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Links 01/06/2023: KStars 3.6.5 and VEGA ET1031 RISC-V Microprocessor in Use



  • GNU/Linux

    • Desktop/Laptop

      • 9to5LinuxSystem76’s Galago Pro Linux Laptop Gets 13th Gen Intel H-Class CPUs, Faster 144Hz Screen

        It’s been ten months since System76 last updated its affordable Galago Pro Linux notebook and since the company is on a sprint to update most of its laptops to the latest generation Intel Core CPUs, the Galago Pro has now received the 13th Gen Intel Core “Raptor Lake” i5-13500H and i7-13700H processors.

        While the 13th Gen Intel Core i5-13500H processor has 12 cores, 16 threads, 18MB cache, and up to 4.7 GHz clock speed, the 13th Gen Intel Core i5-13500H processor has 14 cores, 20 threads, 24MB cache, and up to 5.0 GHz clock speed. Both processors come with integrated Intel Iris Xe Graphics, WiFi 6E, and Bluetooth 5.3.

    • Instructionals/Technical

    • Desktop Environments/WMs

      • K Desktop Environment/KDE SC/Qt

        • KStar DevelopmentKStars v3.6.5 is Released

          KStars v3.6.5 is released on 2023.06.01 for MacOS, Linux, and Windows. It's a bi-monthly bugfix release with a couple of exciting features.

          An instance of the sub-exposure calculator can be started from a new 'clock' icon on the ekos capture screen. Multiple instances of the sub-exposure calculator can be started concurrently so that side-by-side comparisons can be made for variations in inputs.

          Data for camera read-noise will be provided through individual xml files which will be user maintained and published in a repository. These camera data files persisted within a folder "exposure_calculator" under user/local/share/kstars. The calculator includes the capability to download camera files from a repository. Upon the initial start of the calculator at least one camera data file download will be mandatory before the calculator can be instantiated.

          The intent is that camera data file names will be used to allow the calculator to select an appropriate camera data file based upon the device id of the active camera. (But some of the initial camera files were named using educated guesses, and will likely need to be re-named).

  • Distributions and Operating Systems

  • Free, Libre, and Open Source Software

  • Leftovers

    • Pro PublicaAnchorage Gave Her a $1.6 Million Grant Despite History of Fraud

      Two years ago, in May 2021, the Anchorage Assembly gave $1.6 million to a little-known charity that said it would help people find homes and addiction treatment during the COVID-19 pandemic.

      At the time, local governments across the country were awash in money from a federal program known as the American Rescue Plan Act, or ARPA. Anchorage city leaders had $50 million to hand out to local applicants, and the money moved fast. The nonprofit House of Transformations received one of the largest awards.

    • Science

    • Education

    • Hardware

      • HackadayA Simple Guide To Cams

        With the availability of precision controllable actuators, it’s easy to overlook the simple but versatile mechanisms that got us here. In the video after the break, [Teaching Tech] explores the basics of cams and how to use them in your projects.

      • HackadayHackaday Prize 2023: This Challenge Makes It So Easy Being Green

        This year’s Hackaday Prize is our first nice round number – number ten! We thought it would be great to look back on the history of the Prize and cherry-pick our favorite themes from the past. Last year’s entire theme was sustainable hacking, and we challenged you to come up with ways to generate or save power, keep existing gear out of the landfill, find clever ways to encourage recycling or build devices to monitor the environment and keep communities safer during weather disasters, and you all came through. Now we’re asking you to do it again.

      • HackadayHackaday Prize 2023: Low Cost Braille Embosser From 3D Printer Parts

        The limited availability of texts transcribed to Braille and the required embossing equipment is a challenge world wide, but especially in poorer countries. To alleviate this problem, a team makers from in Cameroon have been developing BrailleRAP, an open source Braille embosser.

      • HackadayCan Hobbyists Bring SGI’s IRIX OS Back To Life?

        Irix was the operating system developed by Silicon Graphics from 1988 to 1998. The OS supported the company’s high-end workstations and served in many serious roles. The company cut off support for the UNIX-based OS in 2006, but now a diehard community is looking to bring the ancient codebase back to life.

      • IT WireAustralian PC shipments fell 19.1% in 1Q2023: IDC

        “The macroeconomic environment is currently experiencing high levels of inflation, and increasing interest rates, which is impacting PC demand from both commercial and consumer segments,” said Sharmishtha Bhatt, lead analyst PC Devices Research at IDC Australia.

        {loadposition sam08}HP remained the top-selling brand, taking 23.1% of the market with shipments down 4.1%, while Dell was second, down 9.3%.

      • HackadayMore Ideas For Setting Up An Electronics Workbench

        Setting up an electronics work area is a highly personal and situational affair, with many interesting problems to be solved, and for many of us, significant budget constraints. The requirements for electronics development vary wildly depending upon the sort of work to be undertaken, but there is core equipment that many of us would consider a bare minimum for usability. [Badar Jahangir Kayani] is at the start of his career as an electrical engineer, and has documented the kitting out of his personal work areas for others to learn from.

      • CNX SoftwareeEver EJ523D chip enables 4Kp60 video capture or streaming over USB 3.2

        eEver Technology, a subsidiary of eTron Technology, has launched the EJ523D 4Kp60 audio and video capture and streaming processor with a USB 3.2 interface, along with a reference platform currently showcased at COMPUTEX 2023. Over the last few years, we've covered some low-cost HDMI to USB 2.0 dongles that capture video up to 1080p30, followed by HDMI to USB 3.0 dongles handling up to 4Kp30, but the latest eEver EJ523D chip will be found in USB 3.2 adapters to capture at up to 4Kp60 resolution with H.265 encoding or 4Kp30 in the NV12 format.

      • Bunnie HuangWinner, Name that Ware April 2023

        The ware for April 2023 is an X-rite DTP22 spectrophotometer. This one almost made it through the month without being guessed, but congrats to cpresser for figuring it out in the last week! email me for your prize.

    • Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

      • Toxins and and monkey DNA and SV40, oh my! COVID-19 vaccines vs. a zombie meme

        I keep saying that, when it comes to specific claims made in the service of antivaccine misinformation, pseudoscience, and conspiracy theories, everything old is new again. Whether it’s claims that vaccines cause horrible outcomes that include death (as in “dying suddenly,” too), infertility, neurologic damage, cancer, and chronic disease, are loaded with “toxins” and foreign DNA and/or “fetal cells,” will “permanently alter your DNA,” and generally don’t work, old antivax tropes have been furiously repurposed against COVID-19 vaccines beginning even before the vaccines were granted emergency use approval (EUA) and released to the public in December 2020. (It’s been a coordinated campaign, right from the beginning, too.) One might argue that it’s easy to see the parallels in a more general manner, such as how the claim that COVID-19 vaccines cause young people to “die suddenly” of clots compared to old claims that HPV vaccines caused young women to “die suddenly” of…something, but sometimes the resurrected tropes can be bizarrely specific. Such is the case with the latest antivax claim that’s been circulating around the antivax crankosphere, most recently at quack tycoon Joe Mercola‘s website in an article entitled Green Monkey DNA Found in COVID-19 Shots. The strange specificity comes from how the narrative repeats an old narrative about the SV40 supposedly being found in COVID-19 vaccines.

      • New York TimesIndividual Canadian Cigarettes to Be Labeled With Health Warnings

        Tobacco companies must soon label individual cigarettes sold in the country with a health warning, in what Canada is calling a global first.

      • Federal News NetworkIn Canada, each cigarette will get a warning label: ‘poison in every puff’

        Canada will soon become the first country in the world where warning labels must appear on individual cigarettes. The move was first announced last year by Health Canada. Mental Health and Addictions Minister Carolyn Bennett says the bold step aims to help people kick the habit by making health warning messages virtually unavoidable. The wording will appear in English and French, warning smokers about harming children, damaging organs and causing impotence and leukemia. One of the messages says smoking is “poison in every puff.” Health Canada says tobacco use still kills about 48,000 Canadians each year. The labels are aimed at reducing smoking to less than 5% of the population.

      • The NationCan Americans Really Make a Free Choice About Dying?

        On April 25, four disability rights organizations sued California state agencies and officials in an attempt to overturn the End of Life Option Act, a seven-year-old law that allows doctors to prescribe lethal medication to people who have six months or less to live.1This story is a collaboration with The 19th, an independent newsroom covering gender, politics, and policy.

      • Defence WebSAMHS assists in Tshwane cholera outbreak

        As local and national authorities attempt to establish where and how cholera broke out, killing more than 20 people north of Pretoria, the SA Military Health Service (SAMHS) via an area formation headquarters rolled up sleeves to ensure on-the-ground assistance.

      • Helsinki TimesMonkeypox vaccine offered at all health centers [Ed: Offloading useless garbage that nobody wants or needs (anymore)?]

        Starting from June 1st, 2023, the monkeypox vaccine will be available at health centers in Helsinki for men aged 18 and above who are at the highest risk of contracting monkeypox. The vaccine will be provided by appointment only.

      • New YorkerThe Case That Being Poor and Black Is Bad for Your Health

        The public-health professor Arline T. Geronimus has spent a forty-year career researching how inequality takes a “weathering” toll on the body.

      • New York TimesHow to Lower Deaths Among Women? Give Away Cash.

        Mortality rates fell by 20 percent among women in countries that began cash transfer programs to the poor. Children also benefited.

      • Science AlertThis Woman Feels No Pain. Decoding Her DNA Could Bring Relief to Millions.

        Far out.

      • New York TimesU.S. Will Require All New Cars to Have Automatic Braking Systems

        The Transportation Department wants new cars to automatically stop when they detect an accident is likely.

    • Proprietary

      • Michael West MediaEU tech chief says AI code of conduct imperative

        The United States and European Union should push the artificial intelligence (AI) industry to adopt a voluntary code of conduct within months to provide safeguards while new laws are developed, EU tech chief Margrethe Vestager says.

        The European Union’s AI Act, with rules on facial recognition and biometric surveillance, could be the world’s first comprehensive legislation governing the technology, but is still going through the legislative process.

    • Security

      • Privacy/Surveillance

        • New York TimesAmazon to Pay $25 Million to Settle Children’s Privacy Charges [Ed: A drop in the bucket. Amazon continues to spy for the state and for police.]

          Regulators said the tech giant kept children’s Alexa voice recordings “forever,” violating a children’s privacy law.

        • Silicon AngleAmazon will pay more than $30M for Alexa and Ring privacy violation allegations [Ed: Slap on the wrist and Amazon continues to receive billions of dollars (subsidies) to spy for the police, the military, the state, and even advertisers]
          Amazon.com Inc. will pay more than $30 million to settle two separate lawsuits brought by the Federal Trade Commission, it was reported today.

        • EDRI€1.2 billion GDPR fine for Meta over US mass surveillance

          Today, a decade-long (2013 - 2023) case on Meta's involvement in US mass surveillance has led to a first direct decision. Meta must stop any further transfers of European personal data to the United States, given that Meta is subject to US surveillance laws (like FISA 702). The European Data Protection Board (EDPB) had largely overturned the Irish Data Protection Commission's (DPC) decision, insisting on a record fine and that previously transferred data must be brought back to the EU.

        • EDRI5 years of the GDPR: National authorities let down European legislator

          On 25 May 2018, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) came into force, promising to be the strongest set of data protection rules to enhance our privacy. While the contents of EU data protection rules stayed largely the same, the alleged big change was the GDPR's strict enforcement. 5 years later, national authorities and courts largely leave the European legislator in the lurch – despite a budget of more than €330 million in 2022.

    • Defence/Aggression

    • Environment

      • Democracy NowSupreme Court Guts Clean Water Act as Conservative Justices Side with Polluters and Developers

        We look at how a new Supreme Court ruling awards a major victory to polluters and land developers. In a 5-4 decision last week, the justices sharply limited the authority of the Environmental Protection Agency to protect and preserve wetlands under the Clean Water Act. The ruling ends protections for about half of all the wetlands in the contiguous United States, jeopardizing access to safe drinking water for millions. “That just defies science, physics, commonsense,” says Earthjustice’s Sam Sankar, who urges Congress to take action to once again protect the country’s critical water resources.

      • ScheerpostSupremes Declare War on Wetlands

        Seldom, if ever, will repercussions of a Supreme Court decision be so far-reaching and detrimental to life on the planet. It’s a dagger strike deep into the heart of the world’s most significant life source.

      • DeSmogTory MP Andrea Jenkyns Joins Board of Climate Science Denial Group

        Conservative MP Andrea Jenkyns has become a director of Net Zero Watch (NZW), a pressure group which denies climate science and campaigns for more fossil fuel extraction.€ 

        She is the latest high profile figure to ally with NZW’s parent organisation, the Global Warming Policy Foundation (GWPF), which is the UK’s principal climate science denial group and part of the Tufton Street network of free market think tanks. Jenkyns, the MP for Morley and Outwood, will join NZW’s board, according to a€ press release.

      • Michael West MediaClimate changing for financing fossil fuel expansion

        Australia’s gas giants Santos and Woodside Energy may find it harder to finance expansion plans as more lenders and investors opt for cleaner industries.

        The Asia-Pacific is a top consumer of oil and gas, which should make the region ripe for the€ adoption of new energy sources to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

      • DeSmog‘Fire Weather’ Author Recounts Alberta Wildfire Disaster in Terrifying Detail

        The costliest disaster in Canadian history took place in May 2016, when a vicious wildfire swept through Fort McMurray, forcing roughly 90,000 people to evacuate a city at the heart of Alberta’s oil sands industry. Seven years later, out-of-control wildfires once again threaten the province, forcing tens of thousands out of their homes and causing air quality warnings across the Western U.S. and Canada — the smoke was even visible all the way in New York City.

        Vancouver-based author John Vaillant knows better than most the ultimate causes of these disasters and the lifelong impacts they have on communities. His new book Fire Weather: A True Story from a Hotter World, which comes out June 6, tells the story of the 2016 Fort McMurray wildfire in horrific, page-turning detail. He sees that inferno, and the current western Canadian blazes, as the inevitable result of an economic system reliant on petroleum energy — as well as political leaders, such as newly-elected Alberta premier Danielle Smith, who seem willfully blind to the dangers of a changing climate.€ 

      • The Straits TimesMalaysia to set up ‘war room’ to check water levels ahead of expected El Nino

        Fourteen districts around the country have so far been given a Level One heatwave warning.

      • QuartzThe DOJ is suing the son of West Virginia's governor for millions in unpaid environmental fines

        The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has filed a lawsuit against the son of West Virginia governor Jim Justice, accusing him of failing to pay more than $5 million in civil penalties and other fees related to the 13 coal companies he operates.

      • QuartzDelta is being sued for claiming to be a carbon-neutral airline

        Delta Air Lines’ green credentials are facing a legal test.

      • Energy/Transportation

        • DeSmogEffort to Give Oil Companies $97 Million Tax Break in Louisiana Halted

          For the fifth time, a Louisiana lawmaker has introduced legislation to try to reduce the tax that fossil fuel firms pay on oil they produce in the state. The original version of the bill introduced by Rep. Phillip DeVillier this spring would have cost the state $97 million over the next five years, according to a Louisiana Legislative Fiscal Office report.

          “It’s just so much money,” said Rep. Mandie Landry, who voted against the bill in the House Committee on Ways and Means and again when it was before the full House. After it passed the House, the Senate Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Committee was scheduled to vote on the bill on May 22, but Rep. DeVillier voluntarily postponed the vote. DeVillier, who received more than $5,700 in donations from oil and gas interests last year, brought similar legislation four times between 2020 and 2022.

        • DeSmogPrinceton Maps Reveal US Plans for Massive CO2 Pipeline Buildout

          I have been calling the carbon capture CO2 pipeline buildout plan a “publicly-funded sewer system for the fossil fuel industry”€ for some time. In fact it’s their only lifeline, and in the meantime it’s also really good for greenwashing and€ TV ads.A reality check is in order. New analysis here of a major report published by Princeton in 2020-21 reveals a “blueprint” for cutting carbon emissions that includes a Trans-Alaska Pipeline sized transmission pipeline running from New Jersey to Georgia and two or three 48 inch diameter pipelines running in tandem, for hundreds of miles, down the Ohio and Mississippi valleys and across the south.

          The Princeton mapping exercises have no apparent consideration of people who happen to be in the way. They are aimed at the cheapest solution, the least-cost, shortest distance between two points the pollution source and the dump. The CO2 pipeline buildout is shaping up to be the biggest environmental justice insult ever. Because where will these pipelines be built? Through communities and over people’s land who don’t have the clout to stop them.An unspoken global dilemma with the€ pipe dream€ of Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) is this: the carbon pollution coming out of smokestacks at power plants, refineries, chemical plants, cement kilns, steel mills, and ethanol plants is often€ nowhere near€ the proposed CO2 dumps – deep saline aquifers geologists have scoped out and where people theorize we can put the multi-gigaton CO2 genie back in the bottle.

        • HackadayNeural Network Helps With Radar Pipeline Diagnostics

          Diagnosing pipeline problems is important in industry to avoid costly or dangerous failures from cracked, broken, or damaged pipes. [Kutluhan Aktar] has built an system that uses AI to assist in this difficult task.

        • Michael West MediaRenewable energy pipeline puts targets in jeopardy

          The renewable energy pipeline is drying up after a robust start to 2023 as “headwinds” increase, the industry warns.

          Data released by the Clean Energy Council for the first three months of the year shows€ eight projects commenced construction in the quarter.

        • MeduzaRussian government creates state corporation called ’Novorossiya Railroads’ to manage trains in annexed Ukrainian territories — Meduza

          The Russian government has created a federal enterprise under the name “Novorossiya Railroads.” The relevant decree was signed by Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin and published on the government’s website on Wednesday.

        • Hong Kong Free PressCrypto here to stay, must be regulated, Hong Kong treasury chief says

          By Holmes Chan Hong Kong has decided to let retail investors trade cryptocurrency under its new regulatory regime because “virtual assets are going to stay”, the city’s minister overseeing financial services said Tuesday.

        • The AtlanticThe One Thing Holding Back Electric Vehicles in America

          The biggest hurdle to mass adoption of electric cars is not the cars themselves.

      • Wildlife/Nature

    • Finance

      • Democracy NowA Dirty Debt Deal: Biden Blasted for Backing Fast-Track Approval of Mountain Valley Pipeline

        As lawmakers push through the bipartisan deal to raise the debt limit, it is being called a “dirty debt ceiling deal” by opponents because it includes language meant to speed completion of the Mountain Valley Pipeline. The controversial $6.6 billion pipeline would go through Virginia and West Virginia and carry 2 billion cubic feet of fracked gas across more than a thousand streams and wetlands in Appalachia. Over 750 frontline communities and environmental justice organizations oppose its construction, but the project has long had the backing of powerful West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin, the biggest recipient of fossil fuel money in Congress. “They can’t build this pipeline and follow the law,” says Maury Johnson, a West Virginian who lives in the path of the massive pipeline and says approval of the deal would show corporations they can simply “throw a bunch of money to politicians” in order to overcome environmental concerns and local opposition from residents.

      • AxiosHouse Democrats fracture on debt ceiling vote

        House Democrats were divided Wednesday on how they plan to vote on a bill to raise the debt ceiling as the U.S. stares down a potentially historic default.

        Why it matters: Their votes will be necessary for the passage of the bipartisan agreement between President Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), given dozens of Republicans have vowed to vote against it.

      • New York TimesA Big Day for the Debt Ceiling

        The bipartisan debt limit deal still isn’t assured of passing.

      • New York TimesIreland Worries That Brexit Will Ruin Fishing Industry

        Along Ireland’s coast, fishing has been a way of life for generations. But changes to the industry — including a cut in quotas after Brexit and a government plan to scrap boats — may see a way of life disappear.

      • Michael West MediaBig cities lead as property market rebound gathers pace

        The major cities are leading a fiery recovery in housing prices, while regional markets are also starting to pick up.

        After the residential property market tracked lower for much of last year, it’s now staging a comeback with the CoreLogic home value index recording a third consecutive monthly improvement.

      • The NationThere’s Never a Debt Ceiling for the Military-Industrial Complex

        Regardless of what Americans on the left or the right may think about the debt ceiling agreement reached over the Memorial Day weekend by President Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) there can be no serious debate about the fact that the deal provides a good sense of what is on and off the table when it comes to budget priorities.

      • Michael West MediaLabor coy on role of anti-corruption body in PwC saga

        The federal government has skirted around calls to€ refer the fast-evolving PwC tax scandal to the new National Anti-Corruption Commission.€ 

        The screws have been tightening on the consultancy giant since it came to light that a partner at the firm shared confidential tax information from Treasury to help clients swerve a crackdown on multinationals’ tax avoidance.

      • Michael West MediaBusinesses still planning to spend in coming months

        New private capital spending lifted a convincing 2.4 per cent in the March quarter.

        A 3.7 per cent increase in machinery and equipment spending fed into the solid quarterly result.

      • Michael West MediaBHP finds $430m public holiday backpay error

        BHP has conceded it owes up to $430 million in back pay after miscalculating public holiday leave for more than a decade.

        A preliminary review indicated about 28,500 current and former rostered employees across the mining giant’s Australian operations had leave incorrectly deducted on public holidays since 2010.

      • Michael West Media'Crappy' rate of return for taxpayers on $5b fund

        Taxpayers will get a “crappy” rate of return from a federal fund that is months away from investing in any Australian ideas, according to the coalition.

        The May budget allocated an initial $5 billion to be invested by€ the new National Reconstruction Fund Corporation, which comes into existence mid-year.

      • LatviaLatvia ranks low in EU for car ownership

        In 2021, the average number of€ passenger cars€ per inhabitant in the EU increased from 0.53 to 0.57, with Latvia's equivalent figure (0.40) considerably below the EU average but nevertheless at its highest ever level. Among EU member states, only Romania had fewer cars per person.

      • France24US House passes bipartisan bill to raise debt ceiling, avoid default

        Lawmakers agreed on a bill that looks to avoid a catastrophic default of the United States. The text will now go to the Senate for approval.

      • Mexico News DailyInequality rising: a reflection on expats’ economic impact

        Writer and San Miguel resident Ann Marie Jackson offers perspective on how gentrification affects the colonial town she now calls home.

      • LatviaBusiness environment in Latvia declines in most sectors

        Data of business tendency surveys published on May 31€ by the Central Statistical Bureau (CSB) show that the business environment in May€ 2023 continues to worsen in the manufacturing, construction and services sector, but retail trade is the only sector where the business environment is positive.

      • LatviaLatvia records GDP growth of 0.8% in Q1 [Ed: BS. Take inflation into account and it is a massive decrease in a single year. Inflation isn't growth, it's a deflation of monetary value. It's poverty for the working class.]

        Data published on May 31 by the Central Statistical Bureau (CSB) shows that€ in the 1st€ quarter of€ 2023, compared to the 1st€ quarter of€ 2022, gross domestic product of Latvia (GDP) rose by 0.8€ % (according to seasonally and calendar non-adjusted data at constant prices).

      • AxiosBusiness behemoths ramp up China diplomacy

        America's biggest corporate titans are resuming trips to China and going out of their way to defuse —€ or at least downplay — tensions between the world's two largest economies.

      • New York TimesIndia Will Scrap 2,000 Rupee Notes, Echoing 2016 Demonetization

        The move to retire 2,000-rupee notes, worth $24, has triggered bad memories of a similar campaign in 2016. It has also left some businesses short of change.

      • Zendesk to lay off another 8% of its staff, cites macroeconomic issues

        CRM software provider Zendesk is reducing another 8% of its workforce citing macroeconomic uncertainty, just six months after the company laid off 300 staffers for the same reason.

        “All this is difficult news to share, but I’ve made the decision to reduce our workforce by 8% at Zendesk,” CEO Tom Eggemeier wrote in an email to all employees, which was later posted as a blog.

        The new tranche of layoffs, according to Eggemeier, can be attributed to continued macroeconomic uncertainty and increased competition from rivals.

      • Marvel’s Midnight Suns Developer Suffers Layoffs

        Following the poor commercial reception to Marvel’s Midnight Suns, developer Firaxis has reportedly faced layoffs. A source “familiar with the studio” told Axios that about 30 developers had departed yesterday.

      • Yahoo NewsGlobal tech sector getting pummeled – layoffs up eightfold in 2023

        The mass layoffs plague this year has affected even tech giants like Amazon, eBay, IBM, Microsoft, and Alphabet, the parent company of Google.

      • Workers WorldWalkout at Amazon set for May 31

        Amazon’s recent layoffs, return to office mandates and a lack of action in dealing with its massive carbon emissions are what’s leading workers at Amazon’s Seattle headquarters to plan a walkout from their job on May 31. At least 1,000 workers have agreed to walk out at noon and rally at the Amazon Spheres, near the offices.

        The one-day walkout is being organized by Amazon Employees for Climate Justice and another group opposed to Amazon’s recent return-to-office mandate. The workers, many of them software engineers, know that Amazon has abandoned its main climate commitments. Amazon’s “Shipment Zero” pledge, to make one-half of all carbon shipments net zero by 2030, disappeared recently from the company’s U.S. website. It was replaced by the link: “We’ve decided to eliminate it.”

      • QuartzThe so-called "Great Resignation" has come to an end [Ed: The so-called "Great Resignation" never existed; a propaganda term (Bloomberg News et al, i.e. plutocracy) of failing companies, looking to blame low-level workers]

        A bit more than a year into the covid-19 pandemic, management professor Anthony Klotz spoke to Bloomberg News and warned of a coming “Great Resignation.” For a time, it looked like an excellent call.

    • AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

      • Democracy NowErdoÄŸan Reelected to 5 More Years in Turkey as His Government Grows More Authoritarian & Nationalist

        We look at the impact of the reelection of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Sunday in a tight runoff vote, extending his 20-year rule for a further five years. Erdoğan received just over 52% of the vote, beating challenger Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, an economist and former civil servant who unified a broad coalition but failed to unseat Erdoğan despite growing dissatisfaction with his governance and deep economic pain within the country. We speak with Cihan Tuğal, UC Berkeley sociologist and author of The Fall of the Turkish Model: How the Arab Uprisings Brought Down Islamic Liberalism.

      • Common DreamsA Thing Called Fascism: Wake Up and Fight

        Unconscionably belated but still deeply germane, this week Biden urged Americans to "ensure our democracy (and) our decency endures" - this, in a nation now pivotally "muddling through fascism" while battling lies, fear, bigotry, Christofascist courts and savage attacks on the rights of many. Mournfully little has changed: Almost 80 years ago, the U.S. was warning World War ll soldiers to know and fight a startlingly similar enemy, born of "getting men to hate rather than to think," of government "by the few and for the few."

      • Telex (Hungary)Rastislav Káčer: Hungary is becoming a sick political entity in the European Union

        Rastislav Káčer, who served as Slovakia's ambassador in Budapest for five years and headed the Foreign Ministry in Slovakia from September 2022 to May 2023, has expressed sharp criticism of the Orbán government. In an interview with Új Szó, Káčer said that although he was labelled a Hungarophobe after an interview in February in which he said that if Russia invaded Ukraine, Hungary would make territorial claims against Slovakia, he has no problem with Hungarians, especially given his Hungarian ancestry.

      • Telex (Hungary)Orbán called to account in the EP: what is left of the old freedom fighter?

        Hungary was the topic of discussion in the European Parliament again on Wednesday afternoon, as MEPs debated a motion for a resolution. During the debate, they assessed, among other things, the state of the rule of law, the freezing of EU funds – and the Hungarian government's suitability to hold the EU presidency in 2024.

      • The NationDemocrats Settled for a Raw Deal

        It’s still only May, but the deal-making enthusiasts in the DC commentariat are in high cotton: A tentative bipartisan accord has been reached on the encroaching federal debt ceiling, and the household gods of elite politics are restored to their traditional primacy. “Biden’s underrated deal-making prowess strikes again,” coos Washington Post columnist Jennifer Rubin. “Joe Biden is the master dealmaker America needs right now,” gargles The Daily Beast’s David Rothkopf. And so on.

      • The NationIf Ken Paxton’s Staff Can Do It, Why Can’t Dianne Feinstein’s?

        Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has been in office since 2015, and since 2015 he has been one of the most destructive forces in American law. He’s used his office as a Republican wish-fulfillment machine, trying to win through conservative courts the policies that Republicans cannot win at the ballot box. It was Paxton who organized a red-state challenge to the Affordable Care Act in 2018, trying to get Obamacare declared unconstitutional (he lost). Paxton also led the 2018 challenge to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, and brought it all the way to the Supreme Court (he lost). And he challenged Obama’s Clean Power Plan in 2017 (he won). During the Trump administration, he turned his attention toward reproductive rights, and he’s been at the forefront of trying to implement Texas’s bounty-hunter law, which punishes anyone who tries to help pregnant people in Texas receive an abortion. So far, during the Biden administration, he’s sued the administration more than 50 times, mainly over Biden’s immigration policies and student debt-relief programs. For Paxton, there is simply no difference between the law and his conservative political agenda.

      • The NationAudre Lorde
      • Telex (Hungary)The EP would deny the Hungarian government a unique opportunity, but the real threat lies elsewhere

        Judit Varga's statement shows what the Hungarian government expects from taking over the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union from the middle of next year. And the excitement is not without reason, as she will be in a unique position to take on the background tasks that usually involve organisation, legal paperwork and the continuation of much of the inherited tasks. In a fortuitous coincidence, she will take over the post, which was first filled in 2011, at a time when there will be changes in other important EU bodies, and this will also provide a rare opportunity for the presidency.

      • Telex (Hungary)State Secretary from Orbán's cabinet office discusses Ukraine's future membership of NATO in Warsaw

        The Chief Advisor for National Security and State Secretary for National Information at the Prime Minister's Cabinet Office, Lieutenant General József Kovács, was present at the recent meeting of the Bucharest Nine in Warsaw, where the parties unanimously declared that they are ready to support Ukraine as long as necessary, hvg.hu reports.

      • New York TimesRishi Sunak Is Still Haunted by Boris Johnson and Liz Truss

        Boris Johnson’s misadventures still make headlines, but Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s bigger problem is high inflation and soaring bond yields reminiscent of those that toppled Liz Truss.

      • Hong Kong Free PressHong Kong sports teams told to boycott ceremonies if organiser refuses national anthem check under new guidelines

        Hong Kong sports teams are now required to boycott medal ceremonies at international competitions if the organiser refuses to let the team leader verify the Chinese national anthem or regional flags on site, according to amended guidelines issued by the top sports federation representing Hong Kong at the Olympics.

      • France24Tsitsipas, Alcaraz soar at French Open as Djokovic row simmers

        Stefanos Tsitsipas and Carlos Alcaraz cruised into the third round of the French Open on Wednesday, but all eyes were on Novak Djokovic as a political row sparked by the two-times Roland Garros champion intensified.

      • New York TimesAt the French Open, Djokovic Storms the Court and Into Controversy, Again

        In recent days, the Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic has inserted himself into the mounting international crisis in Kosovo.

      • RFERLIranian Judiciary Chief Defends Executions Of Protesters

        The head of Iran’s judiciary has defended issuing death sentences for several demonstrators involved in nationwide protests that erupted in September 2022 following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini soon after she was detained by morality police for allegedly violating the mandatory hijab law.

      • teleSURTurkmenistan & Iran Sign 5 Cooperation Agreements And 3 MoUs

        "...Raisi€ stated that the signing of these documents is indicative of the two nations’ determination..."

      • teleSURIran & Türkiye Presidents Looking to Expand Bilateral Relations

        "...the relations between Türkiye and Iran, in various fields, will “definitely” progress with enhanced vigor..."

      • European CommissionEuropean Citizens' Initiative: Commission decides to register initiative on mutual recognition of final judgments within the EU

        European Commission Press release Brussels, 31 May 2023 Today, the Commission decided to register a European Citizens' Initiative (ECI) entitled ‘Effective implementation of the concept of judicial precedent in EU countries'.

      • EDRIEDRi-gram, 31 May 2023

        Here is what happened since we last touched base. The EDRi network met in Belgrade for our General Assembly. We strategised, got updates from national members about the state of #DigitalRights, and enjoyed personal connection time.

        A BIG welcome to EDRi's newly elected Board members: Andrej Petrovski, Director of Tech at EDRi member SHARE Foundation, and Isabela Fernandes, Executive Director of TOR Project.

        In the last fortnight, we also celebrated 5 years of the General Data Protection Regulation. The anniversary was marked by the €1.2 billion fine for Meta issued thanks to EDRi member noyb's work. The decision required 10 years and 3 court procedures against the Irish Data Protection Commission, which shows the need for better GDPR enforcement.

      • Turkey's election body unveils official results of parliamentary polls

        The Supreme Election Council has released the final data regarding the parliamentary election on May 14.

      • New York TimesFear Sets In Among Turkey’s L.G.B.T. Community After Erdogan’s Attacks

        President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vilified gay people during his re-election campaign, calling them a threat to society and rallying conservatives against them. It has left people feeling threatened, and alone.

      • CS MonitorIn Turkey, secular women alarmed about future under new ErdoÄŸan term

        Liberal Turkish women fear President ErdoÄŸan’s election victory will spell further setbacks for women’s rights. Their devout Muslim sisters disagree.

      • Mexico News DailyAMLO says he supports activist’s peace deal offered to cartels

        The president says he would like to see Delia Quiroa's recent call to Mexico's 10 biggest cartels to end forced disappearances succeed.

      • New York TimesHunter Biden’s Lawyers Cite Landmark Gun Ruling in Bid to Stave Off Charges

        Hunter Biden’s legal team is invoking a Supreme Court decision his father has denounced as an affront to “common sense and the Constitution.”

      • Misinformation/Disinformation/Propaganda

    • Censorship/Libel

      • Michael West MediaMoment of truth and lies arrives for Ben Roberts-Smith

        A judge will decide whether Ben Roberts-Smith is a courageous war hero harmed by an untruthful media campaign or a murderous, violent war criminal.

        Mr Roberts-Smith, 43, sued The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Canberra Times for defamation over reports in 2018 claiming he committed war crimes in Afghanistan, and acts of bullying and domestic violence.

      • Michael West MediaMedia herald Roberts-Smith finding critical for justice

        Publishers have heralded a historic win in the Ben Roberts-Smith defamation trial as vindication and a “critical step for justice”.

        After an 11-month deliberation, Justice Anthony Besanko found The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Canberra Times had successfully proved their allegations the Victoria Cross recipient committed war crimes.

      • Michael West MediaRoberts-Smith broke moral and legal rules, judge finds

        Victoria Cross recipient Ben Roberts-Smith committed a slew of war crimes in Afghanistan, murdering unarmed prisoners, a Federal Court judge has found.

        Mr Roberts-Smith suffered a massive court loss, ending an almost five-year defamation battle between the former-SAS corporal and three media outlets.

      • Michael West MediaHiggins' support person fronts Lehrmann inquiry

        Tensions between the right to the presumption of innocence and support for someone who purports to be a victim of crime are under the microscope at an inquiry into the criminal justice system’s response to Brittany Higgins’ rape allegation.

        Ms Higgins€ alleges she was raped inside a ministerial office at Parliament House by her former colleague Bruce Lehrmann after a night out.

      • RFAAfter grueling jungle trek, Chinese social media satirist to apply for U.S. asylum

        Posting video updates, 'Brother Tian' is closer to his dream of living in a free country

      • uni StanfordFrom the Community | A parable of academic freedom

        Writing in response to an article by Jonathan Berk, Branislav Jakovljević argues that "one of the key differences between academic freedom and freedom of speech is that the former is inseparable from responsibility: responsibility to students, to the field, and to the public in general."

    • Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press

    • Civil Rights/Policing

    • Internet Policy/Net Neutrality

      • TechdirtSection 230 Protects Public Records Portal, Says Judge While Tossing Bogus ID Theft Lawsuit

        Section 230: not just for those irascible tech giants politicians keep grandstanding about. We all may have a love/hate/really hate relationship with various social media services, but Section 230 also protects the little guys. So, while it might be momentarily satisfying to cheer on the latest comeuppance attempt by political opportunists, remember it’s going to be the little guys who get hurt the most.

      • TechdirtHow 236,471 Words Of Amici Briefing Gave Us The 565 Word Gonzalez Decision

        There has been€ a lot€ said about€ Gonzalez v. Google, the first Supreme Court Section 230 case in 22 years. Of course, in those 2+ decades Section 230’s “twenty-six words that created the internet” have generated their fair share of courtroom and political controversy. But even given 230’s lightning-rod status for free speech and the internet, interest in the€ Gonzalez€ case was extreme. Experts and interest groups filed a total of€ 78 different amici€ in€ Gonzalez€ alone1, totaling€ 236,471 (!!!) words. In light of the volume, the Court extended oral arguments to 70 minutes and then still blew through that time limit by an hour and 34 minutes.€ 

      • TechdirtOnlyFans Throws The Open Internet Under The Bus

        It’s always disappointing when an internet company that should know better decides to throw the open internet it relies on under the bus.

      • TechdirtCommunity-Owned Broadband Network Again Tops List Of Most Popular ISPs

        For two decades, frustrated towns and cities all over the country have responded to telecom monopolies by building their own fiber broadband networks. Data routinely shows that not only do these networks provide faster, better, and cheaper service, the networks are generally more accountable to the public — because they’re directly owned and staffed by locals with a vested interest in the community.

      • European CommissionTelecom operators in EU and Republic of Moldova agree on lowering roaming tariffs from 1 January 2024

        European Commission Press release Brussels, 31 May 2023 The Commission welcomes the Joint Declaration from EU and Moldovan telecom operators for lower roaming charges.

      • ReasonChildproofing the Internet

        How online “child protection” measures could make child and adult internet users more vulnerable to hackers, identity thieves, and snoops.

    • Digital Restrictions (DRM)

      • EFFThe Right to Repair Is Law in Minnesota. California Should Be Next

        The right to repair movement has a lot of momentum. In 2022, Colorado passed a law that gave wheelchair users access to the resources they need to repair their own chairs, and the state followed that up with another targeted bill giving farmers and ranchers the right to repair agricultural equipment. Massachusetts has passed several measures around car repairs. Last year we also got the first broad consumer right to repair legislation in New York,€ though that€ bill took a big step backward at the last moment.

    • Monopolies

      • Patents

      • Trademarks

        • TechdirtJack Daniel’s Loses Opposition To ‘Jack And Victor’ Whisky In UKIPO Smackdown

          Jack Daniel’s, the famous whiskey maker out of Tennessee, is not a complete stranger to silly trademark battles. But it appears that the company may be getting into the trademark bullying game, or at least the trademark lack of comprehending the law game, more and more these days. This post will serve as another example of that, but some throat-clearing is in order, so stick with me here.

      • Copyrights

        • Public Domain ReviewThe Black Dandy of Buenos Aires: Racial Fictions and the Search for Raúl Grigera

          A mysterious staple of Buenos Aires nightlife in the 1910s and 20s, Raúl Grigera was an audacious Afro-Argentine dandy, an eccentric bohemian icon, a man who called himself el murciélago (the bat). Paulina L. Alberto examines the racial stories told by photographs, comic strips, and newspaper articles about a person many knew only as “el negro Raúl”, searching for the life behind the legend.



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