02.05.23

GNU/Linux

• Desktop/Laptop

  • Linux Links ☛ Linux Around The World: USA – New Jersey

    We cover events and user groups that are running in the US state of New Jersey. This article forms part of our Linux Around The World series.

• Audiocasts/Shows

  • Going Linux ☛ Going Linux #436 · Welcome to Linux! Pt7 – How Can Linux Be Free?

    Question: I want to use Linux but it’s free and I’ve heard, “‘Free’ is not a viable business model.” How can I put my trust in a Linux operating system if the developers don’t charge for it? Answer: Offering substantial products and services that provide value for free only becomes a financial problem when the developer has no other revenue source to support the free product. Here is how Linux accomplishes that.

    Episode Time Stamps
    00:00 Going Linux #436 · Welcome to Linux! Pt7 – How Can Linux Be Free?
    02:16 The question: Free isn’t a valid business model. How can open source software be provided at no charge?
    04:12 Microsoft’s business model
    06:07 Google’s business model
    06:32 The Killed By Google list
    07:40 Add-ons and ‘crapware’ to provide some missing features in Windows
    11:14 Offering free software is not unusual
    11:44 Examples of free Linux distributions backed by businesses with solid revenue models
    14:12 How open source software features are made available for other open source software to adopt
    17:13 Why Linux is not going away!
    18:53 Linux provides significant value to its users
    22:06 Not everything that’s free is bad
    25:59 Switching to Linux is much like switching to macOS, Windows, or ChromeOS
    26:47 Linux fights planned hardware obsolescence
    28:29 goinglinux.com, goinglinux@gmail.com, +1-904-468-7889, @goinglinux, feedback, listen, subscribe
    29:30 End

• Applications

  • PC Linux ☛ Exploring LXQt: A Basic Guide, Part 1

    Last year, I dabbled with LXQt on our old laptop (a secondary machine) but I had not taken an in-depth look at it until recently. I read the announcement about the release of LXQt version 1.2.0 — on Nov. 5, 2022. Shortly thereafter, forum member daniel (Daniel Meiß-Wilhelm) created a Community LXQt 2022.11 .iso which incorporates the newest LXQt release. My curiosity was piqued, so I downloaded it, made a Live USB flash drive and installed the .iso on a spare partition of our Lenovo ThinkCentre M800 desktop computer. I would like to thank Daniel for sharing his remastering skills with the PCLinuxOS community.

    My knowledge has expanded since I have been using LXQt almost exclusively for the past month. Thus far, I am impressed by LXQt; I find it comfortable enough that it could become my sole daily driver. It is a lightweight desktop environment that is useful for older PCs with limited resources. LXQt is visually appealing, feels responsive and strikes a balance between lightness and usability. Another advantage for “set-it-and-forget-it” users is that LXQt lacks the sometimes confusing multitude of configuration options in KDE Plasma.

    If you are just starting with LXQt, I hope you will find these tips helpful and that they will save you some time as you explore the desktop environment.

  • PC Linux ☛ Repo Review: SSVNC-Viewer

    Today I will talk about the lightweight and versatile VNC client, SSVNC Viewer, which is in the PCLinuxOS repos.

    SSVNC Viewer is the work of Karl Runge. Karl Runge worked on the LibVNCServer/LibVNCClient libraries and implemented a VNC server (the x11vnc) and the SSVNC-Viewer client.

    The author, Karl Runge, however, disappeared around 2011, and there is currently no news about him.

  • PC Linux ☛ Repo Review: Koodo Reader

    Koodo Reader is a modern and feature-rich ebook reader powered by Electron. It offers support for Epub, Mobipocket, Kindle, PDF, HTML, and numerous other common ebook and document formats. It is also ideal for use in study work, as you can easily highlight and annotate text in any document.

    Sporting a modern and well designed user interface, Koodo Reader is quick and easy to use. It also has optional support for touchscreen gestures and usage. A dark interface mode can be enabled for reading books at night as well.

• Instructionals/Technical

  • TecAdmin ☛ 20 Basic Linux Commands for the Beginners (Recommended)

    In this tutorial, we’ll cover 20 of the most essential Linux commands that every system administrator should know. These commands are the building blocks of many common tasks, and with a good understanding of them, you’ll be able to accomplish a lot on your Linux servers.

  • Kushal Das: Using YubiKeys for your linux system

    You can use your Yubikey 4 or 5 for the rest of the tutorial.

    Why?

    If you mark your Yubikey presence is required to unlock your computer, then one not only needs your password, they will have to gain physical access to your Yubikey.

  • Linux Capable ☛ How to Install balenaEtcher on Fedora Linux

    balenaEtcher is a popular and open-source tool used to create bootable USB drives. Its user-friendly interface is a preferred tool for many Fedora users. If you are new to Fedora, this guide will help you understand how to install BalenaEtcher on your system and get started with creating bootable USB drives. W

  • Linux Capable ☛ How to Install WoeUSB on Ubuntu 22.04 or 20.04

    WoeUSB is a free, open-source tool that allows you to create bootable Windows USB sticks from ISO images. This tool is handy for those who want to install Windows on their Ubuntu machine or for those who want to create a bootable Windows USB stick for use on other devices.

  • Light Blue Touchpaper ☛ Security economics course

    Back in 2015 I helped record a course in security economics in a project driven by colleagues from Delft. This was launched as an EDX MOOC as well as becoming part of the Delft syllabus, and it has been used in many other courses worldwide.

  • Linux Capable ☛ How to Install GIMP on Rocky Linux EL9 or EL8

    GIMP, also known as the GNU Image Manipulation Program, is a powerful and versatile open-source image editing software. It offers a range of features and capabilities that rival commercial image editing software such as Adobe Photoshop, making it a popular choice among graphic designers, photographers, and digital artists.

  • Linux Capable ☛ How to Install OnlyOffice on Rocky Linux EL9 or EL8

    OnlyOffice is a comprehensive online office suite that offers a range of powerful tools for teams to collaborate and work efficiently. Its history dates back to 2010 when the development of OnlyOffice started with the aim of providing a better alternative to traditional office suites.

  • PC Linux ☛ Inkscape Tutorial: Design A Mandala

    I go on YouTube regularly to try to learn more about GIMP & Inkscape. Recently, I found another channel called IronEcho Design, and he had a couple of videos about creating a mandala. Mandalas are symmetrical geometric designs and are getting a bit more popular. They can be simple lines, or more complicated. I got these first two from Pixabay.

  • PC Linux ☛ PDF Part 3B: Manipulating PDF Files, Command Line Style

    I began the series of articles about PDF files in the October 2022 issue. In that article, we talked about creating PDF files. Then, in the November 2022 issue, we talked about editing PDF files. In the January 2023 issue, we talked about how to use various GUI tools to manipulate PDF files.

    This article represents what I plan to be the last article in the series. In this one, we’ll look at using some of the many command line tools available for manipulating PDF files. While I know that there are many users who avoid the command line like the proverbial plague, these command line tools are exceptionally easy to use. They are definitely the fastest way to manipulate PDF files, too. These tools follow the do-one-job-and-do-it-well philosophy that is so common for so many Linux utilities.

Distributions and Operating Systems

• Screenshots/Screencasts

  • PC Linux ☛ Screenshot Showcase

• PCLinuxOS Magazine

  • PC Linux ☛ A 78 RPM Record Treasure Trove

    We played them on a small child size phonograph that was capable of playing records at 78, 45, and 33 1/3 rpms. We had a lot of these records. They were very popular in the 1950s and 1960s. We’d save up our allowance to be able to buy more of these records periodically. One of the stores my parents frequently shopped at had a large section of these records, and we always visited it every time we went to that particular store. From there, we would purchase new ones for prices between 29 and 69 cents each.

    It seems that these child focused phonograph records have become quite the collector’s item. Of course, this happens with all sorts of things once they aren’t produced any more. Depending on condition, the seller, the titles offered for sale, and a host of other assorted criteria, they now routinely sell for as much as $100 for a 29 item lot. Others sell on eBay for mostly between $6 and $12 per copy. The most expensive one I could find is a super rare 12″ Vogue Picture Record (78rpm) – A Trip To Slumberland, Part 1 & 2, that usually sells for $2,200 to $2,500 whenever it does show up for sale. The guy that had it listed for sale was offering it at a bargain $1,800.

    Meanwhile, when I visited the home of my childhood best friend, his mom had an O-L-D crank-up Victrola record player. It didn’t need to be plugged in. It just needed to be cranked up. We’d spend afternoons playing old 78 rpm records from the early 1900s. Those old records looked way different than any other records we were familiar with. They were 12 inches in diameter, and THICK. Some were as thick as 1/4″. His mom had a “collection” of a few dozen of those old records, stored in a cabinet below the Victrola. Some of the songs were pretty good, while others made us laugh hysterically because they were just horribly bad. We’re talking about the mid 1960s here.

  • PC Linux ☛ From The Chief Editor’s Desk…

    Both of my kids just competed in the annual Pinewood Derby race in their Cub Scout pack (Pack 4865, Heart of America Council, Independence, MO) on January 21. This was their third Pinewood Derby (even though my daughter wasn’t an official Cub Scout for her first Derby, my son’s pack allowed her to enter a car in the sibling category). This meant that dad had not the customary one car to build, but two cars. But, that’s been the way it has been ever since we started racing in the Pinewood Derby.

• Canonical/Ubuntu Family

  • DebugPoint ☛ 5 Reasons to Switch to Linux Mint

    If you are looking for an easy-to-use, low learning curve, compatible, reliable Ubuntu-based distribution — Linux Mint is the ultimate choice. Here are some reasons to switch to Linux Mint. Ever considered that you are trapped in the vicious cycle of paying for Windows that came with OEM pre-installed on your desktop or laptop?

• Devices/Embedded

  • Linux Gizmos ☛ PLC modular platform based on NVIDIA Jetson Xavier NX, Orin NX and TX2 NX

    The Ultron is a PLC system based on the NVIDIA Jetson designed for commercial and industrial AI edge applications. The main unit includes an IMU, dual RJ45 ports, CAN Bus and optional LTE, Wi-Fi and 5G connectivity. The system can be expanded with up to 7x additional I/O to suit diverse applications.

• Mobile Systems/Mobile Applications

  • 9to5Google ☛ REDMAGIC 8 Pro: This Android is a gaming beast [Video]

  • CNET ☛ Samsung Galaxy S23 vs. Google Pixel 7: Which Android Phone Is Better? – CNET

  • Android Police ☛ Android 13 QPR2 now prevents you from screenshotting your Wi-Fi credentials

  • Honor 60, 50 Series and X40 GT starts MagicOS 7 (Android 13) beta test – Huawei Central

  • Make Use Of ☛ The 5 Best 3D Scanner Apps for Android: Turn Real Objects Into Digital Models

  • Android Authority ☛ 5 Android apps you shouldn’t miss this week – Android Apps Weekly

  • Make Use Of ☛ 7 Common Android Battery Problems and How to Fix Them

  • Notebook Check ☛ Fairphone 4: Repairable smartphone receives first major Android OS update – NotebookCheck.net News

  • XDA ☛ Google Chrome update could deliver ‘quick delete’ option on Android

Free, Libre, and Open Source Software

• Programming/Development

  • Geeks For Geeks ☛ Merge Sort Tree with point update using Policy Based Data Structure

    A Merge Sort Tree (MST) is a data structure that allows for efficient querying of the number of elements less than or equal….

  • Andrew Helwer ☛ Two C++ bugs I wrote

    Here’s a short post about two bugs I wrote while writing C++ code for the external scanner of my TLA⁺ tree-sitter grammar. External scanners use handwritten C or C++ code to parse the non-context-free parts of your language. I’ll try not to dump on C++ too hard but both of the bugs are highly ridiculous and exemplify why I hope to write as little of the language as possible for the rest of my career.

  • Bryan Lunduke ☛ Funny Programming Pictures Part XXII

    Ok. Not ALL of them are about programming…

Leftovers

• The Straits Times ☛ Sixteen killed, dozens injured in China highway pile-up

  Nearly 50 vehicles were involved in multiple collisions along a highway in Hunan province within the span of 10 minutes.

• The Straits Times ☛ South Korea searches for missing crew after fishing boat capsizes

  Nine people were missing while three crew members were picked up by rescuers.

• Ruben Schade ☛ The Independent Singapore’s “friend zone” article

  The Independent Singaporeposted a guest articleby someone offering advice for those caught in thefriend zone, a mental space where someone’s unrequited feelings are a source of resentment. Instead, it offers a cautionary tale.

  We hung out and things seemed to flow so naturally that when she mentioned that she needed a place to stay – I invited her in. I was, as they say, a helpless romantic. But once she moved into the flat, I got “friend-zoned.”

  If he wasn’t upfront with his feelings, she saw a friend offering help.

  However, she was troubled and while she did honour her two promises to me (This was back in the Asian Financial crisis and I lent her 2,000 GBP for her school fees and got her to promise that she would do well in her career. In fairness, she paid back what she owed and if the profile I saw was really her – she seems to have done well), she had some funny ideas of what friendship meant.

  This exposes the fundamental mistake friend zoners make.Love isn’t a transaction.

  Being an honourable, caring person can surface feelings, but they can’t magic them into existence. The truth comes out with empathy: would you develop feelings for someone you don’t feel that way about if they took you to dinner or bought you a nice phone? Would you… want it to work like that?

• Science

  • Science Alert ☛ It’s Possible Neanderthals Evolved So They Wouldn’t Smell Their Own Stink, Study Finds

    A real gift.

  • Science Alert ☛ Astronomers Studied More Than 5,000 Black Holes to Figure Out Why They Twinkle

    Not all that glitter are bright.

• Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

  • The Straits Times ☛ Australia left with massive stockpile of antigen rapid test kits as expiry looms

    Most experts say the best solution is to simply give away the kits or to recycle them.

  • YLE ☛ Meat-eating taking a bite out of Finland’s climate ambitions

    Government parties disagree on how much meat you should eat.

  • Science Alert ☛ Orcas Are Contaminated With a Forever Chemical Associated With an Unlikely Product

    Just the tip of the iceberg.

  • LRT ☛ Cepelinai, a not so traditional staple of Lithuanian cuisine

    We celebrate the ninth World Cepelinai Day this Sunday. Proposed by Lithuanian-American Jonas Vaičiūnas, the holiday has been celebrated since February 2014, with people around the world making and devouring the hearty Lithuanian dish.

  • Off Guardian ☛ Well, It’s bird flu…again

    Kit Knightly Hey remember last year? Remember the spring “bird flu outbreak”? Remember how it was all just a fear-porn story designed to discourage people from eating real food, drive up the price of poultry and eggs and sell more vaccines? Well, guess what… It’s groundhog day again. And I mean that quite literally since …

• Proprietary

  • Ruben Schade ☛ Software discrepancies delayed the Airbus A380

    I have to disambiguate A380 now, given Intel’s foray into discrete GPUs. There’s something entirely nonsensical but fun about buying an ARC GPU for my next build so I can say it has an Airbus inside. But I digress.

    Next time you’re feeling inadequate about a software incompatibility or miscalculation, spare a thought for the various A380 development teams.Simple Flyingquoted a final assembly mechanic as saying…

  • Silicon Angle ☛ Cloud players sound a cautious tone for 2023

    The unraveling of market enthusiasm continued in the fourth quarter of 2022 with the earnings reports from the U.S. hyperscaler cloud providers now all in.

• Security

  • PC Linux ☛ Short Topix: Major Layoffs Announced Across Tech Industry

    Last month it was LastPass, and the dust has hardly even started to settle from that data breach. Now, it’s someone else’s turn. Thousands of Norton LifeLock customers had their accounts compromised in recent weeks, potentially allowing criminal hackers access to customer password managers, the company revealed in a recent data breach notice, according to an article on TechCrunch. The information was also relayed on Slashdot.

    [...]

    Bitwarden and other password managers are being targeted in Google ads phishing campaigns to steal users’ password vault credentials, according to an article on Bleeping Computer. User beware. It’s vitally important to inspect links before you click on them to make sure they aren’t a spoofed version just looking to grab as much of your data as they can.

• Defence/Aggression

  • Modern Diplomacy ☛ How an American ‘Mozart Group’ imploded in Ukraine

    The Mozart Group, one of the most prominent, private American military organizations in Ukraine, has collapsed under a cloud of accusations ranging from financial improprieties to alcohol-addled misjudgments, writes Jeffrey Gettleman at ‘The New York Times’.

  • teleSUR ☛ Canada Imposes Sanctions on 38 Individuals Linked to Russia

    The measure affects 38 individuals and 16 entities, including the Russian state-owned media group MIA Rossiya Segodyna.

  • Modern Diplomacy ☛ The U.S. raising Engagement in South Asia: New Battlefield of Sino-US rivalry

    With the new year 2023, the visits of top American diplomats to South Asian countries have increased.  These recent visits are concluded as the counter steps of the US against the Chinese influence in the region.

  • France24 ☛ Pope Francis wraps up South Sudan trip with urge to end ‘blind fury’ of violence

    Pope Francis wound up a peace mission to South Sudan on Sunday urging the people to make themselves immune to the “venom of hatred” to achieve the peace and prosperity that have eluded them through years of bloody ethnic conflicts.

  • France24 ☛ Beijing threatens to ‘respond’ after US shoot downs Chinese spy balloon

    The Biden administration lauded the Pentagon for shooting down an alleged Chinese spy balloon off the US Atlantic coast on Saturday, but China angrily voiced its “strong dissatisfaction” at the move and said it may make “necessary responses.”

  • Federal News Network ☛ China balloon: Many questions about suspected spy in the sky

    The massive white orb that drifted across U.S. airspace and was shot down by the military has triggered a diplomatic maelstrom and blown up on social media.

  • Reason ☛ Examining America’s War in Iraq After 20 Years

    It was a blunder. Worse than that, it was a crime.

  • Federal News Network ☛ US downs Chinese balloon, drawing a threat from China

    China is threatening what it calls “further actions” after an American fighter jet shot down a suspected spy balloon off the East Coast of the United States on Saturday. The U.S. says the massive balloon was a surveillance craft that spent days crossing over sensitive military sites in North America.

  • Federal News Network ☛ Eyes on the sky as Chinese balloon shot down over Atlantic

    Eyes were locked on the Carolina skies Saturday as a suspected Chinese spy balloon ended a weeklong traverse over the U.S., drifted over the Atlantic Ocean and was shot down by a fighter jet. In Myrtle Beach, South Carolina people lined a boardwalk and cheered as a missile from an F-22 fighter struck the balloon and it plummeted into the water. As the balloon came over Myrtle Beach, software consultant Haley Walsh says she saw it floating in the clear blue sky. She felt and heard a boom and ran outside where she saw the balloon tumbling down.

  • France24 ☛ Pakistan’s former military ruler Pervez Musharraf dies in Dubai

    Pakistani former President Pervez Musharraf died on Sunday following a prolonged illness at a hospital in Dubai, after years in self-imposed exile.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Pakistan’s former president Pervez Musharraf dies at age 79 in Dubai

    He died after a prolonged illness at a hospital, Pakistani media reported on Sunday.

  • CNN ☛ Pakistan’s former President Pervez Musharraf dies in Dubai

    Pakistan’s former President General Pervez Musharraf has died in Dubai after a prolonged illness at Dubai American Hospital, according to a statement from the Pakistani military.

  • CNN ☛ Bitter harvest of freedom and victory as Kherson suffers Russian bombardment

    Gone are the acres of jubilant crowds that filled Freedom Square with blue and yellow Ukrainian flags that swayed like heads of wheat when the Russians were driven out. Now the crack-crunch of Russian artillery eating into the city echoes around the plaza.

  • CS Monitor ☛ US moves to recover suspected Chinese spy balloon after shooting it down

    The United States downed the Chinese balloon off the Carolina coast after it became the latest flashpoint in tensions between Washington and Beijing.

  • New York Times ☛ The Pentagon Saw a Warship Boondoggle. Congress Saw Jobs.

    After years of crippling problems and a changing mission, the Navy pushed to retire nine of its newest ships. Then the lobbying started.

  • New York Times ☛ Russia Pushes to Take Ukrainian Town Near a Vital Supply Line

    Ukraine has used the strategic town of Vuhledar to launch attacks disrupting transit on a critical rail link between the war’s southern and eastern fronts.

  • RFERL ☛ Pervez Musharraf, Pakistani Martial Ruler In 9/11 Wars, Dies

    General Pervez Musharraf, who seized power in a bloodless coup and later led a reluctant Pakistan into aiding the U.S. war in Afghanistan against the Taliban, has died at 79.

  • US News And World Report ☛ Reaction to Death of Former Pakistan President Musharraf

    (Reuters) -Pakistani former President Pervez Musharraf died on Sunday following a prolonged illness at a hospital in Dubai…

  • RFERL ☛ Pakistani Taliban Commanders Killed In Northwest

    Pakistani police killed two commanders of the Pakistani Taliban militant group in the country’s northwest, a local officer said February 4.

  • Tom’s Hardware ☛ China Backdoors US Chip Sanctions, Buys Used Banned Equipment

    Chinese chipmakers accelerate wafer fab equipment purchases.

  • JURIST ☛ Almost 200 prisoners of war exchanged between Ukraine and Russia

    The Ukrainian President’s Chief of Staff announced Saturday that 116 Ukrainian prisoners of war have been released and returned home.

  • JURIST ☛ Ohio officers will not be charged in fatal shooting of Joe Frasure, Jr.

    Hamilton County Prosecuting Attorney Melissa Powers announced Friday that three officers involved in the fatal shooting of Joe Frasure, Jr. will not face criminal charges because their actions were justified. The shooting occurred after a 911 caller reported suspicious behavior outside an apartment building in Wyoming, Ohio.

  • RFERL ☛ Russian Strike Hits Kharkiv As Ukraine Says Still Holding Last Part Of Luhansk Region

    Two Russian missiles hit the center of Kharkiv in Ukraine’s northeast, with one of the missiles striking a residential building, local officials said, as intense fighting continues in the eastern Donbas region.

  • Vice Media Group ☛ What the Chinese Spy Balloon Has to Do With the Pentagon’s UFO Obsession

    UFO sightings are up across the country, but more stuff is also moving through the sky than ever before.

  • New Yorker ☛ Sending Help Instead of the Police in Albuquerque

    A novel community-safety department has been taking calls off the hands of a force with the country’s second-highest fatal-shooting rate. Has it improved public safety?

  • The Straits Times ☛ Aboard the Nimitz, a high-stakes passage on the high seas

    February 05, 2023 5:00 AM

    USS NIMITZ, South China Sea –The first crossing of the Pacific by the USS Nimitz in 1987 probably went unnoticed. The world’s oldest serving aircraft carrier was then a strapping teenager; China was just beginning to stir. The Asian giant was a decade deep into its market reforms, immersed in building up its private sector and climbing up the GDP ranks.

  • The Age AU ☛ Putin ‘gave guarantee’ he would not kill Zelensky at secret summit

    The Russian president made the promise during a desperate attempt to broker peace in the days after the invasion of Ukraine.

  • The Age AU ☛ China expresses ‘strong dissatisfaction’ after US shoots down spy balloon

    Tensions between Washington and Beijing have intensified after two suspected Chinese spy balloons were detected flying over the US and Latin America.

  • RFA ☛ Analysts: Deal on Philippine bases gives US firmer foothold in Asia

    Washington to use Philippine sites to stage military response to a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan

  • RFERL ☛ At Least Two Civilians Wounded In Bomb Blast In Kabul

    At least two civilians were wounded in a bomb blast in Kabul city on February 4, police said.

  • RFERL ☛ WHO Report On Ukraine Health Emergency Sparks U.S.-Russia Dispute

    The United States and Russia faced off on February 4 over a World Health Organization report on the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine, with Moscow saying it was politically motivated and Washington calling for it to be swiftly updated.

  • RFERL ☛ U.S. Weighs Sanctions For Chinese Companies Over Iran Surveillance Buildup

    The United States is considering new sanctions on Chinese surveillance companies over sales to Iran’s security forces.

  • US News And World Report ☛ Charges: Instagram Post Shows Teens Flashing Guns in School

    Two 16-year-olds face juvenile charges after social media posts showed them flashing handguns at their St. Paul charter school

  • US News And World Report ☛ Russia’s Medvedev Says More U.S. Weapons Supplies Mean ‘All of Ukraine Will Burn’

  • US News And World Report ☛ Germany Has Evidence of War Crimes in Ukraine ‘In Three-Digit Range’ – Prosecutor

    Germany has collected evidence of war crimes in Ukraine, the country’s prosecutor general said in a newspaper interview…

• Environment

  • New York Times ☛ At Least 1 Dead After Frigid Cold and Wind Chills Batter Northeast U.S.

    The wind chill atop Mount Washington in New Hampshire approached minus 110 degrees and an infant was killed when a tree fell on a car in western Massachusetts.

  • Energy/Transportation

    • H2 View ☛ Honda aims for 60,000 fuel cell sales by 2030

      Honda is accelerating its hydrogen strategy and aims to produce 60,000 fuel cell units by 2030.

    • European Commission ☛ Ukraine: EU and G7 partners agree price cap on Russian petroleum products

      European Commission Press release Brussels, 04 Feb 2023 This decision will hit Russia’s revenues even harder and reduce its ability to wage war in Ukraine. It will also help stabilise global energy markets, benefitting countries across the world.

    • NYPost ☛ The curious case of FTX VIPs

      David Boies is no stranger to quandary or controversy. In fact, over his long legal career he always seems to be courting it.  You might recall how the 81-year-old super lawyer argued famously before the Supreme Court in Bush v. Gore in the disputed 2000 election.

  • Wildlife/Nature

    • The Age AU ☛ ‘Most of the animals wouldn’t survive’: The land clearing projects set to benefit private school and Sydney University

      More than 80 hectares of bushland, including endangered animal habitat, is slated for development at two popular holiday spots near Jervis Bay on the NSW South Coast.

• Finance

  • The Age AU ☛ Consumer complaints in Queensland continue to eclipse pre-pandemic levels

    Dodgy personal and household goods drew the most complaints last year, as supply issues and shortages continued to frustrate the state.

  • US News And World Report ☛ UK’s Shortest-Serving PM Liz Truss Blames Economic ‘Orthodoxy’ for Downfall

    Former British prime minister Liz Truss blamed on Sunday the economic “orthodoxy” in the country’s finance ministry…

  • NYPost ☛ UK’s shortest-serving PM Liz Truss blames economic ‘orthodoxy’ for downfall

    Former British prime minister Liz Truss blamed on Sunday the economic “orthodoxy” in the country’s finance ministry, other nations and in parts of the governing Conservative Party for derailing her premiership and “plan for growth”.

  • Helsinki Times ☛ Finnair to discontinue in-flight sales on all flights at end of February

    FINNAIRon Wednesday announced it is discontinuing both in-flight and pre-order retail sales on all of its flights this spring.

  • France24 ☛ France’s PM Borne offers to partially change pension reform for conservative backing

    French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne offered on Sunday to soften a planned pension overhaul to let some people who started work early also retire early in order to win conservatives support for the reform in parliament.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ In Pictures: Hong Kong fabric traders face material losses as they bid farewell to decades-old market

    Tammy Ho put on a brave face for the farewell photograph. But as the sign on her family’s fabric stall was taken down, she was silent and tearful.

• AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

  • US News And World Report ☛ Cyprus Heads to Polls to Pick New President With Runoff Expected

  • The Kent Stater ☛ New Ohio law enacts strict voting regulations in the state

    A law requiring photo identification in order to vote passed in Ohio Jan. 6, tightening restrictions on voting in the state. House Bill 458 was signed by Governor Mike DeWine, making Ohio one of the strictest states in the country in terms of voting regulations. Ohio joins just seven other states that strictly require photo…

  • CNN ☛ They eat ice cream and read ‘Harry Potter,’ but these North Korean YouTubers aren’t what they seem

    The young woman rifles through a fridge of popsicles, pulling out several to show the camera.

  • Michael West Media ☛ PM reveals why he is optimistic for referendum success

    Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has faith in Australians to ignore misinformation about the Indigenous voice to parliament and instead support the proposal.

  • Misinformation/Disinformation/Propaganda

    • Modern Diplomacy ☛ Destroying the concept of truth: Russian propaganda uncovered

      Authors: Dr. Maria Alesina and Ivan Kolpakov* The world has fully realised the power of the Russian propaganda machine only after the 24th of February 2022. The full-fledged invasion of Ukraine would have been impossible without the popular support – or at least silent toleration – of the Russians at home.

• Censorship/Free Speech

  • RFERL ☛ Pakistan Blocks Wikipedia Over ‘Blasphemous Content’

    Wikipedia was blocked in Pakistan on February 4 after authorities censored the website for hosting “blasphemous content” in the latest blow to digital rights in the deeply conservative country.

  • Netblocks ☛ Wikipedia restricted in Pakistan over alleged “sacrilegious” content

    Network data confirm the restriction of online encyclopedia Wikipedia in Pakistan on multiple internet providers from Friday 3 February 2023.

• Civil Rights/Policing

  • Reason ☛ Today in Supreme Court History: February 4, 1824

    2/4/1824: Gibbons v. Ogden argued.

• Digital Restrictions (DRM)

  • Quartz ☛ Netflix accidentally revealed its blueprint to stop password sharing

    By now, it’s common knowledge that the days of sharing Netflix passwords with friends and family across countries are numbered.

• Monopolies

  • Patents

    • YLE ☛ Finnish patent filings drop

      Finland has seen patent numbers decline over the past two years.

Gemini* and Gopher

• Personal

  • I Can Smoke Weed Again!

    I was an off-and-on cannabis user from my mid teens through my early 30s. But then something changed. I couldn’t smoke without becoming paranoid, jumpy, and emotionally distraught. It’s possibly noteworthy that I was also well into a decade+ of severe untreated depression by then. So I quit. My body and psychology are obviously saying “don’t do this”, so I wasn’t gonna do it. I tried a few times between 2013 and 2023, but I always had the same terrible experience.

  • 🔤SpellBinding: YILNPSD Wordo: BLUES