommendations we’ve made since
2010, 77 haven’t been implemented as of March
2023. We’re also making 16 new
recommendations, including one for Congress
to consider.
o § Defence/Aggression⠀➾
# ⚓ The Nation ☛ September_11,_1973,_Was_a_Warning:_Democracy
Can_Die_in_a_Day⠀⇛
Given the weight of sadness of September 11, it’s
jarring to remember how innocent I was when I first
encountered the date in a political setting. I was
living in Chile as a study-abroad student. It was
1995, and as I walked the streets of Santiago,
still a political novice, I saw that date, 11 de
Septiembre, on a street sign and did not understand
why an avenue would bear that name. The codirector
of my study-abroad program was a Chilean journalist
who explained to me that September 11, 1973, was
when hell was unleashed on anyone in Chile who
thought they could peacefully and electorally
create a better world.
# ⚓ CS Monitor ☛ Responding_‘with_life’:_A_divided_Chile_marks
50_years_since_coup⠀⇛
But today, on the 50th anniversary of the Chilean
coup, there are individuals and groups, like
Ecomemoria, for which Mr. Córdova has volunteered,
working to ensure that the legacy of the
dictatorship is remembered in its entirety. It’s a
heavier lift than most expected, given that the
atrocities from that period are well documented.
But growing political divisions – and the ways in
which Chileans envision their nation’s future –
shape the way today’s anniversary is remembered.
“There is not a single piece of land in Chile that
doesn’t bear the scars of the dictatorship. Yet
society lives as if nothing happened,” says Jimmy
Bell, the son of a political prisoner who was
imprisoned and tortured.
# ⚓ El País ☛ The_tentacles_of_Saudi_money_in_the_West:_from
telecom_to_electric_cars,_soccer_and_video_games⠀⇛
In its annual report, the PIF claims to have $776
billion in assets under management. Over the past
year, it increased this figure by 10%, with 25 new
companies incorporated. Despite its massive stake
beyond Saudi borders, the fund’s investments abroad
still only represent a minority part of its
portfolio: 23% of the total. In the report, the PIF
highlights that its shares “include high-tech and
high-growth sectors, such as video games and the
creative industries in general, as well as
companies and initiatives linked to the rapidly
expanding travel and tourism industries.”
# ⚓ Democracy Now ☛ “The_Other_9/11”:_Ariel_Dorfman_on_50th
Anniversary_of_U.S.-Backed_Coup_in_Chile_That_Ousted
Allende⠀⇛
We look at the 50th anniversary of what is
sometimes called the “other 9/11” — the U.S.-backed
coup in Chile, when General Augusto Pinochet ousted
President Salvador Allende and inaugurated almost
two decades of brutal military rule. Allende died
in the presidential palace on September 11, 1973,
marking the end of Chile’s first socialist
government. During Pinochet’s military
dictatorship, more than 3,000 people were
disappeared or killed, and some 40,000 more were
tortured as political prisoners as Chile remained a
close partner to the United States during the Cold
War. “We’re still living in some sense under the
shadow of Pinochet, and of course we’re living
under the gigantic light … of Salvador Allende,”
says renowned Chilean writer Ariel Dorfman, who
served as a cultural adviser to Allende from 1970
to 1973 before going into exile following the coup.
His latest novel, The Suicide Museum, explores the
mystery around Allende’s death and whether it was a
suicide or murder.
# ⚓ Jacobin Magazine ☛ Salvador_Allende_Was_in_Washington’s
Crosshairs⠀⇛
According to a 1975 Church Committee report on CIA
involvement in Chile, its funding for Edwards’s
right-wing newspaper El Mercurio, to the tune of
roughly $2 million after Allende’s victory alone,
was “by far the largest — and probably the most
significant — instance of support for a media
organization” in the country by the CIA. A
postmortem by the CIA, the report explained,
“concluded that El Mercurio and other media outlets
supported by the Agency had played an important
role in setting the stage” for the successful 1973
coup through their unrelenting propaganda campaign
against Allende. It was all just one part of what
the report described as the “continuous and
massive” US covert action in the country between
1963 and 1973.
# ⚓ The Nation ☛ September_11,_22nd_Anniversary⠀⇛
# ⚓ The Nation ☛ Farewell_to_Allende_|_The_Nation⠀⇛
# ⚓ Jacobin Magazine ☛ Neoliberal_Economists_Like_Milton
Friedman_Cheered_on_Augusto_Pinochet’s_Dictatorship⠀⇛
The Chicago Boys’ opposition to the politicization
of the economy preceded Allende’s victory by
decades, but his socialist government’s economic
planning, Keynesian demand-stimulation, and wealth
redistribution provided their ideal adversary, and
brought them to the attention of Chile’s business
elites. From the Chicago-inspired perspective of
these técnicos, Allende’s proposals amounted to an
ignorant violation of the laws of the economy and
the destruction of a free society.
# ⚓ Jacobin Magazine ☛ Washington_Used_9/11_as_an_Excuse_to
Unleash_a_Campaign_of_Global_Devastation⠀⇛
Under the war on terror rubric, open-ended warfare
was well underway — “as if terror were a state and
not a technique,” as Joan Didion wrote in 2003 (two
months before the US invasion of Iraq). “We had
seen, most importantly, the insistent use of
September 11 to justify the reconception of
America’s correct role in the world as one of
initiating and waging virtually perpetual war.”
In a single sentence, Didion had captured the
essence of a quickly calcified set of assumptions
that few mainstream journalists were willing to
question. Those assumptions were catnip for the
lions of the military-industrial-intelligence
complex. After all, the budgets at “national
security” agencies (both long-standing and newly
created) had begun to soar with similar vast
outlays going to military contractors. Worse yet,
there was no end in sight as mission creep
accelerated into a dash for cash.
# ⚓ The Conversation ☛ How_we_uncovered_the_shared_personality
profile_of_violent_extremists⠀⇛
These findings suggest that both basic personality
traits and social factors help explain why
individuals endorse group-based violence for their
cause. Research solely focusing on social or
social-psychological factors — and neglecting the
role of personality — is missing an important piece
of the “puzzle” of violent extremism.
# ⚓ New York Times ☛ E.U._Official_Held_in_Iran_Prison_in
Brutal_Conditions,_Family_Says⠀⇛
Mr. Floderus’s case is unusual because of his
professional background, which makes him a high-
value prisoner in what experts describe as an
energetic “hostage diplomacy” advanced by Iran.
# ⚓ JURIST ☛ Family_of_EU_diplomat_detained_in_Iran_pushing_for
his_release⠀⇛
The New York Times also stated that Floderus’
detainment forms part of a series of arrests
carried out by Iranian authorities in order to
secure the release of Iranian prisoners held in
foreign jurisdictions or to meet other demands. The
BBC reports that Floderus is detained alongside
several other foreign nationals and Iranians who
are of dual nationality or foreign permanent
residency. Ahmadreza Djalali, an Iranian-Swedish
medical specialist who has been held in Iran since
2016 and sentenced to death for “corruption on
Earth”, is another detainee. Supporters for Djalali
claim that his arrest stems from Iranian
authorities seeking to exert pressure on Sweden to
release Hamid Nouri, a former Iranian official, who
is currently subject to a life sentence in Sweden.
# ⚓ New Yorker ☛ Ronan_Farrow_on_the_Rule_of_Elon_Musk⠀⇛
How the tech billionaire built a one-man monopoly
over American infrastructure and became too
powerful for the U.S. government to rein in.
# ⚓ Reason ☛ Technocolonialism_–_but_in_Reverse⠀⇛
Episode 470 of the Cyberlaw Podcast
# ⚓ France24 ☛ North_Korea’s_Kim_to_visit_Russia_for_talks_with
Putin,_state_media_confirm⠀⇛
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will soon visit
Russia to meet President Vladimir Putin, the two
countries confirmed on Monday, a potentially
landmark summit amid Moscow’s deepening isolation
over the war in Ukraine.
# ⚓ RFA ☛ Kim-Putin’s_Vladivostok_bromance_may_risk_global
security,_from_Europe_to_Asia⠀⇛
The potential summit puts the two’s longtime ally,
Beijing, in a precarious position.
# ⚓ RFERL ☛ U.S._Warns_Pyongyang_As_Kremlin_Confirms_Visit_Of
North_Korea’s_Kim_At_Putin’s_Invite⠀⇛
The United States on September 11 warned North
Korea against any moves toward supplying Russia
with weapons and threatened further sanctions
against Pyongyang after the Kremlin confirmed that
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will visit Russia
“in the coming days.”
# ⚓ Meduza ☛ Kremlin_says_Kim_Jong-un_will_visit_Russia_‘in_the
coming_days’_—_Meduza⠀⇛
# ⚓ TwinCities Pioneer Press ☛ North_Korean_leader_Kim_Jong_Un
arrives_in_Russia_before_an_expected_meeting_with_Putin⠀⇛
Joined by his top military officials handling his
nuclear-capable weapons and munitions factories,
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un arrived in Russia
on Tuesday, where he is expected to hold a rare
meeting with President Vladimir Putin that has
sparked Western concerns about a potential arms
deal for Moscow’s war in Ukraine.
# ⚓ The Straits Times ☛ North_Korean_leader_Kim_Jong_Un_heads
to_Russia_for_Putin_talks⠀⇛
Mr Kim left on Sunday to visit the Russian
Federation, said the Korean Central News Agency.
# ⚓ CS Monitor ☛ Arms_deal?_Speculation_swirls_around_Kim_Jong
Un_trip_to_Russia.⠀⇛
Kim Jong Un is expected to meet with Vladimir
Putin, according to North Korea’s KCNA news agency.
Mr. Kim is likely traveling on a personal train –
similar to one used on previous trips – that has
been seen idling on the North Korean side of the
border.
# ⚓ New York Times ☛ Kim_Jong-un_Has_Something_Putin_Needs,_and
That’s_a_New_Wrinkle⠀⇛
Kim Jong-un has ammunition stocks that Russia
covets as it continues its war in Ukraine, and
North Korea may get advanced technology and badly
needed food aid in return.
# ⚓ New York Times ☛ What_We_Know_About_Kim_Jong-un’s
Bulletproof_Train⠀⇛
As he heads to Russia to meet with President
Vladimir Putin, the North Korean leader continues
his family’s history of traveling solely by rail.
# ⚓ New York Times ☛ Russia-Ukraine_War:_Kim_Jong-un_Will_Visit
Russia_in_‘Coming_Days,’_Kremlin_Says⠀⇛
North Korea’s leader is expected to discuss
military cooperation with President Vladimir V.
Putin, including the possibility of sending more
weapons for Russia’s war in Ukraine.
# ⚓ teleSUR ☛ North_Korean_Leader_to_Visit_Russia⠀⇛
Ties between Russia and North Korea date back to
the founding of the Asian country 75 years ago.
# § Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine⠀➾
# ⚓ European Commission ☛ Eurobarometer:_Europeans
approve_measures_taken_to_tackle_the_energy_crisis,_to
promote_sustainability_and_to_support_Ukraine⠀⇛
European Commission Press release Brussels,
11 Sep 2023 New Flash Eurobarometer survey
reveals support for EU’s energy security and
green transition measures, on boosting clean
tech and responding to Russia’s Ukraine
invasion
# ⚓ Federal News Network ☛ On_the_brink_of_joining_NATO,
Sweden_seeks_to_boost_its_defense_spending_by_28%⠀⇛
The Swedish government wants to increase the
country’s defense budget by 28% as it
prepares to join the NATO alliance. The
increase would put Sweden on track to reach
NATO’s target for military spending to be 2%
of a country’s gross domestic product.
Sweden’s center-right coalition government
unveiled a defense bill Monday and said the
defense budget will be increased by $2.4
billion. About $63 million will be spent on
Sweden’s future membership of NATO. Sweden
and neighboring Finland sought protection
under the NATO security umbrella after Russia
invaded Ukraine last year. Finland joined
earlier this year but Sweden is still
waiting.
# ⚓ AntiWar ☛ Will_Ukraine’s_Western_Apologists_Finally
Admit_the_Truth?⠀⇛
For Western officials and their news media
conduits who have carefully crafted the myth
that Ukraine is a vibrant democracy, the past
few weeks have been extremely challenging.
First came the revelation that members of the
country’s draft boards had engaged in a
pervasive degree of corruption.
# ⚓ AntiWar ☛ Hawks_Want_Biden_To_Take_the_Fight_With
Russia_Global⠀⇛
Reprinted with permission from the Quincy
Institute for Responsible Statecraft Hawkish
critics of the Biden administration have been
constantly agitating for escalation over
Ukraine for the last year and a half.
# ⚓ France24 ☛ 🔴_Live:_Ukraine_says_Germany_‘wasting
time’_on_decision_to_send_Taurus_missiles⠀⇛
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on
Monday urged Berlin to supply Ukraine with
long-range Taurus missiles during a surprise
visit to Kyiv by German Foreign Minister
Annalena Baerbock.
# ⚓ JURIST ☛ Council_of_Europe_condemns_‘sham_elections’
in_Russian-occupied_Ukraine⠀⇛
The Council of Europe released a joint
statement Sunday condemning the recent
elections in the Russian-occupied regions of
Ukraine. Over the course of one week, Russia
held regional elections across several parts
Ukraine, including four regions that it does
not fully control – Donetsk, Luhansk,
Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson.
# ⚓ Meduza ☛ Russian_National_Guard_reportedly_enlisting
former_inmates_who_fought_with_Wagner_Group_—_Meduza⠀⇛
# ⚓ LRT ☛ Lithuania_condemns_Russian_‘elections’_in
Ukraine’s_occupied_territories⠀⇛
Lithuania on Monday condemned the elections
held by Russia over the weekend in the
temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine
and vowed a “strong and concrete response” to
those involved.
# ⚓ LRT ☛ Fewer_Belarusians,_Ukrainians_enrol_in
Lithuanian_universities⠀⇛
Fewer Belarusians and Ukrainians have chosen
to study at Lithuanian higher education
institutions this year, the Ministry of
Education, Science and Sport has reported.
# ⚓ RFA ☛ Chinese_opera_singer_performs_Russian_patriotic
song_in_bombed-out_Mariupol_theater⠀⇛
In disgust, Ukraine moves to ban all Chinese
tourists.
# ⚓ RFERL ☛ U.K._Says_Russia_Targeted_Black_Sea_Cargo
Ship_With_Missiles⠀⇛
Russia’s military targeted a civilian cargo
ship in the Black Sea with “multiple
missiles” last month, but they were
successfully intercepted by Ukrainian forces,
Britain said on September 11, citing
intelligence.
# ⚓ New York Times ☛ From_Kupiansk_to_Kherson,_Diverse
Battlefields_Make_Up_the_War_in_Ukraine⠀⇛
A “striking fist” in the North, and river
crossings in the South. Along a jagged 1,000-
mile front, the fighting is multifaceted —
and relentless.
# ⚓ RFERL ☛ Kazakhs_Call_For_Canceling_Concerts_Of
Russian_Comedian_Over_Performance_In_Ukraine’s
Donetsk⠀⇛
An online campaign has been launched in
Kazakhstan calling for the cancellation of
shows by Azamat Musagaliyev, a prominent
Russian comic of Kazakh origin, over his
recent performance in Ukraine’s Russian-
controlled Donetsk region.
# ⚓ New York Times ☛ Ukraine_Claims_to_Have_Retaken_Oil
and_Gas_Platforms_in_the_Black_Sea⠀⇛
The platforms have played a role in Russia’s
ability to project power off Ukraine’s coast
since Moscow seized them in 2015.
# ⚓ RFERL ☛ ‘No_Risk’_That_Romania_Will_Be_Dragged_Into
War,_Senior_NATO_Official_Says⠀⇛
NATO Deputy Secretary-General Mircea Geoana
said on September 11 that there is “no risk”
that alliance member Romania will be dragged
into a war following the recent discovery of
drone fragments on its territory near the
border with war-torn Ukraine.
# ⚓ New York Times ☛ As_Ukraine_Aid_Benefits_Their
Districts,_Some_House_Republicans_Oppose_It⠀⇛
The American push to fund Kyiv’s war effort
has created big economic opportunities for
Mesquite, Texas, and other cities around the
country. Some of their G.O.P. congressmen
want to end it.
# ⚓ RFERL ☛ EU_Warns_Russia_There_Will_Be_‘Consequences’
After_‘Illegal’_Vote_In_Occupied_Ukraine⠀⇛
The European Union has warned Russia of
“consequences” for those involved in
organizing the “illegal” elections over the
weekend in Ukrainian regions occupied by the
Kremlin, while Germany said new EU sanctions
are possible.
[...]
Brussels followed soon afterward by
condemning the vote, which it said
represented “yet another manifest violation
of international law,” adding that it will
not recognize “either the holding of these
so-called ‘elections’ or their results.”
# ⚓ RFERL ☛ IAEA_Chief_Concerned_About_Russian_Troops,
Fighting_Near_Ukrainian_Nuclear_Plant⠀⇛
Russia’s military presence at Ukraine’s
occupied Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant and
fighting near the facility pose a security
risk, the chief of the International Atomic
Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, has told
the organization’s board of governors.
# ⚓ JURIST ☛ Germany_charges_two_men_with_treason_for
passing_classified_information_to_Russia⠀⇛
The German prosecutors office has officially
charged two individuals with suspected
treason on Friday, after they were indicted
on August 24. The two suspects referred to as
Carsten L and Arthur E were accused of high
treason through the passing on of state
secrets to Russia’s Secret Service.
# ⚓ LRT ☛ Eastern_flank_to_see_largest_NATO_military
exercise_since_Cold_War⠀⇛
NATO will hold the largest military exercise
since the Cold War on its eastern flank next
year to practice repelling a Russian attack,
the Financial Times reports.
# ⚓ RFERL ☛ Russia’s_‘History_Of_Independent_Journalism
Is_Over,’_Says_Nobel_Laureate⠀⇛
Russian journalist and Nobel Peace Prize
laureate Dmitry Muratov believes there is
neither freedom of the press nor freedom of
expression in his home country.
# ⚓ RFERL ☛ Russian_Ruble_Soars_To_Strongest_Level_Versus
Dollar_Since_Late_August⠀⇛
The Russian ruble strengthened to a more than
one-week high against the dollar on September
11, rising sharply after hitting its weakest
mark since mid-August on September 8, as the
market turns its attention to a central bank
rate decision later this week.
# ⚓ RFERL ☛ RFE/RL_Welcomes_EU_Move_To_Sanction_FSB
Officials_Over_Yesypenko’s_Incarceration⠀⇛
RFE/RL has welcomed a decision by the
European Council to sanction two officers of
Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) who
are responsible for the investigation into,
and torture of, the journalist Vladyslav
Yesypenko.
# ⚓ CS Monitor ☛ Chinese,_Iranian_automakers_woo_Russians
after_Western_brands_leave⠀⇛
The auto market is one of the few areas in
Russia where Western sanctions had an
immediate effect. Today, Russia’s car
industry has been transformed, with new
players, foreign and domestic, stepping to
the fore.
# ⚓ Latvia ☛ Pressure_on_Latvia’s_border_with_Belarus
rises_to_record_level⠀⇛
On Sunday, September 10, 256 people tried to
cross the Latvian-Belarusian border
illegally, which is the largest number of
border violators ever detected during a 24-
hour period, according to data from the State
Border Guard.
# ⚓ LRT ☛ Lithuania_mulls_extending_validity_of
foreigner’s_passports_as_Minsk_no_longer_issues
documents_abroad⠀⇛
The Interior Ministry will propose to the
Seimas to extend the validity period of the
foreigner’s passports issued in Lithuania in
response to Minsk’s decision not to allow
Belarusians to renew their identity documents
abroad.
# ⚓ RFERL ☛ Lithuania_Counters_Lukashenka’s_Squeeze_On
Belarusians_Abroad_With_‘Foreigner_Passports’⠀⇛
Lithuania says the number of Belarusian
nationals seeking so-called foreigners’
passports is likely to rise following a
consular clampdown by Minsk but that
Belarusians who fled the regime and have the
proper documents can receive the alternative
Lithuanian travel document in as little as
five days.
# ⚓ RFERL ☛ Latvia_Registers_Record_Number_Of_Migrants_At
Border_With_Belarus⠀⇛
Latvia prevented 246 people from illegally
crossing from neighboring Belarus on
September 10 — a 24-hour record, the Latvian
Border Guard said on September 11.
# ⚓ Meduza ☛ Bloomberg:_President_of_Brazil_takes_back
promise_not_to_arrest_Putin_if_he_travels_to_Rio_de
Janeiro_for_G20_summit_—_Meduza⠀⇛
# ⚓ Meduza ☛ Putin_spokesman_says_not_all_Russians_who
left_country_after_war_began_will_be_welcomed_back_—
Meduza⠀⇛
o § Transparency/Investigative Reporting⠀➾
# ⚓ EFF ☛ Arkansas_Lawmakers_Could_Wreck_A_50-Year-Old_FOIA_Law
This_Week⠀⇛
In a special session of the state legislature,
announced Friday by Gov. Sarah Sanders and convened
Monday morning, lawmakers are expected to discuss
making major amendments to the Arkansas Freedom of
Information Act (FOIA), which has guaranteed the
public’s right to government information since
1967.
The proposed changes will do a number of things
that will reduce transparency in the state. These
new limits for requesters include:
In her announcement, Sanders claimed that part of
the urgency of amending FOIA had to do with
possible threats to her safety and the fact that
the state’s FOIA has not been updated since the
advent of the smartphone. News reports on the
sudden legislative session, which will also include
an effort to lower certain taxes in the state, also
note that the session was announced the same week
that the governor’s office was named a defendant in
a FOIA case to access records on the costs and
companions associated with Gov. Sanders’s travel.
The proposed FOIA legislation is meant to be
applied retroactively to January 2022, which would
cover the records associated in that lawsuit.
o § Environment⠀➾
# ⚓ Gizmodo ☛ Microsoft_Is_Using_a_Hell_of_a_Lot_of_Water_to
Flood_the_World_With_AI⠀⇛
As artificial intelligence is increasingly
developing and data centers are erected to further
this tech, it’s becoming clear that AI has a water
usage problem.
# ⚓ The Register UK ☛ Microsoft’s_AI_investments_skyrocketed_in
2022_–_and_so_did_its_water_consumption⠀⇛
In its latest environmental, social, and governance
(ESG) report, Microsoft said the higher rate of
water consumption was in line with business growth.
According to that report, water consumption
increased by a third from 4.8 cubic metres of water
in 2021 to 6.4 million cubic metres last year.
That’s compared to the 14 percent increase in water
consumption the software giant reported between
2020 and 2021.
# ⚓ France24 ☛ France:_A_high-tech_solution_to_world’s_clothing
waste_problem?⠀⇛
# ⚓ El País ☛ US_sets_record_for_billion-dollar_weather
disasters_in_a_year_—_and_there’s_still_four_months_to_go⠀⇛
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
announced Monday that there have been 23 weather
extreme events in America that cost at least $1
billion this year through August, eclipsing the
year-long record total of 22 set in 2020. So far,
this year’s disasters have cost more than $57.6
billion and claimed at least 253 lives.
And NOAA’s count doesn’t yet include Tropical Storm
Hilary’s damages in hitting California and a deep
drought that has struck the South and Midwest
because those costs are still to be totaled, said
Adam Smith, the NOAA applied climatologist and
economist who tracks the billion-dollar disasters.
# ⚓ Democracy Now ☛ Morocco:_Earthquake_Death_Toll_at_2,500;
Criticism_Grows_over_King’s_Response_to_Humanitarian_Crisis⠀⇛
We get an update from Morocco, which has declared
three days of mourning after the strongest
earthquake to hit the region in at least a century.
About 2,500 people died in the 6.8-magnitude
earthquake that struck the country on Friday, with
another 2,500 injured and the death toll expected
to rise. The epicenter was in the High Atlas
Mountains located about 44 miles from Marrakech,
where many villages remain largely inaccessible and
lack both electricity and running water. The
earthquake also damaged parts of Marrakech,
including its old city, a UNESCO World Heritage
Site. We speak with Moroccan scholars Abdellah El
Haloui, in Marrakech, where he is head of the
English Department at Cadi Ayyad University, and
Brahim El Guabli, associate professor of Arabic
studies at Williams College, originally from
Ouarzazate, Morocco, which was hit by the
earthquake.
# ⚓ New Yorker ☛ Talking_to_Conservatives_About_Climate_Change:
The_Congressional_Climate_Caucus⠀⇛
During the hottest summer in history, The New
Yorker’s Dhruv Khullar undergoes testing in a
specialized chamber where researchers monitor the
effects of heat on the body.
# ⚓ New Yorker ☛ Talking_to_Conservatives_About_Climate
Change⠀⇛
A congressional Republican and the head of the
Sierra Club talk about the search for common ground
on climate action. Plus, the fiction writer Tessa
Hadley.
# § Energy/Transportation⠀➾
# ⚓ New York Times ☛ U.S._Seized_Iranian_Oil_Over
Smuggling_Incident_That_Escalated_Tensions_in_Gulf⠀⇛
The apprehension of the ship, the Suez Rajan,
came after a group opposed to Iran raised
accusations of sanctions violations last
year.
# ⚓ Robert Reich ☛ Why_Does_Flying_Suck_so_Much? ⠀⇛
You might not believe this, but I’m old
enough to remember when flying was fun.
Now I’m sure you’ve got your own airline
horror stories, which I hope you’ll share.
But what happened to make flying such a
nightmare?
The answer is simple: the same things
happening across most industries. In fact, a
close look at airlines reveals five of the
biggest problems with our economy.
Number 1: Consolidation means fewer choices.
While there were once many more airlines,
aseries_of_mergers_and_acquisitions over the
last three decades has left only four_in
control_of_about_80%_of_the_market.
This
# ⚓ NYPost ☛ Greek_shipper_pleads_guilty_to_smuggling
Iranian_crude_oil_and_will_pay_$2.4_million_fine⠀⇛
A Greek shipping company has pleaded guilty
to smuggling sanctioned Iranian crude oil and
agreed to pay a $2.4 million fine, newly
unsealed US court documents seen Thursday by
The Associated Press show.
# ⚓ RFERL ☛ Greek_Shipper_Pleads_Guilty_To_Smuggling
Iranian_Crude_Oil,_Will_Pay_$2.4_Million_Fine⠀⇛
A Greek shipping company has pleaded guilty
to smuggling sanctioned Iranian crude oil and
agreed to pay a $2.4 million fine, newly
unsealed U.S. court documents seen on
September 7 by the Associated Press show.
# ⚓ Axios ☛ Where_“cryptoization”_could_thrive⠀⇛
The report took particular aim at
stablecoins, reiterating the push for
countries to get aligned with each other in
terms of how they handle stablecoins and
limit the potential for those instruments to
create shocks to the global system.
# ⚓ Financial Stability Board ☛ IMF-FSB_Synthesis_Paper:
Policies_for_[Cryptocurrency]-Assets⠀⇛
At the request of the Indian G20 Presidency,
the IMF and the FSB have developed this paper
to synthesise the IMF’s and the FSB’s
(alongside SSBs’) policy recommendations and
standards. The collective recommendations
provide comprehensive guidance to help
authorities address the macroeconomic and
financial stability risks posed by
[cryptocurrency]-asset activities and
markets, including those associated with
stablecoins and those conducted through so-
called decentralised finance (DeFi).
# ⚓ The Atlantic ☛ An_FTX_Executive_Who_Broke_With_the
Others⠀⇛
It’s not totally clear whether Salame is
truly passionate about Republican political
causes or if he was simply emerging as a
Republican donor out of loyalty to his boss
(and his girlfriend). He has reportedly said
that he was not especially interested in
politics, and that he was getting more
involved at the encouragement of others at
FTX. In a charging document, prosecutors
surfaced messages that Salame wrote, saying
that the purpose of donations was to “weed
out anti [cryptocurrency] dems for pro
[cryptocurrency] dems and anti
[cryptocurrency] repubs for pro
[cryptocurrency] repubs” In other words, it
seems that he and his involved colleagues
hoped to use donations to elevate politicians
sympathetic to the [cryptocurrency] business,
regardless of party. (Jason Linder, a lawyer
for Salame, did not immediately respond to my
request for comment, though he said in a
statement last week that “Ryan looks forward
to putting this chapter behind him and moving
forward with his life.”)
# ⚓ Vice Media Group ☛ Hackers_Scammed_$500K_In_Crypto
from_Twitter_Users_In_Just_20_Minutes⠀⇛
The cryptocurrency industry is rife with
scams of every stripe, and they have often
taken place on Twitter. There are a large
number of users on the social network, and
the nature of the blockchain is such that
transactions are nearly instant and
irreversible. A click is all it takes to lose
everything.
# ⚓ Interesting Engineering ☛ Luxury_supersonic_jet_will
fly_from_NY_to_London_in_3_hours⠀⇛
Spike Aerospace’s supersonic aircraft has
been dubbed S-512 and is designed to carry
12-18 passengers at a time. The aircraft
mixes high-speed travel with high-end luxury,
and the illustrations of the final offering
clearly show that the aircraft is for the
uber-rich who are in a hurry to get to their
destinations.
# ⚓ Pro Publica ☛ Regulators_Blast_Union_Pacific_for
Running_Unsafe_Trains⠀⇛
On Friday, Union Pacific, the nation’s
largest freight railroad carrier, received a
blistering letter from federal regulators who
criticized the company for poorly maintaining
its fleet, furloughing workers who perform
train maintenance and allowing its managers
to pressure inspectors to stop their efforts
in order to keep freight moving.
The letter, signed by Federal Railroad
Administration head Amit Bose, came after the
agency inspected the company’s East Departure
Yard in North Platte, Nebraska, this summer
and found that more than 70% of the train
engines had safety defects, as did 20% of the
cars — defect ratios twice the national
average. Conditions didn’t improve when
inspectors returned and found locomotives
with defects still in use. “We haven’t been
able to get to them yet,” a Union Pacific
director said, according to the letter.
# ⚓ WhichUK ☛ Which?_Get_Answers_podcast:_will_renewables
mean_cheaper_energy_bills?⠀⇛
We discuss whether moving away from fossil
fuels will see the price we’re
charged for energy fall.
# ⚓ WhichUK ☛ Which?_Money_podcast:_are_cheaper_energy
bills_on_the_way?⠀⇛
We ask whether bills will reduce with the
energy price cap set to fall this October
# ⚓ YLE ☛ Consumer_Ombudsman_bans_unilateral_electricity
spot_price_switching⠀⇛
The ombudsman said that customers cannot be
switched to market-based spot priced
contracts without their consent.
o § Finance⠀➾
# ⚓ BBC ☛ Wilko_closures_are_an_‘emotional_rollercoaster’_says
worker_–_BBC_News⠀⇛
Martyn Butler, who has worked for Wilko for 16
years, says it has been an “emotional
rollercoaster”.
# ⚓ YLE ☛ APN_Podcast:_Should_jobseekers_get_lower_benefits_if
they_don’t_know_Finnish?⠀⇛
This week the All Points North podcast explores the
government’s proposal to tie benefit levels to
Finnish language skills.
# ⚓ Reason ☛ Carol_Roth:_You_Will_Own_Nothing!⠀⇛
The proponent of “big hair and small government”
explains how to flourish in a global financial
universe that is indifferent to the individual.
# ⚓ KOL418_|_Corporations,_Limited_Liability,_and_the_Title
Transfer_Theory_of_Contract,_with_Jeff_Barr:_Part_II⠀⇛
Kinsella on Liberty Podcast: Episode 418.
This is a followup to KOL414 | Corporations,
Limited Liability, and the Title Transfer Theory of
Contract, with Jeff Barr: Part I. See that episode
for more information and notes.
In Part III, we need to talk about corporations.
For more on that, see Corporate Personhood, Limited
Liability, and Double Taxation.
# ⚓ KOL414_|_Corporations,_Limited_Liability,_and_the_Title
Transfer_Theory_of_Contract,_with_Jeff_Barr:_Part_I⠀⇛
Yet Jeff still thinks that failure/inability to pay
a future debt is “theft,” much like Rothbard (and
Block) view this as “implicit theft,” thus
justifying in principle debtor’s prison, although
Barr thinks the theft is not even implicit; he
thinks it’s explicit theft. This is the crux of our
disagreement.
# ⚓ KOL417:_Commentary_on_Larken_Rose,_“IP:_The_Wrong
Question”:_Part_3⠀⇛
Kinsella on Liberty Podcast: Episode 417.
Part 3 of my video commentary on Larken Rose’s
recent comments on IP.
# ⚓ KOL416:_Commentary_on_Larken_Rose,_“IP:_The_Wrong
Question”:_Part_2⠀⇛
Kinsella on Liberty Podcast: Episode 416.
Part 2 of my video commentary on Larken Rose’s
recent comments on IP.
o § AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics⠀➾
# ⚓ teleSUR ☛ Venezuela_Congratulates_Russia_for_Regional
Electoral_Processes⠀⇛
“United Russia party’s resounding victory ratifies
the indisputable leadership of its political
force,” the Venezuelan Foreign Ministry stated.
# ⚓ The Gray Zone ☛ Announcing_‘Corporate_Coup:_Venezuela_and
the_End_of_US_Empire’_by_Anya_Parampil⠀⇛
# ⚓ Meduza ☛ Russia’s_2023_regional_voting_Small_victories_for
the_‘systemic_opposition,’_Moscow_keeps_its_mayor,_and
violations_abound_in_a_dress_rehearsal_for_Putin’s_reelection
next_year_—_Meduza⠀⇛
# ⚓ CS Monitor ☛ At_G20,_Biden_promotes_US_leadership,_but
faces_its_limits⠀⇛
Even without the Russian or Chinese leaders’
presence at the G20 summit, their influence created
challenges for President Biden, who drew on
creative diplomacy to assert U.S. global
leadership.
# ⚓ Tom’s Hardware ☛ HP_to_Relocate_PC_Assembly_to_Thailand,
Mexico,_and_Vietnam:_Report⠀⇛
As the world’s second-largest PC manufacturer,
following Lenovo, HP’s decision to relocate its
production is notable. The company plans to produce
some of its commercial notebooks in Mexico, while
consumer laptops will be manufactured in Thailand.
Additionally, there’s an upcoming shift to Vietnam
slated for 2024. The production outside of China
for this year is projected to be between a few
million to 5 million units, a significant number
considering HP’s global shipment of 55.2 million
PCs in 2023.
# ⚓ India Times ☛ Jumping_on_Arm’s_blockbuster_IPO_could_be_a
risky_business_for_retail_investors⠀⇛
Retail traders getting their first bite at Arm
Holdings’ highly anticipated public offering when
the British chip designer begins trading this week
should beware: individual investors often get
burned when they jump on hot listings.
Arm’s goal of raising around $5 billion in New York
in what might be the biggest IPO of 2023 follows
other major listings in recent years whose returns
have mostly disappointed.
# ⚓ India Times ☛ Europe,_its_partners_should_develop_new
global_framework_for_AI_risks:_EU_Commission_chief_Ursula_von
der_Leyen⠀⇛
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen
on Sunday said Europe and its partners should
develop a new global framework for artificial
intelligence risks, asserting that it would protect
against systemic societal risks and foster
investments in safe and responsible AI systems.
# ⚓ MIT Technology Review ☛ The_Download:_what_to_expect_from
US_Congress’s_first_AI_meeting⠀⇛
The US Congress is heading back into session, and
they’re hitting the ground running on AI. We’re
going to be hearing a lot about various plans and
positions on AI regulation in the coming weeks,
kicking off with Senate Majority Leader Chuck
Schumer’s first AI Insight Forum on Wednesday.
This and planned future forums will bring together
some of the top people in AI to discuss the risks
and opportunities it poses and how Congress might
write legislation to address them.
# ⚓ Reuters ☛ Congress_to_hold_new_AI_hearings_as_it_works_to
craft_safeguards⠀⇛
A House Oversight subcommittee will hold a hearing
on Thursday that will look at potential risks in
federal agency adoption of AI along with the
adequacy of safeguards to protect individual
privacy and ensure fair treatment.
Witnesses include White House Office of Science and
Technology Policy Director Arati Prabhaker along
with the Pentagon’s chief digital and artificial
intelligence officer Craig Martell and Homeland
Security Department’s Chief Information Officer
Eric Hysen.
# ⚓ New York Times ☛ 2_Senators_Propose_Bipartisan_Framework
for_A.I._Laws⠀⇛
The lawmakers plan to highlight their proposals in
an A.I. hearing on Tuesday, which will feature Brad
Smith, Microsoft’s president, and William Dally,
the chief scientist for the A.I. chip maker Nvidia.
Mr. Blumenthal and Mr. Hawley plan to introduce
bills from the framework.
On Wednesday, top tech executives including Elon
Musk, Microsoft’s Satya Nadella and OpenAI’s Sam
Altman will meet with the Senate leader, Chuck
Schumer, and other lawmakers in a separate closed-
door meeting on A.I. regulations.
# § Misinformation/Disinformation/Propaganda⠀➾
# ⚓ Gizmodo ☛ Salacious_Chinese_Disinformation_Campaign
Blames_Maui_Fires_on_Deadly_American_‘Weather_Weapon’⠀⇛
Researchers say they’ve discovered 85 social
media accounts and blogs originating from
China and working in tandem to amplify a
conspiracy theory claiming the deadly fires
in Maui were caused by a secretive “weather
weapon” unleashed by the US military.
NewsGuard, which has previously uncovered
other online influence operations from China
and Russia, claims the new “coordinated
online campaign” represents the most
expansive Chinese operation it has uncovered
to date.
The conspiracy-laden content was written in
15 different languages and appeared on
Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and around a
dozen other platforms. Though the exact
phrasing of the posts varied, they largely
stemmed from a scandalous, baseless
conspiracy theory involving the US military,
British spies, and experimental sci-fi
weaponry. Buckle up for some tinfoil hat
activity.
# ⚓ Press Gazette ☛ Ex-Sun_editor_David_Yelland_on_PR:
Lying_is_‘far_less_common_than_you’d_think’⠀⇛
Yelland and former No 10 comms chief Simon
Lewis talk PR and journalism ahead of their
podcast launch.
# ⚓ WhichUK ☛ Which?_Shorts_podcast:_the_facts_about_fake
reviews⠀⇛
We’re on the case of the fraudsters, helping
you decipher what is and isn’t legit
o § Censorship/Free Speech⠀➾
# ⚓ Vice Media Group ☛ TikTok_Blocked_‘WGA’_Searches_Amid
Writer’s_Strike_Because_It_Thought_It_Was_a_Conspiracy⠀⇛
The social media app, which has been an
instrumental tool during the strike, is blocking
searches for “WGA.”
# ⚓ Gizmodo ☛ Looks_Like_Twitter_Shadowbanned_The_New_York
Times,_Which_Advertises_on_Twitter⠀⇛
X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, has
apparently shadowbanned The New York Times,
preventing users from seeing tweets that link to
the newspaper’s coverage. The move smacks of a
particular irony, given that the Times is one of
X’s major advertisers and is currently running
campaigns to promote its new sports site, The
Athletic.
# ⚓ Semafor Inc ☛ Twitter_appears_to_throttle_New_York_Times⠀⇛
Times employees had already taken note of the
pattern, as high-profile attempts to share Times
articles failed to travel on the platform. For
instance, earlier this week, former President
Barack Obama shared multiple New York Times
articles on X about healthcare costs, which the
service said reached fewer than 900,000 and 800,000
users respectively. The number was far lower than
any other post shared by the former president since
X began sharing that data publicly earlier this
year — for comparison, a Politico link shared by
the president got nearly 13 million views.
# ⚓ Techdirt ☛ Another_Day,_Another_SLAPP_Threat_From_A
‘Wellness’_Influencer_Against_Someone_Reviewing_Their
‘Masterclass’⠀⇛
A few years back we had an article about the “The
Green Smoothie Girl” aka Robyn Openshaw, who went
on this weird SLAPPy binge of threatening people
who left negative reviews of her brand of woo woo
nonsense. Apparently since that time, Openshaw went
down the unsurprising path of being a COVID anti-
vaxxer (natch) and more recently had to admit to
having lied about having a Ph.D.
o § Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press⠀➾
# ⚓ Craig Murray ☛ Defend_Assange_US_Tour⠀⇛
I am currently in Minnesota where I am speaking
tonight and doing several media interviews. The
primary purpose of the whole US visit is not the
public appearances, but preparation for the
campaign and defence in the USA should extradition
go ahead.
# ⚓ Project Censored ☛ Challenging_Media_Integrity_and_Labor
Rights:_Fox_TV_Renewal_and_Sex_Work_Perspectives_–_The
Project_Censored_Show⠀⇛
Then Eleanor Goldfield hosts the second half of the
show; her guests, two long-time sex workers, look
at sex work and strip clubs from a labor
perspective, addressing issues such as the
difference between being treated as independent
contractors and as employees. They also call for
the decriminalization of sex work, and an end to
the social and legal ostracism of sex workers.
# ⚓ RFERL ☛ Prosecutor_Seeks_Six_Years_In_Prison_For_Uzbek
Journalist_Mavjuda_Mirzaeva⠀⇛
Prosecutors have asked a court in Tashkent to
convict and sentence journalist Mavjuda Mirzaeva to
six years in prison on charges of slander, insult,
and extortion. [...]
# ⚓ Scheerpost ☛ Blinken,_Assange,_And_The_20th_Anniversary_Of
The_Palestine_Hotel_Bombing⠀⇛
Ultimately, I don’t know whether the attack on the
Palestine Hotel was a deliberate attack on
journalists or not. If it was, it is unclear to me
who in the chain of command was responsible.
But the charges brought by Spain involved “serious
criminal conduct,” and the juxtaposition between
the U.S.’s own attempts to thwart a war crimes
prosecution, versus its obsessive pursuit of
Assange for exposing U.S. war crimes, make
Blinken’s remarks on the political case against the
WikiLeaks founder all the more maddening.
o § Civil Rights/Policing⠀➾
# ⚓ Daniel Miessler ☛ The_Great_Bifurcation⠀⇛
The world is largely split into those who who are
doing the daily behaviors that bring them success,
and those who aren’t doing those behaviors.
I call this The Great Bifurcation because
technology magnifies the differences between those
doing them and those who aren’t.
# ⚓ RFA ☛ First_library,_learning_center_dedicated_to_Dalai
Lama_opens_in_United_States⠀⇛
The center, officially named His Holiness the Great
14th Dalai Lama Library and Learning Center, opened
on Friday, Sept. 8. It includes a digital audio
archive with 40,000 hours of the Dalai Lama’s
teachings, about 4,000 books with translations of
ancient texts on the evolution of Buddhist thought,
and Buddhist artifacts from India and Tibet.
# ⚓ Atlantic Council ☛ If_the_West_wants_to_support_Iranian
women,_it_must_cut_diplomatic_ties_with_Tehran⠀⇛
However, there are two further approaches the West
can take short of military interference. The first
is to take actions that incentivize a change of
behavior. These would include, but are not limited
to, human rights sanctions and United Nations (UN)
mechanisms. The other, more impactful, approach
would be to gradually delegitimize the oppressive
government by cutting off diplomatic ties or
boycotting them from political, sporting, and
cultural events.
# ⚓ Scheerpost ☛ The_Four_Billionaires_Who_Want_to_Control_the
Universe⠀⇛
Taplin’s distinction between the oligarchs of new
and old is that the modern tech billionaires are
granted immunity for content published on their
platforms through Section 230 of the Communications
Decency Act. Taplin describes the control these
oligarchs possess over the speech dictated on their
platforms, “So here [Musk] controls this platform,
Twitter, and what he wants pushed gets pushed, what
he wants suppressed, gets suppressed. And nobody
even doubts that that’s happening.”
# ⚓ YLE ☛ APN_Podcast:_Sorry_not_sorry?_Finland_wrestles_with
racism⠀⇛
This week’s podcast asks whether Finland’s
government is doing enough to deal with racism.
# ⚓ Reason ☛ The_Geopolitics_of_Extraditing_Hackers⠀⇛
Episode 466 of the Cyberlaw Podcast
# ⚓ Techdirt ☛ 5th_Circuit_Cleans_Up_District_Court’s_Silly
Jawboning_Ruling_About_the_Biden_Admin,_Trims_It_Down_To_More
Accurately_Reflect_The_1st_Amendment⠀⇛
We’re going to go slow on this one, because there’s
a lot of background and details and nuance to get
into in Friday’s 5th Circuit appeals court ruling
in the Missouri v. Biden case that initially
resulted in a batshit crazy 4th of July ruling
regarding the US government “jawboning” social
media companies. The reporting on the 5th Circuit
ruling has been kinda atrocious, perhaps because
the end result of the ruling is this:
# ⚓ Techdirt ☛ 5th_Circuit_v._5th_Circuit:_When_Can_And_When
Can’t_The_Government_Coerce_Content_Moderation_Decisions?⠀⇛
So, I already wrote a long post walking through the
mostly very good 5th Circuit ruling in the Missouri
v. Biden case, in which the court threw out most of
the district court judge’s injunction against the
government communicating with social media
companies and academics. The end result is a very
good, straightforward ruling on the 1st Amendment
that reminds the government that they cannot coerce
social media platforms on how they moderate.
# ⚓ EFF ☛ EFF_Award_Winner:_Library_Freedom_Project⠀⇛
All are invited to attend the EFF Awards! Whether
you are an activist, an EFF supporter, a student
interested in cyberlaw or public interest
technology, or someone who wants to eat good food
and drink with other cool individuals, anyone can
have a fun time at the ceremony.
The celebration will begin at 6:30 pm. PT,
Thursday, September 14 at The Regency Lodge, 1290
Van Ness Ave. in San Francisco. Register today to
attend the event! We even have discounted tickets
for EFF members and students.
# ⚓ Techdirt ☛ Supreme_Court_Asked_To_Determine_Whether_A_Drug
Dog_Touching_A_Car_With_Its_Paws_Violates_The_Fourth
Amendment⠀⇛
“Probable cause on four legs.” That’s the nickname
for drug dogs, which give cops permission to
perform searches just by performing a neat little
trick cops call an “alert.” What constitutes an
“alert” is pretty much up to the dog’s handler, who
can claim any movement is the drug dog detecting
contraband or (deliberately or inadvertently)
prompt “alerts” just by being near the dog when the
sniff of a car is performed.
# ⚓ Atlantic Council ☛ Iran_will_never_go_back_to_the_way_it
was⠀⇛
While some argue that the ongoing anti-
establishment protests began in mid-September 2022,
the reality is that Iranians have been defying the
regime for years.
# ⚓ New York Times ☛ Swedish_E.U._Official_Johan_Floderus_Held
in_Iran_in_Brutal_Conditions⠀⇛
Relatives of Johan Floderus have released details
of his incarceration since April 2022, revving up a
public campaign on his birthday to bring him home.
# ⚓ RFERL ☛ Six_Iranian_Miners_Remain_In_Custody_A_Month_After
Protest⠀⇛
Six workers from the Agh-Dareh Vosta mines in West
Azerbaijan Province have been held in detention
since August 31, following union protests.
# ⚓ Press Gazette ☛ Jeremy_Vine’s_stalker_agrees_to_pay
‘substantial’_damages_to_presenter⠀⇛
Former local radio presenter Alex Belfield was
jailed for stalking Vine and others last year.
# ⚓ RFERL ☛ Iranian_Teachers’_Activist_Handed_Stiff_Sentence
After_Attending_Memorial_For_Slain_Protester⠀⇛
Prominent Iranian teachers’ union activist Abolfazl
Khoran has been handed a severe sentence by the
Islamic Revolutionary Court for “disrupting public
order” as the government continues to tightening
its grip on dissent and the labor movement.
# ⚓ 201_workers,_10_children_among_them,_killed_on_the_job_in
August⠀⇛
The number of workers killed on the job exceeded
200 in a month for the first time in twelve years
that the Health and Safety Labor Watch has been
collecting this data except for the coronavirus
pandemic period and the Soma mine disaster.
# ⚓ Off Guardian ☛ The_Next_Crisis_Is_Anyone’s_Guess,_But_the
Government_Is_Ready_to_Lockdown_the_Nation⠀⇛
“The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the
populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to
safety) by an endless series of hobgoblins, most of
them imaginary.” HL Mencken
First came 9/11, which the government used to
transform itself into a police state.
# ⚓ Unicorn Media ☛ EFF’s_Two_New_Board_Members_Bring_Equality
and_Security_Cred_to_the_Table⠀⇛
Two new seats on EFF’s board are filled by Erica
Astrella and Yoshi Kohno, who bring valuable
experience in diversity, equity, inclusion,
security research, and data privacy to the table.
o § Internet Policy/Net Neutrality⠀➾
# ⚓ Techdirt ☛ Critics_Say_Rules_Affixed_To_Biden’s_Massive
Broadband_Subsidy_Program_Boxes_Out_Small_ISPs_And_Community
Broadband⠀⇛
We’ve already noted how the 2021 infrastructure
bill aims to spend a whopping $42 billion on
broadband deployments via the Broadband Equity and
Deployment program (BEAD). We’ve also noted how big
regional monopolies are doing everything in their
power to ensure the lion’s share of that money goes
to them, and not smaller ISPs or a number of
popular, community-owned broadband networks.
o § Digital Restrictions (DRM)⠀➾
# ⚓ Digital Music News ☛ Spotify_CFO_Addresses_the_Podcasting
Elephant_In_the_Room_—_“Okay,_How_Can_We_Structure_Deals
Differently?” [Ed: Spotify loses billions of dollars. This is
'softball' session with the CFO, not covering the elephant in
the room.]⠀⇛
Spotify spent more than $1 billion building a
podcast empire that quickly crumbled around it.
# ⚓ Digital Music News ☛ Spotify_Is_Cracking_Down_on_White
Noise_Creators,_Removing_Them_From_Its_Lucrative_‘Ambassador
Ads’_Program [Ed: A form of censorship from surveillance
company unable to make a dime (huge losses)]⠀⇛
On Spotify, white noise creators can make up to
$18,000 per month recording ambient sounds meant
for background listening. According to a recent
report from Bloomberg, however, these podcast
aberrations will no longer be eligible for specific
ads.
# ⚓ Digital Music News ☛ Spotify_Adds_Patreon_Integration_for
Paid_Podcast_Content⠀⇛
Spotify is streamlining how it presents podcasts
with a new way for creators to grant patrons access
to paid content on the platform. Here’s a peek at
the Spotify + Patreon integration.
# ⚓ Digital Music News ☛ Spotify_Burned_Through_$41_Million_in
Podcast_Losses_Last_Quarter,_Financial_Filings_Show⠀⇛
Spotify took a $41 million loss in podcast-related
write-offs—mostly due to contract terminations. The
music company told investors it took steps to
shrink its real estate footprint and rationalize
certain areas of its podcasting business.
# ⚓ Digital Music News ☛ Are_More_Spotify_Layoffs_on_the_Way?
CFO_Paul_Vogel_Discloses_Plans_for_Lower_Year-Over-Year_Q3
Headcount:_‘We’re_Continuing_To_Become_More_Efficient’ [Ed:
Means, "we fail, we lose billions"]⠀⇛
Last month, after kicking off 2023 by trimming
about six percent of its global workforce, Spotify
announced approximately 200 podcasting layoffs.
Now, CFO Paul Vogel has indicated that his company
expects “headcount year over year to actually be
down in Q3,” and some are speculating that
additional personnel cutbacks could be on the way.
o § Monopolies⠀➾
# ⚓ India Times ☛ Google’s_dominance_of_internet_search_faces
major_challenge_in_legal_showdown_with_US_regulators⠀⇛
The US government is taking aim at what has been an
indomitable empire: Google’s ubiquitous search
engine that has become the internet’s main gateway.
The legal attack will swing into full force Tuesday
in a Washington DC federal courtroom that will
serve as the battleground for the biggest US
antitrust trial since regulators went after
Microsoft and its dominance of personal computer
software a quarter century ago.
# ⚓ India Times ☛ EU_antitrust_regulators_halt_Amazon,_iRobot
probe,_await_info⠀⇛
EU antitrust regulators have delayed their
investigation into Amazon’s $1.7 billion
acquisition of robot vacuum cleaner maker iRobot as
they wait for the companies to provide requested
information.
The European Commission, which acts as the
competition enforcer in the 27-country bloc, said
it stopped the clock on Sept. 8, with effect from
Aug. 29.
# § Patents⠀➾
# ⚓ Techdirt ☛ Gilead_Delayed_Introduction_Of_New_Version
of_HIV_Drug,_With_Fewer_Side_Effects,_Maximizing_Its
Patent_Monopoly_And_Profits⠀⇛
Techdirt has been writing about
“evergreening” for many years. It refers to
the practice by pharmaceutical companies of
making small changes to a drug, often about
to come off patent, in order to gain a new
patent that extends its manufacturer’s
monopoly control over it. The New York Times
has a story about the Big Pharma company
Gilead Sciences that involves evergreening,
but with a twist.
# § Copyrights⠀➾
# ⚓ Michael Geist ☛ Countering_Copyright_Misinformation:
Canadian_Libraries_Speak_Out_Against_Ongoing_Campaign
to_Undermine_User_Rights⠀⇛
I had no involvement whatsoever with the
statement, but was happy to tweet it out and
was grateful for the effort to set the record
straight on what has been a relentless
misinformation campaign that ignores the
foundational principles of copyright law.
# ⚓ Creative Commons ☛ Peter-Lucas_Jones_to_Keynote_CC
Global_Summit_2023⠀⇛
We have an incredible group of people lined
up to be keynote speakers at the 2023 CC
Global Summit, to be held 3–6 October in
Mexico City. Recently we announced Anya
Kamenetz, and now in our second announcement,
we welcome Peter-Lucas Jones, who will
address the Summit with a keynote that grows
out of his work as a leading figure in Māori
media and his collaborations to honor local
and traditional knowledge and culture in a
global context.
# ⚓ Michael Geist ☛ Countering_Copyright_Misinformation:
Canadian_Libraries_Speak_Out_Against_Ongoing_Campaign
to_Undermine_User_Rights⠀⇛
Last month, the Canadian Federation of
Library Associations released a much-needed
statement that sought to counter the ongoing
misinformation campaign from copyright lobby
groups regarding the state of Canadian
copyright and the extensive licensing by
libraries and educational institutions. I had
no involvement whatsoever with the statement,
but was happy to tweet it out and was
grateful for the effort to set the record
straight on what has been a relentless
misinformation campaign that ignores the
foundational principles of copyright law.
Lobby groups have for years tried to convince
the government that 2012 copyright reforms
are to blame for the diminished value of the
Access Copyright licence that led Canadian
educational institutions to seek other
alternatives, most notably better licensing
options that offer greater flexibility,
access to materials, and usage rights. This
is false, and when the CFLA dared to call it
out, those same groups then expressed their
“profound disappointment” in the library
association.
# ⚓ Hollywood Reporter ☛ ‘Winnie-The-Pooh:_Blood_and
Honey’_Sequel_First-Look_Images_Revealed_(Exclusive)⠀⇛
The Hollywood Reporter can exclusively reveal
the first stills from Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood
and Honey 2, the follow-up to the micro-
budget British slasher that went viral last
year for its childhood-bludgeoning premise,
became one of the most talked about films of
2023 and would earn $5.2 million in the
global box office after costing under
$100,000 to make.
Currently in production, the sequel comes
with a bigger budget, more kills and even an
Olivier Award-winning, BAFTA-nominated star
in the form of Simon Callow (Four Weddings
and a Funeral), who has joined the cast.
䷩ 𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚎 4970
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⠀⌧ █▇▆▅▄▃▂▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁ 09.12.23⠀▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▂▃▄▅▆▇█ ⌧
Gemini_version_available_♊︎
✐ Links_12/09/2023:_pgexporter_0.4_Released,_Microsoft_Covering_Up_Massive
Breach⠀✐
Posted in News_Roundup at 8:41 pm by Dr. Roy Schestowitz
🄸🄼🄰🄶🄴 🄳🄴🅂🄲🅁🄸🄿🅃🄸🄾🄽 ⦇GNOME bluefish⦈
§ Contents⠀➾
* GNU/Linux
o Server
o Applications
o Instructionals/Technical
o Desktop_Environments/WMs
# K_Desktop_Environment/KDE_SC/Qt
* Distributions_and_Operating_Systems
o Debian_Family
o Canonical/Ubuntu_Family
o Open_Hardware/Modding
o Mobile_Systems/Mobile_Applications
* Free,_Libre,_and_Open_Source_Software
o SaaS/Back_End/Databases
o Content_Management_Systems_(CMS)
o FSF
o Programming/Development
# Perl_/_Raku
# Python
* Leftovers
o Hardware
o Health/Nutrition/Agriculture
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
* § GNU/Linux⠀➾
o § Server⠀➾
# ⚓ Eclipse_Foundation_Finds_Cloud_Native_Gaining_Ground⠀⇛
An Eclipse Foundation survey found 35% of an
organization’s most critical applications are now
cloud native.
o § Applications⠀➾
# ⚓ Linux Links ☛ Manage_your_Business_with_a_Complete_Software
Solution⠀⇛
To provide an insight into the quality of software
that is available, here’s our recommended open
source Business Process Management software
o § Instructionals/Technical⠀➾
# ⚓ Own HowTo ☛ How_to_change_the_size_of_Terminal_window_on
Linux⠀⇛
The size of terminal window is defined by the
system, so this may change from system to system.
For example, in Debian the default size of the
terminal is quite big, and it takes almost the
whole screen, especially if your machine’s screen
is small.
# ⚓ FOSSLinux ☛ How_to_install_different_versions_of_Java_on
Ubuntu⠀⇛
Navigating the installation of different Java
versions on Ubuntu can sometimes feel like
traversing a labyrinth. Whether you are a seasoned
developer needing multiple versions for various
projects, or a beginner aiming to get a grip on
different Java environments, understanding how to
effectively manage different versions is crucial.
Ubuntu, with its robust and versatile framework,
allows users to switch between different Java
versions seamlessly, adapting to the specific needs
of their projects.
# ⚓ Fixed_vs._Rolling_vs._Semi-Rolling_Release_Models_in_Linux
Distros⠀⇛
In the realm of Linux, software updates are
typically delivered to users through three distinct
models: fixed release, rolling release, and semi-
rolling release.
# ⚓ Linux Links ☛ tap_is_a_terminal-based_music_player_with
fuzzy-finder⠀⇛
tap is terminal-based music player for the terminal
that lets you jump to any album with fuzzy-finder
shortcuts.
# ⚓ ZDNet ☛ Two_tricks_that_make_using_the_Linux_command_line_a
lot_easier⠀⇛
Using the Linux command line doesn’t have to be the
chore you think it is.
# ⚓ Cloudbooklet ☛ How_to_Create_Your_Own_VPN⠀⇛
Create your own VPN server on the cloud is a way to
enjoy the benefits of using a VPN without the
drawbacks of using a VPN service.
o § Desktop Environments/WMs⠀➾
# § K Desktop Environment/KDE SC/Qt⠀➾
# ⚓ QtWayland_6.6_Brings_Robustness_Through_Compositor
Handoffs⠀⇛
Every release has a killer feature. Qt 6.6
features the opposite – staying alive. This
blog post describes work to make Qt clients
more robust and seemlessly migrate between
compositors, providing resistance against
compositor crashes and more.
§ Prologue
Right now if you restart pulseaudio your
sound might cut out, restart NetworkManager
and you lose your wifi, restart an X11 window
manager and your decorations disappear.
But within a second it’s all back to normal
exactly where you left off with everything
recovering fine.
This isn’t true for display servers. If X11
restarts you’re back at the login prompt. All
drafts lost, games unsaved, work wasted.
* § Distributions and Operating Systems⠀➾
o § Debian Family⠀➾
# ⚓ Debian_Brasil:_Debian_Day_30_anos_in_Maceió_–_Brazil⠀⇛
The Debian Day in Maceió 2023 took place at the
Senai auditorium in Maceió with the support and
organization of Oxe_Hacker_Club.
There were around 90 people registered, and 40
ateendees present on Saturday to participate in the
event, which featured the following 6 talks: [...]
# ⚓ Debian_Disguised_Work:_Sven_Luther,_Thomas_Bushnell_&
Debian’s_September_11_discussion⠀⇛
Today is the anniversary of the tragic attacks on
the United States, where we remember thousands of
civilians who died, especially the emergency
services who risked their lives trying to help the
victims.
We began to explore Debian’s_relation_with
September_11_in_2022.
It is interesting to look at the way people reacted
to the crisis in the rest of the world. Many people
added comments into multiple threads on the debian-
private_(leaked)_gossip_network. Today we will
simply look at an exchange between Sven_Luther and
Thomas_Bushnell.
o § Canonical/Ubuntu Family⠀➾
# ⚓ Ubuntu News ☛ Ubuntu_Weekly_Newsletter_Issue_804⠀⇛
Welcome to the Ubuntu Weekly Newsletter, Issue 804
for the week of September 3 – 9, 2023.
o § Open Hardware/Modding⠀➾
# ⚓ Purism ☛ Purism_Launches_New_Secure_Librem_11_Tablet⠀⇛
Purism is excited to be introducing the new Librem
11 tablet running secure PureBoot and linux kernel
based PureOS by default.
Today most tablets run operating systems that limit
personal freedom and are designed to be as
intrusive as possible.
Unlike tablets supported by the Android OS, Apple
iOS, or Microsoft Windows, the Librem 11 tablet
runs PureBoot and PureOS offering the best
security, privacy, and freedom respecting features
that include…
# ⚓ Liliputing ☛ Purism_Librem_11_is_a_$999_Linux_tablet_with_a
2.5K_AMOLED_display_and_Celeron_N5100⠀⇛
o § Mobile Systems/Mobile Applications⠀➾
# ⚓ TechRadar ☛ Beware_of_dodgy_Android_TV_boxes_are_laced_with
malware_|_TechRadar⠀⇛
# ⚓ Notebook Check ☛ Google_Camera_9.0_update_rolls_out_for
Android_14_ahead_of_Pixel_8_and_Pixel_8_Pro_releases_–
NotebookCheck.net_News⠀⇛
# ⚓ India Times ☛ X90_Pro:_Vivo_announces_Android_14_Preview
for_X90_Pro:_All_the_details_–_Times_of_India⠀⇛
# ⚓ 9to5Google ☛ HMD_Global_will_make_self-branded_Android
phones⠀⇛
# ⚓ 9to5Google ☛ Wix_adds_tap-to-pay_on_Android_phones⠀⇛
* § Free, Libre, and Open Source Software⠀➾
o § SaaS/Back End/Databases⠀➾
# ⚓ PostgreSQL ☛ pgexporter_0.4⠀⇛
The pgexporter community is happy to announce
version 0.4.0.
This release was driven by @resyfer and his GSoC
2023 project.
New Features
# Support for PostgreSQL 10 – 16
# Documentation for Grafana integration
# ⚓ PostgreSQL ☛ Call_for_New_Members_for_the_Community_Code_of
Conduct_Committee⠀⇛
This message is being sent from the Community Code
of Conduct Committee, with the approval of the Core
Team.
As part of the Community CoC policy, the Committee
membership is to be refreshed on an annual basis.
We are seeking up to three (3) volunteers to serve
on the Committee for the coming year, October 1,
2023 – September 30, 2024.
We are seeking people who reflect the diversity of
the PostgreSQL community, with the goal to have
members from multiple countries and varied
demographics.
The time commitment for Committee involvement
varies, based on internal administrative work and
the number of active investigations. We estimate an
average of 5 to 10 hours per month, but that could
increase if there is an increase in the number of
incident reports.
o § Content Management Systems (CMS)⠀➾
# ⚓ WordPress ☛ The_Month_in_WordPress_–_August_2023⠀⇛
August 2023 marked another exciting chapter in
WordPress, with the Community Summit and WordCamp
US bringing the community together for meaningful
discussions, knowledge sharing, and learning. This
month also welcomed the long-awaited WordPress 6.3
release and offered a glimpse of what’s to come.
o § FSF⠀➾
# ⚓ FSF ☛ FSF_News:_FSF_job_opportunity:_Operations_assistant⠀⇛
The Free Software Foundation (FSF), a Massachusetts
501(c)(3) charity with a worldwide mission to
protect and promote computer-user freedom, seeks a
motivated and organized Boston-based individual to
be our full-time operations assistant.
o § Programming/Development⠀➾
# ⚓ Adam_Young:_Following_a_code_path_in_the_Linux_Kernel
without_a_debugger⠀⇛
Sometimes you don’t get to use a debugger. When do
bare metal development, often it is faster to get
to the root of a problem by throwing in trace
statements, and seeing what path is taken through
the code.
# ⚓ Collabora ☛ Empowering_Open_Source_at_IBC_2023⠀⇛
Collabora is headed to Amsterdam! This year, we
will be showcasing some of our recent work on the
DAB protocol, as well as the software integration
of LCEVC, MPEG’s novel enhancement codec, into the
GStreamer multimedia framework.
# ⚓ Trail Of Bits ☛ Holy_Macroni!_A_recipe_for_progressive
language_enhancement⠀⇛
By Brent Pappas Despite its use for refactoring and
static analysis tooling, Clang has a massive
shortcoming: the Clang AST does not provide
provenance information about which CPP macro
expansions a given AST node is expanded from; nor
does it lower macro expansions down to LLVM
Intermediate Representation (IR) code.
# § Perl / Raku⠀➾
# ⚓ Rakulang ☛ Rakudo_Weekly_2023.37_Issuing⠀⇛
Elizabeth Mattijsen got inspired by their
work on the Raku grammar to make three
problem solving issues that may affect the
future of the Raku Programming Language: As
usual all comments and suggestions on these
issues are welcome!
# § Python⠀➾
# ⚓ Linux Hint ☛ How_to_Use_the_Python_Generator
Functions_Howto⠀⇛
In Python, the generator function is similar
to the normal function unless the “yield”
keyword is used to return the value instead
of the “return” keyword.
# ⚓ Linux Hint ☛ Scipy_Stats_Fit⠀⇛
The scipy.stats module is used along with
several distribution functions, such as norm
(), expon(), and beta(), etc., to fit the
data on these distributions.
# ⚓ Linux Hint ☛ Python_String_Formatting_Tutorial⠀⇛
The “string.format()”, “% Operator”, “f-
strings”, and “String Template Class” methods
are used to format a string in Python.
# ⚓ Linux Hint ☛ Python_OS_Copy⠀⇛
The “os.system()” method of the “os” module
takes the string-type command as an argument
and executes it to copy the files from one
place to another.
# ⚓ Linux Hint ☛ Python_File_detach()_Method⠀⇛
The file.detach() method in Python is used to
detach the binary buffer from a TextIOBase
object and returns the underlying raw stream.
# ⚓ Linux Hint ☛ Python_AssertionError⠀⇛
The “assert statement” in Python is used to
find errors in the code. If the statement is
false, it will show an error message called
“AssertionError”.
* § Leftovers⠀➾
o ⚓ University of Michigan ☛ Web_developer’s_photography_passion
takes_flight⠀⇛
Jocelyn Anderson, a web developer in LSA, has
photographed or taken video of more than 200 species of
birds in Michigan and shares them on her Instagram
account and website.
o § Hardware⠀➾
# ⚓ Ruben Schade ☛ “Bang_for_the_buck”_when_picking_a_graphics
card⠀⇛
Read or watch any advice about choosing a GPU, and
you’ll likely be given one of the following pieces
of advice:
AI-written spam with a vague comparison table,
concluded with choose one that’s right for you.
People don’t know what’s right for them, that’s why
they landed on your article!
Those who say you should always buy the best
graphics card you can for your budget. It’s the
part of any build that will make the most
difference to gameplay or graphics workstation
tasks.
# ⚓ Tom’s Hardware ☛ TSMC_Rumored_to_Partner_With_Nvidia_and
Broadcom_on_Silicon_Photonics_Tech⠀⇛
Nvidia and Broadcom are exploring silicon photonics
to boost their AI and HPC datacenter platform.
# ⚓ CNX Software ☛ Sony_energy_harvesting_module_generates
power_from_electromagnetic_wave_noise⠀⇛
Sony Semiconductor Solutions Corporation (SSS) has
developed an energy harvesting module that uses
electromagnetic wave noise energy to power IoT
devices. The new module leverages Sony’s tuner
development process to generate power from
electromagnetic wave noise from robots inside
factories, monitors and lighting in offices,
monitors and TVs in stores and homes, etc. in order
to provide a stable power supply needed to run low-
power IoT sensors and communications equipment. The
tiny 7×7 mm module uses the metal parts of
electronic devices that serve as the source of
electromagnetic wave noise as part of an antenna
and employs a rectifier circuit in order to convert
electromagnetic wave noise in a range of several Hz
to 100 MHz into electrical energy and supply power
to low-power consumption IoT sensors and
communications equipment or
# ⚓ Silicon Angle ☛ Qualcomm_shares_jump_on_surprise_Apple
modem_chip_deal⠀⇛
Shares of Qualcomm Inc. jumped more than 3.8% today
after the chipmaker announced that Apple Inc. will
keep using its mobile modem chips for the next
three years. Apple was previously expected to
significantly scale back its use of the modems as
early as this year.
# ⚓ Tom’s Hardware ☛ Starfield_on_AMD’s_GPUs_Fails_to_Render
Stars⠀⇛
Starfield has plenty of problems at launch, and the
latest to gain notice is that it’s not rendering
the primary sun for planets on AMD graphics cards.
We’ve confirmed things look correct on Nvidia and
Intel hardware.
o § Health/Nutrition/Agriculture⠀➾
# ⚓ New York Times ☛ Biden’s_News_Conference_in_Vietnam_Ignites
His_Opponents⠀⇛
The president’s top aides believe that stories
about the president’s age and health are stoked by
his enemies in an effort to undermine his
accomplishments.
o § Security⠀➾
# ⚓ LWN ☛ Security_updates_for_Tuesday/a>⠀⇛
Security updates have been issued by Debian (node-
cookiejar and orthanc), Oracle (firefox, kernel,
and kernel-container), Red Hat (flac and httpd:
2.4), Slackware (vim), SUSE (python-Django,
terraform-provider-aws, terraform-provider-helm,
and terraform-provider-null), and Ubuntu (c-ares,
curl, linux-azure, linux-azure-5.15, linux-azure-
fde, linux-azure-fde-5.15, linux-raspi, and linux-
ibm, linux-ibm-5.4).
# ⚓ TecAdmin ☛ Testing_for_Host_Header_Injection
Vulnerabilities⠀⇛
In the ever-evolving realm of web security, Host
Header Injection stands as one of the
vulnerabilities that can potentially plague web
applications. This flaw arises when a web
application or server does not properly validate or
restrict the Host header in incoming HTTP requests,
thereby exposing it to malicious exploitation.
# ⚓ Cloudbooklet ☛ 8_Best_Tools_for_Website_Malware_Scanning
Online_Free⠀⇛
Scan your website for malware and other security
issues with Website Malware Scan. Get a detailed
report and guidance on how to fix the issues.
# ⚓ New York Times ☛ China_Sows_Disinformation_About_Hawaii
Fires_Using_New_Techniques [Ed: New York Times cites
"researchers from Microsoft and other organizations" as if
they're experts in this area; this is how Microsoft is
distracting from the fact that China breached everything at
Microsoft -- a topic that should be at the front paper of
every paper]⠀⇛
Beijing’s influence campaign using artificial
intelligence is a rapid change in tactics,
researchers from Microsoft and other organizations
say.
# ⚓ IT Wire ☛ Microsoft_cloud_breach_report_‘leaves_many
questions_unanswered’⠀⇛
Cloud security company Wiz.io says there are many
unanswered questions raised by Microsoft’s final
report into a breach of its Azure cloud platform,
pointing out that the threat actor, given the name
Storm-0558, may have been forging authentication
tokens for more than two years given the timeline
in the report.
# ⚓ Security Week ☛ After_Microsoft_and_X,_Hackers_Launch_DDoS
Attack_on_Telegram⠀⇛
Anonymous Sudan launches a DDoS attack against
Telegram in retaliation for the suspension of their
primary account on the platform.
# ⚓ IT Wire ☛ No_hacker_will_be_able_to_improve_security_in
industry⠀⇛
Among other achievements, the CDC is known for Back
Orifice, a program designed for remote
administration, the brainchild of Sir Dystic, a
member of CDC. Back Orifice was named to bring
attention to the poor security in Windows.
# ⚓ Tom’s Hardware ☛ Microsoft_Announces_Endgame_for_Third-
Party_Windows_Printer_Drivers⠀⇛
Microsoft is focusing on Mopria-compliant printers
using the IPP Class Driver.
# ⚓ SANS ☛ Apple_fixes_0-Day_Vulnerability_in_Older_Operating
Systems,_(Mon,_Sep_11th)⠀⇛
This update fixes the ImageIO vulnerability Apple
patched for current operating systems last week.
Now, Apple follows up with a patch for its older,
but still supported, operating system versions.
# ⚓ New York Times ☛ Chinese_Warnings_on_iPhones_Tap_Deep
Strain_of_Security_Concerns⠀⇛
For years, officials in China have been told to
shun foreign devices. Now reports of renewed curbs
have unnerved Apple’s investors, heightening
geopolitical tensions.
# ⚓ Security Week ☛ Bookstore_Chain_Dymocks_Discloses_Data
Breach_Possibly_Impacting_800k_Customers⠀⇛
The personal information of more than 800,000
individuals was stolen from bookstore chain Dymocks
in a cyberattack last week.
/blockquote>
# ⚓ Security Week ☛ Associated_Press_Stylebook_Users_Targeted
in_Phishing_Attack_Following_Data_Breach⠀⇛
Cybercriminals breached an AP Stylebook website and
obtained information on customers who were then
targeted in phishing attacks.
# ⚓ Security Week ☛ FBI_Blames_North_Korean_Hackers_for_$41
Million_Stake.com_Heist⠀⇛
FBI says North Korean hacking group Lazarus has
stolen $41 million in cryptocurrency from online
betting platform Stake.com.
# ⚓ Silicon Angle ☛ ‘Cybersecurity_issue’_disables_computer
systems_at_MGM_Resorts⠀⇛
MGM Resorts International Inc., best known as an
operator of casinos in Las Vegas, has been forced
to shut down some casino and hotel systems
following what the company described as a
“cybersecurity issue.”
# ⚓ Data Breaches ☛ MGM_Resorts_hit_in_disruptive_cyberattack⠀⇛
Long-time readers may recall a story in January
2017 about a luxury hotel that reportedly paid
extortion to ransomware attackers because guests
were locked in their rooms. Some of the story was
ultimately considered to be fake news, although the
whole scenario initially seemed possible at the
time.
Fast forward more than six years and MGM Resorts
has been hit, and as part of the consequences of
the digital attack, some guests may be having
trouble getting into their rooms.
# ⚓ New York Times ☛ ‘Cybersecurity_Issue’_Forces_Systems
Shutdown_at_MGM_Hotels_and_Casinos⠀⇛
Company websites were down, and some guests
complained of problems with slot machines and hotel
room access. Cybersecurity experts point to a
likely cyberattack.
# ⚓ Data Breaches ☛ Hospital_Sisters_Health_System’s_CFO_exits
as_it_continues_to_handle_‘cybersecurity_incident’⠀⇛
HSHS still hasn’t forthrightly disclosed whether
this was a ransomware incident or not, although it
certainly reads like one. No ransomware group has
publicly claimed responsibility for the attack at
this point.
# ⚓ The Business Journals ☛ Local_health_care_system’s_CFO
exits_as_it_continues_to_handle_‘cybersecurity_incident’⠀⇛
The chief financial officer of Hospital Sisters
Health System (HSHS), which operates several
facilities in Metro East, has exited the nonprofit,
while it continues to fight a “cybersecurity
incident” that began impacting its operations late
last month.
Kimberly Hodgkinson, who has served as the senior
vice president and chief financial officer of the
Springfield, Illinois-based system since July 2022,
left her position as of Friday, a spokeswoman
confirmed to the Business Journal.
# ⚓ Security Week ☛ Vulnerabilities_Allow_Hackers_to_Hijack,
Disrupt_Socomec_UPS_Devices⠀⇛
A researcher has found 7 vulnerabilities in Socomec
UPS products that can be exploited to hijack and
disrupt devices.
# ⚓ Data Breaches ☛ Bloom_Health_Centers_discloses_data_breach
involving_mental_health_data_of_1,545_patients⠀⇛
On September 11, Psych Associates of Maryland LLC
d/b/a Bloom Health Centers (“Bloom Health”), a
mental health service provider, announced a data
security incident that involved the personal and
protected health information of some clinicians and
patients.
Before digging into the details, note that some
affected patients may have been treated by a Bloom
Health doctor at Dominion Hospital. Dominion
Hospital is not affiliated with Bloom Health
Centers, but allows Bloom Health providers to serve
their patients at the hospital. Additionally,
certain patients may have been originally seen at
companies acquired by Bloom Health, including Psych
Associates of Maryland, Comprehensive Behavioral
Health, and Kraus Behavioral Health.
# ⚓ KSTP TV ☛ St._Paul_Public_Schools_notifies_families_of_data
breach_from_February⠀⇛
St. Paul Public Schools notified families and staff
last week of a “data security incident” last winter
that may have exposed students’ names and email
addresses.
In a letter sent out on Friday, the district said
it became aware of the issue in February and
flagged the FBI, Minnesota IT Services and the
Minnesota Department of Public Safety to
investigate “an unauthorized third party” that had
accessed district data.
The full scope of the breach wasn’t made clear
until mid-July, but SPPS says it has identified
everyone whose data might have been accessed. At
this point, the district says it “has no reason to
believe” there was any fraudulent use of anyone’s
personal information.
# ⚓ Save_the_Children_confirms_systems_breach⠀⇛
Save the Children appears to have been hacked by
the Chinese data extortion gang BianLian, according
to data posted to the latter’s victim blog. Though
it does not mention the charity by name, the
cybercrime organisation claims to have stolen up to
8GB of files from an international NGO “employing
over 25,000 staff and operating in 116 countries”,
a description experts have said fits the profile of
Save the Children.
[….]
Save the Children confirmed that an outside party
had obtained unauthorised access to part of its
network, though it stressed that there had been no
operational disruption as a result. “We are working
hard with external specialists to understand what
happened and what data was impacted, so we can take
all the appropriate next steps,” a spokesperson
told Tech Monitor. “Our systems are also secured,
and we are confident in the ongoing integrity of
our IT infrastructure.”
# ⚓ Michigan News ☛ Cybercrime_investigation_causes_half-day
for_East_Jackson_schools⠀⇛
A potential cybercrime is causing classes to be cut
to a half day in East Jackson Community Schools on
Tuesday, Sept. 12, officials said.
The incident currently is under investigation by
the Blackman-Leoni Department of Public Safety.
School officials learned of the potential
cybercrime Tuesday morning, Superintendent Steve
Doerr said.
# ⚓ US Dept Of Health and Human Services ☛ HHS_Office_for_Civil
Rights_Settles_with_L.A._Care_Health_Plan_Over_Potential
HIPAA_Security_Rule_Violations⠀⇛
Today, the U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services’ Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced a
settlement of potential violations of the Health
Insurance Portability and Accountability Act
(HIPAA) Rules with LA Care, the nation’s largest
publicly operated health plan that provides health
care benefits and coverage through state, federal,
and commercial programs. OCR enforces the HIPAA
Privacy, Security, and Breach Notification Rules
that set the requirements that HIPAA-regulated
entities must follow to protect the privacy and
security of protected health information (PHI). The
settlement concludes two OCR investigations
initiated from a large breach report and a media
article regarding a separate security incident.
Under the agreement, LA Care agreed to pay
$1,300,000 and to implement a corrective action
plan, discussed in further detail below, which
identifies steps LA Care will take to resolve these
potential violations of the HIPAA Security Rule and
protect the security of electronic protected health
information (ePHI).
# ⚓ Brazil’s_government_convicted_for_data_leak_exposed_by_The
Brazilian_Report⠀⇛
Federal government agencies were convicted for
leaking data of beneficiaries of Auxilio Brasil, a
flagship federal aid program now renamed as Bolsa
Familia, to financial agencies offering payroll
deduction loans to low-income Brazilians.
Prior to elections last year, the administration of
former President Jair Bolsonaro launched a program
allowing people enrolled in aid programs to sign up
for payroll deduction loans – a government push to
create feel-good factors around the economy.
# ⚓ Data Breaches ☛ Rhysida_claims_responsibility_for_attacks
on_two_U.S._health_systems:_Prospect_Medical_Holdings,
Singing_River_Health⠀⇛
On August 3, Prospect Medical Holdings disclosed a
ransomware attack that affected some of its 16
hospitals and 10 clinics, including three hospitals
in Connecticut and hospitals run by Crozer Health.
Although they have made some progress with
recovery, a note on their website today states,
“Prospect Medical Holdings, along with all Prospect
Medical facilities, is experiencing a systemwide
outage. We are working to resolve the issue as soon
as possible and regret any inconvenience.”
For its part, Rhysida ransomware gang claimed
responsibility for the attack, stating, “They
kindly provided: more than 500000 SSN, passports of
their clients and employees, driver’s licenses,
patient files (profile, medical history), financial
and legal documents!!! If you are interested in our
partner’s confidential documents, you will be able
to purchase them too!!! Total 1TB unique files, as
well as 1.3TB SQL database.”
# § Privacy/Surveillance⠀➾
# ⚓ California_Privacy_Protection_Agency_publishes_new
draft_regulations_addressing_AI,_risk_assessments,
cyber_audits⠀⇛
The California Privacy Protection Agency
(CPPA) recently published two new sets of
draft regulations addressing a range of
cutting-edge data protection issues. Although
the CPPA has not officially started the
formal rulemaking process, the Draft
Cybersecurity Audit Regulations and the Draft
Risk Assessment Regulations will serve as the
foundation for the process moving forward.
Discussion of the draft regulations will be a
central topic of the CPPA’s upcoming
September 8th meeting.
Among the noteworthy aspects to the draft
Regulations are (1) a proposed definition of
“artificial intelligence” that differentiates
the technology from automated decision-
making; (2) transparency obligations for
companies that train AI to be used by
consumers or other businesses; and (3) a
significant list of potential harms to be
considered by businesses when conducting risk
assessments.
# ⚓ Federal News Network ☛ Candidate_in_high-stakes
Virginia_election_performed_sex_acts_with_husband_in
live_videos⠀⇛
A candidate in a high-stakes legislative
contest in Virginia performed sex acts with
her husband in live videos posted on a
pornographic website while asking viewers to
pay them with “tokens” or ”tips” for
individual requests. The Washington Post
first reported the videos on Monday. Susanna
Gibson, a Democrat running for a seat in the
Virginia House of Delegates in a district
just outside Richmond, said in a written
statement that exposing the videos is “an
illegal invasion of my privacy designed to
humiliate me and my family.”
# ⚓ Grimes:_‘Clueless’_Elon_Musk_sent_photo_of_me_having
C-section_to_friends,_family⠀⇛
The “Genesis” singer told biographer Walter
Isaacson that the SpaceX founder was
“clueless” as to why she would be upset about
the intimate photo being distributed.
# ⚓ New Yorker ☛ Would_Steven_Soderbergh_Kill_Baby
Facebook?⠀⇛
The director of “Command Z”—a series about a
regretful, time-bending billionaire, played
by Michael Cera—ponders time-machine-aided
do-overs with the writer Kurt Andersen.
# ⚓ Security Week ☛ Spies,_Hackers,_Informants:_How_China
Snoops_on_the_West⠀⇛
Some of the ways China has worked to spy on
the West in recent years.
# ⚓ Hong Kong Free Press ☛ China_slams_UK_spying_reports
as_‘political_farce’_and_‘malicious_slander⠀⇛
China has lashed out at media reports
alleging a man who was arrested on suspicion
of espionage was gathering intelligence for
Beijing, labelling the claim a “political
farce”.
o § Defence/Aggression⠀➾
# ⚓ RFERL ☛ Georgia_Introduces_Visa-Free_Visits_For_Chinese
Citizens⠀⇛
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Gharibashvili said
that as of September 11, Chinese citizens can enter
the South Caucasus nation without visas.
# ⚓ New York Times ☛ The_50th_Anniversary_of_the_Chile_Coup_in
Photos⠀⇛
Gen. Augusto Pinochet led the violent overthrow of
the socialist government of Salvador Allende,
seizing power for nearly 17 years. Here is a
selection of photographs from the coup and its
aftermath.
# ⚓ Vice Media Group ☛ The_9/11_Memes_the_Government_Deemed
Worthy_of_Preserving_in_the_National_Archive⠀⇛
The Bush White House and the National Archive saved
early internet era 9/11 memes involving ‘The
Sopranos’ and ‘The Terminator.’
# ⚓ France24 ☛ Syrian_militia_leader_close_to_Assad_attends
Special_Olympics_meeting_in_Paris⠀⇛
Omar al-Aroub, the current second-in-command in a
Syrian pro-regime militia accused of war crimes
travelled to Paris in August 2023 and received an
official welcome as head of the Syrian Paralympic
Committee. Our team identified images of al-Aroub
armed and in uniform, wearing the logo of the
Ba’ath Brigades. A man with links to al-Aroub
confirmed his role in the brutal repression of
anti-regime protests in Aleppo in 2011.
# ⚓ Federal News Network ☛ Outrage_intensifies_over_New_Mexico
governor’s_temporary_gun_ban_as_sheriff_vows_not_to_enforce
it⠀⇛
New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham says she’d
welcome a fight after announcing an emergency order
to suspend the right to publicly carry guns around
Albuquerque. That’s what she’s getting. Since the
Democrat issued the 30-day public health order
Friday, a furor has rained down from gun owners,
GOP lawmakers and civil rights advocates. The
sheriff for the county that includes Albuquerque
vowed Monday not to enforce the order. A gun rights
group asked a federal court to block it from taking
effect. Meanwhile, anti-gun groups applauded the
measure, which bans open and concealed carry in
most public places in and around Albuquerque.
# ⚓ Security Week ☛ US_Marks_22_Years_Since_9/11 Terrorist
Attacks⠀⇛
One organization is hoping to transform the
anniversary of 9/11 into a day of doing good.
# § Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine⠀➾
# ⚓ Latvia ☛ Municipalities_want_financial_help_setting
up_local_police_forces⠀⇛
As of January 1, 2024, all municipalities in
Latvia are obliged to establish and finance a
local, municipal police. State money is not
intended for this purpose and local
governments have to finance their autonomous
functions, such as ensuring public order and
security, themselves.
o § Environment⠀➾
# ⚓ New York Times ☛ Hundreds_Reported_Dead_in_Severe_Libya
Flooding⠀⇛
The waters swept away hundreds of homes as
emergency officials raced to find survivors of the
flooding caused by torrential weekend rains.
Officials in one city described “catastrophic”
devastation.
# § Energy/Transportation⠀➾
# ⚓ Barry Kauler ☛ Tadpole_trike_front_suspension_ideas⠀⇛
A “tadpole” recumbent trike has two wheels at
the front, a “delta” trike has two wheels at
the back. The tadpole trike I have on order,
currently en-route from China, is the tadpole
variety.
Most trikes that I see in Australia have no
suspension, occasionally see one with rear
suspension. Mine also is the rear-suspension-
only type. I recently read that only about
30% of the impact of hitting bumps comes up
via the rear wheel, which does make a good
case for wanting front suspension. However,
as there are two front wheels, if one wheel
hits a bump it won’t be transferred directly
upward, but via the frame arm — in other
words there will be some twisting of the
frame that will absorb the bump.
o § Finance⠀➾
# ⚓ France24 ☛ US_clears_way_for_prisoner_swap_with_Iran_and
release_$6_billion_in_frozen_funds⠀⇛
The Biden administration has cleared the way for
the release of five American citizens detained in
Iran by issuing a blanket waiver for international
banks to transfer $6 billion in frozen Iranian
money from South Korea to Qatar without fear of US
sanctions. In addition, as part of the deal, the
administration has agreed to release five Iranian
citizens held in the United States.
# ⚓ RFERL ☛ Biden_Administration_Said_To_Issue_$6_Billion
Sanctions_Waiver_Amid_Signs_Of_U.S.-Iran_Prisoner_Swap⠀⇛
The Biden administration has cleared the way for
the release of five American citizens detained in
Iran by issuing a blanket waiver for international
banks to transfer $6 billion in frozen Iranian
money from South Korea to Qatar without fear of
U.S. sanctions, according to AP.
# ⚓ TwinCities Pioneer Press ☛ US_moves_to_advance_prisoner
swap_deal_with_Iran_and_release_$6_billion_in_frozen_Iranian
funds⠀⇛
The Biden administration has cleared the way for
the release of five American citizens detained in
Iran by issuing a blanket waiver for international
banks to transfer $6 billion in frozen Iranian
money in South Korea without fear of U.S.
sanctions. Secretary of State Antony Blinken signed
off on the move last week but Congress was not
notified of the decision until Monday, according to
the notification, which was obtained by The
Associated Press. The waiver means that European,
Middle Eastern and Asian banks will not run afoul
of U.S. sanctions in converting the frozen money in
South Korea and transferring it to Qatar’s central
bank, where it will be held for Iran to use for the
purchase of humanitarian goods.
# ⚓ New York Times ☛ How_Tokyo_Achieves_Affordable_Housing⠀⇛
Tokyo has succeeded in maintaining an abundance of
affordable housing because it has no downtown, many
railroads and laws that make it easy to build.
# ⚓ European Commission ☛ Summer_2023_Economic_Forecast:_Easing
growth_momentum_amid_declining_inflation_and_robust_labour
market⠀⇛
European Commission Press release Brussels, 11 Sep
2023 The European Commission has today presented
the Summer 2023 Economic Forecast.
# ⚓ New York Times ☛ How_the_U.S._Economy_Is_Taming_Inflation
Without_a_Recession
[Ed: Pure propaganda from NY Times; this is Communist Party
territories; the economy sagged, US nearly defaulted on the
debt, now they say "Without a Recession".]⠀⇛
The optimists were right. But why?
# ⚓ Can_Yahoo_Be_Saved?_How_Apollo_Is_Rebuilding_an_Internet
Icon⠀⇛
Once left for dead, the nearly 30-year-old internet
brand is getting a new lease on life under Apollo
ownership.
# ⚓ Embracer_Group_considers_selling_Gearbox_following
challenging_year⠀⇛
Two weeks after the group’s closure of Volition
Games, the studio behind the Saints Row franchise,
the Embracer Group are reportedly considering its
options for Gearbox Entertainment, the company
behind the Borderlands series.
The Embracer Group, a Swedish company, has been
having a “challenging year”, at least according to
CEO Lars Wingefors, who announced a major
restructuring of the company earlier this year with
aims to reduce its net debt to under SEK 10 billion
by the end of this financial year. After announcing
studio closures, project cancellations, and
layoffs, it looks like Embracer has considered
selling Gearbox Entertainment, or spinning it off
into a new company.
Less than three hears ago, the Embracer Group
acquired Gearbox Entertainment for $1.3 billion,
and now Embracer want to recoup this investment. An
email seen by Bloomberg has revealed that Embracer
has three options for Gearbox Entertainment. These
options are the status quo, keeping the studio as
part of Embracer, selling the company to a 3rd
party, and making Gearbox independent. At this time
it is unclear which option is the best for Gearbox
Software and the Embracer Group, though reports
have claimed that Embracer has already been
contacted by interested parties.
# ⚓ Volvo_cutting_10%_of_white-collar_jobs_in_Canada,_U.S.⠀⇛
Volvo is laying off more than 10 per cent of its
white-collar workers in Canada and the United
States. The job cuts are part of the car
manufacturer’s drive to cut global costs and find
efficiencies.
The company expects the job cuts to cost
approximately $88 million, which includes severance
payments to affected employees. Volvo will also be
offering early retirement packages to some workers.
“There’s not any area of the business that is not
impacted,” said Volvo Car USA and Canada president
Michael Cottone, in an interview with Auto News.
o § AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics⠀➾
# ⚓ France24 ☛ Biden_leads_US_tech_push_as_he_wraps_up_historic
Vietnam_visit⠀⇛
President Joe Biden and senior executives from top
US tech firms including Google and Intel met
Vietnamese business leaders Monday after the two
countries agreed to deepen cooperation as
Washington seeks to counter China’s growing clout.
# ⚓ France24 ☛ US,_Vietnam_agree_to_increase_cooperation_as
China_worries_grow⠀⇛
US President Joe Biden hailed closer ties with
Vietnam on Sunday as the two countries struck a
deal to deepen cooperation, including on
semiconductors, but said he was not aiming to
contain China.
# ⚓ RFA ☛ US,_Vietnam_raise_relations_to_highest_level⠀⇛
The deal is about stability, not containing China,
Biden says.
# ⚓ France24 ☛ Macron_aims_to_consolidate_France’s_Asia-Pacific
push_on_Bangladesh_visit⠀⇛
President Emmanuel Macron was in Bangladesh on
Monday in a bid to “consolidate” France’s Asia-
Pacific strategy and counterbalance a “new
imperialism” in a region where China’s influence is
increasingly being extended.
# ⚓ RFA ☛ UK_prime_minister_deplores_Chinese_interference_in
democracy⠀⇛
Rishi Sunak reportedly confronts China’s Premier Li
Qiang on the G20 sidelines over spying report.
# ⚓ Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Cambodian_Prime_Minister_Hun_Manet
to_meet_Chinese_leader_Xi_Jinping_this_week,_Beijing_says⠀⇛
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet will visit China
this week and meet with President Xi Jinping,
Beijing’s foreign ministry announced Monday. “At
the invitation of Premier Li Qiang… Cambodian Prime
Minister Hun Manet will pay an official visit to
China from September 14th to 16th,” foreign
ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said in a statement.
# ⚓ teleSUR ☛ A_New_Path_Resumes_Between_Venezuela_and_China⠀⇛
At the invitation of President Xi Jinping,
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro is on a visit
to China on Sept. 8-14. In an official statement,
the Bolivarian leader highlighted various aspects
of the strategic relationship between his country
and the Asian nation.
# ⚓ teleSUR ☛ Algeria:_China_Donates_Wheelchairs_to_Charity
Organization⠀⇛
“We hope these wheelchairs will make life and work
easier for them,” said Li who also recognized
“today’s charitable activity.”
# ⚓ teleSUR ☛ Venezuela_and_China_Build_A_Shared_Future:
President_Maduro⠀⇛
The Bolivarian leader called for building a
homeland for all humanity, “where we can meet,
recognize each other, and take the path of
development, peace, and cooperation.”
# ⚓ The Straits Times ☛ China_must_play_‘responsible’_role_in
curbing_North’s_threats_–_South_Korea’s_Yoon⠀⇛
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said on
Tuesday that he called for China to play a
\”responsible\” role in reining in North Korea’s
nuclear and missile threats when he met Chinese
Premier Li Qiang last week.
# ⚓ The Straits Times ☛ China_economic_woes_could_raise_Taiwan
risks,_says_US_House_committee_chair⠀⇛
China’s economic slowdown could increase the risk
of Beijing taking military action toward Taiwan,
the Republican chair of a U.S. congressional
committee on China said on Monday, drawing a
contrast with Democratic President Joe Biden, who
said it made it less likely.
# ⚓ New York Times ☛ U.K.’s_Arrest_of_Suspected_Spy_Fuels_Calls
for_Tougher_Stance_on_China⠀⇛
Allegations that a researcher in Parliament was a
foreign agent have intensified a fiery debate over
Britain’s relations with Beijing.
o § Censorship/Free Speech⠀➾
# ⚓ Reason ☛ The_5th_Circuit_Agrees_That_Federal_Officials
Unconstitutionally_‘Coerced’_or_‘Encouraged’_Online
Censorship⠀⇛
The appeals court narrowed a preliminary injunction
against such meddling but confirmed the threat that
it poses to freedom of speech.
o § Civil Rights/Policing⠀➾
# ⚓ JURIST ☛ Trade_Unions_Congress_report_UK_government_to_UN
workers_rights_watchdog⠀⇛
The Trade Unions Congress (TUC) announced Sunday
they are reporting the UK government to the UN
watchdog on workers rights over the implementation
of the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act 2023.
# ⚓ RFERL ☛ Support_Grows_As_Hunger_Strike_By_Afghan_Activists
In_Germany_Enters_Second_Week⠀⇛
A hunger strike by a group of Afghan rights
activists to protest the anti-female policies of
the ruling Taliban has entered its second week as
they seek international recognition of the
militants’ policies as “gender apartheid.”
# ⚓ Digital Music News ☛ Live_Nation’s_Insomniac_Faces_Labor-
Code_Suit_from_Former_Security_Guard_—_Alleged_Missing
Overtime_Pay,_Failure_To_Provide_Breaks,_and_More⠀⇛
Live Nation’s Insomniac is officially facing a
firmly worded lawsuit in which a former employee
alleges all manner of California labor-code
violations. One King Johnson just recently
submitted the multifaceted complaint on behalf of
himself and “all other aggrieved employees.”
# ⚓ New Yorker ☛ The_U.A.W._Strike_Threat_Poses_a_Tricky
Political_Challenge_for_Biden⠀⇛
As the negotiating deadline approaches, the issues
at stake go beyond wages and benefits to whether
the union’s members will benefit or suffer from the
transition to electric vehicles.
# ⚓ Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Hong_Kong_busker_deported,_banned
from_Macau_after_being_detained_for_several_hours⠀⇛
A Hong Kong busker known for performing an English
rendition of protest song Glory to Hong Kong has
been banned from entering Macau for a year. He was
detained by police for several hours and deported
after busking without a permit.
# ⚓ University of Michigan ☛ What_the_writers’_strike_could
mean_for_the_future_of_TV⠀⇛
Every childhood Friday afternoon, like clockwork,
I’d arrive home to find a copy of Entertainment
Weekly sitting there atop the stack of mail in the
foyer.
# ⚓ RFA ☛ Teapot_drama_targeting_British_Museum_sparks
nationalist_fervor_in_China⠀⇛
The show features a teapot ‘escaping’ amid calls
for the repatriation of ancient artifacts to China.
o § Internet Policy/Net Neutrality⠀➾
# ⚓ APNIC ☛ 2023_ISIF_Asia_grant_recipients_announced⠀⇛
The APNIC Foundation has announced the 24
recipients of the 2023 ISIF Asia grants to support
Internet development.
o § Monopolies⠀➾
# ⚓ New Yorker ☛ The_Real_Stakes_of_the_Google_Antitrust
Trial⠀⇛
The case, centering on Google’s dominance in the
search-engine industry, will have implications that
ripple throughout the tech world, and beyond.
# ⚓ New York Times ☛ Who’s_Who_in_the_Google_Antitrust_Trial⠀⇛
The federal government’s first monopoly trial this
century will feature top tech executives,
experienced litigators and an Obama-appointed
judge.
# ⚓ New York Times ☛ The_U.S._Justice_Dept._Is_Taking_Google_to
Trial:_What_to_Know⠀⇛
The government claims that Google illegally used
its monopoly power to stifle rivals, while the
company says its practices are legal and
mainstream.
# § Patents⠀➾
# ⚓ Dennis Crouch/Patently-O ☛ Narrowing_the_Analogous
Arts_with_a_Problem-Solution_Statement⠀⇛
The Federal Circuit recently issued an
important decision regarding the analogous
art doctrine in Netflix v. DivX, No. 22-1138,
— F.4th — (Fed. Cir. Sept. 11, 2023). The
Patent Trial and Appeal Board’s sided with
the patentee, holding that a key prior art
reference was not analogous art. On appeal,
the Federal Circuit has partially affirmed,
but vacated and remanded on a procedural
ground. This case also raises questions
about the value of explicitly stating the
problem solved within the patent document,
and perhaps directly in the patent claims.
# ⚓ JUVE ☛ UPC_race_across_Europe [Ed: UPC propagandist,
bribed by Team UPC, continues to promote this
unconstitutional and illegal system. This is not media,
it's a malicious disinformation operation.]⠀⇛
Welcome to the everyday small stuff, UPC!
“Your file could not be uploaded” says the
error message, which keeps popping up in the
UPC CMS. Until finally, a partner sends their
associate to the airport with a stack of
papers in a briefcase.
# ⚓ Unified Patents ☛ $2,000_for_Empire_IP_entity,_BT
Wearables,_patent_prior_art⠀⇛
A new PATROLL contest, with a $2,000 cash
prize, was added seeking prior art on at
least claim 1 of U.S._Patent_10,729,336,
owned by BT Wearables LLC, an NPE and entity
of Empire_IP_LLC. The ‘336 patent relates
generally to a mobile device such as a watch.
It has been asserted against Dillard’s
Incorporated.
The contest will expire on October 31, 2023.
Please visit PATROLL for more information and
to submit an entry for this contest.
# ⚓ Unified Patents ☛ DynaIP_entity,_Cloud_Systems_HoldCo
IP,_IoT_patent_challenge_instituted⠀⇛
On September 8, 2023, less than six weeks
after Unified filed_an_ex_parte
reexamination, the Central Reexamination Unit
(CRU) granted Unified’s request, finding a
substantial new question of patentability on
all of the claims of U.S._Patent_8,909,779,
owned and asserted by Cloud Systems HoldCo
IP, LLC, an NPE and DynaIP entity. The ’779
patent relates to methods for controlling
devices in an environment.
# ⚓ Unified Patents ☛ Atlantic_IP_entity,_Foras
Technologies,_parallel_processors_patents_challenged⠀⇛
On September 1, 2023, Unified Patents filed
ex parte reexamination proceedings against
three separate patents owned and asserted by
Foras Technologies, Ltd., an NPE and entity
of Atlantic_IP_Services_Limited. The
challenged patents relate to lockstep
processor technology where two processors are
paired together, and the two processors
perform exactly the same-operations and the
results-are compared.(e.g., with an XOR
gate).
# ⚓ Our_response_to_the_proposed_new_amendments_to_the
Rules_of_Procedure_of_the_Boards_of_Appeal_(RPBA)⠀⇛
The EPO has opened a User Consultation on the
proposed new amendments to the Rules of
Procedure of the Boards of Appeal (RPBA). The
amendments seek to support more ambitious
timeliness objectives, but in our view they
are unlikely to shorten appeal proceedings,
will reduce the quality of decisions, and are
unfair on Respondents. In our view, they
should not be adopted in full.
# § Trademarks⠀➾
# ⚓ TTAB Blog ☛ MAD_MONSTER_PARTY_for_Horror_and_Pop
Culture_Conventions_and_Magazines_Not_Confusable_with
MONSTER_ENERGY,_Says_TTAB⠀⇛
Frequent TTAB litigant Monster Energy Company
lost another one. The Board dismissed its
oppositions to registration of MAD MONSTER
PARTY, in standard character form for
“Organizing exhibitions for educational and
entertainment purposes services, namely,
organizing and conducting conventions in the
fields of horror and popular culture,” and in
word-and-design form for “General feature
magazine in the field of horror and pop
culture.” Monster claimed a likelihood of
confusion with several registered MONSTER-
formative marks used in connection with
energy drinks, supplements, fruit juice and
soft drinks; clothing, sports bags and
stickers; and the services of promoting
sports and music events and competitions for
others. The Board, deeming the first
DuPont factor to be dispositive, found that
the marks differ sufficiently in their
connotations and overall commercial
impressions that confusion is
unlikely. Monster_Energy_Company_v._Eben
McGarr, Oppositions Nos. 91239678 and
91244601 (September 8, 2023) [not
precedential] (Opinion by Judge Frances S.
Wolfson).
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