Web and Servers

• Best Commenting Systems for Websites That You Can Self-Host

  Isso is a free and open source commenting server similar to Disqus. Users can write comments in Markdown. There is also the option to edit or delete own comments within 15 minutes.

  It uses Python and SQLite in the backend and you can deploy it on any website using a single 40kb JavaScript.

  Isso also allows you to import comments from Disqus and WordPress. That’s an additional benefit.

• Kubernetes 1.22: Reaching New Peaks

  We’re pleased to announce the release of Kubernetes 1.22, the second release of 2021!

  This release consists of 53 enhancements: 13 enhancements have graduated to stable, 24 enhancements are moving to beta, and 16 enhancements are entering alpha. Also, three features have been deprecated.

  In April of this year, the Kubernetes release cadence was officially changed from four to three releases yearly. This is the first longer-cycle release related to that change. As the Kubernetes project matures, the number of enhancements per cycle grows. This means more work, from version to version, for the contributor community and Release Engineering team, and it can put pressure on the end-user community to stay up-to-date with releases containing increasingly more features.

  Changing the release cadence from four to three releases yearly balances many aspects of the project, both in how contributions and releases are managed, and also in the community’s ability to plan for upgrades and stay up to date.

  You can read more in the official blog post Kubernetes Release Cadence Change: Here’s What You Need To Know.

• Why Service Mesh Architectures Are Kubernetes’ New Traffic Cop | IT Pro

  From Linkerd to Istio, service mesh architectures are increasingly being harnessed by enterprises to make managing container clusters easier.

Audiocasts/Shows

• The JingPad A1 – Hands-on Preview!

  JingLing sent a development version of their new JingPad A1 tablet to the LearnLinuxTV studio, and in this video I’ll give you my thoughts. Since this is a preview unit and not the final version, I will not give you my final opinion in this video. Instead, I’ll go over my first impressions of this new Linux tablet.

• Lilbits: 3dfx is back (but not really) and more JingPad A1 Linux tablet performance notes

  …and the JingPad A1 tablet, which is up for pre-order through a crowdfunding campaign, ships with an Ubuntu-based Linux distribution, but it will also run Android apps. A few new hands-on photos and videos have emerged, with one showing the current state of Android app support and another providing some clues to overall performance.

• BSDNow 414: Running online conferences

  OpenZFS 2.1 is out, FreeBSD TCP Performance System Controls, IPFS OpenBSD, tips for running an online conference, fanless OpenBSD laptop, and more.

• Ubuntu Podcast S14E22 – Common Terms Season

  This week we’ve been migrating to Vault Warden and erasing data. We discuss the web browsers we use and bring you a command line love.

  It’s Season 14 Episode 22 of the Ubuntu Podcast! Alan Pope, Mark Johnson and Martin Wimpress are connected and speaking to your brain.

Kernel Space

• FUTEX2 Patches Sent Out In Simpler Form For Helping Windows Games On Linux – Phoronix

  The ongoing FUTEX2 work for making the futex handling more like Windows to in turn help Windows games on Linux via Wine (with a focus on Steam Play’s Proton) has taken a new turn.

  While the FUTEX2 patch series has gone through multiple rounds of review for adding new functionality that can’t be accomplished as well by the existing FUTEX, the patch series has been trimmed down to the core functionality that originally motivated this work: the ability to wait for multiple locks at once, similar to Windows’ WaitForMultipleObjects. This ability to cleanly wait on multiple locks simultaneously can lead to lower CPU utilization for Windows games running via Proton/Wine and help the overall performance for some games. On the kernel side this can be accomplished with the futex_waitv() system call (futex vectorized wait).

• Samsung Revs Its In-Kernel SMB3 Server Focused On Fast Performance, New Features – Phoronix

  While Samba is well known for SMB/CIFS server support on Linux and other platforms for supporting Microsoft’s SMB networking protocol for file and print services, Samba is implemented in user-space while Samsung has been pursuing an SMB server implemented in kernel-space for better performance and wiring up new features that can be more easily accomplished within the kernel.

  Samsung has been developing “KSMBD” (formerly also known as CIFSD) as an in-kernel SMB3 file sharing server. Their focus is on delivering better performance and more quickly implementing new features some of which can’t be easily achieved in user-space with Samba. Samsung is interested in RDMA support and other features that can be implemented with ease in the kernel and for their server having a much smaller footprint and focus than Samba.

• A look forward to Linux Plumbers 2021

  The annual Linux Plumbers Conference (LPC) is a gathering of a relatively small subset of the developers working on the low-level (plumbing) details of Linux systems. It covers topics from below the kernel through the user-space components that underlie the interfaces and applications that most Linux users interact with. This year’s event will be held virtually September 20‑24; it is shaping up to be another great edition of one of the premier open-registration Linux technical conferences on the calendar.

  LPC is known for its “microconferences” that typically feature face-to-face discussions, planning, and development work in a wide variety of topic areas. As with most of the rest of the conferences over the last year or so, it was turned into a virtual event last year; that continues this year. With any luck, the COVID-19 pandemic will subside enough to resume more in-person events—cautiously—in 2022.

  In the meantime, the BigBlueButton-based videoconferencing system that was used in 2020 will return, but there are plans to use Matrix for the text chat piece. A request for quotes (RFQ) for some of the work to make that happen was posted in March; the LPC committee was looking to fund projects to improve BigBlueButton and to integrate Matrix with it. Unfortunately, all of the companies that might have been able to do so were already fully occupied by their existing customers, who had increased needs for videoconferencing due to the pandemic, LPC committee member Guy Lunardi said in an email exchange. So committee members will be working on parts of those plans as time allows, he said.

• Hastening process cleanup with process_mrelease()

  One of the fundamental invariants of computing is that, regardless of how much memory is installed in a system, it is never enough. This is especially true of systems with tight performance constraints, where every page of memory is allocated and in use, making it difficult to find more when it is badly needed. One way to make more memory available is to kill one or more processes, freeing their resources for other users. But that often does not work as quickly or reliably as users would like. In an attempt to improve the situation, Suren Baghdasaryan has proposed the addition of a system call named process_mrelease().

  Systems running mixed workloads, where some tasks are more important than others, are not uncommon. If the system is being run near its maximum capacity, the relatively unimportant tasks may end up using memory that is needed by the more important work, at which point it might be better if the unimportant processes went away. Such systems often run process managers that will kill off the low-priority processes in these situations; perhaps the most widespread example of this pattern is Android, which will kill background apps if the available memory is insufficient for whatever is running in the foreground. Cloud-computing systems will also kill low-priority, best-effort workloads if their memory is needed by more important work.

  Killing a process should, in principle, make its memory immediately available for other users. In the real world, though, things are not so simple. The killed process is, itself, responsible for cleaning up and freeing its resources, a task that is carried out in kernel context. If, however, the killed process finds itself blocked in an uninterruptible sleep, that cleanup work could be delayed indefinitely. There are other factors that can slow down the freeing of memory, including how busy the relevant CPU is and whether that CPU is running in a slow, low-power state.

  When this happens, the system has paid the cost of killing the process (which was presumably doing something useful) without receiving the benefits from that action. Unfortunately, those benefits tend to be needed urgently; the system would not be killing processes otherwise. Delays in process cleanup can have immediate and visible effects on the higher-priority workloads; these can include jerky response on a handset or a delay in the delivery of a cat video to an impatient viewer.

• Using DAMON for proactive reclaim

  The DAMON patch set was first covered here in early 2020; this work, now in its 34th revision, enables the efficient collection of information about memory-usage patterns on Linux systems. That data can then be used to influence the kernel’s memory-management subsystem; one possible way to do that is to more aggressively reclaim memory that is not being used. To that end, DAMON author SeongJae Park is proposing a DAMON-based mechanism to perform user-controllable proactive reclaim.

  The core idea of DAMON is to use a sampling technique to determine which memory is in active use and which is sitting idle. A process’s virtual address space is broken down into regions which vary in size depending on activity; the busiest regions are then subdivided over time for more fine-grained monitoring. Within each region, a randomly selected page is watched for activity, with the results being considered representative of the whole region. On demand, DAMON will produce a report in the form of a histogram informing the reader of how busy each memory region is.

• The core of the -stable debate

  Disagreements over which patches should find their way into stable updates are not new — or uncommon. So when the topic came up again recently, there was little reason to expect anything but more of the same. And, for the most part, that is what ensued but, in this exchange, we were also able to see the core issue that drives these discussions. There are, in the end, two fundamentally different views of what the stable tree should be.
  The 5.13.2 stable update was not a small one; it contained an even 800 patches. That is 5% of the total size of the mainline 5.13 development cycle, which was not small either. With the other stable kernels going out for consideration on the same day, there were over 2,000 stable-bound patches in need of review; that is a somewhat tall order for even a large community to handle in the two days that are allowed. Even so, Hugh Dickins was able to raise an objection over the inclusion of several memory-management patches that had not been specifically marked for inclusion in the stable releases. Those patches, he thought, were not suitable for a stable kernel and should not have been selected.

  Stable-kernel maintainer Greg Kroah-Hartman responded that the size of the update was due to maintainers holding onto fixes until the merge window opens. Once the -rc1 release comes out, those fixes all land in the stable updates, which are, as a result, huge.

• Graphics Stack

  • Open source Linux GPU drivers Mesa 21.2 released

    Here we go, we have another big upgrade for open source graphics drivers with Mesa 21.2 officially out now.

    Announced by the developer Dylan Baker, they noted in the announcement “This has been a pretty smooth release cycle so far, and we’ve had very few release-blocking issues, as such We’ve actually released on time with no additional RCs! As usual, this is a .0 release, and those of you seeking stability over features likely want to wait 2 weeks for 21.2.1.”.

Applications

• 11 of the best diagramming tools for Linux

  Diagrams and flowcharts help designers or teams communicate relationships, present abstract ideas in brainstorming sessions, visualize concepts, or formalize a new project. The open-source community provides various diagramming tools to help you create basic workflow diagrams, complex network diagrams, organization charts, ERD diagrams, UML diagrams, and much more.

• 22 Best Free Internet Radio Software

  Internet radio (also known as web radio, net radio, streaming radio, and online radio) is a digital audio service transmitted via the Internet.

  Why do we like internet radio? There’s no sign-up or subscription charges. There’s a huge range of stations available from around the world. If you like classical music, pop music, folk music, news, talk radio, and much more, internet radio has something for everyone wherever you live (providing you have a net connection). Internet radio offers every format that is available on traditional broadcast radio stations.

  There’s a wide range of free and open source software that lets you listen to internet radio. With so many different possibilities available it’s easy to get lost trying to find the right one for you.

  Here’s our verdict on internet radio software. Features that are highly desirable include, but are not limited to, access to the community radio browser API or similar, recording streams, the ability to import/export a list of radio stations, good search functionality, station logos, reordering stations, as well as an attractive and easy-to-use interface. Other factors that help to determine our rating include things like the program’s stability, speed, memory usage, and more.

• power-profiles-daemon: Follow-up

  The project was born out of the need to make a firmware feature available to end-users for a number of lines of Lenovo laptops for them to be fully usable on Fedora. For that, I worked with Mark Pearson from Lenovo, who wrote the initial kernel support for the feature and served as our link to the Lenovo firmware team, and Hans de Goede, who worked on making the kernel interfaces more generic.

  More generic, but in a good way

  With the initial kernel support written for (select) Lenovo laptops, Hans implemented a more generic interface called platform_profile. This interface is now the one that power-profiles-daemon will integrate with, and means that it also supports a number of Microsoft Surface, HP, Lenovo’s own Ideapad laptops, and maybe Razer laptops soon.

  The next item to make more generic is Lenovo’s “lap detection” which still relies on a custom driver interface. This should be soon transformed into a generic proximity sensor, which will mean I get to work some more on iio-sensor-proxy.

  Working those interactions

  power-profiles-dameon landed in a number of distributions, sometimes enabled by default, sometimes not enabled by default (sigh, the less said about that the better), which fortunately meant that we had some early feedback available.

  The goal was always to have the user in control, but we still needed to think carefully about how the UI would look and how users would interact with it when a profile was temporarily unavailable, or the system started a “power saver” mode because battery was running out.

Instructionals/Technical

• Steghide tutorial for beginners – Linux Hint

  Steganography is preferable to cryptography since the latter allows an opponent to discover what was hidden in a text or file. In Steganography, the third party is completely unaware that a seemingly innocuous image or audio clip contains a hidden message or file. Steghide is a steganography tool that uses a passcode to hide private files within the image or audio file. BMP and JPEG picture types are supported, as well as AU and WAV audio formats. The file is encrypted by default using the Rijndael algorithm, with a key size of 128 bits.
  Many people have personal secrets that they want to keep secreted from others. Steghide is the greatest tool for people who want to keep their data private. Everyone can use this tool for free. Steghide offers a wide range of applications, and its unique features, such as file encryption, make it one of the best steganography tools available.

  We will study Steghide in this article. There is a range of steganography programs accessible, but the element that sets it apart is that it encrypts data using various techniques.

  On the Ubuntu 20.04 LTS system, we used the tools and methods mentioned in this article. We will need to use the Terminal application to download the steganographic utilities. You can access the terminal via the system applications area or the Ctrl+Alt+T shortcut.

• Configure your OpenVPN server on Linux | Opensource.com

  OpenVPN creates an encrypted tunnel between two points, preventing a third party from accessing your network traffic. By setting up your virtual private network (VPN) server, you become your own VPN provider. Many popular VPN services already use OpenVPN, so why tie your connection to a specific provider when you can have complete control?

  The first article in this series set up a server for your VPN, and the second article demonstrated how to install and configure the OpenVPN server software. This third article shows how to start OpenVPN with authentication in place.

• Rename a file in the Linux terminal | Opensource.com

  To rename a file on a computer with a graphical interface, you open a window, find the file you want to rename, click on its name (or right-click and select the option to rename), and then enter a new name.

  To rename a file in the terminal, you actually move the file with mv, but you move the file from itself to itself with a new name.

• Getting Started With Docker Containers: Beginners Guide – Front Page Linux

  Container technology is not exactly new, but it is a big topic in IT. Many enterprise Linux distributions do their best to let you know that they also have all the tools for you to be successful with container technology. If you want official description and documentation, please see the Reference Articles at the end of this tutorial. I will use my own words to give you a brief description of Docker containers. Also, I will be focusing on the basics of Docker and Docker-Compose here, not going into the more enterprise tools such as Kubernetes.

  This Tutorial is for all Linux users that have some basic understanding of terminal usage, virtualization, and would like to dip their toes in container technology. No Docker mastery required, we are going to start from the very basics here.

• How To Fix Rust “linker ‘cc’ not found” Error On Linux – Unixcop

  Today I was testing a Rust programming language on my CentOS VM. so I tried to install it and use it with correctly installation in the installation guide article.

• How To Install Hyper Terminal on Ubuntu 20.04 LTS – idroot

  In this tutorial, we will show you how to install Hyper Terminal on Ubuntu 20.04 LTS. For those of you who didn’t know, Hyper Terminal is an open-source command-line interface written in HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, which makes it more versatile and easier to use. In addition, Hyper Terminal also provides you with a variety of different customization options, which is why it is favored by most users.

  This article assumes you have at least basic knowledge of Linux, know how to use the shell, and most importantly, you host your site on your own VPS. The installation is quite simple and assumes you are running in the root account, if not you may need to add ‘sudo‘ to the commands to get root privileges. I will show you the step-by-step installation of the Hyper Terminal on Ubuntu 20.04 (Focal Fossa). You can follow the same instructions for Ubuntu 18.04, 16.04, and any other Debian-based distribution like Linux Mint.

• How To Install Jitsi Meet on Debian 10 – idroot

  In this tutorial, we will show you how to install Jitsi Meet on Debian 10. For those of you who didn’t know, Jitsi Meet is a free and open-source video-conferencing application that can be used as a standalone application or embed in your web application. It is based on WebRTC and provides multi-person video conference rooms without installing additional software or browser extensions.

  This article assumes you have at least basic knowledge of Linux, know how to use the shell, and most importantly, you host your site on your own VPS. The installation is quite simple and assumes you are running in the root account, if not you may need to add ‘sudo‘ to the commands to get root privileges. I will show you through the step-by-step installation of the Jitsi Meet open-source video conferencing on a Debian 10 (Buster).

• How To Install Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 (RHEL 8) – OSTechNix

  This step by step guide explains how to download latest Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 (RHEL 8) for FREE using Red Hat Developer account, and then how to install Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 with screenshots.

  [...]

  It used the Linux source code and created one of the first commercial Linux distribution named Red Hat Linux (RHL) in 1994. In March 2003, Red Hat Linux is renamed into Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL). The latest stable RHEL version is 8.4 at the time of writing this guide.

• How to Install Lumina Desktop on Ubuntu 20.04 – VITUX

  The Lumina Desktop Environment is a simple and compact interface that works with any Linux-based operating system. Lumina is built on the usage of plugins that also allow every user to personalize their interface. A system-wide standard style is also supplied, that the system administrator can alter. This enables each system to be tailored to enhance the performance of each unique user. Lumina’s functionalities are quite comparable to those found in commonly used windows computers. Certain modifications are also accessible, such as the ability to change the color theme and select an icon style out of accessible templates. Lumina provides an excellent desktop atmosphere for Linux users. You would go over the specifics with you if you are interested in acquiring it.

• How to Install WebVirtCloud KVM Management on Ubuntu 20.04

  WebVirtCloud is a web-based management tool for KVM virtualization. It allows administrators and users to create, manage and delete Virtual Machines running on KVM hypervisor from a web interface. It is built on Django and supports user-based authorization and authentication. With WebVirtCloud, you can manage multiple QEMU/KVM Hypervisors, Manage Hypervisor networks and Manage datastore pools from a single installation.

  In this tutorial, I will show you how to install the WebVirtCloud KVM Management tool on Ubuntu 20.04.

• How to install KDE NEON 20210729

  In this video, I am going to show how to install KDE NEON 20210729

• How to use man command in Linux, important options for beginners 2021

  man command in linux is short form of manual of any tool, utility, and commands. man command is used to giving information and instruction of particular command. Instruction would be what are the possible way and option to use that command.

  You will find very useful and essential command, which helps you explore other command as well as troubleshoot.

  You get a detailed view of the command which includes NAME, SYNOPSIS, DESCRIPTION, OPTIONS, EXIT STATUS, RETURN VALUES, ERRORS, FILES, VERSIONS, EXAMPLES, AUTHORS and SEE ALSO by using man command.

• How to Install and Use Tor Browser in Linux

  If you are a Linux user, especially one on a Debian-based or Ubuntu-based operating system environment, then the legend of the Tor browser has certainly crossed your mind from time to time.

  Maybe you have thought of it and its power of anonymity but never got to implement it. Reason? You never fully conceptualized how to install and use this powerful Tor browser application correctly.

• How to Install PHP on Rocky Linux 8

  PHP is a server-side scripting language. PHP is used to develop static or dynamic websites or web applications. Many popular CMS such as WordPress, Magento, and Joomla is written in PHP. Frameworks such as Laravel, Symfony, and CodeIgniter is also using PHP.

• How to Configure Apache Virtual Hosts on Rocky Linux

  This is an optional step intended only for those who wish to host multiple sites on the same server. So far, our LAMP setup can only host one site. If you wish to host multiple sites, then you need to set up or configure virtual host files. Apache virtual host files encapsulate the configurations of multiple websites.

  For this section, we will create an Apache virtual host file to demonstrate how you can go about setting your virtual hosts in Rocky Linux.

• How to Add User to Sudoers in Debian-Based Linux

  During your continued usage of an Ubuntu or Debian-based operating system environment, you probably encountered terminal-bound errors like “permission denied” or something like “user is not in the sudoers file”.

  Such circumstances can be frustrating to a system user who is yet to fully grasp the rules that define the metrics of the Linux operating system. To kick off this article, we first need to understand the definition of Sudo and Sudoer from a Linux operating system perspective.

• How To Install Mono Tool on Linux Distributions (Ubuntu, Arch & Red Hat)

  Mono is a free, open-source, and platform-independent implementation of Microsoft’s Dot Net framework. The Mono project was built to compile and test applications of C, C++, and other object-oriented languages. In most cases, developers use the dot net parts through the Mono tool for building cross-platform programs.

  The Mono tool is available for Linux systems. Using the dot net core on Linux is quite heavy, while the Mono is simple, easy to understand GUI, and lightweight. It supports most of Dot net native libraries and functions.

  Of course, the place of Microsoft’s dot net core and Mono software is not the same for all sectors; they both have different roles to play in development. In some cases, Mono is overwhelmed over the dot net core. However, if you’ve been using the Dot net core and the framework, using Mono would be an easy task for you.

• Vim command not found after Linux install, how to resolve – Linux Hint

  As people migrate from completely GUI-based operating systems to Linux or Unix-like systems, they often have difficulty dealing with the command line. Using the Terminal is a foreign idea to them, and it’s very easy to run into common errors, much like the one that is our subject today. So, if you happen to be one of the people having trouble using Vim, this article is for you.

• What does dot backslash mean in Linux? – Linux Hint

  As Linux users, we all have to turn to the Terminal at one point or another to carry out some system tasks, whether they may have to do with installing new programs or removing old ones. For those that are fond of using the command-line, slash operators will be very familiar. But those who are not have come to the right place as we will be discussing this feature in great detail in this article.

• Where does apt-get install packages to? – Linux Hint

  Whether you are a Linux veteran or just starting with Linux, you must have used apt-get or seen it being used somewhere. It is the primary way to install packages and dependencies on Ubuntu. In simpler terms, apt-get is the go-to of every Linux user when looking to set up software on their computer. This gives rise to a new question – where does apt-get install these packages to? Where do the files go, and how can one access them? In this guide, we will find out the answers to these questions.

• What is the difference between useradd and adduser? – Linux Hint

  Linux comes embedded with many Terminal commands, each having its own purpose. Some of them perform the same function but go about different ways when executing them. Such is the case with adduser and useradd. Both are used for creating a new user but follow different ways to execute it. This article is meant to educate the reader on the key differences between the two commands, with examples on how and when to use them.

• Squid proxy configuration on Linux – Linux Hint

  This tutorial explains how to configure Squid proxy in Linux.

  After reading this tutorial, you will know how to configure Squid port and hostname, block access to specific websites, and allow internet access to specific devices.

• Show Image in Terminal Ubuntu

  Most Linux users are big fans of the Terminal and therefore use it to perform everyday tasks on their operating system. However, the Terminal isn’t able to show graphical images like applications with full GUI interfaces. This brings us to the purpose of this guide – we will demonstrate how you can show images in the Terminal on Ubuntu.

  Getting started

  We will show you several different methods you can use to display images in the Terminal. Mostly our focus will be on installing and using third-party utilities, except for one method where you can use a built-in command to achieve the same task. Let’s break down our discussion in the form of a list for the sake of accessibility.

• Set SELinux enforcing mode with Ansible | Enable Sysadmin

  It’s recommended to ensure that Security-Enhanced Linux (SELinux) is running in enforcing mode on all your systems. However, some people in your organization may set it to permissive mode (or worse, disabled) rather than troubleshooting and fixing issues. You must reset it back to enforcing mode and make sure that all hosts are similarly configured. Ansible is your solution.

Games

• AMD and Valve Are Working to Improve the ACPI CPUFreq Driver for Better Gaming Performance on Linux

  AMD and Valve are working together to improve the ACPI CPUFreq driver, which should improve gaming performance on Linux and AMD hardware.

• Relax and rebuild a campsite in the chilled-out Haven Park out now | GamingOnLinux

  Haven Park is a short and casual experience for people who love to do a little exploring, while also doing a little building and repair work too. It joins a list of games like A Short Hike that combine simple themes with top-down adventuring and it’s a thoroughly sweet experience.

  Following in your family’s footsteps, your Grandma mentions the park is in need of fixing up and they were your age when taking over and so now it seems it’s down to you. So off you go as a little bird. running around making “pew pew” noises while hunting for items to rebuild everything.

  [...]

  Haven Park is exactly what you expect from it and that’s great. Super charming, colourful visuals and a lovely family-friendly theme make it worth a play if you love these casual experiences. It being not particularly long is good as it doesn’t overstay its welcome.

• Space station building sim Starmancer has entered Early Access | GamingOnLinux

  After a successful Kickstarter campaign in 2018, Starmancer from Ominux Games and Chucklefish is now actually out and available for all to buy in Early Access. I’ve been waiting some time on this, as a backer of the crowdfunding campaign it’s been wonderful to see it grow into something sci-fi sim fans will appreciate. Nice to have yet another game to tick off our crowdfunding list.

  “After a catastrophe on Earth, humanity launches the Starmancer Initiative in a desperate attempt to seek refuge among the stars. Millions of refugees upload their consciousness into your memory banks–entrusting their minds and the future of the human race to an Artificial Intelligence, a Starmancer. To you.

• Cosmic horror, fleshy monsters and the post-apocalypse meet in Death Trash out now | GamingOnLinux

  After many years in development Crafting Legends have now released Death Trash into Early Access, and it’s one of the most promising games we’ve seen all year.

  Fusing together elements of cosmic horror with the post-apocalypse, this RPG will take you through an interesting and thoroughly horrifying world full of mutants, punks with shotguns, massive otherworldly fleshy creatures and plenty of puke. With it now in Early Access it opens up about a third of the game, with approximately 5+ hours of content to play through, with their plan in place to expand it to around 20 hours once it’s finished.

• Total War: WARHAMMER II The Silence & The Fury out now for Linux

• Feral Interactive confirms Total War: WARHAMMER III for Linux is in progress

  After recently mentioning that A Total War Saga: TROY for Linux was no longer happening, the other side of the coin here is that Total War: WARHAMMER III is still coming to Linux officially from Feral Interactive.

  Only just today Feral hooked up the recent Total War: WARHAMMER II – The Silence & The Fury DLC for the Linux version along with the last huge upgrade, and we noted how we weren’t entirely sure now if Total War: WARHAMMER III was still happening. Feral spotted this and reached out to confirm with no ambiguity that the port of Total War: WARHAMMER III to Linux “is in progress and we will share more info at a later time”.

• Steam Deck Popularity Leads to Spike in Linux Use

  Given that the upcoming hand-held PC by Valve has its operating system based on Linux, it’s not too surprising that the Steam Deck crew are keen to make use of the open-source system, even if it’s not the powerhouse that Windows is. Recently, both Valve and Nvidia teamed up to bring DLSS to Linux systems. Now, it seems as though the OS has another reason to celebrate, possibly thanks to the developer and publisher’s upcoming hand-held device.

  In a recent report, it’s been announced that interest in Linux has risen, showing that more people are now starting to use the operating system, according to a survey on Steam hardware. While there doesn’t seem to be any way to know for sure, it’s entirely possible that this increase has occurred thanks to the announcement of the Steam Deck. The report goes on to estimate that if the number of Steam users a month has averaged around 120 million since the start of the year, then just over 1.2 million of them were active Linux users. This puts the open-source software into the 1% market share.

• Total War: WARHAMMER II – The Silence & The Fury DLC Is Out Now for Linux

  Officially released on July 1st, 2021, the Total War: WARHAMMER II The Silence & The Fury DLC is the final Legendary Lords Pack for the Total War: WARHAMMER II turn-based strategy and real-time tactics video game developed by Creative Assembly and published by SEGA for Linux, macOS, and Windows platforms.

  Of course, the Linux and macOS versions were ported by renewed Feral Interactive, which today they bring The Silence & The Fury DLC for Linux gamers. The DLC adds two unique Legendary Lords who lead their own factions, namely Oxyotl, He Who Hunts Unseen, for the Lizardmen, and Taurox the Brass Bull for the Beastmen.

Desktop Environments/WMs

• K Desktop Environment/KDE SC/Qt

  • Cutelee 6 released

    Cutelee is templating engine forked from Grantlee. This major release was created to support both Qt5 and Qt6, it was not an easy port due Qt6 changes to QVariant, we got some patches for this port, and I finished the remaining issues.

    It differs from Grantlee in which it already has support for more Django template tags, a few performance optimizations, and most importantly to me is the ability to extend without the hassled of creating a plugin and have it installed in some magical place. You can just register it with the engine and be done with it.

Distributions

• 2021 hardcore list of linux distributions without elogind and other systemd parts

  This list is going to be short and there may be a sublist of distros with a medium strict standard. We shall explain what the object is, below the short list (which we hope the community will assist in making longer as we have not been able to currently review the work of every distro and fork.

• New Releases

  • Alpine 3.14.1 released

    The Alpine Linux project is pleased to announce the immediate availability of version 3.14.1 of its Alpine Linux operating system.

    This release includes a fix for apk-tools CVE-2021-36159.

    The full lists of changes can be found in the git log.

• Arch Family

  • Best Arch Linux Based Distributions in 2021

    Arch Linux has a reputation for being a do-it-yourself Linux distribution. The notable features of Arch Linux are rolling upgrades, Pacman, AUR, and its speed. It’s meant for x86-64 processors.

    Usually, it requires the installation of applications and configuration of the system from the ground up, which calls for high expertise and experience.

    Thankfully, the open-source community has provided some cutting-edge, and user-friendly Arch-based distributions that are tailored for a wider user base including desktop users, developers, gamers, and even beginners transitioning to Linux from Windows or Mac. These distros provide essential applications, out of the box, to help you hit the ground running.

    In this guide, we list the 6 best Arch Linux based distributions in 2021.

• IBM/Red Hat/Fedora

  • Your one-on-one meeting doesn’t have to be this way

    Whenever I’m speaking with colleagues and clients near the end of a quarter, I often hear from managers rushing to squeeze their one-on-one meetings with employees into tight deadlines. Every time I ask an employee if they’ve enjoyed their one-on-one with a manager, the answer is unanimously “no.” And every time I ask a manager if they’ve enjoyed their one-on-one with an employee, the answer is unanimously “no, but I have to do it.”

  • Fedora Community Blog: Would you use this as your homepage?

    The Design team have been working to revamp start.fedoraproject.org which is the default homepage in a fresh Fedora Linux installation. We are super excited to show you the progress we have made so far.

  • Troubleshooting application performance with Red Hat OpenShift metrics, Part 5: Test results

    This is the final article in a series demonstrating the process of performance testing Service Binding Operator for acceptance into the Developer Sandbox for Red Hat OpenShift. In Part 4, I explained how I gathered performance metrics for the Developer Sandbox team. I also discussed the additional metrics we used to measure the developer experience using Service Binding Operator.

    The payoff comes in this final article, where I present the test rounds I undertook as the application developed and how I interpreted the results.

  • IT leadership: 4 team-building tips for the next normal

    These days, enterprise executives are pondering many questions around hybrid and remote work models: When should they bring their teams back to the office – if at all? How will they onboard new hires in a remote or hybrid environment? The list goes on.

    At the same time, employees are still experiencing the ripple effects of disruptions brought on by COVID-19. Digital burnout, feeling disconnected and overworked, and general exhaustion are among employee complaints in the 2021 Work Trend Index by Microsoft. Additionally, the report anticipates a mass exodus of team members in search of roles that better align with their priorities, predicting that 41 percent of the workforce is likely to consider leaving their current employer by the end of the year.

  • Hybrid work model: 5 advantages

    As the pandemic starts to subside in some parts of the world, many employees expect to see more flexible work options. However, 68 percent of organizations have no plan or detailed vision in place for hybrid work, according to a study by McKinsey.

    Here are five advantages of the hybrid work model to keep in mind as you plan your return-to-office policies.

  • The state of enterprise open source in the financial services industry

    We conducted interviews with 1,250 IT leaders worldwide, who weren’t necessarily Red Hat customers, to get an unbiased picture of how, where, and why they use enterprise open source. The results were shared in the third installment of Red Hat’s “The State of Enterprise Open Source” report earlier this year.

    The survey included respondents from 13 different countries, who indicated enterprise open source has become a default choice of IT departments around the world. Industries that have historically been more associated with proprietary technology are also embracing open source technology. Take financial services, for example. Let’s dive into key findings from IT leaders hailing from banks, insurance providers, and other financial services.

• Canonical/Ubuntu Family

  • Ubuntu 21.10 Finally Removed “Standard” Theme-box, Only Light & Dark Mode Now

    Ubuntu 21.10 daily build got an update for its gnome-control-center package(System Settings) recently. The ‘Standard’ mode is finally removed from the Appearance settings.

    The Yaru theme developer team submitted the request to remove the ‘Standard’ theme when in June, since both GTK3 and GTK4 do NOT support having different background / text colors for headerbar than in the rest of the window.

    The development build of Ubuntu 21.10 finally apply the change in the recent update. The ‘Window colors’ options under Appearance settings are now only fully dark and fully light. There’s no longer dark header bar with light window color called ‘Standard’.

  • Linux Mint 20.2 “Uma” Has Been Released: See What’s New [Ed: Late article]

    ​​​​​​Linux Mint is one of the most popular distros for home users. It’s a community-developed effort that provides a modern yet highly customizable OS for users looking for a hassle-free Linux experience. The developers recently released the latest stable version, 20.2, codenamed Uma.

    This new LTS release will be supported until 2025 and brings many refinements to the distro. Check out what new features you will get in Linux Mint 20.2 below.

  • Unlock the Chromecast with Google TV bootloader to run LineageOS or Ubuntu (older models only)

    The $50 Chromecast with Google TV is a dongle that hangs from the HDMI port of a TV, allowing you to stream video, listen to music, or play games using Google’s software.

    Want to use it for something more? A team of developers have just released a method for unlocking the bootloader. That makes it possible to replace Google’s software with alternate operating systems such as the open source, Android-based LineageOS or even a GNU/Linux distribution like Ubuntu. But before you get too excited, you should know that the bootloader can only be unlocked on some Chromecast units.

Devices/Embedded

• Linux-driven encoder board supports 4K H.265/HEVC

  Z3’s “Z3-Q603-RPS” encoder board runs Linux on Qualcomm’s quad-core QCS603 and encodes up to 4K H.265/HEVC and H.264 video with micro-HDMI in/out, Composite-in, GbE, COM, and KEL ports for Sony 4K and LVDS HD cameras.

  The last time we checked in on Z3 Technology was back in 2013 when the Lincoln, Nebraska based company launched a Z3-DM8168-APP-3x video transcoding subsystem built around a TI DaVinci SoC. The company offers a variety of camera solutions, video encoding boards, and “Zeus” video encoding systems that run Linux on low-end Arm SoCs. Z3 broke with its tradition of not disclosing the various Cortex-A8 or -A9 based processors in its products when it launched the Z3-Q603-RPS, which features Qualcomm’s AI-enabled, quad-core QCS603 camera SoC.

• Mobile Systems/Mobile Applications

  • Asus ZenFone 7 Pro, ZenFone 7 Get ZenUI Update With Android 12-Inspired One-Handed Mode | Technology News

  • Nokia 5.3 finally gets Android 11 update | TechRadar

  • Realme Narzo 30 Pro 5G Starts Receiving Android 11-Based Realme UI 2.0 Update in India | Technology News

  • Redmi Note 9 gets MIUI 12.5 update in India alongside Android 11

  • How to schedule an email in Gmail via desktop browser and android app – Information News

  • How to check Android battery health | Tom’s Guide

  • Hold up, HTC could have a new Android tablet in the works – Phandroid

  • Blaupunkt 50-inch CyberSound Ultra-HD Android TV With Dolby Digital Plus Launched in India: Price, Specifications | Technology News

  • Lume Pad brings back glasses-free 3D — this time on an Android tablet – CNET

  • Leia launches its 3D Lume Pad Android tablet | VentureBeat

  • Specifications of Realme Flash, ‘world’s first Android phone with magnetic wireless charging support’ surface online – Times of India

  • Enable these security settings on your Android smartphone to stay safe

  • Google Photos on Android is finally getting a ‘Memories’ widget | Android Central

  • Rec Room officially launches on Android on August 5 | Android Central

  • When does Marvel Future Revolution release on Android? | Android Central

  • Losca: MotionPhoto / MicroVideo File Formats on Pixel Phones

    Google Pixel phones support what they call ”Motion Photo” which is essentially a photo with a short video clip attached to it. They are quite nice since they bring the moment alive, especially as the capturing of the video starts a small moment before the shutter button is pressed. For most viewing programs they simply show as static JPEG photos, but there is more to the files.

    I’d really love proper Shotwell support for these file formats, so I posted a longish explanation with many of the details in this blog post to a ticket there too. Examples of the newer format are linked there too.

    Info posted to Shotwell ticket

  • 7 inch tablet with 4G LTE

    Strangely, such a tablet is very hard to find these days, a 7 inch tablet with 4G LTE bands that suit Australia.
    I own a 7 inch tablet with 3G support, brand name OrientPhone, think was purchased in 2014, from China. Wonderful phone, drew admirers whenever I used it in public, due to its large proportions compared with normal phones. problem was, the 3G bands no longer work, and besides, the phone died a few years ago — just stopped working.
    Ever since then, I have sometimes browsed online looking for a replacement. However, the 7 inch tablet market has also died. Yes, there are modern phones up to about 7 inches, but they are skinny things, with screen ratio not suited to playing 720p or 1080p videos — such videos do not fill the screen.

Free, Libre, and Open Source Software

• Coreboot 6 Open-Source Firmware Is Now Available for Star Labs’ Linux Laptops

  The Coreboot 6 open-source firmware is now available for the Star LabTop Mk III, Star LabTop Mk IV, and StarBook Mk V notebooks, along with an updated Coreboot Configurator utility, bringing lots of new features and improvements.

  Highlights include a new Boot Graphics Resource Table (BGRT) logo, updated Firmware Support Package (FSP), updated microcode, new Video BIOS Tables (VBT) that prioritize performance over power consumption, as well as the use the libgfxinit graphics initialization (aka modesetting) library for embedded environments for the Star LabTop Mk III and Star LabTop Mk IV laptops.

• Web Browsers

  • Chromium

    • Hurrah, Chrome for Linux Now Supports CSD Properly

      The latest development builds of Google Chrome fix several of the browser’s extant CSD issues on Linux desktops.

      Those of you mouthing “What CSD related issues?!” at your screens (and thus me) probably run Google Chrome maximised on the desktop.

      However, those of us who run the browser windowed have to endure (hyperbole) Chrome’s cranky client-side decoration support which draws a thick border around the entire window. This is highly noticeable in GTK themes with dark header bars, like Ubuntu’s Yaru.

      Compare the current stable version of Google Chrome for Linux (v92 at the time of writing) against the current unstable build (v94) by dragging the divider in the image below (if you read from an RSS reader or a scraper site you won’t be able to do this because hey: the internet doesn’t work like that, honey).

  • Mozilla

    • Data@Mozilla: This Week in Glean: Building a Mobile Acquisition Dashboard in Looker

      As part of the DUET (Data User Engagement Team) working group, some of my day-to-day work involves building dashboards for visualizing user engagement aspects of the Firefox product. At Mozilla, we recently decided to use Looker to create dashboards and interactive views on our datasets. It’s a new system to learn but provides a flexible model for exploring data. In this post, I’ll walk through the development of several mobile acquisition funnels built in Looker. The most familiar form of engagement modeling is probably through funnel analysis — measuring engagement by capturing a cohort of users as they flow through various acquisition channels into the product. Typically, you’d visualize the flow as a Sankey or funnel plot, counting retained users at every step. The chart can help build intuition about bottlenecks or the performance of campaigns.

      Mozilla owns a few mobile products; there is Firefox for Android, Firefox for iOS, and then Firefox Focus on both operating systems (also known as Klar in certain regions). We use Glean to instrument these products. The foremost benefit of Glean is that it encapsulates many best practices from years of instrumenting browsers; as such, all of the tables that capture anonymized behavior activity are consistent across the products. One valuable idea from this setup is that writing a query for a single product should allow it to extend to others without too much extra work. In addition, we pull in data from both the Google Play Store and Apple App Store to analyze the acquisition numbers. Looker allows us to take advantage of similar schemas with the ability to templatize queries.

    • Mozilla Addons Blog: Thank you, Recommended Extensions Community Board!

      Given the broad visibility of Recommended extensions across addons.mozilla.org (AMO), the Firefox Add-ons Manager, and other places we promote extensions, we believe our curatorial process should include a wide range of perspectives from our global community of contributors. That’s why we have the Recommended Extensions Advisory Board—an ongoing project that involves a rotating group of contributors to help identify and evaluate new extension candidates for the program.

      Our most recent community board just completed their six-month project and I’d like to take a moment to thank Sylvain Giroux, Jyotsna Gupta, Chandan Baba, Juraj Mäsiar, and Pranjal Vyas for sharing their time, passion, and knowledge of extensions. Their insights helped usher a wave of new extensions into the Recommended program, including really compelling content like I Don’t Care About Cookies (A+ cookie manager), Tab Stash (highly original take on tab management), Custom Scrollbars (neon colored scrollbar? Yes please!), PocketTube (great way to organize a bunch of YouTube subscriptions), and many more.

    • Jeff Klukas: Deduplication: Where Apache Beam Fits In

      This session will start with a brief overview of the problem of duplicate records and the different options available for handling them. We’ll then explore two concrete approaches to deduplication within a Beam streaming pipeline implemented in Mozilla’s open source codebase for ingesting telemetry data from Firefox clients.

    • Firefox Add-on Reviews: Read EPUB e-books right in your browser

      For many online readers you simply can’t beat the convenience and clarity of reading e-books in EPUB form (i.e. “electronic publication”). EPUB literature adjusts nicely to any screen size or device, but if you want to read EPUBs in your browser, you’ll need an extension to open their distinct files. Here are a few extensions to help turn your browser into an awesome digital bookshelf.

    • Mozilla Performance Blog: Performance in progress

      In the last six months the Firefox performance team has implemented changes to improve startup, responsiveness, security (Fission), and web standards.

    • An update from Firefox

      Selena Deckelmann, SVP of Firefox shares an update of how Firefox is re-imagining what more the browser can do to help you navigate today’s Internet and get to the good stuff. We started with a redesign, but that was only the start. Firefox is out to unlock the power of the open and independent web for everyone.

• SaaS/Back End/Databases

  • Apache Cassandra 4.0 Features Increased Speed And Scalability

    Nearly six years on from the release of Apache Cassandra 3.0, the community behind the popular open-source distributed database has announced the release of v4.0 of Apache Cassandra. Patrick McFadin, VP of Developer Relations at DataStax, and Ben Bromhead, CTO of Instaclustr, join TFiR Newsroom to talk more about the release.

    The first issue to be addressed is the importance Cassandra holds in the modern world. McFadin starts off by talking about what workloads Cassandra is focused on, i.e. websites and mobile applications. McFadin says, “When you use a mobile app on your phone, you’re probably using Cassandra.”

• FSFE

  • Dutch authority enforces Router Freedom

    The Dutch Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) has published new rules that will move Router Freedom forward in the Netherlands. Within 6 months Internet Service Providers (ISPs) have to comply and offer the option for consumers and companies to connect a modem or router of their own choice. The FSFE acknowledges this decision as a major win for consumer rights.

    Router Freedom is the right that consumers of any ISP have to choose and use a private modem and router instead of equipment that the ISP provides. In its publication (.pdf) the Dutch Authority cites the BEREC Guidelines on the Implementation of the Open Internet Regulation as the reason for stating the new rules. These guidelines came about with the persistent effort of the FSFE to draw attention to the importance of and right to Router Freedom. As another motivation the ACM explicitly mentions the “significant” group of users wanting to take control of their personal data and network devices.

    The new regulation clarifies which part of the infrastructure falls under the governance of the ISP and for which part the user is free to choose their own solution. Router Freedom also implies a user is still free to choose a modem or router offered by the ISP. It is an important step forward that this practice will be the norm from 27 February 2022 and will be enforced by the Dutch regulator. Although the legal aspects have been defined now in the Netherlands, in practice Router Freedom was already tolerated in the country. Most ISPs indicated that they allow consumers to connect their own preferred devices. One even gives consumers a discount if they use their own router or modem.

• FSF

  • The threat of software patents persists

    At the Free Software Foundation (FSF) we have reported extensively on many issues concerning user freedom. In this article, we will reintroduce a problem that has plagued the free software community for many years: the problem of software patents. In the past, we had several successful campaigns against them, and people have mistakenly assumed that the threat has gone away. It has not. Patents have steadily been dominating the software sector, and the situation is bound to get worse.

    Before we delve into the complexities of this issue, it’s important to know the basics: a patent is a legal tool that gives its owner the right to prevent others from using an invention in any way for a limited period of years. A software patent is a patent that applies to software.

    What follows will answer a number of questions: what software patents are; what their history is; what their legal status is today; what problem is posed by their enforcement; how our past successful campaigns were not enough to eliminate them; and finally, how you can help us fight against them, today. Unfortunately, for a proper explanation we ought to get a bit technical, but please bear with us.

  • GNU Projects

    • GCC 12′s Static Analyzer Gaining Initial Assembly Support

      Merged into the GNU Compiler Collection development code on Wednesday was an initial implementation of Assembly support for its analyzer.

      With the GCC 12 compiler release due out early next year there will now be at least initial support for Assembly within this growing static analyzer functionality. Like with much of GCC’s static analyzer support, this initial ASM support was worked on by Red Hat’s David Malcolm.

    • mailutils Version 3.13

      Version 3.13 of GNU mailutils is [https://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/mailutils/mailutils-3.13.tar.gz available for download.

      New in this version:

      Improved mailbox locking.
      Changes in the ‘locking’ configuration statement.
      Important changes in mail utility.

    • July GNU Spotlight with Mike Gerwitz: Fifteen new GNU releases!

      15 new GNU releases in the last month (as of July 26, 2021):
      automake-1.16.4
      binutils-2.37
      chess-6.2.9
      gnupg-2.2.29
      gprolog-1.5.0
      inetutils-2.1
      less-590
      libidn-1.38
      linux-libre-5.13
      mtools-4.0.34
      mygnuhealth-1.0.3
      octave-6.3.0
      parallel-20210722
      pies-1.6
      texinfo-6.8

• Programming/Development

  • Use of at() Function in C++ Vector – Linux Hint

    The vector is used in C++ to create the dynamic array and the size of the vector can be changed by adding or removing the elements. The at() function of the vector is used to access the element of the particular position that exists in the vector. It throws an exception if the position value is invalid. The uses of the at() function in the C++ vector have shown in this tutorial.

  • 2-Dimensional Vector in C++ – Linux Hint

    The vector is used to create a dynamic array and the size of the vector can be increased and decreased by adding and removing elements from the vector. When a vector is declared inside another vector then the vector is called a 2-Dimensional vector that works like a 2-Dimensional array. The 2-Dimensional vector contains multiple numbers of rows where each row is another vector. The uses of a 2-Dimensional vector in C++ have shown in this tutorial.

  • Use of C++ unique_ptr – Linux Hint

    The smart pointers are used to allocate the resource dynamically. Many types of smart pointers are used in C++ for various purposes, such as auto_ptr, unique_ptr, and shared_ptr. The auto_ptr pointer is deprecated in the new version of C++. The unique_ptr is used in replacement of the auto_ptr. The object of this pointer can take ownership of the pointer. The object of this pointer owns the pointer uniquely, and no other pointer can point to the object. The unique_ptr deletes the objects automatically. This pointer manages those objects if the objects are destroyed, or the value of the object is changed or the reset() function is called. The features of the unique_ptr and the uses of this pointer are discussed in this tutorial.

  • Using & Operator in C – Linux Hint

    Operators are the fundamental concepts of every computer language, and they are used to provide the groundwork for new programmers. Operators are basic symbols that assist us in performing scientific and analytical processes. In C and C++, operators are instruments or characters used to execute mathematical, analytical, probabilistic, and bitwise arithmetic computations. Bitwise operators, often recognized as bit-level coding, have been utilized to manipulate data only at the consolidated level. Bitwise performs operations on one or even more data bits or decimal digits only at bit level. These are used to speed up the calculating procedure in arithmetic operations. Bitwise functions cannot be used directly to the primitive data types like float, double, etc. Constantly keep in mind, bitwise operators have been most commonly employed with numerical data types due to their comparability. The bitwise logical operators act a bit at a time on the information, beginning with the lowest relevant ones (LSB), which would be the right side bit, and finding their way to some of the most likely values (MSB), which would be the leftmost piece.

  • C++ shared_ptr – Linux Hint

    The shared_ptr is one type of smart pointers of C++ that contains the shared ownership of the object created by the pointer. It shares the ownership of the object when storing the pointer into another object, and the shared reference counter counts the number of owners. The shared_ptr increases the reference counter by one after copying the object and decreases the reference counter by one after destroying the object. The memory owned by the object is reallocated if the object owned by the last shared_ptr is destroyed, or the reset() function is called to assign another pointer for the object. When the shared_ptr does not own any object, then it is called an empty shared pointer. Different uses of the shared_ptr have been shown in this tutorial.

  • Sorting C++ Vectors

    The C++ vector is like an array with member functions (methods). The vector’s length can be increased or be decreased in the program execution. The vector has many member functions. Among all these member functions, non-sorts the vector. However, C++ has a library called the algorithm library. This library has a lot of general-purpose algorithmic functions. One of these is the sort() function. This function can be used to sort C++ containers such as the vector. All values of a vector are values of the same type.

    A programmer can write his own sort() function. However, the sort() function from the algorithm library is likely to perform better than what the ordinary programmer writes.

  • The RedMonk Programming Language Rankings: June 2021 [Ed: Microsoft-funded 'analyst' basing its 'study' of programming languages on Microsoft; or based on a set of projects that chose Microsoft proprietary software for code hosting; is this scientific? Of course not.]

    The data source used for the GitHub portion of the analysis is the GitHub Archive.

  • Godot Engine – Multiplayer in Godot 4.0: On servers, RSETs and state updates

    It’s time for the first update on Godot 4.0 multiplayer and networking changes.

    In this post, I’ll focus on the new “headless” display, and the removal of multiplayer RSETs (read below before despairing!), along with keeping you hyped with some of the new features planned or in the work.

  • Board for 60 ESP-01 modules that update firmware from Github, mine “Duino Coins” [Ed: GitHub is the wrong platform and choosing it is a hallmark of bad taste and irrationality]

    That is why he designed a board to make it neater, and easier to manage. Each ESP-01 module can update firmware from the Internet, more especially from Github, as each time a new firmware version is uploaded to Github, the wireless module will automatically download and upgrade to the latest firmware.

  • Python

    • Python gets a “Developer-in-Residence”

      Backlogs in bug triage, code review, and other elements of the development process are nothing new for free-software projects; there is clearly a lot more interest in creating new features (and the bugs that go with them, of course) than in taking on the less-satisfying bits. For a large project like CPython, though, the backlog can seriously impede progress—potentially chasing off contributors whose work falls through the cracks. In order to address that, the Python Software Foundation (PSF) has raised some funds to hire Łukasz Langa as the CPython “Developer-in-Residence”. Langa will be working to help clear the backlog, while also looking into other areas of interest to the PSF and the Python steering council.

      Langa is a longtime CPython core developer and the release manager for Python 3.8 and 3.9; he is also the creator of the Black code formatter for Python. But, beyond all of that, he has been advocating for more full-time Python developers for a while now, so this is something of a dream come true for him personally.

    • GL announces T1 E1 Analyzer Client/Server Scripting for

      GL Communications Inc., a global leader in telecom test and measurement solutions, addressed the press regarding their T1 E1 Analyzer which supports Python Client/Server scripting for both Windows and Linux operating systems.

    • Python Wrapper for C++ solving the recent YandexQ problem

  • Rust

    • This Week In Rust: This Week in Rust 402

Health/Nutrition

• Cameron Kaiser: And now for something completely different: Australia needs to cut the crap with expats

  I am an Australian-American dual citizen (via my mother, who is Australian, but is resident in the United States), and my wife of five years is Australian. She is legimately a resident of Australia because she was completing her master’s degree there and had to teach in the Australian system to get an unrestricted credential. All this happened when the borders closed. Anyone normally resident in Australia must obtain an exemption to leave the country and cite good cause, except to a handful of countries like New Zealand (who only makes the perfectly reasonable requirement that its residents have a spot in quarantine for when they return).

  It was already difficult to exit Australia before, which is why, for the six weeks that I’ve gotten to see my wife since January 2020, it was me traveling to Australia. Here again many thanks to Air New Zealand, who were very understanding on rescheduling (twice) and even let us keep our Star Alliance Gold status even though we weren’t flying much, I did my two weeks of quarantine, got my two negative tests, and was released into the hinterlands of regional New South Wales to visit that side of the family. Upon return to Sydney Airport, it was a simple matter to leave the country, since it was already obvious in the immigration records that I don’t normally reside in it.

  [...]

  I realize as (technically) an expat there isn’t much of a constituency to join, but even given we’re in the middle of a pandemic this crap has to stop. Restricting entries is heavyhanded, but understandable. Reminding those exiting that they’re responsible for hotel or camp quarantine upon return is onerous (and should be reexamined at minimum for those who have indeed gotten the jab), but defensible. Preventing Australian citizens from leaving altogether, especially those with family, is unconscionable and the arbitrary nature of the exemption process is a foul joke.

Integrity/Availability

• Proprietary

  • Strong Issues with MacOS BigSur on MacBook Pro M1

    After switching from my Intel-based MacBook Pro from 2019 with I9 to the MacBook Pro M1, the fun didn’t last very long. Since then, I spend a lot of time maintaining and analyzing Mac problems and don’t get to work.

  • Security

    • Security updates for Thursday

      Security updates have been issued by Debian (jetty9 and openexr), openSUSE (mariadb and virtualbox), Red Hat (go-toolset-1.15 and go-toolset-1.15-golang), SUSE (djvulibre and mariadb), and Ubuntu (opencryptoki).

    • Linux Security Improvements Needed

      Linux security expert Kees Cook says more investment is needed in “bug fixers, reviewers, testers, infrastructure builders, toolchain devs, and security devs.” He notes, for example, that “the stable kernel releases (“bug fixes only”) each contain close to 100 new fixes per week.”

    • Google slams Linux kernel, says it needs major security investment | TechRadar

      Google has highlighted what it says are shortcomings in the Linux kernel from a security perspective, and the issues these create for downstream vendors who roll the kernel into products.

      In a blog post, Kees Cook from Google’s Open Source Security Team compares the Linux kernel to the US automotive industry of the 1960s in order to drive home the point that while the kernel runs flawlessly, when it fails, it falls apart miserably.

      “The huge community surrounding Linux allows it to do amazing things and run smoothly. What’s still missing, though, is sufficient focus to make sure that Linux fails well too,” wrote Cook.

    • NSA, CISA release Kubernetes hardening guidance following Colonial Pipeline, other attacks | CSO Online

      Earlier this week, the US National Security Agency (NSA) and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) issued a joint document entitled Kubernetes Hardening Guidance. Kubernetes is an open-source orchestration system that relies on containers to automate the deployment, scaling and management of applications, usually in a cloud environment. According to the most recent State of Kubernetes Security report by RedHat, more than half the security professionals surveyed said they delayed deploying Kubernetes applications into production due to security.

    • NSA, CISA Report Outlines Risks, Mitigations for Kubernetes

      Two of the largest government security agencies are laying out the key cyberthreats to Kubernetes, the popular platform for orchestrating and managing containers, and ways to harden the open-source tool against attacks.

      In a 52-page report released this week, the National Security Agency (NSA) and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) noted the advantages to enterprises using Kubernetes to automate the deployment, scaling and managing of containers and running it in the cloud, citing both the flexibility and security benefits when compared to other monolithic software platforms.

      “However, securely managing everything from microservices to the underlying infrastructure introduces other complexities,” the report’s authors wrote. “Kubernetes clusters can be complex to secure and are often abused in compromises that exploit their misconfigurations.”

    • Qualys, Red Hat To Drive Greater Security For Red Hat Enterprise Linux CoreOS, Red Hat OpenShift

      Qualys has joined hands with Red Hat to drive greater security for both the container and host operating system for Red Hat OpenShift. The Cloud Agent for Red Hat Enterprise Linux CoreOS on OpenShift combined with the Qualys solution for Container Security provides continuous discovery of packages and vulnerabilities for the complete Red Hat OpenShift stack.

    • Researchers Find Significant Vulnerabilities…

      Attacks require executing code on a system but foil Apple’s approach to protecting private data and systems files.

Monopolies

• Patents

  • Austria continues to play steady role in European patent litigation [Ed: JUVE is spamming or link-farming for Austrian patent litigation giants, but it is disguised as news]

    Despite the turbulence of the past year, Austria’s patent courts have steadily ticked over. Not only did the courts clarify the possibilities of gathering evidence in preliminary injunction proceedings, but an initial court decision reflects the new rules of the EU Trade Secrets Directive. Now, in the new JUVE Patent Austria ranking, we showcase the rising stars of the Austrian patent market.

    Aside from the landmark ruling on preliminary injunctions, Austrian courts only decided on a few Europe-wide pharma and biosimilar disputes. Nevertheless, Austrian law firms were repeatedly involved in individual questions in such proceedings. One example is the pemetrexed case, which involves questions of patent infringement by equivalents.

    Also currently pending is the Illumina vs. MGI case concerning DNA sequencing technology. The French courts have also handed down initial rulings in the dispute, as has the UK when the High Court grappled with issues of sufficiency in its first judgment.

    [...]

    Sandoz produces biosimilars at its Tyrolean plant, including the antibody rituximab. The company has central European approval for the product.

    In addition to the application for a search of premises, the case also sought the release of certain documents to disclose the manufacturing process. Now, the threshold for such disclosures in preliminary injunction proceedings is clearer.

  • Software Patents

    • WSOU ’770 patent challenged

      On July 2, 2021, Unified filed a petition for inter partes review (IPR) against U.S. Patent 7,333,770, formerly owned by Alcatel-Lucent USA, Inc. (Nokia Corporation) but now owned by WSOU Investments, LLC. The ‘770 patent is generally related to broadcasting data in a telecommunications system and is being asserted against TP-Link Technology Co.

    • EPO challenge filed against another ETRI patent

      On July 27, 2021, Unified Patents filed an opposition in the EPO against EP 3448036. The EP ‘036 patent is owned by the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI). The patent is part of a large family with related patents designated as essential to the H.265 and AV1 standards by HEVC Advance and SISVEL, respectively. It is also related to U.S. Patent 9,781,448 against which Unified has filed an IPR in April 2021.

Server

• Pantavisor Linux Brings Container Portability and Agility to Embedded Systems on IoT

  The Pantacor team is excited to announce the release of Pantabox and Pantavisor.io. Inspired by other open source projects like Busybox, Pantabox is a self-contained frontend for managing Pantavisor Linux directly on IoT devices. In addition to this, we launched a new home and community for Pantavisor Linux – our open source framework for containerized embedded Linux development. In this post, we discuss the evolution of Pantavisor Linux and where it’s heading. Then we’ll show you Pantabox as the optimal developer experience for your embedded Linux IoT container projects.

• Grafana Enterprise Logs 1.1: Access control for log lines with sensitive data [Ed: Automated translation]

  Grafana Enterprise Logs only found its way into the Grafana Enterprise Stack at the beginning of the year, and version 1.1 is now available. The software provider Grafana Labs has added some new features to its tool, including label-based access control (LBAC).

• Best Linux VPS Hosting – Comparison and Guide

  If you’re looking for your next Linux VPS hosting provider, this guide will help you find it. We’ll go into details of what Linux VPS is, what makes a provider “the best”, explore all the options, and compare the best Linux VPS hosting providers.

Instructionals/Technical

• How to reduce PDF size in Ubuntu

  All of us use LibreOffice or Microsoft Word programs to create documents that can be exported in PDF format. Sometimes, however, these PDF files tend to get too large and unwieldy in size. Many websites have size restrictions on the files you upload; therefore, it causes a real headache when the file is too big. There are several solutions to this problem, which we will discuss and discuss in this article.

• What Is Kali Undercover? How to Install It on Linux

  Imagine that you’re using Kali Linux, your favorite penetration testing OS, in public. You don’t want someone to give you strange looks while you’re performing a network scan through the terminal, right?

  Offensive Security, the company that maintains Kali Linux, has developed a quick solution for this. Kali’s undercover mode can change the appearance of your desktop, making it look like a traditional Windows system, the one which is familiar to most people.

  In this article, you will learn more about Kali Undercover, how to use it, and the steps to install it on your Linux system.

• How to install MetaTrader 4 with the KOT4X Broker on a Chromebook

  Today we are looking at how to install MetaTrader 4 with the KOT4X Broker on a Chromebook. Please follow the video/audio guide as a tutorial where we explain the process step by step and use the commands below.

• How to Execute Curl With Kubectl – Linux Hint

  The command-line tool cURL or Curl, which refers to client URL, is used by developers to transport data to and from a server. At its most basic level, Curl allows you to communicate with a server by defining the destination in the form of a URL and the data you wish to transmit. Curl operates on practically every platform and supports a variety of protocols, which include HTTP and HTTPS. This makes Curl suitable for testing connectivity from a local server to most edge devices or from practically any device. Curl is nearly ubiquitous, whether it’s for validating an API’s output before sending it to production or just requesting a response from a website to ensure it’s not down. Curl is a popular and powerful command. It comes in handy when you are reliant on the command line. It comes with a variety of features and supports a range of protocols. That’s a compelling reason to master this command. Curl commands are intended to be used as a technique to test URL connectivity and a data transmission tool. On the client-side, Curl is driven by libcurl, a free URL transfer library. Because it is developed to function without user interaction, this technology is preferred for automation. Curl can transport several files at once. In the following guide, we are going to check out the usage of the curl command using kubectl in Ubuntu 20.04 operating system.

• How to Enable ZFS Compression – Linux Hint

  The file system compression feature compresses the files stored on the file system automatically to save the precious disk space of your storage device.
  Like many other file systems, the ZFS file system also supports file system-level compression.

  The benefits of ZFS file system compression are:

  i) Saves Disk Spaces: As I have mentioned, when ZFS compression is enabled, the files you store on your ZFS pool/file system are compressed to save disk space.

  ii) Reduces File Access Time: Processors these days are very fast. They can decompress files in real-time. So, it takes less time to decompress a file than to retrieve it from a storage device (i.e., hard drive). As compressed files take less storage area, they can be retrieved faster from the storage device (i.e., hard drive) than uncompressed files and can be decompressed on the fly. Overall, this reduces file access time and improves the file system performance.

  This article will show you how to enable compression on your ZFS pool and file systems. I will also show you how local and inherited compression of ZFS pool and file systems works. So, let’s get started.

• How Do I Check My UFW Log? – Linux Hint

  This tutorial explains how to enable UFW (Uncomplicated Firewall) logging and how to read the logs. A firewall is critical to maintain security on your linux and ubuntu systems.

  After reading this tutorial, you will know how to find and read UFW logs. For a complete UFW tutorial, you can read Working with Debian Firewalls (UFW).

• How to open Google Chrome from the Terminal in Ubuntu? – Linux Hint

  Although most versions of Ubuntu come with Mozilla Firefox installed as the default browser, having Google Chrome installed has its fair advantages. Google Chrome has been the superior choice when it comes to browsing on a desktop, having support for most plugins and a variety of add-ons, the likes of which cannot be found on any other browser.

  This makes Google Chrome an ideal browser and a must-have no matter which operating system you are running. This guide will help you install Google Chrome on Ubuntu and instructions to use it with the help of the Terminal.

  Although this guide is meant for versions of Ubuntu, it should work the same way for any Linux Distribution.

• How to limit ssh with UFW – Linux Hint

  This tutorial explains how to limit the ssh access using UFW (Uncomplicated Firewall), denying connections from IP addresses who failed to establish a minimum of 6 connections within 30 seconds.

  This feature is very useful for protocols supporting login authenticated connections such as ssh or ftp among others, preventing brute force attacks.

• How to add secondary IP address on RHEL/CentOS 8

  Sometimes, you might have to assign a secondary IP address to a single Network Interface Card (NIC) on RHEL 8 and CentOS 8 systems.

  There are numerous reasons for this and some of them, such as application requirement or installation of SSL certificate.

  There are two ways to add a secondary IP address to the RHEL 7 and CentOS 7 network interface.

• Avoid Head Spinning

  If you’re like me and constantly keep triggering it by accident (Blender zooming being Inkscape’s panning having to do with it), you’ll be happy to learn it can be completely disabled. Sip on your favorite beverage and dive into the thick preferences dialog again (Edit>Preferences), this time you’re searching for Lock canvas rotation by default in the Interface section. One more thing that might throw you off is that you need to restart Inkscape for the change to have any effect.

Games

• Total War: WARHAMMER II – The Silence & The Fury out now for Linux | GamingOnLinux

  After a few weeks of waiting, porter Feral Interactive has updated Total War: WARHAMMER II to support The Silence & The Fury DLC along with the latest huge free update. Originally released on July 14, Feral ported it over to macOS on July 29 so we’ve had a bit of an extra wait here.

  The Silence & The Fury introduces new Legendary Lords for the Lizardmen and the Beastmen, each leading their own factions with new characters and units, as well as unique gameplay mechanics and narrative objectives.

• Embracer Group swallows up even more developers and publishers | GamingOnLinux

  Embracer Group has announced today that they (or their direct subsidiary companies) have acquired a bunch more developers and publishers and so the concerning consolidation continues.

  For those that don’t know Embracer Group already own the likes of THQ Nordic GmbH, Koch Media GmbH/Deep Silver, Coffee Stain AB, Amplifier Game Invest, Saber Interactive, DECA Games, Gearbox Entertainment and Easybrain. It goes further since there’s also over 60 game studios owned all together with the likes of Aspyr Media, Volition, Warhorse, Flying Wild Hog, 4A Games, New World Interactive and the list just goes on.

• Unbound: Worlds Apart is a gorgeous platformer where you open portals between worlds | GamingOnLinux

  Become the mage Soli and travel through a dangerous world in Unbound: Worlds Apart, a platformer that has you spawn portals between two different worlds to overcome many challenges. Note: key provided by the developer.

  “Teleport in as Soli, a young mage with the power to open portals and control the properties of each world – such as inverse gravity, time manipulation, super strength and more. There are 10 different portals with unique mechanics to discover.

  On the journey to master Soli’s ever-growing powers, players will traverse ethereal hand-drawn environments, complete quests, collect ancient lore, outmaneuver enemies and meet a cast of otherworldly characters – all while unraveling the mysterious story of Unbound: Worlds Apart.”

• Check out how co-op will work in Book of Travels the tiny online RPG | GamingOnLinux

  Book of Travels is the upcoming TMORPG (Tiny Multiplayer Online Role-playing Game) from the Meadow developer Might and Delight. It’s releasing this month and now we can see a bit of what co-op will be like.

  It’s supposed to be a bit like an anti-answer to MMORPGs, with a focus on small player counts and you don’t even directly chat with others. Instead, you master a special in-game language. The whole idea in Book of Travels is quite fascinating and with it entering Early Access on August 30 they’re showing off a little more now too.

Desktop Environments/WMs

• K Desktop Environment/KDE SC/Qt

  • Get More of Everything With the “Get New” Button in KDE Plasma

    KDE Plasma is a desktop tweaker’s dream come true. You can virtually change every aspect of the desktop, from adding widgets and changing fonts, to trying out over-the-top effects and transformative themes.

    With most interfaces, you need to know where to look online to find these sorts of tweaks, but KDE spares you the effort. There’s a handy little magic button that delivers the goods right to your desktop.

Devices/Embedded

• Open Hardware/Modding

  • Meet Laura Kampf: Wood and metalworker

  • OKdo program will recycle your old Pi and give you £10 voucher

    OKdo, Sony, and the Raspberry Pi Foundation have launched an “OKdo Renew” recycling program that will exchange your old RPi 3 and 4 boards and give you a £10 OKdo voucher. Meanwhile, RPi’s Eben Upton says the next Pi will likely be a RPi 4A due in 2022.

• Mobile Systems/Mobile Applications

  • One UI guide: Everything you need to know – Android Authority

  • Samsung Galaxy S21 owners need to update NOW: New Android version fixes critical issues | Express.co.uk

  • Android Smartwatches 2021: Samsung Galaxy Watch, Fossil, Fitbit—These or the Apple Watch? | Tech Times

  • Install Android Auto apps, that’s how it works

  • Android’s built-in ‘COVID Card’ vaccination record rolling out – 9to5Google

  • Android 11 update available for Nokia 5.3 | Nokiamob

  • Is Iceraven the better Firefox for Android mobile browser? – gHacks Tech News

  • Google is removing the Android version

  • FTC to decide on Google’s alleged abuse of Android dominance on Sept. 1

  • Mi LED TV 4C 32-Inch With Android TV-Based PatchWall UI, Mi Quick Wake Feature Launched in India | Technology News

  • Download and Install Android USB Drivers for popular OEMs

  • Android TV Watchlist, recommendation features announced – 9to5Google

  • What Is Android System WebView and What Does It Do?

  • Time to trash your old Android phones – SlashGear

  • Nokia 5.3 finally receives its Android 11 update

  • Best Android app deals of the day: DARIUSBURST, more – 9to5Toys

  • Snapdragon Wear 5100, this is the new processor for Android smartwatches – Market Research Telecast

Free, Libre, and Open Source Software

• Web Browsers

  • Mozilla

    • Firefox lost 50M users since 2019

• FSF

  • GNU Projects

    • Developing A Real-Time SDR System

      As telecommunication technologies evolve there is an on-going drive for the development of high-performance systems for radio communications. Part of that evolution involves implementing components in software functions that had traditionally been implemented in hardware.

      Software-defined radio (SDR) is a prime example. Significant amounts of signal processing have been handed over to the general-purpose processor, opening doors for new opportunities for high-quality signal processing systems.

      [...]

      To prove this, GNU Radio was integrated with Aldec’s Riviera-PRO simulator and an Aldec HES FPGA board.

    • The Biggest Software Flops of All Time

      Unix was first developed in the 1970s, and by 1990 the GNU Project decided it was time to replace it with a free offering called GNU Hurd. Thirty years after work on the project started, GNU Hurd has yet to be released as a working operating system for public use. Still, many of the components from GNU were moved over to create the Linux operating system.

• Programming/Development

  • Leap seconds: Causing Bugs Even When They Don’t Happen

    Up to now, all leap seconds have been positive, and they reflect that the rotation of the Earth has been slowing down. Lately however, things have shown signs of speeding up. This might lead to the need for an unprecedented negative leap second.

    Some people, especially non-programmers, assume this will all be fine. Meanwhile, some more battle hardened infrastructure developers have been trying to call attention to the pressing need to start testing negative leap seconds. The assumption is that anything that hasn’t happened before will break spectacularly.

    On this entirely non-fishy looking URL https://565851109.xyz/ we can read that based on IERS Bulletin A Vol. No. 30, and making some very large, probably unjustified assumptions, at the end of June, 2029, there will be a negative leap second.

  • 5 Underrated Apps for Programmers

    Programmers use many auxiliary programs and applications in their work. Don’t be limited to the familiar tools in a world where new ones are constantly appearing. Here are some overlooked but very useful apps for a developer to install.

Opinion | Will the ‘Bipartisan’ Infrastructure Plan Really Deliver for Our Water Needs?

The details of a bipartisan infrastructure compromise have finally emerged, as Senate leaders like Chuck Schumer push for a vote on the bill that many Democrats see as a down payment on the kind of major spending and jobs package the country needs. As policy wonks and Senate staffers pore over details, it does not appear that much has changed from what we knew days before. But it’s still important to understand where we started, and where we ended up.

Opinion | Peace On Earth, Good Will Toward High Jumpers

Your Crown Won’t Fall

Opinion | The Beauty—and the Global Tragedy—of the Olympic Refugee Team

The Olympic Refugee Team filing into the stadium during Tokyo’s opening ceremonies provided a powerful, moving sight: almost 30 athletes, carrying the Olympic flag, striding alongside the delegations of almost every country in the world.

Luchita Hurtado’s Spiritual Modernism

In 1988, feminist art agitators the Guerrilla Girls produced a poster that listed the so-called advantages of being a woman artist. The bullet points included: “working without the pressure of success”; “being included in revised versions of art history”; and “knowing your career might pick up after you’re eighty.” Luchita Hurtado, it can be stated, had to wait until she was nearing her 100th year for the art world to take note of her. The Venezuelan-born American painter, who was influenced by Surrealism and Abstract Expressionism without fitting snugly into either category, took nature and the cosmos as the basis of her work, often depicting her body as an extension of these realms. She painted prolifically, in relative obscurity, for 70 years before a Los Angeles gallery show put her on the map in 2016. By the time she passed away in 2020 at the age of 99, she was represented by Hauser & Wirth, and had been booked for solo exhibitions in London, Mexico City, and her adopted hometown of Los Angeles. Now, her gallery has released a book about her work, Luchita Hurtado.

Eurovision 2021 finalist Manizha joins Meduza’s summer music festival

For the past two months, musicians from around the world have joined Meduza’s summer music marathon, sharing video clips and special performances in support of our news outlet and independent media in Russia. This has been absolutely incredible — and we’re not done yet! Throughout the month of August we will continue to publish new songs specially recorded for Meduza’s readers. And we’re enormously grateful to the artists who are taking part, thank you!

Bourdain’s Wake

Anthony Bourdain left no suicide note when he took his life in 2018, a fact that adds to the numbing bafflement produced by his death. Bourdain was many thing: among others, a chef, a traveler, an activist, a celebrity. But he was also first and foremost a writer. While he won his greatest fame as a host of TV travel shows, it was as a writer, for The New Yorker and then in his candid cook memoir Kitchen Confidential, that he first staked out his claim on the public’s attention

Should Progressives in Congress Oppose Biden’s Infrastructure Deal If Reconciliation Bill Is Blocked?

The $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill is making its way through the Senate this week. The outcome of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which calls for $550 billion in new spending and reuses some unused COVID-19 relief aid, will set the stage for debate on Biden’s much larger $3.5 trillion package, which Democrats hope to pass with a simple majority using the reconciliation process in the Senate. Jacobin staff writer Branko Marcetic says progressives must fight for the larger package and be willing to block the bipartisan bill, if needed. “If that reconciliation bill looks like it’s actually going to get blocked, then progressives need to use their numbers and use their leverage and wield power that they really have in this Congress,” he says.

Everyone Being Dumb About IP: McDonald’s No Longer Offering Dope Custom PS5 Controllers In Australia

If you search for stories about McDonald’s on Techdirt, you will come away with the impression that the company, like many large corporate entities, puts heavy emphasis on its intellectual property rights. Sony, the company responsible for the PlayStation consoles, exudes a similar reputation, despite some recent moves to loosen its IP grip as of late. So, just to be clear, everyone involved in this story tends to trend toward the more restrictive end of the IP spectrum.

How Ernesto Guevara Became “Che”: The Motorcycle Diaries Revisited

Only with the benefit of hindsight and after seven eventful months on the road that altered his life, did Guevara begin to change his mind about heroism, heroes and heroic feats. At the start of his narrative—that’s based on the journal he kept along the way, and originally titled Notas de Viaje—he wrote of himself and Alberto: “Distant countries,  heroic deeds and beautiful women spun around and around in our turbulent imaginations.”

At the age of 23, while still a medical student and not yet a doctor, Ernesto was imbued with many of the ideas and values of the Argentine middle class into which he was born. In 1951 when he and Alberto launched their romantic adventure, Ernesto wanted to be a swashbuckling hero, not a Marxist revolutionary or a guerrilla fighter. On the road, he became another person. He decided that “the poor” were the “unsung heroes” of Latin America.

Whatever Happened to Internationalism?

A sponsored post, “What is intercultural competence? And 4 reasons why employers value it”, offers one of the most general and widely accepted definitions of intercultural competence and then proceeds to explain why employers value intercultural competence and list its benefits, including how it “prepares you to work for international companies, it shows you’re proactive” and it is “something to talk about in interviews”, all of which emphasise the utilitarian value of this skill set.

International education, including intercultural competence, is often ‘sold’ on the basis of the extent to which it contributed to US economic growth and national security, both Ameri-centric goals whose pursuit is too often to the exclusion of the interests and aspirations of other peoples. This approach is limiting and antithetical to the true mission of the profession.

Glen Ford ¡Presente!

In the two decades since those words were first published, though a great deal has changed both domestically and internationally for the Left (the implosion of American imperial unipolarity in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Pink Tide in Latin America, the economic ascendancy of China, acceleration of climate catastrophe, the evisceration of privacy by the surveillance state and Silicon Valley, the social democratic upsurge around Bernie Sanders and DSA, the full-throated embrace of white nationalism by the GOP leadership, et. al.), absolutely nothing in Zizek’s statement is changed. Whilst his progeny have taken on afterlives of their own, Lenin is still the ultimate persona non grata in radical politics.

American anarchists and social democrats shun him as the authoritarian nightmare’s author, failing to recognize how American liberals have built a monstrosity that would make the Stasi envious. Anglophone Trots, Maoists, “anti-revisionist” Stalin nostalgics, and Che/Fidel aficionados wandered off a long time ago into their own strange ghettos of religious worship, populating never-ending blogs and paper periodicals with polemics catered to a demographic that would comfortably fit their sum toto membership into a telephone booth, valorizing an idol as opposed to what Lenin actually believed at the close of his life. In the former Socialist Motherland, Putin has revitalized Stalin as the modernizing Tsar of All Russias, the slayer of the Hitlerite dragon who, despite his carceral failings, salvaged the nation and dragged it into the new century. Simultaneously, the Russian president demonizes Lenin, saying he “planted an atom bomb under the building called Russia” by supporting national self-determination to the point of granting the right of Soviet republican secession.

Science

• Why scientists are leaving social media

  When facts are agreed upon socially, confirmation bias takes hold. People follow, like, and retweet content that confirms what they already believe. Truth becomes subjective, and people talk of “my truth” when they mean “my experience”. On Twitter, they may hear of a treatment successfully tested in trials and say: it didn’t help me. Who can blame them for putting their experience first?

Education

• The Charter School Juggernaut

  Somehow, as if by magic, public schools were failing kids in the US and A Nation At Risk would be the foundation to attack those schools. What was actually happening behind the curtain in the land of Oz was that the economy had stopped functioning for masses of working class and lower middle-class people who depended on manufacturing jobs and jobs in the public sector. Attacks against teacher unions and public schools were not far behind.

  Even a casual observer could see the trends in the demise of jobs, the growth of prisons, the growth of charter schools, and the decline in support for public schooling in the US. In many places, largely in urban areas, public schools were in decline. School buildings in many places were relics of the past and deteriorated along with the general public infrastructure. Drive across any major highway where snow falls in the winter and see the deteriorating bridges: public schooling was like those bridges.

• Will a Facebook-style news feed aid discovery or destroy serendipity?

  Google Scholar does not only return search results, however. It also recommends new papers through its alert system. It has this in common with a number of scholarly platforms: ResearchGate, Mendeley and Semantic Scholar also offer both a way to search and a recommendation tool. And although those two functions are distinct, they are both algorithmically driven ways to find new articles.

  [...]

  Academics have always been more inclined to cite previously popular articles, of course. But algorithms risk exacerbating that tendency, Jordan argues. Not only that, but given there is already bias towards citing academics who are male and from high-income countries, the use of citations to help calculate which papers to recommend carries a “risk of compounding the inequalities that are already baked into academic publishing”, she warns.

  One study from 2016 found that an increasing share of citations is accruing to older articles. It suggested that this could be because of a feedback loop generated by the appearance of these papers at the top of Google Scholar searches: an effect dubbed by the study’s authors as the “first-page results syndrome”.

Health/Nutrition

• More Than Two-Thirds of US Adults Support Mask Mandates as Variants Spread

  Amid news of numerous Covid-19 variants circulating and reports of “breakthrough” cases in fully vaccinated people, a poll released Wednesday showed that a majority of adults in the U.S. think policymakers should impose mask mandates to protect public health.  

• ‘Time for Medicare for All’: US Healthcare System Ranks Dead Last Among Rich Nations—Again

  The United States spends far more of its GDP on healthcare than other rich countries yet still has the highest infant and maternal mortality rates, the lowest life expectancy at age 60, and the most glaring inequities, according to a new report released Wednesday by the Commonwealth Fund.

  “Single-payer Medicare for All would address some of our most pressing problems by establishing no-cost access to care for all Americans.”—Physicians for a National Health Program

• Opinion | If a Vaccine Resistant Covid Strain Develops, Will Dr. Fauci Pay Any Price?

  This is a very serious question, even if I’m using a bit of clickbait here. I’m not out to get Dr. Fauci, who deserves some sort of Nobel Prize for trying to give straight information to the public, even as Donald Trump was doing everything he could to minimize the pandemic. But there is an important issue of both, our current failings in vaccinating the world, and a system that almost always allows those at the top to escape responsibility for their failures.

• A Quick Reminder That Mandating Vaccines Is Totally Constitutional

  Anti-vaxxers and anti-mask people are loud and wrong all the time. It’s a devastating combination. They’ve got an entire white-wing media echo-sphere that amplifies their wrong ideas. They have social media algorithms that elevate their ignorance and misinformation, such that even calling them out boosts their uninformed or willfully false takes.

• WHO Calls for Moratorium on Covid Booster Shots as Billions Go Without Single Vaccine Dose

  The head of the World Health Organization on Wednesday called for an immediate moratorium on the provision of coronavirus booster shots until at least the end of September, a demand aimed at redressing the massive and persistent inoculation gap between rich and poor countries.

  “We need an urgent reversal, from the majority of vaccines going to high-income countries, to the majority going to low-income countries.”—Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus

• We Are Releasing the Full Video of Richard Sackler’s Testimony About Purdue Pharma and the Opioid Crisis

  A settlement close to being finalized in a bankruptcy case would provide a shield from civil litigation to the members of the Sackler family who own OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma. The development means that family members will be significantly less likely to be questioned under oath about their role in the marketing of the potent prescription painkiller blamed for fueling a nationwide opioid epidemic.

• As COVID Roars Back in Arkansas, Governor Says He Regrets Banning Mask Mandates

• CDC Issues 60-Day Eviction Moratorium After Progressives Pressured Biden & “Moved Mountains”

  The Biden administration has issued a new two-month moratorium on evictions, covering much of the country, after facing public pressure from progressive lawmakers led by Congressmember Cori Bush of Missouri, who was once unhoused herself and slept on the steps of the U.S. Capitol in protest after the moratorium on evictions lapsed on July 31. The new moratorium issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will cover areas of the United States where there is “substantial” or “high” spread of the coronavirus. The belated renewal of the eviction moratorium shows that “people need to be willing to criticize this administration,” says Jacobin staff writer Branko Marcetic. “People want the administration to succeed, but treating them with kid gloves is not necessarily going to be the best way to get these kinds of progressive and just outcomes in policy.”

• Calling New Eviction Ban ‘Just a Start,’ Omar Says Rent Should Be Canceled Until End of Pandemic

  While applauding the CDC’s new eviction moratorium as a “life-changing” reprieve for the millions of people across the U.S. who are facing imminent eviction, Rep. Ilhan Omar warned late Tuesday that the order will merely delay a looming housing crisis unless Congress takes additional action.

  “We can already predict another housing crisis will occur, which is why it’s so imperative we pass bold, long-term solutions.”—Rep. Ilhan Omar

• A Doomsday COVID Variant Worse Than Delta and Lambda May Be Coming, Scientists Say

  “It’s going to be very difficult to stop it from happening with masks and social distancing at this point,” says Preeti Malani, a physician and infectious disease researcher and chief health officer at the University of Michigan. “Vaccines are the key, and vaccine hesitancy is the obstacle.”

• Your future sushi dinner could be cultivated, not caught

  That was followed by years of scientific work to determine what mix of nutrients and environmental cues were needed to coax the base cells into the mix of muscle, fat and connective tissue a finished product needs.

  “The second part is creating a plant-based scaffold, essentially a mesh for the cells to grow within,” says Elfenbein.

  The end result isn’t a live fish but what looks like a block of edible salmon fillet.

Integrity/Availability

• Proprietary

  • Pseudo-Open Source

    • Privatisation/Privateering

      • Linux Foundation

        • ASWF Adds Maxon and Tangent Animation, Reveals Open Source Days Event Lineup

          “We are pleased to welcome Maxon and Tangent Animation as new members to the Academy Software Foundation,” commented ASWF executive director David Morin. “Maxon is joining us with a robust portfolio of software products already using our projects, and Tangent Animation with a strong track record of using open source software in animation production. We look forward to working with both companies to accelerate the adoption and development of open source software in filmmaking, motion design and animation.”

  • Security

    • Demystifying the 18 Checks for Secure Scorecards

      What are Secure Scorecards for open source projects? And how they help you produce secure software.

    • Privacy/Surveillance

      • American Airlines will let you watch 30 minutes of TikTok in the air for free

        The move to make TikTok available to travelers comes as airlines are trying to get attention back on flying, after the number of people traveling by air dropped during the pandemic. One of its competitors, United, has also been adding tech upgrades to its fleet, allowing passengers to pre-order in-flight snacks and adding planes that support bluetooth audio for the in-seat screens. American has recently allowed passengers to use Facebook Messenger for free in-flight, giving them at least some connection to the outside world — something that some of its competitors have done for years for it and other messaging apps.

      • TikTok, your new in-flight entertainment option

        Passengers traveling with the airline on Viasat-equipped narrowbody aircraft can now get 30 minutes of access to the app for free, American Airlines said Monday. The promotional offer is available to people who already have the app and those who want to download it in flight. American says the length of the trial will depend on customer response.

        Last year, American Airlines launched a trial that gives passengers access to free in-flight Facebook Messenger. (Other airlines, such as Southwest and Delta, also offer free in-flight messaging options). To get access to in-flight TikTok, passengers need to enable airplane mode and connect to the AA-Inflight signal. After they’ve connected, they’ll be redirected to a Wi-Fi portal and can access TikTok for free from there. Those without the app in flight can connect to the portal and download it without paying for Wi-Fi.

      • ‘It has to be known what was done to us’: Natick couple harassed by eBay tell their story for the first time

        After Whitman left in 2007 and was replaced by former Bain & Co. consultant John Donahoe, eBay began to cater to larger sellers and established retailers, a trend that continued when Devin Wenig was promoted to CEO in 2015. The couple had pivoted their newsletter from how-to tips to reporting more on the changing strategy and new policies of the company. Their take on the new eBay was often, though hardly exclusively, critical.

        And criticism didn’t go down well at the firm. Prosecutors said the harassment campaign, starting with the fence spray-painting incident, was directed by James Baugh, who headed eBay’s Global Security and Resiliency unit. Along with other participants in the scheme, Baugh was charged last year with conspiracy to commit cyberstalking and conspiracy to commit witness tampering. He is awaiting trial.

        Prosecutors said the 2019 campaign was sparked by complaints about articles in EcommerceBytes from eBay chief executive Wenig to his senior vice president and communications director, Steve Wymer. Wymer in turn complained to Baugh, who directed the team of eBay employees who worked for him to move against the Steiners, according to the federal criminal complaints.

      • Srsly Risky Biz: Thursday, July 29

        A small Catholic publication using commercially available data to out a US Catholic priest as a Grindr user highlights the security and intelligence risks posed by the data broker industry to — in particular — the United States and its interests.

        The story was broken by The Pillar, a Catholic Substack publication, and relied on “anonymous” app data supplied to it by a third party.

      • The mobile, the ultimate spy weapon that we carry in our pocket

        “Mobile phones are Stalin’s dream,” says Richard Stallman, father of the software free and living legend for many programmers.

Defence/Aggression

• Major Companies Donate to Republican Group Despite Its Role in Jan. 6

• Mexico Files Historic Lawsuit Against US Gun Companies Fueling Cartel Carnage

  In a historic move welcomed by U.S. gun control advocates, the Mexican government on Wednesday filed a lawsuit in a federal court in Massachusetts against American weapons manufacturers and suppliers, accusing them of negligent business practices enabling the illegal cross-border arms flow that contributes to Mexico’s record homicide rate.

  “Almost all guns recovered at crime scenes in Mexico—70% to 90% of them—were trafficked from the U.S.”—Lawsuit

• War Is Anything but Sacred. Ask Those Who Fought.

  This summer, it seemed as if we Americans couldn’t wait to return to our traditional Fourth of July festivities. Haven’t we all been looking for something to celebrate? The church chimes in my community rang out battle hymns for about a week. The utility poles in my neighborhood were covered with “Hometown Hero” banners hanging proudly, sporting the smiling faces of uniformed local veterans from our wars. Fireworks went off for days, sparklers and cherry bombs and full-scale light shows filling the night sky.1

• Amnesty Follows House Dems’ Letter by Imploring Biden to Close Gitmo ‘Once and for All’

  The global human rights group Amnesty International on Wednesday followed up a letter by 75 House Democrats to President Joe Biden urging him to shut down the U.S. military prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba by reminding him that the 20th anniversary of the extrajudicial lockup is approaching, and that he has the political support needed to close the facility.

  “It’s time to shutter this horrific symbol of torture, indefinite detention, and injustice, once and for all, and pursue a national security strategy that is rooted in human rights for all.”—Daphne Eviatar, Amnesty International

• After Decades-Long Grassroots Push, Key Senate Panel Votes to Repeal Iraq War Authorization

  Anti-war organizers credited a decades-long grassroots effort on Wednesday after the Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted to repeal two authorizations for the use of military force in Iraq, putting the chamber further on the path to ending the United States’ “forever wars” that have seen the U.S. military fighting in the Middle East for over three decades.

• Robert Moses: An Equal Rights Militant in a Land of Unfulfilled Promises

  A brief summary of his life and achievements is a reminder of how the United States has changed in the past seventy years. Republican attacks on voter registration and the voting process are the exact opposite of all Bob Moses worked for.

  Born in Harlem, Bob was an excellent student who easily made his way through the selective public Stuyvesant High School, Hamilton College and a master’s at Harvard Graduate School in Philosophy. He was working towards his PhD when he returned to New York City because of family illness.

• How a network of UK intel-linked operatives helped sell every alleged Syrian chemical weapons attack

• Living in a Political Laboratory: an Interview with Rita Anwari Soltani on the Future of Afghan Women

  Progress has been made in education since the 2000s, but the money spent by the United States on war-making could have paid for five years of education at Roedean, the top English girls’ public school, for every single girl in Afghanistan. You’d still have $500 billion change rattling around in your pocket.

  There has however been one very major change in Afghan society: the turning of the generations. Today’s youth cohort is very different. A new generation of Afghan girls believe that women have an extended role to play in their society, and are unwilling to give up the precious gains they have struggled for in the last two decades.

• Article 370: Why more locals in Kashmir are becoming militants

  There has been an insurgency against Indian rule in Kashmir since 1989.

  But experts say the resistance is now becoming increasingly homegrown – a worrying trend for the geopolitically sensitive region.

  Kashmir has been ravaged by conflict and unrest for decades.

  Both India and Pakistan claim the territory in its entirety but control only parts of the region. The nuclear-armed neighbours have gone to war twice over it.

• Is it too late to stop Iran from crossing the nuclear threshold?

  After being caught out in 2002, Iran hid Amad in plain sight by rebranding its weapons-related sites and activities as a ‘civilian’ program to produce fissile materials for energy and scientific uses under the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI). The regime then claimed that its NPT-violating activities were based on its ‘undisputed’ right to nuclear energy for peaceful purposes under the treaty.

Environment

• ‘Polluters Should Pay’: Draft Bill Could Raise Half a Trillion From Big Oil’s Climate Wreckers

  Amid unrelenting heatwaves, droughts, fires, and floods, congressional Democrats are seeking to tax roughly two dozen oil, gas, and coal corporations to ensure that the carbon polluters most responsible for the fossil fuel-driven climate emergency pay for some of the destruction.

  “It’s based on a simple but powerful idea that polluters should pay to help clean up the mess they caused, and that those who polluted the most should pay the most.”—Sen. Chris Van Hollen

• Resisting Nuclear Weapons in a Climate Crisis

  In previous days we had visited the entrance gates to the base with our signs and banners and two days before we participated in a “Digging for Life” action outside the fences, near the other end of the runway, where the German pilots liftoff and land their Italian made PA200 Tornado jet fighters, daily training to drop US nuclear bombs on Russia when the order is given. This day we hiked to the other, less accessible, end of the runway, through a forest of dead and dying trees decimated by recent years of drought, unprecedented heat and a massive bark beetle infestation affected by climate change.

  In the clearing near where the runway begins, we noticed a couple of “spotters,” hobbyists who got there before us looking to get dramatic photos of the jets taking off. In their company, while we were scouting and imagining potential future protests at the site, we also knew that some action was imminent.

• Ailing Earth can’t cope as human demands soar

  Climate physicians who have re-checked global heating say the Earth’s condition is critical, worsening as human demands soar.

• Biden Made Big Compromises on Climate — and Movements That Backed Him Are Livid

• Biden Interior Dept Denounced for Giving Big Oil Green Light to Harass Polar Bears, Walruses

  Wildlife defenders on Wednesday denounced the Biden administration after the U.S. Department of the Interior issued a rule allowing fossil fuel companies operating in northern Alaska to harass polar bears and walruses while searching or drilling for oil and gas.

  “The Arctic should be protected, not turned into a noisy, dirty oil field.”—Kristen Monsell, CBD

• As EPA Forced to Finalize New Rules, Report Details Widespread Use of Neurotoxic Pesticide Across US

  Two decades after the Environmental Protection Agency ended household use of chlorpyrifos over concerns about its impact on the brains of children, the neurotoxic pesticide is still widely applied to crops across the United States, according to a report published Wednesday.

  “The review of these data shows beyond a shadow of a doubt that people, most alarmingly young children, are being exposed to unsafe levels of chlorpyrifos in their food and water.”—Rashmi Joglekar, Earthjustice

• Energy

  • Joe Biden Is Blatantly Ignoring An Easy Climate Victory

    The Biden administration has signaled its commitment to tackling the financial risks posed by climate change through executive orders and key appointments. But advocates say the president is missing an easy opportunity for big climate progress: divesting the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP), the federal employee pension fund.

    The TSP is the largest defined contribution plan in the world, with assets worth nearly $700 billion. It has also steadfastly refused to embrace the growing trend of pensions divesting from fossil fuels, since its governing body, the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board (FRTIB) says it does not have the authority to divest from fossil-fuel assets.

    But other public pension funds have done exactly that. In June, Maine became the first state to order its public pension funds, worth about $17 billion, to divest from fossil fuels through legislation. Earlier this year, three New York City pension funds announced that they would be divesting about $4 billion worth of assets following years of activist pressure.

• Wildlife/Nature

  • Wildfires Ignite Mental Health Concerns

  • What Are Other Species For?

    Living things develop amazingly unique ways to adapt to the demands of life and their range of behaviors stretches human imagination. Environmentalists care about each of the hundreds of species we lose every day because each is complex, unique, precious and irreplaceable. A frog incubates its young in its stomach to protect it from predators. A tidal creature incorporates minerals into its tongue so it can scrape algae off rocks. Some develop complex processes and molecules that are very useful to humans. Yew trees, for example, were routinely cut and burnt as by-process of logging until scientists discovered a complex molecule found in the tree that could cure breast cancer. If the giant penguin was not extinct, we might be able to figure out how it dove to depths of thousands of feet without harm. Plants and animals with fast reflexes and creatures that can walk on ceilings with dry feet give us new ideas about mechanical triggers and adhesives. The list of new medicines being found in tropical areas seems endless. But once any species is gone, their secrets can be lost to us forever.

    In addition to losing the physical information when species go extinct, we also lose the ability to study the interactions of other species with them because species affect each other, and us, in little-understood ways. Three hundred years after the Dodo went extinct, people noticed there were few trees from a local hardwood species that were less than 300 years old. Apparently, the chances for seeds from this tree to germinate improved from passing through a Dodo’s gullet, where they were bruised and buffeted by the stones inside the gullet. Today the tree’s seeds must be run through gem tumblers to get them to germinate. Every day sees new discoveries about problems we create when we simplify the environment. Lyme disease may be on the increase because eliminating foxes increases the range of mice and causes more of them to carry Lyme disease. 1 Removing wolves from Yellowstone made elk more likely to graze willows in the open along streams which increased stream erosion and sped up flow which eliminated beavers.2

  • 19 Water Protectors Arrested

    On Tuesday evening, 19 water protectors were arrested as they made a stand against the Line 3 pipeline, a fossil fuel project owned by the Canadian oil distributor Enbridge , which began construction in December of 2020 and promises to pump nearly one million barrels of oil from the Tar Sands in Canada.

    Meanwhile, Indigenous members of the Red Lake nation, representatives from nearby nations, and their allies prayed in ceremony within the Red Lake Treaty Camp, an ongoing protest and occupation honoring the agreements of the 1863 Old Crossing Treaty. This celebration of treaty rights exists next door to the path of the pipeline that is currently drilling under Thief River.

  • HS1 line between Chatham and Bromley home to rare Lizard Orchid found growing in north Kent for first time in 100 years

    The line previously used by Eurostar is now run by Network Rail and Southeastern sits within an area where HS1 wants to increase biodiversity by 20%.

    Now the orchids have been found, they will be monitored and cordoned off in a one-metre radius and maintained to give the best protection and chance of thriving.

Finance

• Ilhan Omar Says Rent Should Be Canceled Until End of Pandemic

AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

• Trump Sues to Block Congress From Seeing Taxes After DOJ Memo Says They Can

• US Peace Groups Call for Biden and Congress to Adopt ‘No First Use of Nuclear Weapons’ Policy

  The 76th anniversary of the U.S. military’s atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki is coming up, and in an effort to prevent such mass murder from reoccurring, a broad coalition of peace, religious, and community groups launched a national campaign on Wednesday to urge President Joe Biden and Congress to adopt a policy of “No First Use of Nuclear Weapons.”

  “Our long-term goal is total nuclear disarmament.”—Pamela Richard, Peace Action of Wisconsin

• Media and the Permanent War State: Top National Security Reporters Linked to US Government

• Levada Center: Number of Russians in support of Stalin monument has doubled since 2010

  Nearly half of Russians — 48 percent — support the idea of putting up a monument to Joseph Stalin to mark the next anniversary of the Soviet Union’s victory in World War II, according to a survey conducted by the independent Levada Center.

• Should Progressives Oppose Infrastructure Deal If Reconciliation Is Blocked?

• Opinion | Nina Turner’s Loss Is Oligarchy’s Gain

  The race for a vacant congressional seat in northeast Ohio was a fierce battle between status quo politics and calls for social transformation. In the end, when votes were counted Tuesday night, transactional business-as-usual had won by almost 6 percent. But the victory of a corporate Democrat over a progressive firebrand did nothing to resolve the wide and deep disparity of visions at the Democratic Party’s base nationwide.

• Conceding Defeat in Ohio Special Election, Nina Turner Says ‘Our Justice Journey Continues’

  Promising to continue the fight for justice that animated her campaign, Nina Turner conceded defeat Tuesday night to establishment opponent Shontel Brown in the special election to fill a vacant seat in Ohio’s 11th congressional district, marking the close of a heated Democratic primary fight that drew national attention and a late torrent of super PAC cash.

  “Tonight my friends, we have looked across the promised land, but for this campaign, on this night, we will not cross the river,” Turner, a former Ohio state senator, said in her concession speech. “Tonight, our justice journey continues, and I vow to continue that journey with each and every one of you.”

• Nina Turner Says “Our Justice Journey Continues” After Conceding Defeat

• The Establishment Beat Nina Turner. What Does It Mean?

  There will be a lot of loaded national “narratives” spun about the Ohio-11 special election Democratic primary. Mainly, we’ll hear that the race was the establishment vs. the Bernie Sanders insurgency and the establishment won, with Cuyahoga County Democratic Party chairwoman Shontel Brown besting progressive former state senator and Sanders campaign cochair Nina Turner.

• Biden Calls on Andrew Cuomo to Resign Following Damning Harassment Report

• Cuomo Must Go: Sexual Harassment Report Prompts Demands for NY Gov. to Resign or Face Impeachment

  Pressure is growing on New York Governor Andrew Cuomo to resign after the state’s attorney general, Letitia James, released the damning findings of an independent investigation Tuesday about how Cuomo sexually harassed at least 11 women in violation of the law. “The report is devastating, and it is disturbing. And unfortunately, it’s not surprising to anyone who has spent time in Albany,” says New York state Senator Julia Salazar. We also speak with Sochie Nnaemeka, state director of the New York Working Families Party, who says removing Cuomo must include a wider reckoning with how Albany operates. “We need to usher in a post-Cuomo moment,” says Nnaemeka. “We need a full transformation of New York state.”

• Nina Turner’s Loss is Oligarchy’s Gain

  One of the candidates — Shontel Brown, the victor — sounded much like Hillary Clinton, who endorsed her two months ago. Meanwhile, Nina Turner dwelled on the kind of themes we always hear from Bernie Sanders, whose 2020 presidential campaign she served as a national co-chair. And while Brown trumpeted her lockstep loyalty to Joe Biden, her progressive opponent was advocating remedies for vast income inequality and the dominance of inordinate wealth over the political system. Often, during the last days of the campaign, I heard Turner refer to structural injustices of what she called “class and caste.”

  A major line of attack from Brown forces was that Turner had voted against the party platform as a delegate to the 2020 Democratic National Convention. Left unsaid was the fact that nearly one-quarter of all the convention delegates also voted ‘no’ on the platform, and for the same avowed reason — its failure to include a Medicare for All plank.

• The Far Right’s Manufactured Meaning of Critical Race Theory

  In an opinion piece for the Federalist (6/22/21), contributor Nathanael Blake argued that “Yes, Critical Race Critics Know What It Is”—while simultaneously failing to offer up a definition himself. Nor did he quote any proponents of critical race theory (CRT) describing what it is or explaining their ideas.

• The Case Against Cuomo—and Those Who Enabled Him

  Seventy-four thousand documents, 200 interviews, 168 pages, and five months after the Office of the Attorney General launched its investigation into New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, the report confirmed what nearly a dozen women told us from the start: Cuomo is hot garbage.

• Parlimentary mission supports open source

  As a response to these challenges, the report proposes 66 recommendations aiming to strengthen French and European digital sovereignty in different areas such as cybersecurity, deeptech, infrastructure, software and others, and introducing several regulatory and funding mechanisms. The most significant proposal regarding open source software is as follows:

  Proposal No. 52: Enforce within the administration the systematic use of free software, making the use of proprietary solutions an exception.

Misinformation/Disinformation

• Twitter partners with UK govt-backed, CIA-linked Reuters to censor alternative views

• ‘Truly Disturbing’: Facebook Blasted for Blocking NYU Researchers Examining Ad Model and Misinformation

  A drawn out battle between Facebook and New York University researchers focused on political advertising and the spread of misinformation on the platform ramped up late Tuesday when the tech giant disabled the accounts, apps, pages, and platform access associated with their project.

  “With its platform awash in vaccine disinformation and partisan campaigns to manipulate the public, Facebook should be welcoming independent research, not shutting it down.”—Damon McCoy, NYU

Censorship/Free Speech

• Yes, Actually, The 1st Amendment Does Mean That Twitter Can Kick You Off Its Platform, Wall Street Journal

  Back in February, we did a thorough debunking of Columbia Law Professor Philip Hamburger arguing (bizarrely, and blatantly incorrectly) that Section 230 violates the Constitution in the pages of the Wall Street Journal. It was a nearly fact free opinion piece that got so much wrong I was vicariously embarrassed for anyone who ever got a law degree from Columbia University. In the intervening months, it does not appear that Prof. Hamburger has done anything to educate himself. Instead, he appears to be digging in, with the help of the Wall Street Journal again. Leaving aside the fact that the Wall Street Journal’s parent company has been lobbying against Section 230, and its various news properties have been among the most vocal in spreading blatantly false information about the law, I guess this is no surprise. But if the Wall Street Journal really believes this nonsense, then why won’t it let me publish my op-ed in their pages about how the WSJ is the worst newspaper ever, and regularly prints lies and nonsense to please its scheming owner in his hatred of the internet?

• Man Sues Multiple Social Media Services, Claims Banning His Accounts Violates The Civil Rights Act

  Everybody wants to sue social media platforms for (allegedly) violating the First Amendment by removing content that most platforms don’t feel compelled to host. Most of what’s sued over is a mixture of abusive trolling, misinformation, bigoted rhetoric, and harassment. Plaintiffs ignore the fact that private companies can’t violate the First Amendment. The First Amendment does not guarantee anyone the right to an audience or the continued use of someone’s services.

• Federal censor blocks Russian news websites ‘MBK Media’ and ‘Open Russia’ without identifying unlawful content

  Russia’s federal censor, RKN, has blocked the Russian investigative news outlets Open Media and MBK Media, adding their websites to the government’s blocklist. Spokespeople for Open Media say they received no advance warning that their website would be blocked in Russia. Based on the information available, RKN blocked Open Media on orders from the Russian Attorney General’s Office, which determined that Open Media “incited riots, extremism, or participation in unpermitted demonstrations.”

• Hong Kong Pop Star Anthony Wong Arrested for Singing at a Rally

  In 2018, the cantopop singer Anthony Wong Yiu-ming sang two songs at an election rally. The rally was held in favor of the pro-democracy candidate for Hong Kong’s legislature. Yesterday, Hong Kong’s Independent Commission Against Corruption arrested the singer. He is charged with violating campaign laws over his performance.

• Spotify CEO Says Joe Rogan Won’t Be Getting Censored Anymore: “We Have a Lot of Really Well-Paid Rappers on Spotify, Too — We Don’t Dictate What They’re Putting In Their Songs, Either”

  The CEO recently discussed how podcasting has changed the music streaming company in a podcast interview with Axios. At one point, Axios asked Ek if he thought the company should have any editorial responsibility for podcasts like ‘The Joe Rogan Experience.’

  Spotify has deleted a number of Rogan podcasts it deemed objectionable. But Ek responded that the company isn’t planning to scrub further episodes — just like it doesn’t police rappers or other musical content. “We have a lot of really well-paid rappers on Spotify too, that make tens of millions of dollars, if not more, each year from Spotify. And we don’t dictate what they’re putting in their songs, either,” Ek relayed.

Freedom of Information/Freedom of the Press

• First Look: Assange’s New Book of Musings

  You might wonder: Why read about a book not publicly available for a couple more months? Well, to keep alive his words and perceptions of power, to fight The Man by continuing to resist their full court press of his mind and the isolation of his voice (we never hear from him) at a time when we could use a guy savvy to Deep State machinations and MSM misdirection.  As we build up the marching bands and parades (did you see where she caught that baton!?) in tribute to the coming spectacle of horror known as the 20th Anniversary of 9/11™, you might want to re-read some Assange material and re-consider the value of his journalism in Keeping the Bastards Honest with the sunshine of his wicked revelations.

  Remember. They did Julian. With all that dark irony they so love. Sweden’s strong whistleblowing laws would be used to trap.  A publicized intentionally leaky condom showed how reckless Assange was with data he posted (an attempt at hoisting him on his own petard).  Yanks would be waiting to escort him back to the US to face a show trial.  So, he broke bail and went on the llama across town to Ecuador (more or less) and was given political sanctuary. Then they took him out, confirmed that a secret US indictment wanted him in the US. And now he waits for a British court to free him or hand him over. A process which could take another year to complete. In the meantime, he’s silent, and journos have stopped looking at his leaks, and some have taken on a sinister patina reflected in the surface of their fallow minds.

• Craig Murray joins Julian Assange behind bars

  Like Assange, who was targeted via state manufactured sexual assault allegations in Sweden, Murray is a victim of the state’s utilisation of gender politics to suppress fundamental democratic rights, aimed above all at silencing those who expose the crimes of imperialism.

  The sentencing of Murray has set a dangerous precedent above all in its singling out of independent media. The judges’ June 8 High Court ruling insisted, “it is relevant to distinguish his [Murray’s] position from that of the mainstream press, which is regulated, and subject to codes of practice and ethics in a way in which those writing as the applicant does are not.”

• Russian authorities label The Insider a ‘foreign agent,’ search editor’s home

  Russian authorities should remove The Insider and all other media organizations and journalists from the country’s register of foreign agents and stop harassing the outlet’s editor-in-chief Roman Dobrokhotov, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

Civil Rights/Policing

• “Caught in Hell”: Complaint Shows Horrors Inflicted on African Asylum Seekers

• Prosecutors in the ‘Sanitary Case’ seek one-year suspended sentence for Oleg Navalny

  Prosecutors in the so-called “Sanitary Case” have asked for a one-year suspended sentence with a three-year probationary period for Oleg Navalny, MBK Media reported on August 4, citing his lawyer Nikos Paraskevov. 

• Moscow court refuses to overturn Team Navalny’s ‘extremism’ designation

  A Moscow court has refused an appeal against the decision to designate Alexey Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation (the FBK) as an “extremist organization” and ban its activities in Russia. 

• Shot with Rubber Bullets, Hospitalized, Jailed: Line 3 Protester Tara Houska Decries Police Attack

  At least 20 water protectors were brutally arrested in Minnesota as resistance to the Enbridge Line 3 pipeline continues, and they say state and local police have escalated their use of excessive force, using tear gas, rubber and pepper bullets to repress opposition to Line 3, which, if completed, would carry Canadian tar sands oil across Indigenous land and fragile ecosystems. “The level of brutality that was unleashed on us was very extreme,” says Indigenous lawyer and activist Tara Houska, who suffered bloody welts after she was shot with rubber bullets, then arrested and held in Pennington County Jail over the weekend, where several water protectors say they were denied medical care for their injuries, denied proper food and some reportedly held in solitary confinement.

• “I Won’t Compete”: Two Olympians Take Courageous Stand Against Israel and Apartheid

  Visiting a bereaved family that lost a child is a terrible thing. It is really not something anyone should ever experience. In Palestine, where the lives of children are taken by Israeli soldiers almost daily, it is a regular occurrence. On any given day one will find in Palestine people sitting in a room filled with mourners, posters of a murdered child, coffee and dates ready to be served, and among the crowd of mourners one will easily spot the unmistakable faces of the child’s parents.

• ‘Tearing up my passport was the right decision’: Belarusian oppositionist Maria Kolesnikova talks to Dozhd ahead of trial in Minsk

  The trial of Belarusian opposition leader Maria Kolesnikova (Maryia Kalesnikava) began in Minsk on Wednesday, August 4. Along with opposition lawyer Maxim Znak, she stands accused of calling for actions that threatened the national security of Belarus. The exact content of the charges remains unknown and the trial is taking place behind closed doors. Before the start of the hearing on Wednesday, Maria Kolesnikova danced inside the courtroom cage and made a heart sign with her hands — one of the symbols of the opposition movement. The independent Russian television network Dozhd interviewed Kolesnikova ahead of her trial. Here’s what she said, in brief. 

• Russian nationals among unauthorized migrants crossing into Lithuania from Belarus

  There are Russian nationals among the foreign citizens attempting to make illegal crossings into Lithuania from Belarus, Lithuania’s Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Mantas Adomėnas told the radio station Ekho Moskvy during an interview on Tuesday, August 3.

• Belarusian sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya arrives in Poland via Vienna

  Belarusian sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya, who was forced to leave the Olympic Games after criticizing Belarusian sports officials, flew from Tokyo to Vienna on Wednesday, August 4.

• Apple places female engineering program manager on administrative leave after tweeting about sexism in the office

  Apple has placed senior engineering program manager Ashley Gjøvik on indefinite administrative leave after she tweeted about sexism in the office. The company is currently investigating claims Gjøvik made about a hostile work environment.

Internet Policy/Net Neutrality

• FCC Blocks Elon Musk From Getting Millions In Subsidies For Delivering Broadband To Traffic Medians

  Late last year consumer group Free Press released a report showing how numerous broadband providers had been gaming the FCC’s RDOF (Rural Digital Opportunity Fund) subsidy program to get money they didn’t really deserve. The program doles out roughly $9.2 billion in subsidies paid for by money paid by consumers into the Universal Service Fund (USF). The study clearly showed that during the last RDOF auction a long list of ISPs gamed the system to gain millions in subsidies to deliver broadband to areas that didn’t make any coherent sense.

• Despite 20 Years Of Experience, Comcast/NBC Still Sucks At Olympics Coverage

  NBC (now Comcast NBC Universal) has enjoyed the rights to broadcast the US Olympics since 1998. In 2011, the company paid $4.4 billion for exclusive US broadcast rights to air the Olympics through 2020. In 2014, Comcast NBC Universal shelled out another $7.75 billion for the rights to broadcast the summer and winter Olympics in the US… until the year 2032. Despite years of practice, we’ve repeatedly noted how the company has done a consistently terrible job at its core responsibility as the holder of those rights: namely, showing people things they actually want to see in a way that isn’t annoying.

Digital Restrictions (DRM)

• What Will Happen to My Music Library When Spotify Dies?

  By contrast, he told me, many of today’s younger listeners are accustomed to hearing brief excerpts of songs on social media, and to collaborative playlists that shapeshift as they and their friends add to and subtract from the track list. They may not expect, or even desire, the permanence that I grew up with. Still, Mulligan said, they have just as much of an urge as previous generations did to express their identity through music—but in our era of easy accessibility, just saying you’ve heard an album doesn’t mean much. As a result, he sees many young listeners turning to comparatively costlier merchandise as a means of indicating the depth of their fandom.

Monopolies

• Democrats Demand Amazon and Facebook End Efforts to ‘Sideline’ FTC Chair Lina Khan

  In a Wednesday letter to the CEOs of Amazon and Facebook, four congressional Democrats called on the tech giants to stop trying to “strip Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chair Lina Khan of her authority to enforce antitrust law.”

  “The real basis of your concerns appears to be that you fear Chair Khan’s expertise and interpretation of federal antitrust law.”—Democrats’ letter

• Patents

  • Artificial intelligence is allowed to register patents [Ed: This should settle the debate about whether patents are innovation of pure nonsense and nuisance]

    Was that about man’s ingenuity? The Artificial Inventor Project achieved two important successes in quick succession.

    Initially, the patent authority of South Africa accepted a patent application, in which an AI was listed as an official inventor. Only a few weeks later, the Australian Federal Court of Justice dismissed an objection from the Australian Patent Office against a very similar application and thus decided in principle that an artificial intelligence can be an inventor within the meaning of Australian patent law.

  • Aussies decide that AI can invent stuff [Ed: Patents for bots is an all-time low for the patent system. Who would take it seriously anymore?]

    Welcome to the era of the AI patent troll

    An Australian Court has decided that artificial intelligence can patent inventions.

    Australia’s Federal Court last month heard and decided that the nation’s Commissioner of Patents erred when deciding that an AI can’t be considered an inventor.

    Justice Beach reached that conclusion because nothing in Australian law says the applicant for a patent must be human.

• Copyrights

  • Why Isn’t Twitter Paying Musicians? Members of Congress Demand Answers

    A bipartisan group of 22 members of the House of Representatives have sent a letter to Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey. The group is seeking to address the ongoing problem of copyright infringement on the platform – and they want an answer by August 27.

  • Elaine Thompson-Herah: Instagram blocks gold medallist who shared race win

    Thompson-Herah, the fastest woman in the world, was blocked on Tuesday for sharing videos from her 100 and 200 metre races on her Instagram account.

    Her access to the app was reinstated several hours later.

  • Lawyer Who ‘Shut Down’ 4Anime Has Giant Pirate Sites in His Crosshairs

    Last month, 4anime – one of the world’s largest streaming sites – shut down after Legacy Rights Group obtained a DMCA subpoena to identify its operators. With attorney Corey D. Silverstein now taking credit for that shutdown, trouble could lie ahead for more anime-focused sites. Court documents reveal that several more sites pulling in around 200 million visits per month are being investigated.

  • Legal Pressure Mounts on Stream-Ripping Site Yout.com

    The coming months will be crucial for the future of the popular stream-ripping site Yout.com. In addition to mysterious Spanish site-blocking forces and a criminal investigation in Brazil, the site’s operator John Nader will go head to head with the music industry’s RIAA at a U.S. federal court.

  • UFC COO Publicly Pushing ‘Notice And Stay Down’ Reforms To DMCA, Despite That Being Horrible For Almost Everyone

    In the United States, the DMCA has a “notice and takedown” process. Section 512(c) outlines all of this and provides details on what obligations service providers, such as websites and social media platforms, must meet in order to retain their safe harbor provisions. This summary from Wikipedia is a good primer: