Bonum Certa Men Certa

Links 18/05/2022: PikaScript and cURL's Annual User Survey



  • GNU/Linux

    • Desktop/Laptop

      • ByteXD13 Compelling Reasons Why People Use Linux - ByteXD

        Linux is an operating system that has gained more and more space in the datacenters of companies of all sizes and in the home of desktop users.

        There are many advantages to using Linux, besides being a low-cost solution, the platform stands out for being a highly stable and secure solution and for having a large community of developers who work to make it even more reliable. Using Linux on the desktop has become a real alternative to using Windows or macOS computers.

        The desktop environments that can be installed in a desktop Linux computer are polished and stable enough to be used as the primary or sole computer.

      • Razer pivots from gaming with Tensorbook Linux laptop for AI research - GadgetGuy

        Razer has made a name for itself by making high-end gaming products, including powerful laptops and peripherals, but the company’s latest laptop, dubbed Tensorbook, is aimed at machine learning researchers needing serious computing power.

        The laptop is a collaboration between Razer and deep learning company Lambda intended for laboratory use by those researching machine learning and artificial intelligence. It’s essentially a revised version of 2021’s Razer Blade 15 Advanced laptop running on Linux OS Ubuntu 20.04.

    • Server

      • cloud insanity

        the cloud promise is flexibility, reduced costs, less maintenance, less overhead, easier everything. whether it can live up to those promises is highly dependent on factors. maybe it's comparable to the agile promise "oh if you do it right, it definitely works" and when it doesn't, you probably haven't done it right!

      • Kubernetes 1.24: Prevent unauthorised volume mode conversion

        Kubernetes v1.24 introduces a new alpha-level feature that prevents unauthorised users from modifying the volume mode of a PersistentVolumeClaim created from an existing VolumeSnapshot in the Kubernetes cluster.

    • Audiocasts/Shows

      • VideoNPM, Cargo & PyPi Are Broken By Design - Invidious

        Once again another malicious package is discovered is cargo, and this just goes on the massive and ever growing list of times this has been discovered is repos that don't have 3rd party over sight, like NPM, Cargo, PyPi and more.

    • Applications

    • Instructionals/Technical

      • How to Fix Playback was terminated abnormallly. Reason: unrecognized format on Celluloid

        If you are getting the error " Playback was terminated abnormally. Reason: unrecognized format" on Celluloid when trying to add an playlist file of a .pls format type, there's a work around this issue without having to reinstall celluloid or doing anything else.

      • Linux Made SimpleHow to install WPS Office 2019 on a Chromebook in 2022

        Today we are looking at how to install WPS Office 2019 on a Chromebook and some core fonts like Arial and New Times Roman. Please follow the video/audio guide as a tutorial where we explain the process step by step and use the commands below.

      • HowTo ForgeLinux Administration: Ubuntu Linux Tutorial for Beginners
      • Adam Young: Errors running Keystone pep8

        The command to run the formatting tests for the keystone project is...

      • How to check for updates at login on Debian | FOSS Linux

        Due to increased security risks and ensuring you are running the latest software packages, you might want your system to always check for updates and upgrades on login. This post will guide you on configuring your Debian system to automatically check for updates at login.

      • ID RootHow To Install Vim Editor on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS - idroot

        In this tutorial, we will show you how to install Vim Editor on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS, as well as some extra required packages by Vim

      • How to install themes on Manjaro Linux

        Manjaro is an eye-catching Linux distro based on Arch Linux. It comes in 3 flavors, including KDE, GNOME, and the lightest XFCE. One of the advantages of being a Manjaro user is that you are not limited to how your desktop appears and functions. This offers you the flexibility to customize your desktop according to your requirements and preferences.

        This distro also supports an extensive range of desktop and icon themes that you can utilize to boost your system’s look and feel. Into the bargain, these themes are pretty simple to set up on any Linux-based system like Manjaro that we will focus on in this article.

        This guide will, in detail, demonstrate how to install themes on the Manjaro system. for illustration purposes, we shall use the Mac OS X theme.

      • How to run a shell script on Linux

        One of the most powerful utilities you can use when working with Linux systems is the terminal. Here, you can execute any commands to perform any tasks you might think of – launching an application, installing/ uninstalling applications, creating and deleting files/ directories, etc. However, most users well versed with Linux systems utilize the Terminal to carry out one more task – writing and running shell scripts.

      • 10 things to do after installing Debian

        There are many reasons to select Debian over other Linux distributions out there. First of all, it’s free and open-source, software updates and upgrades can be done smoothly on the terminal, the packages are very secure to download, and it comes with LTS(Long Term Support). In case of glitches, they can be solved by the readily available community of Devs out there.

        Finally, Debian offers a variety of flavors known as distributions or distros in the geek world for one to choose from; variety gives a user the liberty to choose the distro that one feels most comfortable with. We have Ubuntu, Kali, Arch, etc. For a detailed list, check Debian-based Linux distributions, and for more info on Debian, check out their official website.

      • How to Install Python on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS
      • Umount Command in Linux

        Learn about umount command in Linux to unmount Filesystem. It detaches a filesystem from the file system hierarchy of Linux.

      • PS Command in Linux
      • apt search rss – what’s in the repo?
      • LinuxiacHow to Use YUM/DNF Command with a Proxy Server

        This guide will show you how to set a proxy for the YUM/DNF package manager so that you may be able to install and update packages from remote repositories.

        Direct internet access is not permitted in the majority of corporate networks. So, if we need to get something from the internet, we must go through some proxy servers.

      • VideoHow to install the Brave browser on Debian 11 - Invidious

        In this video, we are looking at how to install the Brave browser on Debian 11.

      • Install WordPress LEMP with Let's Encrypt SSL on Ubuntu 22.04 | Mark Ai Code

        WordPress is a free and open-source content management system that is mostly used to publish blogs on the internet. Those who don’t know how to code can use it. WordPress makes it easy to make websites and blogs and keep them up to date. Because WordPress is so popular, it now runs more than a third of all websites. It was written in PHP, and MariaDB and MySQL were used as back-end databases.

        In this guide, we’ll show you how to install WordPress LEMP with a free Let’s Encrypt SSL certificate on Ubuntu 22.04.

    • Games

    • Desktop Environments/WMs

      • K Desktop Environment/KDE SC/Qt

        • Make Use OfHow to Connect Your iPhone to Your Linux PC Using KDE Connect

          KDE Connect is an app that lets you connect your Android smartphone to your Linux PC. It's been available on the Play Store for many years and has become a valuable tool for Android and Linux users.

          However, if you've been on the other end of the spectrum—iOS—you couldn't use KDE Connect until now and had to resort to other apps to sync your iPhone to your Linux computer. But this finally changes now with the launch of the KDE Connect app on the App Store.

          Here's how to pair your iPhone with your Linux machine and perform various operations using KDE Connect.

  • Distributions and Operating Systems

    • Open Hardware/Modding

      • CNX SoftwarePikaScript - A lightweight Python implementation that runs on STM32 and other low-end MCUs - CNX Software

        PikaScript is an ultra-lightweight Python engine that can run on microcontrollers with as little as 4KB of RAM and 32KB of Flash, while the more popular MicroPython requires at least 256kB of code space and 16kB of RAM.

        PikaScript was initially developed to run on STM32G030C8 and STM32F103C8 MCUs, meaning, for example, it works on the BluePill board, but it has also been ported to other platforms like WCH CH582 RISC-V MCU, WinnerMicro W806 C-Sky microcontroller, as well as other like Raspberry Pi RP2040, ESP32-C3, etc… but those are not quite as well supported with some features missing.

      • ArduinoContinuously measure wind speed and direction with this EMT conduit-mounted station | Arduino Blog

        It seems like DIY weather stations are everywhere, and while most can perform the basic functions of measuring temperature, humidity, and air pressure, the majority are still unable to determine wind speed and direction. In response, Austin Allen from Elation Sports Technologies LLC created his own system that uses an anemometer and weathervane to measure the wind.

        Both the wind direction sensor and wind speed sensor were secured to sections of EMT conduit with 3D-printed mounts. The speed sensor utilizes a series of internal photo interrupters which get blocked by small plastic tabs whenever the disc spins. By reading the resulting analog voltage output, the connected Arduino Nano can map the value to a speed. The directions sensor uses a single Hall effect sensor combined with a polarized magnet in order to determine the orientation of the resulting magnetic field.

  • Free, Libre, and Open Source Software

    • Daniel Stenbergcurl annual user survey 2022 | daniel.haxx.se

      This is the best and frankly the only way the curl project has to get real feedback from people as to what features that are used and which are not used as well as other details in the project that can help us navigate our future and what to do next. And what not to do next.

    • Licensing / Legal

      • The Register UKGPL legal battle: Vizio told by judge it will have to answer breach-of-contract claims

        The Software Freedom Conservancy (SFC) has won a significant legal victory in its ongoing effort to force Vizio to publish the source code of its SmartCast TV software, which is said to contain GPLv2 and LGPLv2.1 copyleft-licensed components.

        SFC sued Vizio, claiming it was in breach of contract by failing to obey the terms of the GPLv2 and LGPLv2.1 licenses that require source code to be made public when certain conditions are met, and sought declaratory relief on behalf of Vizio TV owners. SFC wanted its breach-of-contract arguments to be heard by the Orange County Superior Court in California, though Vizio kicked the matter up to the district court level in central California where it hoped to avoid the contract issue and defend its corner using just federal copyright law.

        On Friday, Federal District Judge Josephine Staton sided with SFC and granted its motion to send its lawsuit back to superior court. To do so, Judge Staton had to decide whether or not the federal Copyright Act preempted the SFC's breach-of-contract allegations; in the end, she decided it didn't.

        "Vizio 'removed' the case to federal court by claiming that the GPL operates as only a copyright license, and never as a contract," said Bradley Kuhn, policy fellow at the Software Freedom Conservancy, in an email to The Register. "We have countered that it operates as both, and that the source code provision specifically gives third parties (ie, downstream users) a contractual right to demand complete, corresponding source code (as defined in the GPL)."

  • Leftovers

    • Common DreamsOpinion | It's Tough Times, But Here Are 10 Reasons We Should Have Hope

      In a comment on this past Saturday's post, Paula OH said: "It's a very tough time. We need a hope machine! Anyone know how to build one?"

    • Counter PunchThe Case Against Parking Minimums

      Here in LA County, we have approximately 19 Million parking spaces, almost double our 10 Million residents and over five times our total housing units. We can assume that the vast majority of these are vacant at any given time. A study in King County, Washington, found that almost one-third of parking spaces in apartment complexes sit empty overnight, to say nothing of the overnight vacant parking in commercial zones.

      Now, many people’s first reaction to dropping parking requirements is skepticism, given the importance of cars as a symbol of individual freedom to move throughout our city. Cars genuinely can be a crucial step in people’s pathway to economic opportunity, and being able to park a car is a valued convenience.

    • Hardware

      • HackadayHow The IBM PC Went 8-Bit

        If you were around when the IBM PC rolled out, two things probably caught you by surprise. One is that the company that made the Selectric put that ridiculous keyboard on it. The other was that it had an 8-bit CPU onboard.€  It was actually even stranger than that. The PC sported an 8088 which was a 16-bit 8086 stripped down to an 8 bit external bus. You have to wonder what caused that, and [Steven Leibson] has a great post that explains what went down all those years ago.

    • Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

      • Common DreamsDecarbonizing US Energy System Would Save 50,000 Lives and $600 Billion a Year: Study

        A new study adds to the case for urgent decarbonization of the U.S. energy system, finding that slashing air pollution emissions from energy-related sources would bring near-term public health gains including preventing over 50,000 premature deaths and save $608 billion in associated benefits annually.

        "The sooner the U.S. acts to reduce emissions, the more preventable death and disease from energy-related air pollution can be avoided."

      • Pro PublicaDocuments Reveal Ties Between Opioid Makers and Doctors

        Twelve years ago, ProPublica set out to build a first-of-its-kind tool that would allow users, with a single search, to see whether their doctors were receiving money from an array of pharmaceutical companies.

        Dollars for Docs generated a huge rush of interest. Readers searched the database tens of millions of times to see if their doctors had financial ties to the companies that made the drugs they prescribed. Law enforcement officials used it to investigate drug company marketing, drug companies looked up their competitors and doctors searched for themselves.

    • Security

      • Krebs On SecurityWhen Your Smart ID Card Reader Comes With Malware

        Millions of U.S. government employees and contractors have been issued a secure smart ID card that enables physical access to buildings and controlled spaces, and provides access to government computer networks and systems at the cardholder’s appropriate security level. But many government employees aren’t issued an approved card reader device that lets them use these cards at home or remotely, and so turn to low-cost readers they find online. What could go wrong? Here’s one example.

      • The Register UKHardening in the enterprise: SUSE releases Rancher 2.6.5 and NeuVector 5.0

        SUSE acquisition Rancher is growing up, with a decidedly enterprise-friendly 2.6.5 release and version 5.0 of NeuVector.

        SUSE appears to be increasingly becoming the container company, and used this year's EU Kubecon event to make its first release of NeuVector since it open-sourced the container security platform earlier this year.

        Dubbed a "Full Lifecycle Container Security Platform", NeuVector turning up with Rancher is further evidence of an increased folding in of security and scanning into container solutions.

      • Privacy/Surveillance

        • Counter PunchUsing Early Warning Data to Create Communities of Peace

          The great puzzle pieces are how do we address the divisions that are spurring the tensions, and can we create communities where people feel safe and respected?

          What if we could see concerning developments related to organized hate crimes and violence and predict where they might occur? Going a step further, would an early warning system allow us to address the issues before they bubble and rise to ugliness, dividing communities?

    • Defence/Aggression

      • TruthOut"Innocent" White People Are Also Complicit in the Anti-Black Murders in Buffalo
      • TruthOutAlicia Garza: “The Shooter Wrote a Manifesto, and My Name Was Included In It”
      • Democracy NowDo Online Forums Act as “Radicalization Machines” for White Supremacists & Mainstream GOP?

        Before embarking on a murderous rampage in a majority-Black neighborhood, the Buffalo shooter posted a white supremacist manifesto online that fixated on white dominance, white fertility and the survival of the white race. These are all sentiments shared by the Republican Party and its media arms, says author and extremism researcher Talia Lavin, who spent nearly a year impersonating right-wing white supremacists online, assuming false identities to infiltrate their groups, as she worked on her book, “Culture Warlords: My Journey into the Dark Web of White Supremacy.” She adds that online chat platforms such as 4chan and Telegram are essentially “perpetual motion radicalization machines” where “people who are already radicalized or in the process of being radicalized can imbibe propaganda.” Her recent article for Rolling Stone is headlined “The Buffalo Shooter Isn’t a 'Lone Wolf.' He’s a Mainstream Republican.”

      • Democracy NowBuffalo Massacre & Racist Manifesto Fuel Push to Regulate Social Media Platforms Where Hate Flourishes

        Calls are growing for heavier restrictions on social media platforms after a white supremacist live-streamed his shooting spree in Buffalo, New York, on Saturday, resulting in 10 deaths and three wounded. While the video was removed from Twitch within minutes, platforms such as Twitter and Facebook allowed it to circulate for days and gain over a million views. The 18-year-old shooter was radicalized through online forums such as 4chan, according to a racist screed he authored. “What we are dealing with is the backend business models that are creating a structure where certain things are being able to be profited from, certain things travel differently, and hate-filled content has more of a space to be engaged with,” says Rashad Robinson, president of Color of Change. Color of Change has called for social media platforms to institute changes to their terms of service and urged Twitch to conduct a racial equity audit.

      • Common DreamsOpinion | Buffalo Shows We Must Confront the Right's Racist Propaganda

        When Payton Gendron, an 18-year-old white teenager, allegedly opened fire on shoppers in the Tops supermarket in Buffalo, New York, he knew exactly who he was aiming at: African Americans. Of the 10 people who were murdered and three wounded in the attack, 11 were Black.

      • Common DreamsOpinion | Steps to Encourage Peace in Ukraine

        Chimps engage in war. Humans have likely engaged in war, at least intermittently, since the beginning of our life as a species. But wars vary dramatically in their conduct, scope, and effects.€  I am more afraid of this war in Ukraine than I have been of any war in my life, and I'm 72. This war could devolve into a nuclear war which could destroy civilization. We need to be creative, thoughtful, and move forward with humility, knowing that we all have areas of ignorance and that we need one another.

      • Counter PunchTo End the Horror in Ukraine, Go Big, and Go Broad

        NATO expansion eastward toward Russia’s borders and US/Western post-Cold War triumphalism was and is a problem. It was a strategic mistake to treat Russia, with its justifiably proud history and culture, as a miserable, groveling loser that had no choice but to swallow Western supremacy in Eurasia and the world after the collapse of the Soviet Union. But none of that excuses Russian President Vladimir Putin’s illegal invasion. Moreover, it has backfired horribly, as Finland and Sweden are now likely to join NATO.

        Ukraine has the right to defend itself, and US and Western arms manufacturers and politicians are glad to oblige with military aid and weapons transfers, but the risk of escalation, up to and including threats of using nuclear weapons, needs to be taken seriously.

      • Common DreamsOpinion | Ukraine and the Anti-War Dilemma

        I've been watching this country at war for many years now and, after 9/11, began spending time with American veterans who came to disdain and actively oppose the very conflicts they were sent to fight. The paths they followed to get there and the courage it took to turn their backs on all they had once embraced intrigued and impressed me, so I wrote a book about them. While doing so, I was often struck by a strange reality in that era of American war-making: in a land where there was no longer a draft, most Americans were paying remarkably little attention to our ongoing wars thousands of miles away. I find it even stranger today—and please note that this takes nothing away from the misery of the Ukrainian people or the ruthlessness of Vladimir Putin's invasion—that the public seems vastly more engaged in a war its country is not officially fighting than in the ones we did fight so brutally and unsuccessfully over the past two decades.

      • TruthOutKremlin Spokesman Says Russia Now Considers US, European Allies “Hostile States”
      • Common DreamsKremlin Says Russia Now Considers US, European Allies 'Hostile States'

        Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday that Moscow now considers the United States and its European allies "hostile states" as Western governments continue to pour heavy weaponry into Ukraine, which is attempting to beat back Russia's deadly invasion.

        The West has also put in place an unprecedented regime of sanctions with the goal of hampering Russia's economy and undermining the country's war machine.

      • Common DreamsAs Senators Try to Expand War Crimes Jurisdiction, Critics Ask if US War Criminals Count

        Critics of U.S. foreign policy on Tuesday reacted to a report that the United States Senate is advancing a draft bill that would grant domestic courts universal jurisdiction to prosecute alleged war criminals by questioning whether the measure would also apply to Americans—who are rarely if ever brought to justice after committing war crimes.

        "Lo and behold, the U.S. has discovered universal jurisdiction."

      • Meduza‘We’re flying blind now’ Kremlin infighting and the war in Ukraine will determine if Putin cancels Russia’s elections in September, sources tell Meduza

        On May 17, lawmakers in the State Duma discussed the possibility of cancelling both gubernatorial and regional and municipal elections scheduled for September 11, 2022. The stated reason is the need to support the president unanimously during Russia’s “special military operation” in Ukraine. Meduza special correspondent Andrey Pertsev learned that Vladimir Putin has yet to reach a final decision about postponing the elections, but the Federal Security Service and National Security Council are lobbying hard to convince him that it’s crucial.

      • Meduza‘Apparently our guys have been forgotten’: Parents of Russian conscripts who disappeared aboard the Moskva still seeking answers one month later

        A month has passed since a Ukrainian missile strike sank the Russian warship Moskva. In total, there were around 500 people aboard the vessel, which was the Black Sea Fleet’s flagship. The Russian Defense Ministry has only acknowledged that one sailor was killed, while claiming that another 27 are missing. On condition of anonymity, the mother of a conscripted sailor who disappeared aboard the Moskva told Meduza about her month-long battle with the Russian authorities for information about her son.

    • Transparency/Investigative Reporting

    • Environment

      • TruthOutStudy Warns Many Fossil Fuel Sites Must Be Shut Down to Avert Climate Disaster
      • Common DreamsEarth's Atmospheric CO2 Hasn't Been This High In Millions of Years

        Climate scientists and concerned citizens are sounding the alarm as daily, weekly, and monthly records for atmospheric carbon dioxide levels continue to be shattered while the fossil fuel-powered capitalist economic system responsible for skyrocketing greenhouse gas pollution plows ahead.

        New data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) shows that the weekly average CO€² concentration at the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii reached 421.13 parts per million (ppm) from May 8 to May 14—the highest in recorded history and up from 418.34 ppm one year ago and 397.38 ppm one decade ago.

      • Energy

        • Common DreamsClimate Campaigners Demand Oxford, Cambridge Stop Taking Fossil Fuel Money

          Arguing that accepting tens of millions of dollars from fossil fuel giants creates a "fundamental conflict of interest" for researchers trying to help solve the climate crisis, academics and students at the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge in the United Kingdom on Tuesday held a direct action demanding the schools officially reject such funding.

          Led by the Fossil Free Research Campaign, more than 50 campaigners held simultaneous actions at Cambridge's BP Institute, a research center funded by oil giant BP, and at Oxford's Saïd Business school, which received €£1.37 million ($1.7 million) from the fossil fuel industry between 2020 and 2021.

        • Common DreamsStudy Finds Many Existing Oil and Gas Sites Must Be Shut Down to Avert Climate Disaster

          A new study published Tuesday in the journal Environmental Research Letters shows that keeping global warming below the key 1.5€°C threshold by the end of the century will require not just halting the construction of new fossil fuel infrastructure, but also shutting down many existing sites.

          "Some existing fossil fuel licenses and production will need to be revoked and phased out early."

    • Finance

      • ScheerpostEllen Brown: Only a People’s Monetary Reset Can Prevent a Feudalistic Technocracy

        Ellen Brown explores the alternatives to the World Economic Forum's "Great Reset" plan.

      • ScheerpostRalph Nader: The New Corporate Dictators

        Ralph Nader points out that today's corporate dictators are like no others.

      • Scheerpost‘A Shameful Distinction’: US Ranked World’s Biggest Perpetrator of Financial Secrecy

        A global index published€ Tuesday ranks the United States as the world's leading perpetrator of financial secrecy, citing the country's refusal to share key information with the tax authorities of other nations and its€ status€ as a generous tax haven for foreign oligarchs, rich executives, and other elites.

      • Common Dreams'A Shameful Distinction': US Ranked World's Biggest Perpetrator of Financial Secrecy

        A global index published Tuesday ranks the United States as the world's leading perpetrator of financial secrecy, citing the country's refusal to share key information with the tax authorities of other nations and its status as a generous tax haven for foreign oligarchs, rich executives, and other elites.

        The ranking comes despite U.S. President Joe Biden's campaign-trail pledge to "bring transparency to the global financial system, go after illicit tax havens, seize stolen assets, and make it more difficult for leaders who steal from their people to hide behind anonymous front companies."

      • MeduzaDeal or no deal? Yandex is looking to sell Russian assets, sources tell Meduza. The company says otherwise.

        Internet giant Yandex is looking for buyers for its Russian assets Yandex Search, Yandex.Mail, and the movie database Kinopoisk, a source close to the company’s co-founder Arkady Volozh told Meduza. This was corroborated by another source close to the company’s management.€ 

      • Walmart online delivery is turning into a major disaster thanks to Doordash.

        Walmart online delivery is turning into a major disaster thanks to Doordash.

        Today I had a $10 Gillette Mach 3 razor starter kit go missing. I should have just done store pickup since my spouse works there anyway.

        But “Justine” “delivered” my order. And by delivered, I mean what normally happens with Walmart+ deliveries that go through Doordash instead of some real delivery company. I opened the door, looked everywhere in the apartment building and in all of the mail rooms, and couldn’t find it.

        And when it said “Click here for picture.” it didn’t show me a picture, it just showed me the order, saying it was “delivered today”.

        You never know what Walmart will decide to ship through FedEx or DoorDash, and so part of my order (the refill razor blades) are supposedly arriving on Thursday via FedEx.

    • AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

      • TruthOutIt’s Primary Night in Pennsylvania, and All Hell Is Set to Break Loose
      • TruthOutSanders Tells DNC to Reject Super PAC Spending Against Progressives in Primaries
      • Common DreamsOpinion | For Biden's Summit of the Americas, Obama's Handshake With Raúl Castro Shows the Way

        On May 16, the Biden administration announced new measures to “increase support for the Cuban people.” They included easing travel restrictions and helping Cuban-Americans support and connect with their families. They mark a step forward but a baby step, given that most U.S. sanctions on Cuba remain in place. Also in place is a ridiculous Biden administration policy of trying to isolate Cuba, as well as Nicaragua and Venezuela, from the rest of the hemisphere by excluding them from the upcoming Summit of the Americas that will take place in June in Los Angeles.

      • Common DreamsOpinion | This Is Not the Culmination of the Right-Wing Legal Movement—It's the Dawn of It.

        The reactionary, right-wing legal movement powered by dark money appears to be on the brink of achieving a nearly 50-year goal of reversing Roe v. Wade.

      • Common DreamsAIPAC's Super PAC Spends Millions to Defeat Summer Lee, Other Progressives

        Intent on keeping the influence of the growing pro-Palestinian rights movement in the U.S. to a minimum in Congress, the powerful American Israel Public Affairs Committee is pulling out all the stops to defeat progressive candidates including state Rep. Summer Lee in Pennsylvania's 12th District, where voters are going to the polls Tuesday.

        "The reason that they're aligning with certain candidates is because they are more aligned with their more hawkish positions on Israel."

      • Common DreamsWith 5 States Holding Primaries Today, Here's a Rundown of Progressives on the Ballot

        The ideological direction of the Democratic Party is on the ballot in Tuesday's primary contests as voters in Kentucky, North Carolina, Oregon, and Pennsylvania have a chance to elect progressive candidates to challenge Republicans in the pivotal November midterms.

        Voters in Idaho also head to the polls on Tuesday, but progressives are not expected to fare well in the GOP-dominated state. Below are key races featuring left-leaning candidates who could help shift the balance of power in the House and Senate.

      • Common DreamsKentucky Progressive Charles Booker Wins Democratic US Senate Primary

        Charles Booker—the progressive former Kentucky state lawmaker with a plan to tackle rampant inequality—cruised to victory in Tuesday's U.S. Senate Democratic primary, setting up a November contest against two-term Republican incumbent Rand Paul in which the challenger is vowing to "make history."

        "I'm fighting for issues regardless of party because at the end of the day, putting food on the table, keeping your lights on—doesn't matter what your party is."

      • Common Dreams'Dark Money Is Dark Money': Sanders Calls on DNC to Ban Super PAC Cash in Primaries

        Sen. Bernie Sanders on Tuesday urged the Democratic National Committee to ban super PAC money from the party's primary process as special interest groups and billionaires pour money into elections in the hopes of defeating progressive candidates across the U.S., including Summer Lee in Pennsylvania and Nida Allam in North Carolina.

        "The continuation of super PAC money in Democratic primaries will demoralize the Democratic base."

    • Censorship/Free Speech

      • EFFEFF to Supreme Court: Put Texas Social Media Law Back on Hold

        SCOTUS Docket for NetChoice v. Paxton

      • [Old] Chronicle Of Higher EducationWhy Are Scholars Such Snitches?



        When I read about the downfall of the University of Michigan’s president, Mark Schlissel, fired after an anonymous complaint about his consensual though “inappropriate” relationship with a subordinate, my first thought was “What kind of idiot uses his work email for an affair?” Then I recalled that I myself am the kind of idiot who persists in using my university email account for everything, despite pledging at least once a year to tear myself away from this self-destructive habit. Schlissel, c’est moi. The next time I get in trouble, will my employer emulate the classy behavior of the Michigan Board of Regents and release troves of my own embarrassing emails for my enemies to savor and mock?

        My next thought: Who was the snitch? I knew none of the players, but my inner Hercule Poirot went right to work, assembling likely suspects in the drawing room of my imagination (betrayed spouse, disappointed paramour, assorted foes and rivals, maligned underlings), cleverly disarming them with my continental charm until the culprit was exposed — most likely by the irrepressible look of creepy satisfaction playing across his or her face. To bring down an apparently much loathed and vastly overpaid university president, even for the stupidest of reasons: what ecstasy! Among the questions prompted by Schlissel’s termination is whether higher education has, on the whole, become a hotbed of craven snitches. From everything I’ve heard and experienced, the answer is yes.

        First let us pause to consider our terms: Was Schlissel’s narc a “snitch” or a “whistle-blower”? Whistle-blowers are generally attempting to topple or thwart the powerful, and Schlissel was certainly powerful. But the reported offense was, in the words of a lawyer I spoke with, “a nothingburger.” Let us provisionally define snitching as turning someone in anonymously, for either minor or nonexistent offenses, or pretextually. Also: using institutional mechanisms to kneecap rivals, harass enemies, settle scores and grudges, or advantage oneself. Not to mention squealing on someone for social-media posts and joining online mobs to protest exercises of academic and intellectual freedom.

        This last is a variant of the “social-justice snitch,” a burgeoning category composed of those who want to defund the police and reform the criminal-justice system but are nevertheless happy to feed the maws of a frequently unprocedural and (many say) racist campus-justice system. There are, to be sure, right-wing students and organizations dedicated to harassing professors whose politics they object to, but that’s to be expected. What’s not is the so-called campus left failing to notice the degree to which the “carceral turn” in American higher ed — the prosecutorial ethos, the resources reallocated to regulation and punishment — shares a certain cultural logic with the rise of mass incarceration and over-policing in off-campus America. Or that the zeal for policing intellectual borders has certain resonances with the signature tactics of Trumpian America, for which unpoliced borders are equally intolerable. But what care social-justice types about fostering the carceral university if those with suspect politics can be flattened, even — fingers crossed! — expelled, or left unemployed and penurious?

    • Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press

    • Civil Rights/Policing

    • Internet Policy/Net Neutrality

      • Adventures in Spartan-land

        I am a big proponent of the Spartan Protocol. Now that Lagrange supports it directly, it is a real thing. A whole new unpopulated part of the galaxy to explore and fill with your stuff!

      • More thoughts on sincere conversation

        Grab any 19th century novel, and you'll see displays of vapidness or people bemoaning the increase of vapidness in society. Many have blamed this on technology -- TV, and before that radio, and before that yellow journalism newspapers, and before that the printing press, and before that you had Plato saying that writing itself weakened the mind.

        I do not think there ever existed some halcyon age where strangers (or even friends) had Deep and Meaningful conversations more than they had vapid smalltalk. Perhaps what everyone remembers as better days of conversation are simply days of youth, when the vulnerability entailed by sincerity could do little to materially harm you.

      • Re: More thoughts on sincere conversation



        i myself don't seek the _elimination_ of all smalltalk, and i'm certainly willing to continue make the effort to engage in it for prosocial reasons, but given that i find it gets in the way of _really_ connecting with people, i prefer to minimise its presence in my life.

      • Rajasthan HC issued notice in a petition by Industry Bodies against repeated internet suspensions in Rajasthan

        No state suspends internet services more than Rajasthan. These suspensions violate fundamental rights of the residents of Rajasthan and cause irreparable economic damage. Udaipur Chambers of Commerce and Industry (‘UCCI’), and Hotel Association, Udaipur have approached the Rajasthan High Court pointing out that the Government of Rajasthan has been consistently violating applicable law and also the directions of the Supreme Court in Anuradha Bhasin v. Union of India by...

    • Digital Restrictions (DRM)

      • Torrent FreakSoftware Downloads Netflix & Disney+ Videos to Make DRM-Free Copies

        Software available right now from the Microsoft Store claims to allow Netflix, Amazon Prime, HBO, Disney+ subscribers and more to download movies and TV shows to their own machines, as a permanent DRM-free copy. In itself this raises legal issues but buried away in the software's fine print is something that all prospective users should know about.

    • Monopolies

      • Democracy NowDavid Dayen on the Baby Formula Shortage & Monopolies in the Age of Corporate Power

        House lawmakers have raised alarm over a nationwide baby formula shortage after a manufacturer in Michigan shut down over health concerns and was linked to the deaths of two infants. Advocates are calling for greater accountability and investigation into the manufacturer, Abbott Laboratories, even as the Food and Drug Administration is in talks to allow the plant to reopen. We look at how Abbott’s grip on the market for baby formula, amounting to about 20% of all formula distributed in the U.S., contributed to the crisis. An overhaul to the system where the government subsidizes only a few formula brands can help combat the monopolization that has caused this crisis, says David Dayen, executive editor of The American Prospect.

      • TruthOutBaby Formula Shortage Reveals Corporate Monopolies’ Grip on Market
      • Copyrights

        • Torrent FreakIs it Illegal to Use Pirate Streaming Sites?

          Downloading pirated movies and TV shows is against the law in the United States. The same is true for those who operate a pirate streaming site. However, people who use these streaming sites to consume pirated content may not be copyright infringers. Law professor James Gibson explains why.

        • Creative CommonsVirtual Workshop Recap: Towards Better Sharing of Cultural Heritage

          This paper calls for policies that support better sharing of cultural heritage in the public interest. And that’s exactly what we are planning to do. We are developing our first ever CC Open Culture Guide for Policymakers to address the copyright barriers to universal access and reuse of knowledge and culture faced by GLAMs. To initiate this process, we held an interactive virtual workshop for policy experts and open culture enthusiasts to explore key policy issues and gather insights into how to effectively engage policy makers in our work.€ 



Recent Techrights' Posts

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Links 17/11/2024: Wars, Bailouts, and Censorship
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When Articles About Linux Foundation Are LLM SPAM (Slop) From Publishers Paid by the Linux Foundation
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IRC logs for Friday, November 15, 2024
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Nothing in the media, as usual
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Links for the day
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Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
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Links for the day
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It also fell sharply across all form factors
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"engagement" is not accuracy or quality
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Free Software is for Everybody
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Filipinos Love GNU/Linux
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Over at Tux Machines...
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IRC Proceedings: Thursday, November 14, 2024
IRC logs for Thursday, November 14, 2024
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Phoronix Did Not Cover This...
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Links for the day