𝕿𝖊𝖈𝖍𝖗𝖎𝖌𝖍𝖙𝖘 Bulletin for Saturday, February 18, 2023 ┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅ Generated Sun 19 Feb 02:43:47 GMT 2023 Created by Dr. Roy Schestowitz (𝚛𝚘𝚢 (at) 𝚜𝚌𝚑𝚎𝚜𝚝𝚘𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚣 (dot) 𝚌𝚘𝚖) Full hyperlinks for navigation omitted but are fully available in the originals The corresponding HTML versions are at 𝒕𝒆𝒄𝒉𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒔.𝒐𝒓𝒈 Latest in 𝒉𝒕𝒕𝒑://𝒕𝒆𝒄𝒉𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒔.𝒐𝒓𝒈/𝒕𝒙𝒕 and older bulletins can be found at 𝒉𝒕𝒕𝒑://𝒕𝒆𝒄𝒉𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒔.𝒐𝒓𝒈/𝒕𝒙𝒕-𝒂𝒓𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒔 Full IPFS index in 𝒉𝒕𝒕𝒑://𝒕𝒆𝒄𝒉𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒔.𝒐𝒓𝒈/𝒊𝒑𝒇𝒔 and as plain text in 𝒉𝒕𝒕𝒑://𝒕𝒆𝒄𝒉𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒔.𝒐𝒓𝒈/𝒊𝒑𝒇𝒔/𝒕𝒙𝒕 Gemini index for the day: gemini://gemini.techrights.org/2023/02/18/ ╒═══════════════════ 𝐑𝐄𝐂𝐄𝐍𝐓 𝐁𝐔𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐒 ════════════════════════════════════╕ Previous bulletins in IPFS (past 21 days, in chronological order): QmamtVaJ1jkVqwTRHeheoiVfr7r3ijZpHVWct6WE9FvhVN QmbFDooXZn997QjZY3cCKWM82PnZJjTTiaSSMufBXjiNXP QmXU8EhJFQRtv8o2V6scWUz5kebeKRmyZa6mEimNyZLPtm Qmb399zeJfbfeD2xUcMf2JDeQPEXQZXKB4r2KNpE2YN16j QmVaSG1ALmtpgw3bqUgN2o37FRRRvK92JA5SKGzkigi5Qg QmXe8bt58f7QFPCzPjfHLJEDufxCy9LYEr1x5WRuwvvwxd QmXCyRSEqZvXQpdJJgNTZ2SmscGBN8faNeNbNZcV8zoX6D QmbqEc6DR3dJD1Zez6UEB9NiyCWswQvsYE1yFxnM6ghvgG QmaVY3HqyuHpVGyMxeT4Bud2vNW78oYnx8dJCM6ZZK5ziE QmSUai4xNvwMKU2TbSerbPiWGAVberWqCyRsFtpfBmSJUA QmdqfApkUHoNL7LgRhijLyQ917yqySCE8TFPFh8Efixmuk QmYUwzBTiff9y3NpVBbZgEPJYspVVxmzVVYkzar4igJRiY QmWU4whiYNSNx6oxSqvGVEkr1unaGuqfGtoiphqZLBAxVJ QmQUWdJviNhacCKbEie2yYrdrQaNYjUhGH7B8majeYU6Vb Qmckkfq1rqb7mTK7w6RbFZJjskRKcnUk8PdtMmcLwUhXgV QmVY5cAKghhEttE24TaNrAQgciJau5j7EoeaEmfjYdbLMD QmUUEWf3hsUuMVJFPVavJpe7kPpi5bCmXqN9PPz7qbVMEu QmVBn9QkCHpe2cDLPr9H2kyS7vx3eRh5a9NN8CDSJEKw58 QmYGXGQ6SW216dEJ4TMfGyb7yDMBF4n6zCEwza8SfCQjDJ QmbPtsyc7sJxSwGRbURzMBpmJpQAgABouVYWUyXdfGhcFh QmSCXZVE6CQ7coFZMzXzjrALhoFTURwUpGRmU6CktGzSQz ╒═══════════════════ 𝐈𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐗 ═══════════════════════════════════════════════════╕ ⦿ Links 18/02/2023: FreeBSD 13.2 Beta 2 | Techrights ⦿ IRC Proceedings: Friday, February 17, 2023 | Techrights ䷼ Bulletin articles (as HTML) to comment on (requires login): http://techrights.org/2023/02/18/freebsd-13-2-beta-2/#comments http://techrights.org/2023/02/18/irc-log-170223/#comments ䷞ Followed by Daily Links (assorted news picks curated and categorised): http://techrights.org/2023/02/18/20-years-of-inkscape/#comments ䷩ 𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚎 50 ╒═══════════════════ 𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐈𝐂𝐋𝐄 ═════════════════════════════════════════════════╕ (ℹ) Images, hyperlinks and comments at http://techrights.org/2023/02/18/freebsd-13-2-beta-2/#comments Gemini version at gemini://gemini.techrights.org/2023/02/18/freebsd-13-2-beta-2/ ⠀⌧ █▇▆▅▄▃▂▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁ 02.18.23⠀▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▂▃▄▅▆▇█ ⌧ Gemini_version_available_♊︎ ✐ Links_18/02/2023:_FreeBSD_13.2_Beta_2⠀✐ Posted in Free/Libre_Software at 9:08 pm by Dr. Roy Schestowitz 🄸🄼🄰🄶🄴 🄳🄴🅂🄲🅁🄸🄿🅃🄸🄾🄽 ⦇GNOME bluefish⦈ § Contents⠀➾ * GNU/Linux o Desktop/Laptop o Audiocasts/Shows o Applications o Instructionals/Technical o Desktop_Environments/WMs # GNOME_Desktop/GTK * Distributions_and_Operating_Systems o BSD o Canonical/Ubuntu_Family o Open_Hardware/Modding o Mobile_Systems/Mobile_Applications * Free,_Libre,_and_Open_Source_Software o Events * Leftovers o Science o Education o Health/Nutrition/Agriculture o Proprietary o Privatisation/Privateering o Linux_Foundation o Security # Integrity/Availability/Authenticity o Defence/Aggression o Environment # Energy/Transportation o Finance o AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics o Censorship/Free_Speech o Freedom_of_Information_/_Freedom_of_the_Press o Civil_Rights/Policing o Internet_Policy/Net_Neutrality o Monopolies # Patents * Gemini*_and_Gopher o Personal o Technical # Internet/Gemini * § GNU/Linux⠀➾ o § Desktop/Laptop⠀➾ # ⚓ XDA ☛ Can_the_Mac_Mini_(M2,_2023)_run_Linux?⠀⇛ Apple’s new Mac Mini (M2, 2023) model is one of the most powerful Macs yet. It runs macOS Ventura and is great for creative types who might be video editing. But what if you want to use a different operating system, say, Linux? Perhaps it might be for coding or any other reason. Well, the answer to that question is that you can’t run Linux natively on your Mac Mini. You can, however, virtualize the Linux operating system and run it on top of macOS in the background. We have all the options for you right here. o § Audiocasts/Shows⠀➾ # ⚓ Video ☛ Zorin_OS_16.2_Vs_Linux_Mint_21.1_:_The_ULTIMATE Battle_for_The_Best_Linux_Distro_of_2023_(NEW!)_–_Invidious⠀⇛ Zorin OS and Linux Mint are two outstanding Ubuntu- based Linux distros. In this video, we’ll see how they compare against each other in terms of performance, speed, stability, user interface, gaming, community support and ease of installation. Which among them is the best? Which among them is more suitable FOR You? Linux Mint or Zorin OS. Let’s find out. # ⚓ Video ☛ FOSS_funding_is_broken,_Thunderbird’s_redesign,_KDE Plasma_5.27_–_Linux_–_Open_Source_News_–_Invidious⠀⇛ # ⚓ Video ☛ Flathub_Finally_Adds_Much_Needed_Flatpak_Feature_– Invidious⠀⇛ When you download a flatpak it’s hard to know if that project is by the official developers or a 3rd party, that is until now over on the beta Flathub website, now developers are clearly labled and it even tells you how they were verified # ⚓ Video ☛ Software_Not_In_The_Ubuntu_Repos?_We_Can_Still Install_Them!_(Qtile,_Alacritty,_Brave)_–_Invidious⠀⇛ Since I use mainly Arch Linux based distros, I often highlight pieces of software that have not yet made it into the Debian and Ubuntu repos. This makes sense since those distros tend to focus more on stability rather than having the latest software. # ⚓ Bad_Voltage_»_8_3×55:_Don_the_Mast⠀⇛ o § Applications⠀➾ # ⚓ Ubuntu Pit ☛ 20_Best_Linux_Application_Launchers_To_Improve Your_Productivity⠀⇛ No matter whether you’re a tech professional like me or a mere hobbyist, you should have already realized the redundancy associated with the heavy use of mouse clicks in everyday computing. Simply said, most tech geeks find it demoralizing to browse the app menu each time they want to invoke a different app. # ⚓ OMG! Linux ☛ Linux_Mastodon_App_’Tokodon’_Gets_Big_Update_– OMG!_Linux⠀⇛ A canny crop of useful enhancements are included in the latest update to Tokodon, an open source, Qt- based Mastodon client. Most notably, Tokodon 23.02.0 make big changes to the post composer. You can now enter alt descriptions for images and videos you send through the app. Alt descriptions are an important accessibility consideration, and some Mastodon instances now advise/require them by default. On the subject of media, Tokodon’s composer shows upload progress when you share media so that you’re not left wondering whether anything is happening at all. And if a post can’t be sent you now see an error message to tell you (and if possible, the option to try again). # ⚓ Linux Links ☛ 11_Best_Free_and_Open_Source_Linux_Clocks_– LinuxLinks⠀⇛ The clocks featured in this article are more sophisticated than the basic tray clock. Free and open source software. o § Instructionals/Technical⠀➾ # ⚓ Make Use Of ☛ How_to_Test_APIs_and_Web_Apps_From_the_Linux Terminal_With_HTTPie⠀⇛ Use HTTPie to test your web apps and API endpoints from the comfort of the Linux terminal. # ⚓ Get_the_dimensions_of_image_using_the_terminal_in_Linux⠀⇛ # ⚓ ID Root ☛ How_To_Install_Remmina_on_Debian_11⠀⇛ # ⚓ ID Root ☛ How_To_Install_Eclipse_IDE_on_Fedora_37⠀⇛ # ⚓ FOSSLinux ☛ Using_Bash_to_process_and_analyze_data_from text_files⠀⇛ # ⚓ FOSSLinux ☛ 15_essential_Bash_commands_for_everyday_use⠀⇛ Bash is a powerful command-line interface that can be used to perform a wide range of tasks on a Unix or Linux system. By mastering Bash commands, you can streamline your workflow, save time, and boost your productivity. In this article, we’ll explore some of the most essential Bash commands that you can use every day to improve your efficiency and effectiveness. # ⚓ Linux Made Simple ☛ How_to_install_Rig_of_Rods_on_a Chromebook_in_2023⠀⇛ # ⚓ Linux Made Simple ☛ How_to_install_OpenUtau_on_a Chromebook⠀⇛ # ⚓ Linux Made Simple ☛ How_to_install_OpenTTD_on_KDE_Neon⠀⇛ # ⚓ Earthly ☛ PostgreSQL_in_Python_Using_Psycopg2⠀⇛ Are you a Python programmer learning to work with PostgreSQL? If so, this tutorial on psycopg2, the PostgreSQL connector for Python, is for you. You can connect to PostgreSQL databases and run queries—all from within your Python script—using the psycopg2 adapter. # ⚓ SlashGear ☛ 5_Ways_To_Make_Your_Old_Chromebook_Feel_Like New⠀⇛ o § Desktop Environments/WMs⠀➾ # § GNOME Desktop/GTK⠀➾ # ⚓ OMG! Linux ☛ V_Shell_GNOME_Extension_Lets_You_Fine- Tune_the_Shell_UX_–_OMG!_Linux⠀⇛ Want vertical workspaces in GNOME 43 or above? If you do, you probably know about the Vertical Workspaces GNOME extension. It’s a well made bolt-on that (shock) brings vertical workspaces back to the GNOME desktop, similar to how things were prior to GNOME 40. But I’m not here to talk about that – well, not specifically. See, a major update to this extension is in development. So major in fact that the developer is rebranding the extension to V Shell. The addition of “shell” should give users a better idea about what this extension can do as it’s now grown well beyond “just” offering a stack of vertical workspaces. * § Distributions and Operating Systems⠀➾ o § BSD⠀➾ # ⚓ FreeBSD ☛ FreeBSD_13.2-BETA2_Now_Available⠀⇛ The second BETA build of the 13.2-RELEASE release cycle is now available. Installation images are available for: o 13.2-BETA2 amd64 GENERIC o 13.2-BETA2 i386 GENERIC o 13.2-BETA2 powerpc GENERIC o 13.2-BETA2 powerpc64 GENERIC64 o 13.2-BETA2 powerpc64le GENERIC64LE o 13.2-BETA2 powerpcspe MPC85XXSPE o 13.2-BETA2 armv6 RPI-B o 13.2-BETA2 armv7 GENERICSD o 13.2-BETA2 aarch64 GENERIC o 13.2-BETA2 aarch64 RPI o 13.2-BETA2 aarch64 PINE64 o 13.2-BETA2 aarch64 PINE64-LTS o 13.2-BETA2 aarch64 PINEBOOK o 13.2-BETA2 aarch64 ROCK64 o 13.2-BETA2 aarch64 ROCKPRO64 o 13.2-BETA2 riscv64 GENERIC o 13.2-BETA2 riscv64 GENERICSD Note regarding arm SD card images: For convenience for those without console access to the system, a freebsd user with a password of freebsd is available by default for ssh(1) access. Additionally, the root user password is set to root. It is strongly recommended to change the password for both users after gaining access to the system. Installer images and memory stick images are available here: https://download.freebsd.org/releases/ISO-IMAGES/ 13.2/ The image checksums follow at the end of this e- mail. If you notice problems you can report them through the Bugzilla PR system or on the -stable mailing list. If you would like to use Git to do a source based update of an existing system, use the "releng/13.2" branch. A summary of changes since 13.2-BETA1 includes: o OpenSSH has been updated to version 9.2p1. o The ahci(4) timeout on Marvell 88SE9230 has been increased. o A bug fix to [hash]sum -c. A list of changes since 13.1 is available in the releng/13.2 release notes: https://www.freebsd.org/releases/13.2R/relnotes/ Please note, the release notes page is not yet complete, and will be updated on an ongoing basis as the 13.2-RELEASE cycle progresses. === Virtual Machine Disk Images === VM disk images are available for the amd64, i386, and aarch64 architectures. Disk images may be downloaded from the following URL (or any of the FreeBSD download mirrors): https://download.freebsd.org/releases/VM-IMAGES/ 13.2-BETA2/ BASIC-CI images can be found at: https://download.freebsd.org/releases/CI-IMAGES/ 13.2-BETA2/ The partition layout is: ~ 16 kB - freebsd-boot GPT partition type (bootfs GPT label) ~ 1 GB - freebsd-swap GPT partition type (swapfs GPT label) ~ 20 GB - freebsd-ufs GPT partition type (rootfs GPT label) The disk images are available in QCOW2, VHD, VMDK, and raw disk image formats. The image download size is approximately 135 MB and 165 MB respectively (amd64/i386), decompressing to a 21 GB sparse image. Note regarding arm64/aarch64 virtual machine images: a modified QEMU EFI loader file is needed for qemu-system-aarch64 to be able to boot the virtual machine images. See this page for more information: https://wiki.freebsd.org/arm64/QEMU To boot the VM image, run: % qemu-system-aarch64 -m 4096M -cpu cortex-a57 -M virt \ -bios QEMU_EFI.fd -serial telnet::4444,server - nographic \ -drive if=none,file=VMDISK,id=hd0 \ -device virtio-blk-device,drive=hd0 \ -device virtio-net-device,netdev=net0 \ -netdev user,id=net0 Be sure to replace "VMDISK" with the path to the virtual machine image. o § Canonical/Ubuntu Family⠀➾ # ⚓ SJVN ☛ Canonical_announces_the_general_availability_of Real-Time_Ubuntu_Linux_22.04_LTS ⠀⇛ Most of you know Ubuntu as a desktop operating system; others know it as an outstanding server Linux; or as a popular cloud OS. But Canonical, Ubuntu’s parent company, is also a serious Internet of Things (IoT) player. And after years of work, IoT release, Ubuntu Core 22.04, Canonical is offering a true real-time operating system. A real-time operating system is one that’s fast enough that it can guarantee a reaction to data within a tight, real-world deadline. Typically, real-time computing delivers results from microseconds (one-millionth of a second) to milliseconds (one-thousandth of a second). Real- time applications that take things down to microsecond latency include stock market high- frequency trading (HFT) applications. The much more common millisecond real-time processing is used in banking and telecom applications, digital ad networks, and self-driving cars. Us? People? We have average reaction times of around 250 milliseconds. According to Mark Shuttleworth, Canonical’s CEO, “The real-time Ubuntu kernel delivers industrial- grade performance and resilience for software- defined manufacturing, monitoring, and operational tech.” o § Open Hardware/Modding⠀➾ # ⚓ Arduino ☛ All_aboard_the_java_train!⠀⇛ These days, everyone seems to turn to robots for automating tasks in the physical world. But robots are often clumsy and unreliable — not to mention expensive. # ⚓ Tom’s Hardware ☛ Polish_Raspberry_Pi_Clone_Sports_M.2 Socket,_Real-Time_Clock_|_Tom’s_Hardware⠀⇛ Though the situation is improving, it can still be difficult to find a Raspberry Pi in stock. Meanwhile, companies from around the world continue to offer their own alternatives to the world’s most popular single-board computer. A product of Polish Electronics Maker EVEO, the Urve Board Pi (opens in new tab) has identical dimensions and a nearly- identical layout to the Raspberry Pi 3B / 3B+ but throws in unique features such as an M.2 SSD port, a real-time clock and a power-over-Ethernet (PoE) connector. Available now for the equivalent of $90 (opens in new tab)on Polish web store TEM, the Urve Board Pi has an all-white PC PCB that’s the same 85 x 56 mm size as the Pi 3B and it has pretty-much the same ports in the same locations so it should fit into a case that would accept a Pi 3B / 3B+. o § Mobile Systems/Mobile Applications⠀➾ # ⚓ Mark Hansen ☛ Should_you_inflate_Android_Views_on_a background_thread?⠀⇛ TL;DR: No, it’s not safe. I show race conditions that could happen to any View, and consider AsyncLayoutInflater. * § Free, Libre, and Open Source Software⠀➾ o § Events⠀➾ # ⚓ Bootlin ☛ Report_from_the_Buildroot_Developers_Meeting_at FOSDEM_2023⠀⇛ * § Leftovers⠀➾ o ⚓ Copenhagen Post ☛ Stress_Wärnings:_Be_aware_of_your_resources⠀⇛ Stress occurs when there is a perceived imbalance between demands and resources. It is therefore important to address stressors, perception and resources when dealing with stress, as often the importance of resources is overlooked.  Resources are keyResources are the aspects o ⚓ Ben Congdon ☛ On_Prompt_Engineering⠀⇛ o ⚓ teleSUR ☛ Strikes_Bring_Air_Traffic_To_Standstill_in_Germany⠀⇛ Around 2,340 flights were to be canceled, affecting almost 300,000 passengers, said the German Airports Association. o ⚓ Off Guardian ☛ Paranoia:_Is_it_Always_a_Bad_Thing?⠀⇛ Todd Hayen “Just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean they aren’t after you.” Kurt Cobain What is paranoia? Usually the condition is coupled with another mental malady: schizophrenia, due to the psychosis brought about by that particular mental illness. o ⚓ Off Guardian ☛ Virtue_and_Terror:_How_the_New_Normal_was Created⠀⇛ Simon Elmer “If the mainspring of popular government in peacetime is virtue, the mainspring of popular government during a revolution is both virtue and terror; virtue, without which terror is fatal; terror, without which virtue is powerless. Terror is nothing but swift, severe, inflexible justice; it is therefore an emanation of virtue. o ⚓ France24 ☛ ‘No_doctors,_no_clinics_near_them’:_French_and_Turkish medics_visit_Turkey’s_rural_areas⠀⇛ Turkey’s hospitals are full of patients injured in the earthquakes, and many of the millions left homeless in the cities have left for rural areas to find refuge with relatives, making it harder for sick people to find medical assistance. A group of Turkish and French paramedics has been travelling to rural areas to respond to this need. FRANCE 24′s Thameen Al-Kheetan, Julien Chehida and Brice Agier-Grégoire accompanied the team on a visit to a village near Adiyaman. o ⚓ France24 ☛ Turkey-Syria_death_toll_tops_45,000;_three_found_alive 13_days_after_quakes⠀⇛ More than 45,000 people have been killed in the earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria, and the toll is expected to soar with some 264,000 apartments in Turkey destroyed and many still missing in the country’s worst modern disaster. o ⚓ Tedium ☛ Old_Archives,_New_Controversy⠀⇛ The New York Times has the most robust online archives of any newspaper, but it’s proving difficult to square their handling of a recent controversy with the quality of those archives. o ⚓ Computers Are Bad ☛ Something_up_there_pt_II⠀⇛ As we discussed previously, the search for UAP is often contextualized in terms of the events of 2017: the public revelation of the AATIP and alien-hunting efforts by Robert Bigelow and Tom DeLonge. While widely publicized, these programs seem to have lead to very little. I believe the termination of the AATIP (which lead to the creation of TTSA) to be a result of the AATIP’s failure to address the DoD’s actual concern: that UAP represented a threat to airspace sovereignty. I just used a lot of four- and five-letter acronyms without explaining them. These topics were all discussed in the previous post and if you are not familiar with them I would encourage you to read it. Still, I will try to knock it off. Besides, now there is a new set of four- and five-letter acronyms. The end of the AATIP was not the end of the DoD’s efforts to investigate UAP. Instead, military UAP research was reorganized, first into Naval intelligence as the UAP Task Force, and later in the cross-branch military intelligence All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office, or AARO. It is unclear exactly what the AARO has accomplished. As a military intelligence organization, the DoD will not comment on it. Most of what we know comes from legislators briefed on the program, like Sen. Gillibrand and Sen. Rubio. In various interviews and statements, they have said that AARO’s work is underway but hampered by underfunding—underfunding that is, embarrassingly, a result of some kind of technical error in defense appropriation. o § Science⠀➾ # ⚓ uni Stanford ☛ Internal_review_found_‘falsified_data’_in Stanford_President’s_Alzheimer’s_research,_colleagues allege⠀⇛ His paper was called “the miracle result.” But it never turned into an Alzheimer’s treatment. Now, four former Genentech senior scientists and executives allege that an internal review in 2011 discovered the paper had been based on fabricated research — and that Marc Tessier-Lavigne kept the results of the review from becoming public. He denies the allegations. # ⚓ uni Stanford ☛ Stanford_president_criticizes_Daily_report on_alleged_research_falsification_as_‘replete_with falsehoods’⠀⇛ Marc Tessier-Lavigne sent faculty and staff an email Friday stating that The Daily’s reporting on allegations that his Alzheimer’s research contained falsified data was “replete with falsehoods.” Daily Editor in Chief Sam Catania ’24 said the paper stands by its reporting. o § Education⠀➾ # ⚓ France24 ☛ French_teachers_open_up_about_integrating Ukrainian_students_into_the_school_system⠀⇛ Since Russia began its invasion of Ukraine on February 24 last year, thousands of Ukrainian refugees have enrolled in the French school system. As they adapt to their new daily routine, their teachers look back at how the integration process went. o § Health/Nutrition/Agriculture⠀➾ # ⚓ New York Times ☛ Pandemic_Closures,_Unpatrolled_Beach Visits_Blamed_for_Spike_in_Drownings⠀⇛ The number of drownings nationwide last summer exceeded the 10-year average by 44 percent, while New South Wales is presently having “one of our worst summers on record.” # ⚓ New York Times ☛ Biden_E.P.A._Reinstates_Mercury_Limits Weakened_Under_Trump⠀⇛ The moves sets the stage for the agency to issue tighter controls on mercury, a neurotoxin emitted by power plants. # ⚓ CS Monitor ☛ ‘We’re_trying_to_protect_our_kids’:_Ohio_town seeks_answers_after_spill⠀⇛ After a train accident caused hazardous chemicals to spill and burn in their community, residents of East Palestine, Ohio, await answers on their long- term safety. # ⚓ CS Monitor ☛ Trust_as_a_locomotive_for_rail_safety⠀⇛ Repairing the damage from chemical spills like the one in Ohio start with mending faith in government. # ⚓ Hong Kong Free Press ☛ China’s_zero-Covid_structures_take on_second_lives_as_mini-libraries,_shelters,_storage⠀⇛ By Ludovic Ehret, Wang Jiawei, and Vivian Lin With China’s dropping of its “zero-Covid” policy, makeshift quarantine centres and testing booths are being repurposed as mini-libraries, information points or even housing. Since Beijing suddenly abandoned its hardline virus control measures in December after almost three years… # ⚓ The Atlantic ☛ The_Schools_That_Ban_Smartphones⠀⇛ o § Proprietary⠀➾ # ⚓ Engadget ☛ Twitter_is_making_text-based_two-factor authentication_a_paid_feature⠀⇛ Twitter users will soon have to use an authenticator app or a security key to be able to use two-factor authentication if they’re not a Blue subscriber. The website has made text-based 2FA an exclusive_feature for members paying for its subscription service. Non-Twitter Blue members can no longer activate it if they haven’t yet, but those who’ve already been using it will have until March 20th to disable the method and enable another type of authentication. Twitter will simply disable their 2FA if they fail switch before that date.  # ⚓ The Atlantic ☛ I_Watched_Elon_Musk_Kill_Twitter’s_Culture From_the_Inside⠀⇛ o § Privatisation/Privateering⠀➾ # ⚓ Breach Media ☛ Rise_in_Alberta’s_precarious_paramedics_a UCP_‘privatization_strategy’⠀⇛ o § Linux Foundation⠀➾ # ⚓ StarRocks_Project_by_CelerData_Moves_to_the_Linux Foundation_for_Continued_Open_Source_Development⠀⇛ o § Security⠀➾ # ⚓ Make Use Of ☛ New_Mirai_Malware_Variant_Targets_IoT_Devices and_Linux_Servers [Ed: Targeting bad passwords? Unpatched packages? Or "Linux"?]⠀⇛ # ⚓ CSO ☛ New_Mirai_botnet_variant_V3G4_targets_Linux_servers, IoT_devices [Ed: Exploiting long-patched vulnerabilities that aren't even in Linux]⠀⇛ “The vulnerabilities have less attack complexity than previously observed variants, but they maintain a critical security impact that can lead to remote code execution,” Unit 42 said in its report on the new variant. # ⚓ Security Week ☛ Spain_Orders_Extradition_of_British_Alleged Hacker_to_U.S.⠀⇛ # ⚓ Ars Technica ☛ GoDaddy_says_a_multi-year_breach_hijacked customer_websites_and_accounts⠀⇛ # ⚓ Gizmodo ☛ The_Feds_Are_Launching_a_Hack_Back_Squad⠀⇛ The U.S. says it’s punching back in the digital cold war over emerging technologies with a new “Disruptive Technology Strike Force.” “Our goal is simple but essential—to strike back against adversaries trying to siphon off our best technology,” a deputy attorney general said. # ⚓ Gannett ☛ Oops!_‘Phishing’_scam_cost_small_Ohio_city $219,000,_finance_director_his_job⠀⇛ Phishing-scam training has become a commonplace requirement in many workplaces these days. But not everyone is adhering to its lessons. When emails from a fake paving company landed in the inbox of an accounting assistant working for a small Ohio city last month, the assistant was hooked. # ⚓ ICOUK ☛ Martin_Swan⠀⇛ A former 111 call centre advisor has been found guilty and fined for illegally accessing the medical records of a child and his family. Martin Swan, 56, from Pinner, London, worked as a service advisor at the NHS 111 call centre in Southall when he illegally accessed the records. # ⚓ Lancashire_County_Council_has_referred_itself_following_a data_breach⠀⇛ Lancashire County Council has referred itself to the Information Commissioner’s Office following a data breach involving its new HR and finance system. At this point there is no evidence that personal data has been publicly available, only that this information has been visible to internal users should someone want to find it. This breach occurred as a result of the implementation of the new HR and finance system and not an external cyber attack. The system, which was introduced just before Christmas, is used by Lancashire County Council, West Lancashire Borough Council, Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service and Lancashire schools and academies. # ⚓ Daily Record ☛ Scots_cancer_patient_hits_out_after_major data_breach_of_medical_records_at_NHS_Lothian_by_staff member⠀⇛ A Scots cancer patient had hit out after discovering his confidential medical records were ‘inappropriately’ accessed by a member of NHS Lothian staff amid a major data breach. Martin Laing received a letter from the health board last week informing him of the incident, which is understood to have affected around 90 people. The 57-year-old, who is suffering from leukaemia and pancreatic cancer, has spoken to Police Scotland – who are investigating – but feels he has been ‘left in the dark’ about the circumstances of the breach. Martin, from Blackburn, West Lothian, said: “I’m involved in this through no fault of my own and yet I’m being kept in the dark as to who did it, as to what they were intending on doing or whether they’ve actually done anything with the records already. # § Integrity/Availability/Authenticity⠀➾ # ⚓ Chris ☛ Data_Consistency_Is_Overrated⠀⇛ o § Defence/Aggression⠀➾ # ⚓ New York Times ☛ Militants_Wage_Deadly_Battle_in_Karachi Police_Headquarters⠀⇛ The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the assault, the latest in a string of attacks from the group that have shaken many Pakistanis’ sense of security in recent months. # ⚓ France24 ☛ Live:_US_VP_Kamala_Harris_denounces_Russia’s ‘crimes_against_humanity’_in_Ukraine⠀⇛ Russia has committed “crimes against humanity” in Ukraine, US Vice President Kamala Harris told the Munich Security Conference on Saturday, with its forces having conducted “widespread and systemic” attacks on the country’s civilian population. # ⚓ RFERL ☛ Harris_Tells_Munich_Conference_U.S._Concluded Russia_Committed_‘Crimes_Against_Humanity’_in_Ukraine⠀⇛ Western support for Ukraine has been top on the agenda at the Munich Security Conference, an annual gathering of heads of states, officials, diplomats, and experts that is under way in Germany. # ⚓ JURIST ☛ Canada_dispatch:_downings_of_flying_objects_in Canadian_airspace_may_portend_problems_for_air_and_space_law rules⠀⇛ Canadian law students are reporting for JURIST on national and international developments in and affecting Canada. Mélanie Cantin is JURIST’s Chief Correspondent for Canada and a 2L at the University of Ottawa. # ⚓ teleSUR ☛ 3_Killed_as_Terrorists_Storm_Police_Building_in Pakistan⠀⇛ A terrorist attack at a police building in Pakistan’s Karachi on Friday night has killed at least three people and injured 10. # ⚓ JURIST ☛ Amnesty_International:_rebel_group_M23_responsible for_summary_killings,_rapes_in_DRC⠀⇛ Amnesty International Friday reported that members of the March 23 Movement (M23) rebel group killed at least 20 men and raped “scores of women” in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). # ⚓ Modern Diplomacy ☛ China-Iran_ties_with_Russian participation⠀⇛ The three-day state visit by Iran’s president Ebrahim Raisi to China on February 14-16 is a landmark event affecting regional politics and international security. # ⚓ Modern Diplomacy ☛ IAEA_Visit_to_Pakistan:_Hope_for_a Better_Future⠀⇛ The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is an intergovernmental organization that promotes the peaceful use of nuclear energy and works to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons. # ⚓ Modern Diplomacy ☛ Evolution_of_Pakistan_Army⠀⇛ Pakistan army is one of the most acclaimed institutions in the world for combating domestic and foreign intrusions. # ⚓ The Straits Times ☛ Japan,_China_to_hold_security_talks next_week,_Japan’s_foreign_minister_says⠀⇛ Japan’s foreign minister meets his Chinese counterpart on the Munich Security Conference sidelines. # ⚓ France24 ☛ Muslims_from_Ukraine_and_abroad_fight_common enemy_in_Ukraine:_Russia⠀⇛ Since the start of the war, tens of thousands of Muslims have either picked up arms or assisted in the war efforts in other ways. While most of these Muslims are of course Ukrainian, many are from Caucasus, and Chechnya in particular. Together with the Ukrainians, they are not only defending Ukraine and its values, but fighting a common enemy: Russia. FRANCE 24’s Raid Abu Zaideh and Anaïs Guérard report from the front line. # ⚓ France24 ☛ Kharkiv’s_year_of_war:_‘A_bomb_can_fall_on_your home_any_time_–_and_your_life_is_over’⠀⇛ Ukraine’s northeastern city of Kharkiv put up a fierce resistance when Moscow’s forces launched their full-scale invasion on February 24, 2022. Russian troops eventually withdrew back to their side of the border, 40 kilometres north of Ukraine’s second largest city. But one year on, the people of Kharkiv are still living under the constant threat of Russian missile strikes. # ⚓ France24 ☛ Death_toll_rises_to_more_than_60_in_Syria_attack attributed_to_Islamic_State_group⠀⇛ The death toll from an attack blamed on the Islamic State group in Syria has risen to 68, a war monitor said Saturday, the deadliest attack in over a year. # ⚓ France24 ☛ Former_Memphis_police_officers_charged_in_Tyre Nichols’_death_plead_not_guilty⠀⇛ Five former Memphis police officers pleaded not guilty Friday to second-degree murder and other charges in the violent arrest and death of Tyre Nichols, with his mother saying afterward that none of them would look her in the eye in court. # ⚓ The Straits Times ☛ North_Korea_confirms_it_tested_ICBM, touts_‘fatal_nuclear_counterattack’_capabilities⠀⇛ The state media said the missile flew 989km to an altitude of 5,768km for 4,015 seconds. # ⚓ France24 ☛ North_Korea_test-fires_ICBM_as_US_and_South Korea_prepare_joint_drills⠀⇛ North Korea fired an intercontinental ballistic missile Saturday which landed in Japan’s exclusive economic zone, Seoul and Tokyo said, after Pyongyang warned of a strong response to upcoming US-South Korean military drills. # ⚓ New York Times ☛ North_Korea_Launches_Intercontinental Ballistic_Missile⠀⇛ It was the North’s first test of a long-range missile in three months, and came as the country warned of strong countermeasures against joint military drills by the United States and South Korea. # ⚓ RFERL ☛ Explosions_Hit_West_Ukraine_As_Russia_Launches Missiles_From_Black_Sea⠀⇛ At least two civilians were wounded and the windows of several homes shattered in the city of Khmelnytskiy in western Ukraine on February 18 as Russia launched missiles from the Black Sea, Ukrainian authorities said. # ⚓ RFERL ☛ Ukraine_Foreign_Minister_Discusses_Future_Tank Supplies_With_Rheinmetall_CEO⠀⇛ Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on February 18 he met with the chief executive of German defense manufacturer Rheinmetall to discuss future supplies of tanks and armored vehicles to Ukraine. # ⚓ RFERL ☛ German_Radiation_Agency:_Risk_Of_Ukraine_Nuclear Calamity_Still_High⠀⇛ The risk of a disaster at a nuclear power plant in Ukraine due to fighting or the loss of external power remains high despite the threat having fallen from the headlines, the head of Germany’s Federal Office for Radiation Protection said. # ⚓ Reason ☛ The_Militant_Pacifists_of_World_War_II⠀⇛ War by Other Means tells the story of those conscientious objectors who did not cooperate with the government’s alternative-service schemes. # ⚓ NYPost ☛ China_calls_US_handling_of_spy_balloon ‘hysterical’⠀⇛ A suspected Chinese surveillance balloon, which Beijing denies was a government spy vessel, spent a week flying over the United States and Canada before being shot down off the Atlantic Coast earlier this month on U.S. President Joe Biden’s orders. # ⚓ NYPost ☛ Ukrainian_mom_recalls_year_of_war_as_anniversary nears⠀⇛ Oksana Kovtun, 39, shared with The Post how she’s helped refugees and soldiers in the year since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. # ⚓ New York Times ☛ South_Africa_begins_naval_drills_with Russia_and_China,_despite_criticism_that_it_implies_support of_the_war.⠀⇛ # ⚓ New York Times ☛ Ex-Worker_at_U.K._Embassy_in_Berlin_Is Sentenced_to_13_Years_in_Prison_for_Spying_for_Russia⠀⇛ The former security guard, who was caught in an undercover operation, had pleaded guilty to passing secret information to the Russian authorities. # ⚓ Latvia ☛ Three_more_Russians_declared_unwanted_in_Latvia_/ Article⠀⇛ Foreign Affairs Minister Edgars Rinkēvičs (JV) has decided to include three more Russian citizens – Damir Sadreyev, Alexey Shvecov, and Vitaly Sokolov – in the list of personae non gratae for Latvia… # ⚓ NL Times ☛ Netherlands_expels_Russian_diplomats_as_talks break_down;_Dutch_close_St._Petersburg_consulate⠀⇛ # ⚓ CS Monitor ☛ US_determines_Russia_has_committed_crimes against_humanity_in_Ukraine⠀⇛ Speaking in Munich, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris called for the international community to hold accountable Russian perpetrators of crimes against humanity in Ukraine. # ⚓ CBC ☛ What_Russia’s_economic_resilience_means_for_the_war in_Ukraine⠀⇛ # ⚓ AntiWar ☛ How_Much_Is_US_Aid_to_Ukraine_Costing_You?⠀⇛ o § Environment⠀➾ # ⚓ New York Times ☛ How_Climate_Change_Is_Making_Tampons_(and Lots_of_Other_Stuff)_More_Expensive⠀⇛ Cotton farmers in Texas suffered record losses amid heat and drought last year, new data shows. It’s an example of how global warming is a “secret driver of inflation.” # § Energy/Transportation⠀➾ # ⚓ Engadget ☛ SEC_charges_Terraform_Labs_over_alleged ‘multi-biillion_dollar’_crypto_fraud⠀⇛ It’s not just international police trying to hold Terraform Labs accountable for a collapse that took_$40_billion_from investors. o § Finance⠀➾ # ⚓ France24 ☛ French_pension_reform_bill_passes_to_Senate_as tense_parliament_session_ends⠀⇛ The French government’s plans to raise the retirement age to 64 from 62, which has led to widespread protests, moved on to the Senate after a tense parliamentary debate ended on Saturday. # ⚓ NYPost ☛ Migrant_hotels_in_NYC_killing_business,_causing layoffs:_merchants⠀⇛ With well-heeled tourists replaced by penniless refugees from Venezuela, Peru, and Ecuador, revenue has plunged. # ⚓ Modern Diplomacy ☛ Swiss_Federal_Council:_no_freeze_of Russian_assets⠀⇛ In the context of international proposals to use frozen Russian assets to rebuild Ukraine, the Swiss Federal Council sought official clarification on the legal basis for any such action. # ⚓ Modern Diplomacy ☛ The_New_Big_Idea:_Friend-Shoring⠀⇛ One of the recent trends that has been promulgated by the authorities in the advanced economies is friend-shoring, namely directing economic activity towards those countries that share the values and principles of the advanced world. The term friend- shoring is related to the concept of “onshoring,” i.e. the process of transferring of supply chains back home… # ⚓ Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Hong_Kong’s_barefaced_future_looks gloomy_for_mask_makers⠀⇛ There was a surprise for government-watchers when it was reported that our new bosom buddies in Saudi Arabia had been told there were now no Covid- related restrictions at all in Hong Kong. This was, at best, a rather slippery use of language. # ⚓ Green Party UK ☛ Greens_call_for_‘One_Pound_Fare_to_Take You_There’_on_buses⠀⇛ With England facing hundreds more cuts to bus services due to the ending of government support [1], the Green Party is calling for the introduction of a £1 single fare on all routes across the country. Coined, ‘A One Pound Fare to Take You There,’ the policy seeks to increase usage of buses – passenger levels in most areas have never fully recovered to pre-pandemic levels. The Greens are also calling for free bus travel for everyone under 21, and protection of existing schemes such as free local bus travel for over 60s in many areas. They say these incentives must be coupled with huge investment in new buses and bus services and to ensure there are no cuts to existing services. They also want to re-regulate bus services with all regions operating a franchise system, where local authorities determine routes and frequencies, as is currently the case in London and Manchester. The Green Party say they would pay for bus service improvements by scrapping the £27bn road building programme – diverting this money to public transport – and allocating a proportion of their proposed carbon tax [2] to fund the £1 fare and free travel for under 21s. # ⚓ teleSUR ☛ The_COVID-19_Economy:_A_Glance_Into_What_Is Missing_and_Needed⠀⇛ # ⚓ Quartz ☛ George_Soros_says_Narendra_Modi_must_answer_for Adani_row⠀⇛ # ⚓ Quartz ☛ A_Chinese_billionaire_banker_has_gone_missing⠀⇛ o § AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics⠀➾ # ⚓ CS Monitor ☛ When_TikTok_fame_builds_schools:_The_story_of Dora_Moono_Nyambe [Ed: When TikTok gets promotional stories... misattributing donations to a children-hostile platform]⠀⇛ Dora Moono Nyambe, a Zambian teacher, used TikTok to share videos of daily life in her village and drew millions of followers. Thanks to the donations from her fans, she plans to bring education to hundreds of rural African children. # ⚓ France24 ☛ Israel_condemns_expulsion_of_its_diplomat_from African_Union_summit⠀⇛ Israel on Saturday condemned the “severe” expulsion of a senior diplomat from the African Union summit, accusing arch-foe Iran of orchestrating the move with help from Algeria and South Africa. # ⚓ France24 ☛ China’s_top_diplomat_blasts_US_over_‘hysterical and_absurd’_balloon_claim⠀⇛ China’s top diplomat Wang Yi on Saturday blasted the US reaction to what Washington has called a Chinese spy balloon as “hysterical and absurd”, in uncharacteristically strong remarks against the top Western power. # ⚓ Reason ☛ Josh_Hawley’s_Social_Media_Ban_Will_Make_Kids_More Depressed⠀⇛ When COVID-19 and the U.S. government stopped kids from seeing each other, social media was their lifeline. # ⚓ Reason ☛ Review:_Mastodon_Decentralizes_Social_Media⠀⇛ Elon Musk’s shambolic takeover may not have been great for Twitter, but it was fantastic for Mastodon. # ⚓ RFERL ☛ Hungary_Must_Bolster_Judiciary_‘Very_Soon’_To Recover_Billions_From_EU,_Says_Top_Official⠀⇛ Hungary must bolster the independence of its judiciary “very soon” to stand a realistic chance of getting any of the 15.4 billion euros ($16.5 billion) envisaged for Budapest from the European Union’s COVID recovery stimulus # ⚓ RFERL ☛ U.K._Will_Help_Other_Countries_Willing_To_Send Aircraft_To_Ukraine,_Sunak_Says⠀⇛ Britain offered to help other countries that were willing to send aircraft to Ukraine now, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said on February 18, as he urged allies to maintain their support in the war against Russia. # ⚓ RFERL ☛ Western_Allies_Voice_Concern_At_Iran-Russia_Defense Ties⠀⇛ The U.S., British, French, and German foreign ministers on February 18 expressed concern over the deepening cooperation between Russia and Iran, the manufacturer of drones the West says Moscow deploys in Ukraine. # ⚓ RFA ☛ Biden_seeks_‘common_global_norms’_for_aerial objects⠀⇛ There’s no evidence China sent the last three unidentified objects shot down by U.S. military, president says. # ⚓ RFA ☛ Papua_New_Guinea_commission_to_review_political system,_role_of_British_monarch⠀⇛ The review is being criticized as a distraction from pressing challenges in the economically lagging country. # ⚓ CS Monitor ☛ In_Israel,_streets_swell_with_an_urgent_battle cry:_‘Democracy!’⠀⇛ The Israeli battle over proposed laws to weaken the judiciary is spurring warnings of a national emergency and a sense of disbelief among protesters that democracy is being threatened. o § Censorship/Free Speech⠀➾ # ⚓ Quartz ☛ The_founder_of_WallStreetBets_is_suing_Reddit_for banning_him_from_the_forum_he_created⠀⇛ o § Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press⠀➾ # ⚓ JURIST ☛ India_tax_authority_uncovers_‘inconsistencies’ following_BBC_office_raid⠀⇛ The Indian Income Tax Department Friday revealed that they uncovered irregularities in the BBC’s accounting books following a search of the broadcaster’s offices. In a statement, the tax authority said that a survey action was carried out across the broadcaster’s Delhi and Mumbai offices which found “several discrepancies and inconsistencies” regarding the company’s tax declarations. o § Civil Rights/Policing⠀➾ # ⚓ Engadget ☛ Tesla_denies_firing_New_York_workers_in retaliation_for_union_activity [Ed: Tesla lies reprinted by Engadget. How about check the facts instead of parroting?]⠀⇛ Tesla has denied that it terminated employees at its Buffalo, New York Autopilot facility in response to a new union campaign. # ⚓ New York Times ☛ 18_Migrants_Found_Dead_in_Truck_in Bulgaria⠀⇛ The dead appeared to have suffocated inside a secret compartment under a load of lumber. # ⚓ teleSUR ☛ Migration_Issue_Leads_to_Internal_Divisions_in the_EU⠀⇛ Migration is one of the bloc’s major issues, resulting in internal divisions among its members, said an EU Commissioner. # ⚓ Jacobin Magazine ☛ Which_Workers_Are_“Strategic”_to Organize?⠀⇛ o § Internet Policy/Net Neutrality⠀➾ # ⚓ Michael Geist ☛ Why_Quebec’s_Demand_for_Changes_to_Bill_C- 11_Are_A_Product_of_Heritage_Minister_Pablo_Rodriguez’s_Risky Policy_Choices⠀⇛ # ⚓ Jan Piet Mens ☛ How_Knot-DNS_simplifies_adding_member_zones to_a_catalog_zone⠀⇛ Catalog zones are specially-formatted DNS zones that allow for easy provisioning of zones to secondary servers. The zones listed in a catalog zone are called member zones, and when a catalog is transferred and loaded on a secondary with support for catalog zones, the secondary creates the member zones automatically. This is a DNS server integral method for provisioning secondary servers without having to manually configure each secondary (even if it is via configuration management). BIND was the first server to support catalog zones, but these have meanwhile reached PowerDNS and Knot. As described in this post, member zones are typically added to the catalog by, say, performing a dynamic update on the catalog. This causes the catalog zone to get its SOA serial number incremented and NOTIFY its secondaries, whereupon they transfer the catalog zone and provision themselves with the member zones, deleting members which have been removed and adding new members. Knot has a special mode with which the catalog zone can automatically generate its content from configured zones. This is enabled with catalog- role: generate which causes the catalog zone to include member zones which have a catalog-role: member. The members are added to the specified catalog, of which there can be many. # ⚓ Didier Stevens ☛ How-to:_Make_Your_Own_Cert_With_Web OpenSSL⠀⇛ I explain how to create certificates with OpenSSL on your Windows computer in my blog post “How-to: Make Your Own Cert With OpenSSL on Windows (Reloaded)“. If you can’t or don’t want to install OpenSSL, there is a solution now with Web OpenSSL. o § Monopolies⠀➾ # § Patents⠀➾ # ⚓ JUVE ☛ Germany_becomes_17th_member_state_to_ratify UPC_Agreement [Ed: But UK cannot ratify, so it can never legally get off the ground. This publisher bags money from Team UPC, so it's not 'supposed' to point this out.]⠀⇛ Germany is the latest country to officially ratify the Unified Patent Court Agreement. On 1 February 2023, the UPC member states at the Administrative Committee meeting in Luxembourg confirmed that the UPC start date remains 1 June 2023, meaning Germany had to deposit its instrument of ratification in Brussels by 1 March at the latest. * § Gemini* and Gopher⠀➾ o § Personal⠀➾ # ⚓ More_Fountain_Pens⠀⇛ Well fountain pen madness continues. I have acquired another teeny tiny pen – a Kaweco Liliput. This is a similar size to the Ohto Tasche but in a more attractive package. There is some 3 to 5 mm difference. I ended up getting a black aluminium version of the Liliput, mostly down to cost and worry about how well it writes. There are lots of warnings about bad nibs. It cost around $45. The steel and brass versions are closer to $100. The design of theLiliput is essentially a tube with rounded edges. # ⚓ SMILE:_Progress_and_collapse⠀⇛ While we are accelerating towards a crash due to unsustainable consumption, there are still believers in progress. The singularity is near, we are told. Space Migration, Intelligence Increase, and Life Extension – summarised in the catchy formula SMI²LE – was LSD guru Timothy Leary’s vision already in the early 1970′s. General AI might reach a point where it becomes capable of improving itself and, at that point, we’re done; the all-mighty AI will start making paper clips in enormous quantities and will be unstoppable, unless it comes up with something even worse. Already, automation and AI have seriously reshaped the labour market, increased wage gaps between skilled and unskilled workers, and is about to make some previous professions obsolete. Designers and illustrators might feel somewhat threatened by generative art, now that anyone can produce images from a text prompt. Contemporary artists hardly worry, for them generative art is just another opportunity to be explored. o § Technical⠀➾ # ⚓ Messing_with_pkg_info_and_ditching_password-store⠀⇛ This week has been a tinkering one where I haven’t been doing anything very productive. It has been so long since I properly used C, so I am working my way through a book on C programming as a refresher. I was recommended a game, Tales of Maj’Eyal [0], on IRC [1] and I have been hooked on that most of the day! As a sidenote, I am pleasantly surprised with the games available on OpenBSD so far. I did notice at the beginning of the week that bash somehow ended up installed on my system, since I use ksh and never installed it directly it must be a package dependency. I managed to track it down to the password-store [2] utility. # § Internet/Gemini⠀➾ # ⚓ Gemini_Capsule_on_Pico_W⠀⇛ I received my Pico W long time ago but couldn’t find the time to finish this. I decided to do this in Python (using MicroPython) first, then translate to C and see how things can be improved. It’s very simple and very basic, without concurrency. Like my ESP32 setup, it uses Duck DNS. =============================================================================== * Gemini_(Primer) links can be opened using Gemini_software. It’s like the World Wide Web but a lot lighter. ䷩ 𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚎 1742 ╒═══════════════════ 𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐈𝐂𝐋𝐄 ═════════════════════════════════════════════════╕ (ℹ) Images, hyperlinks and comments at http://techrights.org/2023/02/18/irc-log-170223/#comments Gemini version at gemini://gemini.techrights.org/2023/02/18/irc-log-170223/ ⠀⌧ █▇▆▅▄▃▂▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁ 02.18.23⠀▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▂▃▄▅▆▇█ ⌧ Gemini_version_available_♊︎ ✐ IRC_Proceedings:_Friday,_February_17,_2023⠀✐ Posted in IRC_Logs at 2:11 am by Needs Sunlight Also available via the Gemini protocol at: * gemini://gemini.techrights.org/irc-gmi/irc-log-techrights-170223.gmi * gemini://gemini.techrights.org/irc-gmi/irc-log-170223.gmi * gemini://gemini.techrights.org/irc-gmi/irc-log-social-170223.gmi * gemini://gemini.techrights.org/irc-gmi/irc-log-techbytes-170223.gmi Over HTTP: 🄸🄼🄰🄶🄴_🄳🄴🅂🄲🅁🄸🄿🅃🄸🄾🄽_⦇H 🄸🄼🄰🄶🄴_🄳🄴🅂🄲🅁🄸🄿🅃🄸🄾🄽_⦇HTML5_logs⦈_ #techrights_log_as_HTML5 #boycottnovell_log_as_HTML5 🄸🄼🄰🄶🄴_🄳🄴🅂🄲🅁🄸🄿🅃🄸🄾🄽_⦇H 🄸🄼🄰🄶🄴_🄳🄴🅂🄲🅁🄸🄿🅃🄸🄾🄽_⦇HTML5_logs⦈_ #boycottnovell-social_log_as_HTML5 #techbytes_log_as_HTML5 🄸🄼🄰🄶🄴_🄳🄴🅂🄲🅁🄸🄿🅃🄸🄾🄽_⦇t 🄸🄼🄰🄶🄴_🄳🄴🅂🄲🅁🄸🄿🅃🄸🄾🄽_⦇text_logs⦈_ #techrights_log_as_text #boycottnovell_log_as_text 🄸🄼🄰🄶🄴_🄳🄴🅂🄲🅁🄸🄿🅃🄸🄾🄽_⦇t 🄸🄼🄰🄶🄴_🄳🄴🅂🄲🅁🄸🄿🅃🄸🄾🄽_⦇text_logs⦈_ #boycottnovell-social_log_as_text #techbytes_log_as_text Enter_the_IRC_channels_now =============================================================================== § IPFS Mirrors⠀➾ CID Description Object type IRC log for  QmS16SyDF7DsCQgoyhjuVeYsec6idvP5HdsibZjSdmzWzX #boycottnovell 🄸🄼🄰🄶🄴 🄳🄴🅂🄲🅁🄸🄿🅃🄸🄾🄽 ⦇HTML5 logs⦈ (full IRC log as HTML) IRC log for #boycottnovell  QmWA3aY8EywhBzCJPtBeRaEST7MueNA1tLQUQTwVv6BjLf (full IRC log 🄸🄼🄰🄶🄴 🄳🄴🅂🄲🅁🄸🄿🅃🄸🄾🄽 ⦇text logs⦈ as plain/ASCII text) IRC log for #boycottnovell-  QmTsWqzkhArfd5ZpQ9x6BayDs4entYGwna4ZtALiykbebR social 🄸🄼🄰🄶🄴 🄳🄴🅂🄲🅁🄸🄿🅃🄸🄾🄽 ⦇HTML5 logs⦈ (full IRC log as HTML) IRC log for #boycottnovell-  QmTiZ2TDKzjaid9dJkjkiWsnvbtLgs5meGH7hi5hpcKct5 social 🄸🄼🄰🄶🄴 🄳🄴🅂🄲🅁🄸🄿🅃🄸🄾🄽 ⦇text logs⦈ (full IRC log as plain/ASCII text) IRC log for  QmTF4wL4CMoackyWBbfi16qn8WN8F6otT1bpThVFViGXym #techbytes 🄸🄼🄰🄶🄴 🄳🄴🅂🄲🅁🄸🄿🅃🄸🄾🄽 ⦇HTML5 logs⦈ (full IRC log as HTML) IRC log for #techbytes  QmVyUKUxvW3ho4qkFJf7rKiktwK7U6xCZxL3JhFf5Z4ncZ (full IRC log 🄸🄼🄰🄶🄴 🄳🄴🅂🄲🅁🄸🄿🅃🄸🄾🄽 ⦇text logs⦈ as plain/ASCII text) IRC log for  QmXs3gFv2aSnqL2879RUaKv4q9LWtjVUKmhoLMTvH9bM36 #techrights 🄸🄼🄰🄶🄴 🄳🄴🅂🄲🅁🄸🄿🅃🄸🄾🄽 ⦇HTML5 logs⦈ (full IRC log as HTML) IRC log for #techrights  QmU7q1g4tDe8dwqGCKTeT8PWJp4bFNETCDHPfdCjpLQZjo (full IRC log 🄸🄼🄰🄶🄴 🄳🄴🅂🄲🅁🄸🄿🅃🄸🄾🄽 ⦇text logs⦈ as plain/ASCII text) 🄸🄼🄰🄶🄴 🄳🄴🅂🄲🅁🄸🄿🅃🄸🄾🄽 ⦇IPFS logo⦈ § Bulletin for Yesterday⠀➾ Local_copy | CID (IPFS): QmSCXZVE6CQ7coFZMzXzjrALhoFTURwUpGRmU6CktGzSQz ䷩ 𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚎 1869 ╒═══════════════════ 𝐃𝐀𝐈𝐋𝐘 𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐊𝐒 ═════════════════════════════════════════════╕ ⠀⌧ █▇▆▅▄▃▂▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁ 02.18.23⠀▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▂▃▄▅▆▇█ ⌧ Gemini_version_available_♊︎ ✐ Links_18/02/2023:_Wine_8.2_Released_and_Celebrating_20_Years_of_Inkscape⠀✐ Posted in News_Roundup at 12:23 pm by Dr. Roy Schestowitz 🄸🄼🄰🄶🄴 🄳🄴🅂🄲🅁🄸🄿🅃🄸🄾🄽 ⦇GNOME bluefish⦈ § Contents⠀➾ * GNU/Linux o Desktop/Laptop o Server o Audiocasts/Shows o Applications o Instructionals/Technical o WINE_or_Emulation o Games o Desktop_Environments/WMs # K_Desktop_Environment/KDE_SC/Qt # GNOME_Desktop/GTK * Distributions_and_Operating_Systems o New_Releases o BSD o SUSE/OpenSUSE o Fedora_Family_/_IBM o Debian_Family o Canonical/Ubuntu_Family o Open_Hardware/Modding o Mobile_Systems/Mobile_Applications * Free,_Libre,_and_Open_Source_Software o SaaS/Back_End/Databases o Productivity_Software/LibreOffice/Calligra o Programming/Development # Perl_/_Raku # Shell/Bash/Zsh/Ksh o Standards/Consortia * Leftovers * AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics * Censorship/Free_Speech * Freedom_of_Information_/_Freedom_of_the_Press * Civil_Rights/Policing * Internet_Policy/Net_Neutrality * Digital_Restrictions_(DRM) * Monopolies o Patents o Trademarks o Copyrights * Gemini*_and_Gopher o Personal o Politics o Technical # Programming * § GNU/Linux⠀➾ o § Desktop/Laptop⠀➾ # ⚓ WhichUK ☛ Turn_your_old_laptop_into_a_free_Chromebook:_how to_install_ChromeOS_Flex⠀⇛ Our experts reveal how you can transform a deteriorating, annoying laptop into a secure, speedy machine o § Server⠀➾ # ⚓ PostgreSQL ☛ PostgreSQL:_CloudNativePG_1.19.0,_1.18.2_and 1.17.4_Released!⠀⇛ The CloudNativePG Community has announced version 1.19.0, a new minor release of the CloudNativePG Operator, which introduces support for backup from a standby, which reduces the I/O impact on the primary, and delayed failover, which enables you to wait for some amount of time after a failure on the primary before triggering an automated failover. Support for separate WAL volumes has been enhanced with the possibility to add a separate WAL volume even on an existing PostgreSQL cluster. More metrics for WAL usage monitoring have been added to the default Prometheus exporter. Both functionalities have also been backported to 1.18.2. The cnpg plugin for kubectl has been enhanced with the introduction of the backup command to issue a new base backup on a selected cluster. o § Audiocasts/Shows⠀➾ # ⚓ Video ☛ Framework_now_offers_2TB_SSDs_for_the_Steam_Deck. But_you’ll_have_to_do_the_leg_work._(Deck_News)_–_Invidious⠀⇛ # ⚓ Video ☛ 16_NextCloud_apps_I_use_every_day!_–_Invidious⠀⇛ # ⚓ Video ☛ Begone_GTK4,_Long_Live_The_New_King_GTK5_– Invidious⠀⇛ GTK4 has only been here for around 3 years and I hadn’t expected GTK5 to even be in discussion for at least a few more years, but towards the end of this year it’d likely going to enter development already. # ⚓ Video ☛ Nobara_Project_37_Quick_Overview_#shorts_– Invidious⠀⇛ A Quick Overview of Nobara Project 37 o § Applications⠀➾ # ⚓ Make Tech Easier ☛ The_Best_Terminal_Emulators_for_Linux⠀⇛ If you’re a fan of Linux, you know the reason it’s awesome: the command line. Though many outsiders view it as only a “hacker tool,” it’s one of the best available tools for any operating system. The Linux shell has the ability to install software, manage your operating system, and basically everything else, but you need a terminal emulator to interact with the command line. There are many good ones, and picking the right one depends on your needs and how you prefer it to look. # ⚓ 1.3_About_Screen_Contest_—_celebrating_20_years_of_Inkscape |_Inkscape⠀⇛ We are eagerly awaiting your artwork submissions, created using only Inkscape, for our 1.3 About Screen Contest. This contest represents one of the highlights for contributors across the project – to see just how artists and designers are putting the vector editor’s tools and features to great use. This year’s release contest, which launched on February 5, has a new twist – a topic to rally around together. So, please join in and help us in “Celebrating 20 years of Inkscape”! It’s hard to believe that the free and open source Inkscape project has been around since 2003. That’s when it “forked” or started its own path from its predecessor Sodipodi. Almost two decades later, the Inkscape project has grown to include active contributors and artist and design communities from around the world. This diversity is part of what enables the project to continue advancing and launching new versions and innovating in its features, capabilities and solutions. Version 1.3 will continue the tradition. The draft release notes are available for reading in the Wiki. In preparation for 1.3, as with all our major releases, the new Inkscape release will feature a contributing artist’s work on the About Screen. Over the years, other such Inkscape contest entries have been used for visuals for articles, T-shirt designs, banners and more. Looking back at the About Screen Contest entries over the years, it’s impressive to see the variety of styles and tools used to create and, ultimately, inspire others, through artwork created using Inkscape. o § Instructionals/Technical⠀➾ # ⚓ H2S Media ☛ How_to_Remove_Stacer_from_Ubuntu_Linux⠀⇛ Stacer is a free & open-source Linux system monitoring software with a beautiful GUI. The primary purpose of using this software is to get metrics data of the system to analyze its performance and resource usage. # ⚓ Make Use Of ☛ How_to_Install_Webmin_on_Linux⠀⇛ Webmin is a browser-based tool for administering Linux and Unix servers. Here’s how you can install it on your system. # ⚓ Cloudbooklet ☛ How_to_Set_Up_Deep_Learning_Architecture_on Ubuntu_22.04⠀⇛ # ⚓ MySQL_Generated_columns⠀⇛ MySQL Generated Columns are the next big thing in database management. With the introduction of generated columns, you can create virtual columns that calculate values based on an expression and store the result. The generated columns make it easier to perform complex queries and sort data without having to repeat the same calculation multiple times. # ⚓ MySQL_Common_table_expressions_(CTE)⠀⇛ SQL is a language that has been used for decades to manage and manipulate data in relational databases. It provides various tools and techniques to fetch, filter, and aggregate data from tables. One such tool is the Common Table Expression (CTE). # ⚓ ID Root ☛ How_To_Install_Apache_JMeter_on_Ubuntu_22.04 LTS⠀⇛ # ⚓ ID Root ☛ How_To_Install_IonCube_Loader_on_Ubuntu_22.04 LTS⠀⇛ # ⚓ ID Root ☛ How_To_Install_Matomo_on_Rocky_Linux_9⠀⇛ # ⚓ Video ☛ How_to_install_EndeavourOS_Cassini_Neo_– Invidious⠀⇛ In this video, I am going to show how to install EndeavourOS Cassini Neo # ⚓ Citizix ☛ How_to_install_and_use_ClamAV_in_Ubuntu_22.04⠀⇛ # ⚓ Bootlin ☛ Embedded_Linux_and_Yocto_training_courses_now available_in_Italian⠀⇛ # ⚓ Make Use Of ☛ How_to_Take_a_Screenshot_on_Chromebook_With the_Snipping_Tool⠀⇛ # ⚓ TecAdmin ☛ A_Beginner’s_Guide_to_Installing_TensorFlow_on Ubuntu⠀⇛ TensorFlow is an open-source software library developed by Google for machine learning and deep learning tasks. It provides a flexible and efficient way to build and train machine learning models, from simple linear regression to complex neural networks. TensorFlow supports a wide range of platforms, including Ubuntu, one of the most popular Linux distributions. # ⚓ UNIX Cop ☛ How_to_install_MariaDB_on_Fedora_37⠀⇛ # ⚓ Linux Capable ☛ How_to_Install_Microsoft_Fonts_on_Linux Mint_21_or_20⠀⇛ Microsoft fonts, such as Arial and Times New Roman, are widely used in documents, and other media created using Microsoft Office applications. However, these fonts are not included by default in most Linux distributions, including Linux Mint. # ⚓ Linux Capable ☛ How_to_Install_Metasploit_Framework_on Ubuntu_22.04_or_20.04⠀⇛ Metasploit Framework is an open-source platform that has become a powerful tool for penetration testing and vulnerability assessment in today’s cybersecurity landscape. It is designed to help security professionals perform comprehensive testing of their network’s security posture, identify potential weaknesses, and mitigate them before attackers can exploit them. # ⚓ Linux Capable ☛ How_to_Install_Oracle_Java_17_on_Ubuntu 22.04_or_20.04⠀⇛ Welcome to the world of Java Development! As a professional developer, you know that Java is one of the most popular programming languages in the world, and the Java Development Kit (JDK) is an essential tool for Java development. # ⚓ Linux Capable ☛ How_to_Install_Jellyfin_Media_Server_on Ubuntu_22.04_or_20.04⠀⇛ Jellyfin is an open-source media server software that allows you to organize, stream, and share your media content with friends and family. It is a powerful tool that lets you enjoy your favorite music, movies, TV shows, and photos on any device with internet access. # ⚓ UNIX Cop ☛ How_to_Install_the_latest_OpenSSL_version_on Debian_11⠀⇛ Hello, friends. OpenSSL is a vital component for many systems, and knowing how to install the latest version of it on Debian 11 could be quite useful. OpenSSL is a robust, commercial-grade, full- featured toolkit for general-purpose cryptography and secure communication. This makes it an almost indispensable component of any current Linux system. # ⚓ HowTo Forge ☛ How_to_Install_BookStack_with_Nginx_on_Ubuntu 20.04⠀⇛ BookStack is a self-hosted, open-source, easy-to- use platform for organizing and storing information. This tutorial will teach you how to install BookStack on a Ubuntu 20.04-based server. # ⚓ HowTo Forge ☛ How_to_Install_XWiki_on_Ubuntu_22.04⠀⇛ XWiki is a free and open-source wiki software written in Java and runs on Tomcat. This tutorial will show you how to install XWiki on Ubuntu 22.04 server. # ⚓ HowTo Forge ☛ How_to_install_Zabbix_6_on_Debian_11⠀⇛ Zabbix is a free and open-source software used for monitoring several IT components, including networks, servers, virtual machines, and cloud services. This tutorial will show you how to install the Zabbix monitoring server on Debian 11. # ⚓ HowTo Forge ☛ How_to_Install_and_Use_iostat_on_Ubuntu⠀⇛ iostat, also known as input/output statistics, is a popular Linux system monitoring tool that can be used to collect statistics of input and output devices. It allows users to identify performance issues of local disk, remote disk, and system information. This tutorial will teach us how to install and use iostat on Ubuntu. # ⚓ HowTo Forge ☛ How_to_Install_Concrete5_CMS_with_free_Let’s Encrypt_SSL_on_Debian_11⠀⇛ Concrete5 is a free and open-source content management system for publishing Internet content. This post will show you how to install Concrete5 CMS with Apache and Let’s Encrypt SSL on Debian 11. # ⚓ HowTo Forge ☛ How_to_Debug_C_Programs_in_Linux_using_gdb⠀⇛ If you are a C/C++ programmer or develop software using the Fortran and Modula-2 programming languages, you’ll be glad to know there exists an excellent debugger – dubbed GDB – that lets you easily debug your code for bugs and other problems. In this article, we will discuss the basics of GDB, including some of the useful features/options it provides. # ⚓ HowTo Forge ☛ How_to_Open_Files_in_Default_Desktop Application_from_Command-Line_on_Ubuntu⠀⇛ What do you do when you want to open a PDF file in Ubuntu? # ⚓ Linux Capable ☛ How_to_Install_GNOME_Flashback_on_Ubuntu 22.04_or_20.04⠀⇛ GNOME Flashback is a lightweight desktop environment that offers a classic and traditional user interface for Linux systems. # ⚓ Linux Capable ☛ How_to_Install_and_Enable_OpenSSH_on_Ubuntu 22.04_or_20.04⠀⇛ OpenSSH is a highly robust utility that offers safe access to remote machines through an unsecured network. It is an extensively utilized encryption protocol that establishes secure communication between two untrusted hosts. # ⚓ Linux Capable ☛ How_to_Add_a_User_to_Sudoers_on_Ubuntu 22.04_or_20.04⠀⇛ Ubuntu is a popular operating system widely used for servers and desktops. # ⚓ Linux Shell Tips ☛ How_to_Install_and_Use_‘NeoVim’_[Vim- based]_Text_Editor⠀⇛ Vi or Vim is an age-old default command line text editor that you’ll come across in any Linux distribution. No doubt, Vim is a # ⚓ Linux Capable ☛ How_to_Install_Subversion_on_Ubuntu_22.04 or_20.04⠀⇛ Subversion, also known as SVN, is a powerful version control system that can help developers manage and track changes to their software projects. Unlike other version control systems like Git, Subversion uses a centralized model, which makes it easier to manage and control access to your repository. # ⚓ Linux Capable ☛ How_to_Install_Eclipse_IDE_on_Fedora Linux⠀⇛ Eclipse IDE, or Integrated Development Environment, is a powerful open-source software tool for developing and deploying applications across various platforms. The Eclipse IDE is widely known for its excellent support for different programming languages, including Java, Python, C++, and many more. # ⚓ How_to_Install_Ubuntu_22.04_LTS_{Step_by_Step}_with Screenshots⠀⇛ The Ubuntu 22.04 operating system (code name: Jammy Jellyfish) is a free and open-source Linux distribution derived from the Debian Linux distribution. # ⚓ Linux Capable ☛ How_to_Install_GitLab_on_Ubuntu_22.04_or 20.04⠀⇛ GitLab is an open-source web-based Git repository management tool that offers a complete DevOps platform. It provides a wide range of features and tools for software development teams to manage their projects, including version control, project management, CI/CD, monitoring, and more. # ⚓ Linux Capable ☛ How_to_Change_Hostname_on_Debian_11_or_10⠀⇛ Modifying the network device’s hostname in a Linux system is an uncomplicated procedure that can be executed via the terminal. # ⚓ Linux Capable ☛ How_to_Install_ImageMagick_on_Debian_11_or 10⠀⇛ ImageMagick is an incredibly powerful open-source software that provides users with the tools to create, edit, and manipulate images. It is a versatile software commonly used by graphic designers, photographers, and web developers for various image-related tasks, ranging from resizing images to adding special effects. # ⚓ Linux Capable ☛ How_to_Install_balenaEtcher_on_Debian_11_or 10⠀⇛ balenaEtcher is a widely used, user-friendly, and efficient tool for creating bootable USB drives and SD cards. Its popularity stems from its ease of use, reliability, and robust features that simplify creating bootable media. # ⚓ HowTo Forge ☛ How_to_use_the_fuser_command_in_Linux⠀⇛ Suppose you are given a task to identify the processes that are using a particular file, and then kill them one by one – all this has to be done from the command line. What would you do? Well, if you are a command line newbie, I am sure you’d be clueless, asking around for help. But command line pros will likely have an idea that there exists a command line utility in Linux that lets you identify processes based on the files (or directories, or sockets) they are accessing. Not only that, the tool also allows you to kill these processes, so you don’t have to use the kill or killall commands separately. The command line utility we’re talking about is fuser. # ⚓ HowTo Forge ☛ How_to_Install_Spotify_on_Ubuntu⠀⇛ Spotify is a Swedish entertainment company founded by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon that gives you instant access to millions of songs from old favorites to the latest hits. In this tutorial, we will explain how to install Spotify on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS (Bionic Beaver). o § WINE or Emulation⠀➾ # ⚓ WINE Project (Official) ☛ WineHQ_–_News_–_Wine_8.2 Released⠀⇛ The Wine development release 8.2 is now available. What’s new in this release: Better debug information in Wow64 mode. Wow64 thunks in the WPCAP library. Indeo IV50 codec support. Monitor names set from EDID data. Various bug fixes. The source is available now. Binary packages are in the process of being built, and will appear soon at their respective download locations. # ⚓ GamingOnLinux ☛ Wine_8.2_rolls_out_along_with_a_new_Proton Experimental_update⠀⇛ Today we’ve seen an update for two translation layers. Wine has development release 8.2 available, and there’s an update for Proton Experimental too. # ⚓ Wine_development_release_8.2_is_now_available_for_Linux FreeBSD_and_macOS⠀⇛ The Wine development release 8.2 is now available. What’s new in this release: * Better debug information in Wow64 mode. * Wow64 thunks in the WPCAP library. * Indeo IV50 codec support. * Monitor names set from EDID data. * Various bug fixes. The source is available_now. Binary packages are in the process of being built, and will appear soon at their respective download locations. § Games⠀➾ * ⚓ GamingOnLinux ☛ A_new_Civilization_game_is_in_development_and_XCOM designer_leaves_Firaxis⠀⇛ 2K sent out a press release today confirming a number of things including a new Civilization game is on the way. * ⚓ GamingOnLinux ☛ All_Your_Base_Are_Belong_to_Us_—_Zero_Wing_(and_other classics)_hit_Steam⠀⇛ Zero Wing along with other shoot ‘em up classics Out Zone, Twin Cobra and Truxton from Toaplan and Bitwave Games have their brand new PC releases out. § Desktop Environments/WMs⠀➾ * ⚓ TuMFatig ☛ Adding_variable_tiling_width_ratio_and_gaps_to_XFCE_xfwm4⠀⇛ After a lot of desktop environment and window manager hoping, I’ve settle down with XFCE. I find it customizable, pretty and fast. But after all my hoping, I’ve always missed a couple of things learned from the tiling window manager world: resizable master area and gaps. Here a couple of patches I wrote to enable those two features for Xfwm4. * § K Desktop Environment/KDE SC/Qt⠀➾ o ⚓ Nate Graham ☛ This_week_in_KDE:_a_smooth_release_of_Plasma_5.27⠀⇛ This week we finally released Plasma 5.27 and so far it’s been very smooth! The only significant regressions found so far are already fixed, ready for release in a few days. There have been some grumblings about the new window outlines feature, but you can’t please everyone, and there’s a chance we’ll end up making them optional. o ⚓ Plasma_Mobile_5.27_+_PlaMo_Gear_23.01.0⠀⇛ Manjaro ARM is proud to present the packages for Plasma 5.27.0 together with the packages for Plasma Mobile Gear (soon to be regular Gear) 23.01.0 for the mobile devices. These packages are currently being tested in our Unstable branch and will soon be transferred to Testing and then finally to Stable branch when the time comes… * § GNOME Desktop/GTK⠀➾ o ⚓ Ubuntu Handbook ☛ Gnome_Console_adds_Overview_Page_to_show_All Open_Tabs_|_UbuntuHandbook⠀⇛ Gnome Console terminal emulator added new tab overview feature a few days ago by releasing version 44 beta. For those never heard of Gnome Console, it’s new core application for GNOME desktop since version 42. Gnome Console formerly called kgx, has a more modern and native look and feel than the previous Gnome Terminal. Ubuntu proposed to use Gnome Console as default terminal emulator in 22.10 release, but delayed due to few regressions. Gnome Console has an attractive feature that the header bar turns red when running sudo command or switching to root user. And, it goes purple for remote / ssh terminals. § Distributions and Operating Systems⠀➾ * § New Releases⠀➾ o ⚓ Ubuntu Pit ☛ Clonezilla_Live_(3.0.3-22)_Released:_Now_Support_for Multiple_LUKS_Devices_and_Linux_6.1_LTS⠀⇛ Today, Steven Shiau — the developer of Clonezilla Live — announced that Clonezilla 3.0.3 is now available! This open source and free partition clone/imaging live ISO distribution based on Debian Sid repositories offers users a powerful tool to manage their data with ease. The new version includes several bug fixes and improvements over its predecessor, * § BSD⠀➾ o ⚓ GonzaloR ☛ Nextcloud_+_OpenBSD_=_<3⠀⇛ Looks like everything is made of clouds and farts now, so we cannot be out of it we need to keep up on the trend. I maintain the nextcloud port since ever, and I am using since then, to be honest it’s pretty cool and handy, despite all the php slowness and other flavors the system has and the OpenBSD’s issues as client and server (in comparation with loonix and others), it works really really well in every way I use it; which is as “multimedia cloud”, “CalDAV/CardDAV” server for my android phone, “Password Manager” and “Backups” in general. * § SUSE/OpenSUSE⠀➾ o ⚓ Dominique Leuenberger ☛ openSUSE_Tumbleweed_–_Review_of_the_week 2023/07⠀⇛ Dear Tumbleweed users and hackers, Week 7 of the year – 7 days have passed since the last review, BUT we only released 6 snapshots since then. The reason is only timing though: the 7th snapshot is still in QA and, looking at the current results, is likely to be published later today. So no need to be worried. This review will cover snapshots 0210…0215. The most exciting changes delivered during this week were: * § Fedora Family / IBM⠀➾ o ⚓ The Next Platform ☛ IBM_Builds_An_AI_Supercomputer_On_The_Cheap In_Its_Cloud⠀⇛ o ⚓ The Register UK ☛ systemd_253:_The_future_of_enterprise_Linux boot_processes_•_The_Register⠀⇛ The first systemd release of 2023 is here, and it introduces a brand spanking new tool for building Unified Kernel Image (UKI) files. Fresh versions of systemd appear roughly twice a year, apart from release candidates. We reported on the last version, systemd 252, in November last year. As we said at the time, systemd 252 brought in support for Agent P’s new, more secure Linux boot process. Those two stories have details of the UKI boot files and how they work. o ⚓ Red Hat Official ☛ Make_systemd_better_for_Podman_with_Quadlet⠀⇛ o ⚓ Red Hat Official ☛ How_to_use_new_container_events_and_auditing features_in_Podman_4.4⠀⇛ o ⚓ Enterprisers Project ☛ CIO_role:_4_ways_to_do_more_with_less⠀⇛ o ⚓ Enterprisers Project ☛ Workplace_culture:_4_key_priorities_for 2023⠀⇛ o ⚓ Enterprisers Project ☛ Soft_skills:_How_well-rounded_IT_pros_can push_your_business_forward⠀⇛ * § Debian Family⠀➾ o ⚓ Debian ☛ bits_from_the_release_team:_bookworm_in_soft_freeze⠀⇛ Dear all, Soft Freeze =========== Following our release calendar, we have frozen bookworm a bit [1]. That means that from this week on we expect all uploads to be small, targeted fixes and no new source packages are allowed into bookworm. Source packages must also no longer add or drop binary packages. All packages will have to age at least 10 days in unstable before they are eligible for migration (including those having autopkgtests). Quoting from the policy: """ Starting 2023-02-12, only small, targeted fixes are appropriate for bookworm. We want maintainers to focus on small, targeted fixes. [...] Please note that new transitions, new versions of packages that are part of (build-)essential or large/disruptive changes remain inappropriate. [...] Packages that are not in testing will not be allowed to migrate to testing. This applies to new packages as well as to packages that were removed from testing (either manually or by auto- removals). [...] Dropping or adding binary packages to a source package, moving binaries between source packages or renaming source or binary packages is no longer allowed. Packages with these changes will not be allowed to migrate to testing. These changes are also no longer appropriate in unstable. Please note that packages that are in bookworm at the start of the soft freeze can still be removed if they are buggy. This can happen manually or by the auto-removals. Once packages are removed, they will not be allowed to come back. [...] Don't upload changes to unstable that are not targeted for bookworm. Having changes in unstable that are not targeted/appropriate for bookworm could complicate fixes for your package and related packages (like dependencies and reverse dependencies). """ State of bookworm ================= The state of bookworm is pretty good. We ask everybody to keep working on fixing the remaining RC bugs (and please find and file those that are currently unreported). [2] has the list we should drive down to zero together. Please try out upgrading your bullseye systems to bookworm now and report issue you encounter. General ======= As always, talk to us, preferably via the bts, if you experience issues that we need to be aware of or where you need help. Please be aware it's now a very busy time for us, so bear with us. Our freeze policy is at [1]. On behalf of the release team, Paul [1] https://release.debian.org/testing/ freeze_policy.html#soft [2] https://udd.debian.org/ bugs.cgi?release=bookworm&merged=ign&rtbookworm-will- remove=ign&keypackages=only&fnewerval=7&flastmodval=7&rc=1&cpopcon=1&chints=1&ckeypackage=1&ctags=1&cdeferred=1&caffected=1&sortby=last_modified&sorto=asc&format=html#results o ⚓ Sparky GNU/Linux ☛ Heroic_Games_Launcher⠀⇛ * § Canonical/Ubuntu Family⠀➾ o ⚓ Ubuntu Pit ☛ A_Match_Made_in_Tech_Heaven:_Ubuntu_and_Lenovo ThinkPad_X13s_Arm_Laptop⠀⇛ If you’re searching for an extraordinary Arm-powered laptop, look no further than the Lenovo ThinkPad X13s! Boasting a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3 SoC and 13.3 inches 1920 x 1200 resolution display that will provide an unparalleled viewing experience, not to mention up to 32GB RAM with 28 hours of battery life… o ⚓ Ubuntu Pit ☛ Ubuntu_22.04_LTS_is_Equipped_with_Linux_Kernel_5.19 —_From_Ubuntu_22.10_Kinetic_Kudu!⠀⇛ With the launch of Ubuntu 22.04.2 LTS quickly approaching, Canonical has upgraded its long-term supported Jammy Jellyfish series to the Linux 5.19 kernel from Kinetic Kudu in Ubuntu 22.10 for an even more efficient and secure user experience! Initially slated for early February 2023, the Ubuntu 22.04.2 LTS point release will come with Linux 5.19… * § Open Hardware/Modding⠀➾ o ⚓ Boiling Steam ☛ VisionFive_2:_A_Raspberry_Pi_Like_Moment_for RISC-V_–_Boiling_Steam⠀⇛ The VisionFive 2 is a new RISC-V System-on-a-Chip (SoC) board that offers powerful performance (somewhere between RPi 3 and RPi 4) and low cost. Until now most of the powerful RISC-V systems were much more expensive and out of reach of most of us. This new board features a quad- core processor with a clock speed of 1.5GHz, 2GB of LPDDR4 RAM (there is also 4GB and 8GB RAM versions available) and an eMMC storage and TF card slot. o ⚓ Arduino ☛ Small,_MKR_WAN_1310-powered_device_monitors_CO2_levels in_classrooms⠀⇛ This CO2 monitor performs two functions: it shows anyone nearby the CO2 levels in the area and it uploads that data over LoRaWAN to a central hub that can track the levels across many locations. A school could, for example, put one of these CO2 monitors in every classroom. An administrator could then see the CO2 levels in every room in real time, along with historical records. That would alert them to immediate dangers and to long term trends. o ⚓ CNX Software ☛ Control_8_relays_with_the_Raspberry_Pi_Pico_using PicoRelay8_or_Pico-Relay-B⠀⇛ 8086 Consultancy’s PicoRelay8 is a baseboard for the Raspberry Pi Pico (W) board equipped with eight 28V DC / 10A Normally Open relays that be used for all sorts of automation projects, while Waveshare Pico-Relay-B also supports eight relays with both DC and AC loads and comes with some extra features. o ⚓ SparkFun Electronics ☛ Remember_This?⠀⇛ We’re celebrating two decades of invention, innovation, and electronics here at SparkFun this year! We’ve released thousands of products throughout our history, and we thought it’d be a fun look back to show you what the top products were each year. We’ve linked related or similar products below the retired ones in case you’re inspired by trends of years past to start something new. We’ve loved growing and developing with you all these years, and these are the highlights of what we’ve accomplished together. * § Mobile Systems/Mobile Applications⠀➾ o ⚓ 9to5Google ☛ Razer_Edge_5G_Review:_Who_needs_an_Android_gaming handheld?⠀⇛ o ⚓ Giz China ☛ HarmonyOS_Might_Outrun_Android_And_iOS_In_Years⠀⇛ o ⚓ GSM Arena ☛ Poco_F4_gets_Android_13_update_in_India_with_Reliance Jio_5G_support_–_GSMArena.com_news⠀⇛ o ⚓ Gizmo China ☛ Poco_F4_Finally_Gets_the_Long-due_Android_13_Update With_Jio_5G_Support_in_India⠀⇛ o ⚓ Android_13_Finally_Arrives_for_Xperia_10_III_–_Phandroid⠀⇛ o ⚓ Forbes ☛ Best_Android_Phones_2023⠀⇛ o ⚓ Forbes ☛ Android_Circuit:_Galaxy_S23_SnapDragon_Success,_OnePlus 11_5G_On_Sale,_Find_N2_Flip_Launch⠀⇛ o ⚓ Lifewire ☛ 19_Ways_To_Fix_It_When_Visual_Voicemail_Isn’t_Working On_Android⠀⇛ o ⚓ Fix:_Android_Keyboard_Typing_Wrong_Letters⠀⇛ o ⚓ Gadgets Now ☛ android:_How_to_share_Wi-Fi_password_on_Android devices⠀⇛ o ⚓ Hacker News ☛ Experts_Warn_of_RambleOn_Android_Malware_Targeting South_Korean_Journalists⠀⇛ o ⚓ Android Central ☛ How_to_dim_the_wallpaper_with_bedtime_mode_on Android_|_Android_Central⠀⇛ o ⚓ It’s FOSS ☛ 40+_Best_Open_Source_Android_Apps⠀⇛ The best open source Android apps. Replace the proprietary options to enjoy a potentially better experience! § Free, Libre, and Open Source Software⠀➾ * ⚓ OpenSource.com ☛ What_does_ChatGPT_mean_for_the_open_source_community⠀⇛ Community is about people. Making connections with other people with a shared interest and passion for something is what makes communities so fulfilling. Both the disagreements and the moments of shared inspiration are profound experiences that we humans bring to one another in our forums, chat rooms, bug reports, conferences, and neighborhoods. As an open source community, we create technology. We create it openly, together, and with a genuine interest in sharing experiential knowledge. We value diversity, and we find value in the perspectives of novices and experts alike. These are things you can’t distill in machine learning chat bot, whether it’s open source or not (and ChatGPT is not). The open source community thrives on the genuine interest in sharing. That’s something ChatGPT cannot emulate. * § SaaS/Back End/Databases⠀➾ o ⚓ PostgreSQL ☛ PostgreSQL_JDBC_42.5.4_Released⠀⇛ The PostgreSQL JDBC team has released version 42.5.4 This release fixes some tests that were failing. Changes in 42.5.3 caused some tests to fail. These failing tests were not noticed in the Github testing workflow. This oversight has been corrected as well. There are no changes to the code. The details can be found in the Changelog * § Productivity Software/LibreOffice/Calligra⠀➾ o ⚓ LibreOffice_Dark_Mode:_Manual_switch_to_enable/disable_coming_in 7.5.1⠀⇛ LibreOffice 7.5 introduced a new Dark Mode, activated automatically to match your system settings. But many of you asked for a manual switch, so our Design community has implemented it for the next update – LibreOffice 7.5.1, in two weeks! Follow the Design community’s activities on Mastodon and Twitter * § Programming/Development⠀➾ o ⚓ TecAdmin ☛ Where_is_php.ini?_Find_the_Correct_PHP_Configuration File⠀⇛ The php.ini file is a configuration file used by PHP to specify settings for your web server, such as file upload size, error reporting, and memory usage. However, the location of the php.ini file can vary depending on your server setup and operating system. In this tutorial, we will explore a few methods to help [...] o ⚓ git_status_Side_Effects⠀⇛ There is a way to prevent this, by running git status –no-optional-locks (https://git-scm.com/docs/ git#Documentation/git.txt—no-optional-locks) or by setting GIT_OPTIONAL_LOCKS to 0, as writing the updated index is just an optimization and git knows it can be avoided. I don’t think there are many chances to actually stumble on this in the real life, but I’m writing this down so that if I ever do I have an easy way to remember what happened and find the solution. o ⚓ The New Stack ☛ Deploy_MongoDB_in_a_Container,_Access_It_Outside the_Cluster_–_The_New_Stack⠀⇛ How to a deploy a containerized version of MongoDB and connect to it from a machine or service outside of the hosting server. o ⚓ Peter_Czanik:_The_syslog-ng_Insider_2023-02:_4.0;_Azure;_101; FreeBSD;⠀⇛ After almost 14 years, a new major version of syslog-ng is available. Type support for name-value pairs is now available and Python support received major improvements. o ⚓ Qt ☛ Certified_Qt_Safe_Renderer_2.0_is_released⠀⇛ We are happy to announce that our latest Qt Safe Renderer (QSR) 2.0 is certified and available as of today, addressing the need to build UI applications with Functional Safety in mind. o ⚓ Arduino ☛ Adorable_model_trolley_livens_up_a_garden⠀⇛ o ⚓ Arduino ☛ Instantly_understand_40+_languages,_with_Speech Recognition_Engine⠀⇛ Voice commands are a contactless, hands-free, natural way to interact with devices, equipment, and machines of all kinds: no wonder they are increasingly popular! With speech recognition technology advancing faster than you can say “users expect it,” developers often need to find ways to integrate it in their new projects. This, however, requires them to take the time to train a smart device to listen for wake-up words, understand commands… and potentially start over for every new voice or language. To cut through all the hassle and help you integrate speech recognition in the easiest and fastest way, Arduino Pro has released Speech Recognition Engine: a powerful, ready-to-use and extensive software library born out of the collaboration with worldwide leader in the field, Cyberon. o ⚓ The Atlantic ☛ AI_Search_Is_a_Disaster⠀⇛ The trouble arises when we treat chatbots not just as search bots, but as having something like a brain—when companies and users trust programs like ChatGPT to analyze their finances, plan travel and meals, or provide even basic information. Instead of forcing users to read other internet pages, Microsoft and Google have proposed a future where search engines use AI to synthesize information and package it into basic prose, like silicon oracles. But fully realizing that vision might be a distant goal, and the road to it is winding and clouded: The programs currently driving this change, known as “large language models,” are decent at generating simple sentences but pretty awful at everything else. o ⚓ Armin Ronacher ☛ I_Think_AI_Would_Kill_my_Wife⠀⇛ Turns out the Bing AI is bizarre and that is making quite the waves at the moment. In essence, the Bing version of ChatGPT has the capability of performing internet searches and as a result will feed some extra data into itself. Then it uses this to conjure up answers with hilarious results, particularly if its internal learned state does not line up with the results. Among other things this has lead to the bot gaslighting its users into believing that they are in the wrong calendar year. I think there is something quite a bit deeper being uncovered by these AI stories and it does worry me a bit. o ⚓ Barry Kauler ☛ mount-img_asks_read-only_or_read-write⠀⇛ If you click on a .img drive-image file, the partitions in the image get mounted read-only. If you do it from a terminal, you can pass the “rw” parameter to mount read-write. But clicking on the file in ROX-Filer does not offer that choice. This came up in the forum, someone wanted to mount the partitions read-write. So, I have modified /usr/sbin/mount-img script to ask. Now, click on the file and this window pops up: o ⚓ Julia Evans ☛ Writing_Javascript_without_a_build_system⠀⇛ o § Perl / Raku⠀➾ # ⚓ Perl ☛ This_Week_in_PSC_(098)⠀⇛ # ⚓ Perl ☛ Using_Type::Params_Effectively⠀⇛ o § Shell/Bash/Zsh/Ksh⠀➾ # ⚓ ByteXD ☛ How_To_Use_Find_with_atime,_ctime,_mtime,_amin, cmin,_mmin⠀⇛ # ⚓ It’s Ubuntu ☛ 10+_Bash:_If,_Else_If,_Else_Examples⠀⇛ # ⚓ TecAdmin ☛ Writing_efficient_for_loops_in_Bash:_Tips_and Tricks⠀⇛ Bash is a popular shell scripting language that is commonly used in Linux and Unix-based operating systems. One of the most commonly used constructs in Bash is the for loop, which is used to iterate over a set of items and perform a particular action on each item. * § Standards/Consortia⠀➾ o ⚓ Med City News ☛ 3_Conditions_that_Must_be_Met_to_Make Interoperability_a_Reality⠀⇛ The term “interoperability” holds different meanings for different people. While we all would agree that the primary goal of interoperability is to make sharing data easier in order to improve outcomes and lower costs, there are varying perceptions about what that looks like. FHIR has been great at giving us a common set of protocols and standards to work from, but how we connect and how data actually gets shared are still open challenges. § Leftovers⠀➾ * ⚓ France24 ☛ UN_agencies_appeal_for_help_as_death_toll_in_Turkey,_Syria quake_rises_above_42,000⠀⇛ The death toll from the earthquake that has devastated parts of Turkey and Syria exceeded 42,000 on Friday as the United Nations appealed for $1 billion to address a growing humanitarian crisis. France said it was sending an additional 40 tonnes of tents, food and medical aid. * ⚓ France24 ☛ ‘Everywhere_was_pitch_black’:_How_one_quake_victim_survived 187_hours_under_rubble⠀⇛ Huseyin Berber, a 62-year-old diabetic, spent 187 hours trapped under rubble in the Turkish city of Antakya following the earthquakes that devastated the region on February 6. To survive, he was forced to turn to extreme measures, including drinking his own urine, before finally being saved by rescuers. * ⚓ teleSUR ☛ 84,000_Buildings_to_Be_Urgently_Demolished_in_Türkiye⠀⇛ Authorities are investigating businessmen who would have criminal responsibilities in the poor construction of buildings that were destroyed by the earthquakes. * ⚓ The Nation ☛ Erdoğan_Can’t_Hide_Any_Longer⠀⇛ On the evening of February 8, two nights after the earthquake that devastated 10 cities in Turkey, four young men with cheap megaphones walked the streets of Istanbul repeating the same cry: “Thousands under the rubble are fighting for their lives tonight. Erdoğan is still trying to cover up his crime. Please tell everyone what you know.” * ⚓ ‘Wind-sensitive’_vehicles_in_Denmark:_What_are_they_and_when_are_they not_allowed_on_bridges?⠀⇛ Denmark often experiences windy weather. This can result in road authorities temporarily banning or advising against the use of the country’s long bridges for vehicles categorised as ‘wind-sensitive’ (vindfølsom). Which vehicles does this term cover? * ⚓ Indians_and_Romanians_among_nationalities_given_most_Danish_work permits⠀⇛ New data shows that Denmark issued around 51,000 work permits in 2022, with Indians and Romanians among national groups providing the most foreign workers to the Scandinavian country. * ⚓ The Local SE ☛ EXPLAINED:_How_has_Sweden_adjusted_its_plans_for_work permit_reform?⠀⇛ Sweden’s government on Friday refined its plans to limit low- skilled labour migration and encourage skilled foreign workers, as it announced a change in instructions to a government inquiry. Here’s what you need to know. * ⚓ Scheerpost ☛ Shakespeare_and_the_Politics_of_the_21st_Century_|_The Chris_Hedges_Report⠀⇛ Nearly five centuries later, the social and political considerations of Shakespeare’s oeuvre continue to offer insights pertinent to our times. * § Science⠀➾ o ⚓ The Scientist ☛ Mice_Pass_Epigenetic_Tweaks_to_Pups⠀⇛ An engineered methylation pattern persisted for four generations of mice, demonstrating transgenerational epigenetic inheritance can occur in mammals. o ⚓ The Scientist ☛ RSV_Vaccines_That_Work?⠀⇛ Multiple candidates are in Phase 3 clinical trials for o ⚓ The Scientist ☛ RSV_Vaccines_That_Work?⠀⇛ Multiple candidates are in Phase 3 clinical trials for older adults and pregnant women, with some getting close to approval in the United States. o ⚓ VOA News ☛ Unidentified_Object_Downed_by_US_Could_Belong_to Hobbyists⠀⇛ The Northern Illinois Bottlecap Balloon Brigade (NIBBB), a group that launches small, lightweight balloons equipped with GPS trackers, transmitters and antennas, announced in a blog post that one of its balloons had not transmitted its location since traveling toward the region where a U.S. F-22, on February 11, used a missile to destroy a “high-altitude object” that was deemed to be a threat to commercial aviation. Last week, the organization posted information to its website indicating that the last recorded communication from the balloon, with the call sign K9YO, occurred on February 11 and indicated that it was located off the southern coast of Alaska, and traveling east, in the direction of Canada’s Yukon province. * § Education⠀➾ o ⚓ Common Dreams ☛ The_Richest_Americans_Need_to_Be_Taught_This Serious_Lesson_About_Teachers⠀⇛ How can we measure the work a particular society truly values? Take-home pay can make as good a yardstick as any: The lower an occupation’s compensation, the lower the esteem a society is showing for that occupation. * § Hardware⠀➾ o ⚓ CNX Software ☛ MediaTek_Dimensity_7200_Armv9_Cortex-A715/A510 processor_targets_mainstream_5G_smartphones⠀⇛ Manufactured with a 4nm processor, the MediaTek Dimensity 7200 is an octa-core Armv9 processor designed for mainstream smartphones. with two Cortex-A715 cores, six Cortex-A510 cores, a Mali-G610 MC4 GPU, as well as 5G, WiFi 6E, and Bluetooth 5.3 connectivity. o ⚓ Tom’s Hardware ☛ Lenovo_Eyes_Job_Cuts_Due_to_Weakened_PC_Market⠀⇛ Lenovo, the world’s biggest computer company, will cut jobs amid a weak PC market. o ⚓ Hackaday ☛ Hackaday_Podcast_206:_Busted_Crypto_Killed_The_Queen, Kicad’s_New_Clothes,_Peer_Inside_The_Sol_20⠀⇛ Under the weather though they both were, Editor-in-Chief Elliot Williams and Staff Writer Dan Maloney got together to take a look under the covers of this week’s best and brightest hacks. It was a banner week, with a look at the changes that KiCad has in store, teaching a CNN how to play “Rock, Paper, Scissors,” and going deep into the weeds on JPEG. o ⚓ Hackaday ☛ Fail_Of_The_Week:_Epic_312_Weeks_Of_Fixing_A_Broken Project⠀⇛ If a hacker guardian angel exists, then we’re sure he or she was definitely AWOL for six long years from [Aaron Eiche]’s life as he worked on perfecting and making his Christmas Countdown clock. [Aaron] started this binary clock project in 2016, and only managed to make it work as expected in 2022 after a string of failures. o ⚓ Hackaday ☛ Giant_3D_Printed_Excavator_Is_Awesome,_But_Needs Work⠀⇛ Many of us adored big construction machinery as children. Once we got past the cute, tiny age, it became uncool to gasp with shock and awe at diggers and bulldozers for some reason . [Ivan Miranda] still digs the big rigs, though, and built himself a giant 3D printed excavator that looks like brilliant fun.  o ⚓ CNX Software ☛ IoT_Prototype_Kit_is_powered_by_an_Alder_Lake- H_COM_Express_module_with_up_to_Core_i5-12600HE_CPU⠀⇛ ADLINK has launched an IP-i IoT Prototype Kit based on their Express-ADP COM Express Type 6 Basic “Alder Lake-H” module with either an Intel Core i5-12600HE 12-core (4P+8E) processor clocked at up to 4.5 GHz or a Core i3- 12300HE 8-core (4P+4E) processor reaching up to 4.3 GHz. o ⚓ Hackaday ☛ Anatomy_Of_A_Fake_CO2_Sensor⠀⇛ The pandemic brought with it a need to maintain adequate ventilation in enclosed spaces, and thus, there’s been considerable interest in inexpensive C02 monitors. Unfortunately, there are unscrupulous actors out there that have seen this as a chance to make a quick profit. o ⚓ Hackaday ☛ Quantum_Interconnects_Get_Faster⠀⇛ If you are a retrocomputer fan, you might remember when serial ports were a few hundred baud and busses ran at a few megahertz at the most. Today, of course, we have buses and fabric that can run at tremendous speeds. Quantum computing, though, has to start from scratch. One major problem is that jockeying quantum states around for any distance is difficult and slow. Part of it is that qubits decay rapidly, so you don’t have much time. They are also generally susceptible to noise and perturbation by outside forces. So many quantum machines today are limited by how much they can cram on one chip since there isn’t a good way to connect to another chip. The University of Sussex thinks it has improved the outlook for quantum interconnects with a technique they claim can move qubits around at nearly 2,500 links per second. o ⚓ Hackaday ☛ Hack_Lets_Intel_MacBook_Run_Without_A_Battery⠀⇛ A long time ago, a laptop was a basic thing, and you could pretty much run one just by hooking up a power supply to the battery contacts. A modern MacBook is altogether fussier. However, when [Christophe] was stuck in the midst of a 2020 lockdown with no parts available, he found a way to get his damaged MacBook up and running without a battery. * § Health/Nutrition/Agriculture⠀➾ o ⚓ Common Dreams ☛ Watchdogs_Upset_EPA_Has_‘Once_Again_Failed’_to Limit_Dicamba_Herbicide_Harm⠀⇛ “I call bullsh*t.” o ⚓ Atlantic Council ☛ Metzl_on_Fox_News_discussing_the_need_to investigate_the_origins_of_COVID⠀⇛ On February 10, Scowcroft Strategy Initiative Nonresident Senior Fellow Jamie Metzl appeared on Fox News to discuss the need for a bipartisan 9/11-style commission investigating the origins of the COVID-19 virus. He asserts that the noncompliance of the Chinese governments is cause for worry, and further investigation is the best means to prepare for – or even stop – a future pandemic. Metzl stresses that this is a bipartisan issue that has seen agreement and consensus among members of both sides of the aisle. He also notes the lack of transparency on the part of the NIH in the work they were minimally funding in the Wuhan Institute of Virology. o ⚓ Defence Web ☛ Thousands_of_people_benefitting_from_SANDF’s Project_Owethu_health_drive⠀⇛ As part of Armed Forces Day 2023 events, the South African Military Health Service (SAMHS) has launched Project Owethu that is bringing free healthcare to thousands of people in the Richard’s Bay area. o ⚓ France24 ☛ France_drops_Covid_testing_restrictions_for_travellers from_China⠀⇛ France has dropped Covid testing restrictions imposed on travellers from China, the French embassy in Beijing said. o ⚓ Common Dreams ☛ Biden_DOJ_Supporting_Rail_Giant_Norfolk Southern’s_Effort_to_Block_Future_Lawsuits⠀⇛ Norfolk Southern—the railroad giant whose train derailed and caused a toxic chemical fire in a small Ohio town earlier this month—has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to throw out a 2017 lawsuit filed by a cancer-afflicted former rail worker, and the Biden administration is siding with the corporation, fresh reporting from The Lever revealed Thursday. o ⚓ Hackaday ☛ Like_Chording_But_Not⠀⇛ Repetitive strain injuries (RSI) can be a real pain. You’ve got a shiny new laptop, and everything’s going smoothly, but suddenly you can’t use it without agonizing (as in typing-speed reducing) pain caused by years of keyboard bashing or just plain bad posture. All of us hacker types will likely have or will experience this at some point, and luckily there are many potential solutions. o ⚓ teleSUR ☛ Ohio_Train_Disaster_Could_Happen_Elsewhere_in_The_US⠀⇛ “We cannot risk the lives of millions of people in our region for the gas industry’s profits,” the Philadelphia Inquirer pointed out. o ⚓ Vice Media Group ☛ There’s_No_Toxic_Spill_Conspiracy._This Happens_Constantly_in_America⠀⇛ The East Palestine disaster raised public awareness of toxic spills, which are a disturbingly constant feature of U.S. capitalism. o ⚓ Common Dreams ☛ Green_Groups_Say_Buttigieg_Must_Act_to_Ensure Ohio_Toxic_Train_Derailment_Is_Last_of_Its_Kind⠀⇛ With progressive lawmakers and rail workers condemning the profit-driven railway scheduling policies that employees say are to blame for the February 3 train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, environmental advocates on Friday called on the U.S. Department of Transportation to reinstate safety rules to prevent similar crashes. o ⚓ The Nation ☛ Buttigieg’s_Paralysis_After_the_East_Palestine Disaster_Is_a_Gift_to_the_Hard_Right⠀⇛ The Biden administration likes to put Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg on television. It’s easy to understand why. Buttigieg is well-spoken and rhetorically fluid, a forceful advocate for Biden’s policies, and especially skilled in verbal sparring against Republicans and reporters. Yet Buttigieg’s silences are sometimes as telling as his words. o ⚓ Common Dreams ☛ When_a_Toxic_Bomb_Train_Hits_Your_Town⠀⇛ On February 3rd, a massive train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio blanketed the town with a toxic brew of spilled chemicals and gasses, fouling the air, polluting waterways and killing thousands of fish and frogs. Local residents are suffering ailments ranging from respiratory distress, sore throats, burning eyes and rashes, all with unknown long-term consequences. The two mile long freight train was operated by Norfolk Southern Corporation, It’s been called a “bomb train,” as among its 141 cars were tankers that can hold up to 32,000 gallons each of highly flammable toxic chemicals. In addition to the spill, an out-of-control fire raged for days followed by a “controlled” burn of the train’s most toxic cargo, releasing a huge mushroom cloud of fire and smoke. This catastrophe could have been prevented, had it not been for lax regulation and the outsized lobbying power of corporations like Norfolk Southern. o ⚓ Common Dreams ☛ Amid_Ohio_Nightmare,_Rail_Worker_Alliance_Urges All_of_Labor_to_Back_Railroad_Nationalization⠀⇛ An alliance representing rail workers across the United States published an open letter late Thursday urging all of organized labor to support the nationalization of the country’s railroad system, arguing that the private and inadequately regulated industry has “shown itself incapable of doing the job.” o ⚓ The Economist ☛ How_to_save_two_million_lives_a_year⠀⇛ New analysis by the World Bank suggests that is mainly because they are trying to do so, as Beijing formerly did, on too small a scale. Most of the toxic brown haze choking South Asia’s cities comes not from local cars and waste dumps but from brick kilns, stubble-burning and other pollution sources far away. The best way to reduce it, as China has shown, is to model pollution, share data and plan controls over the vast expanse in which the smog circulates. That way the most cost-effective solutions, such as regulating brick- kilns, can be prioritised over more expensive or growth- dampening ones, like closing power stations. The Bank has mapped six of these so-called airsheds in South Asia. Huge areas, they span states and municipalities; four of the six cross national borders. One stretches from eastern Iran via western Afghanistan into Pakistan; another from northern India to Bangladesh. o ⚓ The Atlantic ☛ America’s_Teenage_Girls_Are_Not_Okay⠀⇛ Some psychologists point to social media, whereas others blame school shootings; others chalk it up to changes in parenting. Climate-change activists say it’s climate change. Atlantic writers like me blather on about the decline of physical-world interactions. These explanations aren’t equally valid, and some of them might be purely wrong. But the sheer number of theories reflects the complexity of mental-health challenges and suggests that, perhaps, nobody knows for sure what’s going on. The numbers are undeniable. The Youth Risk Behavior Survey, which is published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is the gold standard for measuring the state of teen behavior and mental health. From 2011 to 2021, the survey found, the share of teenage girls who say they experience “persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness” increased from 36 to 57 percent, with the highest jump coming during the coronavirus pandemic. The share of girls who said they’ve contemplated suicide increased 50 percent in the decade. (For teenage boys, the increase was smaller.) o ⚓ “Heroism”_in_the_face_of_COVID-19?⠀⇛ It never ceases to amaze me just how much COVID-19 antimaskers and anti-“lockdowners” have fallen into exactly the same narratives commonly used by antivaxxers that I used to write about for years and years before the pandemic. I realize that it shouldn’t amaze me anymore, particularly given how much COVID-19 minimization narratives have nearly completely embraced common antivaccine narratives, but occasionally it does. For example, earlier this week I came across what will likely become (for me, at least) a classic example of COVID-19 minimizers and antivaxxers embracing an old antivax message at—where else?—that never-ending font of misinformation, pseudoscience, and disinformation about COVID-19 and COVID-19 vaccines, the Brownstone Institute, in the form of a post by someone (whom I haven’t heard of before) named Haley Kynefin entitled Covidianism Inverts the Heroic Archetype. It’s a post that reminds me of something I wrote about over five years ago, something that could have been written by a certain antivaxxers whose blatherings and frequent fantasies about “heroism” I’ve written about a number of times, namely Kent Heckenlively, such as when he fantasized about being Aragorn, Son of Aragorn, the lost true king of Gondor, charging into battle against the Dark Lord Sauron in J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings. o ⚓ Common Dreams ☛ Pesticide_Use_and_Climate_Crisis_Locked_in ‘Vicious_Cycle’_Backed_by_Polluting_Industries⠀⇛ Even though synthetic pesticides—the majority of which are derived from fossil fuels—contribute significantly to planet-heating pollution and increase the vulnerability of food systems, industrial agriculture interests continue to recklessly portray further pesticide use as a sensible response to the climate emergency’s worsening impacts. o ⚓ Counter Punch ☛ Super_Drought_Super_Bowl:_The_Goddess_Sings⠀⇛ The land was parched, its people too. The rivers that had raged through the Nation’s once-wild Southwestern desert shrank in their canyons. Vast man-made lakes shriveled to puddles behind massive dams, cathedrals of leisure, irrigation and electricity transformed into towering monuments to vanished abundance, implacable wailing walls of hubris and shame. The ancient king perched perilously on his throne far away in a White House built long ago by the enslaved. Crowned only by a tuft of transplanted hair, the ruler spoke through false teeth of a better-built tomorrow. From the old play book/prayer book, he read his litany of Hope. Few listened. Fewer believed. o ⚓ DeSmog ☛ The_Battle_to_Stop_Air_Products’_Carbon_Capture_Project at_Lake_Maurepas_Grows⠀⇛ Where the Tickfaw River leads into Lake Maurepas in South Louisiana, a coffin containing a plastic skeleton is fastened to pilings rising out of the water. “Save Lake Maurepas From Impending Death by Air Products,” a sign above it states. This arresting visual captures the sentiments of opponents of a plan to develop the world’s largest carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) project under the lake. Air Products, a global hydrogen manufacturing company, is proposing to build a $4.5 billion “Clean Energy Complex” to manufacture blue hydrogen and an accompanying carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) project, that would be operational by 2026.   o ⚓ The Age AU ☛ Inside_Out_recalls_more_plant-based_milks_after_link to_NSW_botulism_case⠀⇛ Inside Out is recalling two types of oat milk, days after its almond milk was taken off the shelves due to the discovery of a toxin that causes serious illness. * § Proprietary⠀➾ o ⚓ Vice Media Group ☛ US_Gov_Says_Tesla_Self-Driving_May_Cause Crashes,_Issues_Recall⠀⇛ The safety regulators issued a recall affecting 362,000 cars, but it also highlights the shortcomings of the current recall system. o ⚓ Bleeping Computer ☛ Microsoft:_February_updates_break_some Windows_Server_2022_VMs⠀⇛ Microsoft says some Windows Server 2022 virtual machines might not boot up after installing updates released during this month’s Patch Tuesday. This known issue only impacts VMs with Secure Boot enabled and running on vSphere ESXi 6.7 U2/U3 or vSphere ESXi 7.0.x. o ⚓ The Motley Fool ☛ Why_ChatGPT_Caused_Microsoft_Stock_to_Stumble Today⠀⇛ o ⚓ The Verge ☛ Microsoft_says_talking_to_Bing_for_too_long_can_cause it_to_go_off_the_rails⠀⇛ o ⚓ Ghacks ☛ Bing_is_broken:_Microsoft’s_new_AI_is_insulting_and gaslighting_users⠀⇛ Last week, Microsoft put forth ambitious statements about implementing ChatGPT to enhance its search engine, Bing. However, the anticipated “new day in search” envisioned by Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has not come to fruition. Currently, the search engine’s chatbot is only accessible by invitation, and there’s a waitlist of over 1 million individuals. As users interact with the bot, some have reported that it can be unreliable and exhibit traits such as obstinacy, mood swings, and irritability. o ⚓ NBC ☛ Twitter_to_limit_use_of_text_messages_for_two-factor authentication_to_paid_subscribers⠀⇛ Two-factor authentication (2FA), meant to make accounts more secure, requires an account holder to use a second authentication method in addition to a password. Twitter allows 2FA by text message, authentication app and a security key. o ⚓ Deccan Chronicle ☛ Some_Twitter_users_are_unable_to_post,_told they’re_‘over_daily_limit’⠀⇛ Some Twitter Inc. users were unable to send tweets on Wednesday afternoon, instead getting an automated message saying they were “over the daily limit for sending Tweets,” even for users who hadn’t posted yet for the day. The company said it was aware of the glitch and working to fix it. o ⚓ Broadband Breakfast ☛ Smaller_Companies_Facing_Cybersecurity Insurance_Headwinds:_Equifax_Executive [iophk: Windows TCO]⠀⇛ Experts have urged companies to assume that any outside program is vulnerable to hacking, a position known as “zero trust.” This way, they can take the necessary measures to address the attack. o ⚓ Modern Diplomacy ☛ Cyber_Security_Concerns:_A_threat_to_India’s National_Security [iophk: Windows TCO]⠀⇛ Confidential government and military data and citizens’ financial and personal information are at risk of being stolen or leaked by cyber criminals. Moreover, it undermines national security by exposing sensitive information to hostile actors. Terrorists launch cyberattacks to damage, breach, or use crucial infrastructure to jeopardize national security, adversely affect military hardware, obstruct the economy, and result in massive casualties. The rapid adoption of technology and the widespread use of the Internet have made India an attractive target for cybercriminals. o ⚓ YLE ☛ Minister_Lintilä_admits_WhatsApp_account_wasn’t_hacked, still_denies_sending_Sanna_Marin_meme⠀⇛ The investigation by parliamentary officials was unable to rule out the possibility that someone may have used Lintilä’s account at the same time as him. * § Security⠀➾ o ⚓ Scoop News Group ☛ After_apparent_hack,_data_from_Australian_tech giant_Atlassian_dumped_online⠀⇛ A hacking crew called SiegedSec posted data on what appears to be thousands of employees and floor plans for two of the company’s offices. o ⚓ Tom’s Hardware ☛ AMD’s_Ryzen_Master_Has_a_High_Severity Vulnerability,_Update_Available⠀⇛ AMD’s Ryzen Master software has a bug that allows an attacker to take control of the system, but a new update fixes the issue. o ⚓ Scoop News Group ☛ US_government_launches_‘strike_force’_to combat_Chinese_and_Russian_technology_threats⠀⇛ Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said the Disruptive Technology Strike Force will use intelligence and analytics to target illicit actors. o ⚓ Scoop News Group ☛ Hacks,_leaks_and_wipers:_Google_analyzes_a year_of_Russian_cyberattacks_on_Ukraine⠀⇛ Google’s report on the Ukraine war shows how Russia executed information operations and hacking campaigns to gain an advantage in cyberspace. o ⚓ SANS ☛ HTML_phishing_attachment_with_browser-in-the-browser technique,_(Thu,_Feb_16th)⠀⇛ Simply put, the technique is based on displaying a simulated browser pop-up window (usually a login prompt) within the confines of an HTML page opened in a browser. The simulated pop-up may look almost indistinguishable from a real browser window and since it may contain an arbitrary URL in the simulated address bar, the use of the BitB technique for phishing can be quite effective… o ⚓ FOSSLinux ☛ Ubuntu_Security:_Best_practices_for_securing_your system⠀⇛ Ubuntu is a popular Linux-based operating system that has gained considerable popularity over the years due to its user-friendly interface and ease of use. It is a highly customizable and versatile operating system suitable for personal and enterprise use. o ⚓ USCERT ☛ CISA_Releases_Fifteen_Industrial_Control_Systems Advisories⠀⇛ CISA released fifteen (15) Industrial Control Systems (ICS) advisories on February 16, 2023. These advisories provide timely information about current security issues, vulnerabilities, and exploits surrounding ICS. CISA encourages users and administrators to review the newly released ICS advisories for technical details and mitigations: # ICSA-23-047-01 Siemens_Solid_Edge # ICSA-23-047-02 Siemens_SCALANCE_X-200_IRT [...] o ⚓ USCERT ☛ CISA_Adds_One_Known_Exploited_Vulnerability_to_Catalog [Ed: Cacti flaw actively exploited]⠀⇛ CISA has added one new vulnerability to its Known Exploited_Vulnerabilities_Catalog, based on evidence of active exploitation. This type of vulnerability is a frequent attack vector for malicious cyber actors and poses a significant risk to the federal enterprise. Note: To view the newly added vulnerabilities in the catalog, click on the arrow in the “Date Added to Catalog” column, which will sort by descending dates. o ⚓ Scoop News Group ☛ FBI_says_cyber_incident_at_New_York_field office_‘contained’⠀⇛ The bureau is working to gain additional information about the reported cyberattack. o ⚓ USCERT ☛ Cisco_Releases_Security_Advisories_for_Multiple Products⠀⇛ Cisco has released security advisories for vulnerabilities affecting multiple Cisco products. A remote attacker could exploit some of these vulnerabilities to take control of an affected system. o ⚓ San Diego ☛ Sweetwater_schools_internet_outage_disrupts_student learning_and_could_last_all_week⠀⇛ Days after a sweeping systems outage first disrupted student learning and forced teachers to remake their lessons, the Sweetwater Union High School District still hasn’t said what caused the outage or when it expects a fix. o ⚓ CNN ☛ Exclusive:_FBI_says_it_has_‘contained’_cyber_incident_on bureau’s_computer_network⠀⇛ The FBI has been investigating and working to contain a malicious cyber incident on part of its computer network in recent days, according to people briefed on the matter. FBI officials believe the incident involved an FBI computer system used in investigations of images of child sexual exploitation, two sources briefed on the matter told CNN. o ⚓ Data_Breach_Reported_At_Mount_Pleasant_Central_School_District_| Mount_Pleasant_Daily_Voice⠀⇛ After the data breach was discovered on Friday, an investigation into the matter found that several passwords belonging to Grade 7 students in the district had been posted to a shared Google Classroom during the 2020-2021 school year. After this document was found, it was immediately removed. o ⚓ Bleeping Computer ☛ GoDaddy:_Hackers_stole_source_code,_installed malware_in_multi-year_breach⠀⇛ Web hosting giant GoDaddy says it suffered a breach where unknown attackers have stolen source code and installed malware on its servers after breaching its cPanel shared hosting environment in a multi-year attack. o ⚓ BD_issues_cybersecurity_alert_for_hacking_risk_found_in_Alaris infusion_pump_software⠀⇛ o ⚓ Spain_orders_extradition_of_British_alleged_hacker_to_U.S.⠀⇛ Spain’s National Court has agreed to the extradition to the U.S. of a British citizen who allegedly took part in computer attacks including the hacking in 2020 of Twitter accounts of public figures such as Joseph Biden, Barack Obama and Bill Gates as well as for extortion and theft via internet. A court statement Friday said requirements had been met for handing over Joseph James O’Connor to U.S. authorities for 14 charges covering crimes such as revelations of secrets, membership of a criminal gang, illegal access to computer systems, internet fraud and money laundering. O’Connor, 23, from Liverpool, England was arrested in the southern Spanish coastal town of Estepona in July 2021. o ⚓ Bleeping Computer ☛ Hackers_backdoor_Microsoft_IIS_servers_with new_Frebniis_malware⠀⇛ Hackers are deploying a new malware named ‘Frebniss’ on Microsoft’s Internet Information Services (IIS) that stealthily executes commands sent via web requests. Frebniis was discovered by Symantec’s Threat Hunter Team, who reported that an unknown threat actor is currently using it against Taiwan-based targets. o ⚓ ZDNet ☛ Microsoft_fixes_three_zero-days_in_its_75-flaw_February Patch_Tuesday⠀⇛ o ⚓ LWN ☛ Security_updates_for_Friday⠀⇛ Security updates have been issued by Debian (webkit2gtk and wpewebkit), Fedora (firefox, phpMyAdmin, tpm2-tools, and tpm2-tss), Slackware (mozilla), SUSE (mozilla-nss, rubygem-actionpack-4_2, rubygem-actionpack-5_1, and tar), and Ubuntu (linux-azure and linux-hwe-5.19). o § Integrity/Availability/Authenticity⠀➾ # ⚓ India ☛ Beware_while_searching_for_phone_numbers_on Internet⠀⇛ In the first case, a man was duped of Rs 71,000 when he surfed the Internet to find the number of a hospital. His wife had fallen ill and he called up the number for consultation. The victim, Bhagwandin, was asked to deposit Rs 10 through Phonepe to get the patient’s registration done for consultation with a doctor of Indiranagar. Since the victim told the miscreant that he cannot make the payment through the app, on which the miscreant asked him to share the bank account number, which he did. o § Privacy/Surveillance⠀➾ # ⚓ CPO Mag ☛ TikTok_“Focused_View”_Promises_Emotion_Tracking to_Advertisers⠀⇛ # ⚓ Scoop News Group ☛ Wikimedia_wants_the_Supreme_Court_to hear_case_over_NSA_surveillance. Here’s_what’s_at_stake.⠀⇛ The case over the National Security Agency’s digital monitoring activities could have major implications for the future of government spying. # ⚓ JURIST ☛ German_constitutional_court_declares_police_use_of automated_data_analysis_unconstitutional⠀⇛ The First Senate of the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany Thursday held that provisions authorizing police to use personal data through automated data analysis or automated data interpretation are unconstitutional. # ⚓ Michael West Media ☛ Higgins_claims_diary_details_leaked_to the_media⠀⇛ Brittany Higgins says a private diary entry she gave police investigating rape allegations against a fellow parliamentary staffer has been leaked to the media in a breach of her privacy. # ⚓ teleSUR ☛ The_US_is_World’s_Biggest_Spy_Power:_Wang⠀⇛ In 2021 alone, the FBI has conducted up to 3.4 million warrantless searches of Americans’ phone calls, emails and text messages, the Hill reported. # ⚓ The Hill ☛ Reported_HIPAA_complaints_and_breaches_shot_up from_2017_to_2021:_HHS⠀⇛ The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to submit an annual report to Congress regarding HIPAA complaints, including how many the agency has received and resolved as well as how many complaints were settled monetarily. # ⚓ Scoop News Group ☛ Wikimedia_wants_the_Supreme_Court_to hear_case_over_NSA_surveillance._Here’s_what’s_at_stake.⠀⇛ The Supreme Court will meet on Friday to decide whether to review a case challenging the legality of the National Security Agency’s surveillance program that hoovers up Americans’ internet traffic as it flows in and out of the U.S The American Civil Liberties Union and Knight First Amendment Institute filed the petition on behalf of the Wikimedia Foundation asking the high court to weigh in on the government’s stance that proceeding with a trial over the NSA’s longstanding digital monitoring efforts could reveal information harming national security. The court’s answer could have long-lasting implications for how widely the government can use the “state secrets privilege” to stop civil litigation in the name of national security over issues that have a significant bearing on individual rights. # ⚓ Techdirt ☛ Wisconsin_City_Decides_It’s_OK_To_Eavesdrop_On Private_Conversations_In_Its_City_Hall⠀⇛ The city of Green Bay, Wisconsin feels no private conversation in city hall should go unheard. The city feels there’s nothing wrong with installing overhead mics to snoop on citizens who might be congregating in the hall’s halls. * § Defence/Aggression⠀➾ o ⚓ IT Wire ☛ US_launches_strike_force_to_monitor_tech_export_law violations⠀⇛ The United States has announced the creation of what it calls a Disruptive Technology Strike Force which, among other tasks, will check for criminal violations of export laws. o ⚓ The Strategist ☛ Policy,_Guns_and_Money:_India’s_foreign_policy, information_warfare_and_Australia–Netherlands_cooperation⠀⇛ In this episode, ASPI’s Baani Grewal speaks to Ashok Malik, partner and chair of the India Practice at The Asia Group and ASPI visiting fellow. o ⚓ YLE ☛ Foreign_Affairs_Committee_green-lights_Nato_membership, Parliament_to_vote_on_28_February⠀⇛ The Foreign Affairs Committee recommends that Parliament approve membership before the end of its legislative term, even though Turkey and Hungary have not yet ratified it. o ⚓ YLE ☛ More_than_50k_from_Ukraine_seek_refuge_in_Finland⠀⇛ Children make up a third of those seeking temporary asylum in Finland. o ⚓ The Age AU ☛ ‘Paid_for_treachery’:_British_embassy_guard_who spied_for_Russia_jailed_for_13_years⠀⇛ Judge Mark Wall said Smith, who was brought down by a sting operation, was motivated by his anti-British and pro-Russian views. o ⚓ The Straits Times ☛ US_Pentagon’s_top_China_official_travels_to Taiwan,_sources_say⠀⇛ A visit could exacerbate tensions between Beijing and Washington. o ⚓ New Yorker ☛ How_the_War_in_Ukraine_Ends⠀⇛ An eminent historian envisions a settlement among Russia, Ukraine, and the West. o ⚓ The Strategist ☛ Realising_the_benefits_of_Washington’s_renewed interest_in_northern_Australia⠀⇛ For the third time in less than a century, the US government has rapidly awakened to Australia’s strategic importance. o ⚓ Atlantic Council ☛ Hospitals_under_fire:_how_Europe_can_learn resilience_from_the_Israeli_experience⠀⇛ To ensure they can provide care in the face of these adversities, European hospitals are learning to prioritize hospital resilience, which can be defined as the ability to withstand and quickly recover from attacks. o ⚓ Atlantic Council ☛ Russian_War_Report:_Failed_Russian_push_on Vuhledar_results_in_losses_as_Moscow_increases_troops⠀⇛ Vuhledar, a town connecting the northern and southern flanks, has been under an unsuccessful attack from Russian forces for two weeks. o ⚓ Atlantic Council ☛ What_Biden_should_say_in_Poland:_No_Russia reset_while_Putin_is_in_power⠀⇛ President Joe Biden is going to Warsaw to mark one year of war. Other than Ukraine itself, there is no better place than Poland for Biden to show what is at stake. o ⚓ Atlantic Council ☛ Putin’s_invasion_shatters_the_myth_of_Russian- Ukrainian_brotherhood⠀⇛ Vladimir Putin’s genocidal invasion of Ukraine has shattered the myth of Russian-Ukrainian brotherhood and represents the point of no return in the relationship between the post-Soviet neighbors, writes Taras Kuzio. o ⚓ Atlantic Council ☛ Rebuilding_Ukraine:_Private_sector_role_can help_counter_corruption_concerns⠀⇛ Recent corruption allegations have shaken international confidence in the Ukrainian authorities but Ukraine’s vibrant private sector benefits from broadly positive perceptions and should play a leading role in rebuilding efforts. o ⚓ France24 ☛ Kharkiv’s_year_of_war:_‘A_bomb_can_fall_on_your_home any_time_–_and_your_life_is_over’⠀⇛ Ukraine’s northeastern city of Kharkiv put up a fierce resistance when Moscow’s forces launched their full-scale invasion on February 24, 2022. Russian troops eventually withdrew back to their side of the border, 40 kilometres north of Ukraine’s second largest city. But one year on, the people of Kharkiv are still living under the constant threat of Russian missile strikes. o ⚓ France24 ☛ ‘Not_the_time_for_dialogue’_with_Russia’s_Putin, Macron_says_at_Munich_summit⠀⇛ French President Emmanuel Macron said Kyiv’s Western allies were “ready for a prolonged conflict” in Ukraine as world leaders gathered at the Munich Security Conference on Friday to renew their vow to back Kyiv against Russian forces ahead of the first anniversary of Moscow’s invasion. o ⚓ Spiegel ☛ A_Life_in_Exile:_Ukrainian_Refugees_in_Germany,_One Year_Later⠀⇛ Just over a year ago, Vladimir Putin sent his army into Ukraine, forcing millions of Ukrainians into flight. Hundreds of thousands ended up in Germany. We checked in with some of them to find out how they have adjusted to their new lives. o ⚓ Meduza ☛ Explosion_at_Samara_weapons_plant_kills_one_and_injures three_—_Meduza⠀⇛ At least one person was killed and at least three were injured by an explosion at a defense enterprise in Russia’s Samara region on Thursday, state media reported. o ⚓ Meduza ☛ ‘Do_you_know_why_the_Ukrainians_are_mad_at_us?’_How_the war_in_Ukraine_has_changed_Dagestanis’_views_of_the_Russian_army_— Meduza⠀⇛ o ⚓ Scheerpost ☛ NYT_Book_Review_in_Denial_on_Japanese_Persecution_in World_War_II⠀⇛ The insistence that not all Japanese people were banned from California severely damages the credibility of the New York Times. o ⚓ Scheerpost ☛ William_Astore:_Enough_is_Enough⠀⇛ Bill Astore’s Speech for the Rage Against the War Machine Rally. o ⚓ Meduza ☛ Moscow_man_arrested_for_attempting_to_bring_explosives into_train_station_—_Meduza⠀⇛ Moscow police arrested a man at Kursky Railway Station who tried to pass through the building’s metal detector while carrying explosives, Russian state media reported on Friday. o ⚓ Meduza ☛ Ukrainian_court_sentences_Russian_propagandist_Anton Krasovsky_to_five_years_in_prison,_in_absentia_—_Meduza⠀⇛ A Ukrainian court has sentenced the RT propagandist Anton Krasovsky to five years in prison. The trial took place in absentia, reports Ukraine Security Service in a press release. o ⚓ Meduza ☛ Close_to_15K_Russians_killed_in_Ukraine_since_start_of invasion_identified_through_open_sources_—_Meduza⠀⇛ Mediazona and BBC News Russian have confirmed the names of 14,709 Russians killed in Ukraine since the start of the full-scale invasion, based on open sources. o ⚓ Meduza ☛ Ministry_of_Justice_declares_journalist_Andrey_Loshak and_others_‘foreign_agents’_—_Meduza⠀⇛ The Russian justice ministry has once again added to its list of “foreign agents.” This week, the additions include journalist Andrey Loshak, the historian Andrey Zubov, and the educational project Shkola Vozrozhdenie (School of Revival). o ⚓ Meduza ☛ Pussy_Riot_activist_Rita_Flores_disappears_after_being detained_by_Moscow_police_—_Meduza⠀⇛ Pussy Riot activist Rita Flores has stopped answering phone calls after her apartment was searched and she herself was detained by the Moscow police. o ⚓ France24 ☛ French_court_convicts_far-right_militants_over_Macron assassination_plot⠀⇛ A French court on Friday found three members of a far- right group guilty of conspiring to prepare an act of terrorism against President Emmanuel Macron in 2018. o ⚓ France24 ☛ Ukraine_war_exposes_splits_between_Global_North_and South⠀⇛ Over the past year, most Global South countries adopted a position of studied neutrality on the war in Ukraine. Their self-interest over the principles of international law and stability ended up serving Russian interests and regional tyrants, but not their citizens, who comprise most of the world’s population. o ⚓ LRT ☛ ‘We_cannot_risk_wars_in_Europe_again,’_says_Lithuanian president⠀⇛ Cooperation between Ukraine and NATO will be one of the key issues to be discussed at the upcoming NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda said at the Munich Security Conference in Germany on Friday. o ⚓ LRT ☛ Lithuanian_Railways_to_probe_sanction-busting_by_Belarusian firms⠀⇛ Lietuvos Gelezinkeliai (Lithuanian Railways, LTG) said on Friday that it has asked prosecutors to investigate possible attempts by businesses to get around EU sanctions. o ⚓ LRT ☛ Norway_warns_of_Russia’s_tactical_nuclear_weapons_threat⠀⇛ Russia is increasingly reliant on its nuclear deterrent, including tactical nuclear weapons that may be used on a battlefield, according to a Norwegian intelligence report released on February 13. o ⚓ France24 ☛ South_Korea,_US_to_step_up_nuclear_drills_amid_growing threats_from_North_Korea⠀⇛ South Korea and the United States will stage tabletop exercises in Washington next week to improve operations of American nuclear assets as part of efforts to better counter North Korea’s threats, Seoul’s defence ministry said on Friday. o ⚓ JURIST ☛ Australia_court_releases_pleadings_by_soldier_alleging human_rights_abuse_to_media_outlets⠀⇛ The Federal Court of Australia Thursday agreed to release documents to the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) and The Guardian filed in a case by former Australian solder Dominic de Pyle. The case alleges that Pyle’s human rights were violated when he was required to perform sex acts as part of his training. o ⚓ JURIST ☛ Pennsylvania_governor_will_continue_state_death_penalty moratorium⠀⇛ Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro Thursday announced that he will not issue execution warrants while in office, thus continuing a moratorium on the death penalty in Pennsylvania. The governor also called on the PA General Assembly to abolish the death penalty in Pennsylvania. o ⚓ RFA ☛ Myanmar_junta_targets_Kayin_state_on_Thai_border,_a_rebel hotbed_in_a_key_location⠀⇛ The military has shifted to airstrikes after ground offenses proved ineffective. o ⚓ RFA ☛ Villagers_to_be_displaced_by_Luang_Prabang_Dam_want_more compensation⠀⇛ Relocation will rob them of their farmland and Mekong River livelihoods o ⚓ RFA ☛ Quizzed_at_UN,_Chinese_delegates_deny_rights_abuses_against Uyghurs,_Tibetans⠀⇛ ‘The freedom of people of all ethnic groups to believe in all religions has been fully guaranteed.’ o ⚓ RFA ☛ Seoul’s_defense_ministry_denies_Korean_troops_massacred civilians_during_Vietnam_War⠀⇛ Korean government intends to appeal a court ruling that awarded damages to a Vietnamese victim of a 1968 massacre. o ⚓ RFERL ☛ First_Group_Of_Ukrainians_Finishes_Advanced_U.S._Military Training_In_Germany⠀⇛ The first group of 635 Ukrainian fighters has finished a five-week advanced U.S. training course in Germany on sophisticated combat skills and armored vehicles, the Pentagon said. o ⚓ RFERL ☛ Ukraine_Will_Present_Peace_Resolution_To_UN,_Zelenskiy Says⠀⇛ President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said that Kyiv next week will present a resolution to the United Nations on peace in Ukraine. o ⚓ RFERL ☛ Russian_Woman_Flees_Country_Following_Harsh_Detainment For_Discussing_Ukraine_War⠀⇛ Olesya Ovchinnikova, a Russian woman from Krasnodar who was brutally detainment along with her husband in a restaurant for discussing the war in Ukraine, has left Russia. o ⚓ teleSUR ☛ Russia_Urges_US_To_Prove_Innocence_Over_Nord_Stream Incident⠀⇛ The Russian side will not allow to simply turn the page on destroying critical energy infrastructure, Girenko said. o ⚓ teleSUR ☛ Russia_to_React_if_EU_Seizes_Frozen_Assets_in_Favor_of Ukraine⠀⇛ Grushko called the actions of the EU and the West on Russia a “flagrant violation of basic international law.” o ⚓ ‘I_haver_never_seen_such_cold_eyes’:_Denmark’s_Queen_remembers meeting_Putin⠀⇛ Queen Margrethe has spoken about her two meetings with Russian president Vladimir Putin around a decade ago in a forthright interview with a Danish newspaper. o ⚓ The Local SE ☛ Finland_to_join_Nato_without_Sweden_if_Turkey gives_go_ahead⠀⇛ Finland’s president has said that his country will have to join Nato before Sweden if Turkey opts to only ratify Finnish membership of the security alliance. o ⚓ Meduza ☛ Andrey_Mordvichev_replaces_Alexander_Lapin_as_commander of_Russia’s_Central_Military_District_—_Meduza⠀⇛ Lieutenant General Andrey Mordvichev has replaced Colonel General Alexander Lapin as the commander of Russia’s Central Military District, according to the government’s Uniform State Register of Legal Entities. o ⚓ TruthOut ☛ Biden_Pulls_Nomination_of_Human_Rights_Lawyer_for Denouncing_Israeli_Apartheid⠀⇛ o ⚓ Salon ☛ The_Big_Lie’s_new_plot:_Trump_just_curiously_flip-flopped on_mail-in_voting⠀⇛ Donald Trump’s Big Lie has always had many moving parts, and as strange as it may seem, there are new ones every day. o ⚓ ABC ☛ Marcos:_China_laser_not_enough_to_activate_US_defense pact⠀⇛ “Despite the fact that it was a military-grade laser that was pointed at our coast guard, I do not think that that is sufficient for it to trigger the Mutual Defense Treaty,” Marcos said in his first public remarks about the Feb. 6 incident involving two Chinese and Philippine coast guard vessels near the disputed Second Thomas Shoal. Responding to a question, Marcos said he was concerned that activating the 1951 treaty would ratchet up regional tensions. o ⚓ Eesti Rahvusringhääling ☛ EDF_intelligence_chief:_Russia_has started_using_spy_balloons⠀⇛ According to Grosberg, the main purpose of sending the meteorological balloons into Ukraine is to exhaust Ukrainian air defenses, who have to track and destroy them, as it is not known what they may be carrying. o ⚓ The Kent Stater ☛ Ukraine_is_burning_through_ammunition_faster than_the_US_and_NATO_can_produce_it._Inside_the_Pentagon’s_plan_to close_the_gap⠀⇛ Running full-tilt, as it was on a recent January morning, the Scranton Army Ammunition Plant churns out roughly 11,000 artillery shells a month. That may seem like a lot, but the Ukrainian military often fires that many shells over just a few days. To meet that demand, the Scranton plant is undergoing a massive expansion, fueled by millions of dollars in new defense spending from the Pentagon. It’s investing in new high-tech machinery, hiring a few dozen additional workers and will eventually shift to a 24/7 schedule of constant production. o ⚓ Morning Star News ☛ Christian_Farm_Laborer_Beaten_to_Death_in Pakistan⠀⇛ He said that though the police had arrested Waseem and two others, getting justice from the courts would be an uphill task. o ⚓ Jerusalem Post ☛ After_decade_of_civil_war,_Yemen_is_in_‘Critical Stage’_–_prime_minister⠀⇛ The civil war in Yemen between the internationally recognized government supported by a Saudi-backed coalition of Arab states and the Iran-backed Houthi rebels, which began in 2014, has created one of the worst humanitarian crises of the modern era. o ⚓ The Pillar ☛ ‘Scores_of_Christians_killed,_others_displaced’_– Nigerian_think_tank_builds_‘atrocities_database’⠀⇛ A Nigerian research center has built a database which tracks how thousands of Christians in northern Nigeria have faced displacement, kidnapping, or death, with little government attention or response to the problem. Organized and compiled by the Kukah Centre of Abuja, the “Nigerian Atrocities Documentation Project” aims to compile evidence-based data into “an atrocities’ database” recording Christian persecution in northern Nigeria. o ⚓ The Jewish Chronicle ☛ Iran_‘mapping’_Jews_in_diaspora_for_kill squads⠀⇛ It was at a closed event he organised in Iran that she said was told of the plan “to identify all the prominent NGOs run by Jews, who was doing what in each business sector, the important rabbis. They wanted to figure out their influence and where they lived with their families in order to target them.” Talebzadeh, she said, was explicit that the mapping was preparation for murder to make “the diaspora pay a price”. In November MI5’s director general Ken McCallum said ten Iranian assassination plots had been foiled in the UK in the space of a year, although he did not say whether Jews had been targeted. o ⚓ Firstpost ☛ Tehran_plans_to_assassinate_influential_Jews_world over_if_Israel_attacks,_claims_French_journalist⠀⇛ Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps plotted to “identify all the prominent NGOs run by Jews, who was doing what in each business sector, the important rabbis,” Catherine Perez-Shakdam told the Jewish Chronicle. Shakdam has met both Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and President Ebrahim Raisi, and used to write for to pro-Iran media outlets in the past. She learnt about the plot at a meeting, which accessed through filmmaker Nader Talebzadeh, who died in April last year. o ⚓ VOA News ☛ Pakistani_Taliban_Storm_Karachi_Police_Headquarters, Kill_4⠀⇛ Police officials said between eight and 10 assailants traveling in a motor vehicle threw hand grenades at the main gate before storming the multistory police facility. The ensuing clashes killed three assailants, ending the siege, said Siddiqui, a senior leader of the Pakistan People’s Party. The fate of the rest of the militants was not known immediately, however. o ⚓ BBC ☛ Nigeria_election_2023:_Has_Buhari_tackled_Boko_Haram threat?⠀⇛ The Islamic State West Africa Province (Iswap), which splintered from Boko Haram seven years ago, is also becoming more of a threat. In 2022, it claimed the highest number of attacks since its formation, and it controls strategically important territory around Lake Chad. o ⚓ Meduza ☛ Pushing_papers,_telling_jokes_In_the_early_days_of Russia’s_invasion_of_Ukraine,_Roman_Abramovich_and_his_team_hoped for_a_peaceful_resolution._Then_Bucha_changed_everything._— Meduza⠀⇛ At the outset of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the hope of regulating the emergency through peace talks was very much alive on both sides of the conflict. Since then, those hopes have evaporated. The Ukrainian side has grown disenchanted with a Russian delegation incapable of making autonomous decisions, pinned as it were to the positions rigidly specified in advance by the Kremlin. After the Russian atrocities in Bucha shocked the world, the space for compromise shrank to a minimum, and the peace talks devolved into addressing localized questions like prisoner exchanges and the grain deal. Yet the peacemaking group still exists, and its Russian side, loosely organized around the oligarch Roman Abramovich, has a number of surprising players. Here’s what we know about its composition and its members’ contacts with the Ukrainian side. * § Transparency/Investigative Reporting⠀➾ o ⚓ RFERL ☛ Russia_Summons_Dutch_Ambassador_Over_MH17_Probe⠀⇛ Russia said it summoned the Dutch ambassador over what it called “obsessive attempts” by the Netherlands to hold it responsible for the downing of Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 in Ukraine in 2014. o ⚓ Frontpage Magazine ☛ How_Reuters_Covered_Terrorist_Mahmoud Aleiwat⠀⇛ Reuters, the largest wire agency in the world, has established a record of deep antipathy to Israel. It recently did itself proud with a report by Henriette Chacar, covering the story of 13.-year-old Mahmoud Aleiwat, who attempted to murder an Israeli father and son at the City of David archeological site in Jerusalem. More on this story can be found here: “Reuters Glowingly Describes Palestinian Terror Teen as Wannabe Chef Who Loved Football,” by Rachel O’Donoghue, Algemeiner, February 7, 2023: [...] * § Environment⠀➾ o ⚓ RTL ☛ ‘Feedback_loops’_worsening_climate_crisis:_report⠀⇛ Global warming melts sea ice, which leads to further warming because water absorbs more heat than ice, creating what scientists call a “climate feedback loop.” A report released Friday contains what researchers believe is the most comprehensive list of feedback loops ever compiled and a stark warning that climate models may be underestimating their impact. o ⚓ Teen Vogue ☛ Cancer_Alley_in_Louisiana:_What_Is_It,_and_How_Can Legislation_Address_Environmental_Injustice?⠀⇛ Naively, I believed water was only ever polluted through the use of dated pipes, so I was taken aback upon being introduced to the chemical waste that pollutes Louisiana’s bodies of water in St. James Parish. I was even more alarmed when I learned that these issues have been festering since the plants first arrived in the 1960s, with little intervention by the local Louisiana government. o ⚓ CNN ☛ Nearly_30_dangerous_feedback_loops_could_permanently_shift the_Earth’s_climate,_scientists_say⠀⇛ Dangerous climate feedback loops are increasing global warming and risk causing a permanent shift away from the Earth’s current climate, according to a new study. Climate feedback loops are cyclical chain reactions that happen when one change triggers further changes, in a process that keeps on repeating itself. Some of these feedback loops drive down warming, but others amplify it. o ⚓ Helsinki Times ☛ Significant_deposit_of_rare_earth_metals discovered_in_Finnish_Lapland⠀⇛ The company estimates that setting up the mine would require an investment in the region of 1–1.5 billion euros. Constructing the mining infrastructure could begin early next decade, provided that the conclusions of the scoping study are corroborated by further investigations and permitting processes are initiated. o ⚓ The Nation ☛ Antarctica_Time_Bomb⠀⇛ o § Energy/Transportation⠀➾ # ⚓ YLE ☛ E-scooters_more_popular_than_taxis,_but_walking_still rules_in_Helsinki⠀⇛ Nearly half of the journeys around the city were done on foot. # ⚓ YLE ☛ Some_Lapland_filling_stations_fear_fuel_shortage⠀⇛ Filling stations in northern Finland might run out of fuel, if a truckers’ strike continues as planned until next Tuesday. # ⚓ Renewable Energy World ☛ California_solar_farm_marks largest_private-public_partnership_in_DOD_history⠀⇛ A recently-unveiled solar farm at Edwards Air Force Base in California represents the largest public- private partnership in Defense Department history. The 1.3 GW project was built in collaboration with Terra-Gen as a result of the Edwards Solar Enhance Use Lease Project. The project, which features more than 2 million panels, is the largest project of its kind in U.S. Air Force history. # ⚓ MIT Technology Review ☛ Meet_the_new_batteries_unlocking cheaper_electric_vehicles⠀⇛ New batteries are coming to America.  This week, Ford announced plans for a new factory in Michigan that will produce lithium iron phosphate batteries for its electric vehicles. The plant, expected to cost $3.5 billion and begin production in 2026, would be the first to make these batteries in the US. # ⚓ MIT Technology Review ☛ How_does_an_EV_battery_actually work?⠀⇛ The batteries propelling electric vehicles have quickly become the most crucial component, and expense, for a new generation of cars and trucks. They represent not only the potential for cleaner transportation but also broad shifts in geopolitical power, industrial dominance, and environmental protection. # ⚓ MIT Technology Review ☛ Huge_EVs_are_far_from_perfect,_but they_could_still_help_fight_climate_change.⠀⇛ This article is from The Spark, MIT Technology Review’s weekly climate newsletter. To receive it in your inbox every Wednesday, sign up here. When it comes to watching the Super Bowl, I’ve always been more of a football person than a commercials person. # ⚓ All Africa ☛ Zimbabwe:_When_Energy_Crises_Leave_Us_in_the Dark,_But_Life_Has_to_Go_On⠀⇛ Load shedding has been the reality every day since the start of 2023, according to a local tracker. All indications are that the situation won’t be remedied for many months ahead. Just recently, Eskom’s board chairperson, Mpho Makwana, said South Africa was going to be hit by power cuts for at least two more years. Across the country, a schedule of power cuts dictates two- to four-hour periods when power supply is cut off, and this is done in stages: Stage 1 means the least loadshedding, while Stage 8 could mean hours and hours of load shedding. In addition, the schedules vary from region to region and municipality to municipality. In some areas, schedules are implemented more efficiently than in others – and Eskom sometimes changes from one stage to another with very little notice. # ⚓ The Economist ☛ Throughout_the_rich_world,_the_young_are falling_out_of_love_with_cars⠀⇛ Few technologies defined the 20th century more than the car. On the surface, the love affair with the personal automobile continues unabated into this century. The number of drivers on the world’s roads continues to rise almost everywhere. The distance driven by American motorists hit a new peak last year, according to data from the Federal Highway Administration. But there are hints that this is changing. People like Ms Crandall show why. Getting a driving licence was once a nearly universal rite of passage into adulthood. Now it is something that a growing minority of young people either ignore or actively oppose, into their 20s and beyond. That, in turn, is starting to create more support for anti-car policies being passed in cities around the world. From New York to Norway, a growing number of cities and local politicians are passing anti-car laws, ripping out parking spaces, blocking off roads and changing planning rules to favour pedestrians over drivers. Anne Hidalgo, the socialist mayor of Paris, boasts of “reconquering” her city for its residents. # ⚓ [Old] The War on Cars ☛ The_War_on_Cars⠀⇛ The War on Cars is a new podcast about the epic, hundred years’ war between The Car and The City. We deliver news and commentary on the latest developments in the worldwide fight to undo a century’s worth of damage wrought by the automobile. We produce a new show every other week. # ⚓ YLE ☛ E-scooters_more_popular_than_taxis,_but_walking_still rules_in_Helsinki⠀⇛ The most common mode of transportation was walking, with 47 percent of trips done on foot. Walking was even more popular in the heart of the city. After pedestrian travel came automobiles (15%), buses (11%) and then bicycles (9%), according to the survey. o § Wildlife/Nature⠀➾ # ⚓ RFA ☛ Philippines_intercepts_Vietnamese_fishing_boat_in Reed_Bank⠀⇛ Incident on Feb. 9 happened days after alleged Chinese laser harassment against a Philippine coast guard boat. # ⚓ RFA ☛ Vietnam’s_fishing_fleet_unaware_of_newly_agreed Indonesian_economic_zone⠀⇛ The alleged incursions put pressure on Hanoi and Jakarta to disclose details of the deal. # ⚓ All Africa ☛ Africa:_A_Man’s_Best_Friend_is_a_Trafficker’s Worst_Nightmare⠀⇛ In a recent webinar, Dr. Philip Muruthi, vice president of Species Conservation and Science at the African Wildlife Foundation (AWF) and Mark Kinyua, a Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) canine expert and Head of KWS’s Marine and Community Program, explained to journalists how dogs have become a useful new tool in combating the illegal wildlife trade. Sniffer dogs, we were told, are capable of detecting the tiniest amounts of wildlife contraband, such as ivory tusks or jewellery and even rhino horn powder, even if it is hidden in a 40-foot shipping container. As a result, the AWF is promoting the deployment of detection dogs to combat illegal trade in East Africa, where poaching in national parks and other protected areas is one of the greatest menaces to wildlife preservation. o § Overpopulation⠀➾ # ⚓ Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Hong_Kong_population_shrinks_for third_year_straight,_as_no._of_residents_falls_by_0.9%_in 2022⠀⇛ Hong Kong’s population fell by 0.9 per cent in 2022, according to provisional statistics from the Census and Statistics Department. It is the third consecutive year in which the population has fallen. The number of residents shrank by 68,300 to 7,333,200 last year, amid an exodus of workers and a falling birth rate. # ⚓ Gannett ☛ Water_crisis_in_West:_Massive_reservoir_Lake Powell_hits_historic_low_water_level⠀⇛ “In the year 2000 the two reservoirs were 95% full. They’re roughly 25% full now,” said Brad Udall, a water and climate scientist at Colorado State University. “It’s hard to overstate how important the Colorado River is to the entire American southwest.” * § Finance⠀➾ o ⚓ TruthOut ☛ Disney:_The_Place_Where_Dreams_of_Mass_Layoffs_Come True_for_Investors⠀⇛ o ⚓ TruthOut ☛ Sanders_and_Warren_Grill_US’s_Largest_Grocer_on Reports_of_Rampant_Wage_Theft⠀⇛ o ⚓ What_is_Money_with_Robert_Breedlove⠀⇛ What_is_Money_with_Robert_Breedlove. o ⚓ Hong Kong Free Press ☛ January_arrivals_in_Hong_Kong_just_7_per cent_of_2019_figures⠀⇛ Arrivals in Hong Kong were down 92.6 per cent in January compared to 2019 figures supplied to HKFP by the Tourism Board. o ⚓ The Straits Times ☛ China’s_Top_Tech_Banker_Is_Missing?_Here’s What_That_Means⠀⇛ Investment bank China Renaissance Holdings said it had lost touch with Mr Bao Fan, its prominent founder. o ⚓ Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Chinese_tech_billionaire_Bao_Fan_missing, company_says,_sending_shares_plunging⠀⇛ The Chinese billionaire chairman of investment bank China Renaissance has gone missing, the firm said, as shares in the company plunged in Hong Kong on Friday. Bao Fan, who is also executive director of the bank, is a major figure in the Chinese tech industry… o ⚓ FAIR ☛ Maritza_Perez_Medina_on_Fentanyl,_Nancy_Altman_on_Social Security⠀⇛ o ⚓ TruthOut ☛ These_Workers_Were_Fired_After_Union_Activity._Here’s How_They_Got_Un-Fired.⠀⇛ o ⚓ Pro Publica ☛ What_Is_the_Earned_Income_Tax_Credit_(EITC)?⠀⇛ The earned income tax credit (EITC) put an average of $2,043 back in recipients’ hands and helped lift millions of children above the poverty line last year. Thirty-one million people applied and received the credit last year, according to the IRS. But a fifth of taxpayers who are eligible for the credit still don’t claim it. Here’s what you should know about the earned income tax credit and eligibility. o ⚓ Democracy Now ☛ Corporate_Greed_and_Deregulation_Fuel_Threat_of More_Bomb_Trains_As_East_Palestine_Demands_Answers⠀⇛ We look at the failures that led to the massive train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, that blanketed the town with a toxic brew of spilled chemicals and gases, fouling the air, polluting waterways and killing thousands of fish and frogs. Residents are suffering ailments including respiratory distress, sore throats, burning eyes and rashes, all with unknown long-term consequences. Many say they do not trust officials who tell them it is safe to return to their homes. This catastrophe could have been prevented, had it not been for lax regulation and the outsized lobbying power of corporations like Norfolk Southern, says Matthew Cunningham-Cook, a researcher and writer at The Lever who is part of a team that is reporting on the disaster. o ⚓ TruthOut ☛ Warren_Demands_Answers_on_Soaring_Egg_Prices_as_Top Producers’_Profits_Skyrocket⠀⇛ o ⚓ Common Dreams ☛ Warren_and_Porter_Demand_Answers_From_Big_Egg Over_‘Massive_Spike’_in_Prices⠀⇛ Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Rep. Katie Porter on Thursday demanded answers from the five largest egg producers in the United States over recent price surges that companies have blamed on an avian flu outbreak—a narrative that advocates view as an effort to distract attention from rampant profiteering in the industry. o ⚓ TruthOut ☛ Mike_Pence_Calls_for_Privatizing_Social_Security_in Fox_News_Interview⠀⇛ o ⚓ TruthOut ☛ Republicans_Plan_to_Back_Off_on_Calls_to_Repeal Affordable_Care_Act_in_2024⠀⇛ o ⚓ YLE ☛ Mail_delays_loom_as_Posti_workers_join_transport_strikers⠀⇛ Package delivery times may be delayed by up to a week, while it could take up to two weeks for letters and magazines to arrive. o ⚓ Helsinki Times ☛ Working_from_home_attracts_people_from_big cities_to_the_suburbs⠀⇛ o ⚓ Helsinki Times ☛ Housing_prices_to_fall_and_rents_to_rise:_PTT⠀⇛ Finnish economic research institute, Pellervo Economic Research (PTT), has predicted that housing prices will fall and rents will rise in 2023. However, the institute has also said that the market is expected to recover in the latter half of the year, and that there is no risk of a downward spiral. PTT predicts that the uncertainty in the economy and the rising interest rates will bring housing prices down this year, while rents will increase at a faster rate. o ⚓ Digital Music News ☛ Roblox_Reports_Nearly_$1_Billion_Net_Loss_in 2022⠀⇛ Roblox released its fourth-quarter, year-end financial earnings for 2022, which show jumps in revenue and bookings while losses continue to deepen. The company saw a 16% increase in revenue year-on-year, with $2.2 billion, while bookings increased 5% year-on-year, at $2.9 billion. o ⚓ France24 ☛ Nigeria:_Protests_at_banks_and_ATMs_break_out_amid ‘cash_scarcity’_concerns⠀⇛ Destroying ATMs, breaking into banks and setting up blockades in the street: angry protests erupted on February 15 in several cities across Nigeria as people struggle to get their hands on newly designed banknotes. Frustration is mounting as some citizens can’t even purchase basic necessities amid widespread shortages of the new currency, just a week ahead of the 2023 general elections. o ⚓ Michael West Media ☛ Savers_need_to_keep_pressure_on_banks:_RBA⠀⇛ Short-changed savers have been urged to shop around and keep pressure on banks to offer competitive rates. Reserve Bank governor Philip Lowe has told savers to switch to a better deal if their interest rates don’t reflect the 325-basis point cumulative increase to the official cash rate since May last year. o ⚓ Michael West Media ☛ Technology_company_accused_of_price_fixes_at mine_sites⠀⇛ The corporate watchdog has launched legal action over alleged price fixing and tender bid rigging for entertainment services at Rio Tinto and Fortescue Metals Group mine sites. Technology company Swift is accused of making agreements with a competitor to fix technology infrastructure prices, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission says. o ⚓ teleSUR ☛ France:_Lower_House_Starts_Last_Day_Of_Debate_On Pension_Reform⠀⇛ Lawmakers will have until midnight to discuss the pension system reform bill, which will then inmediately pass to the Senate. o ⚓ teleSUR ☛ French_Workers_Occupy_Small_Towns_to_Reject_the_Pension Reform⠀⇛ Their protest seeks to attract the attention of legislators, who will have to vote on the Macron’s proposals on Friday. o ⚓ teleSUR ☛ China_Remains_Germany’s_Most_Important_Trading_Partner in_2022⠀⇛ Many product groups from China were “indispensable for the German economy,” according to an analysis published by the Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel) on Wednesday. o ⚓ Reason ☛ The_SEC_Is_Starting_a_Massive_Database_of_Every_Stock Trade⠀⇛ The Consolidated Audit Trail is intended to collect and accurately identify every order, cancellation, modification, and trade execution for all exchange-listed equities and options across all U.S. markets, allowing the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to track orders and identify who made them. The SEC ordered the CAT to be created in 2012 after regulators had difficulty identifying the causes of the 2010 “flash crash.” At the time, then-SEC Chair Mary Schapiro described the CAT as providing regulators with the “data and means to exponentially enhance [their] abilities to oversee a highly complex market structure.” And in years since, the CAT has been championed as necessary for the SEC’s enforcement efforts. o ⚓ IBM Old Timer ☛ Management_Priorities_for_Highly_Turbulent Times⠀⇛ * § AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics⠀➾ o ⚓ Scheerpost ☛ The_Specter_of_‘Woke_Communism’⠀⇛ How Corporate America Became the Bogeyman of Today’s Anti-Communist Crusaders. o ⚓ Common Dreams ☛ How_‘Woke’_Corporate_America_Became_the_Bogeyman of_Today’s_Anti-Communist_Crusaders⠀⇛ Ron DeSantis, governor of Florida and perhaps the next president of the United States, is waging war against something he and many others on the right identify as “woke communism.” DeSantis even persuaded the Florida legislature to pass a Victims of Communism law, mandating that every November 7th (the anniversary of the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia), all public schools in the state must devote 45 minutes of instruction to the evils of the red menace. o ⚓ Press Gazette ☛ Local_media_bosses_furious_at_Tim_Davie’s_‘cat that_got_the_cream’_licence_fee_comments [Ed: While BillBC (BBC) takes bribes from Bill Gates to advance its agenda and cover up his crime... instead of informing people who pay TV Licensing.]⠀⇛ BBC’s £3.7bn licence fee income rising as commercial sector budgets cut. o ⚓ Press Gazette ☛ Channel_5_agrees_second_payout_in_a_year_over ‘Can’t_Pay?_We’ll_Take_it_Away!’⠀⇛ The settlement relates to an episode of the show broadcast in April 2017. o ⚓ TruthOut ☛ Fox_News_Worried_That_Fact-Checking_Trump’s_“Big_Lie” Would_Hurt_Ratings⠀⇛ o ⚓ New Yorker ☛ [Joke]_Tucker_Carlson_Fears_That_Leaked_Texts_of_Him Telling_Truth_Will_Kill_His_Brand⠀⇛ “Tucker is in a very dark place right now,” a Fox News colleague said. “To be unmasked as an honest person is literally his worst nightmare.” o ⚓ The Nation ☛ Nasty,_Brutish,_and_Short—Chicago-Style⠀⇛ Chicago, Ill.—The mayor is female and an accomplished lawyer. She is Black, and gay, with a wife and child. And she is a progressive who beat the establishment when the odds were against her. For Democrats and left-leaning local politicians, what’s not to love? o ⚓ The Nation ☛ After_Another_Police_Killing_in_Chicago,_We_Need_to Focus_on_Care,_Not_Cops⠀⇛ When police take a life, a public-relations machine whirrs into motion. The goal of the subsequent press releases and media interviews is to cast whoever has been killed by a police bullet, car, or baton in an unsympathetic light. She may have been using drugs. He had an aggressive face. She was experiencing a mental health crisis. He had a gun. He ran. He had been arrested before. He was in a gang. Such well-worn lines serve a purpose: to keep the public from seeing the person and their family as victims deserving of rights, care, or mourning. o ⚓ The Nation ☛ The_Supreme_Court_Can’t_Even_Agree_on_a_Code_of Ethics_for_Itself⠀⇛ Reports surfaced last week that the nine justices of the Supreme Court have not been able to agree on a code of ethics for their institution. The Supreme Court is the only court in the nation that operates without a code of ethics, but in 2019 Justice Elena Kagan appeared before Congress and assured representatives that one was in the works. Four years and one Supreme-spouse-supported coup attempt later, the justices still appear unable to agree on the basic ethical standards to which they should be held accountable. o ⚓ The Nation ☛ When_Black_Women_Are_Punished_for_Winning_Too_Much⠀⇛ At this year’s Grammy awards, Beyoncé Knowles became the winner of the most Grammys ever, but lost the Album of the Year category to Harry Styles. It was the fourth time she lost that prize to a white artist. As widespread incredulity gave way to outrage, a Variety article that had been published a couple of days before the awards ceremony began resurfacing on Twitter. o ⚓ The Nation ☛ America’s_Toxic_Romance_With_the_Free_Market⠀⇛ The publication of Naomi Oreskes and Erik M. Conway’s Merchants of Doubt: How a Handful of Scientists Obscured the Truth on Issues From Tobacco Smoke to Climate Change in 2010 helped transform how science news was reported in the media. The book persuaded reporters worldwide to become more skeptical of industry-sponsored “experts”—particularly on issues like global warming. Oreskes and Conway hope their latest collaboration, The Big Myth: How American Business Taught Us to Loathe Government and Love the Free Market (Bloomsbury), will have a similar impact. I recently caught up with Oreskes, who teaches science history at Harvard, and is also the author of Why Trust Science, Science on a Mission: How Military Funding Shaped What We Do and Don’t Know About the Ocean, and Plate Tectonics An Insider’s History of the Modern Theory of the Earth. Long ago, in another life, Oreskes was a geologist. During our conversation, we discussed The Big Myth and how free-market economics became a dominant force in American public policy.1 o ⚓ TruthOut ☛ Trump_Claims_He’s_Been_Exonerated_in_Georgia_Elections Probe._That’s_Not_True.⠀⇛ o ⚓ Telex (Hungary) ☛ Justice_Minister_Varga_refuses_to_meet_EP’s PEGA_Committee⠀⇛ o ⚓ The Nation ☛ Berlin’s_Recent_Botched_Election_Breeds_Public Distrust⠀⇛ Berlin—An unprecedented do-over election here last Sunday, February 12, put the notoriously left-wing German capital on the precipice of conservative government for the first time in two decades. The revote for state and municipal government—ordered by the state’s constitutional court after widespread mishandling of the September 2021 polls—saw support for the Social Democrats (SPD) plummet, while the rival Christian Democrats (CDU) surged more than 10 percent to 28.2 percent to take the clear lead among parties. o ⚓ Press Gazette ☛ Americans’_trust_in_news_continues_to_decline, says_new_survey⠀⇛ Americans’ trust in news continues to fall according to a new survey from the Knight Foundation and Gallup. o ⚓ Common Dreams ☛ Brazil’s_New_Lula_Government_Is_an_Opportunity for_a_New_Trade_Model⠀⇛ Change is afoot in Latin America. The region—battered by COVID, inequality and environmental crisis—is seeing a second wave of progressive governments elected, most significantly with the recent victory of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in Brazil. This is a unique opportunity for us to build a new trade model that puts people and the planet first. Stopping the harmful EU- Mercosur trade deal is a good place to start. o ⚓ Democracy Now ☛ Brazilian_Amazon_Leader_Urges_Lula_to_Prosecute Bolsonaro_for_Genocide_Against_Indigenous_Yamomami⠀⇛ The new Brazilian government recently conducted operations to expel thousands of illegal gold miners from Indigenous Yanomami land in the Amazon rainforest. The miners have caused a humanitarian crisis among the Yanomami who have suffered from severe malnutrition and illness from illegal mining operations that have polluted rivers and destroyed forests. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva recently accused Jair Bolsonaro’s far-right government of committing genocide against the Yanomami people. Bolsonaro, who is expected to return to Brazil from Florida next month, could face genocide charges for his actions. Democracy Now! spoke to Davi Kopenawa Yanomami, a leader and shaman for the Yanomami people, while he was in Washington, D.C., last week. Yanomami says he supports the prosecution of Bolsonaro. o ⚓ FAIR ☛ You’d_Scowl,_Too,_if_Media_Covered_You_Like_Bernie Sanders⠀⇛ Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is the new chair of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions—and the New York Times has something to say about it. In a piece by veteran reporter Sheryl Gay Stolberg (2/12/23) headlined, “Bernie Sanders Has a New Role. It Could Be His Final Act in Washington,” the paper demonstrates once again (FAIR.org, 2/24/16, 10/1/19, 1/ 30/20) how the lens through which corporate media view progressive politicians colors their coverage. o ⚓ Common Dreams ☛ Echoing_Workers,_Sanders_Says_Train_Derailments Stem_From_Wall_Street_Greed⠀⇛ Sen. Bernie Sanders on Thursday connected the spate of recent train derailments in the United States to Wall Street-backed cost-cutting and other policy decisions that have decimated the rail industry’s workforce and compromised safety for the sake of larger profits. o ⚓ Democracy Now ☛ Silencing_Critics_of_Israel:_Biden_Pulls Nomination_of_Human_Rights_Lawyer_For_Decrying_Apartheid⠀⇛ Last Friday, the State Department announced the nomination of James Cavallaro, a widely respected human rights attorney, to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. But earlier this week, the State Department withdrew Cavallaro’s nomination after reports emerged that he had described Israel as an apartheid state and had criticized House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries’s close ties to AIPAC, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. Defending the withdrawal of Cavallaro’s nomination, State Department spokesperson Ned Price said, “His statements clearly do not reflect U.S. policy. They are not a reflection of what we believe, and they are inappropriate to say the least.” The decision has sparked outrage within the human rights community. Cavallaro joins us to explain that this move by the Biden administration is particularly troubling because the role he was nominated for does not have any authority over U.S.-Israel relations and is an independent position. o ⚓ The Nation ☛ Trump’s_Legal_Team_Is_in_Hot_Water⠀⇛ By any reasonable measure, it’s been a bad week in the legal system for former President Donald Trump and his allies. Special prosecutor Jack Smith—who’s heading up inquiries into the run-up to the January 6 insurrection and the former president’s enormous cache of classified documents in Mar-a-Lago—has sent out a new flurry of subpoenas, including one for former Trump chief of staff Mark Meadows and Trump’s former personal attorney Evan Corcoran. The Corcoran subpoena seeks to compel the attorney’s testimony under what’s known as the crime- fraud exception to attorney-client privilege, which is not what you’d call a good look for the Trump legal team. o ⚓ The Nation ☛ Katie_Porter_Is_Aiming_for_Dianne_Feinstein’s_Seat⠀⇛ This week, California’s 89-year-old Senator Dianne Feinstein bowed to the inevitable. Facing a growing chorus of critics who detailed her incapacity for the job, and a growing number of young congressional colleagues who were throwing their hat into the ring in an effort to forcibly dislodge her, Feinstein has announced that she will not seek reelection in 2024. o ⚓ The Nation ☛ Nikki_Haley’s_Anti-Union_Fanaticism_Is_Wild_Even_for a_Republican⠀⇛ Nikki Haley has tried to distinguish herself as a Republican presidential candidate by announcing, “We won’t win the fight for the 21st Century if we keep trusting politicians from the 20th Century.” o ⚓ American Oversight ☛ News_Roundup:_Deliberate_Lies⠀⇛ o ⚓ Digital Music News ☛ ARIA_Fires_Back_Against_TikTok’s_Song Restrictions_in_Australia:_‘An_Attempt_to_Downplay_the_Significance of_Music’⠀⇛ Earlier this month, amid continued licensing talks between the major labels and TikTok, it came to light that the video-sharing app had started limiting the music that certain users can feature in their clips. Now, rightsholders including the Big Three are pushing back against the “test.” o ⚓ Digital Music News ☛ Top_Justice_Department_Official_Advises Against_Using_TikTok:_‘We_Need_to_Be_Very_Concerned’⠀⇛ Following a Chinese spy balloon’s much-publicized entry into U.S. airspace – and amid continued talks of a possible TikTok ban in the U.S. – a top Justice Department official is now advising Americans against using the app. Since arriving on the scene, o ⚓ American Oversight ☛ In_the_Documents:_Emails_Between Pennsylvania’s_Butler_County_Commissioners_and_Prominent_Election Denial_Group⠀⇛ o ⚓ Digital Music News ☛ YouTube_CEO_Susan_Wojcicki_Announces_She’s Stepping_Down⠀⇛ YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki announced that she’s stepping down from her position. YouTube’s Chief Product Officer, Neal Mohan, will take the lead as the Senior Vice President and new head of YouTube. o ⚓ Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Hong_Kong_47:_Court_told_of_division_among election_hopefuls,_as_democrat_Au_Nok-hin_testifies_against_peers⠀⇛ The second week of a landmark national security trial relating to 47 Hong Kong pro-democracy figures saw a former legislator testifying against his co-defendants. Meanwhile, three handpicked judges heard that democrats were divided over candidate selection methods in the unofficial primary polls. o ⚓ Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Corruption_scandal_deals_new_blow_to_Xi’s Chinese_football_dream⠀⇛ o ⚓ The Gray Zone ☛ How_Nick_Fuentes_dashed_Joe_Kent’s_congressional hopes,_delighting_Democrats⠀⇛ o ⚓ FAIR ☛ NYT_Trans_Letter_a_Fight_for_Media_Democracy⠀⇛ In a letter to New York Times leadership (2/15/23), more than 180 of the paper’s contributors (later swelling to more than 1,000) raised “serious concerns about editorial bias in the newspaper’s reporting on transgender, non⁠- ⁠binary and gender nonconforming people.” What started as a conversation about a paper’s coverage exploded into a battle between media workers who see a problem at one of the most powerful media outlets on earth, and a media management that simply won’t listen. o ⚓ Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Hong_Kong_gov’t_deregisters_pro-democracy union_that_called_for_protest_ahead_of_security_law⠀⇛ A Hong Kong pro-democracy union that called for a protest ahead of the national security law’s enactment has been dissolved by the government. The Hong Kong White Collar (Administration and Clerical) Connect Union (HKWCCU) announced its deregistration on Thursday. o ⚓ Bruce Schneier ☛ Defending_against_AI_Lobbyists⠀⇛ When is it time to start worrying about artificial intelligence interfering in our democracy? Maybe when an AI writes a letter to The New York Times opposing the regulation of its own technology. That happened last month. And because the letter was responding to an_essay we wrote, we’re starting to get worried. And while the technology can be regulated, the real solution lies in recognizing that the problem is human actors—and those we can do something about. o ⚓ Craig Murray ☛ Murder,_Lies_and_State_Conspiracy⠀⇛ Donald John Morrison was the last man to speak to Willie McRae, unless his murderer talked. He invited me warmly into his neat Benbecula home, where I was visiting with my friend, his cousin Donnie. o ⚓ The Hill ☛ Musk_shuts_down_two_India_Twitter_offices:_report⠀⇛ The social media company closed its offices in New Delhi and Mumbai, leaving only one remaining office in Bengaluru, Bloomberg reported. Twitter cut more than 90 percent of its Indian workforce late last year. o ⚓ Outlook India ☛ After_Mass_Layoffs_At_Twitter,_Elon_Musk_Shuts Two_Of_Three_Twitter_India_Offices:_Report⠀⇛ According to a Bloomberg report, Elon Musk has shut these Twitter India offices and asked the staff to work from home in an effort to cut costs. Since only two of the three offices have been shut, the report mentions that Twitter’s office in New Delhi and Mumbai have been closed but the one in Bengaluru (Bangalore) is still open. The latter also houses most engineers. o ⚓ India Times ☛ TikTok_planning_2_more_data_centers_in_Europe_amid data_security_concerns⠀⇛ The short video-sharing app, owned by China’s ByteDance, aims to expand its European data storage, TikTok’s general manager for operations in Europe Rich Waterworth said in a blog post. “We are at an advanced stage of finalising a plan for a second data centre in Ireland with a third party service provider, in addition to the site announced last year,” he said. o ⚓ India Times ☛ VMware,_Broadcom_extend_merger_close_deadline_by three_months⠀⇛ Britain’s competition regulator in January said it had started the first phase of an investigation into the acquisition, while EU antitrust regulators in February have resumed their investigation and will decide by June 7 whether to clear or block the deal. A Broadcom spokesperson said it was common for acquisitions of this size to extend their deal deadline. o ⚓ Deutsche Welle ☛ Chinese_tech_billionaire_Bao_Fan_goes_missing: company⠀⇛ Bao Fan, the chairman and chief executive of China Renaissance investment bank, has gone missing, the firm said Friday. “The company has been unable to contact Mr. Bao,” China Renaissance said in an announcement to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, without offering further details. o ⚓ Dawn Media ☛ Chinese_tech_billionaire_goes_missing:_company⠀⇛ The Chinese billionaire chairman of investment bank China Renaissance has gone missing, the firm said, as shares in the company plunged in Hong Kong on Friday. Bao Fan, who is also executive director of the bank, is a major figure in the Chinese tech industry and has played a key role in the emergence of various domestic [Internet] startups. o ⚓ India ☛ Google_India_hands_over_pink_slips_to_over_400 employees⠀⇛ Employees, who survived the recent layoffs at Google, are worried and have demanded assurances that their jobs are not next to be axed by the company during a recent all- hands meeting with top bosses. Denying that the layoffs were done “randomly”, Alphabet and Google CEO Sundar Pichai had said earlier that he is “deeply sorry” for reducing the workforce. o ⚓ Outlook India ☛ Google_India_Lays_Off_453_Employees_Across Departments:_Report⠀⇛ Google India layoffs come just a few weeks after the parent company Alphabet Inc. announced that it would sack close to 12,000 employees or almost 6 per cent of its total staff. While back then the chief executive officer (CEO) Sundar Pichai did not exactly mention the names of departments that could see layoffs, he did mention that the company was also focussing more on artificial intelligence (AI). o ⚓ Quartz ☛ Google_has_laid_off_453_staff_in_India_and_Twitter_has shut_down_two_offices⠀⇛ Google has reportedly laid off 453 employees in India as part of its global move to reduce its headcount by 12,000. The move came late yesterday (Feb. 16) night. CEO Sundar Pichai had mailed employees taking “full responsibility for the decisions that led us here,” The Hindu reported today citing sources. o ⚓ TheHinduBusinessLine ☛ Tech_layoffs._Google_India_sacks_453 people_from_various_operations⠀⇛ Sources told businessline that a mail was sent out by Sanjay Gupta, Country Head and Vice President, Google India to the affected employees. Email sent with queries seeking comments from Google India did not elicit any reply. Last month, Alphabet Inc, the parent company of Google, announced the sack of 12,000 employees or 6 per cent of its total headcount globally. o ⚓ The Nation ☛ Turkey⠀⇛ NClick on the image above for a list of charitable and humanitarian organizations that are aiding the relief efforts in Syria and Turkey. (Steve Brodner) o ⚓ New Yorker ☛ Is_a_Woman_Ever_Going_to_Win_the_White_House?⠀⇛ Trump’s performative macho is scaring voters in both parties away from women candidates. * § Censorship/Free Speech⠀➾ o ⚓ AccessNow ☛ #KeepItOn_in_Nigeria:_social_media,_internet_must stay_connected_during_elections⠀⇛ Authorities in Nigeria must not shut down social media or in any way interfere with internet access throughout the upcoming elections. o ⚓ AccessNow ☛ Open_letter:_the_government_of_Nigeria_must_keep_the internet_and_social_media_platforms_open_and_secure_during_the_2023 general_elections_and_beyond⠀⇛ Through an open letter, the #KeepItOn coalition calls on authorities in Nigeria to keep the internet and social media platforms open during the elections. o ⚓ ACLU ☛ Author_George_Johnson_on_Writing_Black,_Queer_—_and_Banned —_Stories⠀⇛ Over the past two years, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of books being banned or challenged in school districts across the country. The majority of the stories that are being censored contain LGBTQ storylines and protagonists of color, including All Boys Aren’t Blue, a story about growing up Black and queer in New Jersey and Virginia and one of the top five most banned books in the country. The author, George Johnson, joined At_Liberty this week to talk with us about what makes Black queer voices so threatening, the unique power of books, and their resolve to remain true to their story despite the attacks. You’ve said in prior interviews that you always knew your book was likely to be banned. Why did you think that? o ⚓ NCAC ☛ Florida_prisons_ban_“The_Militant”⠀⇛ The National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC) has contacted the Florida Department of Corrections to express its concern regarding reports that The Militant was removed from several prisons due to the ideas expressed in the newspaper. o ⚓ The Economist ☛ After_silencing_critics_at_home,_Narendra_Modi goes_after_foreign_media⠀⇛ The raid follows the BBC’s airing last month (only outside India) of a two-part documentary, “India: the Modi Question”. It charts Mr Modi’s career-long efforts to demonise India’s 200m-odd Muslims. It examines above all the prime minister’s role in an outbreak of sectarian violence in 2002 in Gujarat, during his time as chief minister of the state, in which over 1,000 died, most of them Muslims. This episode, in which dozens of Muslim women and girls were raped and burned alive by well-co- ordinated Hindu mobs, has long dogged the chest-puffing Hindu nationalist leader. The bbc documentary cites an unpublished report by the British government on the violence. It describes an organised campaign of ethnic- cleansing against Muslims. It holds Mr Modi “directly responsible” for a “climate of impunity” that enabled the violence. o ⚓ VOA News ☛ Trial_Begins_for_Belarusian_Blogger_Grabbed_Off Diverted_Flight⠀⇛ One of Nexta’s founders, Stsiapan Putsila, and a site administrator, Yan Rudzik — both of whom no longer live in Belarus — are being in tried in absentia. The Nexta channel, which ran via a messaging app, gained popularity as a way to share news and information in 2020 during the contested reelection of President Alexander Lukashenko and the mass protests that followed. o ⚓ Democracy for the Arab World Now ☛ Iran’s_Orwellian_Ploy_to Outlaw_Citizen_Journalism_and_Online_Speech⠀⇛ Spooked by the success of citizen journalists in revealing the magnitude of the state-sponsored crackdown on protests and the critical role of popular public figures in mobilizing grassroots activists, Iran’s parliament is pursuing two pieces of legislation that boil down to a government fiat that Iranians shouldn’t have public opinions and express them freely. As part of the first legislation, which is being euphemistically promoted as a “bill to criminalize the publication of news contradicting citizenship rights,” the judicial commission of Iran’s Majlis, or parliament, is working to codify into law a ban on publishing—both by individuals and media outlets—any news that may have “detrimental societal consequences.” o ⚓ Dawn Media ☛ Why_India’s_crackdown_on_BBC_has_left_foreign correspondents_anxious⠀⇛ Indeed, while the income tax surveys on the British public broadcaster perhaps represent an unprecedented escalation, foreign correspondents say “hostility”, more often than not, is the Indian authorities’ default mode of engagement with them. Yet, how things unfolded after the raid — a full-throttle public attack on the BBC by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and almost no word of condemnation from back home — has left many of them stunned. “A lot of governments go after the media, they pinch and poke, but in a way that there’s deniability,” said a journalist working with a western daily, who requested anonymity, like all other journalists interviewed for this article. “But yesterday, there was not even a pretense.” o ⚓ The North Lines IN ☛ IT_survey_at_BBC_offices_clocks_over_55 hours⠀⇛ The Supreme Court last week dismissed a plea seeking the imposition of a complete ban on the BBC in India in the wake of the controversial documentary, terming the petition “entirely misconceived” and “absolutely meritless”. Another set of petitions challenging the government’s decision to block the documentary’s access on social media platforms will be heard in April. On January 21, the government had issued directions to block multiple YouTube videos and Twitter posts sharing links to the documentary. o ⚓ El País ☛ Ortega_strips_another_94_Nicaraguans_of_their nationality,_including_writers_Sergio_Ramirez_and_Gioconda_Belli⠀⇛ Daniel Ortega’s regime stripped another 94 people of their Nicaraguan nationality on Wednesday. Among those affected are exiled writers Sergio Ramírez, winner of the Cervantes Prize, and Gioconda Belli; Nicaraguan journalist Carlos Fernando Chamorro; writer and feminist Sofía Montenegro; Bishop Silvio Báez, one of the most critical voices from the Church; and activist Vilma Núñez, who is the president of the Nicaraguan Center for Human Rights (CNDH). The decision was notified by the president of the Court of Appeals of Managua, Ernesto Rodriguez. According to the ruling, the affected persons are charged with “treason” and are considered “fugitives.” In addition to revoking their Nicaraguan nationality, the justice system – which is under Ortega’s control – ordered all properties owned by the affected persons to be seized. Journalist Wilfredo Miranda, a contributor to EL PAÍS, is also one of the 94 people who have been stripped of their nationality. o ⚓ Techdirt ☛ Some_Guy_Thinks_A_Legal_Doc_Website’s_Failure_To Report_On_His_Settlement_Is_Somehow_Defamatory⠀⇛ Lots of people have really strange ideas about what defamation entails. Far too many people believe defamation occurs anytime their feelings are hurt or they aren’t portrayed in the best light possible. * § Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press⠀➾ o ⚓ RFA ☛ Voice_of_Democracy_seeks_way_to_restore_broadcast_license⠀⇛ Hun Sen says the independent media outlet won’t be revived five months from election o ⚓ CPJ ☛ Iran’s_seizure_of_detained_journalists’_devices_raises fears_of_fresh_arrests,_convictions⠀⇛ Five months after the death of a young woman in morality police custody sparked widespread protests, Iranian authorities are charging journalists who covered the uprising with anti-state crimes. In many of these cases, authorities have powerful tools at their disposal to aid in convictions: journalists’ phones and laptops. CPJ counted at least 95 journalists arrested since the start of the protests. More than half — at least 48 — had their devices seized, according to news accounts and interviews with sources inside the country. CPJ senior researcher Yeganeh Rezaian knows firsthand what happens when Iranian officials gain access to personal devices. In 2014, Iranian authorities arrested Yeganeh and her husband, Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian, and seized their iPhones and laptops. Forensic analysis conducted later showed that the Rezaians’ computer files were copied using Disk Drill, a kind of file recovery software for phones and computers developed in the U.S. and widely available online. * § Civil Rights/Policing⠀➾ o ⚓ US News And World Report ☛ At_Least_60,000_Minors_Set_to_Cross Dangerous_Panama-Colombia_Jungle_Gap_in_2023,_Says_UN⠀⇛ o ⚓ RFERL ☛ Abandoned_Truck_With_18_Bodies_Found_In_Bulgaria⠀⇛ Police in Bulgaria on February 17 discovered an abandoned truck containing the bodies of 18 migrants who appeared to have suffocated to death. o ⚓ teleSUR ☛ Abandoned_Truck_Carrying_Migrants_Found_in_Bulgaria,_18 Dead⠀⇛ Among the 18 people who died from asphyxiation was a 7- year-old boy, according to reports. o ⚓ Vice Media Group ☛ Striking_Workers_Just_Won_a_Historic_Union Contract_At_Book_Giant_HarperCollins⠀⇛ HarperCollins Union ratified its new contract on Thursday, ending a months-long standoff for better pay and benefits. o ⚓ The Dissenter ☛ Unauthorized_Disclosure:_Ollie_Vargas⠀⇛ o ⚓ Meduza ☛ Andrei_Pivovarov,_former_director_of_Open_Russia,_was transferred_from_a_Krasnodar_jail._His_whereabouts_have_been unknown_for_a_month._—_Meduza⠀⇛ Andrei Pivovarov’s whereabouts have been unknown for a month, Tatyana Usmanova, his former campaign manager, told human rights organization OVD-Info. Pivovarov, the former director of the Khodorkovsky-backed Open Russian organization was sentenced to four years in prison for carrying out the activities of an “undesirable organization.” o ⚓ The Hill ☛ Judge_issues_nationwide_order_barring_Starbucks_from firing_union_supporters⠀⇛ U.S. District Judge Mark Goldsmith ruled on Friday that Hannah Whitbeck, who was fired from her position as a shift supervisor in April, must be offered her position on an interim basis or a “substantially equivalent position” if her original post no longer exists without any prejudice to the rights and privileges she previously had. o ⚓ RFERL ☛ Pakistani_University_Bans_Mixed_Gatherings_Amid_Taliban Influence⠀⇛ A university in Pakistan’s northwestern region that was once controlled by the Taliban has banned mixed gatherings of male and female students outside the classroom, amid a resurgence in the influence of the Islamist militia in the area. [...] o ⚓ RFERL ☛ Belarusian_Workers’_Movement_Members_Given_Long_Prison Terms_For_Treason⠀⇛ A court in Belarus has handed lengthy prison terms to 10 activists of the Rabochy rukh (Workers’ Movement) on charges of high treason and creation of an extremist group. The Workers’ Movement was created in 2020 amid nationwide protests against official results of the presidential election that handed victory to strongman Alyaksandr Lukashenka, who has run the country with an iron fist since 1994. The opposition says the vote was rigged. o ⚓ Hindustan Times ☛ Iran_Hijab_video_upsets_Tehran;_Foreign Minister_cancels_visit_to_India⠀⇛ Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian cancelled his visit to India next month. Iran’s Foreign Minister scrapped his trip to New Delhi over a promotional video of “The Raisina Dialogue 2023.” The clip showed Iranian women cutting their hair along with the image of Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi. [...] o ⚓ CNN ☛ How_‘deepfake’_pornography_victimizes_women_online⠀⇛ CNN’s Donie O’Sullivan speaks with a Twitch streamer who was horrified to learn her likeness was being used in ‘deepfake’ pornography – a tactic being used as a method of online targeted harassment. o ⚓ VOA News ☛ German_Court_Rules_Police_Use_of_Crime-Fighting Software_is_Unlawful⠀⇛ Police use of automated data analysis to prevent crime in some German states was unconstitutional, a top German court said on Thursday, ruling in favor of critics of software provided by the CIA-backed Palantir Technologies PLTR.N. Provisions regulating the use of the technology in Hesse and Hamburg violate the right to informational self- determination, a statement from the constitutional court said. Hesse has been given a Sept. 30 deadline to rewrite its provisions, while legislation in Hamburg — where the technology was not yet in use — was nullified. o ⚓ New Indian Express ☛ Illegal_child_marriage_crackdown_in_Assam leaves_families_in_anguish⠀⇛ In India, the legal marriageable age is 21 for men and 18 for women. Poverty, lack of education, and social norms and practices, particularly in rural areas, are considered reasons for child marriages across the country. UNICEF estimates that at least 1.5 million girls under 18 get married in India every year, making it home to the largest number of child brides in the world — accounting for a third of the global total. o ⚓ Common Dreams ☛ US_Ranks_Higher_Than_Other_Wealthy_Countries_on ‘Atlas_of_Impunity’⠀⇛ The United States’ contributions to the climate crisis and its perpetuation of violence, particularly abroad, resulted in a score on a newly launched “Atlas of Impunity” that placed the country well below other wealthy nations in terms of the government’s willingness to be accountable for its impact both on U.S. residents and the global community. o ⚓ Common Dreams ☛ Indictments_for_Accountability:_Georgia,_the_DOJ, and_the_Fight_to_Stop_Future_Election_Subversion⠀⇛ On January 2, 2021, mere days before his supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol to stop a peaceful transfer of power, former U.S. President Donald Trump made an extraordinary call to former Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. “I just want to find 11,780 votes,” said Trump. “So tell me Brad, what are we going to do?” o ⚓ TruthOut ☛ Defending_Democracy_Through_Elections_Won’t_Be_Enough to_Stop_Fascism⠀⇛ o ⚓ Meduza ☛ ‘I_am_a_man,_and_will_soon_get_married’:_Gay_Chechen_man arrested_in_Russia_records_patriotic_videos,_likely_under_duress_— Meduza⠀⇛ Idris Arsamikov, a gay Chechen man detained at the Domodedovo Moscow airport after returning to Russia from the Netherlands, has appeared in two home videos likely recorded under duress. o ⚓ Common Dreams ☛ Civil_Society_Calls_On_African_Union_to_Foster Fossil-Free_Future_for_Continent⠀⇛ As diplomats and political leaders headed to the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa for an African Union summit, civil society groups from the continent argued Friday that “rather than doubling down on the obsolete and dirty energy systems,” the A.U. must “move away from harmful fossil fuels towards a transformed energy system that is clean, renewable, democratic, and actually serves its peoples.” o ⚓ Common Dreams ☛ ‘Egregious’:_DOL_Finds_US_Meatpacking_Plants Illegally_Employed_100+_Children⠀⇛ Federal investigators revealed Friday that one of the nation’s largest food sanitation companies illegally employed at least 102 children in dangerous jobs at 13 meatpacking facilities across eight states, leading to $1.5 million in fines. o ⚓ Techdirt ☛ Kansas_State_Police_Facing_Multiple_Lawsuits_For Pretextual_Traffic_Stops⠀⇛ Thanks to drug legalization, there’s a new “drug corridor” that Kansas law enforcement is taking advantage of. Colorado legalized recreational marijuana use in 2012. Ever since then, state troopers have camped out on I-70 to stop people heading to or from the weed-friendly state. It’s weird to call a road leading to a state with legalized drugs a “drug corridor” (in the sense that this generally refers to illegal drug trafficking), but here we are. o ⚓ France24 ☛ Bulgarian_police_find_18_people_dead_in_abandoned truck_carrying_migrants⠀⇛ Bulgarian authorities said Friday they had found 18 migrants dead in an abandoned truck, as the Balkan nation struggles with an increase in illicit border crossings. o ⚓ France24 ☛ Iran_sees_first_unrest_in_weeks_as_protesters_mourn executed_men⠀⇛ Protesters in Iran marched through the streets of multiple cities overnight in the most widespread demonstration in weeks amid the monthslong unrest that’s gripped the Islamic Republic, online videos purported to show Friday. o ⚓ HRW ☛ US_Senator_Calls_for_‘Human_Rights_Defender’_Visa Category⠀⇛ o ⚓ RFERL ☛ Pakistani_University_Bans_Mixed_Gatherings_Amid_Taliban Influence⠀⇛ A university in Pakistan’s northwestern region that was once controlled by the Taliban has banned mixed gatherings of male and female students outside the classroom, amid a resurgence in the influence of the Islamist militia in the area. o ⚓ RFERL ☛ Amnesty_Demands_Information_On_Jailed_Russian_Activist Pivovarov’s_Whereabouts⠀⇛ Amnesty International has urged the Russian authorities to provide jailed activist Andrei Pivovarov’s relatives and lawyers with information about his current whereabouts and stop what it called his “forced disappearance.” o ⚓ JURIST ☛ Norway_dispatch:_annual_police_threat_assessment highlights_risk_of_extremism_in_the_wake_of_Quran_burnings elsewhere_in_Scandinavia⠀⇛ Oksana Bidnenko is a staff correspondent for JURIST in Norway. She is a law student at the Riga Graduate School of Law in Riga, Latvia, and is currently an exchange student at the University of Oslo.  On Monday the Norwegian Police Security Service (PST) published its 2023 threat assessment. o ⚓ JURIST ☛ Former_Memphis_Police_officers_plead_not_guilty_in_Tyre Nichols_killing⠀⇛ The five former Memphis Police officers implicated in the death of Tyre Nichols Friday pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder and various other crimes. o ⚓ JURIST ☛ Spain_approves_first_menstrual_leave_law_in_Europe⠀⇛ The Spanish government Thursday granted final approval to a law creating paid menstrual leave for workers, making it the first European country to pass such legislation. The bill modifies Organic Law 2/2010 on sexual and reproductive health and the voluntary interruption of pregnancy. * § Internet Policy/Net Neutrality⠀➾ o ⚓ Techdirt ☛ Next_Week,_The_Supreme_Court_Could_Destroy_Everything Good_About_The_Internet⠀⇛ Next week, the Supreme Court will hold the oral arguments in the Gonzalez and Taamneh cases. Gonzalez is the main show (and I’m somewhat surprised they didn’t have the hearings on the same day). There were dozens upon dozens of amicus briefs filed in the case, including one by us. There have been lots of articles this week talking about the case, and most of them are… not great. But I did want to present three very useful summaries — one video, two written — if you’d like to understand just what’s at stake here. o ⚓ Internet Freedom Foundation ☛ Digital_Transparency:_A_Right_to Information_Report_for_January_2023⠀⇛ For the month of January 2022, IFF has filed 7 Right to Information (“RTI”) applications and 02 First Appeals. We received 5 responses including 1 from the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare and 4 from the Department of Electronics and Information Technology. o ⚓ Internet Freedom Foundation ☛ Read_our_public_brief_on_the_draft Digital_Personal_Data_Protection_Bill,_2022⠀⇛ Our brief summarises the issues with the draft and tries to provide better insight into how they may be resolved. * § Digital Restrictions (DRM)⠀➾ o ⚓ Techdirt ☛ More_Details_On_How_Tech_Lobbyists_Lobotomized_NY’s Right_To_Repair_Law_With_Governor_Kathy_Hochul’s_Help⠀⇛ The good news: last December New York State finally passed a landmark “right to repair” bill providing American consumers some additional protection from repair monopolies. The bad news: before the bill was passed, corporate lobbyists worked with New York State Governor Kathy Hochul to covertly water the bill down almost to the point of meaninglessness. * § Monopolies⠀➾ o § Patents⠀➾ # ⚓ Unified Patents ☛ $2,000_for_Lower48_IP_data_arrangement patent_prior_art⠀⇛ A new PATROLL contest, with a $2,000 cash prize, was added seeking prior art on at least claim 1 of U.S._Patent_11,100,070, owned and asserted by Lower48 IP, LLC. The ‘070 patent generally relates to system for manipulating hierarchical sets of data. The patent has_been_asserted against Shopify. The contest will expire on May 1, 2023. Please visit PATROLL for more information and to submit an entry for this contest. # ⚓ Breaking_News:_UPC_Countdown_Begins [Ed: Misleading headline. UK cannot ratify.]⠀⇛ # ⚓ UPC_Code_of_Conduct_for_representatives [Ed: UPC is an overt violation of the law; who are they to talk about conduct? They are criminals.]⠀⇛ # ⚓ The_Unitary_Patent_is_to_become_a_reality [Ed: Nope, the UK cannot ratify it. So it remains illegal.]⠀⇛ Germany has deposited its instrument of UPCA ratification. # ⚓ EFF ☛ Two_Ways_The_U.S._Patent_Office_Could_Do_Better_At Examination⠀⇛ Fees from patent applicants pay about 85 percent of the budget of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, and the office very much serves those “customers” who are seeking patents—not the public.  In sum, there’s a very long way to go before the patent examination process becomes fair to the public. However, there are a few ways the process could be changed that we believe would deliver outsized results. That’s why when the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) asked for public feedback on how to improve the examination process, we were glad for the opportunity to weigh in with our comments.  The America Invents Act, passed in 2012, brought important changes to the patent system, including a review process on granted patents called inter partes review, or IPR. While the IPR process isn’t perfect, and needs to be strengthened, it’s been a big success in getting some of the worst patents out of the system, more cheaply and effectively than a court case.  # ⚓ Scheerpost ☛ Sanders_Excoriates_‘Unprecedented’_Greed_of Big_Pharma_During_Pandemic⠀⇛ The senator asked if it is “morally acceptable that tens of thousands of people die each year in this country because they cannot afford the medicine their doctors prescribe, while at the same time, the drug companies make billions of dollars in profits.” # ⚓ An_Up_and_Down_Year_at_the_USPTO⠀⇛ From the confirmation of Kathi Vidal as Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to the Western District of Texas’s standing order attempting to break up Judge Alan Albright’s monopoly on patent lawsuits… o § Trademarks⠀➾ # ⚓ TTAB Blog ☛ TTAB_Affirms_Genericness_Refusal_of_the_Color Dark_Green_for_Medical_Examination_Gloves⠀⇛ The Board affirmed a refusal to register the color dark green (Pantone No. 3285 c) for “chloroprene medical examination gloves sold only to authorized resellers,” on the ground of genericness, or on the alternative ground that the proposed mark is not inherently distinctive and lacks acquired distinctiveness. The Board found that relevant consumers are exposed to medical gloves of the same color or very similar shades of dark green under a wide variety of marks, and from manufacturers other than Applicant, such that Applicant’s proposed mark cannot serve as a source-indicator. In_re_PT Medisafe_Technologies, Serial No. 88083209 (February 15, 2023) [not precedential] (Opinion by Judge Cynthia C. Lynch). # ⚓ TTAB Blog ☛ TTAB_Sustains_Section_2(d)_Opposition_to_RAMEN HOOD_&_Design_for_Asian-Themed_Restaurant_Services⠀⇛ o § Copyrights⠀➾ # ⚓ Digital Music News ☛ Layoffs_Hit_Motown_Records_Amidst Capitol_Music_Group_Restructuring⠀⇛ Layoffs begin at Motown Records as the label changes course to return to the fold of Capitol Music Group. Motown Records has had a rough year. After the exit of CEO and chairwoman Ethiopia Habtemariam in November, the label is now planning restructuring efforts under Capitol Music Group. # ⚓ Digital Music News ☛ Over_One-Third_of_U.S._Music_Listeners Don’t_Pay_for_a_Streaming_Service,_Study_Finds⠀⇛ Despite continued subscribership growth for Spotify, Apple, and others, a little over one-third of U.S.-based music listeners opted not to pay for streaming during 2021 and 2022, according to a newly released report. # ⚓ Creative Commons ☛ Fair_Use:_Training_Generative_AI⠀⇛ Perhaps unsurprisingly to anyone who has been paying attention to the conversation around generative AI, the past year also saw the first lawsuits challenging the legality of these tools. First, in November, a group of programmers sued Github and OpenAI over the code generation tool, Github Copilot, alleging (among other things) that the tool improperly removes copyright management information from the code in its training data, in violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, and reproduces code in its training data without following license agreement stipulations like attributing the code to its original author. Then, in January, a group of artists (represented by the same attorneys as in the Github lawsuit) sued Stability AI and Midjourney over their text-to- image art generation tools. In this second lawsuit, the artist-plaintiffs made several claims, all of which deserve discussion. In this blog post, I will address one of those claims: That using the plaintiffs’ copyrighted works (and as many as 5 billion other works) to train Stable Diffusion and Midjourney constitutes copyright infringement. As Creative Commons has argued elsewhere, and others agree, I believe that this type of use should be protected by copyright’s fair use doctrine. In this blog post I will discuss what fair use is, what purpose it serves, and why I believe that using copyrighted works to train generative AI models should be permitted under this law. I will address the other claims in both the Github and Stable Diffusion lawsuits in subsequent blog posts. # ⚓ Torrent Freak ☛ Filmmakers_Request_Identities_of_Reddit Users_to_Aid_Piracy_Lawsuit⠀⇛ Filmmakers have obtained a subpoena to reveal the identities of Redditors who commented on piracy- related topics. The comments can provide relevant evidence in support of a repeat infringer lawsuit against ISP RCN, the companies argue. Reddit disagrees and frames the effort as a fishing expedition that is at odds with the right to anonymous speech. # ⚓ Torrent Freak ☛ Sci-Hub_Founder’s_High_Court_Creativity Fails_to_Dismiss_Publishers’_Lawsuit⠀⇛ In late 2020, major academic publishers Elsevier, Wiley, and American Chemical Society, filed an application to have Sci-Hub blocked by India’s ISPs. Rightsholders targeting conventional pirate sites have obtained similar injunctions within days, but Sci-Hub’s founder is no ordinary opponent. While the High Court of Delhi has just rejected an attempt to have the case dismissed, a creative legal strategy shows that Alexandra Elbakyan is no pushover. # ⚓ Techdirt ☛ One_City_Builder_Game’s_Tale_Shows_Just_How_Wide Open_The_DMCA_Process_Is_For_Abuse⠀⇛ We’ve had no shortage of posts at Techdirt on the problems of fraud and abuse in the current DMCA takedown process. The reason for that is pretty obvious: the whole thing is so wide open to this kind of abuse that it’s actually sort of a wonder that it doesn’t suffer from it even more frequently than it already does. We’ve seen individuals use it try to silence online criticism. We’ve seen it used by media companies to try to silence speech they don’t like. * § Gemini* and Gopher⠀➾ o § Personal⠀➾ # ⚓ Happy_New_Year⠀⇛ Today I was looking at my system logs and happened to notice that I didn’t rotate my gemlog this year. A while ago I made it so the index file only shows entries from the current year in order to prevent the index from becoming too long. This makes sense if post to my gemlog regularly, but I was actually a bit surprised to see that I hadn’t written ANYTHING in 2023. Ouch! This is combined with the fact that I also haven’t recorded a gemcast in months. Of course, you can sympathize with this because I am swamped at work and at home, teaching full time and then taking care of my little ones at home, who are in need of constant attention. # ⚓ CDEIKTW_Wordo:_BEAUS⠀⇛ o § Politics⠀➾ # ⚓ Evangelicals_&_Climate_Change⠀⇛ The quote “While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease” is in the “after the flood” chapter, in the context of the Lord promising not to wreck the world on us again. But this time it’s us (less us as individuals, and more our systems such as fossil economics and wedge politics) that are driving these calamities. Contrary to some common “lol humans can’t touch this” memes in the evangelical community there is (as correctly explained in the video) scriptural support for how we can royally bork up this blue marble garden if we don’t sober up from this bread of idleness. o § Technical⠀➾ # ⚓ smolver_development_log,_part_9_–_client_certificates⠀⇛ This is the ninth in a planned series of posts (well, tenth if you count the announcement) where I’ll share my experience writing smolver, my Gemini server software, written in Swift. # ⚓ New_project:_“GeschTAp”_–_the_story_telling_telephone.⠀⇛ A couple of years ago I tried to modify an old telephone from the 1980th and include an MP3 player that can be controlled by the telephone keys and output audio over the receiver. I used an old MP3 player but controlling the buttons of the player with the telephone keys (microcontroller in between) was very complicated. Finally, I abandoned this project. Nowadays, you have easier options. I found the DFPlayer Mini module which is essentially a media player that can play sound files from a SD card and can be controlled via IO ports. # ⚓ Re:_Feeds_are_a_dark_pattern⠀⇛ That is not an issue with feeds. It’s an issue with feed viewers. OK, I am kinda sorta breaking my vow to never argue semantics, since this is semantics. dzwdz is not disputing the facts: that a viewer that shows feeds sorted in other ways, like grids or trees can be great. I use one that shows a 2d grid where each feed is a line and each post is a cell. Not that I, a veritable firehose of a poster, support the idea that posts from frequent posters are less valuable. Even so, having some sort of organization beyond just a 1-dimensional line is a good idea. You wouldn’t sort a bookshelf by cutting out all the pages, sorting the pages by when the book was written regardless of what book it’s from, and putting that in a huge stack. # ⚓ Lightweight_data_monitoring_using_rrdtool⠀⇛ I like my servers to run the least code possible, and the least services running in general, this ease maintenance and let room for other thing to run. I recently wrote about monitoring software to gather metrics and render them, but they are all overkill if you just want to keep track of a single value over time, and graph it for visualization. # ⚓ Introduction_to_nftables_on_Linux⠀⇛ Linux kernel has an integrated firewall named netfilter, but you manipulate it through command lines such as the good old iptables, or nftables which will eventually superseed iptables. Today, I’ll share my experience in using nftables to manage my Linux home router, and my workstation. I won’t explain much in this blog post because I just want to introduce nftables and show what it looks like, and how to get started. # § Programming⠀➾ # ⚓ [Cheatsheet]_Fossil_version_control_system⠀⇛ Fossil is a DVCS (decentralized version control software), an alternative to programs such as darcs, mercurial or git. It’s developed by the same people doing sqlite and rely on sqlite internally. # ⚓ Programming_Wordle⠀⇛ Inspired by Ravi’s program (see my last phlog), I decided to give programming Wordle a try. To make it “more fun”, I’m coding in Swift on my Mac. The version I’m writing is just for the command line, but if I get comfortable with Swift, I may just try to implement it as a GUI. =============================================================================== * Gemini_(Primer) links can be opened using Gemini_software. 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