03.12.23

GNU/Linux

• Instructionals/Technical

  • Citizix ☛ How to set up Wireguard on Ubuntu 22.04

    WireGuard is a communication protocol and free and open-source software that implements encrypted virtual private networks, and was designed with the goals of ease of use, high speed performance, and low attack surface. It is a lightweight Virtual Private Network (VPN) that supports IPv4 and IPv6 connections.

  • ID Root ☛ How To Install Ansible on Fedora 37

    In this tutorial, we will show you how to install Ansible on Fedora 37. For those of you who didn’t know, Ansible is an open-source IT automation and configuration management tool that can help system administrators automate tasks, deploy applications…

  • ID Root ☛ How To Install ADB and Fastboot on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS

    In this tutorial, we will show you how to install ADB and Fastboot on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS.

  • Net2 ☛ How to Install MongoDB on Ubuntu 22.04

    MongoDB is a real popular way to store and manage lots of unstructured or semi-structured data. It’s a type of database that focuses on documents, so you can be more flexible with the structure of your data than you could with a more traditional database.

  • peppe8o ☛ Transcribe audio files to text with SpeechRecognition and Raspberry PI (python)

    Whether you’re a content creator looking to transcribe interviews, or just someone interested in the capabilities of speech recognition technology, SpeechRecognition with Raspberry PI offers

  • The New Stack ☛ Grab a Snapshot of Your Container Image with Checkpoint

    Have you ever been in a situation where you have a Docker or Podman container running exactly how you need

  • UNIX Cop ☛ Install and Use iostat on Linux

    In this post, you will learn about iostat on Linux. This tool allows you to monitor CPU usage and provides information about input and output processes on the system. The command iostat Reports Central Processing Unit (CPU) statistics and input/output statistics for devices, partitions, and network file systems (NFS).

  • nixCraft ☛ How to add an IP alias on Amazon Linux 2

    IP aliasing is nothing but associating more than one IP address to a network interface such as eth0. For example, using the following methods, you can add an IP alias on Amazon Linux 2.

  • FOSSLinux ☛ 10 must-know Bash shell scripting tips and tricks for beginners

    Bash shell scripting is a versatile and flexible tool for automating tasks and streamlining workflows in a Unix-like environment. It has become a popular language for both beginners and experienced developers alike. In this article, we will provide some tips and tricks to help you become more proficient at Bash shell scripting.

  • FOSSLinux ☛ 15 essential Bash debugging techniques and tools

    Bash is a widely used command-line interface and scripting language in Unix-based operating systems. As with any software, Bash scripts can contain bugs that lead to errors, unexpected behaviors, or even crashes. Debugging is the process of identifying and resolving these issues, which is essential for maintaining script reliability and performance.

  • H2S Media ☛ How to Install Google Chrome on Debian 12 BookWorm

    Mozilla FireFox is already there on all Debian Linux as a default browser. However, those who are interested in setting up Google Chrome on Debian 12 bookworm, can see this guide.

  • Linux Capable ☛ How to Install UFW Firewall on Debian 12, 11 or 10

    Firewalls are essential in securing computer systems and networks from unauthorized access, cyber-attacks, and other security threats. The traditional method of configuring firewalls on Linux systems involves using iptables, a powerful command-line tool that offers granular control over network traffic.

  • Linux Capable ☛ How to Install Google Chrome on Debian 12, 11 or 10

    Google Chrome is a free web browser developed by Google that has gained widespread popularity among internet users worldwide. It was first released in 2008 and has since become one of the most widely used web browsers, with a market share of over 60% as of 2023.

  • Linux Capable ☛ How to Configure Unattended Upgrades on Debian 12, 11 or 10

    Debian is a widely used Linux-based operating system renowned for its versatility and expansive collection of software packages and tools. However, keeping the system up-to-date and secure can be challenging, given the significant volume of packages and updates available. To help streamline this process, the Unattended Upgrades Package can be utilized.

• Games

  • CubicleNate ☛ SteamDeck | RetroArch and mGBA for Trading Pokémon

    I bought the SteamDeck for a number of reasons. One such reason was to turn it into a portable retro gaming station. I know there are a lot of other options out there to do this task but this one was the most economical and already had Linux installed on it.

• Desktop Environments/WMs

  • GNOME Desktop/GTK

    • OMG! Linux ☛ GNOME Extensions Site Now Shows Download Counts

      Ever wondered how many downloads your favorite GNOME Shell extension gets?

Distributions and Operating Systems

• Canonical/Ubuntu Family

  • Linux Hint ☛ 7 Best Ubuntu Screen Recorders for Everyday Use

    Comprehensive guide on the top 7 reliable screen recorders available in the market for Linux and on the latest and older Ubuntu versions for everyday use.

  • Linux Hint ☛ 100 Best Applications for Ubuntu 2023

    Comprehensive guide on the best 100 set of applications and software for Ubuntu in 2023 to make the best use of your operating system according to your need.

• Devices/Embedded

  • Linux Gizmos ☛ M5Stack launches compact Kmeter Isolation Unit

    M5Stack launched this month a compact K-type thermocouple sensor unit based on the STM32F030 microcontroller. This device is equipped with a 14-bit thermocouple sensor allowing readings from 200°C to 1350°C and ±2°C accuracy.

  • Arduino ☛ Improve your data analysis with the Advanced Chart Widget for Arduino Cloud

    We’re excited to announce the release of our latest Arduino Cloud feature, the Advanced Chart Widget! This new and improved widget is a significant upgrade from our previous chart widget, offering more customization options and functionality that will make it easier than ever to visualize and analyze your device data.

Free, Libre, and Open Source Software

• OpenSource.com ☛ Our favorite tech books written by women

  Whether you’re a fast reader or someone who takes a book at a leisurely pace, a whole month is an ample time to explore a new book. As March is Women’s History Month, we asked Opensource.com contributors to tell us about their favorite books by women authors.

• OpenSource.com ☛ Open source reimagines the traditional keyboard

• Medevel ☛ Hopebilling: An Open Source Solution for Hosting Service Providers

  HopeBilling is an open-source and completely free billing system for hosting providers. It offers a competitive range of features, serving as an alternative to proprietary software.

• Medevel ☛ QuitSmoke – Quit Smoking Now App for Android

  QuitSmoke is a free open-source mobile app that helps you track your progress in quitting smoking. You can see how much money you’ve saved, how many cigarettes you’ve avoided, and how long you’ve been smoke-free. Additionally, you can monitor how your health is improving.

• Programming/Development

  • Dirk Eddelbuettel ☛ Dirk Eddelbuettel: pkgKitten 0.2.3 on CRAN: Minor Update

    A new release 0.2.3 of pkgKitten arrived on CRAN earlier, and will be uploaded to Debian. pkgKitten makes it simple to create new R packages via a simple function invocation. A wrapper kitten.r exists in the littler package to make it even easier.

    This release improves the created ‘Description:’, and updated some of the continuous integration.

  • Shell/Bash/Zsh/Ksh

    • Linux Handbook ☛ Enable Syntax Highlighting in Zsh

      Enabling the syntax highlighting on ZSH can be a lifesaver, especially if you are into development.

Leftovers

• Hackaday ☛ Electronic Bandage Speeds Wound Healing

  We’re a long way from the dermal regenerators in Star Trek, but researchers at Northwestern University have made a leap forward in the convenient use of electrotherapy for wound healing.

• Hackaday ☛ Quick And Dirty Microscope Motion Control For Focus Stacking

  If you’ve spent much time looking through a microscope, you know that their narrow depth of field can be a bit challenging to deal with. Most microscopes are designed to only have a very thin slice of the specimen in focus, so looking at anything above or below that plane requires a focus adjustment. It’s tedious and fussy, and that makes it a perfect target for automation.

• Off Guardian ☛ Hand Picked

  Todd Hayen Were we handpicked to know the truth? Are we the chosen ones? I have resisted this idea for almost three years. It seems much too biblical, and although I consider myself a spiritual/religious person I am not so sure if I see the Bible as literal as most religious people do.

• Science Alert ☛ NASA Says This Asteroid Has a ‘Very Small’ Chance of Ruining Valentine’s Day in 2046

  Let’s maybe just keep an eye on it.

• Science Alert ☛ Trillionth-of-a-Second Shutter Speed Camera Catches Chaos in Action

  Blink and you’ll miss it.

• Science

  • Hackaday ☛ Computers For Fun

    The last couple years have seen an incredible flourishing of the cyberdeck scene, and probably for about as many reasons as there are individual ’deck designs. Some people get really into the prop-making, some into scrapping old tech or reusing a particularly appealing case, and others simply into the customization possibilities. That’s awesome, and they’re all different motivations for making a computer that’s truly your own.

  • France24 ☛ Mice born from two fathers could take human reproduction into new territory

    Scientists in Japan say they have succeeded in breeding mice with two fathers, using eggs originating from male cells. While the scientific breakthrough could pave the way for new fertility treatments, experts say it is still a long way from being used in humans.

  • Federal News Network ☛ 3D-printed rocket remains grounded after more launch aborts

    A rocket made almost completely of 3D-printed parts remains grounded after back-to-back launch aborts. Relativity Space’s rocket came within a half-second of blasting off Saturday on its debut flight from Cape Canaveral, Florida. The engines ignited, but abruptly shut down, leaving the rocket standing on its pad. Launch controllers reset the countdown clocks and tried again. But once more, on-board flight computers halted the countdown, this time with 45 seconds remaining.

  • Gizmodo ☛ Watch Live: Relativity Space Re-Attempts Launch of First 3D-Printed Rocket

    Editor’s note: After several holds and aborted attempts, Relativity Space scrubbed its Saturday afternoon launch of the Terran 1 rocket. The company said further updates and a new launch plan will be issued soon. Check Gizmodo’s Spaceflight in the coming days for more information.

  • Federal News Network ☛ Prostate cancer treatment can wait for most men, study finds

    A study finds long-term evidence that actively monitoring localized prostate cancer can be a safe alternative to immediate surgery or radiation. The results published Saturday are encouraging for men who want to avoid treatment-related sexual and incontinence problems. Researchers followed more than 1,600 U.K. men who agreed to be randomly assigned to get surgery, radiation or active monitoring.

• Education

  • Scheerpost ☛ Public Universities Run on Underpaid Labor. Now Grad Workers Are Fighting Back.

    From Temple University to Rutgers, the devaluation of academic labor has its roots in decades of neoliberalism.

• Hardware

  • Hackaday ☛ A Fancy Connected Caliper For Not A Lot

    An essential for the engineer is a decent caliper, to measure dimensions with reasonable accuracy. Some of us have old-fashioned Vernier scales, while many up-to-date versions are electronic. When entering large numbers of dimensions into a CAD package matters can become a little tedious, so the fancier versions have connectivity for automatic reading transfer. [Mew463] didn’t want to shell out the cash for one of those, so modified a cheaper caliper with an ESP32-C3 microcontroller to provide a Bluetooth interface.

  • Hackaday ☛ A Retro-Style Trainer For Motorola’s 1-Bit Chip

    If you want to program a microcontroller today, you pop open your editor of choice, bang out some code, and flash it over USB. But back in ancient times, when your editor was a piece of paper and you didn’t even have a computer of your own, things were a bit different. In that case, you might have reached for a “trainer”: a PCB that included the chip you wanted to program along with an array of switches, LEDs, and maybe even a hex keypad for good measure. Grab yourself the programming manual (printed on paper, naturally), and you’re good to go.

• Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

  • Science Alert ☛ Sleep Disturbances Linked With Higher Dementia Risk, Study Finds

    Here’s what we know.

  • France24 ☛ Fukushima disaster: Japan marks 12 years since deadly tsunami as support grows for nuclear power

    Japanese offered tearful prayers Saturday on the anniversary of the deadly tsunami that triggered the Fukushima disaster, but public support for nuclear power is growing as memories of the 2011 meltdown fade.

  • Pro Publica ☛ A Norfolk Southern Contractor Is Testing East Palestine Homes

    Last month, Brenda Foster stood on the railroad tracks at the edge of her yard in East Palestine, Ohio, and watched a smoky inferno billow from the wreckage of a derailed train. The chemicals it was carrying — and the fire that consumed them — were so toxic that the entire area had to evacuate. Foster packed up her 87-year-old mother, and they fled to stay with relatives.

    With a headache, sore throat, burning eyes and a cough, Foster returned home five days later — as soon as authorities allowed. So when she saw on TV that there was a hotline for residents with health concerns, she dialed as soon as the number popped up on the screen.

  • TruthOut ☛ NYC Retirees Fight Their Own Unions to Stop Catastrophic Health Care Cuts

  • uni Emory ☛ 1,095 days: Three years of COVID-19 response at Emory

    Three years ago, Emory University joined higher education institutions across the country in announcing that, after an extended spring break, classes would switch to online, marking the start of Emory’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

  • Off Guardian ☛ Italy 2020: Inside Covid’s Ground Zero

    Michael Bryant On the third anniversary of the WHO declaring “Covid” a “pandemic”, we take a detailed look at how Italy provided the perfect platform for creating, and then spreading, the Covid narrative. Three years ago the Western World came to a standstill. The official Covid-19 narrative depicted a strange suddenly-super-spreading, deadlier-than-flu virus hailing from …

• Security

  • SANS ☛ Overview of a Mirai Payload Generator, (Sat, Mar 11th)

    The Mirai[1] botnet is active for years. It was the first botnet targeting devices running Linux like camera recorders. Our first diary about it was in 2016![2]. Still today, my honeypot is hit by hundreds of Mirai requests every day! I found a Python script that generates a Mirai payload (SHA256:f56391e9645df1058847e28af6918c64ddc344d9f328b3dde9015213d5efdc7e[3]) and deploys networking services to serve it via FTP, HTTP, and TFTP. Nothing very fancy but it will give you a good idea about how Linux hosts are abused to deliver malicious payloads.

  • Djalel Oukid ☛ The best open-source 2FA apps for Linux & Android

  • Government Technology ☛ Tech School ‘Prevented Catastrophe’ with Antivirus, Backup

    A cyber attack on a server at the Wilkes-Barre Career and Technical Center was discovered Wednesday, and antivirus and backup procedures “prevented a catastrophe” and “a lot of problems,” Administrative Director Anthony C. Guariglia said Thursday.

    The regional vo-tech high school in Plains Twp. shut down its computer and Wi-Fi network, along with all computers, on Wednesday and used a flexible instruction day to provide remote instruction to students on Thursday, Guariglia said.
    […]

    School information-technology staff is working with law enforcement and Computer Visionaries Inc. to determine who is responsible for the cyber attack and how it happened, Guariglia said.

  • Data Breaches ☛ Weekend update: Non-US hospitals hit by cyberattacks
    

    DHnet in Belgium reports that Saint-Pierre hospital in central Brussels temporarily closed its emergency room and diverted line 112 to other institutions due to a cyberattack early Saturday morning. The attack reportedly disrupted the functioning of many applications, including patient records and telephone lines.

    By 5:00 pm Brussels time, most of the blocked apps were functional again. Line 112 and emergencies are expected to be restored later in the evening.

  • Data Breaches ☛ Another ransomware attack results in a HIPAA breach: Florida Medical Center

    In a notice issued yesterday, Florida Medical Clinic (“FMC”) confirmed that unauthorized individuals gained access to its computer network and used ransomware to encrypt files.

    FMC detected suspicious activity on January 9, 2023, and the incident was fully contained within hours. FMC states they were able to “proactively isolate the exposure.” DataBreaches has sent them an inquiry asking they accomplished that.

  • Privacy/Surveillance

    • Gizmodo ☛ Should You Pay for Meta Verified and Twitter Blue?

      Social media services have generally been free of charge for users, but now, with ad revenues slowing down, social media companies are looking for new revenue streams beyond targeted ads. Now, Twitter is charging for its blue check verification, and Meta and Twitter both charge for identity protection.

  • Confidentiality

    • Data Breaches ☛ Notice of Privacy Incident of Historical Health Records – California Secretary of State

    • Data Breaches ☛ ZOLL Medical notifying 1,004,443 patients of data breach — HIPAA

      A number of large recent breaches have involved trackers or analytics, but not all large breaches these days involve trackers. ZOLL Medical is notifying 1,004,443 patients whose protected health information (PHI) may have been compromised in a recent data security incident that didn’t involve pixels or trackers at all.

      According to ZOLL’s notification, the Massachusetts-headquartered firm’s security team first detected unusual activity on their internal network on January 28. They responded promptly to mitigate the incident and investigate it with the help of third-party cybersecurity experts.

    • Data Breaches ☛ Highly sensitive files from Berkeley County Schools dumped by ransomware gang

      In early February, Berkeley County Schools in West Virginia experienced a ransomware attack. On March 3, the district issued a notice on its website that stated their investigation determined “some data stored in Berkeley County Schools’ network may have been accessed that included employee Social Security numbers and direct deposit information.”

    • Data Breaches ☛ Data Exfiltration Trends in Healthcare

    • Data Breaches ☛ Bone & Joint Clinic reports “network disruption” caused HIPAA breach of employee and patient information

      The Bone & Joint Clinic in Wisconsin has notified current and former employees as well as current and former patients of a data security incident that they describe as a “network disruption.”

      According to their notification of March 10, the disruption was experienced on January 16, and the personal and protected health information may have been involved: names, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, home addresses, phone numbers, health insurance information, and diagnosis and treatment information.

• Defence/Aggression

  • Common Dreams ☛ US ‘Imperial Anxieties’ Mount Over China-Brokered Iran-Saudi Deal

    While advocates of peace and a multipolar world order welcomed Friday’s China-brokered agreement reestablishing diplomatic relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia, U.S. press, pundits, and politicians expressed what one observer called “imperial anxieties” over the deal and growing Chinese influence in a region dominated by the United States for decades.

  • NYPost ☛ China becomes the broker while Joe Biden is still the joker

    Friday’s biggest headline-grabbing news was the bust of Silicon Valley Bank, however, the honor goes to the announcement that Saudi Arabia and Iran restored diplomatic relations.

  • Common Dreams ☛ Biden Rejection of DC’s Criminal Code Reforms Reminds Us of His Past Contributions to Mass Incarceration

    When President Biden announced he would not veto Congress’ override of Washington, DC’s Revised Criminal Code Act (RCCA), he chose politics over public safety and DC’s right to self-governance.

  • Common Dreams ☛ Resistance to Atlanta’s Cop City Is Rising

    Atlanta is a city built inside a forest, one that Indigenous Muscogee people call the Weelaunee Forest. In recent years, the Atlanta Police Foundation, a private nonprofit organization, has led an effort to build what would be the nation’s largest police training center on hundreds of acres of that forest land. The move sparked the creation of a broad coalition to protest the project, some opposed to forest destruction and others against police expansion. Together, these organizers are calling on Atlanta’s mayor, Andre Dickens, and the city council to “Stop Cop City.”

  • Scheerpost ☛ The ‘Stop Cop City’ Movement Roots Going Back Decades

    The Stop Cop City movement recalls Atlanta’s 1996 Olympic bid and the city’s long history of prioritizing tourists, business interests, and wealthy white communities over Black and working-class people

  • Meduza ☛ Wagner Group announces new recruitment centers, with some reportedly located in schools — Meduza

    Wagner Group founder Evgeny Prigozhin announced on March 10 that new centers for recruiting mercenaries to his private military company have opened in 42 cities across Russia. The press service of Prigozhin’s company, Concord, published the announcement, with a list of addresses for the new recruitment centers attached.

  • Meduza ☛ Journalists confirm 16,774 Russians killed in Ukraine, with over 1,600 new losses in the past two weeks — Meduza

    Journalists with Mediazona and BBC News Russian, working with a team of volunteers, have determined that at least 16,774 Russian nationals have been killed during the course of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

  • Meduza ☛ Shot fired through the window of a St. Petersburg bookstore displaying the phrase ‘Peace to the world’ — Meduza

    During the evening of March 11, a bullet smashed the window of an independent bookstore in St. Petersburg. Photographs published on Facebook and on the bookstore’s Telegram channel show that the phrase “Peace to the world” is written across the window. “Well, not everyone likes the inscription on our windows. It’s very sad,” read a post on the store’s Telegram channel.

  • Meduza ☛ Zelensky responds to petition to rename Russia to Muscovy — Meduza

    A petition posted on President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky’s website in November 2022 suggested changing Russia’s official name to Muscovy, and the Russian Federation to the Muscovite Federation. It gathered more than 25,000 signatures, meaning that President Zelensky was legally obligated to respond to it.

  • Meduza ☛ ISW: Defensive lines being built inside Russia are a ‘waste of funds’ — Meduza

    In their March 10 daily assessment of Russia’s offensive campaign, analysts with the American think tank Institute for the Study of War discussed recent construction of fortified defensive lines in Russia’s Belgorod and Kursk regions, as well as in Russian-annexed Crimea.

  • The Dissenter ☛ March To Iraq War, 20 Years Later: March 11, 2003

  • France24 ☛ The head of Wagner says Russian fighters near central Bakhmut

    The head of Russian paramilitary group Wagner said Saturday his fighters were near the centre of Bakhmut as a top Ukrainian commander insisted it was important to “buy time” ahead of an upcoming counteroffensive.

  • Breach Media ☛ Document reveals Canada’s undisclosed motives for arming Saudi Arabia

    Government lists oil, opportunities for Canadian companies, and reduced need for western military missions as rationale for Saudi weapons sales

• Environment

  • France24 ☛ Latest California storm leaves at least two dead and breaks levee

    Another powerful storm pummeled California overnight into Saturday, forcing thousands to evacuate and resulting in at least two deaths, while causing a levee to give way in coastal Monterey County.

  • Energy/Transportation

    • Common Dreams ☛ Denying Reports, White House Says ‘No Final Decision’ on Willow Project

      White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on Friday denied reports that U.S. President Joe Biden would imminently approve the Willow Project, saying “no final decisions” have been made on the highly controversial $8 billion ConocoPhillips oil drilling endeavor in northern Alaska slammed by critics as a “climate catastrophe.”

    • Hackaday ☛ Enzymes Make Electricity From Thin Air

      There’s an old magic trick known as the miser’s dream, where the magician appears to pull coins from thin air. Australian scientists say they can now generate electricity out of thin air with the help of some enzymes. The enzyme reacts to hydrogen in the atmosphere to generate a current.

    • Modern Diplomacy ☛ Energy Crisis in Pakistan

      Pakistan is land with ample indigenous natural resources. These resources can play a pivotal role in helping and running country’s economy. The mismanagement of the resources and ignorance can lead to several crises.

    • Reason ☛ Sen. Pat Toomey on Cryptocurrency and FTX’s Collapse

      “It’s not clear that FTX would have existed, at least at its scale, if we had domestic guidelines for American companies,” the former senator tells Reason.

• Finance

  • Pro Publica ☛ CO Residents Lose in HOA Foreclosures. HOA Lawyers Win.

    Karl Paymah was on the clock.

    A certified letter from the Rock Ridge Condominium Association in the Denver suburb of Aurora said he had 30 days to pay $1,515.45 in unpaid homeowners association dues and penalties — or face foreclosure.

  • Pro Publica ☛ Are Colorado’s Efforts to Curb HOA Foreclosures Working?

    Last year, when the Colorado legislature passed a bill aimed at protecting residents in disputes with their homeowners associations, lawmakers had one key goal in mind: reducing the number of foreclosures filed by HOAs.

  • Scheerpost ☛ The Chris Hedges Report: Kshama Sawant’s New ‘Workers Strike Back’ Coalition Will Fight for $25 Minimum Wage and More

    Socialist Seattle City Council member Kshama Sawant is launching a national coalition called Workers Strike Back to fight for wages, universal healthcare, LGBTQ rights, a clean energy transition, and more.

  • TruthOut ☛ Silicon Valley Bank Collapses in Largest Failure Since 2008 Crisis

  • TruthOut ☛ Biden’s Budget Includes Tax Hikes Targeting Corporations and the Rich

  • JURIST ☛ France pension protests enter seventh day, affecting multiple economic sectors

    Protestors in France Saturday demonstrated for a seventh day against President Emmanuel Macron’s pension reform plan, which has been widely disputed across the country since his announcement of the plan in January.

  • TruthOut ☛ Colonialism Created Food Insecurity in Haiti, Now Climate Change Compounds It

  • The Kent Stater ☛ Takeaways from America’s second-largest bank failure

    Silicon Valley Bank’s 48-hour collapse led to the second-largest failure of a financial institution in US history. SVB was one of America’s 20 largest commercial banks and is now under the control of the US Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation after it became unable to pay back customers who withdrew their deposits.

  • Modern Diplomacy ☛ Draining talent: The consequences and solution of Brain Drain Pakistan

    Pakistan, like many other developing countries, has been struggling with the issue of brain drain for decades. The term “brain drain” describes the phenomena of highly educated and competent people leaving their home country in search of better chances overseas, losing their country of vital talent and experience in the process.

  • Reason ☛ Wages Are Rising for Low-Skill Workers, Driving Down Poverty and Inequality

    Plus: “Flipping the proverbial bird is a God-given” right, administrative state abuses, and more…

• AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

  • Common Dreams ☛ The Tucker Carlson-Led Effort to Whitewash the History of January 6 Will Fail

    Dominion Voting Systems has provided a public service for the American people. As a result of its pending defamation lawsuit against Fox News, Dominion has laid bare the extraordinary con game that Fox carried out in the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election and that continues today.Fox elevated and affirmed for their millions of viewers former President Donald Trump’s Big Lie that the election was stolen from him by giving airtime to Trump’s team. But even as they put them on the air, Fox hosts and executives admitted privately that they knew they were airing lies and “insane” conspiracy theories. The big three Fox propagandists, Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity, and Laura Ingraham privately complained about their lying guests. But they never bothered to tell this to their viewers. Their texts, obtained by Dominion as part of the lawsuit, also reveal that some worried they would lose viewers if they actually told the truth.

  • Common Dreams ☛ I Love Bernie Sanders Because He Has More Guts Than Any Politician Out There

    A few weeks ago, Bernie phoned.

  • Scheerpost ☛ California Considers Giving the Incarcerated a Right to Vote

    It takes a constitutional amendment followed by a statewide vote to legalize balloting behind bars. Will it happen?

  • TruthOut ☛ Inside the Private Conservative Group That Promises to “Crush Liberal Dominance”

  • Modern Diplomacy ☛ Betrayal of Trust: The Selfish Actions of Pakistan’s Leaders

    Authors: Asad Ullah and Tanzeela Aslam* Behind the curtains of Pakistan’s political landscape lies a dark and mysterious truth – the betrayal of trust by its leaders through their selfish actions.

  • Modern Diplomacy ☛ China’s rise is vital for geopolitics

    China is an old civilization and its history goes back several thousand years. It has passed through many ups and downs in history. But, the worst era of two centuries was a bitter experience, where it was colonialized by the West, suppressed, harassed, coerced, and invaded.

  • Misinformation/Disinformation/Propaganda

    • Common Dreams ☛ When a Fact-Checker on Tax Injustice Gets It All Wrong

      A recent fact check by Politifact, authored by Louis Jacobson, itself fails a fact check. It wrongly labels as “false” a perfectly legitimate description of the amount of taxes paid by billionaires.

    • Gizmodo ☛ Climate Denial King Rupert Murdoch Is Hiring a Director of Sustainability

      Have you ever dreamed about furthering environmental goals in the corporate space—or, more specifically, working for one of the world’s most prolific climate deniers, at a company helping churn a crusade against the very existence of a job like yours?

• Civil Rights/Policing

  • uni Stanford ☛ Law School activists protest Judge Kyle Duncan’s visit to campus

    Members of SLS organizations protested against Duncan at his Thursday talk at the Law School, claiming that “he has repeatedly and proudly threatened healthcare and basic rights for marginalized communities.” The protest drew the criticism of at least one free speech civil rights group and according to SLS Dean Jenny Martinez, “was not aligned with [SLS’s] institutional commitment to freedom of speech.”

  • France24 ☛ More than 1,300 migrants brought ashore in Italy as locals march for shipwreck victims

    Three boats overcrowded with migrants were brought safely to Italian ports on Saturday, the coastguard said, as thousands of marchers remembered the victims of last month’s deadly shipwreck off Calabria’s coast.

  • JURIST ☛ Israel dispatch: mass protests continue as state legal advisor spars with national security chief over dismissal of cautious Tel Aviv police commander

    Yael Iosilevich is a law student in the Buchmann Faculty of Law at Tel Aviv University and JURIST’s Staff Correspondent in Israel. 

• Monopolies

  • Patents

    • Quartz ☛ A more equitable covid vaccine rollout could have saved a life every 24 seconds in 2021 [Ed: They fail to mention patents]

      The World Health Organization (WHO) declared covid-19 a pandemic three years ago, on Mar. 11, 2020.

  • Copyrights

    • Techdirt ☛ Game Jam Winner Spotlight: Urbanity

      Last week, we had the first of our series of posts showcasing the winners in all six categories of the fifth annual public domain game jam, Gaming Like It’s 1927, and the spotlight was on Best Remix winner Lucia. This week, we’re taking a look at the winner of the Best Visuals category: Urbanity by Government Name.

Gemini* and Gopher

• Personal

  • Exhausted

    I’m exhausted. It’s simple mathematics: I wake up too early, and go to bed too late. Not even because I’m procrastinating, but because it’s what my family’s schedule demands. This will mess your system real fast. And, unlike in my younger years, I cannot catch up in the weekends.

    Noone has sympathy for the exhausted. The plight of sleep deprivation is great: reduced cognitive abilities, stress and anxiety, mood swings, vulnerability to diseases, injuries, despair.

  • Back, and I’m writing stuff.

    I just remembered the midnight existed and decided to pay a visit. Luckily it’s kind of slow around these parts so it doesn’t take me long to catch up. I’ve been attending game development classes lately and it’s going quite well! I’ve also started writing some stories, and they’re coming along nicely as well (although they do seem a bit inconsistent at parts). So I’ve been enjoying myself lately. Hopefully the same goes for everyone else here.

  • 🔤SpellBinding: BGOPUSR Wordo: FOSSA

  • What is privilege?

    Almost three years after the murder of George Floyd, it feels like American society has gone backward when it comes to social justice. Once touted by many politicians and major corporations, DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) is now a “dirty” topic an increasing number of businesses are staying out of. There was a time when Corporate America had an influence even in deep red states (think of, in 2015, how North Carolina quickly backtracked on the infamous “bathroom bill” when several major companies decided to pull their business out of the state). Now they are on the defensive in the face of the “anti-woke” movement in the Republican Party epitomized by Florida governor Ron DeSantis.

• Technical

  • XMPP!

    XMPP peeps: Email is a lost cause, a dead horse, it’s unpossible

    Also XMPP peeps: Everyone needs to get on OMEMO, all old jabber clients are obsolete and need to be thrown away

    Not sure why one of them can be improved and the other can’t…

    If you’re here looking for my XMPP address, it’s sandra.snan@idiomdrottning.org same as my email address. I prefer email.)

    I was hanging out with some XMPP fans and they were very gracious & kind & patient, and have not consented to this blog post so I’m gonna be super vague about them!

  • Running Multiple Servers

    When I started my gemini capsule I added some hobby stuff to the page. Specifically info about amateur radio. My webpage for amateur radio is pretty “old school” with no JS, very little CSS and all generated using Linux command line tools. As I never remember to update it I thought I might as well make the transition to just use Gemini and point my gemini to http proxy and all is good.

    The issue is I already have this capsule running on my VPS where I also host that page. I could use a different port but that is always sucks. Similar to how hosting multiple sites on a single box, I found that you can use nginx to proxy incoming connections based on the SSL cert used and direct them to a specific server. Setup multiple gemini servers on different ports and now I have both pages working:

  • Programming

    • Feature Poor Sudo Replacement

      … the `sudo` program is made up of 108,255 lines of C code … this is simply unacceptable in a utility that is installed suid root … 95% of the code is just sitting there … just waiting for someone to find the next exploit. We could easily have a suitable replacement that would cover just about everyone’s needs in no more than a few hundred lines of code …