IT Pro ☛ Windows vs. Linux vs. Mac: the channel comparison | IT PRO

With Linux being open source software, its code can be tweaked and modified to meet specific user requirements – something which is not possible with the closed source Windows and macOS systems. While that can mean support is not as easily accessible, it’s this flexibility that has helped make Linux a popular choice with the developer community and certain sections of the enterprise user base.

Desktop/Laptop

• Bryan Lunduke ☛ 6 Dirty Secrets of the Linux and Open Source Industry

  The Linux Foundation is funded (and controlled) by Microsoft and Facebook

  As of 2018, the cost of a “Platinum Membership” to the Linux Foundation cost $500,000 USD (half a million) per year. A system that propelled The Linux Foundation revenue up to $177 Million dollars in 2021.

  Platinum Members include Microsoft, Oracle, and Facebook (now Meta).

  The Board of Directors of The Linux Foundation is made up of representatives from Facebook (Meta), Microsoft, and Amazon (who employs the Chair).

  Think you’re being rebellious — and staying clear of Big Tech — by using Linux? Think again.

  Who controls and funds the foundation which controls Linux?

  Microsoft, Facebook, and Amazon.

• Dedoimedo ☛ Moving from Windows to Linux – Disk management

  Today, I’d like to break away from my recent template of Windows-to-Linux tutorials, which have focused on showing you how to install, configure and use a variety of programs, typically designed or intended only for Windows, using frameworks like WINE. What we shall discuss today is the juicy topic of disk and drive management.

  Beyond applications, there’s data to reckon with. And data is critical to everything. Things become extra complicated when one considers the cardinal differences between Windows and Linux. The former uses NTFS, and data is organized in drives (C:, D:, etc). Linux stores everything under one filesystem tree (root, /), and uses different filesystem formats (like ext4), although it can handle NTFS. So then, what gives if you’re trying to move your stuff over? This tutorial is a neat suggestion for those looking for order, simplicity and clarity.

• Liliputing ☛ Beelink SER 4 4800U X pairs a Ryzen 7 CPU with Manjaro Linux – Liliputing

  Tiny PC specialist Beelink is offering up a new model that ships with a Linux-based OS preinstalled. The SER 4 4800U X pairs an AMD Ryzen 7 4800U processor with the popular Manjaro distro.

Audiocasts/Shows

• Video ☛ SOLVED: Pacman Wouldn’t Let Me Run An Update! – Invidious

  If you run Arch Linux or a distribution based on Arch Linux, you will occasionally encounter errors when using the package manager (pacman).

• Video ☛ The Most Usable Minimal Terminal Calendar! – Invidious

  Calcurse is a great application but if you want to go even more minimal than that how about you try out when which is as minimal as you can go while still being productive

• Video ☛ How to install LeoCAD on Debian 11 – Invidious

  In this video, we are looking at how to install LeoCAD on Debian 11.

• FLOSS Weekly 678: Of Musk, Mastodon and More – Ethan Zuckerman, Mastodon and the Future of Twitter

  Now that Twitter is a Musk mystery, what becomes of, well, everything? Ethan Zuckerman raises even more questions than he answers in a thought-filled hour of conversation with Doc Searls and Simon Phipps on FLOSS Weekly.

• Jupiter Broadcasting ☛ You Git What You Pay For | Coder Radio 463

  Mike battles the onslaught of yet another bout with the plague. At the same time, we react live to Elon buying Twitter, Gitlab kicking off some free accounts, and we discover Google and Apple are working together again to pull the rug on app developers.

• Video ☛ There will NEVER be a year of the Linux desktop, but… – Invidious

• Video ☛ Easily moving Linux installs – Invidious

  Are you tired of having to reset all your app settings on a new install? Using a simple tool you will never have to reconfig your app settings again. Also adding new apps and programs are extremely simple and intuitive. Stop wasting your time and start using Chezmoi to restore your app settings.

• Video ☛ Pop!_OS 22.04: Full Review – Invidious

  The latest LTS release of one of the most popular desktop distributions is finally here – say hello to Pop!_OS 22.04! In this video, Jay will give you all the details about the release, including its new features, how it differs from Ubuntu, and more!

Kernel Space

• Linuxiac ☛ The Future of the NTFS Linux Driver as Part of the Kernel Is in Question

  After Paragon’s NTFS3 driver was accepted to become part of the Linux kernel last year, it has not received a single line of code maintenance.

  Let’s start with a brief background of events. The NTFS support in the Linux kernel has always been an important part. After all, a vast number of Linux users rely on it to be able to use the Windows file systems fully under Linux.

  Unfortunately, the existing Linux NTFS driver, which implementation dated back to 2001, was unmaintained in the kernel and lacked proper write support and other features.

• SocketCAN x Kubernetes

  The SocketCAN package is an implementation of CAN protocols for Linux. Generally speaking, CAN is a networking technology that has widespread use in automation, embedded devices, and automotive fields. While there have been other CAN implementations for Linux, SocketCAN uses the Berkeley socket API, the Linux network stack, and implements the CAN device drivers as network interfaces, often making it the first choice for a CAN implementation.

  Recently, we worked on a project where we used Kubernetes to control and automate deployments and updates. One component of our workflow required the availability of a CAN interface inside the Kubernetes Pod; to our surprise, such support didn’t exist. Fast forward to today, and SocketCAN support is now available in the form of a Kubernetes SocketCAN device plugin!

Instructionals/Technical

• Hardware for a syslog-ng server – Blog – syslog-ng Community – syslog-ng Community

  What hardware to use for a syslog-ng server? It is a frequent question with no definite answer. It depends on many factors: the number and type of sources, the number of logs, the way logs are processed, and so on. My experience is that for the majority users even a Raspberry Pi would be enough. But of course, not for everyone.

• Apollo ISO bug is fixed for most users and also a workaround for those who need it.

  e have received messages that our recent Apollo ISO resulted in failed installations due to the recently updated Archlinux keyring.

• Vitux ☛ How to Write a Shell Script in Ubuntu – VITUX

  A shell script is a Linux-based script in which commands are written. When a user executes the script, all the commands that are in the script are executed one after another. Think of it like this: You have a task to do, for which you need to write a certain number of commands, and it is difficult to write and execute these commands one by one.

• Vitux ☛ How to Flush the DNS Cache on Ubuntu – VITUX

  The DNS or the Domain Name Server can be characterized as one of the most essential parts of your link to the internet. The DNS translates the domain names to and from the IP addresses so that we don’t need to remember or keep a list of all the IP addresses of the websites we ever want to access. Our systems also maintain a list of DNS records so that we can access our frequently visited websites faster through a quick resolution of IP addresses. This cache on our system needs to be flushed from time to time. This is required because websites may change their addresses time and again, so it is a good idea to avoid IP conflict by clearing the cache. Flushing the cache is also a good way to clear unnecessary data residing on our systems.

• ​How to Upgrade to Ubuntu 22.04

  Ubuntu 22.04 LTS (Jammy Jellyfish) was released on April 21, 2022, and it will be supported for five years. It comes with many new packages and major software upgrades, including the latest versions of OpenSSL, GCC, Python, Ruby, and PHP. This release is based on the Linux 5.15 LTS kernel and adds support for new hardware and filesystems.

  The desktop edition comes with kernel v5.17, GNOME 42, and a new screenshot and screen recording tool.
  This tutorial explains how to upgrade to Ubuntu 22.04 LTS from Ubuntu 20.04 or Ubuntu 21.10.

• ID Root ☛ How To Install VirtualBox on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS – idroot

  In this tutorial, we will show you how to install VirtualBox on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS. For those of you who didn’t know, VirtualBox is a free and open-source virtualization tool for desktops and servers. It is an alternative to VMware workstation player and other virtualization software out there. VirtualBox supports the guest virtual machines running Windows, Linux, BSD, much more operating systems.

  This article assumes you have at least basic knowledge of Linux, know how to use the shell, and most importantly, you host your site on your own VPS. The installation is quite simple and assumes you are running in the root account, if not you may need to add ‘sudo‘ to the commands to get root privileges. I will show you the step-by-step installation of Oracle’s VirtualBox on Ubuntu 22.04 (Jammy Jellyfish). You can follow the same instructions for Ubuntu 22.04 and any other Debian-based distribution like Linux Mint, Elementary OS, Pop!_OS, and more as well.

• Touch Command in Linux – Options + Examples

  The Linux operating system has multiple objects, such as application files, directories, system files, and binary files. These objects contain metadata information along with the files, which include create, access, and modification time. Sometimes, you may need to update these timestamps and the Linux touch command is a way to do it.

• Linux Made Simple ☛ How to install VRoid Studio 1.6.0 on a Chromebook

  Today we are looking at how to install VRoid Studio 1.6.0 on a Chromebook. Please follow the video/audio guide as a tutorial where we explain the process step by step and use the commands below.

• TechTarget ☛ How to conduct Linux privilege escalations

  We can begin the kernel exploitation process by taking a look at how to use kernel exploits with the Metasploit framework. The Metasploit framework offers an automated and modularized solution and streamlines the exploitation process.

• Make Use Of ☛ How to Install and Use Annotator: An Image Annotation Tool for Linux

  Linux offers various image manipulation tools to help you edit images. Some of the popular ones include GIMP, Pinta, and Krita. However, while these tools offer tonnes of features and serve the needs of most users, many of them have a steep learning curve, and the added complexity in features makes them overkill for basic image editing and annotation needs.

  For such use-cases, you rather need an annotation tool, like Annotator, which simplifies image manipulation and lets you annotate images with just a few clicks.

  Follow along as we walk you through the steps to install and use Annotator on Linux.

Distributions

• IPFire Official Blog ☛ blog.ipfire.org – IPFire 2.27 – Core Update 167 released

  Another update of IPFire is ready: IPFire 2.27 – Core Update 167. It brings an updated kernel in which we continue our efforts to harden IPFire even further; various package updates including bug and security fixes as well as smaller improvements throughout the distribution.

• Make Use Of ☛ 5 Reasons to Try Out Zorin OS (and Which Edition to Go For)

  Each Linux distribution provides a particular feature set suitable for a specific target audience. With so many options to choose from, you may find it hard to select the right one.

  Users from other operating systems, such as Windows and macOS, often find it challenging to switch to Linux for various reasons, and that’s where Zorin OS, an Ubuntu-based Linux distro, arrives on the scene.

  This distro is an excellent choice if you are new to Linux. Its interface and features are similar to other popular OSes and help you quickly shift to Linux. Here are some reasons why you should install Zorin OS as your next (or first) Linux distro.

• New Releases

  • Beta News ☛ Linux Lite 6.0 RC1 is here with Google Chrome as new default web browser

    Now that Ubuntu 22.04 has been released, we will start to see updates to all the Linux distributions that are based on Canonical’s operating system. For instance, the first release candidate of Linux Lite 6.0, which is based on Ubuntu 22.04, is now available. If you aren’t familiar, Linux Lite is very popular with those that are switching to Linux from Microsoft Windows.

    Linux Lite 6.0 RC1 is notable for ditching Mozilla Firefox as the default web browser, and switching to Google Chrome 100 instead. The operating system currently uses Linux kernel 5.15.0-25 and the desktop environment Xfce 4.16.3. It comes with some excellent software pre-installed, such as GIMP 2.10.30, Thunderbird 91.7.0, VLC 3.0.16, and LibreOffice 7.2.6.2.

• Arch Family

  • 9to5Linux ☛ Arch Linux’s Archinstall Gets a Brand-New Menu System, Many Other New Features

    The biggest new feature of the Archinstall 2.4.1 release is a completely new menu system, which you can see in the screenshot above. The brand-new menu system uses the simple-term-menu Python package that creates simple interactive menus on the command line and it’s accessibility friendly. In addition, Guided has been updated to use the new menu system.

• IBM/Red Hat/Fedora

  • LWN ☛ Fedora not deprecating legacy BIOS – yet [LWN.net]

    As was recently reported here, the Fedora project has been considering dropping support for legacy BIOS systems in upcoming releases. The idea was controversial at best, and the minutes from the April 26 FESCo meeting show that it has been rejected, for now at least. The BIOS SIG will be asked for a new plan for BIOS support in Fedora.

  • TechRepublic ☛ AlmaLinux 9 beta is now available and introduces several improvements

    AlmaLinux is a Linux distribution that is 1:1 binary compatible with Red Hat Enterprise Linux. That means it’s perfectly at home as an enterprise server operating system capable of handling anything you can throw at it. This server-centric operating system was first released in 2021 as a drop-in replacement for CentOS and would serve as an alternative to RHEL.

    [...]

    With RHEL 9 releasing in May, it should come as no surprise that AlmaLinux 9 will follow in its footsteps. Although there is no official release date for the next iteration of AlmaLinux, what we do know is that the beta has finally arrived and although it’s not a major departure from what was offered in AlmaLinux 8, there’s certainly enough to garner a bit of excitement about this next release.

  • Red Hat Official ☛ Compliance as Code: Extending compliance automation for process improvement

    Supply chain disruptions, intellectual property theft and the rising cost of data breaches are among the top reasons for a drastic increase in global focus on cybersecurity compliance.

    Regulated industries face more stringent requirements, and some organizations now require third-party assessments instead of using internal teams to verify compliance with cybersecurity frameworks. Non-regulated industries can also leverage the same standards in order to reduce their security risk. Compliance automation is increasingly important to manage the growing burden that security teams face.

  • Red Hat report: Enterprise open source new pandemic response [Ed: "PARTNER CONTENT" means IBM/Red Hat now bribes sites and publishers for puff pieces]

    Red Hat recently released The State of Enterprise Open Source 2022 report, which highlights the changing perceptions about the use of the open source development model in the enterprise technology space.

    Now in its fourth year, the survey of nearly 1,300 IT decision makers reveals how organisations are increasingly shifting to open source software solutions to address COVID-19 related challenges and tackle new market demands for quality, speed and an evolving cybersecurity landscape.

• Debian Family

  • Louis-Philippe Véronneau – Montreal’s Debian & Stuff – April 2022

    After two long years of COVID hiatus, local Debian events in Montreal are back! Last Sunday, nine of us met at Koumbit to work on Debian (and other stuff!), chat and socialise.

    Even though these events aren’t always the most productive, it was super fun and definitely helps keeping me motivated to work on Debian in my spare time.

• Canonical/Ubuntu Family

  • Ubuntu ☛ Ubuntu Blog: Design and Web team summary – 22 April 2022

    The Web and design team at Canonical run two-week iterations building and maintaining all of the Canonical websites and product web interfaces. Here are some of the highlights of our completed work from this iteration.

Devices/Embedded

• PR Newswire ☛ Incredibuild Launches Support for Yocto Project® – Bolstering Solution for Linux

  Incredibuild, creator of the first hybrid acceleration platform for development processes, announced today support for The Yocto Project®, an opensource collaboration project that helps developers create custom Linux-based systems regardless of hardware architecture. Incredibuild’s newly launched support for Yocto & Automotive Grade Linux (AGL) allows the embedded software development industry to build on-prem and in the cloud while significantly reducing build times and cutting cloud costs.

• Enterprise Talk ☛ MontaVista Launches MVEdge, a Commercially Supported End-to-End Solution for the Intelligent Edge – EnterpriseTalk

  MontaVista® Software, LLC, a leader in commercial Embedded Linux® products and services, today announced MVEdge, a full-platform solution for the Intelligent Edge, specifically aimed at gateway-style devices.

  MVEdge allows customers to focus their development resources on developing and enhancing their core products on top of a Linux platform, with MontaVista providing the full DevOps environment from source to deployment, including a pre-integrated security framework for the run-time platform and support for production security processes.

• RFID With Arduino Uno: RC522 Wiring and Code

  This tutorial explains how to connect the RFID (RC522) with Arduino Uno. Features, wiring diagram and code detailed

• Mini Plex Server Running On A ZimaBoard With A 480GB SSD – The DIY Life

  In this project, we’re going to be making a Mini Plex Server with SSD storage using a ZimaBoard. If you haven’t heard of a ZimaBoard before, it’s a low-cost, feature-rich single board server – we’ll take a look at some of its features once we get it unboxed.

• Mobile Systems/Mobile Applications

  • Android Authority ☛ Android 13 beta 1 shows face unlock on Pixel 6 Pro, but there’s a catch

  • Android Police ☛ OnePlus Nord 2 gets a taste of Android 12 with its first OxygenOS 12 Open Beta

  • Notebook Check ☛ Xiaomi OLED Vision 55 Smart TV arrives with Android TV 11, Dolby Vision IQ, 8 speakers and a 4K OLED panel – NotebookCheck.net News

  • Sportskeeda ☛ Ranking all available GTA games on Android in 2022

  • 9to5Google ☛ How to delete your Twitter account on Android – 9to5Google

  • XDA ☛ New Android Auto update brings one-tap message replies

Free, Libre, and Open Source Software

• 6 Best Alternative Router Firmware that are Open Source – DekiSoft

  Firmware is basically the OS that comes on the router pre-installed. Now each manufacturer carries its own version. Just like OS there on your phone device or personal PC, it controls all inner workings of the device.

• Content Management Systems (CMS)

  • Kiwi TCMS – Kiwi TCMS 11.3

    We’re happy to announce Kiwi TCMS version 11.3 which is the 100th tagged version in our git repository!

• FSF

  • FSF ☛ FSF job opportunity: Licensing and compliance manager [Ed: This is not an expansion but brain drain]

    The Free Software Foundation (FSF), a Massachusetts 501(c)(3) charity with a worldwide mission to protect computer user freedom, seeks a motivated and talented Boston-based individual to be our full-time licensing and compliance manager.

    This position, reporting to the executive director, works as a critical member of our licensing and compliance team to protect and promote the use of freely licensed works of software and documentation. For over twenty years, the FSF’s Licensing & Compliance Lab has been the preeminent community resource for free licensing. From principled enforcement of the GNU General Public License (GPL), to certifying software and devices as respectful of user freedom, to the writing and distribution of licensing-related educational materials, the team does work vital for the free software movement.

• Programming/Development

  • Perl/Raku

    • Perl ☛ Perl Weekly Challenge 162: ISBN-13 and Wheatstone-Playfair

  • Shell/Bash/Zsh/Ksh

    • Linux.org ☛ Bash 05 – Script Logic

      Probably the most important aspect of scripting is using logic operators to control the flow of the script. Sometimes a script needs to do more than run each command in order from the beginning to the end of the script.

      There are many times when you need to control the flow of a script to allow different things to happen based on the parameters that you specify. For example, you may need to verify that a file or folder exists before you copy certain files into the folder.

      We have basically four logic features that we need to cover in this article. There are more logic features we will cover later, but these features will aid you in script flow.

Standards/Consortia

• Public Knowledge ☛ Movin’ On Up A Little Higher, Part 1: Starting to ‘Get Up Offa That Thang’ with Interoperability – Public Knowledge

  You can view the introduction of this series at publicknowledge.org/Movin’. Download detailed charts of both legislative proposals to follow along with our analysis.

  The Black-empowerment hit-maker James Brown mostly sang about movement – physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, social, political, and even economic. The Godfather of Soul recalls being dehydrated and fatigued on tour, but he jolted back to life when he saw the audience in a Fort Lauderdale club reflecting his exhaustion. He yelled “Get Up Offa That Thang, and dance ‘til you feel better… SING!” And that was the birth of his 1974 smash-hit. The cure for collective exhaustion was movement. As consumers, we are exhausted with the harms of some of the largest digital platforms. We all want the choice to start moving. But, movement away from the largest digital platforms isn’t easy. Nevertheless, we must push ourselves and our communities to “Get Up Offa Them Thangs” with interoperability.

  A growing class of Afro-descendant tech entrepreneurs have heard and experienced the downsides of the largest digital platforms and have decided to create their own platforms. The pre-Facebook social media network Black Planet, as well as The Cookout, Bean, RAMŚE, and Black Twitter, all want to compete with Facebook to create safer and more inclusive spaces for Black communities. Fanbase and MelaninPeople are seeking to compete with YouTube for Black content creators who often get uncredited and underpaid for viral content. TruSo and Zimela are vying to compete with Microsoft-owned LinkedIn to cultivate a professional social network. Black-owned wholesale retailers like WeBuyBlack.com are seeking to offer more diverse and culturally inclusive products directly from sellers of color around the world. Platforms that carefully curate Black-owned businesses and Black-inspired goods, services, and experiences like Support Black Owned, Official Black Wall Street, Black Owned Association, Black Owned Brooklyn, and EatOkra are trying to offer alternatives to Google’s ginormous search engine and Amazon’s mammoth marketplace of everything.

Tedium ☛ Bubble Hockey History: For the Hockey Lovers in Your Life

The nature of invention and innovation has been on my mind the past few weeks. Specifically, why we attribute some innovations to particular individuals but not others. Henry Ford didn’t invent the assembly line but it’s credited as one of the innovations that made his automobile company one of the most profitable. A.C. Gilbert didn’t really invent the Erector Set but its success and his charisma helped him become one of the largest toy manufacturers in the world. Plenty of business tycoons find success with products they didn’t invent, or even significantly innovate in a meaningful way. Elon Musk bought his way into Tesla Motors, he wasn’t its founder and, of course, the electric car was invented some 80 years before his birth. But perhaps the simplest way to understand why certain business leaders get credit over others is to look at an arcade game popular in colder climates or any place where hockey fans congregate. Today’s Tedium is looking at bubble hockey and the lawyer-turned-game-maker that became its chief champion—and why it might matter to American patent law in coming years.

The World Language

In Lojban there is an expression, “malglico” (c pronounced as sch) which means “English can go to hell“.

(L1 means first language, the first language a given person has learned (“mother tongue” as it used to be called), and L2 means all other languages.)

But English is the world’s most widely spoken L2; four times more people know it than the second most common L2, the MSA variety of Arabic. Though that’s just a written language, and we were talking about spoken L2. Hindi in that case, also about a quarter of English.

Stumbles in the door…

I am being demoted at work.
It is a administrative reorganisation thing, unique I guess to huge administrations.
Same job, same money – for now, different title (under-minion)
Someone somewhere does not know what I do, and luckily management are asking awkward questions…

Integrity/Availability

• Proprietary

  • Security

    • Wired ☛ Hackers Are Getting Caught Exploiting New Bugs More Than Ever

      A pair of reports from Mandiant and Google found a spike in exploited zero-day vulnerabilities in 2021. The question is, why?

    • Bruce Schneier ☛ Zero-Day Vulnerabilities Are on the Rise – Schneier on Security

      Both Google and Mandiant are reporting a significant increase in the number of zero-day vulnerabilities reported in 2021.

    • LWN ☛ Security updates for Wednesday [LWN.net]

      Security updates have been issued by Mageia (virtualbox), Red Hat (container-tools:2.0, container-tools:3.0, gzip, kernel, kernel-rt, kpatch-patch, mariadb:10.3, mariadb:10.5, maven-shared-utils, polkit, vim, xmlrpc-c, and zlib), Scientific Linux (maven-shared-utils), SUSE (ant, go1.17, go1.18, kernel, and xen), and Ubuntu (fribidi, git, libcroco, libsepol, linux, linux-gcp, linux-ibm, linux-lowlatency, openjdk-17, and openjdk-lts).

    • CISA ☛ 2021 Top Routinely Exploited Vulnerabilities [Ed: A lot of "Microsoft" in there]

      CISA, the National Security Agency (NSA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC), the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security (CCCS), the New Zealand National Cyber Security Centre (NZ NCSC), and the United Kingdom’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC-UK) have released a joint Cybersecurity Advisory that provides details on the top 15 Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVEs) routinely exploited by malicious cyber actors in 2021, as well as other CVEs frequently exploited.

    • FreeBSD based Citrix VPN hacked in massive hostpital healthcare hack in Germany CVE 2019 19781 – hits healthcare hospital in Germany, causing death of (at least) 1 person [Ed: Microsoft Windows kills hospital patients all the time]

    • diaspora* version 0.7.17.0 released with security fixes! – The diaspora* Project

      We just released a new diaspora* version, which addresses two critical security issues in the Ruby on Rails framework, as well as one medium security issue in our code discovered by a security researcher.

    • Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt/Fear-mongering/Dramatisation

      • The Record ☛ Microsoft discovers ‘several’ vulnerabilities affecting Linux desktop endpoints [Ed: We’ve responded to this]

      • ZDNet ☛ Microsoft warns: These flaws could give attackers root privileges on Linux desktops [Ed: We’ve responded to this]

      • InfoSecurity Magazine ☛ Nimbuspwn Linux Bugs Could Provide Root Access [Ed: We’ve responded to this]

      • TechTarget ☛ Why companies should focus on preventing privilege escalation [Ed: Microsoft is spearheading a media FUD attack on Linux at the moment, looking to distract from its own major security blunders? Why isn't "Linux" Foundation responding? Oh, sorry, I forget it's among Microsoft's bribe recipients]

        Ahmed: Individuals getting into cybersecurity pen testing, such as red teamers and even blue teamers, benefit from learning about the big techniques to leverage. The systems you’re most likely to encounter during engagements are Windows, with a fair share of Linux, too.

    • Privacy/Surveillance

      • AccessNow ☛ Encrypt all the messages — across all the platforms

        It should be clear to everyone now: E2EE is beneficial and desirable to support a rights-respecting society. If E2EE is desirable, then conceptually, it’s also desirable to make secure messaging interoperable across major communications platforms. I’ll explain why.

AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

• The global dangers of Elon Musk’s Twitter takeover

  The internet was abuzz yesterday after news broke that Elon Musk’s $44 billion buyout of Twitter had gone through. Musk, a self-proclaimed “free speech absolutist,” has made it clear that he believes Twitter overzealously moderates content and that he favors an approach with fewer takedowns, open algorithms, and “authentication of all humans.” In announcing the agreement, he said: “Free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy, and Twitter is the digital town square where matters vital to the future of humanity are debated.”

Civil Rights/Policing

• According to Wikipedia, AAA has a bad record of supporting measures that harm motorists and car owners. – BaronHK’s Rants

  It’s always nice to find out that an organization you pay membership dues to every year is lobbying to foist reduced speed limits that rack up more fines from the state, speed trap and red light cameras that were the center of another Illinois bribery and corruption scandal, which increase car accidents but are kept as a license to rip off the public, a federal 55 mph speed limit that existed in my lifetime that nobody paid attention to and went mostly unenforced in many states because even the cops thought it was so stupid, and billing people a VMT tax on top of the gas tax on top of the registration fees.

Internet Policy/Net Neutrality

• Third Party

  As I write this post, I am frustrated. Why am I frustrated? Because I found a little old site that had but one functionality: you input a Twitter user into the single search field and get all their media. And then I lost the tab. You’re probably thinking without the fatty JS it would be Nitter which is indeed great; except that wasn’t it because it was way simpler than Nitter.

  These days when you stumble upon a humble Web 1.0 or even 2.0 site that’s still up and runnning chances are it’s a no-nonsense, no-BS website that does exactly what it says on the tin. You can’t say the same of all the sites hawking automation tools for this or that or meant to pump up search results.

Monopolies

• Copyrights

  • Public Domain Review ☛ “A Sword was Seen in the Sky”: *A True and Wonderful Narrative* (1763) – The Public Domain Review

    So opens the first of two accounts detailing unusual phenomena seen in the skies over Riga and Kirschberg (near Gdansk) in 1763. Published by Mannheim-born Philadelphia printer Anton Armbruster the following year, this short pamphlet was a translation of a German broadside titled Zwei wahrhafte von gantz besondrn Himmels–Zeichen. Why this translation for Philadelphia? Such strange news from Prussia would have likely appealed to the city’s many German immigrants, but there was maybe more to Armbruster’s publication. Despite occurring across the other side of the world, such ominous signs from a wrathful God unhappy with a wayward populace, could speak to the citizens of the much-embattled Pennsylvania Province.

    The year of 1764 was a troubled time for Philadelphia. After Armbruster’s former business partner Benjamin Franklin had, in early February, turned back the Paxton Boys vigilante mob on their way to murder Susquehannock Indians, a pamphlet war broke out in the City of Brotherly Love. Nearly a quarter of the seventy-plus pamphlets either excoriating or apologizing for the Paxton gang’s violence were printed on the press owned by Benjamin Franklin and operated by Armbruster. Did the latter then take a break from the ongoing provincial war of words to issue a transcendental warning to Philadelphians?

  • Public Domain Review ☛ Trade Edition of *Affinities* Now Available for Pre-order – The Public Domain Review

    This time last year we were in the heady whirl of the crowdfunding campaign for Affinities, our very special book of images made to celebrate 10 years of The Public Domain Review. A whopping 2800 of you ended up buying a copy and — after a long and patient/impatient wait — they have finally started arriving to doors, hands, and eyes over this last week or so.

    If you missed out on a copy through the crowdfunder, some good news — there will be a trade edition published by Thames and Hudson! It has a different cover and subtitle to the clothbound Volume edition, but the glorious insides are exactly the same. We are super excited that people who missed out first time round will be able to get a copy — and that it can sit in real-life bookshops and reach a wider audience beyond the PDR faithful.

Fedora Magazaine ☛ Updating Edge Devices with OSTree and Pulp


In this article, we look at how OSTree is well-positioned for upgrading and updating edge devices with versioned updates of Linux-based operating systems. Furthermore, we’ll explore how Pulp facilitates managing and preparing updates of the OSTree content, as well as making it available to edge devices. Together, they provide a powerful free and open-source solution for administering edge device

Moving Linux From One Laptop to Another

Remember that post where I was going to convince my wife that she should let me use her macbook air for ham radio, and I’d give her a better one to use? Well, she was happy to give it a go. For fun, I thought that rather than make her work from a fresh install, I’d transfer her environment over as-is to the new computer…

I booted the air from a USB drive and imaged the whole disk with dd. Took the image and wrote it directly to the SSD of the new laptop. It wouldn’t boot, so I booted the USB distro again and ran an EFI repair. That worked, and the laptop booted into her image with nary a hitch (not any visible ones at least…)

Of course, the partition needed to be resized, as she was going from a small NVME to a larger SSD. Booted the USB drive again and ran gparted, resized the partition, and voila. Booted right up, all the space available.

Desktop/Laptop

• Its FOSS ☛ 10 Reasons to Run Linux in Virtual Machines

  
  You can run any operating system as a virtual machine to test things out or for a particular use case.

  When it comes to Linux, it is usually a better performer as a virtual machine when compared to other operating systems. Even if you hesitate to install Linux on bare metal, you can try setting up a virtual machine that could run as you would expect on a physical machine.

Server

• April 2022 Web Server Survey [Ed: Microsoft lose more than 600 "top sites" this past month alone]

  In the April 2022 survey we received responses from 1,160,964,134 sites across 271,960,629 unique domains and 11,974,636 web-facing computers. This reflects a loss of 8.66 million sites and 217,000 domains, but a gain of 97,400 computers.

  Amongst the top ten vendors, nginx gained the largest number of domains and computers this month, maintaining its lead in both of these metrics. Its net growth of 537,000 domains has taken its total up to 73.8 million domains and increased its market share in this metric to 27.1%. Coupled with a net loss of 573,000 domains powered by Apache, this has culminated in nginx’s market share lead over Apache being extended from 3.63 percentage points to 4.04.

  The number of web-facing computers running nginx grew by 80,200 (+1.78%), pushing its market share up to 38.3% while Apache’s fell to 29.0%. nginx also continues to have the largest market share of sites (31.1%), despite losing more than half a million this month.

  Within the top million websites, Cloudflare made the largest gain of 3,350 sites as it continues to edge its way up towards the leaders. Apache is currently still in the lead with 229,000 sites in the top million, but lost 1,700 this month; and nginx is in second place with 218,000 sites after losing 2,250. Cloudflare now has 199,000 sites and looks set to overtake both nginx and Apache by the end of the year if it maintains this pace of growth. Amongst all websites, Cloudflare lost 38,400 sites but gained 115,000 domains.

  OpenResty was the major vendor that gained most sites this month, increasing its total by 1.47 million to 93.0 million (+1.61%), and it also gained 6,890 web-facing computers.

  While most of the top vendors lost active sites this month, Pepyaka made a significant gain of 1.22 million active sites (+27.6%). This server is predominantly used by the Wix web development platform, which switched from using nginx in 2018. It is currently the 8th most commonly used web server by active sites, and 11th by sites. Similarities in the version numbering since 2018 suggest Pepyaka is likely based on mainline releases of nginx.

  Further down the field, GHS gained 1.08 million (+36.7%) sites and 554,000 (+35.5%) domains. GHS (Google Host Server) is one of Google’s proprietary web servers, which can be used by sites registered through Google Domains. It is also still used to redirect traffic from googlepages.com sites that were created with Google Page Creator. When this website creation service shut down in 2009, existing pages were migrated to Google Sites, which hosts user content in subdirectories under the sites.google.com hostname.

Kernel Space

• LWN ☛ Linux 5.17.5

  I'm announcing the release of the 5.17.5 kernel.
  
  All users of the 5.17 kernel series must upgrade.
  
  The updated 5.17.y git tree can be found at:
  	git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux-stable.git linux-5.17.y
  and can be browsed at the normal kernel.org git web browser:
  
  https://git.kernel.org/?p=linux/kernel/git/stable/linux-s...
  
  thanks,
  
  greg k-h
  

• LWN ☛ Linux 5.15.36

• LWN ☛ Linux 5.10.113

• LWN ☛ Linux 5.4.191

• LWN ☛ Linux 4.19.240

• LWN ☛ Linux 4.14.277

• LWN ☛ Linux 4.9.312

• Asahi Linux on an Apple M1 Mac mini is ‘unbelievably fast’

  The first (alpha) release of Asahi Linux was released in March. Despite it being an alpha release, Jason Eckert immediately installed it, and he’s been using it as a developer workstation ever since. Eckert says he’s getting “real work done” and that Asahi Linux on an Apple M1 Mac mini is “unbelievably fast.”

Instructionals/Technical

• How to upgrade Linux mint LMDE 4 to LMDE 5 via Upgrade tool

  In this tutorial you will learn how to upgrade your Linux mint distro LMDE 4 to LMDE 5 by using the new LMDE upgrade tool. This tool allows you to upgrade your system with ease, it is a GUI tool so you don’t have to touch the terminal or entering any command, the tool is still in beta

• TecAdmin ☛ How to Find Django Install Location in Linux – TecAdmin

  Django is an open-source, high-level web framework written in Python programming. It follows the model–template–views architectural pattern for the development. The Django installation directory differs as per the installation methods.

  In this small faq, you will learn, how to find the Django installation directory on a Linux system.

• HowTo Forge ☛ What is the PassRole permission in AWS and how to use it

• ByteXD ☛ FFmpeg: How to Crop Videos/Images Using the Crop Filter

  FFmpeg is a powerful CLI tool that can do almost anything you can imagine with multimedia files.

  It is a time-efficient and low-resource-consuming tool that can be used to crop both videos and images.

  In this post, we will show you how to crop videos/images using the crop filter using FFmpeg.

• ID Root ☛ How To Install FileRun on AlmaLinux 8 – idroot

  In this tutorial, we will show you how to install FileRun on AlmaLinux 8. For those of you who didn’t know, FileRun is a free, open-source, and self-hosted file share and sync application written in PHP. With a user-friendly web interface, you can store and manage files, photos, movies, and more

  This article assumes you have at least basic knowledge of Linux, know how to use the shell, and most importantly, you host your site on your own VPS. The installation is quite simple and assumes you are running in the root account, if not you may need to add ‘sudo‘ to the commands to get root privileges. I will show you the step-by-step installation of the FileRun file management desktop sync and file sharing on an AlmaLinux 8. You can follow the same instructions for CentOS and Rocky Linux.

• How to Deploy Redis on Rocky Linux 8

  Rocky Linux is an ideal distribution for deploying servers and other applications that require robustness. Some of these applications require Redis. That’s why today you will learn how to install Redis on Rocky Linux, and not only that. You will also learn how to configure it and get it ready for your work.

• AddictiveTips ☛ How to Clear Your Cache on Chrome Browser

  How to clear your cache on Chrome is a common query by Google Chrome users. If you use the same browser, you should know this method for optimum browsing experience or fixing formatting or loading problems of Chrome.

• Ansible Debug Module – OSTechNix

  In this guide, we will discuss what is Ansible debug module, what are the supported parameters in debug module and finally how to use the debug module with each parameter in Ansible playbooks with examples in Linux.

• ID Root ☛ How To Install Sublime Text on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS – idroot

  In this tutorial, we will show you how to install Sublime Text on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS. For those of you who didn’t know, Sublime Text is a shareware, cross-platform source code editor created by Sublime HQ. Sublime is known for its speed, ease of use, cross-platform, and community contribution. It supports auto-completion, syntax highlighting, code building, snippets, installing themes, etc.

  This article assumes you have at least basic knowledge of Linux, know how to use the shell, and most importantly, you host your site on your own VPS. The installation is quite simple and assumes you are running in the root account, if not you may need to add ‘sudo‘ to the commands to get root privileges. I will show you the step-by-step installation of the Sublime Text 4 on Ubuntu 22.04 (Jammy Jellyfish). You can follow the same instructions for Ubuntu 22.04 and any other Debian-based distribution like Linux Mint, Elementary OS, Pop!_OS, and more as well.

• ByteXD ☛ How to Undo/Redo Changes in Vim/Vi – ByteXD

  Vim is a Unix-based text editor. It is an advanced and improved version of Vi text editor and translates to Vi Improved and is available on almost all Linux versions.

  It is very common to mistakenly delete a line while working with the Vim editor or you might want to revert back the changes you made to an already existing line. Knowing how to undo and redo changes in Vim increases efficiency.

  This tutorial will explain the difference between undo and redo commands and their practical uses. Vi and Vim both text editors support these commands.

• OMG Ubuntu ☛ How to Put the Trash Can on the Desktop in Ubuntu 22.04 – OMG! Ubuntu!

  Once you make the jump to Ubuntu 22.04 from the previous LTS you may notice that the trash icon moves from the desktop and on to the Ubuntu Dock.

  This is handy, and evokes the old Unity launcher which had a trash can icon on it (right at the bottom). But not everyone wants it back there, on screen, all of the time.

  Ubuntu 22.04 gives you a small set of dock settings, including a toggle to remove the trash can from the Ubuntu Dock entirely.

  What there isn’t an option for is to show the trash can on the desktop again.

• Ubuntu Handbook ☛ How to Install Hugin Panorama Stitcher in Ubuntu 22.04 | UbuntuHandbook

  The hugin package is removed from Ubuntu 22.04 repository. For those need this free open-source panorama stitcher, here are 3 alternative methods to install it back. Just choose the one that you prefer.

• AddictiveTips ☛ How to upgrade to Ubuntu Server 22.04 LTS

  A new version of Ubuntu Server is out, and with it comes tons of excellent new additions, bug fixes, and more. This guide is for you if you’re looking to try out 22.04 on your system. Follow along to learn how to upgrade to Ubuntu Server 22.04 LTS!

• Video ☛ How to install Xubuntu 22.04 LTS – Invidious

  In this video, I am going to show how to install Xubuntu 22.04 LTS.

• AddictiveTips ☛ How to Update Kodi to the Latest Version

  There are thousands of Kodi users who want to know how to update Kodi to the latest version. If you’re one of them, this blog will share the necessary information with you.

  The process of updating Kodi might be confusing to many, especially if you’re attempting it for the first time. Updating Kodi to its latest version isn’t feasible using the traditional method of clicking on the Check for Update option.

  But that doesn’t mean you have to worry about the update process. By reinstalling the Kodi software, you can update the app.

• Linux Shell Tips ☛ How to Display Two Files Side by Side in Linux

  File management is an important aspect of Linux administration, therefore, learning a few tricks to lessen the hurdles involved in working with user or system files under the Linux ecosystem is always welcomed.

  One of these tricks is how you choose to display your files. Instead of opting for a graphical file reader and using your computer touchpad or mouse to move/navigate from one file to another, you could opt to remain in your command line environment and have a preview of the two files you wish to compare side by side.

• Linux Shell Tips ☛ How to Lock a Text File in Linux Using flock Command

  Before we explore the techniques/approaches of locking a text file under a Linux operating system environment, we should first understand the logic behind Linux’s file locking mechanism.

  Linux’s file locking mechanism restricts/controls file access among multiple processes. When a text file is successfully locked, only one process can access it on a specific time schedule.

  Before proceeding with this article, please understand that file locking is very much different from file encryption or file access control where a passphrase or password is needed to control user access to your files.

• Linux Shell Tips ☛ How to Parse or View XML Code in Linux Command Line

  XML is an abbreviation for Extensible Markup Language. Since XML is both a markup language and a file format, its usage is paramount in the storage, transmission, and reconstruction of arbitrary data. XML-defined set of rules makes it possible to encode documents in machine-readable and human-readable formats.

  There is a downside to XML being attributed as a human-readable language. It is challenging to read and write due to its unfriendly format. For instance, you will find it difficult to visually comprehend a single long line of XML code when it lacks element indentations.

• Linux Shell Tips ☛ How to Split a Large File into Parts at Given Line Numbers

  As a Linux administrator or advanced user, mastering file management in whatever Linux operating system distribution you are using is paramount. File management is a core aspect of Linux operating system administration and without it, we would not be able to embrace file-related features like file encryption, file user management, file compliance, file updates & maintenance, and file lifecycle management.

  In this article, we will look at an important aspect of Linux file management which is splitting large files into parts at given line numbers. If the objective of this article was just to split a large file into manageable small files without considering file line numbers, then all we would need is the convenience of the split command.

• How To Limit Number of Connections (Requests) in NGINX

  NGINX ships with various modules to allow users to control traffic to their websites, web applications, as well as other web resources. One of the key reasons for limiting traffic or access is to prevent abuses or attacks of certain kinds such as DoS (Denial of Service) attacks.

• 11 Things To Do After Installing Ubuntu 22.04 LTS

  In this first part of our three-part series, we will discuss how to limit the number of connections in NGINX to safeguard your websites/applications.

• OpenSource.com ☛ A practical guide to light and dark mode in Jekyll

• How to Install Unity Engine on Ubuntu 22.04 via AppImage [Ed: This is a Microsoft (Mono) infection vector]

Games

• GamingOnLinux ☛ Classic Bethesda titles come to Steam, play them easily on Linux

  With the Bethesda Launcher shutting, they’ve begun the migration to Steam and now some of their classics have become available to download easily.

• Boiling Steam ☛ Getting Started With The Steam Deck Desktop – Boiling Steam

  What is a bigger deal, that Valve’s Steam Deck plays Elden Ring from day one (and even better than on Windows!), or that it is a full-fledged Linux computer in handheld form? Okay, probably Elden Ring, but I know many current or prospective Linux users are excited to see what they can do with a powerful mini Linux computer.

  Admittedly, I’ve mostly been doing the whole Elden Ring on the Deck thing, to my own surprise, but I did pick up a dock (extra port dongle) to explore the desktop mode more. I still haven’t had a chance to do a lot of hacking on it, but let me share what I’ve tried and learned so far. And if you have any particular questions or things for me to try, please let me know in the comments or in our Matrix room.

• Boiling Steam ☛ 2300 Games On The Steam Deck, with OlliOlli, LUNA The Shadow Dust as Steam Deck Verified

  Valve has been validating games at the slowest pace – it took them almost two weeks to add another 100 games after the 2200 games milestone on the Steam Deck. There are now more than 2300 games (2329 at the time of writing) working on the Steam Deck – in two categories as usual…

• AddictiveTips ☛ How to play It Takes Two on Linux

  It Takes Two is an action-adventure platformer game developed by Hazelight Studios and published by EA. It was released in 2021 on Microsoft Windows, Ps4, Ps5, and Xbox. Here’s how you can play It Takes Two on your Linux PC.

  [...]

  Playing It Takes Two on Linux requires the Steam app and Proton. Thankfully, setting up the Steam app on Linux isn’t difficult. To get the latest Steam app working on your Linux PC, start by launching a terminal window on the desktop.

  Unsure about how to open a terminal window on your Linux PC? Press the Ctrl + Alt + T keyboard combination. Alternatively, launch a terminal window on the Linux desktop by searching for “Terminal” in the app menu and launching it that way.

• GamingOnLinux ☛ Block Quake is basically Quake made into LEGO | GamingOnLinux

  Do you love Quake? Do you love LEGO? Well, now they’ve been kind-of combined together to create Block Quake. Yes, someone really did this. It’s a total conversion mod for the original Quake, giving you cute plastic blocky styled characters.

• GamingOnLinux ☛ Wii U emulator Cemu getting closer to Linux and Steam Deck support | GamingOnLinux

  Work continues on the Wii U emulator Cemu to bring it over to Linux, and with that gain Steam Deck support. The developers still plan to open source it too, with their roadmap indicating it’s still scheduled to happen this year.

  For the Linux port, the developers put up an Imgur post going over the current status. An important milestone has been hit recently, with the project being able to be compiled on Linux “without errors”.

• Steve Kemp ☛ Porting a game from CP/M to the ZX Spectrum 48k

  Back in April 2021 I introduced a simple text-based adventure game, The Lighthouse of Doom, which I’d written in Z80 assembly language for CP/M systems.

• GamingOnLinux ☛ FLASHOUT 3 will bring high-speed combat racing later this year | GamingOnLinux

  Jujubee S.A. has announced they’re bringing back FLASHOUT with FLASHOUT 3, a high-stakes and high-speed combat racer is coming with Native Linux support later this year. A racer in the spirit of the classic Wipeout, it looks pretty flashy.

  No exact release date has been given yet, but they did say a demo will become available some time in May.

  “Where high speed meets high stakes. Where unforgiving combat, loud electronic music and addictive boosts of adrenaline mix up to separate winners from losers. Where gravitation is nothing more than an empty word. This is where the world of FLASHOUT 3 will take you and your ride to the absolute limits!

• GamingOnLinux ☛ Claustrowordia, a fun free crossword-type game from Ludum Dare 50 | GamingOnLinux

  The Game Jam Ludum Dare 50 is over and the overall winner appears to be Claustrowordia, and it turns out it actually is a great crossword-type game.

  You’re given a basic starting board with a few letters filled, and a few letters of your own to place onto it. The difference here is that you can place your letters anywhere. It’s a clever little tweak to the usual word-game and it’s pretty amazing that this came from a Game Jam, made solo in 28 hours. I’ve played quite a bit of it, and it supports a few different languages too. All languages play the same, it just changes the dictionary and word definitions used.

Desktop Environments/WMs

• K Desktop Environment/KDE SC/Qt

  • Krita ☛ Krita 5.0.6 Released

    
    Today we release Krita 5.0.6. This is a bug fix release with two crash fixes…

    The Linux appimage and the source .tar.gz and .tar.xz tarballs are signed. You can retrieve the public key here. The signatures are here (filenames ending in .sig).

• GNOME Desktop/GTK

  • Its FOSS ☛ Shortwave 3.0 is Here With UI Upgrades, Private Stations, and More Improvements

    
    Shortwave is a popular internet radio player for GNOME. In total, more than 25,000 stations are available by default, all of which can be organized, searched, and cast to other devices (such as Chromecast).

    Shortwave 3.0 brings these features to a whole new level, with some considerable changes. Let’s take a look at what’s new!

  • OMG Ubuntu ☛ GNOME Devs Help User Solve “Barking Laptop” Problem

    
    Today I noticed GNOME is removing its dog bark sound effect from its next major release, GNOME 43.

    And my first genuine reaction was: “There’s a dog bark sound effect in GNOME?!”.

    Yup, there is.

    Weirdly, for reasons unknown, an Ubuntu user is being hounded by a dog bark whenever they hit an error. This shouldn’t happen as Ubuntu’s default error sound is a bell ding, not a dog bark.

Distributions

• LWN ☛ Yocto Project 4.0 released

  Version 4.0 of the Yocto Project distribution builder is out. Changes include a move to the 5.15 kernel, reproducibility fixes, improved overlayfs support, numerous security updates, and a long list of new recipes

• EasyOS

  • Barry Kauler ☛ EasyOS version 3.4.7 released

  • EasyOS Dunfell-series 3.4.7

    EasyOS was created in 2017, derived from Quirky Linux, which in turn was derived from Puppy Linux in 2013. Easy is built in woofQ, which takes as input binary packages from any distribution, and uses them on top of the unique EasyOS infrastructure.
    Throughout 2020, the official release for x86_64 PCs was the Buster-series, built with Debian 10.x Buster DEBs.
    EasyOS has also been built with packages compiled from source, using a fork of OpenEmbedded (OE). Currently, the Dunfell release of OE has been used, to compile two sets of binary packages, for x86_64 and aarch64.
    The latter have been used to build EasyOS for the Raspberry Pi4, and first official release, 2.6.1, was in January 2021.
    The page that you are reading now has the release notes for EasyOS Dunfell-series on x86_64 PCs, also debuting in 2021.
    Ongoing development is now focused on the x86_64 Dunfell-series. The last version in the x86_64 Buster-series is 2.6.2, on June 29, 2021, and that is likely to be the end of that series. Releases for the Pi4 Dunfell-series are still planned but very intermittent.
    The version number is for EasyOS itself, independent of the target hardware; that is, the infrastructure, support-glue, system scripts and system management and configuration applications.
    The latest version is becoming mature, though Easy is an experimental distribution and some parts are under development and are still considered as beta-quality. However, you will find this distro to be a very pleasant surprise, or so we hope.

  • Barry Kauler ☛ OE and woofQ projects for Easy 3.4.7

    These are the project tarballs used to build the upcoming EasyOS version 3.4.7.

  • Barry Kauler ☛ Kernel 5.15.35 kernel compiled with v4l2loopback-dc module

    These can also be setup to stream video onto a computer screen.

    I was thinking of buying a USB webcam; however, all of these considerations are overlooking something — the modern smartphone.

    Phones these days have incredible optics. This is despite the thin physical constraints — that they are getting around by having multiple lenses. The pixel sizes are enormous, and the processing power is incredible. A lot of research goes into developing the cameras in phones, and mass production means relatively cheap.

  • Barry Kauler ☛ Droidcam and deps compiled in OE

    I have compiled two dependencies in OpenEmbedded, ‘libplist’ and ‘libusbmuxd’, as well as the userland executable for ‘droidcam’.

    The executable is ‘droidcam-cli’ and I intend to include it in the upcoming Easy 3.4.7. Running ‘droidcam-cli –help’ shows the commandline options, and we can play with it in a terminal, and see if can get it working with phones.

• IBM/Red Hat/Fedora

  • 5 things sysadmins should know about cloud service providers

    Consider this advice for choosing and working with a cloud service provider that keeps sysadmins—and their responsibility for improving, troubleshooting, and maintaining infrastructure—at the forefront.

  • Lennart Poettering: Testing my System Code in /usr/ Without Modifying /usr/

    I recently blogged about how to run a volatile systemd-nspawn container from your host’s /usr/ tree, for quickly testing stuff in your host environment, sharing your home drectory, but all that without making a single modification to your host, and on an isolated node.

    The one-liner discussed in that blog story is great for testing during system software development. Let’s have a look at another systemd tool that I regularly use to test things during systemd development, in a relatively safe environment, but still taking full benefit of my host’s setup.

    Since a while now, systemd has been shipping with a simple component called systemd-sysext. It’s primary usecase goes something like this: on one hand OS systems with immutable /usr/ hierarchies are fantastic for security, robustness, updating and simplicity, but on the other hand not being able to quickly add stuff to /usr/ is just annoying.

    systemd-sysext is supposed to bridge this contradiction: when invoked it will merge a bunch of “system extension” images into /usr/ (and /opt/ as a matter of fact) through the use of read-only overlayfs, making all files shipped in the image instantly and atomically appear in /usr/ during runtime — as if they always had been there. Now, let’s say you are building your locked down OS, with an immutable /usr/ tree, and it comes without ability to log into, without debugging tools, without anything you want and need when trying to debug and fix something in the system. With systemd-sysext you could use a system extension image that contains all this, drop it into the system, and activate it with systemd-sysext so that it genuinely extends the host system.

  • Red Hat ☛ Create a PrivateLink Red Hat OpenShift cluster on AWS with STS

    Red Hat OpenShift Service on AWS is a version of the Red Hat OpenShift hosting service managed by Amazon Web Services (AWS). Although your cluster’s own integrity is secure in that environment, communicating safely outside the cluster requires considerable setup. In this article, you’ll learn how to connect securely through a firewall to the internet while keeping your cluster in a private workspace. We use Amazon’s Virtual Private Cloud (VPC), Security Token Service (STS), and AWS Transit Gateway to effect secure connections.

  • Enterprisers Project ☛ 4 reasons diverse engineering teams drive innovation

    I lead an engineering services team that is responsible for a lot of custom development. In my experience, when engineers think about diversity, we tend to focus on skill sets.

  • The Register UK ☛ Fedora dev team starts to simplify Linux graphics handling • The Register

    The Fedora development team are planning some significant changes to the way the distro handles graphics, which will help to push forward the state of Linux graphics support – but it may hinder troubleshooting when things go wrong.

    The planned changes are coming in two stages. Initially, the imminent Fedora 36 release will remove the old fbdev driver, leaving only DRM and KMS. Then in Fedora 37, which is due later this year, the plan is to remove the driver from the X.org server as well.

    These steps are associated with the planned transition to requiring UEFI firmware, with a later goal of removing legacy BIOS support altogether.

    The tools are already in place: this is not adding any new or experimental technology, but rather removing some old tools and drivers that in modern PCs are no longer needed, and which make graphics handling more complicated.

  • Red Hat Official ☛ Red Hat Satellite 6.9.9 has been released

    
    We are pleased to announce that Red Hat Satellite 6.9.9 is generally available as of April 20, 2022.

    Red Hat Satellite is part of the Red Hat Smart Management subscription that makes it easier for enterprises to manage patching, provisioning, and subscription management of Red Hat Enterprise Linux infrastructure.

    The erratum for this release includes…

• Canonical/Ubuntu Family

  • XDA ☛ Pop!_OS 22.04 now available with updated Ubuntu base and new features

    Canonical just released Ubuntu Linux 22.04 last week, with a slew of new features and an extended support period of five years. Pop!_OS, one of the more popular desktop Linux distributions based on Ubuntu, has now released an update with the new Ubuntu version as the foundation.

    Pop!_OS is based on Ubuntu and uses many of Ubuntu’s packages and default applications, but with a customized version of the Gnome desktop environment that System76 calls ‘Cosmic’. There are a few other changes too, like built-in drivers for Nvidia graphics cards (if you install using the Nvidia PC installer) and a custom app store.

  • Ubuntu ☛ Real-time Ubuntu 22.04 LTS Beta – Now Available | Ubuntu

    Based on upstream v5.15, the 22.04 LTS kernel integrates the out-of-tree PREEMPT_RT patch for x86_64 and AArch64 architectures. Once in GA, the new real-time kernel will power the next generation of robotics, IoT, and telco innovations by providing a deterministic response time to their extreme low-latency requirements.

  • 9to5Linux ☛ You Can Now Upgrade Ubuntu 21.10 to Ubuntu 22.04 LTS, Here’s How

    
    Dubbed Jammy Jellyfish, Ubuntu 22.04 LTS is not only a long-term support release, but it also introduces several new features and improvements, such as the Linux 5.15 LTS kernel with better hardware support, a new NTFS read/write file system implementation, and other goodies, the latest GNOME 42 desktop environment, as well as some of the most recent GNU/Linux technologies.

    Ubuntu 21.10 was released on October 14th, 2021, and it’s supported for only nine months. As such, you might want to consider upgrading to Ubuntu 22.04 LTS as soon as possible, and the upgrade path is now finally open for all users.

Devices/Embedded

• CNX Software ☛ Axzez Interceptor carrier board for RPi CM4 gets 8-port PoE+ board

  
  The features-rich Axzez Interceptor carrier board for Raspberry Pi CM4 has gotten the Interceptor PoE board with eight PoE+ ports for connecting up to sixteen PoE IP cameras making it usable as a network video recorder.

  We first wrote about the Interceptor last January noting its impressive I/O capabilities with five SATA ports, four Gigabit Ethernet, two HDMI ports, RS-485 terminal block, and more. It also had two 40-pin FFC connectors “for future expansion”. Those connectors have now found a “meaning to life” with the Interceptor PoE board, as up to two can be connected to the FFC connectors.

  Axzez provides Debian 11 “Bullseye” operating system with drivers needed for the new PoE board. This should be based on Raspberry Pi OS plus extra DTS files, defconfig, and drivers (rtl8367c, ADM6996 switch, etc…). You can download the Interceptor OS image and patch for Linux 5.10.63 in the FAQ. Information specific to the PoE function can be found in a separate forum thread.

• EIN Presswire ☛ MontaVista Launches MVEdge, a Commercially Supported End-to-End Solution for the Intelligent Edge – EIN Presswire

  MontaVista® Software, LLC, a leader in commercial Embedded Linux® products and services, today announced MVEdge, a full-platform solution for the Intelligent Edge, specifically aimed at gateway-style devices.

• Open Hardware/Modding

  • CNX Software ☛ $10 T-Zigbee board combines ESP32-C3 and TLSR8258 for Zigbee 3.0, WIFi and BLE connectivity

    As I understand it, T-Zigbee is designed to act as a Zigbee to WiFi bridge, and is compatible with Zigbee2MQTT and Home Assistant, allowing easy integration into your home automation setup. Based on the hardware, I’d assume it may be usable as a BLE to MQTT gateway as well, in a fashion similar to GL.inet GL-S10 gateway, for people willing to work on the software/firmware.

    [...]

    LilyGO provides Arduino sketches for factory testing…

  • Document Foundation ☛ Open Letter for the Right to Install any Software on any Device

    The ongoing digitization of infrastructures and services comes along with a continuously growing number of electronic devices that are connected to the Internet – be it in private, public or business environments. Many of these devices need more energy and natural resources to be produced than the energy they consume during their entire lifespan. And way too many of these devices are being wasted and not reparable simply because the software stops working or is not being updated anymore.

    Once the pre-installed software stops users from continuing to use their hardware, restrictive ownership models prevent users from helping themselves to enjoy longer use of their devices. Restrictions span from physically locking down hardware, to technical obscurity by using proprietary software, to legal restrictions via software licenses and end user license agreements. This way, manufacturers often prohibit repairability, access and reuse of their devices. Even after purchase, customers often do not really own their devices. They are not able to do what they want with their very own devices. If you cannot install the software you want on your own device – you don’t own it.

  • FSFE ☛ EU Ecodesign: 38 organisations demand the right to access and to reuse hardware

    The FSFE publishes an open letter, co-signed by 38 organisations and companies, to ask EU legislators for the right to install any software on any device, including full access to hardware. These rights support reusability and longevity of our devices. The alliance is composed of entities from environmental, economic, and technological sectors.

    The European Union is about to redefine the ecodesign criteria for products in several legislative proposals, including the Sustainable Product Initiative, the Circular Electronics Initiative, and the Right to Repair. These proposals aim at extending the usage time of hardware and facilitating circular use of electronic devices. The current regulations date from 2009 and do not include any criteria regarding the design and licensing of software as an important factor for the sustainability of electronic products. Software directly influences how long consumers can keep using their devices.

  • Arduino ☛ This realistic control panel takes the flight simulator experience to new heights | Arduino Blog

    For years, Pedro Gonzalez Sanchez has enjoyed airplanes and flight simulators. However, coming back to the simulator after a long hiatus of not playing meant that he would often forget the controls which led to unwanted situations. As a solution, he came up with the idea to build the PGS-2 Flight Simulator Control Panel — a fully custom external controller for DCS World Su-25T that would house an array of buttons and switches in an easily accessible format.

    The enclosure was fabricated from several sheets of white methacrylate plastic that were then painted black and attached together, thus forming a box. In order to provide backlighting for the labels and switches, the front panel was composed of three separate layers that allow light to pass through from the back. As for the electronics, nearly every switch only has two leads, of which one is connected to ground while the other is pulled up internally by an Arduino Leonardo board.

• Mobile Systems/Mobile Applications

  • Linux Capable ☛ How to Install Android Studio on Pop!_OS 22.04 LTS

  • How to View and Share Wi-Fi Passwords on Android

  • HowTo Geek ☛ How to Enable Secure Private DNS on Android

  • Pocket Now ☛ Google I/O 2022: Android 13, Pixel 6a, Pixel Watch, and what else to expect | Pocketnow

  • Computer World ☛ 3 invisible reasons to get excited about Android 13 | Computerworld

  • GSM Arena ☛ Moto G100 receives Android 12 update – comments

  • XDA ☛ Nokia 8.3 5G receives stable Android 12 with April 2022 security patches

  • GSM Arena ☛ Nokia 8.3 5G getting stable Android 12 – GSMArena.com news

  • Android Police ☛ You won’t be able to upgrade your 2022 Ford to Android Automotive

  • Hacker News ☛ Google’s New Safety Section Shows What Data Android Apps Collect About Users

  • Android Authority ☛ Wallpaper Wednesday: Android wallpapers 2022-04-27 – Android Authority

  • India Times ☛ android: Google reportedly rolling out this new feature for Android Auto users – Times of India

  • Paul Thurrott ☛ Google Play Store on Android is Getting an Data Safety Section

  • Android Police ☛ On-device search is broken in Android 13 Beta 1, but it could mean bigger changes down the road

  • 9to5Google ☛ Android 13 Beta – 9to5Google

  • Phone Arena ☛ Face Unlock setting appears on Pixel 6 Pro after Android 13 Beta 1 – PhoneArena

  • Android Authority ☛ Android 13 beta 1 shows face unlock on Pixel 6 Pro, but there’s a catch

  • 9to5Google ☛ LineageOS 19 based on Android 12 officially launches – 9to5Google

  • GSM Arena ☛ Moto G100 receives Android 12 update – GSMArena.com news

  • Kim Kommando ☛ Android bug causing phone battery drain – Here’s how to fix it

  • How to use the Android Power Menu – Phandroid

  • 9to5Google ☛ Pixel 6 is ‘fastest selling Pixel ever’ as hardware at I/O teased – 9to5Google

  • Android Police ☛ Smart Replies come to Android Auto, they’re just not smart enough

  • The Register UK ☛ Alibaba Cloud gets more of Android working on RISC-V silicon • The Register

  • India ☛ Xiaomi Pad 5 Android Tablet With 10.3-inch Display And 120Hz Refresh Rate Launched In India: Price, Specifications

Free, Libre, and Open Source Software

• OpenSource.com ☛ How I grew my product management career with open source

  
  In simple terms, open source software is software with source code that anyone can inspect, modify, enhance, and share. Opensource.com has documented a detailed and comprehensive article to help you understand what open source is.

  My discovery of open source started in the early phase of my career as a visual designer. I was curious to know what it meant and how to be a part of it and that led me to reach out to a few experienced open source contributors and advocates. Though I didn’t contribute at the time, I acquired knowledge of the community which helped me when I made the decision to start contributing.

• AddictiveTips ☛ 3 Best Kodi Addons You Should Try

  Kodi is a well-known open-source media player app. Using this platform, users from all over the world can stream various content free of cost.

  It comes with countless options for streaming movies, cartoons, anime, sports, and many more high-definition video content on-demand. Besides, it provides you with an opportunity to stream media files from your local storage.

• Ubuntu ☛ Open source technology in logistics sector [Ed: She calls GNU "Linux"...]

  The word open source was first coined by Christine Petersen to a working group that was dedicated, with a goal to share open-source software practices in the broader marketplace. The working group values sharing of software for better use, cheaper offering and preventing vendor lock-in. In addition to these values, open-source projects, products, or initiatives embrace and celebrate principles of open exchange, collaborative participation, rapid prototyping, transparency, meritocracy, and community-oriented development.

  A good example of open source is Linux, which became the largest open-source software project in the world. It is a free, open-source Operating System (OS), released under the GNU General Public Licence (GPL). Linux licence prevents restrictions on the use of the software, anyone can run, study, modify, and redistribute the source code, or even sell copies of their modified code, as long as they do so under the same licence.

• Events

  • Adriaan de Groot ☛ Linux Application Summit 2022

    It’s happening! Yes, Linux App Summit (LAS) 2022, but more in particular a gradual return to hybrid conferences – a mix of in-real-life and virtual. I’m looking forward to seeing .. no, more than just seeing, but touching .. friends from GNOME, from KDE, from CHAOSS, and the rest of the Free Software world again. OK, “touching” sounds creepy. I’ll ask consent first, which is the least I can do to satisfy the Code of Conduct. Maybe I’ll check the slides of the impromptu lightning talk I gave in 2019 as well.

    Going to a physical event feels weird. It feels semi-safe. I know a lot of the people there, I look up to many, I assume everyone is smart, capable and looking out for the good of the world-as-a-whole. Getting together is not-quite-the-safest-thing-to-do. Though it’s likely to be a dang lot safer than regular train travel in the Netherlands, where every precaution has been scrapped because the pressure on health care is “low enough”. Italy is still being fairly careful. But enough about travel restrictions, let’s look at the timetable.

• Web Browsers

  • Mozilla

    • Write kubectl plugins using WebAssembly and WASI

      You probably have already heard about WebAssembly, but there are high chances that happened in the context of Web application development. There’s however a new emerging trend that consists of using WebAssembly outside of the browser.

      WebAssembly has many interesting properties that make it great for writing plugin systems or even distributing small computational units (think of FaaS).

      WebAssembly is what is being used to power Kubewarden, a project I created almost two years ago at SUSE Rancher, with the help of Rafa and other awesome folks. This is where the majority of my “blogging energies” have been focused.

    • Firefox Nightly: These Weeks In Firefox: Issue 114

• Programming/Development

  • Linux Links ☛ Best Free and Open Source Alternatives to Oracle JDeveloper

    
    The company co-develops the OpenJDK, an open source implementation of the Java Platform Standard Edition, and Btrfs, a B-tree file system. They also open source the Oracle Coherence Community Edition, NetBeans, and produce Oracle Linux which is a Linux distro compiled from Red Hat Enterprise Linux source code.

    While Oracle develops and distributes open source software, they have many different business models. The majority of their products are published under a proprietary license. This series looks at free and open source alternatives to Oracle’s products.

  • smolver development log

    This is the sixth in a planned series of posts (well, seventh if you count the announcement) where I’ll share my experience writing smolver, my Gemini server software, written in Swift.

  • preserve

    preserve is a combinator that caches the result of a procedure for a given number of seconds.

  • Exploring StackRox

    At the end of March, the source code to StackRox was released, following the 2021 acquisition by Red Hat. StackRox is a Kubernetes security tool which is now badged as Red Hat Advanced Cluster Security (RHACS), offering features such as vulnerability management, validating cluster configurations against CIS benchmarks, and some runtime behaviour analysis. In fact, it’s such a diverse range of features that I have trouble getting my head round it from the product page or even the documentation.

  • Qt ☛ Qt Creator 7.0.1 released

    We are happy to announce the release of Qt Creator 7.0.1!

  • Daniel Stenberg ☛ curl 7.83.0 headers bonanza

    Welcome to the third curl release of the year.

  • Perl/Raku

    • Perl ☛ Installing Perl with perlbrew

      I’m going to start this blog by writing a very simple guide on installing Perl using perlbrew.

Standards/Consortia

• Supporting metafile formats: WMF/EMF/EMF+

  LibreOffice supports many file formats, and among them are some raster and vector image formats from Microsoft. Metafile formats WMF, EMF and EMF+ are among the vector formats usable in Microsoft products, and also in LibreOffice. Here we discuss the implementation of the support for these file formats in LibreOffice.

  We call these file formats metafiles, as they are means of storing drawing commands that are calls to the Windows API that draws shapes and text on the screen. It is possible to replay these metafiles to have a graphical output in an appropriate context.

  It is possible to create complex shapes using metafiles. For example, if you take a look at the odk/examples/basic/forms_and_controls folder in the LibreOffice source code, you will see some nice examples. Here is one of them: A delicious burger created using vector primitives.

Reverse your articles

If you are writing about a new idea, mechanic, or technology, start with it. Talk about what it is before you start contrasting it with what it isn’t. Start by explaining the new thing and why the new thing is so good.

If the reason the new thing is good is because it’s different from an old bad thing, and you really, really wanna contrast and compare in order to make it super clear how much better the new thing is, I guess you can, but please move that to the end of your article.

Hardware

• CNX Software ☛ Arm Cortex-M85 is faster than Cortex-M7, offers higher ML performance than Cortex-M55 – CNX Software

  Arm has introduced a new MCU-class core with the Cortex-M85 core that offers higher integer performance than Cortex-M7, and higher machine learning performance compared to Cortex-M55 equipped with Helium instructions.

  The new Cortex-M85 core is designed for developers requiring increased performance for their Cortex-M powered products without going to Cortex-A cores, and instead, keeping important features such as determinism, short interrupt latencies, and advanced low-power management modes found in all Cortex-M cores.

Integrity/Availability

• Proprietary

  • [Chrome] Stable Channel Update for Desktop

  • Security

    • Hacker News ☛ Microsoft Discovers New Privilege Escalation Flaws in Linux Operating System [Ed: Microsoft concern-trolling Linux while putting NSA back doors in Windows]

      Microsoft on Tuesday disclosed a set of two privilege escalation vulnerabilities in the Linux operating system that could potentially allow threat actors to carry out an array of nefarious activities.

    • Microsoft finds Linux desktop flaw that gives root to untrusted users [Ed: As if local privilege escalation is anywhere as severe as remotely-reachable back doors in Windows. Microsoft is "concerned" about Linux security like wolves are concerned about the safety of sheep.]

      Vulnerabilities recently discovered by Microsoft make it easy for people with a toehold on many Linux desktop systems to quickly gain root system rights— the latest elevation of privileges flaw to come to light in the open source OS.

    • Bleeping Computer ☛ New Nimbuspwn Linux vulnerability gives hackers root privileges [Ed: While CISA admits Microsoft is full of holes that are actively exploited Microsoft and its faithful media operative try to shift attention to "Linux"]

      Security researchers at Microsoft disclosed the issues in a report today noting that they can be chained together to achieve root privileges on a vulnerable system.

    • “Dirty Pipe” Linux vulnerability now being exploited [Ed: This was patched a very long time ago; meanwhile, there are dozen of zero-day flaws in Windows that are remotely exploitable, not local privilege escalation]

      The Linux vulnerability dubbed Dirty Pipe is now being actively exploited in the wild, CISA has confirmed. (Assigned CVE-2022-0847 and first publicly disclosed on March 7, the escalation of privileges (EOP) vulnerability exists in all Linux kernel versions from 5.8 forward and lets a read-only attacker gain root.)

    • Russell Coker ☛ Russell Coker: PIN for Login [Ed: Microsoft gives the NSA et al direct access to PCs, so no "security" measures from Microsoft should be taken seriously]

      A PIN in concept is a shorter password. I think that less secure methods of screen unlocking (fingerprint, face unlock, and a PIN) can be reasonably used in less hostile environments. For example if you go to the bathroom or to get a drink in a relatively secure environment like a typical home or office you don’t need to enter a long password afterwards. Having a short password that works for short time periods of screen locking and a long password for longer times could be a viable option.

      It could also be an option to allow short passwords when the device is in a certain area (determined by GPS or Wifi connection). Android devices have in the past had options to disable passwords when at home.

Civil Rights/Policing

• “As important as water is to life”: How internet blackouts stifled Kashmir’s digital economy – Rest of World

  The Indian government is a world leader in shutting down the internet. Jammu and Kashmir has suffered more than most.

Gemini/Internet Policy/Net Neutrality

• Gemini already has better UX than the web and mobile

  It’s true. Using pretty much any website actually to get something done is now a significant hassle. You have to deal with absurd delays between each mouse click and the browser quiescing to the point where it might be safe to make the next move, and things just judder around uncontrollably and incoherently on-screen, with no indication of what’s going on.

• urgent ink escapade laziness, and a webpage full of 2-4KB JPEGs

  Tomorrow at 4pm I have my occupational medicine examination necessary for signing my job contract on Monday. The referral for it needs to be printed beforehand. There are shops where you can print documents where they usually end up on the business’s laptop thus forfeiting quite some secrecy —
  and I have two printers, an F4580 and an Ink Advantage 3635 that are both yet in need of getting an ink replacement after we got them for free.
  The F4580 has replacement inks numbered “300″ and the 3635 has HP ink boxes saying 652: F6V25AE BHK and F6V24AE BHK.

• Back on twtxt with an atom feed

  Since, I am attracted to go back to networks like Mastodon (or ActivityPub like). Community is great, and I like to share with others.

Audiocasts/Shows

• Video ☛ 22 new features that landed in the BIGGEST Steam Deck update. Ever. – Invidious

Applications

• Tor ☛ New Alpha Release: Tor Browser 11.5a9 (Windows/macOS/Linux)

  Tor Browser 11.5a9 is now available from the Tor Browser download page and also from our distribution directory.

  Tor Browser 11.5a9 updates Firefox on Windows, macOS, and Linux to 91.8.0esr.

Instructionals/Technical

• RTL ☛ Online security

  Online security is one of those topics that seems to pop up everywhere, all the time. And yet, studies and polls regularly reveal that many people are still guilty of very basic mistakes when it comes to securing their online existence.

  As the ancient Romans said repetitio est mater studiorum (“repetition is the mother of study”), so in this article we will tackle a few very simple things that you can do today to improve your online security.

• Yarmo Machenbach ☛ Wireguard and docker: providing VPN access to arbitrary containers

  Some containers just aren’t meant to be connected directly to the internet. After all, you wouldn’t want your ISP knowing which Linux distribution you download and share.

  If like me you have your BitTorrent client installed as a container on a homeserver to make sure it’s always connected but you don’t want to route your other containers through a VPN, you’ll probably want to use a VPN-in-a-container and route your BitTorrent client through it.

  I already had a similar solution using OpenVPN but it was time for an upgrade. Oh yes, it’s Wireguard time.

  As VPN provider, I use Mullvad.

• Tom’s Hardware ☛ Raspberry Pi Pico Monitors 3D Printer and Sends Telegram Notifications

  Monitoring your 3D-Printer with a Raspberry Pi is nothing new, thanks to applications like OctoPrint. However, maker Kutluhan Aktar managed to tackle the process himself using a microcontroller with his Raspberry Pi Pico-powered 3D printer monitor. This project connects the Pico to the internet to relay notifications about the data it tracks and is housed inside a custom printed T-800 Terminator-shaped shell.

• uni Toronto ☛ Sort of making snapshots of UEFI libvirt-based virtual machines

  As of early 2022, one of the limitations of libvirt is that it doesn’t support making snapshots of virtual machines that use UEFI instead of BIOS booting. Since various people want to get rid of BIOS booting, this is a problem on several levels. Fortunately it’s possible to sort of get around this, in one of two ways; the difficult and I believe incomplete way that I haven’t gotten working, and the easier way that I have. All of this assumes that you’re using the normal QEMU/KVM backend for libvirt (which supports UEFI via OVMF).

• Computers Are Bad ☛ 2022-04-22 regulating radiation

  One^wTwo days late for 4/20, I return to discuss equipment authorization. This is a direct followup to my last post about unlicensed radio. I apologize for my uncharacteristic decision to actually provide a promised follow-up in a prompt manner, and give you my assurances that it’s unlikely to happen again. I will return to my usual pattern of saying “this is the beginning of a series” and then forgetting about the topic for two years.

  But equipment authorization is sort of an interesting topic, and moreover I think I really shortchanged the last post by not going into it. Because ISM bands and other so-called “Part 15″ bands are unlicensed, the limitations that exist on usage of those bands stem pretty much entirely from the equipment authorization process. I also think I shortchanged the last post a bit by not providing some background on the regulatory structure, so here that goes first: [...]

• HowTo Forge ☛ How to Add a Rocky Linux system to an OpenLDAP Server

• How to Install Telegram on Debian 11 Linux | Mark Ai Code

  If you are acquainted with WhatsApp, you will not need a comprehensive introduction to Telegram because it is a similar type of service. Users may install Telegram on their smartphone, just like WhatsApp, and register using their mobile phone number to talk with other Telegram users. It allows you to quickly exchange and download photographs, videos, documents, and files. It is also possible to make video and phone conversations, as well as establish polls, groups, and channels for people to engage. Telegram is especially popular due to the latter feature.

  One of the prominent aspects that make Telegram popular is its subscription system for channels, which works similarly to YouTube: you may subscribe to channels in Telegram based on your preferences. If the channel operator adds fresh content, it will appear in the conversation overview. Users may effortlessly pick and forward uploaded material to relatives and friends. This identifies the user or channel from whom the material originated. You may rapidly uncover new channels for your own interests this way. It also includes broadcast features, similar to WhatsApp.

• TechRepublic ☛ How to deploy OrangeHRM as a virtual appliance | TechRepublic

  OrangeHRM is one of the most widely-used open-source human resource management tools on the market. With features such as management for employee information, employee absence, recruitment, as well as employee performance evaluation tools and other features required for general human resources management.

• Linux Made Simple ☛ How to install FireFox on a Chromebook

  Today we are looking at how to install FireFox on a Chromebook. Please follow the video/audio guide as a tutorial where we explain the process step by step and use the commands below.

• How to Install Joomla 4 on Ubuntu 22.04 – LinuxTuto

  Joomla is a free, open source and one of the most popular Content Management System (CMS) around the world which allow the users to create or build their own website and applications.

  It is built on PHP and stores its data on an SQL-based database engine on the backend such as MySQL/MariaDB.

  In this tutorial, we will show you how to install Joomla 4 on your Ubuntu 22.04 OS.

• Linux Capable ☛ How to Install Microsoft Fonts on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS

  Most Linux Distributions use open-source fonts to substitute Microsoft’s iconic typefaces like Arial, Courier New, and Times. Red Hat created the Liberation family to replace these similar-looking but different sizes — all you have to do is select your preferred font when editing documents so that they’ll be readable without any disruptions!

  For users who want to install Microsoft fonts and want the option to use them in LibreOffice, the following tutorial will teach you how to install Microsoft fonts on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS Jammy Jellyfish.

• Linux Capable ☛ How to Install Kylin Desktop Environment on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS

  Ubuntu Kylin is the official Chinese version of Ubuntu however supports English. It has been described as a “loose continuation” to its parent operating system with some differences in appearance and functionality. Still, most importantly, it’s explicitly designed for approval in mainland China, but international users are welcome to use it.

  In the following tutorial, you will learn how to install Kylin Desktop Environment on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS Jammy Jellyfish using the command line terminal.

• Linux Capable ☛ How to Install MATE Desktop Environment on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS

  For those not familiar with MATE Desktop Environment, it continues GNOME 2. It is famous for being lightweight, fast, and stable that runs on Linux and most BSD operating systems. MATE is also an excellent choice for a lower-end system or those looking to remain efficient on system resources. Also, a dedicated Ubuntu MATE edition exists for this desktop environment, enticing users to switch from Ubuntu altogether.

  In the following tutorial, you will learn how to install MATE Desktop Environment on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS using the command line terminal.

• UNIX Cop ☛ How to install Java on Ubuntu 22.04

  As we all know, Java is a very popular programming language and software platform. Thus, Java is indispensable for many Linux developers and professionals who need it to either develop applications or run other applications already created.

  Java is available for installation on Linux without too many problems. In this case, we will opt for the OpenJDK version, which is community maintained and fully compatible with the Oracle version.

  So let’s go for it.

• Linux Capable ☛ How to Install SQLite 3 on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS

  SQLite is a free, lightweight relational database management system (RDBMS) in a C library. SQLite is not a client-server database engine. Instead, it is embedded into the end program. Primarily all programming languages support SQLite, which how languages embed the program is with a file with .sqlite3/.sqlite/.DB extension. The software is a popular choice for local/client storage such as web browsers, Android devices, etc. The list is quite extensive.

  In the following tutorial, you will learn how to install SQLite 3 with Ubuntu 22.04 LTS Jammy Jellyfish using the command line terminal.

• Linux Capable ☛ How to Install Kate Text Editor on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS

  Kate is a powerful and intuitive editor that may be the perfect fit for you. With its robust yet straightforward interface, Kate offers everything from word processing to development tools in one place – which saves time! And with 200+ languages available onboard alongside plugins galore (think code hooks), this tool will help maximize productivity, whether it’s coding or content creation.

  In the following tutorial, you will learn how to install Kate Text Editor on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS Jammy Jellyfish using the command line terminal with various installation options to install the text editor.

• Linux Capable ☛ How to Install Apache Maven on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS

  Apache Maven is an open-source tool that allows the building automation of your java projects. It can also be used for projects in C#, Ruby, etc. Its most famous usage would likely involve Java development! The maven project comes from the Apache Software Foundation, where they were previously part of the Jakarta Project before moving on their own.

  In the following tutorial, you will learn how to install Apache Maven on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS Jammy Jellyfish using APT or downloading the archive and manually to install Maven using the command line terminal.

• Linux Capable ☛ How to Install Qlipper Clipboard Manager on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS

  Qlipper is a lightweight, open-source, and cross-platform clipboard history applet, which helps the user to get back any copied path. The key task of Qlippper will not consume many resources on your PC while monitoring it for recent data that can be used again later if needed!

  In the following tutorial, you will learn how to install Qlipper Clipboard Manager on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS Jammy Jellyfish with Ubuntu’s default repository with the command line terminal along with some tips on how to use it.

• HowTo Forge ☛ OpenSSH Security Hardening Guide for Linux

Desktop Environments/WMs

• K Desktop Environment/KDE SC/Qt

  • Adriaan de Groot ☛ KDE-FreeBSD CI | [bobulate]

    KDE runs a whole bunch of Continuous Integration (CI) builders. These try to build KDE software from version control all the time, and are triggered by commits from developers. We might quibble over the name “CI”, but at least we know most of the time that the code compiles and the tests run and pass. Here’s the KDE FreeBSD overview page.

• GNOME Desktop/GTK

  • OMG Ubuntu ☛ A New Dynamic Wallpaper Maker for GNOME 42 Appears – OMG! Ubuntu!

    Ditch the scripts and erase the elaborate terminal commands ‘cos the following GTK4 app makes it super easy to create your own dynamic wallpapers to use in GNOME 42 (and above).

    Woah, woah: not the old kind of dynamic wallpapers. Awesome though those timed slideshows were/are I’m fully aware apps to create them aren’t new (though weirdly I’ve never written about any 💁🏻‍♂️).

    Anyway, this is a new Dynamic Wallpaper creator for GNOME 42.

    To recap: vanilla GNOME 42 comes with a proper standardised dark mode implementation that all modern GNOME apps respect. It’s pretty cool. As part of that whole thing new dynamic wallpapers were implemented. These change based on which which theme mode is active.

    Don’t confuse these with Ubuntu 22.04 and Pop!_OS 20.04’s separate-wallpaper-for-dark-mode capability; it’s along those lines but a lot more finessed.

Distributions

• Terry Davis Was Right

  TempleOS had interesting new ideas about how different kinds of data like text, images, and 3D models could be freely mixed at a low level, and how the programming environment mixed shell commands and programs, but it was a very limited system overall. It did not end up being a practical system, nor even all that promising for future development. But it struck a nerve, because, despite its impracticality, it had two extremely important ideas: [...]

• IBM/Red Hat/Fedora

  • SELinux is unmanageable; just turn it off if it gets in your way

    Security-Enhanced Linux (SELinux) is a type of Mandatory Access Control (MAC) in the Linux kernel. It can prevent software from performing unexpected — such as abusive or malicious actions — on your Linux systems. However, … it’s also an unmanageable mess, and I have a much greater understanding of why people recommend that people disable it.

    SELinux is one of many layers of security that helps protect your Linux servers (and desktops) from the lions, and tigers, and bears — oh, my! SELinux policies specify which programs, sockets, and files are allowed to interact with each other. It requires everything on the system to be properly labeled with a security context that gets enforced through a policy that maps which labels are allowed to interact.

Free, Libre, and Open Source Software

• Events

  • X.Org + Wine Developer Conference 2022 (4-6 October 2022): Overview · Indico

    The 2022 X.Org Developers Conference is being held in conjunction with the 2022 Wine Developers Conference. This is a meeting to bring together developers working on all things open graphics (Linux kernel, Mesa, DRM, Wayland, X11, etc.) as well as developers for the Wine Project, a key consumer of open graphics.

    Details on how to join us are available in Attending XDC 2022 section of the website.

    The schedule timezone of the conference is UTC-6, unless you set “Use my timezone” setting in your user preferences along with your current timezone.

• Education

  • Securepairs ☛ Friday: SecuRepairs at Symposium on Right To Repair

    If you’re interested in the intersection of the right to repair with law and policy, you’ll want to set aside some time for the next two Fridays to attend a great, two-part symposium hosted by Berkeley Law on the Emergent Right to Repair.

  • Joinup ☛ Open Belgium 2022

    The 2022 edition is about Open, Privacy, and Trust. The event is organised in a hybrid manner: both in-person and online for those cannot go to Ghent, Belgium.

• Programming/Development

  • Trend Oceans ☛ Pros and Cons of Using React Native for Mobile Development

    
    Versatility is at the core of React Native’s function as an open-source User Interface software framework with its capability of developing applications for multiple operating systems. React Native does this by allowing developers to utilise Reactjs with native platform capabilities.

    One of the things that make React Native a viable framework is its API which makes applications stable. Being its key strength, it helps in achieving the primary goal of ironing out the kinks or possible issues in application development.

    However, these advancements do not spare React Native from the need for improvement. To fairly assess its potential, here is a rundown of the pros and cons of developing through the framework.

  • The Register UK ☛ Heresy: Hare programming language an alternative to C

    On Monday, software developer Drew DeVault announced a systems programming language called Hare, describing it as “simple, stable, and robust.” We’ve all heard that before – but there may be something in this.

    More than 300 programming languages have existed at one time or another. Hare aims to serve as an alternative to C – arguably the most significant programming language of the past 50 years.

    DeVault and about 30 project contributors have been working on Hare for about two and a half years. They’ve now let their rabbit loose so developers can run with it.

    “Hare uses a static type system, manual memory management, and a minimal runtime,” explained DeVault in a blog post. “It is well-suited to writing operating systems, system tools, compilers, networking software, and other low-level, high performance tasks.”

  • Jim Nielsen ☛ Progressively Enhanced Builds

    With the advent of the Jamstack, so many of websites require a build step of some kind before a functioning website can be born.

    Build steps are great. I use them all the time. But they do come at a cost.

  • Erlang ☛ Type-Based Optimizations in the JIT

    This post explores the new type-based optimizations in Erlang/OTP 25 where the compiler embeds type information in the BEAM files to help the JIT (Just-In-Time compiler) to generate better code.

Standards/Consortia

• [Old] Digital Trends ☛ USB-C was supposed to be a port paradise, but it’s become a nightmare

  When the transition to USB-C began, we were all promised a better life. Connections would be faster and simpler. One connection to end all connections. The reality of what happened couldn’t be further from that dream. Contents

  USB-C is a mess. The way manufacturers implement and communicate its features is confusing — and downright misleading at times. This wasn’t how it was supposed to be.

Hackaday ☛ 2022 Sci-Fi Contest: Multi-Sensor Measurement System

Many sci-fi movies and TV shows feature hand-held devices capable of sensing all manner of wonderful things. The µ Spec Mk II from [j] is built very much in that vein, packing plenty of functionality into a handy palm-sized form factor. 

Hackaday ☛ Fort Knutz – Squirrels Go All Mission Impossible

[Mark Rober] has a bird feeder in his back yard. Also, squirrels who eat the seed. So, as one does, he built a nine part squirrel obstacle course with a reward of walnuts at the end, and filmed them beating the course.

Hackaday ☛ Pianolizer Helps Your Musical Projects Distinguish Notes

[Stanislaw Pusep] has gifted us with the Pianolizer project – an easy-to-use toolkit for music exploration and visualization, an audio spectrum analyzer helping you turn sounds into piano notes. You can run his toolkit on a variety of different devices, from Raspberry Pi and PCs, to any browser-equipped device including smartphones, and use its note output however your heart desires. To show off his toolkit in action, he set it up on a Raspberry Pi, with Python code taking the note data and sending color information to the LED strip, displaying the notes in real time as he plays them on a MIDI keyboard! He also created a browser version that you can use with a microphone input or an audio file of your choosing, so you only need to open a webpage to play with this toolkit’s capabilities.

Counter Punch ☛ Utopian Visions as Engines for Change

In surveying the history of utopian thinking, Mumford distinguished between utopias of escape and utopias of reconstruction. Viewing the trend toward dehumanizing gigantism emerging in modern times, Mumford conceived a utopian vision of regional decentralization where possibilities for living a fullness of human life could be reconstructed.

“Neither utopias of escape nor of reconstruction can be achieved, but the utopias of reconstruction provide a set of references against which society can evaluate its existing values and technology,” Thomas and Agatha Hughes explain. “Mumford did not hesitate to draw on his knowledge of utopias to conceptualize a utopian regionalism, not expecting that it would be realized, but using the utopian vision as a measuring rod of progress and as an idealized goal . . . Utopian visions were for him engines of change.”[1]

The Nation ☛ Portland Soccer Fans Assert Their Power

Soccer fans in Portland continue to stand up for justice and accountability in the face of brazen evasions and PR-crafted apologies from the front office of the city’s clubs, the Timbers and Thorns. Many diehard supporters have had enough.

Counter Punch ☛ Alfred Nobel’s Prize

In 1901, the “Nobel Prizes” began awarding these gifts, which were referred to as Nobel “laureates.” Initially, there were five awards: Chemistry, Physics, Physiology/Medicine, Literature, and Peace. Then, in 1968, the Academy added Economics to the list. Curiously, even though these were some heavy-duty subjects, there has never been a Nobel Prize in Mathematics.

Prizes are always held in Stockholm, Sweden, and the ceremonies are conducted in Swedish and English. The sole exception to that rule—per Alfred Nobel’s wishes—is that the Nobel Peace Prizes are held in Oslo, Norway, and are conducted in Norwegian and English.

Kev Quirk ☛ Why Are Newsletters So Painful?

Newsletters are the latest shiny thing that a lot of content creators are gravitating toward. Myself included. But last week I decided to kill off my newsletter after producing it for around 18 months.

Salon ☛ The IPA is dead, long live the IPA: Why the love-it-or-hate-it beer is here to stay

It all started with a single tweet on Friday night: “Dear microbreweries, Maybe instead of your 12th double IPA, mak[e] a f**king Pilsner.”

Science

• Hackaday ☛ A Baudot Code Speaking Chatterbot With A Freakish Twist

  [Sam Battle] known on YouTube as [Look Mum No Computer] is mostly known as a musical artist, but seems lately to have taken a bit of shine to retro telecoms gear, and this latest foray is into the realm of the minicom tty device which was a lifeline for those not blessed with ability to hear well enough to communicate via telephone. Since in this modern era of chatting via the internet, it is becoming much harder to actually find another user with a minicom, [Sam] decided to take the human out of the loop entirely and have the minicom user talk instead to a Raspberry Pi running an instance of MegaHal, which is 1990s era chatterbot.  The idea of this build (that became an exhibit in this museum is not obsolete) was to have an number of minicom terminals around the room connected via the internal telephone network (and the retro telephone exchange {Sam] maintains) to a line interface module, based upon the Mitel MH88422 chip. This handy device allows a Raspberry Pi to interface to the telephone line, and answer calls, with all the usual handshaking taken care of. The audio signal from the Mitel interface is fed to the Pi via a USB audio interface (since the Pi has no audio input) module.

• Matt Rickard ☛ Merkle Trees

  A Merkle tree is a tree of interconnected hashes. When one leaf node changes, the hash of each parent up the chain also changes, and ultimately, the root hash changes.

  Peer-to-peer networks often use Merkle trees. It allows each peer to efficiently ensure that no data was lost or modified in transit. Receivers can verify small chunks of data when they are sent by checking them against a small set of hashes. The complete data set isn’t needed for this verification.

• Hackaday ☛ The Sinclair ZX Spectrum Turns 40

  It’s an auspicious moment for retrocomputing fans, as it’s now four decades since the launch of the Sinclair ZX Spectrum. This budget British microcomputer was never the best of the bunch, but its runaway success and consequent huge software library made it the home computer to own in the UK. Here in 2022 it may live on only in 1980s nostalgia, but its legacy extends far beyond that as it provided an entire generation of tech-inclined youngsters with an affordable tool that would get them started on a lifetime of computing.

• Hackaday ☛ Modern Wildfires And Their Effect On The Ozone Layer

  The ozone layer is a precious thing, helping protect the Earth from the harshest of the sun’s radiative output. If anything were to damage this layer, we’d all feel the results in a very short order indeed.

Hardware

• Tom’s Hardware ☛ Laptop Component Shortages Intensify as China Covid Lockdowns Linger

  There have been multiple reports recently concerning the impacts of the extended pandemic lockdowns on the computer industry in China. DigiTimes articles on this topic, bookending the weekend, appear to provide evidence that the laptop industry is under particular stress in April. According to industry insiders, laptop makers have a lot of worries about their own operations as well as over the wide range of components they rely on during production. However, a sudden and drastic downturn in the Chromebook market might help them make the most of sourcing supplies.

• Hackaday ☛ Simple Photo Enlarger Makes Great Addition To Any Darkroom

  Chemical-based photography can seem like a dark art at times, but it needn’t be so. [Dan K] developed the Simple Enlarger to help spread the idea that classical photographic darkroom tools are fundamentally quite easy to understand and build.

Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

• TruthOut ☛ Biden Can Reduce Prescription Drug Prices Without Congress, Warren Says

• Counter Punch ☛ A Political Disinformation Campaign is Threatening Our Democracy

  There is a significant difference between lying about a particular action or product and a disinformation campaign to undermine public trust in a democratic republic. A classic example of the former is how the tobacco industry lied or created doubt about scientific findings that demonstrated that smoking caused lung and cardiac diseases. Up to the mid-Fifties, the tobacco industry had succeeded in elevating smoking to be one of the most popular, successful, and widely used items of the early 20th century.

  In response to the mounting evidence that smoking cigarettes damaged one’s health, the tobacco industry hired the nation’s leading public relations firm. The industry followed the consultant’s advice and focused its efforts on disrupting the usual processes of knowledge production in medicine, science, and public health. Consequently, the leading tobacco companies embraced the scientific discourse that assumes there is always more to know.

• The Hill ☛ Scientists link ‘forever chemicals’ exposure to liver damage

  Scientists have identified a link between exposure to “forever chemicals” and liver damage, as well as a potential connection to non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, in a study published on Wednesday.

  Exposure to such compounds — also known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances or PFAS — was associated with elevated levels of a liver enzyme called ALT, which serves as a biomarker for liver damage, the scientists concluded in an Environmental Health Perspectives article.

Integrity/Availability

• Proprietary

  • [Old] Why Apple doesn’t care about professional Mac users anymore

    Lately, however, those bonds have frayed as Apple has shown an increasing willingness to ignore the things pro-level users want from their products. These users need two things: power (beefy CPUs, lots of fast memory and disk space for storage, high-end graphics cards) and flexibility (lots of ports to plug specialized hardware into, room inside the case to add expansion hardware and replace defective parts).

  • Techdirt ☛ [Cr]ackers Gained Access To T-Mobile VPNs, Customer Service, And Source Code

    U.S. wireless company T-Mobile hasn’t had what you’d call a stellar track record on privacy or security. Last year, the company was forced to acknowledge that hackers had obtained the personal details (including social security numbers) of more than 53 million T-Mobile customers, the sixth time the company had been meaningfully compromised in as many years.

  • The Verge ☛ Google parent Alphabet’s Q1 profits dropped by more than $1 billion compared to 2021

    After a record-breaking 2021 with annual revenue of $257 billion — the first time it has gone over $200 billion for a year — Google’s parent company reports in a filing (pdf) that it has started off 2022 with Q1 revenue that’s up 23 percent from the same period last year, reaching $68 billion.

    However, with expenses up compared to 2021, its net profit actually dropped to $16.4 billion compared to last year’s $17.9 billion. Research and development costs for the quarter rose by over $1 billion compared to Q1 2021, going from $7.485 billion to $9.1 billion. As the New York Times notes, last year the company had a $4.8 billion gain in its stock holdings, and in Q1 2022 it recorded a $1.07 billion loss.

  • Scoop News Group ☛ FBI warns agricultural sector of heightened risk of ransomware attacks [iophk: Windows TCO]

    The FBI on Wednesday alerted food and agriculture companies to be prepared for ransomware operatives to potentially attack agricultural entities during planting and harvest seasons — a time frame the feds warned is more likely to draw the attention of ransomware actors bent on leveraging the sector at its most vulnerable, including now as the spring planting season gets underway.

    The FBI’s notice to industry asserted that ransomware hackers are bent on “disrupting operations, causing financial loss, and negatively impacting the food supply chain,” and noted there were ransomware attacks against six grain cooperatives during the fall 2021 harvest, along with two attacks in early 2022 against targets the bureau did not name that could affect the planting season by disrupting the supply of seeds and fertilizer.

  • YLE ☛ Cyber attack hits upscale Helsinki hotels affecting 15k customers [iophk: Windows TCO]

    He added that the system attack also affected several other hotels in Finland, but said he did not know which ones, as such arrangements are kept between hotels and the supplier.

    The attack took place between 10 and 14 February, according to the firm, which said it became aware of the data breach on 9 April.

  • Security

    • Privacy/Surveillance

      • Techdirt ☛ NSO Is Everywhere And Still Lying About What It Can And Can’t Do To Control Misuse Of Its Exploits

        An in-depth report on Israeli malware manufacturer NSO Group has (again) exposed the company’s lies about its activities (and the activities of its customers).

      • Variety ☛ YouTube Ad Revenue Growth Slows Dramatically in Q1, Alphabet Misses Expectations

        YouTube advertising sales for the first three months of 2022 grew 14%, to reach $6.87 billion — missing Wall Street expectations by more than $600 million and representing a major cooling off from the torrid pace the video giant had seen during the COVID pandemic.

Defence/Aggression

• Common Dreams ☛ Opinion | Casualties of America’s Never-Ending Global War on Terror

  Madogaz Musa Abdullah still remembers the phone call. But what came next was a blur. He drove for hours, deep into the Libyan desert, speeding toward the border with Algeria. His mind buckled, his thoughts reeled, and more than three years later, he’s still not certain how he made that six-hour journey.

• Common Dreams ☛ ‘Pouring Oil on the Fire’: Lavrov Warns Flow of Western Arms to Ukraine Risks Nuclear War

  Russia’s top diplomat warned Monday that NATO countries are “pouring oil on the fire” in Ukraine and heightening the chances of a full-blown nuclear conflict by continuing to dump advanced weaponry into the war zone, comments that came after top U.S. officials vowed to provide Kyiv with another $700 million in military aid.

  In an interview on Russian state television, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said the possibility of nuclear war “should not be underestimated” and added that “under no circumstances should a Third World War be allowed to happen.”

• Common Dreams ☛ ‘For the Sake of Ukraine’ and Beyond, UN Chief Urges Peace Amid Moscow Talks

  Amid ongoing concerns that Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine could lead to far broader and possibly nuclear warfare, high-level demands for a diplomatic resolution to the conflict hit a critical moment Tuesday with the United Nations chief in Moscow for an in-person meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin and other officials.

  Ahead of his meeting with Putin, Secretary-General António Guterres held a press conference with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov—who said Tuesday that NATO nations were risking “World War III” by continuing to flow arms into Ukraine.

• Common Dreams ☛ Opinion | US Secretary of Defense Admits the Real Strategic Goal in Ukraine: Quagmire for Russia

  Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin provided a revealing and disturbing glimpse into a darker element of US policy at a press conference held April 25 at the Poland/Ukraine border. The press event followed a trip to Kyiv by Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Austin.

• Counter Punch ☛ While the Great Power Struggles in the Ukraine War Bring About a Re-Vitalized Non-Aligned Movement?

  Dozens of governments outside Europe and North America have been reluctant to censure Russia, and many more have refrained from joining multilateral sanctions. China has tacitly supported the Kremlin since its February affirmation of a Sino-Russian friendship with “no limits.” A few others have backed Russia vocally, among them Belarus, which has served as a staging ground for the Russian invasion.

  Meanwhile, other governments have sat on the fence. Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said pointedly that his country “will not take sides.” Indian leaders have reaffirmed their policy of nonalignment, implying that their nation will seek to stay out of the fight. South Africa, Pakistan and numerous other nations are following a similar path.

• Counter Punch ☛ Playing With Fire at Chornobyl: After 36 Years the Nuclear Site is Again in Danger

  Russia’s invasion of Ukraine first took their troops through the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone, where they rolled armored vehicles across radioactive terrain, also trampled by foot soldiers who kicked up radioactive dust, raising the radiation levels in the area.

  As the Russians arrived at the Chornobyl nuclear site, it quickly became apparent that their troops were unprotected against radiation exposure and indeed many were even unaware of where they were or what Chornobyl represented. We later learned that they had dug trenches in the highly radioactive Red Forest, and even camped there.

• TruthOut ☛ Melissa Lucio’s Execution Was Put on Hold, But Threat of Death Penalty Remains

• Meduza ☛ Young men from poor regions Mediazona journalists investigate open data on Russian troop losses in Ukraine

  The independent Russian outlet Mediazona has published a new report analyzing available data on Russian military casualties in Ukraine. Using open Russian sources, the journalists found 1,744 reports of Russian military fatalities — a number noticeably higher than the official death toll (1,351) reported by the Russian Defense Ministry on March 25. 

• TruthOut ☛ Texts to Mark Meadows Reveal Right-Wingers Scheming to Blame “Antifa” for 1/6

• The Nation ☛ Art Protest: Save Mariupol

• The Nation ☛ Welcome to the Second Nuclear Age

  Face it, we’re living in a world that, while anything but exceptional, is increasingly the exception to every rule. Only the other day, 93-year-old Noam Chomsky had something to say about that. Mind you, he’s seen a bit of our world since, in 1939, he wrote his first article for his elementary school newspaper on the fall of the Spanish city of Barcelona amid a “grim cloud” of advancing fascism. His comment on our present situation: “We’re approaching the most dangerous point in human history.”

• Common Dreams ☛ Opinion | Mass Delusion in the Nuclear Age

  One adjective often, and correctly, used for Putin’s invasion is “delusional.” Even if he manages to pound Ukraine into scorched rubble, he’ll still be further than when he began from anything resembling victory. 

• TruthOut ☛ US Global Drone War Has Killed Untold Numbers of Civilians, Including Children

• Meduza ☛ Moldova steps up security following blasts in breakaway Transnistria

  The authorities in Moldova’s breakaway region of Transnistria have reported a number of explosions in the last 24 hours, deeming them terrorist attacks. The blasts occurred just days after a senior Russian commander said that capturing southern Ukraine would provide Moscow with a land bridge to Transnistria. Moldovan President Maia Sandu condemned the explosions following an urgent meeting of the country’s Security Council on Tuesday. In turn, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Moscow is “closely monitoring” the situation in Transnistria.

• Counter Punch ☛ MLK and Unions

  The strikers faced enormous police state violence too. They were beaten and teargassed. One 16-year-old boy, Larry Payne, was shot and killed by police during one of the demonstrations. Martin Luther King, Jr, along with other civil rights activists, traveled to Memphis in solidarity with the strikers. It was there that he delivered the speech where he said: “I’ve seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight that we, as a people, will get to the promised land.” Dr. King was assassinated one day later.

  Toward the end of his life, King’s rhetoric was considered too radical by many white “moderates” or liberals. This, and his stand against the imperialistic war against Vietnam and militarism, made him a pariah to polite, white, bourgeois society. In fact, at the time of his death 75% of Americans disapproved of his antiwar and pro-labour stances. King terrified the ruling class because he called for revolutionary socio-economic changes that defied the capitalist hegemony.

• Counter Punch ☛ Russia and US Uranium

  The United States relies heavily on imported uranium, with Russia supplying about 16 percent in 2020. The uranium business with Russia, however, includes not only imports but also enrichment services provided by the Russian state corporation Rosatom, which accounts for 23 percent of total enrichment services in the United States. It’s unclear what is included in the 16 percent mentioned above. If this is only uranium mined in Russia, it is not all the uranium sold to the United States by Russia.

  In 2013, Rosatom acquired Uranium One, a Canadian uranium mining company. The story made the news and was discussed in the Senate in relation to concerns that Russia, particularly in the wake of its seizure of Crimea, had taken over American uranium deposits through a Canadian firm. Yet Russia in fact purchased Uranium One to gain access to vast deposits in Kazakhstan, a world leader in uranium mining and supplies. Whether the uranium mined in Kazakhstan and exported by Uranium One to the United States is labelled as Canadian or Kazakh, the profits nevertheless go to Russia.

• Counter Punch ☛ Hysteria and the Solomon Islands-China Security Pact

  Despite an election campaign warming up, Senator Zed Seselja found time to tell Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare that Australia remained dedicated to supporting the security needs of the Solomon Islands, and would do so “swiftly, transparently and with full respect for its sovereignty”.  The Pacific country remained a friend, part of the “Pacific family”.  He went on to “respectfully” urge the Solomon Islands to reject the security pact with China and “consult the Pacific family in the spirit of regional openness and transparency, consistent with our region’s security frameworks.”

  Having not convinced Honiara to change course, a range of reactions are being registered.  David Llewellyn-Smith, former owner of the Asia Pacific foreign affairs journal The Diplomat, took leave of his senses by suggesting that a Chinese naval base in the Solomons would see “the effective end of our sovereignty and democracy”.  In a spray of hysteria, he suggested that this was “Australia’s Cuban missile crisis”.

• Counter Punch ☛ Policing Causes Violence, Not the Other Way Around

  Alex Vitale, a professor of sociology and coordinator of the Policing and Social Justice Project at Brooklyn College, has followed the politics of law enforcement for years. The author of The End of Policing—a book that Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) inadvertently helped turn into a bestsellerduring the recent Supreme Court confirmation hearings of Ketanji Brown Jackson—explained to me in an interview that “we’ve seen a big increase in the number of police on the subway with the new mayor, Eric Adams, and that did not play a role in preventing this [shooting] from happening.”

  Indeed, New York police, with all the resources of modern technology, surveillance and weaponry at its disposal, had to embarrassingly turn to the public for help. “We routinely overestimate the effectiveness of policing as a solution to our problems,” said Vitale.

• Foreign Policy ☛ Russian Mercenaries Staged Atrocities in Mali, France Says

  The French military has accused Russian mercenaries in Mali of staging a mass grave using real bodies in an apparent attempt to frame French forces and discredit Paris’s counterterrorism operation in the region.

  Images gathered by an intelligence overflight conducted by the French Armed Forces last week and shared with Foreign Policy show around a dozen white men in combat fatigues—thought to be operatives from the Kremlin-linked Wagner Group—shoveling sand over a pile of bodies partially buried near the site of the former French military base in Gossi.

• RTL ☛ Chinese nationals among four killed by woman suicide bomber in Pakistan

  A woman suicide bomber from a Pakistan separatist group killed four people, including three Chinese nationals, in an attack on a minibus carrying staff from a Beijing cultural programme at Karachi University on Tuesday.

  The Baloch Liberation Army — one of several groups fighting for independence in Pakistan’s biggest province — claimed responsibility, saying it was their first suicide attack by a woman assailant.

  Chinese targets have regularly been attacked by separatists from Balochistan, where Beijing is involved in huge infrastructure projects as part of its Belt and Road Initiative.

• BBC ☛ Pakistan attack: Chinese tutors killed in Karachi university bombing

  The separatist Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) said it attacked the vehicle carrying the Chinese staff, and that the suicide bomber had been a woman.

  The group opposes Chinese investment in Pakistan, saying locals do not benefit.

• The Nation ☛ Marjorie Taylor Greene Can’t Lie Her Way Out of the Fact That She Violated the 14th Amendment

  Marjorie Taylor Greene can’t spell or tell the truth. But those are not the reasons the name of the Republican representative from Georgia should be stricken from the 2022 midterm election ballot. Amid all the controversy, scandal, and bad theater surrounding Greene, a simple fact is indisputable: When the Republican Party’s most fanatical member of Congress gave aid and comfort to the January 6 insurrectionists, she violated Section 3 of the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution.

  That violation is explicitly disqualifying, no matter what Greene and her defenders may claim.

• NBC ☛ Text messages from Greene put new focus on martial law testimony

  “Marjorie Taylor Greene testified under oath that she could not remember telling Trump or his chief of staff to declare martial law to try to keep Trump in power, but her own texts reveal that she did exactly that,” Fein said in a statement.

• France24 ☛ Humanity entering ‘spiral of self-destruction’, UN warns

  In a fresh report, the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, or UNDRR, found that between 350 and 500 medium- to large-scale disasters took place globally every year over the past two decades.

  That is five times more than the average during the three preceding decades, it said.

• Breach Media ☛ Ukraine’s first assailant—international lenders

  Ukrainians have been suffering from the consequences of economic restructuring driven by the International Monetary Fund (IMF)—from a rise in mortality linked to rapid privatization after the collapse of the Soviet Union, to the commodification of agricultural land and sixfold increases in energy bills.

• Turkish Minute ☛ Armenian MP faces ‘unprecedented’ backlash over motion seeking genocide recognition

  An Armenian member of the Turkish Parliament from the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) has said he has faced an unprecedented level of backlash due to a motion he submitted on Friday asking the legislature to declare the mass killings of Armenians over a century ago a genocide, the BBC Turkish edition reported.

  “I have been submitting this motion for seven years and have never faced this kind of backlash. It was possible to talk about such issues in Turkey before, and this was the step I took for an issue about which the president issues a message of condolence every year,” said HDP lawmaker Garo Paylan.

  Turkey categorically rejects the 1915-16 killings of more than a million Armenians as genocide.

Environment

• Democracy Now ☛ Free After 993 Days: Environmental Lawyer Steven Donziger on Leaving House Arrest & His Fight with Chevron

  We speak with human rights and environmental lawyer Steven Donziger, who was released Monday from nearly 1,000 days of house arrest as part of a years-long legal ordeal that began after he successfully sued Chevron on behalf of 30,000 Ecuadorian Amazonian Indigenous people. Donziger calls his misdemeanor sentencing and arrest “a retaliation play by Chevron and some of its allies in the judiciary,” meant to intimidate other human rights advocates and lawyers from pursuing environmental justice. “Chevron tried to use me as what I would say is a weapon of mass distraction so people wouldn’t focus on the environmental crimes they commited in Ecuador,” continues Donziger, who says, “I didn’t really understand freedom until it was taken away.”

• Counter Punch ☛ T-Junction Ahead

  Five months ago, the Stockholm-based International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance pointed to another crisis, this one centered on the United States. For the first time, the think tank moved the U.S. out of its “democracy” category, classifying us instead as a “backsliding democracy.” On this issue, sober-minded elected officials, scholars, analysts, and others have for months been raising ever louder alarms. An attempted hijacking of the U.S. electoral process, they say, is under way.

  These environmental and political warnings present us with two terrifying prospects: one, that continued abuse of the ecosphere could render much of the Earth unlivable for humans and myriad other species, and two, that the United States’ current political drift toward autocratic rule could accelerate, dashing any hope of attaining a just, pluralistic democracy. These crises are intertwined. Either we find meaningful responses to both, or we fail dramatically on both.

• Common Dreams ☛ Opinion | Big Banks Are Failing Their Investors on Climate Change

  For any company, being seen as trustworthy is critical to success. This is even more true for banks, whose core business is based on being entrusted with funds from customers and investors to manage responsibly and reliably. To be trustworthy means that you make good on your promises and that, if you make a commitment, you then follow through on it. That’s why it’s so troubling that every major US bank has failed to take meaningful steps to follow through on their commitments to spur climate action.

• Common Dreams ☛ Shareholders Target Wall Street Banks With ‘Groundbreaking’ Climate Resolutions

  A significant percentage of shareholders at three of the biggest U.S. banks voted Tuesday to endorse first-of-their-kind resolutions urging the companies to stop supporting new fossil fuel development amid a worsening climate emergency.

  “Big banks have a responsibility to address their massive contribution to the climate crisis and protect their shareholders from climate risk.”

• Common Dreams ☛ ‘No Negotiating With Arsonists’: Green Groups Slam Manchin-Led Climate Compromise With GOP

  Advocacy groups on Tuesday blasted new efforts by U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin to strike a deal with the GOP on climate legislation after months of the West Virginia Democrat preventing the House-approved Build Back Better Act from reaching President Joe Biden’s desk.

  “The White House and Democratic leadership must push for the solutions we need, not merely what pleases Joe Manchin.”

• Energy

  • DeSmog ☛ ‘Existential Threat’: Indigenous Leaders Urge Citigroup to Stop Backing Amazon Oil

    Indigenous leaders have called on Citigroup to stop financing oil and gas projects in the Amazon, saying the bank’s activities contradict its climate pledges by putting the threatened ecosystem at greater risk. 

    Citigroup, a leading financier of the fossil fuel industry, has sought to position itself as a climate leader in the past year, pledging to slash emissions from its portfolio to net zero by 2050, and announcing a coal phase-out.

  • The Verge ☛ Fidelity is rolling out Bitcoin investing for 401(k) plans

    Fidelity will soon start allowing eligible individuals to save a portion of their 401(k) in Bitcoin, the company announced Tuesday. Employees will only gain access to the option if their employer signs off the option, which Fidelity says will start rolling out in mid-2022.

  • Indian Express ☛ A software code change would reduce Bitcoin’s energy use by 99.9%: Climate groups

    Bitcoin mining uses more electricity than all the electricity consumption done by Sweden, according to a report by University of Cambridge. In a new campaign launched, a group of climate activists wants Bitcoin to change its algorithm from Proof-of-Work to Proof-of-Stake to reduce climate consumption.

    The campaign called: “Change the Code, not the Climate” aims to make Bitcoin switch its algorithm, which will significantly reduce the competition to mine [cryptocurrency] coins. Ultimately, reducing Co2 footprint released by using expensive devices for [cryptocurrency] mining.

• Wildlife/Nature

  • Counter Punch ☛ Wildlife Conservation Groups Secure Agreement From Feds to Evaluate Southern Rockies for Lynx Critical Habitat

    “We are hopeful today’s agreement will combine with our other Canada lynx victories to give this snow-dependent big cat a fighting chance at survival in the face of our warming climate,” said John Mellgren, general counsel at the Western Environmental Law Center. “We have had to push the Fish and Wildlife Service for every inch of progress on Canada lynx recovery efforts, and are hopeful the agency is beginning a new chapter of good-faith recovery efforts for this ecologically significant and iconic wild cat.”

    Critical habitat is area designated by the federal government as essential to the survival and recovery of a species protected by the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Once designated, federal agencies must make special efforts to protect critical habitat from damage or destruction. In 2014, the Service designated approximately 38,000 acres of critical habitat for threatened lynx, but chose to exclude the lynx’s entire southern Rocky Mountain range, from south-central Wyoming, throughout Colorado, and into north-central New Mexico. These areas are vital to the iconic cat’s survival and recovery in the western U.S., where lynx currently live in small and sometimes isolated populations.

• Overpopulation

  • The Telegraph UK ☛ Starvation could kill more children in Somalia than devastating 2011 famine

    Driven in part by the war in Ukraine, the price of wheat has jumped by 45 per cent and oil by 40 per cent. Meanwhile, water shortages have pushed the cost of a 200 litre jerry can up 400 per cent since the start of the year, from around $1 to $5.

    In an interview with the Telegraph, Kate Foster, the British ambassador to Somalia, said this price hike was disastrous for families who already spend between 60 and 80 per cent of their income on food, warning that the situation was “really rapidly deteriorating”.

  • 7 Facts About Water Scarcity in Jordan

    Despite regional turmoil, Jordan enjoys relative stability compared to its neighbors in the Middle East. However, the Kingdom’s long-running issue of water scarcity, which ranked second globally, could threaten that continued stability. Water scarcity exacerbates existing systemic issues such as poverty and public health crises, which Jordan currently contends with. The Kingdom is suffering from an unprecedented youth employment rate of 48.1% as of November 2021 and is struggling to meet the pandemic-induced public health demands. As the effects of environmental changes continue to develop, Jordanians may increasingly feel the impacts of water scarcity in Jordan in the next decade.

  • Middle East Monitor ☛ Rising bread prices, water scarcity and a climate crisis, Egypt is on the brink

    Last week Egypt turned to the IMF for the third time in six years to apply for a loan as the cash strapped nation reels from an 11-year autocratic regime, a climate crisis and now the Russian war.

    Impact on food insecurity across the MENA region has been one of the big talking points as the conflict unfolds in Ukraine and Cairo has not escaped this. The price of cooking oil, petrol and wheat has soared in Egypt since the fighting began.

    Egypt is the world’s largest importer of wheat with Russia and Ukraine accounting for 80 per cent of imports and 73 per cent of its supply of sunflower oil. At the beginning of March, a packet of five loaves of bread in Egypt had already risen from five Egyptian pounds to 7.5 EGP.

  • Los Angeles Times ☛ Op-Ed: Is humanity doomed? That depends on us

    Such population doomsaying is not limited to billionaires. Paleontologist Henry Gee argued in November that our species is destined for extinction — and soon. Low genetic variation, declining fertility and habitat degradation imperil Homo sapiens, Gee claims, warning that “[t]here comes a time in the progress of any species, even ones that seem to be thriving, when extinction will be inevitable, no matter what they might do to avert it.”

  • Opinion: Drought, overpopulation and the magical thinking enabling it all

    Even if agriculture is dehydrated to quench residential thirst — depleting produce shelves across the nation — Californians may be forced to ration water anyway, because the same officials who are pleading for, or mandating, water usage reductions are simultaneously pursuing polices that invite even more demand for water. Without regard to the reality of climate change’s chronic droughts and wildfires, Newsom along with his fellow illusionists in Sacramento are essentially forcing local communities to increase their populations.

Finance

• Common Dreams ☛ Poor Nations Face ‘Perfect Storm’ of Debt, Food, and Energy Crises: UN

  “The developing world is at the brink of a perfect storm of debt, food, and energy crises.”

  “Instances of civil unrest are brewing in all corners of the world.”

• Capital One tried to cause me to miss a dispute deadline in my case against Batteries Plus Bulbs. – BaronHK’s Rants

  Capital One tried to cause me to miss a dispute deadline in my case against Batteries Plus Bulbs in Gurnee, Illinois.

  The account representative which I spoke to about my dispute with Batteries Plus Bulbs over defective car key and wiping my remote control, and then trying to charge me for the key and programming fee anyway told me to expect documents in the postal mail to reply to, and they didn’t come.

  Finally, I logged into my account and noticed a document available to view, which are normally boring “We’re updating your account terms.” things that nobody reads.

AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

• Common Dreams ☛ Afghan-American Groups Challenge Illegal Seizure of Billions by US

  Condemning the Biden administration’s seizure of U.S.-held Afghanistan Central Bank funds as “a deep and grave injustice” that will worsen the humanitarian crisis already being suffered by millions of Afghans, several civil society groups have filed official statements in federal court demanding President Joe Biden’s executive order regarding the funds be overturned.

  “Releasing these funds back to the Afghan people is a critical step in addressing the conditions imposed on Afghans.”

• Common Dreams ☛ Opinion | More Progressive Fighters Like Nina Turner Are the Missing Piece in Congress

  “We need more people who will lose their minds if they’re missing pieces.”

• Common Dreams ☛ Groups Say Congress Must ‘Fiercely Reject’ Cruel Attack on Asylum-Seekers

  Hundreds of faith-based and civil rights groups and leaders across the United States on Tuesday called on members of Congress to “fiercely reject” a “dangerous” bill that would codify a rule used to deport more than 1.7 million asylum-seekers under pretext of the Covid-19 pandemic.

  “Lawmakers have a moral imperative to oppose this legislation and any anti-asylum proposal that would keep Title 42 in place.”

• Common Dreams ☛ ‘Penny Wise and Pound Foolish’: Democrats Urged to Reject Pivot to Austerity

  Grassroots progressive groups on Tuesday urged Democratic congressional leaders to ignore Republicans, right-wing members of their own party, and neoliberal economists who are pushing lawmakers to hit the brakes on federal spending as inflation surges to levels not seen in decades.

  “Pulling back on effective, popular investments will not solve the problems we face.”

• Common Dreams ☛ Opinion | Jared Kushner Sold Out to Saudis for $2 Billion and Nobody Seems to Care

  After President John F. Kennedy appointed his brother as Attorney General, Republicans freaked out and passed an anti-nepotism law against presidents hiring family members. 

• Common Dreams ☛ House Dems Back Marijuana Industry Workers in Unionizing Push

  Workers in the marijuana industry joined union representatives and Democratic lawmakers Tuesday for a round table discussion about a growing push to organize workplaces in the sector and about federal legislation to protect workers’ rights in all industries.

  Reps. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) and Donald Norcross (D-N.J.). met with employees from marijuana businesses in New Jersey, where legal sales for recreational use began last week.

• The Nation ☛ Kevin McCarthy Is a Terrible Liar

  “My Kevin.” That’s what disgraced former president Donald Trump has called House minority leader Kevin McCarthy—and there’s no indication he’s given up possession of the GOP toadie. Although even I thought, briefly, that might change after tapes emerged last week of McCarthy telling House GOP colleagues in the wake of the January 6 insurrection that he was considering asking Trump to resign. Since the audio came out, a senior Republican aide called McCarthy “a bald-faced liar” to Politico, since he’d insisted that never happened. But “bald-faced liar” is a term of endearment to Trump, who lied his way to business fame and to the White House.

• Pro Publica ☛ Building the “Big Lie”: Inside the Creation of Trump’s Stolen Election Myth

  By the time Leamsy Salazar sat down in front of a video recorder in a lawyer’s office in Dallas, he had grown accustomed to divulging state secrets. After swearing to tell nothing but the truth so help him God, he recounted that he was born in Venezuela in 1974, enlisted in the army and rose through its special operations ranks. He described how in 2007 he became the chief of security for Hugo Chávez, the Venezuelan leader whose electoral victories had been challenged by outside observers and opposition parties. After Chávez died in 2013, Salazar said he provided intelligence on top Venezuelan officials involved in drug trafficking to American law enforcement agencies, which had helped him defect.

  After about 45 minutes of Salazar telling his life story, the lawyer questioning him, Lewis Sessions, abruptly changed the course of the conversation. “I want to take a moment to get off the track,” said Sessions, the brother of Republican Rep. Pete Sessions of Texas. “Why are you here? What has motivated you to come forward?”

• Democracy Now ☛ Cuban Deputy Foreign Minister on Immigration, U.S. Blockade & Why Cuba Hasn’t Denounced Russia

  The United States and Cuba held their highest-level talks in four years last week in Washington, where they discussed the soaring numbers of Cubans immigrating to the U.S. We speak with Cuba’s Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fernández de Cossío, who participated in the talks. He says the U.S. has failed to implement the mutually set immigration goals between the two countries, which, paired with economic sanctions on the island, has resulted in “irregular and uncontrolled migration” of Cubans to the U.S. “If the United States would have fulfilled its commitment of granting 20,000 visas a year, it would perfectly have avoided thousands of Cubans reaching the border of the United States,” says Fernández de Cossío, who blames the Biden administration for upholding the same destructive policies as the Trump administration, which applied maximum economic sanctions starting in 2019 to “make life as difficult as possible” in Cuba. He also speaks about the Russian invasion of Ukraine, saying “this war could have been avoided,” and calls out the U.S. for pushing “double standards” under the guise of international human rights law.

• TruthOut ☛ DeSantis Signs Bill Banning Ranked-Choice Voting Option for All of Florida

• TruthOut ☛ Florida Man Demands Ban on Bible in Schools Using DeSantis’s Own Law Against Him

• Counter Punch ☛ Will DeSantis’s Latest Mickey Mouse Political Tantrum Cost Him His Career?

  The Reedy Creek Improvement District is, as you’ve probably heard by now, 38.5 square miles of land in Orange and Osceola Counties owned by the Walt Disney Company. In 1967, the man himself decided to build an amusement park in the area, but he wanted — and got — something in return: Self-governance.

  Disney ran Reedy Creek as, essentially, its own polity. It taxed itself to build roads and provide services normally provided by government elsewhere.  And it largely got to do things its way instead of Tallahassee’s way.

• Counter Punch ☛ Habermas on the Three-Tiered Model of Global Governance Without World Government

  Our understanding of how we ought to be governing ourselves in a globalized, interdependent world beyond competing nation-states has pressed our thinking to the point where we can characterize the “new structure of a constituted cosmopolitan society” by its “three arenas and three kinds of collective actors” (ibid.). The earliest model of the nation-state recognizes only one player and “two playing fields—domestic and foreign policy or internal affairs and international relations” (ibid.).

  A single actor dominates the first level, the “supranational arena” (ibid.). This means that the international community must walk a rather delicate tightrope towards creating an “institutional form in a world organization that has the ability to act in a carefully circumscribed policy field without taking on the character of a state” (ibid.). The UN will require reformation: it “must focus not only on strengthening core institutions but also on detaching them from the extensive web of special UN organizations, in particular those networked with independent international organizations” (ibid.). The communicative infrastructure of the reformed UN must tie NGO deliberative learning processes pretty tightly to circuits of communication within national parliaments (and other “representatives of a mobilized world public” (p. 323).

• The Nation ☛ What the Year 2000 Wrought

  To make history into a narrative, the journalist yoked together archival material, old reporting of his, and new, immersive research conducted over the past few years, which included flying a plane with the instructor who trained a 9/11 perpetrator. He also devotes pages to Elián González, a Cuban immigrant who became a political token; the Supreme Court case Bush v. Gore; and the dot-com bubble.

  I spoke with Rice about the cult of early-aughts political personality, ironic coincidences, and the benefit of writing this book from a historical remove. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

• Reason ☛ YouTube ISIS Videos Mean the Supreme Court Could Reconsider Section 230

  The father of woman killed by ISIS asks the U.S. Supreme Court to consider a case involving algorithms, terrorism, and free speech. As YouTube celebrates its 17th birthday, the game-changing user-generated video platform once known for funny pet videos and other benign content continues to attract criticism for its alleged role in fostering extremism. Ample evidence casts doubt on the idea that social media platforms are radicalizing American youth, but high-profile anecdotes about bad turns allegedly inspired by YouTube, Facebook, and other sites make it hard to combat such claims. Now one such story may come before the Supreme Court—and threaten a foundational internet speech law.

  The case (Gonzalez v. Google LLC) involves a man whose daughter was killed in a 2015 ISIS attack in Paris. The grieving father, Reynaldo Gonzalez, sued YouTube’s parent company, Google, under the U.S. Anti-Terrorism Act. Gonzalez claims that ISIS posted recruitment videos on YouTube, that YouTube recommended these videos to users, and that this led to his daughter’s death.

• Medforth ☛ Macron is said to have benefited from the votes of 85% of Muslims – Terrorists also called for Macron to be elected

  In the first round of voting on April 10, Muslims had voted massively for the radical left candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon, with 69%. Catholics, on the other hand, gave 55% of their votes to the incumbent president. In terms of turnout, 79% of Catholic voters went to the polls, while only 58% of Muslims cast their vote to elect the President of the Republic.

• Common Dreams ☛ ‘Elon, There Are Rules’: EU Says Twitter Must Comply With New Digital Services Act

  The European Union on Tuesday warned Elon Musk that Twitter, now owned by Tesla’s chief executive, must comply with the bloc’s new law that aims to halt the online spread of hate speech and other illicit content, or risk substantial fines or a continent-wide ban—possibly foreshadowing a global regulatory fight over the social media platform.

  “If Twitter does not comply with our law, there are sanctions.”

• TruthOut ☛ How Will Elon Musk’s Ownership Affect Twitter?

• Techdirt ☛ Twitter’s Legal Team Has Been An Aggressive Defender Of Free Speech; Will That Continue Under Musk?

  For all the talk of how Elon Musk wanted to buy Twitter to make it more supportive of free speech, there remain a ton of questions about what it will actually mean in practice. I’ve explained why his conception of free speech is incredibly naïve and his ideas around content moderation are not just outdated but counterproductive. Unfortunately, when most people talk about Twitter and “free speech” it’s the content moderation aspects that they’re referring to.

• Democracy Now ☛ Elon Musk, the World’s Richest Man, Has Been an “Abusive” Bully on Twitter for Years. Now He Owns It

  The world’s richest man, Elon Musk, is set to become the new owner of Twitter after the company’s board agreed to sell the influential social media platform for $44 billion on Monday. Musk, who describes himself as a “free speech absolutist,” tweeted, “I hope that even my worst critics remain on Twitter, because that is what free speech means.” We speak with tech industry watchdog Jessica González and Evan “Rabble” Henshaw-Plath, who was part of the team that launched Twitter in 2006, about what the buyout means for the future of digital media and journalism. “Musk or no Musk, Twitter has work to do to ensure that it stops amplifying bigotry, calls to violence, hate speech and conspiracy theories,” says González. Henshaw-Plath says he senses Musk has “no idea what he’s getting into,” and discusses the activist roots of Twitter.

• TruthOut ☛ Some GOP Insiders Are Expressing Fear Over Trump’s Possible Return to Twitter

• Indian Express ☛ Elon Musk’s Twitter: How his free speech argument could play out in India

  After nearly a month of ups and downs, including a hostile takeover offer, Elon Musk has finally become the new owner of Twitter. Musk calls himself a “free speech absolutist”, and has declared that “free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy, and Twitter is the digital town square where matters vital to the future of humanity are debated.”

  It’s a high ideal that has been invoked repeatedly over the years by executives of the Internet’s biggest companies.

• Indian Express ☛ ‘Against censorship that goes far beyond the law’: Elon Musk on free speech post-Twitter deal

  “The extreme antibody reaction from those who fear free speech says it all. By “free speech”, I simply mean that which matches the law. I am against censorship that goes far beyond the law. If people want less free speech, they will ask the government to pass laws to that effect. Therefore, going beyond the law is contrary to the will of the people,” he wrote on his Twitter feed.

  It should be noted that ‘free speech’ and ‘censorship’ rules are different in each country. In the United States, the first amendment protects freedom of speech and the press. In India, while Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution ensures freedom of speech and expression the first amendment ensures “reasonable restrictions” on the same.

  Given Twitter is a global service, it will have to follow the idea of free speech as ‘defined’ by each country’s laws, at least if one goes by Musk’s definition for now. It should also be noted that the law in many countries may not necessarily ban certain kinds of hate speech or deem it illegal. Would Twitter then ‘ban’ such speech, is what is not clear. Just how does Twitter plan to deal with ‘censorship’ now that Musk is in charge remains unclear, especially with regard to its existing content moderation.

• New Scientist ☛ Elon Musk buying Twitter has set him up for a scuffle with the EU

  On 23 April, two days before Musk landed his Twitter deal, the European Union agreed its Digital Services Act (DSA), which will grant it the right to police how platforms moderate content, halt the spread of disinformation, and keep users safe. If platforms don’t conform, it could open them up to bans or sanctions of up to 6 per cent of their global turnover. Twitter’s 2021 revenue was $5.08 billion, meaning Musk would have to hand over up to $304.8 million if fined.

  Thierry Breton, the EU’s commissioner for the internal market, has already indicated that the bloc is prepared to enforce its regulations. “Elon, there are rules,” he said in an interview with the Financial Times today.

• India Times ☛ ‘I am against censorship that goes far beyond the law.’ Elon Musk clarifies what he means by free speech on Twitter

  As people express their concern over the fact that Twitter may henceforth be an unmoderated platform, Musk offered a clarification on what he means by free speech. In a tweet on Wednesday, the industrialist said, “By ‘free speech’, I simply mean that which matches the law. I am against censorship that goes far beyond the law. If people want less free speech, they will ask the government to pass laws to that effect. Therefore, going beyond the law is contrary to the will of the people.”

• Hindustan Times ☛ Elon Musk explains what he meant by free speech for Twitter: ‘If people want…’

  A day after advocating free speech on Twitter that Elon Musk has now bought following a $44 billion deal, Musk on Wednesday explained what he meant by ‘free speech’, as his earlier proclamation left Twitter users high and dry as they did not understand what Musk actually meant by free speech on Twitter. In a clarification tweet, Elon Musk said by free speech, he meant that which matches the law. “I am against censorship that goes far beyond the law, he said hinting that his earlier tweets on free speech led to ‘extreme antibody reaction’ from those who fear free speech.

• The Verge ☛ Elon Musk’s Twitter plans are a huge can of worms

  Musk named his priorities in a press release, echoing earlier statements he’s made about potential changes. “Free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy, and Twitter is the digital town square where matters vital to the future of humanity are debated,” he said. “I also want to make Twitter better than ever by enhancing the product with new features, making the algorithms open source to increase trust, defeating the spam bots, and authenticating all humans.”

  In other words, he’s got four main ideas for unlocking Twitter’s potential, and every single one is a huge can of worms. Let’s break them down one at a time.

• Axios ☛ Everything Elon Musk wants to change about Twitter

  State of play: Before he announced he had made an offer for Twitter, Musk had talked about the things he would want to change about the social media platform, from adding an edit button to limiting content moderation.

• BBC ☛ Elon Musk warned he must protect Twitter users

  The European Union has said its new online rules will “overhaul” the digital market, including how tech giants operate.

  Once they come into force, there will need to be greater transparency around why content is recommended to users, or why they are being targeted with certain ads, for example.

• The Economist ☛ Elon Musk is taking Twitter’s “public square” private

  How might Mr Musk change things? He has said that he will publish Twitter’s code, including its recommendation algorithm, in a bid to be more transparent. He proposes to authenticate all users and to “defeat the spam bots”. And he will be “very cautious with permanent bans”, preferring “time-outs”, he told TED. This suggests a reprieve for Mr Trump and other banned politicians, as advocated by groups including the American Civil Liberties Union, which counts Mr Musk as one of its largest donors.

• The Hill ☛ Hillicon Valley — Five things to watch on Musk’s Twitter deal

  The marriage of the world’s richest man and one of the most influential social media platforms — of which he is an active user -— has left questions about how the company will be run, what it means for American politics and the dissemination of information in general.

  x Here are five things we’ll be watching as details of the company’s new makeup become public: [...]

• Rolling Stone ☛ How to Become a MAGA Rap Kingpin (Without Believing What You’re Saying)

  Conversations about free speech and cancel culture have created a cottage industry for public figures willing to use language that many people might find offensive. At the highest valuations, celebrities like Joe Rogan have been able to build some of the most popular individual brands in America — in Rogan’s case, amid calls for him to be deplatformed for everything from vaccine misinformation to a number of since-deleted episodes in which the host routinely says the n-word.

  MacDonald is likely the most famous artist in a budding genre of his own creation: right-wing protest rap. On YouTube, songs with titles like “Snowflakes” (by MacDonald), “Rittenhouse” (by Tyson James, a “politically incorrect Christian”), and “Patriot” (by Topher, featuring the “Marine Rapper”) regularly go viral and even reach the charts, to the confusion or ignorance of industry players. One of MacDonald’s latest projects is a joint album with “hick-hop” rapper Adam Calhoun, released in February. Calhoun hails from Illinois and has a laconic flow and crude lyrics; he is to One America News Network what MacDonald is to Fox News. In his 2018 track “Racism,” he juxtaposes stereotypes among various kinds of white and Black Americans, using the n-word with impunity. Incredibly, the song remains on YouTube, where it’s been viewed 16 million times.

• NBC ☛ Twitter says mass deactivations after Musk news were ‘organic’

  Twitter was flooded with user reports of high-profile accounts’ losing thousands of followers in the hours after news broke that Tesla CEO Elon Musk would purchase the social network. The company said Tuesday that the “fluctuations in follower counts” came from “organic” account closures.

• Hollywood Reporter ☛ Twitter Suffers Mass Deactivations After Elon Musk Takeover

  According to an NBC News report published Tuesday, the follower numbers for some of Twitter’s most-followed accounts, including former President Barack Obama, singers Katy Perry and Taylor Swift all dropped by hundreds of thousands. Obama, who is Twitter’s most-followed user with 131.7 million followers, saw his follower count fall by 300,000 since Monday. Perry, who has 108.8 million followers, lost 200,000.

• The Telegraph UK ☛ Twitter staff in uproar over Elon Musk’s plans for the social media giant

  The outpouring of horror lays bare the employee revolt Musk is likely to face as he seeks to overhaul Twitter, despite having revealed relatively little about his plans for the company so far.

• IT Wire ☛ Mandiant: no ‘reasonable confidence’ about zero-day attacks by Western states

  The report, issued on 21 April, named actors from China, Russia and North Korea, either as part of state-sponsored groups or individuals who were affiliated to a state, as being among the highest number who were involved in these attacks.

  It is common for security firms to name the countries which the US has on its enemies list — usually Russia, China, North Korea and Iran — as being the main source of attacks.

  Mandiant has a reputation for attributing attacks, be they mounted through the use of zero-days or not. The company was recently acquired by Google, but the transaction has yet to be finalised due to some concerns expressed by the Security and Exchange Commission.

Censorship/Free Speech

• Techdirt ☛ Some Good News: Kentucky Passes A Good Anti-SLAPP Law

  Hey, finally time for a little bit of good news in the world of free speech: the Kentucky General Assembly recently passed the Kentucky Uniform Public Expression Protection Act. It’s a kind of anti-SLAPP bill that is based on a model bill, the Uniform Public Expression Protection Act (UPEPA), and similar to a bill passed in Washington State already, and very similar to bills proposed in a few other states as well. On Wednesday, Kentucky’s governor, Andy Beshear, signed the bill into law.

• EFF ☛ EFF to European Court: No Intermediary Liability for Social Media Users

  What’s more, the decision about what online content is “clearly unlawful” is not always straightforward, and generally courts are best placed to assess the lawfulness of the online content. While social media users may be held responsible for failing or refusing to comply with a court order compelling them to remove or block information, they should not be required to monitor content on their accounts to avoid liability, nor should they be held liable simply when they get notified of allegedly unlawful speech on their social media feeds by any method other than a court order. Imposing liability on an individual user, without a court order, to remove the allegedly unlawful content in question will be disproportionate, we argued.Finally, the Grand Chamber should decide whether imposing criminal liability for third party content violates the right to freedom of expression, given the peculiar circumstances in this case. Both the applicant and the commenters were convicted of the same offence a decade ago. EFF and Media Defence asked the Grand Chamber to assess the quality of the decades-old laws—one dating back to 1881—under which the politician was convicted, saying criminal laws should be adapted to meet new circumstances, but these changes must be precise and unambiguous to enable someone to foresee what conduct would violate the law.   

  Subjecting social media users to criminal responsibility for third-party content will lead to over-censorship and prior restraint. The Grand Chamber should limit online intermediary liability, and not chill social media users’ right to free expression and access to information online.

• Frontpage Magazine ☛ Ilhan and Imran’s Incredible Islamophobia Intimacy

  Of even greater concern, however, is that the new “Islamophobia” office would target “propaganda efforts by state and nonstate media ‘to promote racial hatred or incite acts of violence against Muslim people.’” As noted above, Islam is not a race, so “racial hatred” against Muslim people is not even possible. But if the way that the word “Islamophobia” has been used up to now is any indication, what is considered to be propaganda or incitement will be based entirely on subjective criteria, and include even reporting about jihad activity and honest analysis of its motivating ideology.

  Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) noted this, saying: “It is so vague and subjective that it could be used against legitimate speech for partisan purposes. Even the term ‘phobia’ [connotes] irrational fear, not discrimination.”

• European Parliament ☛ Digital Services Act: agreement for a transparent and safe online environment

  The text will need to be finalised at technical level and verified by lawyer-linguists, before both Parliament and Council give their formal approval. Once this process is completed, it will come into force 20 days after its publication in the EU Official Journal and the rules will start to apply 15 months later.

  From 23 to 27 May, a delegation from the EP’s Internal Market Committee will visit several company headquarters (Meta, Google, Apple and others) in Silicon Valley to discuss in person the Digital Services Act package, and other digital legislation in the pipeline, and hear the position of American companies, start-ups, academia and government officials.

Freedom of Information/Freedom of the Press

• Hungary ☛ 7 percent of Hungarians say there is no need for independent press, and more than half of Fidesz’ voters consider the press in Hungary free

  The results of the survey entitled “Attitudes to media freedom and independence in Central Europe” were officially presented in Prague today. Telex is among those attending, and here is a brief summary of the results.

• The Dissenter ☛ The D-Notice: A Very British Way Of Censoring The Press

  This article was funded by paid subscribers of The Dissenter Newsletter. Become a monthly subscriber to help us continue our independent journalism.On April 20, a British judge approved the extradition of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange to the U.S., to face trial under the Espionage Act. Home Secretary Priti Patel will now decide whether to sign off on the decision.

  Rights groups and concerned citizens the world over have urged Patel to halt the extradition, on the grounds that Washington’s case against Assange amounts to the criminalization of entirely legitimate journalistic activities, and puts global press freedom at risk.

• Indian Express ☛ Explained: Julian Assange extradition order and charges against the Wikileaks founder

  WikiLeaks promptly released the war logs that were published by a host of media organisations and exposed human rights abuses by occupation forces besides the increased fatality counts in Iraq. Later, WikiLeaks also published then presidential candidate and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s aide John Podesta’s emails before the 2016 presidential elections. While the WikiLeaks portal was maintained and sustained by hundreds of volunteers, the site was represented publicly by its founder and director Julian Assange. In December 2018, the website also published a searchable database of more than 16,000 procurement requests that were made by US embassies around the world.

• Daily Post ☛ WikiLeaks: UK court orders extradition of Julian Assange to US

  Assange is wanted in America to answer 18 criminal charges over WikiLeaks publications.

  In 2010, the portal published thousands of classified files and diplomatic cables that shook the world.

Civil Rights/Policing

• Common Dreams ☛ ‘Put Patients First’: 70+ Groups Push Senate to Act on Sky-High Drug Prices

  A coalition of more than 70 groups representing patients, healthcare workers, unions, and others launched a new campaign Tuesday aimed at pressuring the Democratic-controlled U.S. Senate to finally approve legislation to bring down out-of-control prescription drug costs and rein in the pricing power of Big Pharma.

  Joined by Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), the campaigners held a press conference in the nation’s capital urging the Senate to pass—by May 30 at the latest—the drug-price provisions that the House approved in November as part of the Build Back Better package.

• Common Dreams ☛ ‘An Enormous Inspiration’: More Than 30 Starbucks Locations Have Voted to Unionize

  Overcoming increasingly aggressive opposition from the company’s management, workers at more than 30 Starbucks locations across the U.S. have now voted to unionize as the wave of organizing spurred by historic wins in Buffalo just four months ago continues to mount.

  On Monday, workers at a Starbucks shop in the township of Hopewell, New Jersey voted unanimously to unionize and join Workers United, an affiliate of the Service Employees International Union. The store was the 30th Starbucks location to unionize in the U.S. and the first in New Jersey.

• Common Dreams ☛ Biden Urged to ‘Do Better’ After Pardoning or Commuting Sentences of Just 78 People

  After U.S. President Joe Biden on Tuesday used his clemency powers for the first time—well over a year into his presidency—criminal justice reform advocates called on him to go even further to tackle mass incarceration.

  “If we are to be a nation of second chances and justice for all, then the president must lead through his action—and clemency is a powerful way to lead.”

• Common Dreams ☛ Brazil Court Deals Blow to Massive Amazon Gold Mine Project

  Environmental and Indigenous rights defenders on Tuesday welcomed a Brazilian court ruling that will continue to block a Canadian company from building what would be the South American nation’s largest open-pit gold mine in the Amazon rainforest.

  “Belo Monte already has had a major impact on the Xingu. A second project could mean the death of the local peoples.”

• Common Dreams ☛ Life Sentence for Turkish Activist Called ‘Devastating Blow’ to Human Rights Worldwide

  An Istanbul court on Monday sentenced Turkish civil rights activist and philanthropist Osman Kavala to aggravated life in prison, setting off a wave of strong global condemnation.

  “This egregious sentence is a death knell for Turkey’s democracy.”

• TruthOut ☛ Delta Announces It Will Pay Flight Attendants During Boarding Amid Union Push

• TruthOut ☛ Sanders Calls on Biden to Invite Starbucks, Amazon Union Workers to White House

• Pro Publica ☛ Maine Will Soon Hire Its First Five Public Defenders. Most of the State Remains Without Them.

  Until this week, Maine was the only state that had no public defenders. But a last-minute push by state lawmakers has succeeded in securing money to hire Maine’s first public defenders. Now it will have five.

  The decision, which will cost Maine lawmakers nearly $966,000, is a small first step for a state that The Maine Monitor and ProPublica found had regularly contracted private attorneys with criminal convictions and histories of professional misconduct to represent the state’s poor. The investigation also found that the Maine Commission on Indigent Legal Services, or MCILS, routinely failed to enforce its own rules and allowed the courts to assign 2,000 serious criminal cases to attorneys who were not eligible because they had too little experience or had not applied to work on complex cases.

• Common Dreams ☛ Biden Tells Hispanic Caucus He’s Exploring Options to Cancel Student Debt

  Advocates and Democrats who support sweeping student debt cancellation welcomed reporting Tuesday that President Joe Biden is exploring options for loan forgiveness after extending a pandemic-related pause on payments earlier this month.

  “This is what happens when you fight.”

• Counter Punch ☛ No-Knock Raids Rip a Hole in the 4th Amendment

  Your neighborhood is in darkness. Your household is asleep.

  Suddenly, you’re awakened by a loud noise.

• The Nation ☛ Now Amazon Is Being Challenged in the Boardroom as Well

  Five New York City pension funds, the New York State Common Retirement Fund, and the Illinois State Treasurer joined the initial launch of the effort. All are long-term Amazon shareholders, with 1.7 million in combined Amazon shares valued at approximately $5.3 billion.

  They have launched a campaign website aimed at other institutional investors calling for a vote against the reelection of Daniel Huttenlocher and Judith McGrath. As the only long-term members of the Amazon Leadership Development and Compensation Committee overseeing human resources—the third committee member joined only last year—they are being targeted for years of voting to approve pay hikes for top managers while turning a blind eye to all the workplace violations. This campaign follows earlier demands by the New York City pension funds in 2020 that the Amazon board provide more leadership during the pandemic to protect the health and safety of its workers.

• RFA ☛ Tibetan village leaders told to ‘Speak in Chinese’

  Speaking to RFA, Tibetan researchers living in exile called the move a further push by China to weaken the Tibetan people’s ties to their national culture and identity.

  Pema Gyal, a researcher at London-based Tibet Watch, said that recent years have seen China’s government impose the use of Mandarin Chinese in Tibetan schools and religious institutions. “But now these policies are being enforced on all Tibetans.”

  “This is an attempt to Sinicize Tibet’s language and culture,” Gyal said.

• Medforth ☛ French TV station denounces sheep being stolen from pastures in the run-up to Ramadan – Muslims want to take legal action against the station

  On March 30, 2022, Vincent Hervouët spoke on the programme L’Heure des Pros 2 about Emmanuel Macron’s denial of the demands of some farmers, the CCIE reports. “In his account of the farmer who killed a burglar in Longré in the Charente department at the end of March, he lists the various problems faced by farmers, in particular the robberies and looting. Then he continues by accusing Muslims of stealing sheep during Ramadan and before the Aid festival,” it says. Apart from being wrong, Vincent Hervouët clearly targets the Muslim community, according to CCIE, and supports a racist view that has long been entrenched, especially since Sarkozy spoke of sheep being slaughtered in the bathtubs of Muslims.

Internet Policy/Net Neutrality

• Broadband Breakfast ☛ NTIA Head Reiterates Need for States to Step Up for Broadband Infrastructure Funds

  The success of the program dedicated to distributing $42.5 billion to states from the infrastructure bill will depend on the work that states do, reiterated the head of the agency tasked with managing the money.

  “Their [the states] success is our success,” Alan Davidson, head of the Commerce department’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration, said Monday at a legislative and policy conference hosted by the National Telecommunications Cooperative Association.

• Mexico News Daily ☛ Fast internet, a good bed, a clean room: what digital nomads want in Mexico

  The vacation rental market will increase 20% in 2022 due to demand for accommodation from digital nomads, according to the CEO of a vacation rentals chain.

  Javier Cárdenas Ibarra, founder and CEO of Rotamundos, told the newspaper El Universal that many foreigners are staying in Mexico for extended periods due to their ability to work remotely.

Monopolies

• Patents

  • Techdirt ☛ Yes, Of Course Drug Patents Drive Up Drug Prices; Why Is This Even Up For Debate?

    The idea that there is a link between the exclusivity period on patents and higher drug prices is about as noncontroversial as a view can be. It is the easy question on an ECON 101 exam on monopolies, supply and demand. Yet, somehow, this has come under attack thanks to big PhRMA and their minions. Unfortunately they have found a sympathetic advocate in the Senate who believes the unbelievable.

• Copyrights

  • Techdirt ☛ Santa Ana (CA) Council Looking To Ban City Cops From Playing Copyrighted Music While Being Recorded

    A couple of weeks ago, a police transparency activist caught something on video: a cop trying not to get caught on video. That isn’t the interesting part. Lots of cops hate being recorded, even by their own cameras.

  • EFF ☛ DSA Agreement: No Filternet, But Human Rights Concerns Remain

  • Techdirt ☛ Paradox Fully Embraces Fan-Games With Developer Affiliate Program

    When it comes to fan-created video games utilizing established IP, the vast majority of instances tend to result in a narrow set of responses from the original creators or publishers. The Nintendo route is to go fully nuclear as often and immediately as possible, destroying any and all attempts. Take 2 follows a similar path, albeit one that also includes actual lawsuits. Sega, on the other hand, mostly ignores fans creating their own games using Sega IP, even occasionally slightly endorsing this behavior. And that’s… sort of it. Nuke or ignore.

  • Techdirt ☛ EA Streisands Leaked ‘Skate 4’ Footage Into The News

    It really feels like we shouldn’t have to have discussions about how companies should handle information that leaks onto the internet in 2022. Or, to be more precise, we should at least not have to remind them that attempting to re-bottle the leak-genie just isn’t going to work and will almost certainly have the opposite, AKA Streisand, effect. Every time we go through this, some company doesn’t like some information or footage that gets leaked out, tries to bury it with takedown requests or IP bullying, and ends up shooting news coverage of the leak into the stratosphere.

  • Torrent Freak ☛ ‘Upload Filters’ Don’t Violate Freedom of Expression, EU Top Court Rules

    The Court of Justice of the European Union has dismissed Poland’s request to annul Article 17 of the Copyright Directive. The Court finds that the legislation, which could boost the use of ‘upload filters,’ does not violate freedom of expression, as long as they can sufficiently distinguish between illegal and legal content. This effectively puts an end to years of opposition.

  • Torrent Freak ☛ Piracy Giants Zone-Telechargement & Tirexo Mysteriously Shut Down

    Zone-Telechargement and Tirexo, two of the most popular pirate sites in French-speaking regions, have announced they will shut down. The original Zone-Telechargement was shut down by French police in 2016, but in common with many ‘branded’ pirate platforms, later returned to regain millions of monthly visitors.