03.30.23

Applications

• Medevel ☛ 13 Best Open Source Free PDF OCR Text Extractors

  PDF file formats are a compact format widely used to create portable documents, reports, e-books, and more. Originally developed by Adobe in 1992, it has become a world standard.

• nixCraft ☛ nvtop – Awesome Linux task monitor for NVIDIA, AMD & Intel GPUs

Instructionals/Technical

• FOSSLinux ☛ A beginner’s guide to installing and using Tilda Terminal on Ubuntu

  Tired of navigating your Ubuntu terminal through multiple windows? Tilda Terminal is here to help. Our beginner’s guide will take you through the easy installation process and show you how to use Tilda Terminal for seamless terminal access and navigation

• FOSSLinux ☛ The guide to installing and using Pop!_OS on a virtual machine

  If you’re curious about Pop!_OS but don’t want to commit to a full install, running it on a virtual machine is a great option. In this beginner’s guide, we’ll show you how to install and use Pop!_OS on a virtual machine.

• FOSSLinux ☛ Guake Terminal: A Quake-inspired Drop-down Terminal

  Guake Terminal is a drop-down terminal that is inspired by the famous terminal used in Quake. It is a simple and easy-to-use terminal that can be used to execute commands, edit files, and more. In this guide, we will show you how to install and use Guake Terminal on Ubuntu.

• FOSSLinux ☛ How to jump between Tmux Buffers like a Pro

  In this guide, we’ll show you how to master Tmux buffers and efficiently navigate between them. With our step-by-step instructions and helpful tips, you’ll be able to boost your productivity and take your terminal workflow to the next level. So, let’s get started and unlock the full potential of Tmux!

• FOSSLinux ☛ How to customize the look and feel of Pop!_OS with GNOME Tweaks

  Are you looking to add a personal touch to your Pop!_OS experience? With the GNOME Tweak Tool, you can customize your desktop and make it truly your own. Whether you want to change your wallpaper, adjust your fonts, or customize your icons, this beginner’s guide will show you how to get started.

• Red Hat Official ☛ Automate Fedora IoT configuration on a Raspberry Pi 4 with Ansible

  Create an Ansible playbook that sets the hostname, adds a new user, layers additional packages, and more on your Fedora IoT-based Raspberry Pi.

• TecMint ☛ Have You Tried Virtualbox Unattended Guest OS Install?

  Recently, I updated my VirtualBox installation to version 7.0.0, I noticed some nice updates on the graphical user interface (GUI).

• TecAdmin ☛ Apt Upgrade vs Apt Dist-upgrade: The Key Differences

  The Advanced Package Tool (APT) is a powerful package management system used in Debian, Ubuntu, and their derivatives.

• TecAdmin ☛ Apt Update vs Apt Upgrade: Decoding the Key Differences

  Linux-based systems, such as Debian, Ubuntu, and their derivatives, utilize the Advanced Package Tool (APT) for package management.

• TecAdmin ☛ Apt Remove vs Apt Autoremove vs Apt Purge: Key Differences

  Managing packages on Linux-based systems can be a complex task, especially when it comes to uninstalling software. Debian, Ubuntu, and their derivatives utilize the Advanced Package Tool (APT) for package management, offering various commands for different uninstallation scenarios.

• TecAdmin ☛ Using the Apt Package Manager on Debian-based Systems

  Package management is an essential component of modern operating systems, and Ubuntu and Debian are no exceptions. These Linux-based systems rely on a powerful package manager called Advanced Packaging Tool (APT) to manage software installation, upgrades, and removal. Apt is a command-line utility that simplifies the process of finding, installing, and maintaining software packages.

• TecAdmin ☛ Apt configuration file options /etc/apt/apt.conf

  The Apt package manager is a powerful tool for managing software packages in Ubuntu and Debian. It allows you to search for, install, upgrade, and remove packages, as well as manage package dependencies and repositories.

• nixCraft ☛ How to remove orphaned unused packages in Arch Linux

  Arch Linux uses pacman command to add or remove packages. It is a package management utility that tracks installed packages on Arch. So when you uninstall or remove packages, some dependencies are left behind, taking up disk space. In this quick tutorial, I will explain how to remove ALL orphaned packages installed as a dependency and no longer required by any package on Arch Linux.

Science

• France24 ☛ Astronomers discover ultramassive black hole using new technique

  One of the largest black holes ever recorded has been discovered using a new technique that could spot thousands more of the insatiable celestial monsters in the coming years, according to astronomers.

• Science Alert ☛ One of The Biggest Black Holes Ever Detected Is Actually Bigger Than We Thought

  A true monster.

• Science Alert ☛ Long Covid Brain Changes Mirror Those of Chronic Fatigue, Brain Scans Reveal

  The oldest parts of the brain are impacted.

• Science Alert ☛ You’re Probably Reading Body Language All Wrong. Here’s What an Expert Suggests

  It’s not an exact science.

• Science Alert ☛ Beetles Hydrate by Drinking Through Their Butt Holes. Here’s How They Do It

  Don’t try this at home.

Education

• Eight Danish parties resist government’s university reform

  Eight of parliament’s twelve political parties have urged the government to stop plans to reform higher education, which would see around half of all Master’s degrees shortened to one-year programmes.

• Hong Kong Free Press ☛ 14 Hong Kong teachers convicted of criminal offences disqualified in 2022, nearly triple that of previous year

  The number of Hong Kong teachers convicted of criminal offences disqualified by the Education Bureau (EDB) has close to tripled in the past year.

Hardware

• Tom’s Hardware ☛ Micron Loses $2.312 Billion as Demand for DRAM and 3D NAND Nosedives

  Micron will further cut investments and reduce workforce due to short-term 3D NAND and DRAM demand uncertainties.

• Tom’s Hardware ☛ U.S. Government Will Support Domestic PCB Manufacturing

  U.S. government will spend $50 million to support domestic PCB and advanced packaging facilities.

• Stacey on IoT ☛ It’s time for a smart home spring clean, y’all! [Ed: For dumb tenants]

  Last week, I had three different batteries on my desk and a growing list of tasks I needed to do to keep my devices online and running smoothly.

Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

• The Scientist ☛ Translation of “Jumping Genes” Creates Cancer Therapy Targets

  Researchers find many tumor-specific antigens form when cancer genes and transposable elements link up.

• Science Alert ☛ Record-Breaking Human Lifespans Predicted by The Year 2060. Here’s Why.

  We’re still too young to show our true potential.

• Rlang ☛ Life Expectancy and Health Spending in the OECD

  The visualization exercise of the day for class is a re-creation of a figure I first saw Lane Kenworthy make. It’s a connected scatterplot of total health spending in real terms and life expectancy of the population as a whole. T

• teleSUR ☛ US River Ohio at Risk of Contamination by 1,400 Methanol Tons

  “There is no current evidence of a tank breach or any leaks. Air and water monitoring resources are in place,” Louisville City Emergency Management Agency stated.

• teleSUR ☛ Namibia Suspends Poultry Imports From Argentina and Chile

  Since October 2021, an increasing number of H5N1 avian influenza cases have raised concerns about the potential for the virus to spread from domestic animals to humans.

• Reason ☛ The Statistically Flawed Evidence That Social Media Is Causing the Teen Mental Health Crisis

  Jonathan Haidt’s integrity and transparency are admirable, but the studies he’s relying on aren’t strong enough to support his conclusions.

• RFA ☛ Hong Kong plans to share transplant organs with China sparks human rights concerns

  Officials have been pushing ahead with the plan since a baby girl was saved by a heart donated from mainland China.

Security

• Scoop News Group ☛ Supply chain cyberattack with possible links to North Korea could have thousands of victims globally

  An attack that could be the work of the notorious Lazarus Group attempted to install infostealer malware inside corporate networks.

• Scoop News Group ☛ White House announces $25 million in cybersecurity aid to Costa Rica

  A senior Biden administration official said the aid will “work to secure its networks and defend its critical infrastructure.”

• SANS ☛ Extracting Multiple Streams From OLE Files, (Wed, Mar 29th)

  Reader Martin asks us for some help extracting embedded content from a submitted malicious document.

• SANS ☛ ISC Stormcast For Wednesday, March 29th, 2023

• Scoop News Group ☛ Online voting provider paid for academic research in attempt to sway U.S. lawmakers [Ed: Broken voting machines with back doors the new formal now?]

  Democracy Live directed academic research aimed at demonstrating its product’s security and used that material in lobbying campaigns.

• Scoop News Group ☛ Google reveals two global spyware campaigns targeting Apple and Android devices

  The operations are just the latest example of the proliferation of sophisticated spyware among private vendors, Google says.

• Bruce Schneier ☛ The Security Vulnerabilities of Message Interoperability

  Jenny Blessing and Ross Anderson have evaluated the security of systems designed to allow the various Internet messaging platforms to interoperate with each other: [...]

• Silicon Angle ☛ Microsoft Defender reportedly tagging Zoom and Google as malicious sites

  Microsoft Corp.’s security platform Defender, which comes installed as standard with Windows, is having a bad day today, with users reporting that the service is tagging sites such as Google and Zoom as being malicious.

• SequoiaPGP ☛ Pretty graphics for the Web of Trust

  I have recently added the ability to generate Graphviz DOT output to the
  Sequoia Web of Trust project. This new functionality has been released in version 0.7.0. With it, users can visually inspect an OpenPGP Web of Trust.

  This can provide some fascinating insights into one’s own keyring, and the relationship between OpenPGP keys involved with software projects.

• Privacy/Surveillance

  • NYPost ☛ NYPD must stop sharing, accessing sealed arrests without court order: judge

    The NYPD must crack down on cops improperly obtaining and sharing information about sealed cases, a Manhattan judge ruled Wednesday as he ordered the department to overhaul its records-access systems.

  • NYPost ☛ Out-of-control passengers could be tossed on no-fly list

    “Our bill provides a simple solution – if you’re violent in our skies, you can’t fly,” one House rep. said.

  • Reason ☛ Could the RESTRICT Act Criminalize the Use of VPNs?

    Plus: States consider mandatory anti-porn filters, tariffs create baby formula shortages (again), and more…

Defence/Aggression

• RFA ☛ Satellite photos point to chemical plant’s role in North Korea’s nuclear program

  A CSIS report examined 514 images showing special rail cars linking plant to Yongbyon nuclear facility

• Hong Kong Free Press ☛ UN calls for release of Hong Kong rights activist Albert Ho

  The United Nations on Tuesday urged the Hong Kong authorities to release Albert Ho, one of the city’s best-known rights activists, saying his health was in a critical condition.

• Hong Kong Free Press ☛ China vows to ‘fight back’ if Taiwan leader meets US speaker

  China vowed on Wednesday to “fight back” should Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen meet the US House speaker during a trip to the United States.

• Defence Web ☛ ICC arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin: a king-size dilemma for South Africa

  The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued an international arrest warrant for Russian president Vladimir Putin for alleged war crimes regarding the unlawful deportation of children from Ukraine to Russia. Such acts are war crimes under two articles of the Rome Statute, which established the court.

• Atlantic Council ☛ Putin’s plan for a new Russian Empire includes both Ukraine and Belarus

  A leaked document detailing Russia’s plans to absorb Belarus highlights the scale of Vladimir Putin’s imperial ambitions and provides insights into the true objectives behind the invasion of Ukraine, writes Taras Kuzio.

• France24 ☛ ‘If you stay, you will die’: How one front-line volunteer is saving lives in Ukraine’s Donbas

  Kuba Stasiak, a young volunteer from Poland, has helped evacuate an estimated 200 Ukrainian civilians from Bakhmut and other besieged cities in Ukraine. But volunteers like him face psychological hurdles as well as practical ones: How do you convince someone it is time to leave everything behind?

• France24 ☛ 🔴 Live: IAEA chief warns of ‘increasing’ military activity at Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant

  International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Rafael Grossi arrived on Wednesday for a visit to the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine, where he warned of “increasing” military activity around the plant.

• France24 ☛ Colombian militants kill 9 soldiers, complicating peace efforts

  Assailants carried out the attack on a military unit that was securing a pipeline. The violence undermines the efforts of Gustavo Petro to bring peace to the country.

• France24 ☛ China vows to ‘fight back’ if Taiwan’s Tsai meets with US House Speaker McCarthy

  China vowed on Wednesday to “fight back” should Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen meet the US House Speaker during a trip to the United States.

• New York Times ☛ Soldiers Massing Near Ukrainian Nuclear Plant, U.N. Official Warns

  Amid signs of offensives and counteroffensives, concern is rekindling about what it will mean for the biggest nuclear plant in Europe.

• CS Monitor ☛ States’ responses to mass shootings: Party determines policy

  Amid public mourning and anger after Nashville school shooting, Tennessee will likely not pass new gun control laws, due to the political party that controls the state.

• Latvia ☛ EUR 2.5 million channeled to Ukrainian refugees in Latvia through Ziedot.lv

  With donations from entrepreneurs and citizens, the charity platform “Ziedot.lv” has provided €2.5 million in aid to Ukrainian war refugees who have arrived in Latvia during the year, Ziedot.lv said on March 28.

• Federal News Network ☛ Militants kill 9 soldiers in attack on Colombia’s military

  Officials say militants in Colombia have killed nine soldiers and wounded nine others in an attack on a military unit that was securing a northern pipeline. The violence complicates efforts by the country’s new leftist president to negotiate a lasting peace. The assailants attacked early Wednesday with long-range weapons and improvised explosive devices in El Carmen, in Norte de Santander state near the Venezuelan border. The military’s preliminary assessment was that the attackers were from the National Liberation Army, or ELN. It would be the deadliest attack by the guerrillas since their resumption in November of peace negotiations with the government. It undermines efforts by President Gustavo Petro to bring “total peace” to the nation of 50 million people.

• Federal News Network ☛ Why the debate over repealing Iraq War approval matters

  Congress is now considering doing something it hasn’t done since the Vietnam War — repealing authorizations for the use of military force. That’s a step toward reclaiming its say over the wars America wages abroad. The Senate voted 66-33 on Wednesday to repeal the 2002 resolution giving President George W. Bush the green light to invade Iraq, an authorization that many now see as a mistake. It also approved repealing a 1991 resolution authorizing the U.S. military’s battle against Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait. Approval by the House, which is less certain, would officially end congressional approval for the U.S. war in Iraq and, symbolically at least, close the U.S.-led war itself.

• Federal News Network ☛ UN agency warns of rising combat near Ukraine nuclear plant

  The head of the U.N.’s atomic energy watchdog is warning of the danger of a catastrophic accident at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant because of increased fighting in the area. Rafael Mariano Grossi made the comment after returning from a visit to the plant, which is in a partially Russian occupied zone. Grossi is director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency and said after his visit to the plant Wednesday that evidence of intensified combat was easy to see. He says he is working on a plan to protect Europe’s largest nuclear power facility itself, rather than securing the surrounding area as he originally hoped to do.

• RFERL ☛ Russian Architect Sentenced To More Than Five Years In Prison For Posting ‘Fakes’ About Ukraine War

  A Russian court has sentenced architect Oleg Belousov to 5 1/2 years in prison for discrediting Russia’s armed forces with “fake” social-media posts about the war in Ukraine and calls for extremism.

• RFERL ☛ Russia’s Wagner Chief Says Battle For Bakhmut Has Damaged His Forces

  The head of Russia’s Wagner mercenary group acknowledged March 29 that fighting for the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut had inflicted severe damage on his own forces as well as the Ukrainian side.

• AntiWar ☛ Iraq, Afghanistan, and Now Ukraine: Reductio ab Absurdum

  The recent 20th anniversary of the US invasion of Iraq in 2003 has caused me to reflect on the two years (2007-08) that I worked as a field-level civilian advisor in Iraq followed by six years in Afghanistan (2009-14) and to correlate this experience to the current proxy war the US is funding…

• AntiWar ☛ Vladimir Putin vs. the International Criminal Court

  On March 17, the International Criminal Court issued a warrant of arrest for Russian President Vladimir Putin as a war criminal for allegedly deporting and transferring children from Ukraine to Russia.

• YLE ☛ HS: Turkish parliament unlikely to discuss Finland Nato bid on Wednesday

  Previous reports from Ankara suggested that Turkey’s parliament would vote on Finland’s Nato accession at a plenary on Wednesday afternoon.

• The Local SE ☛ Sweden summons Russian ambassador after threats over Nato bid

  Sweden said on Wednesday it was summoning the Russian ambassador after he said the country and neighbouring Finland would become a “legitimate target” of retaliatory measures” – including military ones – if they join Nato.

• The Local SE ☛ Hungary calls on Sweden to address ‘grievances’ to end Nato spat

  Hungary called on Sweden to “clear the air” and address “an ample amount of grievances” on Wednesday for parliament to ratify the Nordic country’s Nato accession.

• Danish government split over repatriation of women and children from Syria

  Only one of the three parties in Denmark’s coalition government has stated it wants to repatriate women with national connections to Denmark from Kurdish-run prison camps in Syria.

• RFERL ☛ Hungary Says ‘Grievances’ Hold Up Ratification Of Sweden’s NATO Accession

  Hungary is holding up Sweden’s admission to NATO because of grievances over its criticism of Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s policies, the Hungarian government spokesman said.

• RFERL ☛ Siberian Journalist Goes On Trial For Article Related To Ukraine War

  The editor in chief of the Novy fokus (New Focus) online newspaper in the Siberian region of Khakasia, Mikhail Afanasyev, went on trial on March 29 charged with discrediting Russia’s armed forces.

• RFERL ☛ Sweden Summons Russia’s Ambassador Over ‘Legitimate Target’ Statement

  Sweden’s Foreign Ministry said on March 29 it will summon Russia’s Stockholm ambassador to complain about an “attempt at interference” with the Swedish NATO application process.

• RFERL ☛ Gulagu.net Rights Group Stops Helping Military Personnel Opposed To War Escape Russia

  The founder of the Gulagu.net human rights group, Vladimir Osechkin, announced that his organization is suspending efforts to help Russian military personnel opposed to Ukraine war leave Russia.

• RFERL ☛ IAEA Chief Grossi Visits Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Plant

  Rafael Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UN’s nuclear watchdog, visited the Russian-held Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant on March 29.

• RFERL ☛ Russian Prosecutor Seeks Life In Prison For School Attacker Who Killed Nine

  The prosecutor of Russia’s Tatarstan region, Ildus Nafikov, asked the region’s Supreme Court to convict and sentence to life in prison a man who killed nine people in an attack on a school in May 2021.

• France24 ☛ IOC recommends return of Russian athletes to sports but delays decision on Paris Olympics

  A decision on whether athletes competing for Russia and Belarus will be able to participate in the Paris 2024 Olympics will be taken “at the appropriate time”, International Olympic Committee chief Thomas Bach said on Tuesday, as he defended plans for nationals of the two countries to join other international sports competitions as “neutral parties”.

• RFERL ☛ Germany To Send Additional 12 Billion Euros In Military Support To Ukraine

  The German government has agreed to send an additional 12 billion euros ($13 billion) worth of military support to Ukraine.

Environment

• New York Times ☛ In Rare Show of Force, House Democrats Pressure Hochul on Climate Bill

  Several House members, led by Jamaal Bowman, are pushing the governor to support a climate policy proposed by the left-leaning Legislature.

• Michael West Media ☛ Pollution cap for big emitters on verge of becoming law

  Big emitters will face a new carbon pollution cap under new laws due to pass parliament.  Senators slept in their offices as they endured marathon late-night debates across Tuesday and Wednesday on changes to the safeguard mechanism.

• The Local SE ☛ Swedish government’s new climate policies ‘will lead to rising emissions’

  The body set up to judge Sweden’s climate policies has condemned the “striking and serious” changes to climate policy brought in by Sweden’s new right-wing government, warning that they will lead to emissions of greenhouse gases rising for the first time in 20 years.

• Michael West Media ☛ Deep ocean in deep trouble as Antarctic ice melts

  Australian scientists have made dire projections about what Antarctica’s melting ice will do to global ocean health without rapid emissions cuts this decade. Most people know fossil fuel use is warming the planet, melting polar ice caps and pushing up sea levels. But ice loss is also disrupting water circulation in the deepest parts of the ocean.

• France24 ☛ European court to hear first climate cases against France, Switzerland

  The European Court of Human Rights will hear cases against France and Switzerland over alleged failings to protect the environment Wednesday, the first time governments are in the court’s dock for alleged climate change inaction.

• France24 ☛ UN adopts landmark resolution to define global legal obligations on climate change

  The UN General Assembly on Wednesday adopted by consensus and to cheers a resolution calling for the world body’s top court to outline legal obligations related to climate change.

• RFERL ☛ Montenegro Says U.S., South Korea Requesting Extradition Of Korean Cryptocurrency Fugitive

  Montenegrin Justice Minister Marko Kovac said on March 29 that both South Korea and United States are requesting the extradition of Do Kwon, the former CEO and co-founder of cryptocurrency company Terraform Labs, who is suspected in the loss of investments worth more than $40 billion.

• Energy/Transportation

  • Michael West Media ☛ Call to unplug electricity networks’ super profits

    Up to a third of looming residential power bill hikes could be avoided if governments crack down on electricity networks, research shows. The monopoly power networks should not continue to reap large profits while households pay skyrocketing electricity bills, the independent Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis said in a report released on Thursday.

  • France24 ☛ France raises age limit and fines for e-scooters ahead of Paris referendum on a ban

    France increased the minimum age for using an electric scooter from 12 to 14 on Wednesday ahead of a weekend vote in Paris on whether to ban rental of the devices. The government unveiled a new regulatory plan for e-scooters on Wednesday increasing the age limit as well as hiking fines for riding on them with another person from 35 euros to 135 ($150).

• Wildlife/Nature

  • CS Monitor ☛ ‘Wilderness Tales’ unfolds short stories with a sense of place

    Collected stories about the wild, uncharted frontiers of North America expand to include everything from classic nature tales to dystopian climate fiction.

Finance

• France24 ☛ France has narrowed its budget deficit, but how does it compare to other EU states?

  French economists and public auditors alike breathed a sigh of relief as the national statistics agency INSEE on Tuesday published an annual report showing that the country’s 2022 budget deficit dipped below 5% of GDP. Public debt also slightly decreased. Despite these hopeful figures, France still remains one of the most-indebted countries in the EU.

• teleSUR ☛ Millions Protesting Show the Magnitude of Discontent in France

  Nevertheless, government spokesman Veran rejected the possibility of reopening the discussion on the pension reform because the reform “has already been adopted.”

• teleSUR ☛ Dilma Rousseff Chairs the BRICS New Development Bank

  This institution finances infrastructure projects in Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.

• Atlantic Council ☛ There’s a Forex market crisis in Iran. The root cause of its problems is the clerical establishment.

  Iranian officials have not been able to stop the increases in foreign currency rates or maintain the value of the Iranian rial.

• France24 ☛ Le Pen’s opposition to pension reform, focus on public order ‘pays off’ in polls

  Marine Le Pen’s far-right Rassemblement National (National Rally or RN) party hopes to use the national crisis to continue its long ascent in French politics, adopting a balancing act as its strategy. RN opposes President Emmanuel Macron’s pension reforms along with most of the French public, while presenting itself as the party of order by condemning public disorder.

• New York Times ☛ Future of New York’s Housing Crisis Is Being Decided in the Suburbs

  The governor’s quest, to force suburbs around New York City to build more housing, is meeting with resistance.

• YLE ☛ Survey: One in five SMEs open to trying 4-day workweeks

  A four-day workweek trial in the UK was deemed a major success by most of the participating employers.

• YLE ☛ Cleaners’ strike to start after proposed resolution rejected

  The strike is set to last from Thursday until Saturday, with some 27,000 cleaners at 18 companies asked to walk out.

• The Age AU ☛ The banker Switzerland trusts to stop the bleeding

  Sergio Ermotti fixed Switzerland’s biggest bank after it fell victim to the last financial crash. Now he is being asked to do it all over again.

• YLE ☛ Study: Foreign care workers take less sick leave than their Finnish counterparts

  The study also found that the lowest ratio of care workers’ sick leave was seen among staff who immigrated from outside the EU.

• The Local SE ☛ Swedish mortgage holders ‘under most financial strain in 12 years’

  People with mortgages are seeing more strain on their finances than at any time in the last 12 years, Sweden’s financial stability watchdog has said in a new report, although it says that the majority of people taking out new mortgages still have some wiggle room in their personal finances.

• teleSUR ☛ Greek Experts Call for Vigilance After US Banking Turmoil

  “The banking sector is very much interconnected with the real economy, and we should follow developments very carefully,” said Professor Panagiotis Petrakis.

• RFERL ☛ Iranian Teachers Protest Conditions Amid Reports Of Unpaid Wages

  Iranian teachers have protested in several different cities around the country over wages and poor living standards as unrest over social and economic issues that has plagued Iran for almost a year continues.

• RFERL ☛ Former Executive Of Russian Gas Company Convicted Of Tax Evasion In U.S.

  A former top executive at Russian natural gas producer Novatek has been convicted of tax evasion in the United States.

• RFERL ☛ Construction Contracts For Serbian Open Under Scrutiny In Republika Srpska

  Authorities have inspected documents related to the construction of a tennis stadium in Banja Luka for the Serbian Open tennis tournament organized by the family of the world’s second-ranked men’s player, Novak Djokovic.

AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

• France24 ☛ Biden says Israel ‘cannot continue’ pressing for contentious judicial overhaul

  US President Joe Biden on Tuesday warned Israel it “cannot continue” pressing for deeply controversial judicial reforms — now on hold — which have prompted months of unrest and criticism among Western allies.

• France24 ☛ Israeli govt and opposition parties hold first meeting on controversial judiciary reforms

  Israel’s far-right government and opposition parties Tuesday ended a “positive” first meeting on controversial judiciary reforms that sparked a general strike and mass protests, in the country’s most severe domestic crisis in years.

• France24 ☛ Senegal’s opposition says protests will continue as leader Sonko’s trial set to resume

  The Senegalese opposition announced on Tuesday that it would push ahead with demonstrations in Dakar on Wednesday and Thursday despite a ban, while authorities said they had arrested four members of a group seeking to prevent the resumption of the trial of opposition leader Ousmane Sonko by “sowing chaos and insurrection”.

• New York Times ☛ Modi Tightens Grip on India’s Democracy, Wielding the Judiciary

  The ouster from Parliament of India’s best-known opposition leader shows how Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party is manipulating the judiciary, critics say.

• The Age AU ☛ FIFA strips Indonesia of football World Cup amid Israel furore

  Football-mad Indonesia was scheduled to stage the Under-20 World Cup in May and June but FIFA has removed the tournament from South-east Asia’s largest nation.

• The Age AU ☛ Some TikTok users admit their attraction to Chew as a quasi form of support

  Some TikTok users have admitted they find the platform’s CEO attractive, creating comedic content in support of Chew. Credit: @fragilebaggage, @chuutery, @marketinginmiami

• The Age AU ☛ TikTok’s CEO took to the app to reassure users of the app’s safety

  TikTok’s CEO, Shou Chew, posted a personal video to TikTok’s main account after the hearing with Congress to thank the platform’s supporters and to reassure them of the app’s safety. Credit: @TikTok

• The Age AU ☛ Users are taking to TikTok to oppose the app’s potential ban

  TikTok users are using the app to post parody videos of the hearing and to express support for TikTok’s CEO. Credit: @engineer2educator, @rachelhannahh, @cnetdotcom, @officialclamchowder

• YLE ☛ Finland restricts vegetarians from joining elite border unit

  With the exception of mild food allergy issues, people requiring special diets are prohibited from joining the special units.

• Press Gazette ☛ Boffins’ plea for tabloids to bin term boffins has mixed reception from red-tops

  The Institute of Physics believes young people are put off from pursuing subjects if they’ll be thought of as boffins.

• Press Gazette ☛ Top 50 UK news websites: ITV and MEN only top ten sites to see growth in February

  Press Gazette’s monthly ranking of the top 50 newsbrands in the UK.

• RFA ☛ Tsai arrives in US amid Beijing’s protests

  China says Taiwan leader’s visit to the United States violates the ‘One China’ principle.

• Federal News Network ☛ Austria urges North Macedonia to end dispute on constitution

  Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen is urging rival political parties in North Macedonia to end a dispute over a proposed amendment to the constitution. His comment Wednesday cames as European Union leaders continue to encourage the small Balkan country to clear hurdles toward membership in the bloc. North Macedonia has promised neighboring Bulgaria to add a reference in its constitution to the existence of an ethnic Bulgarian minority. In exchange, Bulgaria would lift objections to starting EU membership talks for North Macedonia. But the amendment requires cross-party support and is currently opposed by the conservative main opposition party.

• Federal News Network ☛ West Virginia bans marriage for children age 15 or younger

  West Virginia will no longer allow children and young teens to marry. Republican Gov. Jim Justice signed a compromise bill on Wednesday that bans marriage for those age 15 or younger. Minors age 16 and 17 can still marry, but will now need parental consent. They also can’t marry someone more than four years older than them. Previously, any minor could marry with a judge’s waiver. Some Democrats wanted to eliminate child marriage altogether. Republicans spoke about how they or their parents had married before adulthood, arguing that marriage keeps young families together.

• Federal News Network ☛ For WVa. abortion protester, charges dropped with conditions

  A protester arrested for disrupting West Virginia lawmakers as they moved to ban abortion last September will see all charges dropped against her — if she stays out of trouble for the next six months. Lindsey Jacobs, a 38-year-old lawyer, was ordered to perform 25 hours of community service. And at a court hearing Wednesday, the magistrate dismissed two misdemeanor charges for obstructing an officer and willful disruption of governmental processes. Lopez agreed to dismiss a third misdemeanor for disorderly conduct if Jacobs stays out of trouble the next six months. Jacob was arrested the same day West Virginia’s Republican governor signed into law a ban on abortion with few exceptions.

• RFA ☛ US bolsters military activities in South China Sea: Chinese think-tank

  Beijing-based research institute warns of determined countermeasures from China.

• RFERL ☛ Russia Stops Sharing Advance Missile Test Info With U.S.

  Russia will no longer give the United States advance notice about its missile tests as envisioned under a nuclear pact the Kremlin has suspended, a senior Moscow diplomat said on March 29.

• RFA ☛ Congressional hearing examines Chinese repression in Tibet

  U.S. lawmakers are considering new bipartisan legislation on seeking resolution for conflict.

• RFERL ☛ Ukraine Condemns IOC Recommendations Allowing Russian, Belarusian Athletes To Compete As Neutrals

  The Ukrainian Ministry of Youth and Sports has condemned what it called the “partial change of position” of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes in international sports competitions.

• Misinformation/Disinformation/Propaganda

  • RFERL ☛ Eastern European Governments Urge Tech Firms To Fight Disinformation

    Ukraine and seven other Central and Eastern European nations on March 29 called on the world’s top tech firms to take action to fight disinformation by hostile powers on their social media platforms, which they say undermines peace and stability.

Censorship/Free Speech

• RFA ☛ Vietnamese court upholds jail terms for couple over YouTube channel content

  Nguyen Thai Hung and wife charged with ‘abusing democratic freedoms’ over ‘Telling the Truth TV’ show.

• France24 ☛ French woman faces trial, €12,000 fine for ‘insulting’ Macron on Facebook

  A woman in northern France is to be put on trial on charges of insulting President Emmanuel Macron after describing him as ‘filth’ in a Facebook post, a prosecutor said on Wednesday. The woman risks a fine of 12,000 euros but not prison if convicted at the trial due to be held in June.

• Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Hong Kong national security police arrest woman over ‘seditious’ acts linked to social media posts

  Hong Kong national security police have arrested a 48-year-old woman over “acts with seditious intention,” reportedly related to posts on Twitter. According to the police, the woman was suspected of posting “seditious” content on different social media platforms.

• RFERL ☛ Russian Rights Defender Not Allowed To Reenter Georgia

  Daryana Gryaznova, a Russian rights defender who has lived in Tbilisi since May 2021, has not been allowed to reenter Georgia after she took a trip to Istanbul.

• RFERL ☛ Pussy Riot Member Tolokonnikova Added To Russia’s Wanted List

  A member of the Pussy Riot protest group in Russia, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, has been added to the Russian Interior Ministry’s wanted list.

• RFA ☛ China deletes Marxism, Leninism, Maoism, other ideologies from government rulebook

  The new rules force the country’s cabinet, the State Council, to run all major decisions past the party leadership.

Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press

• The Age AU ☛ NZ radio station shut down while live on air

  Today FM hosts discuss their potential shut down just hours before the station was taken off the air.

• Press Gazette ☛ Media Bill to repeal Leveson–inspired Section 40 and create Broadcast Code for streamers

  The never-activated clause would make publishers pay both sides’ costs if they are sued.

• Press Gazette ☛ UK has second-lowest level of trust in press in survey of 24 countries

  Only Egypt reported lower levels of trust in the press than the UK.

• Press Gazette ☛ Private investigator denies working for Mail titles to illegally spy on celebs

  Gavin Burrows says he was not asked to conduct any unlawful information gathering by the Daily Mail or Mail on Sunday.

• Press Gazette ☛ Rival lawsuits vie to represent UK publishers in class-action claim against Google

  The Competition Appeal Tribunal will need to choose which claim will represent UK publishers.

• RFA ☛ Fiji appears set to repeal draconian media law

  Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka said cabinet had approved a repeal bill for parliament to vote on.

Civil Rights/Policing

• Mexico News Daily ☛ 83 ancient Mexican artifacts returned from Italy, Germany, France

  Pre-Hispanic artifacts missing for years were brought home personally by Culture Minister Alejandro Frausto.

• JURIST ☛ UN expresses concern for human rights in El Salvador after yearlong state of emergency

  The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) Tuesday called for authorities in El Salvador to address human rights concerns as the nation marks one year in a state of emergency. Authorities enacted the state of emergency on March 27, 2022 following a wave of gang-related murders.

• Quartz ☛ Arkansas, the deadliest US state for new mothers, is now accepting funds for a monument to “unborn children”

  Arkansas is planning to install a “monument to the unborn” in the state capital of Little Rock following its nearly total ban on abortions last year.

• Quartz ☛ These online searches will activate Amsterdam’s “Stay Away” campaign

  Amsterdam has begun spreading the message that rowdy tourists aren’t welcome in the Dutch city.

• New York Times ☛ Biden’s Confrontation With Netanyahu Had Been Brewing for Years

  The president’s decision to publicly criticize Israel is highly unusual for a leader who has pledged not to interfere in the country’s domestic politics.

• Off Guardian ☛ Why You Should Destroy Your Smart Phone Now

  Simon Elmer So-called ‘smart phones’ — far more accurately described as ‘dumb phones’ — combine a mobile phone with a watch, with a road map, with a tourist atlas of the world, with a digital camera, with a personal stereo system, with a music collection, with a video recorder, with a diary, with a calculator…

• Off Guardian ☛ WATCH: The One Hell Agenda

  Meryl Nass interviews James Corbett for CHD.tv. Following on their previous discussion on the history of the World Health Organization, they turn their crosshairs on the latest updates on the WHO’s IHR proposed amendments & Zero Draft Pandemic treaty.

• Reason ☛ Idaho Bill Would Ban ‘Transporting’ a Minor for an Abortion Without Her Parents’ Permission

  “Taking that child across the border, and if that happens without the permission of the parent, that’s where we’ll be able to hold accountable those that would subvert a parent’s right,” said one of the bill’s sponsors.

• CS Monitor ☛ Protecting female protesters during Egypt’s Arab Spring revolution

  Activist Yasmin El-Rifae helped rescue women from sexual assault during Arab Spring protests in Egypt. She talks about her book “Radius,” which confronts the issue of women’s safety.

• The Age AU ☛ Loud leaving has replaced quiet quitting, and it’s making a splash [Ed: Promoting a myth about the casualties]

  This new world-of-work term describes the act of declaring you are finishing for the day. No skulking away, or promising to jump back online later.

• Atlantic Council ☛ What policymakers should know about improving gender equality in Latin America and the Caribbean

  Narrowing the gender gap is pivotal for charting a more prosperous future for the region. Five experts on the region provide their ideas for doing so.

• RFERL ☛ Missing Iranian Cleric Warns Of His Possible Detention, Death

  Four months after the disappearance of Molavi Abdul Ghaffar Naqshbandi, the Sunni imam from the Iranian city of Rask who disclosed the alleged rape of a 15-year-old girl by a local police commander, a video has surfaced in which he warns of the possibility that he may be “assassinated.”

Internet Policy/Net Neutrality

• Atlantic Council ☛ What to expect from the world’s democratic tech alliance as the Summit for Democracy unfolds

  Ahead of the Biden administration’s second Summit for Democracy, stakeholders from the Freedom Online Coalition gave a sneak peek at what to expect on the global effort to protect online rights and freedoms.

• Michael Geist ☛ The Dongle Budget: What Prioritizing a Common Cell Phone Charging Port Says About Canadian Digital Policy

  Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland released the government’s 2023 budget yesterday with a raft of new spending initiatives and subsidies for “clean tech” to match developments in the United States.

Monopolies

• Copyrights

  • Digital Music News ☛ What To Do When You Want To Quit Music

    It’s common for me to feel discouraged about my art, my music career, how I’m growing older and less relevant, and how other artists are clearly surpassing me. S

  • Digital Music News ☛ Warner Music Group Announces 270 Job Cuts — and Comprehensive Reorganization Plans — ‘To Take Advantage of the Opportunities Ahead of Us’

    Warner Music Group (WMG) is reportedly laying off approximately 270 employees – or roughly 4% of its global team – and spearheading a seemingly far-reaching executive-level reorganization.

Personal

• On AI-created works [Ed: Conflating computer-generated with buzzwords and hype]

  A core issue is not necessarily about a machine generating output per se. It’s at least partly about artists’ work being used as inputs.

  Whereas a human artist can indeed use the art they’ve seen to develop a style that’s either imitatory or at least ‘influenced by’, and artists have always done that, doing so requires a non-trivial amount of labour on the part of the artist: both in learning the style, and in actually creating new works as a result.

  But there’s no direct human labour involved when an AI learns an artist’s style and reproduces it. It’s a sudden massive lowering of the barrier to being able to imitate an artist who might have spent many many hours over the years developing their individual style.

Technical

• Install The KDE Konsole terminal emulator on macOS

  For the longest of time, I’ve tried and used several options. Non of them are as good as Konsole. I’ve tried iTerm2, Alacritty, Hyper and others. Alacritty is really fast, but does not support tabbing. Hyper is clean but very slow. iTerm’s UI us ok. But still can’t run VIM smoothly.

  There’s no prebuilt binaries of Konsole for macOS. Otherwise I’d just installed it. But like, there’s no reason Konsole can’t run on macOS. It’s built on the KDE Frameworks, which is cross platform and there’s an old archive on mac ports. So I decided to try to build it myself.

• Internet/Gemini

  • On Mastodon DDoS’ing Sites

    Every now and then I read about Mastodon essentially DDoS’ing a site, when a link to this site embedded in a Mastodon post. I can observe this behavior in my own site’s log files.

    What happens is, that a preview of the posted link is created to be shown in the post after it was posted. That’s normal and totally fine. But because the Mastodon is federated, all Mastodon instances, which receive this post with the embedded link, will do the same. And because the federation takes place almost immediately for all instances involved, many Mastodon servers will immediately request a copy of the link’s content.

    [...]

    The first option has problems as well. Malicious instances could embed a different link preview from a sensible location, but link to a malicious site. Another problem is instances on the fediverse with no link preview at all, which are not necessarily Mastodon instances, would receive data, which they never use. Or the preview amount differs. And what do we do when we have several links in the post? Send all previews?

    In my opinion it’s better to just send the data a user has added to the post themselves and leave the optional generation of link previews to the potential many different services on the fediverse. People with weak hardware should just understand the limitation and use static instead of dynamic hosting. In most cases it’s better anyway, because a link from a single source with a lot of reach can break any dynamic hosting. And that is exactly the time, when you want to stay online for people to consume your content.