GNU/Linux

• Pine64 ☛ March Update: Tablet Bonanza!

  We end the first quarter of the year with news that Star64 will be available for purchase on April 4th and that the PineTab2 and PineTab-V(ery good!) will launch the following week  on April 11th.

• Linux Gizmos ☛ Pine64 officially launches STAR64 RISC-V based SBC

  Pine64 announced today that the STAR64 Single Board Computer can be ordered from April 4th.

• Liliputing ☛ PineTab2 Linux tablet coming April 11 for $159 and up

  The PineTab2 is a Linux-friendly tablet with a 10.1 inch display, a detachable keyboard, and a Rockchip RK3566 quad-core ARM Cortex-A55 processor.

  First unveiled in December, the new tablet has a faster processor, more memory, sturdier build quality and other improvements over the original PineTab. But one thing the new tablet has in common with its predecessor? It’s cheap. The PineTab2 will sell for $159 and up when it goes on sale April 11, 2023.

• OMG! Linux ☛ $70 RISC-V Computer from Pine64 Goes on Sale April 4

  Been itching to get your paws on some affordable RISC-V hardware? If so, Pine64 has you covered.

• CNX Software ☛ Pine64 Star64 SBC with StarFive JH7110 RISC-V SoC with GPU to launch for $69.99 and up

  Pine64 Star64 is a single board computer (SBC) powered by StarFive JH7110 quad-core 64-bit RISC-V processor equipped with an Imagination BXE-4-32 GPU, and in a form factor similar to the earlier Pine64 model A boards such as the Quartz64 Model A.

  The Star64 SBC ships with either 4GB or 8GB of RAM, an HDMI 2.0 video output connector, two Gigabit Ethernet ports, a WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2 module, USB 3.0 ports, a PCIe slot, and a GPIO header for expansion.

• STH ☛ How to Install the Dell iDRAC Service Module

  In this quick how-to, we are going to explain how to fix this by installing the iDRAC service module. We are going to use Ubuntu 22.04 LTS as our OS.

• Download Video & extract only a specific Time of it

  $ fmpeg $(yt-dlp -g 'https://de.pornhub.com/view_video.php?viewkey=ph637366806d6eb' | sed 's/^/-ss 00:05 -i /') -t 01:00 -c copy out.mp4

• OMG Ubuntu ☛ How to Center New Windows in Ubuntu (Hidden Setting)

  I’m currently recording footage for my upcoming Ubuntu 23.04 video and, while doing so, reminded myself that there’s a hidden setting I always use that I don’t think I’ve ever written about on this blog.

• SANS ☛ Using Linux grep and Windows findstr to Manipulate Files, (Fri, Mar 31st)

  Over the years I have found grep to be very versatile. The most common use of grep is to find if the logs have a string that match an IP address, a domain, a service or protocol, some application was logged, etc.

• FOSSLinux ☛ Demystifying Ubuntu: A guide to choosing the right version for you

  Dive into the world of Ubuntu and its various flavors to understand their unique features and benefits, helping you make an informed decision when selecting the ideal version for your needs and preferences.

• FOSSLinux ☛ Streamlining your tmux workflow by synchronizing panes

  Tmux offers a powerful feature that can synchronize multiple panes at once. In this guide, we’ll walk you through the process of synchronizing Tmux panes, allowing you to streamline your workflow and improve your productivity.

• FOSSLinux ☛ Effortlessly sending commands to multiple tmux panes

  Are you tired of manually sending the same command to multiple Tmux panes? If you’re using Tmux for terminal multiplexing, you may not know that you can send commands to all panes simultaneously. In this guide, we’ll show you how to send commands to all Tmux panes at once, saving you time and effort.

• Linux Hint ☛ How to Use RPM Command in Linux

  RPM is a command-line utility for installing, updating, and removing packages in Linux distributions. For more details, follow this article.

• Linux Hint ☛ Is There a “goto” Statement in Bash

  In Bash, there is no “goto” statement, instead, Bash provides alternative constructs that can achieve the same effect as a “goto”.

• Linux Hint ☛ What Does -z Mean in Bash

  The -z option in Bash is a powerful tool for testing whether a string is empty. Read this guide for more details.

• Linux Hint ☛ How Do I Configure sources.list on Debian 11

  In Debian, the sources.list file is a configuration file that includes the list of repositories. Follow this article to configure it on the system.

• Linux Hint ☛ How to Configure Automated Security Updates on Debian 11

  Configuring the unattended upgrades feature in Debian makes the system install automatic updates. For more details, follow this article.

• How to use binary logging in MySQL

  Introduction Hey there! So, you want to learn how to use binary logging in MySQL, huh? Well, you’ve come to the right place!

• MySQL Binary Logging

  Introduction MySQL is a powerful and popular open-source database management system. One of its many features is binary logging, which plays a crucial role in data replication, recovery, and auditing.

• ID Root ☛ How To Install FreeIPA on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS

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

• ID Root ☛ How To Install Neovim on Rocky Linux 9

  In this tutorial, we will show you how to install Neovim on Rocky Linux 9.

• ID Root ☛ How To Install Fail2ban on Fedora 37

  In this tutorial, we will show you how to install Fail2ban on Fedora 37.

• ID Root ☛ How To Install Nomacs on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS

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

• TecMint ☛ How to Host A Website for Free at Your Home Linux System

  The term web server can be used to refer to both hardware and software, or both working together. For the purpose of this guide, we will focus on the software side and see how

• Linux Capable ☛ How to Install Spotify on Manjaro Linux

  Spotify is a renowned music streaming platform that has captured the hearts of millions of users worldwide. With a vast library of songs, podcasts, and playlists, it offers an unparalleled listening experience that caters to diverse tastes and preferences.

• Linux Capable ☛ How to Install Deepin on Manjaro Linux

  Deepin Desktop Environment (DDE) is a highly-regarded, elegant, and user-friendly desktop environment based on the Debian Linux distribution. It offers a visually appealing and intuitive interface, which has attracted many users seeking a modern and customizable Linux experience.

• Linux Capable ☛ How to Install Snap on Manjaro Linux

  In the world of Linux, package management is a crucial aspect of system maintenance. There are several package management solutions available to Linux users, such as Arch User Repository (AUR) and Flatpak.

• Linux Capable ☛ How to Install Liquorix Kernel on Linux Mint 21/20

  The Liquorix Kernel is an advanced, performance-optimized kernel for Linux based on the Zen kernel.

• Linux Capable ☛ How to Install Scrot on Linux Mint 21/20

  Scrot is a popular command-line utility for taking screenshots on Linux systems. It is lightweight, versatile, and highly customizable, making it an ideal tool for users who prefer working in a terminal environment.

• Trend Oceans ☛ How to Install Krita on Ubuntu/Linux

  If you’re looking for some free and open-source digital painting software, Krita is a great option to consider.

• UNIX Cop ☛ Install and Use bottom on Ubuntu / Debian – yet another process/system visualization

  In this post, you will learn how to install Bottom on Ubuntu / Debian. Bottom is another system resource monitor. However, although focused on the Linux desktop, it is also available for macOS and Windows.

WINE or Emulation

• Neowin ☛ Wine 8.5 released with WinRT dark theme support [Ed: Microsofters try to make it all about Microsoft]

  Just two weeks after the last update, Wine 8.5 has been released with support for the WinRT dark theme. Read on to learn more about what’s new in this update and how to install it on your system.

Distributions and Operating Systems

• New Releases

  • OMG! Linux ☛ Linux Lite 6.4 Released, Based on Ubuntu 22.04.2 LTS

    A new version of Linux Lite, an Ubuntu-based distro marketed for use on more modest hardware, is available to download.

  • Neowin ☛ Linux Lite 6.4 released with WebP support, runs on just 768 MB RAM

    Linux Lite 6.4, a lightweight distribution, has been released. It features WebP support in the Thunar file manager and ZTSD compression but it does ship with a slightly older Linux kernel.

  • DebugPoint ☛ Linux Lite 6.4 Released with Updated Ubuntu LTS Base, Under the hood updates

    Linux Lite 6.4 has been officially released, bringing with it a number of exciting changes and additions to the popular operating system. This latest release builds upon the foundation laid by 6.2, with new features that will benefit users with a wide range of machines.

    Here’s what’s new.

• PCLinuxOS/Mageia/Mandriva/OpenMandriva Family

  • PCLOS Official ☛ PCLinuxOS Kernel Updates

    Kernels 6.2.9, 6.1.22 LTS and 5.15.105 LTS are now available in the PCLinuxOS Software Repository.

  • PCLOS Official ☛ Discord updated to 0.0.26

    All-in-one voice and text chat that’s free, secure, and works on both your desktop and phone. Stop paying for TeamSpeak servers and hassling with Skype. Simplify your life.

  • PCLOS Official ☛ Opera Browser

    The Opera Browser has been updated to 97.0.4719.43 and available in the software repository.

  • PCLOS Official ☛ SeaMonkey Browser

    SeaMonkey Browser has been updated to 2.53.16 and shipped to the PCLinuxOS Software Repository.

• Debian Family

  • Sparky GNU/Linux ☛ Sparky news 2023/03

    The 3rd monthly Sparky project and donate report of the 2023…

  • Mike Hommey: Announcing git-cinnabar 0.6.0

    Git-cinnabar is a git remote helper to interact with mercurial repositories. It allows to clone, pull and push from/to mercurial remote repositories, using git.

    Get it on github.

    These release notes are also available on the git-cinnabar wiki.

    What’s new since 0.5.11?

  • Russ Allbery ☛ Russ Allbery: rra-c-util 10.4

    rra-c-util is my library of supporting functions, code, Autoconf macros,
    and similar portability and build machinery helpers. This is a very minor
    release, made mostly because I haven’t done a non-work free software
    release in rather too long.

  • Paul Wise: FLOSS Activities March 2023

    Focus

    This month I didn’t have any particular focus.
    I just worked on issues in my info bubble.

  • Junichi Uekawa: April.

    April. Cherry blossoms are in full. Beautiful weather.

  • Debian Brasil: First 2023 translation workshop from the pt_BR team

    The Brazilian translation team debian-l10n-portuguese
    had their first workshop of 2023
    in February, with great results:

    • The workshop was aimed at beginners, working in DDTP/DDTSS.
    • Two days of a hands-on workshop via Jitsi.

    • In the following days, translation work continued independently, with team support.

    • Subscribers: 29

    • New contributors to DDPT/DDTSS: 22

    • Translations from new participants: 175

    • Revisions from new participants : 261

    Our focus was to complete the descriptions of the 500 most popular packages
    (popcon).
    Although we were unable to reach 100% of the translation cycle, much of these
    descriptions are in progress and with a little more work will be available to
    the community.

• Canonical/Ubuntu Family

  • Make Use Of ☛ 15 Common Ubuntu Terms, Jargon, and Lingo: Explained

    Ubuntu is easily the most popular choice for an operating system if you’re planning to switch to Linux. And if you want to make the transition easier, knowing the meaning of some common terms like sudo, package manager, LTS, and APT is a good idea.

    Understanding Ubuntu’s terminology will help you gain knowledge of how it works, helping you utilize the operating system to its full potential. Besides, if you’re switching to Linux, you probably want to become a power user. Knowing the meaning of these terms is the first step to becoming one.

    So let’s look at some common Ubuntu terms, jargon, and lingo that you should know about.

• Devices/Embedded

  • Linux Gizmos ☛ T-Firefly reveals modular PC with Rockchip SoC

    T-Firefly introduced a PC with modular design powered by the Octa-core Rockchip RK3588 processor. The Station P3D can be configured with multiple display ports, Ethernet ports and serial ports to target diverse user applications.

  • [Repeat] CNX Software ☛ X88Pro 13 8K TV box runs Android 13 on Rockchip RK3528 SoC

    Rockchip demonstrated the Rockchip RK3528 TV box SoC at Mobile World Congress 2023, and the first Android 13 TV boxes based on the processors are now showing up for sale starting with the LEMFO X88Pro 13 TV box. The device comes with up to 4GB RAM and 64GB storage, supports up to 8Kp25 video decoding, features Fast Ethernet and WiFi 6 networking, as well as a few USB ports, and possibly optical S/PDIF audio output.

• Open Hardware/Modding

  • Tom’s Hardware ☛ Pico Bricks Review: Great STEM Learning Platform

    Pico Bricks is a learning platform with the Raspberry Pi Pico at its heart. Embedded components and multiple programming languages enable learners to tackle projects in their own way.

  • Linux Hint ☛ Arduino IDE Can’t Find ESP8266WiFi.h: No such file or directory

    The ESP8266WiFi library error No such file or directory occurs when the Arduino IDE is unable to find the path or header file of this library. Read more here.

  • Linux Hint ☛ How to Get Google Chromium for the Raspberry Pi

    Google Chromium is a lightweight web browser that can be installed from the apt command. For more details, follow this article.

Free, Libre, and Open Source Software

• Content Management Systems (CMS)

  • Bruce Perens ☛ Hello world! [Ed: Bruce Perens now on WordPress]

    Welcome to Bruce Perens – Undeveloped Domain Sites.

• GNU Projects

  • GNUnet ☛ GNUnet 0.19.4

    This is a bugfix release for gnunet 0.19.3.
    Special thanks goes out to ulfvonbelow who provided an array of patches.
    This is not an April Fool’s joke.

    Download links

    
    gnunet-0.19.4.tar.gz
    (
    
    signature
    )

    The GPG key used to sign is:
    
    3D11063C10F98D14BD24D1470B0998EF86F59B6A
    
    Note that due to mirror synchronization, not all links may be functional
    early after the release. For direct access try
    

    http://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/gnunet/

    A detailed list of changes can be found in the
    
    git log , the
    NEWS
    and
    the
    
    bug tracker.

• Programming/Development

  • Barry Kauler ☛ AppImage Installer first download working version

    In the last few blog posts, mentioned a problem with downloading
    the latest AppImage file. A version may work, a later version may not.
    Therefore, the Installer now downloads a known working version.

    For the first installation, that is. Later on, there can be a
    deliberate choice to update to the latest. If the update doesn’t work,
    it is easy to roll back, just by renaming /usr/bin/<app>.binOLD to /usr/bin/<app>.bin

  • Hubert Figuière ☛ Hubert Figuière: Niepce March 2023 updates

    This is the March 2023 update for Niepce. This is not an April’s fool,
    and this is not the year I can announce a release on April’s fool
    day. Sorry about that.

    Continuing with the renderer / previewer cache.

  • GNU ☛ GNU Guix: Reinstating an iconic error message

    Software development is a social process. What might be a “bug” for
    someone might well be a “feature” for someone else. The Guix project
    rediscovered it the hard way when, after “fixing a bug” that had been
    present in Guix System for years, it was confronted with an uproar in its
    user base.

    In this post we look at why developers considered the initial behavior a
    “bug”, why users on the contrary had come to rely on it, and why
    developers remained blind to it. A patch to reinstate the initial
    behavior is being reviewed. This
    post is also an opportunity for us Guix developers to extend our
    apologies to our users whose workflow was disrupted.

  • It’s FOSS ☛ 10 Tweaks to Supercharge Gedit as Code Editor

    Gedit is a good text editor. Turn it into a good code editor with these tips, tricks and tweaks.

  • C / C++

    • Linux Hint ☛ What is cout in C++ Language

      The cout is used in a C++ program to output data to the console. For more details about cout use and its examples, follow this article’s guidelines.

    • Linux Hint ☛ Little Endian vs Big Endian in C

      Practical guide on the concept of endianness in computer and how to utilize it by understanding the differences between little endian and big endian machines.

    • Linux Hint ☛ How to Initialize Vector in C++

      Vectors are very simple to understand in C++ as it stores elements of the same datatype in memory dynamically and there are many ways it initializes vectors.

    • Linux Hint ☛ How to Convert a Python Program to C/C++ Code

      You can convert a Python program to C/C++ code manually, using online convertors, or by installing compilers. For more details, follow this article.

  • Shell/Bash/Zsh/Ksh

    • Linux Hint ☛ How To Echo Shell Commands as They Are Executed in Bash

      Echoing shell commands as they are executed can be done by using the set command, the -x option and the DEBUG trap. Read this guide for more details.

  • Java

    • Linux Hint ☛ What is String equals() in Java

      The “String equals()” method compares two strings and returns the corresponding boolean values based on the equivalent or unequal strings.

    • Linux Hint ☛ Java Syntax for print() and println()

      In Java, the “print()” method prints the particular values without any line break whereas the “println()” method prints the values with a default line break.

    • Linux Hint ☛ How to Compare Two BigDecimals in Java

      A “BigDecimal” in Java comprises a 32-bit integer scale. The two BigDecimals in Java can be compared by applying the “compareTo()”, or the “equals()” methods.

    • Linux Hint ☛ Arrays.stream() Method in Java

      The “stream(T[] array)” method of the Arrays class in Java returns a sequential stream of the array passed as its argument.

    • How to Properly Use Reflection in Java

      Reflection in Java is a mechanism that allows you to inspect and modify the behavior of classes, methods, interfaces, and fields at runtime, even if you do not have access to their source code during compile time.

Leftovers

• MWL ☛ April Fool’s Collection

  I believe that April Fools’ pranks should be benign violations of expectations, and that they are best when they have a physical reality. If they don’t have a physical reality, they should be targeted to amuse a small group of people.

• James G ☛ Words I have heard and read recently

  When I hear or read words I have not encountered, I often make a mental note. “This word is new.” If I have my phone nearby, I sometimes look up the definition of a word. This morning, for instance, I read a few words in The Guardian whose meanings I did not know. I looked them up so that I could better understand the articles I was reading. Over the last few days, I have been diligent in documenting the words I have newly encountered.

• Jussi Pakkanen ☛ Jussi Pakkanen: Got the Star Trek – The Motion Picture Director’s Edition box set? You might wan to check your discs

  TL/DR

  Star Trek The Motion Picture The Complete Adventure box set claims to contain a special, longer cut of the film. However it seems that this is not the case for some editions. The British edition does contain the longer cut, but the Scandinavian one seems not to. The back of the box still claims that the box set does contain the longer cut.

• Science Alert ☛ How And Why Some People Lose Their Accents or Pick Up New Ones

  What did you say?

• Tedium ☛ A Musical War of the Worlds

  Some musicals have an enduring legacy long after the final curtain is drawn. Then there’s Jeff Wayne’s War of the Worlds.

  [...]

  As a kid, I loved HG Wells, Jules Verne, Isaac Asimov, Robert Heinlein, and, well, pretty much any science fiction I could get my grubby little hands on. As time moved on, I discovered Spider Robinson—whose Callahan’s Crosstime Saloon series remains one of my favorites today—and numerous other authors who would come to shape my love of the genre for years to come. But this isn’t a story about that; this is a story about giant robotic tripods from another planet crashing down to earth, a strange tale of a madman preacher, and a narrator’s cinematic journey—all in the inimitable style of the bombastic Jim Steinman-esque, rock opera that was so popular at the time. Join us in today’s Tedium as we explore the enduring popularity of a one-off rock opera based on the most incredible science fiction story of all time: Jeff Wayne’s Musical Version of The War of the Worlds.

• Science

  • Science Alert ☛ Disputed Variant of Ice Could Exist in Nature After All, According to a New Experiment

    Seeing is believing.

• Hardware

  • Failing Disks

    I’ve maintained a Ceph cluster at
    home since
    2011. It spans 3 machines with 6 disks each. For quite a while, in
    those early days, I experienced the loss of several hard disks, due to
    local heat, misconfigurations, early dogfooding of ceph and btrfs, and
    uses that abused the disks too hard, but that has long been left
    behind, and for years the cluster has been quite stable as long-term
    storage, mainly for my archival backups.

    But as of the past… months? years? I’m not sure… when I ran
    monthly-ish archival backups, I hit some quite annoying problems.

    On one of the servers, one of the disks often seemed to overheat while
    I copied the backups to the cluster, and then the disk would stop
    talking to the server until I left it to cool down for long enough.
    Not a great thing when it holds part of your root filessytem, and a
    swap partition.

  • Ruben Schade ☛ Equinix retiring copper

    Via their newsletter:

    Effective 31 March 2024, all new Cross Connects globally will be Single-Mode Fiber (SMF). Copper (including POTS, UTP, COAX, Cat5, Cat6 media types) and Multi-Mode Fiber (MMF) will no longer be available as media types for new Cross Connects in any IBX data center.

  • Ruben Schade ☛ The ESS AudioDrive ES1868F for sound and IDE

    In my continuing series on building a functional computer from a repaired Am386SX motherboard, today we’re looking at getting sound working; and for bonus points, maybe even another IDE controller for free.

  • Buttondown ☛ Repurposing Hotel Keycards

    My April Cools piece is up! It’s about really weird stuff you can buy online. Now I know that’s standard SEO farm stuff, but I promise I put a lot of time into researching why people actually want to buy these things. If you ever wanted to know where carnivals buy and sell their rollercoasters, now’s your chance.

    Anyway, that’s just the April Cools for the blog. I’ve also got one just for the newsletter! It’s about what to do with spare hotel keycards.

• Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

  • New York Times ☛ Why Is Finland the Happiest Country on Earth? The Answer Is Complicated.

    The Nordic nation has been ranked the happiest country on earth for six consecutive years. But when you talk to individual Finns, the reality is a bit more complicated.

  • New York Times ☛ How Federal Judge’s Ruling on Obamacare Could Change Health Insurance

    A ruling by a federal judge this week could set up yet another Supreme Court challenge to the Obamacare health law.

  • Science Alert ☛ Pets Reduce Allergy Risk For Kids: Just Don’t Get a Hamster

    Weird.

  • The Age AU ☛ Doctors sound alarm about flu season

    Health professionals are concerned about a dip in vaccination rates ahead of winter, predicting the next flu season will be as bad, or worse than before the pandemic.

  • The Age AU ☛ Institutional objection to euthanasia laws cause ‘emotional suffering’ for dying

    Objections to voluntary assisted dying by palliative care and health institutions are causing serious harm and emotional suffering to dying Victorians. Some have been left scrambling to be transferred in their final days, so they can take the lethal medication.

  • Helsinki Times ☛ Kids who played sports before pandemic did better during lockdowns: Study

    According to a new study, a history of participation in campus recreational activities might reduce stress and contribute to academic competency even during high-stress circumstances such as a pandemic lockdown.

  • Helsinki Times ☛ Read how mindfulness activities can play important role in improving mental health

    A new study has found that normalizing mindfulness practices can improve the emotional well-being of a graduate student. The study was published in the journal, ‘PLoS One’

  • Off Guardian ☛ AUDIO: How “Covid” turned hospitals into killing machines

    Independent journalist and researcher Michael Bryant returns to Perspective to discuss a neglected aspect of the pandemic – how hospitals abused DNR orders and ventilators to create “covid deaths”, the legislation and guidelines that financially incentivised the process.

• Proprietary

  • Security Week ☛ Italy Temporarily Blocks ChatGPT Over Privacy Concerns

    Italy is temporarily blocking the artificial intelligence software ChatGPT in the wake of a data breach as it investigates a possible violation of stringent European Union data protection rules.

• Defence/Aggression

  • RFERL ☛ Kvitova Says Russians, Belarusians Should Not Be Allowed Back At Wimbledon

    Tennis star Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic said she opposes the decision by Wimbledon to lift its ban on Russian and Belarusian players ahead of this year’s tournament, saying she felt for Ukrainians amid Moscow’s ongoing invasion of their country.

  • RFERL ☛ Ukraine’s SBU Security Service Searches Residence Of Metropolitan Pavlo, Issues Notice Of Suspicion

    The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) on April 1 officially confirmed that it has served a notice of suspicion to Metropolitan Pavlo of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC), a former abbot at the famed Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra monastery, and searched his residence.

  • LRT ☛ We should stop fetishising stability in Russia – opinion

    Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has exposed the nexus between repressive domestic rule and aggressive foreign policy. As long as Russia remains a dictatorship, it will pose an existential threat to the security order in Europe. It is, therefore, in the West’s interest to see a permanent dismantling of the current model of government in Russia. Putin’s departure from office will create a short-term window of opportunity for political change. Contrary to widespread fears, the end of this autocratic pseudo-stability may pave the way for sustainable peace in Europe. Maria Domańska  writes for the New Eastern Europe magazine, partners of LRT English.

  • Michael West Media ☛ IMF approves $23 billion loan to war-torn Ukraine

    The International Monetary Fund says its executive board has approved a four-year $US15.6 billion ($A23.3 billion) loan program for Ukraine – part of a global $US115 billion ($A172 billion) package to support the country’s economy as it battles Russia’s invasion.

  • New York Times ☛ Israeli Police Fatally Shoot Arab Outside Jerusalem Holy Site

    The man was shot dead early Saturday at the edge of the Aqsa Mosque compound, known to Jews as the Temple Mount. The circumstances of the killing were disputed and risked raising tensions during Ramadan.

  • New York Times ☛ Inside Saudi Arabia’s Global Push for Nuclear Power

    Despite qualms in Washington, Saudi officials have pressed the United States to help them develop nuclear power. But they are also exploring other options, including China.

  • New York Times ☛ China Draws Lessons From Russia’s Missteps in Ukraine

    With an eye on a possible conflict over Taiwan, analysts have scrutinized the war for insights ranging from the importance of supply lines to the power of nuclear threats.

  • NYPost ☛ Russia leads UN Security Council in ‘worst April Fool’s joke,’ Ukraine says

    While Moscow’s brutal war in Ukraine rages on, Russia took the helm of the council which has a presidency that rotates among its 15 member countries on Saturday.

  • RFERL ☛ Ukraine Calls Russia’s UN Security Council Presidency ‘Slap In The Face’

    Ukraine expressed outrage as Russia assumed its month-long presidency of the UN Security Council on April 1.

  • France24 ☛ Ukraine decries ‘symbolic blow’ as Russia takes helm of UN Security Council

    A top Ukrainian official on Saturday criticised the ‘symbolic blow’ of Russia assuming the rotating presidency of the United Nations Security Council.

  • France24 ☛ Haiti: The wounds of a broken country

    The security situation in Haiti has spiralled out of control since the shock assassination of President Jovenel Moise in July 2021, with the country increasingly beset by violence. Today, unrest has reached such levels that the United Nations is being urged to intervene and there has been a total breakdown of governance. The country is increasingly at the mercy of criminal gangs and half of the population struggles to find food. FRANCE 24′s team travelled to Port-au-Prince, the Haitian capital, before gangs took full control of the city. They met a writer, a street vendor and a food importer, as well as residents trying to flee abroad.

  • RFERL ☛ Bulgarians Head To Polls For Fifth Vote In Two Years But End Of Political Gridlock Unlikely

    Voters in Bulgaria head to the polls on April 2 in the country’s fifth parliamentary election in two years with opinion polls suggesting this latest vote will again fail to deliver a result that will break the political gridlock gripping the EU’s poorest nation — and one of its most corrupt — as war rages nearby in Ukraine.

  • France24 ☛ Russian UN Security Council presidency is absurd, says Zelensky

    Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday said it was absurd that Russia had assumed the rotating presidency of the United Nations Security Council, adding this showed the institution’s “total bankruptcy”.

  • France24 ☛ Palestinian killed by Israeli soldiers after West Bank car ramming as violence escalates

    A suspected assailant was killed by Israeli soldiers after a West Bank car ramming Saturday, the army said, in an escalation that threatens to end a relative lull during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan so far.

  • RFERL ☛ Zelenskiy Vows To Bring Russian ‘Executioners And Murderers’ To Justice Over Bucha Killings

    Ukrainian forces repelled dozens of Russian attacks in the eastern region of Donetsk over the past day, the military said on April 1, as British intelligence suggested that Russia’s monthslong winter offensive in the east is beginning to show signs of failure amid a high rate of attrition.

  • RFERL ☛ Sarajevo Demonstrators Demand Dismissal Of International Envoy In Bosnia

    Several hundred people demonstrated in Sarajevo on March 31 against Christian Schmidt, the international community’s high representative in Bosnia-Herzegovina, over decisions he made last year affecting Bosnia’s elections law.

  • New York Times ☛ Inside the F.B.I.’s Jan. 6 Investigation of the Proud Boys

    A log of messages shows how agents scrambled after evidence and sought to recruit members of the group all while trying to squeeze in workouts and cope with the bureau’s obsolete technology.

  • Atlantic Council ☛ European Commission’s Margrethe Vestager: Europe must de-risk, not de-couple, from China

    The Commission’s executive vice-president appeared at the Atlantic Council in Washington to give an early preview of what the EU’s reassessment of its relationship with China might look like.

  • New York Times ☛ Far-Left Canadians Susceptible to Russian Influence Too

    Researchers found that on Twitter, members of Canada’s far left joined those on the far right in embracing pro-Russian messages created by a two-year Russian influence campaign.

  • New York Times ☛ Ukraine Charges a Leading Ukrainian Vicar, as Russia Pounds Eastern Ukraine

    The charge against the religious leader, Pavlo Lebid, came as Russian forces hit the town of Avdiivka, among 70 other targets, along the front line.

  • YLE ☛ Erdogan has signed ratification of Finland’s Nato membership

    The final formalities include an invitation to join from Nato’s Secretary General, which is to be signed in Washington, most likely by Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto (Green).

  • NYPost ☛ Ukraine charges Moscow-backed orthodox priest with inciting religious hate

    Petro Lebid, the abbot of the 980-year-old Kyiv Pechersk Lavra — also known as the Kyiv Monastery of the Caves — was sentenced to 60 days of house arrest amid a crack down on the Ukrainian Orthodox church over accusations that it has been collaborating with Moscow.

  • New York Times ☛ Security Force or Anti-Arab Militia? Israelis Feud Over Far-Right Plan

    The far-right security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, wants to create a national guard that he would control, saying it is needed to guarantee Israel’s security.

  • The Straits Times ☛ High activity spotted at North Korea nuclear complex after Kim’s bomb-fuel order, says report

    Satellite images show a high level of activity at North Korea’s main nuclear site, says 38 North.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Housewives, students and retirees in Taiwan troop to weekend classes on modern warfare

    Taiwanese of all stripes – from housewives to middle school students and retirees – are signing up for such civil defence workshops.

  • RFERL ☛ Russia Announces Ban On Dairy Imports From Armenia Amid Souring Of Relations

    Russia has banned imports of dairy products from Armenia allegedly on health issues as relations between the two allied nations sour.

  • RFERL ☛ IMF Approves $15.6 Billion Ukraine Loan, Part Of $115 Billion In Global Support

    The International Monetary Fund said on March 31 that its executive board had approved a four-year $15.6 billion loan program for Ukraine, part of a global $115 billion package to support the country’s economy as it battles Russia’s 13-month-old invasion.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ After contentious US visit, Taiwan’s president arrives in C.America

    Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen arrived in Guatemala Friday on a visit to shore up ties with dwindling allies following a trip to the United States that angered China. Tsai’s visit to Guatemala and its Central American neighbor Belize comes after Honduras became the latest country to cut diplomatic ties with Taipei in favor of Beijing.

  • JURIST ☛ Russia takes presidency of UN security council amidst Ukraine backlash

    Russia on Saturday assumed the presidency of the United Nations Security Council for the month of April 2023. Russia’s commencement of its leadership role of the 15-member council rotation was unaffected by its ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

• Environment

  • TwinCities Pioneer Press ☛ At least 21 dead after tornadoes rake US Midwest, South

    Storms that dropped possibly dozens of tornadoes killed at least 21 people in small towns and big cities across the South and Midwest.

  • Energy/Transportation

    • Silicon Angle ☛ Generative AI and cloud zombies: Raising the alarm about global climate impact

      The tech industry has a growing power usage and environmental impact problem. Between the rise of cloud and compute-intensive applications such as cryptomining and artificial intelligence, power demand has expanded at an alarming rate. The Bitcoin network uses approximately the same amount of energy that Washington State does yearly.

    • New York Times ☛ Green Savior or Deadly Menace? Paris Votes on E-Scooter Ban

      For five years, the French capital has permitted the renting of electric scooters, which have proven both popular and perilous. On Sunday, voters will decide whether to end the experiment.

    • France24 ☛ ‘A polarised debate’: Paris to vote on banning self-service e-scooters

      Self-service e-scooters have become commonplace on the streets of Paris since they were first introduced five years ago, but irresponsible use and a rising accident toll have hardened city hall’s attitude towards the popular mode of transport. On April 2 residents in the capital will vote on whether to ban them altogether.

  • Wildlife/Nature

    • New York Times ☛ Thailand’s Unemployed Elephants Are Back Home, Huge and Hungry

      When the tourists who rode them disappeared from resort destinations, Thailand’s captive elephants, and their owners, went back to their birth villages, where finding enough food has been a struggle.

    • YLE ☛ BirdLife: Spring migration on hold due to snow and cold

      Thousands of migratory birds were seen flying south from the Finnish coast last week because of chilly, snowy conditions, says the birding association BirdLife Finland.

    • The Age AU ☛ When Instagrammers go off the beaten track, there’s a price to pay

      Iceland had an unprecedented tourism boom that helped lift it from recession. But there was a downside for the local ecologies – and it’s happening in Australia too.

  • Overpopulation

    • Federal News Network ☛ UN food chief: Billions needed to avert unrest, starvation

      The head of the U.N. World Food Program is warning that without billions of dollars more to feed millions of hungry people, the world will see mass migration, destabilized countries, and starving children and adults in the next 12 to 18 months. David Beasley praised increased funding from the United States and Germany last year, and urged China, Gulf nations, billionaires and other countries “to step up big time.”

• Finance

  • DaemonFC (Ryan Farmer) ☛ My Complaint Against GEICO is on the Docket for the Illinois Department of Insurance

    My Complaint Against GEICO is on the Docket for the Illinois Department of Insurance. I filed a complaint against GEICO with the State of Illinois Department of Insurance, which is the same agency that helped investigate my sister-in-law when she took out a fraudulent life insurance policy on my spouse and forged his signature.

  • teleSUR ☛ India’s G&S Exports To Peak At $750 Billion In 2022-2023

    Anupriya Patel said that the new Foreign Trade Policy 2023 will give further impetus to the country’s exports.

  • RFERL ☛ Pakistan Posts Highest-Ever Inflation In March

    Consumer price inflation in Pakistan accelerated to a record 35.37 percent in March from a year earlier, eclipsing February’s 31.5 percent, the statistics bureau said on April 1.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Explainer: Why Hong Kong is constitutionally obliged to balance the books

    >Hong Kong has long been renowned for its huge fiscal reserves and prudence in public spending. Ahead of the Covid-19 pandemic, in January 2020, the government had nearly HK$1.2 trillion in fiscal reserves, the equivalent of 22 months of public expenditure.

  • Mexico News Daily ☛ US citizens living abroad still must pay the IRS taxes. Is that fair?

    As U.S. tax filing time looms, Sarah DeVries explores a burgeoning expat movement by U.S. citizens to do away with citizenship-based taxation.

  • JURIST ☛ UK Government announces plans for a ‘clean’ future and reduced household bills

    The UK Government on Thursday revealed their newest environmental policies to ensure energy security for the UK. The plans include schemes to drive investment in renewable energy as well as a consultation addressing carbon leakage that could result in a border tax on carbon-intensive goods.

• AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

  • Rlang ☛ Who are Twitter Blue Users?

    In this blog post, I explore who are the Twitter Blue subscribers. It is not celebrities, businesses or governments. It is our regular old Joe with fewer than a hundred followers.

  • France24 ☛ Musk defends paid verification for Twitter as blue tick ultimatum looms

    Elon Musk on Friday defended his controversial pay model for Twitter, claiming that any social media platform that didn’t follow suit would fail because they would be swarmed by bots.

  • Akseli ☛ I blocked Hacker News and you can too

    No, not april fools.

    Hacker News is one of those websites where the commenters
    are often very angry people. Note, I said
    commenters not lurkers/passive browsers/link clickers.
    Anyone who uses Hacker News just as a website to find links on, I have no beef with.

    But most people who comment on it.. I don’t want anything to do with them.

    So I used link referrer to “block” the site: If someone sees a link to my blog on there and clicks it, depending if your browser sends a referral header or not, it gets 403 forbidden warning and stops there.

    Easy to circumvent of course, but average HN commenter likely doesn’t care enough to copy paste links and open sites in privacy mode or w/e.

  • Off Guardian ☛ Ignorance is Bliss

    Todd Hayen I was lying on my bed this morning playing with our new puppy, Daisy, and was focused on the moment. The cute dog, the soft bed, the warm room, the fact that I could breathe, my heart was beating, all seemed good and pristine.

  • The Age AU ☛ Worries grow that Trump indictment will undermine public confidence

    Legal experts fear it could distract public attention from the other cases more focused on attacks against the country’s democratic institutions and traditions.

  • The Age AU ☛ From penthouse to prison cell: the law catches up with billionaire associate of Steve Bannon

    Fuelled by bravado, ruthlessness, a keen political antenna and alleged theft, Chinese property tycoon Guo Wengui moved in high circles.

  • Jay Little ☛ Ship of Fools: The Race to Ban TikTok

    Anybody even remotely invested in keeping up with current events here in America, knows that TikTok is on the verge of being banned. If you are a frequent reader, you already know that I am against that. Doubly so in this case as the US Government has yet to provide a single evidence based argument to support the move, much less addressed the fact that American tech companies engage in largely the same exact kind of behavior that TikTok does.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Hong Kong’s John Lee to lead lawmakers on Greater Bay Area trip to observe ‘developments and opportunities’

    Chief Executive John Lee will lead Hong Kong’s 90 lawmakers on a trip to the Greater Bay Area next month, where they will visit different cities and meet with provincial leaders. The matter was discussed during a Legislative Council meeting on Friday afternoon.

  • Misinformation/Disinformation/Propaganda

    • Axios ☛ Experts debunk viral TikTok videos about how companies share layoff news

      A growing number of TikTok users are touting a decades-old labor law that they say could give workers a heads-up about impending layoffs, but experts say the videos are breeding misconceptions.

    • France24 ☛ How to detect ‘deepfakes’

      Using artificial intelligence to make videos of people doing and saying whatever you want them to is the essence of a “deepfake”.

    • Science Alert ☛ This One Strategy Will Reveal if Someone’s Lying With 80% Accuracy, Study Finds

      Don’t get distracted.

• Censorship/Free Speech

  • RFA ☛ Activists sue China’s education ministry over rainbow flag reprimand

    The women were handed a ‘severe warning’ for placing 10 rainbow flags on campus to campaign against homophobia.

  • RFERL ☛ Russian Pianist, Rock Group Face More Pressure As Kremlin Seeks To Crush Dissent

    Russia continues to pressure musicians who have spoken out against the country’s invasion of Ukraine as the Kremlin seeks to squash any signs of opposition to its unprovoked war.

• Civil Rights/Policing

  • New York Times ☛ Gift of a Stethoscope to a Refugee Child Inspired a Career of Caring

    Waheed Arian fled the war in Afghanistan when he was a teenager. Now an emergency room doctor in Britain, he has made it his mission to bring hope and healing to others.

  • RFERL ☛ Romanian Court Releases Tate To House Arrest

    Andrew Tate, an Internet personality who has spent months in a Romanian jail on suspicion of organized crime and human trafficking, has won an appeal to replace his detention with house arrest.

  • JURIST ☛ Council of Europe reports inhumane treatment of migrants coming to Europe

    The Council of Europe’s Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) Thursday published a report detailing that it had noticed “unlawful pushback practices and ill-treatment of foreign nationals” throughout 2022.

  • JURIST ☛ Minneapolis agrees to revamp police department in wake of George Floyd murder

    The City of Minneapolis Friday reached an agreement with the state of Minnesota to revamp the city’s police department. The agreement lays out a wholesale evaluation of policing practices within the City of Minneapolis, spanning use of force procedures to data system transparency.

• Monopolies

  • Patents

    • Unified Patent Court will replace its judges and lawyers with AI to make justice finally affordable to SMEs [Ed: Not far from reality, not satire. These judges are corporate puppets. Some still work for the corporations they're meant to rule on.]

      Brussels, 1st April 2023 – The Unified Patent Court has announced that they will fire all their elected judges and replace them with GPT7, a cheaper sentient artificial intelligence that produce better results than human judges.

  • Copyrights

    • Reason ☛ What Are the Bots Doing to Art?

      The same thing tech has always done.

    • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ China’s ‘art factory’ painters turn from fakes to originals amid booming domestic market

      By Greg Baker Painters in a Chinese village once known for churning out replicas of Western masterpieces are now making original art worth thousands of dollars, selling their own works in a booming domestic art market. Home to more than 8,000 artists, southern China’s Dafen has been producing near-perfect copies of timeless masterpieces for years.

    • CoryDoctorow ☛ Pluralistic: Flickr to copyleft trolls: drop dead (01 Apr 2023)

Gemini* and Gopher

• Personal

  • Hello, April

    It was a really nice day out today. A *really* nice day out: it felt like early
    Summer. The weather said 22c / 71f but I think it was quite higher; more than a
    few people were in shorts and t-shirts.

    I inhaled some of that early Summer air today, and it was fantastic. Cold air in
    Winter doesn’t smell like anything to me, but now in Spring the flowers are out
    and I could smell the river, and the sun was overhead, not far away, low on the
    horizon anymore.

• Technical

  • Internet/Gemini

    • End of March Status Update

      March has been unbelievably busy in my real life. We are moving into a smaller, cheaper house next month in preparation for my wife to attend graduate school, and we’ve spent the last few weeks packing like madmen to ready our current house for showings. That, combined with a packed schedule at work has left with little time to relax at all, much less specifically devote to Gemini.

      Last week my capsule went offline for two days. The downtime was due to the house showings, which required me to disconnect my home server from the switch. The Ethernet cable had been haphazardly strung across our living room and down our basement steps to reach the server! We worked around the issue using powerline network adapters.

  • Programming

    • Wacky Unix Paths

      /bin//sh is typically used for not so legal purposes. /bin//sh unlike the normal form /bin/sh fits neatly into a 64-bit box, and one may not want any NUL characters in that box…because reasons.

    • Two Neat Features of JQ

      I did not realise until very recently that jq, the command line utility for working with JSON files, is a fully fledged programming language. Like AWK, script files can be passed in with the -f flag in addition to the one-lines that are passed in as string args.